by G. K. Parks
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you,” he apologized. “I didn’t know you were down here. You know you really didn’t have to sleep on the couch. I gave you the guestroom for a reason.” He remained frozen in place. “Can you put the gun down?”
“Sorry.” I felt hungover even though I didn’t drink the night before. My brain and body were both sluggish. I clicked the safety on and put the gun down. “What are you doing?”
“Just going for an early morning swim before work,” he replied as if this was simply what he did every morning. Maybe it was.
I rubbed my eyes. “You’re going to work? I assumed after yesterday you were giving everyone the rest of the week off. Today is Friday, after all. It could have been a nice three day weekend.” We should have discussed some things last night.
“I told everyone to use their best judgment when deciding to come to work today. If they took the day off, they would still be paid, given the traumatic events of yesterday. But it doesn’t mean I’m not going to show up. I’m in charge, and I have to put on a brave face.”
“But you’re the face they were trying to blow up.”
“Can’t let the bad guys win,” he replied matter-of-factly, heading for the sliding door. I got up and followed him outside. The sun was barely over the horizon. It was definitely too early to be awake, let alone arguing. I sat down on one of the chaise lounges as he got into the pool. “Care to join me?”
“No. I’m attempting to be your bodyguard. I want to make sure no one is intent on drowning you.”
He glanced around the enclosed pool area. “Looks all clear to me.”
“Good.” That was enough conversation for this early in the morning. I fought the urge to sleep, but eventually, I gave in and dozed on the chair until the splashing stopped. I opened one eye and watched him exit the pool and grab a towel. I had to admit it wasn’t necessarily a bad sight to wake up to.
* * *
Martin and I were riding to the MT building together in the back of his town car. He was reading the newspaper and ignoring me.
“What’s so important that you need to go to work today?” I asked.
He slowly folded the paper and placed it neatly on his lap, giving me his full attention. “I have an acquisition meeting this morning, and the Board and I are set to meet this afternoon to discuss yesterday’s events.”
“Fine, but I’m following you around all day. Maybe yesterday was just a warning or perhaps another failed attempt. Either way, I’m sure they will try again. The longer this goes on, the more desperate they will become.” He needed to realize I was speaking from experience and not being dramatic.
He considered my point for a few moments. “How’s your note-taking?”
“I suppose it should be sufficient.” I knew exactly what he was thinking, and I didn’t like it.
“Wonderful.” He smiled slightly, picked up his paper, and resumed reading. I gave the paper a dirty look and continued to sit quietly for the rest of the ride.
Marcal dropped us off in front of the building instead of in the garage. The crime scene tape still surrounded much of the sidewalk, and a few police officers loitered nearby. The damaged glass was replaced with cardboard, and security was beefed up inside. Instead of being greeted by the laid-back Jeffrey Myers, we encountered metal detectors and an employee ID scanner. Two armed guards were standing by, and a few local LEOs were posted in the lobby.
“You set all this in motion yesterday?” I whispered.
“I’m more than just a pretty face.” Martin swiped his card through the scanner and headed through the metal detector.
“Um, Mr. Martin,” I stammered. I was carrying today, and the metal detector would loudly take note of this fact.
“Right this way, Miss Parker.”
I swiped my card and approached the metal detector. “I’m not sure these things agree with me.”
But he just stood there, grinning like a Cheshire cat. I walked through the metal detector, and nothing happened. Great, it’s broken. What was the point of having a metal detector if it didn’t even work properly? We continued to the elevator, and once the doors closed, allowing a moment of privacy, I spoke up.
“Your metal detector is broken.”
He laughed. “No, it’s working just fine. I had the computer programmed to disable metal detection temporarily after certain IDs are swiped.”
I thought about this for a moment. It seemed practical, but it left gaps in the security system. “Not a good idea. It leaves loopholes. You need to get that changed.”
He shrugged noncommittally. Martin and his damn unilateral decisions, I wanted to hit him.
When the doors opened on the seventeenth floor, Detective O’Connell was waiting in the hallway. “Mr. Martin. Ms. Parker,” he greeted us, and I gave him a wary look.
“What can I do for you?” Martin asked as he swiped his card and opened his office door. “Please.” He held the door for the detective, and I followed the men inside.
“We’ve identified the cause of the explosion,” O’Connell said. “It was a small incendiary device, similar to a pipe bomb, with a remote detonator. The device was fairly simplistic, and the radio detonator needed to be within a two hundred foot radius. The bomb squad believes it must have had a few seconds delay from the time the detonator switch was flipped until the bomb actually exploded.”
“You think the sun glare I saw was from the bomber?” I half-asked, half-stated.
“We do. Our crime scene guys recovered a lens on the sixth floor balcony, most likely from a binocular or monocular. The bomber was probably lying in wait. Do you normally follow the same routine?” O’Connell asked Martin.
“More or less, at least during business hours.”
“I see.” O’Connell frowned.
“How much of a lag between the switch and the explosion? Do you think the delay was due to the distance and radio frequency transmitter or intentional to make getting away easier?” I asked.
