The Club

Nikki

Nikki takes her usual jog around the island but still feels foggy. She runs into Jess and introduces herself. She once would have done more to orient a new employee but no longer bothers because those who don’t quickly adapt don’t last. She silently doubts that the “sweet” Jess will survive.

She heads to Island Home’s spa for an IV vitamin drip, acting on Ned’s suggestion that she take a little time for herself. During the treatment, she scrolls through press clippings, which is part of her job, and finds an interview that Annie gave to a magazine. Ned had asked the woman to field a couple of questions for a puff piece, but the emerging article spotlights Annie. She provides her visions and thoughts about the organization. There is even an accompanying photoshoot.

Nikki remembers the numerous Home employees who have fallen this way. Feeling too secure, they stepped out of line or claimed credit to which Ned felt entitled. Nikki feels bad but forwards Ned the article, knowing that there’s no hope in hiding something like this.

During her treatment, Nikki sees Kurt through the window as he prepares for a morning swim. He has two distinct birthmarks, one beneath his shoulder blade and one on his left shin. She tears up. In a later chapter, she will remember seeing those birthmarks the day she gave birth to a son.

Jess

Two of Jess’s employees summon her to help with an incident. Jackson’s cabin, the most luxurious on the island, has been utterly destroyed. She thinks about how strange the life of a mega-star must be but notes that nothing gives someone the right to behave this way. She finds the letter welcoming Jackson to a new tier of membership and outlining his outrageous new fee schedule. She also finds the memory stick.

Adam

On a yacht excursion opening the weekend, Adam decides that he cannot do this job any longer. He was lucky not to be hurt by the brick. The police came but don’t hold much hope of catching the perpetrators.

Adam picked up the brick before realizing that it was covered in poop, and Ned humiliates him by insisting that he repeat the story to various members of Home staff. This is part of a pattern of abuse. Ned often yells or laughs at Adam or points out his “uselessness” in front of others. Most of the time, Adam is numb to this behavior, but every so often—like today—he gets angry.

As his wife, Laura, would remind him, Adam doesn’t have to put up with this. She texted him earlier to tell him that she trusts him and knows that he has the strength to leave. Adam is scared, though. He is used to his identity as Ned’s brother. That is how most of the world sees him and even how he sees himself. Only with Laura has he ever discussed the damage that this relationship has done. Not surprisingly, she and Ned have never gotten along.

Adam suspects that Ned will be angry and tries to choose the right moment. Ned is happy about the triumph of the opening thus far, and Adam is about to broach the subject. Then Ned checks his email and reads the article Nikki forwarded him.

Annie

Annie circles the yacht, mingling and managing introductions. She spent weeks researching the guests, which allows her to bring up flattering tidbits. She chastises a waitress who pours her champagne from an almost empty bottle and wonders who has received their blackmail packet.

She surveys the yacht and thinks about the hierarchy of Home’s membership. She meditates on the etymology of the word celebrity, which originally meant simply “celebrated people.” Only today does it carry negative connotations of undeserved fame. There is also a sexist element in the way the word is deployed to undercut certain women.

Everything seems to be going well until she overhears Ned ranting to Adam, clearly outraged about her article. He swears that she will be “fucking history” after this weekend.

As the drama unfolded, Annie Sparks calmly took charge of Home’s clientele. She also raised the alarm about Ned Groom going missing. After everyone had been safely escorted off the island, the search for Ned began, but they found nothing on the island.

Annie

Lunch is held at one of Island Home’s establishments: a rotating restaurant at one of the highest points of the island. Annie remembers Ned’s seemingly impossible vision and how he made it come to pass.

Shaken, Annie suffers casual contempt from Ned. He still expects her to handle matters, and Jackson’s obvious inebriation sends Nikki to Annie for assistance. Annie accuses Nikki of sending Ned the article, which Nikki readily admits—it’s her job. She asks what Annie was thinking when they both know how vain Ned is. Annie hadn’t set out to boast, but it was nice to be asked her opinion and given credit for the hard work that she does. She angrily defends herself for telling the Evening Standard that she’s “actually slightly more to Home than an over-promoted coat-check girl” (112). This is a reference to Nikki’s own one-time position in the company, and Annie realizes that she has gone too far.

She again thinks about the double standard afforded women and how it’s a mistake to be too efficient, letting people take you for granted. There is also a hint that Ned also has something on Annie. (It’s the same thing that he has on Jackson: She is the woman in the video of them discussing how best to cover up the hit-and-run.)

Annie decides not to manage Jackson but to let things play out. He drunkenly staggers out, and she concludes that she now knows who the first blackmail recipient was.

Jess

Jess, her team, multiple handymen, and various people delivering new furniture and electronics put Jackson’s cabin back together. They even restore the individual touches requested by both Jackson and Georgia.

Jess knew about some of these in advance. She once interviewed a former classmate (who worked at the Home location near Jess’s home) about their experience with the Cranes. They reported that Georgia was lovely but that Jackson seemed a little hollow. The couple appeared to be going through a bad patch.

Jess is the last one left in the cabin, and she dumps her collection of crushed pills into the decanter of whiskey. Just as it dissolves, Jackson returns, drunk. He stares at Jess, and for a moment she wildly wonders if he recognizes her (from their disastrous encounter when she was six). She apologizes for disturbing him and offers him the whiskey, which she still holds. He grabs it and chugs directly from the decanter.

She leaves, having made sure that no one will disturb Jackson until further notice. She then realizes that she still has the unwatched memory stick in her pocket.

Nikki

Nikki watches Ned’s triumph and remembers planning meetings for Island Home. She doesn’t dislike Adam but feels that he has contributed little throughout the years.

During a lull, Nikki drifts down to the lawn, there encountering Kurt wrapped in a blanket. She asks if he’s all right, thinking of his rapidly deteriorating father, but his mind was on his late mother, a celebrated actress who gave up her career to raise a family of six children, some of whom were adopted. She and Ron never told their children which were their biological children. Nikki says that she never met his mother, only his father.

Kurt asks Nikki what’s in the package to which Ned cryptically alluded. Kurt has found an envelope on his bed, and he’s nervous. She doesn’t know but has her own suspicions and offers to find out. She calls Ned’s lawyers and asks about some investments that Ron Cox made in the Home Group. There are five or six huge loans that were later terminated, meaning that Ned never had to repay them. She has the lawyer send over copies of them all.

Adam

Adam finally tells his brother that he wants out. At first, the conversation goes well, and Ned enquires into Adam’s plans and asks how much he thinks that his shares are worth. Adam gives the number and gushes about how much he’s enjoyed working with Ned and how he simply needs to try something on his own. At this point, Adam feels awkward and regrets his phrasing, which he knows will make Ned believe that Laura put him up to this. Off balance, he says that he doesn’t think his request is unreasonable after what he’s done for the company.

Ned asks if that was a threat. Adam had not meant it as such, but Ned is enraged. Adam is free to leave, but if he ever again hints about all he’s done for Home or asks for his share of the money, Ned will show Laura who Adam really is, indicating that he also has blackmail material on his brother (in Adam’s case, regarding various sexual indiscretions).