“No way to know for sure,” O’Connell said. “Either seems to be a reasonable explanation.” I bit my lip, thinking. “I’d like to advise you to lie low for a while, Mr. Martin. Stay out of the public eye. Maybe take a vacation. It’s reasonable to assume the hot dog stand exploding was meant for you. We are still investigating other avenues just to make sure, but…,” he trailed off.
“Thank you for the concern, Detective, but I will be just fine,” Martin said curtly, and the detective headed for the door.
“O’Connell,” I called, and he turned on his heel, “any suspects?”
“Sorry, I’m not at liberty to discuss an ongoing investigation. Have a good day.”
I sighed. I hated the company line, especially since he had already thoroughly discussed certain aspects of the investigation.
“Did Mark call this morning?” I asked as Martin settled in behind his desk, looking for the materials he needed for his morning meeting.
“Huh?” He looked confused. I was amazed at how quickly he could lose himself in business.
“Mark. Did he call?”
“Not that I know of.” He returned to tapping away at his keyboard.
I hit the top of his desk lightly with my palm to get his attention. “I’m going to my office for a minute to check on some things and give Mark a call. Do not go to your meeting without me. Understand?” I felt like I was talking to a child.
“Okay.”
I went to my office and opened the door. Then I unlocked my drawer and made sure my side arm and bullets were still secure. Maybe I was a tad bit obsessive. I fished my cell phone out of my purse and called Mark’s office. When the call went straight to voicemail, I tried his cell phone. After five rings, he answered.
“What?” he mumbled into the receiver. It sounded like he had been asleep.
“Any news?”
“Parker, do you realize what time it is?”
“It’s morning. You said you’d talk to us in the morning.”
“Cut
e,” he replied, sounding disgusted. “How ‘bout I come by in a couple of hours? We’ll talk then.”
“Thanks, sweetie.” If he thought I was being cute, I might as well go with it.
He mumbled something about a sarcastic bitch and hung up.
I was on my way to Martin’s office when he met me in the doorway, legal pad and pen in hand. “Let’s go acquire some acquisitions.” He beamed brightly, seeming somewhat manic.
Despite the fact I had traversed the building numerous times over the last week, I had never seen the Marketing/Research floor this empty. Apparently, most employees decided it was better to stay home with their loved ones than go to work where bombs might ruin their lunch hour. Martin led us into a large conference room equipped with a flat screen television mounted to the wall.
“Blake Denton, meet my…,” he paused uncertainly.
“Alexis Parker.” I introduced myself.
“Mr. Denton is our vice president. He’s in charge of foreign acquisitions,” Martin said.
“Pleasure to meet you, Miss Parker.” Denton gave my hand a slight squeeze. “I heard you two were very close to the accident yesterday. I’m glad you’re okay. It’s disconcerting. No wonder so few workers came in today.” He seemed to be talking to neither of us, and I suspected he might be shell-shocked.
“I gave everyone the option of having the day off. I didn’t want to further traumatize anybody in the wake of such unfortunate events,” Martin said sympathetically. “I’m glad to see you didn’t abandon me today, too.” He winked at Denton. “You know how cunning our colleagues in Dubai are.”
“We’re in negotiations to open some manufacturing and processing plants in the Middle East.” Denton tried to catch me up to speed. “It will be highly lucrative for both MT and our foreign partners, if we get approval for the acquisition.”
“Alex is here to take notes for us,” Martin interjected. “I figured we might be short a few assistants.”
Denton grinned. “Have a seat then. We’re just waiting for them to call.”
I spent the next hour and a half attempting to take notes on things I didn’t understand. Hopefully, Martin and Denton were paying attention. After the call was over, Martin and I returned to his office.
“Has Mr. Denton received any threats?” I asked.
“Not that I’m aware of.”
“I just figured since he’s a board member and VP, if this was company related, maybe he had gotten some threats, too.” I was pulling at straws, but it was another angle to consider.
“I think I’m the only lucky son of a bitch here,” he said bitterly.
Eleven
As promised, Mark showed up a little before lunchtime. “Place seems like a ghost town,” he said, taking a seat in Martin’s office. “It’s still a good thing you have the enhanced security, just in case.”
“Any news?” I was impatient.
“O’Connell called this morning, a little while after you did. He passed along a casualty list and some bomb specifications, but nothing in terms of persons of interest,” he said matter-of-factly.
“How many?” I asked, even though I really didn’t want to know.
“Two. The hot dog vendor and a woman. She seems random. Doesn’t work at MT, no connection to Marty that I’m aware of. Probably just wrong place, wrong time.”
I felt awful. I hated to think people had died, especially since I should have stopped this from happening. I felt sick to my stomach.
“What was her name?” Martin asked, concern evident in his voice.
Mark pulled out his notepad and flipped through a few pages. “Jillian Monroe,” he read as I watched Martin’s expression carefully for signs of recognition.
“Never heard of her,” Martin confirmed. “Poor woman. The hot dog vendor, too.” He was solemn and looked exactly how I felt. It was obvious we both felt responsible for these deaths.
“The two of you need to remember you didn’t do this.” Mark focused on me. “You will track down this motherfucker. You got it?”
“Damn straight.”
“Okay, good.” Mark was acting as cheerleader today. He probably thought we could use it since it felt like we were on the losing team. Unfortunately, from my score sheet, we were the losing team. “I’m going back to work, but I’ll come by tonight to bring some things I think you can both use.” He looked at Martin. “And you, sir, need to consider taking a break until we get some things straightened out, or at the very least, start wearing your bullet-resistant suits. You had those custom-made for a reason.”
Martin hedged. “I’ll think about it. I had some important meetings today, and I didn’t want to come in looking sub-par.” I gaped at him. Could he be this shallow? “See you tonight, Jabber.” Martin walked him to the door, and I waved to Mark as he left.
But as soon as the door shut, I dove in head first. “You and your unilateral decisions can kiss my ass.” I turned on Martin like a rabid dog. “You will start taking precautions, and you will take some time off. You can tell the Board today when you meet with them. Your security consultant insists.”
“You work for me,” he snarled.
“Yes, but let me make one thing perfectly clear. If you don’t listen, I can walk away. No one is trying to kill me, and quite frankly, I don’t want to get shot because I’m standing too close to you.” I wasn’t being completely fair. I was taking the two deaths out on him, but I didn’t care. He was still playing games, and he needed to realize just how serious this matter was.
“So go,” he growled. We were standing inches apart.
“Un-fucking-believable.” I prepared to leave but stopped myself and turned back. “Your business means more to you than your life?”
“It’s all I have.”
“Get over yourself. You are a living, breathing human being, at least for the moment, and if all of this came crashing down tomorrow, you would still be the same person.”
He didn’t respond, and I expected death rays to shoot from his eyes. “No. I wouldn’t. I would be nothing,” he said in a low bitter tone as he went back to his desk, trying to busy himself with work.
I stormed out of the office, slamming the door. “Narcissistic prick.” I wasn’t going to leave, but staying and fighting wasn’t helping either of us. I had a job to do, and despite my better judgment, I planned to see it through until the end. I stomped back to my office where I sat smoldering for a couple of minutes. Finally, I opened my door and stared across the hallway at him. He was behind his desk working as if nothing had just transpired. I half-expected him to call security and have me removed from the building. However, that would have been bad for business, and business was obviously the only thing he was capable of thinking about.
After twenty minutes, he grabbed his portfolio and opened his office door. “Let’s go. The Board is waiting.” He wasn’t asking. He was ordering, and I didn’t say a word.
I grabbed a pad and pen and followed him to the elevator. We rode in silence, neither of us acknowledging the other. I followed him down the hall to yet another conference room. There were ten people assembled around the rectangular table. I recognized Blake Denton, but he was the only one.
I was going to take a seat in the back of the room, where the other assistants were gathered, but Martin put his hand on my arm. I looked up, confused. He was no longer acting as if I was a total stranger, but I could see the anger still resonating in his eyes.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the Board, I need to make an announcement,” he began. “As you are aware, recently I have received numerous threats. Yesterday’s explosion, while still under investigation, may have been intended for me.” He took a breath and stared into my eyes, looking for reassurance. “Therefore, I think it is in the best interest of our employees that I take a vacation or sabbatical, if you will, until this situation is resolved.”
Some of the board members had questions, but he continued speaking, ignoring them. “I discussed the issue with my security consulting fi
rm, and they agreed it would be wise for the situation to be resolved before anyone else is endangered. I trust you are capable of running the company for the next few weeks in my absence.”
“What about the Dubai acquisition?” a woman asked.
“Blake and I had the meeting this morning. I think they are ready to sign, but I will still be close by if issues should arise. In the meantime, I will appoint Mr. Denton as acting Chair until further notice.” Martin waited for additional questions.
“Why are you leaving now? Things have been going on for weeks, and we don’t even know yet if the food cart explosion had anything to do with you? It might have been an accident,” Denton argued, trying to get him to stay. That was one hell of a friend, or perhaps he was afraid of screwing up if he was left with the keys to the castle.
Martin’s expression was forlorn. “My girlfriend, Alexis,” he wrapped his arm around my waist, and I resisted the urge to beat him to death with it, “has been filling in as my personal assistant, and yesterday, if it hadn’t been for her, we both might have been hurt or worse. It’s time I take these matters more seriously for everyone’s sake. I don’t want anyone else getting hurt or killed on my account.”
“Mr. Martin,” an older, balding man addressed him now, “what about the banquet?”
He pondered this for a moment. “I will contact legal and have the papers drawn up for Mr. Denton to temporarily replace me, but I am still planning to attend the banquet. Our charity work is very important, and nothing should detract from it. Afterward, I will hold a press conference announcing my sabbatical in hopes of helping to insulate the company from any further threats.”
Another woman spoke up. “We shall take a vote. Those in favor of temporarily placing Mr. Denton as acting Chair until Mr. Martin’s return say aye.”
Everyone agreed, Denton slightly begrudgingly. I couldn’t tell if it was for show or if he honestly had reservations.
“Good. I’m glad everything is settled. Now, if you’ll excuse us, it’s been a rough day.” Martin led me out of the room and to the elevators. “Later,” he whispered, and I remained silent for fear someone would overhear what I had to say.