Archer: Ex-Bachelor (Ex-Club Romance)

by Camilla Stevens

  I lean in and look him straight in the eye. “So help me out here, Larry. What is it that made you do it?”

  His mouth tightens and he slowly closes his eyes. He stays like that for almost half a minute before he exhales, all his willpower escaping with it. His body visibly shrinks into his chair as he opens his eyes, this time looking at me with nothing but an apology.

  It bounces right off me. Too fucking late, Larry.

  “It wasn’t supposed to be like this, Archer. I swear.”

  My eyes dart to Mike sitting to the side. He straightens up in his chair and silently signals me not to say a word.

  “Why don’t you just tell it from the start, Larry?” he gently urges.

  Larry nods, looking down at his hands which are firmly grasped in his lap.

  “They came to me a few months ago. Excelsior. You and Kevin had already said no, so I guess they thought…well, they thought if they undermined the company, it might be an incentive. So they came to me. You’re right, it was partially the money.”

  There it is, the confession. I should be relaxing now that he’s finally confirmed the truth, but instead I feel my body tense up, filling with righteous anger.

  But he isn’t finished. For some reason, those first words open the dam and Larry goes on, revealing everything.

  “It was…a lot of money, but it was more than that. They promised shares in the company, a chance to advance. Here at Bennett, well you and Kevin made it clear I’d always get nothing more than a salary and bonus, and yes, it was plenty but…I just got ambitious.

  “I started buying the REITs they suggested through one of our brokers in London. The plan was that it would be so much that we were heavily exposed. Excelsior was buying just a bit more at the same time, enough to wreak havoc on us when they finally sold in large batches.”

  His head pops up looking at me pleadingly. “I figured it would be a win-win for everyone. I mean, at the time, they were a good company for partnership. Yes, we would suffer a bit when they sold all at once, causing our corporate value to drop, but then we’d bounce back stronger than ever especially when we were partnered with them!”

  Now his eyes dart off to the side and his brow wrinkles with something like fear. He should be afraid. It’s taking all the self-control I can muster not to leap over this desk and strangle him.

  “Somehow Kevin found out. I don’t know how but I suspect they’ve been monitoring our offices somehow. That’s why he was flying out, to tell you in person, instead of just calling or emailing you.”

  This part I already know. It’s what comes next that throws me.

  “I guess that’s why they did what they did.” His eyes quickly come back to face me. “I swear to God Archer, I had no idea they would kill him.”

  Both Mike and I react at the same time, shooting straight up in our seats in surprise. Mike quickly raises a hand to silence me.

  “Say that again,” he presses, looking hard at Larry.

  Larry looks back and forth between the two of us with a perplexed look. “I—I thought you knew. That’s why you brought your lawyer isn’t it?”

  I’m practically seething. “Tell. Me. Everything.”

  He continues to look back and forth between us with worry.

  “Go on,” Mike’s urges in a soft tone.

  “They—They said they would take care of him. I thought maybe they meant they would talk to him or try to convince him or something. Then, they found out a few days before they left that Bette was planning on going with him as well. At first, I couldn’t understand why they wanted me to dig up dirt on Simone, but they somehow figured either she or your mother would be the one who’d get guardianship over Kevin’s son, once…well, once they were both gone. It was their way of hedging their bets against Simone.”

  He shrugs before continuing. “My niece, she’s one of those bloggers, so I figured maybe she would know about Simone. I gave her a nice chunk of the money I’d been getting to find something for me. I thought maybe Glory would buddy up to her, become friends or something.” He frowns before continuing. “I didn’t think she’d—” his eyes dart quickly up to mine then away with embarrassment.

  Now his hands are in his hair, tugging hard. “When that plane crashed, it all fell into place. I knew then that it had all gone to hell. I had no idea what to do, but I was terrified. I just wanted out by then.”

  He looks up at me with that pleading look again. “That’s why I came to you and told you to sell the REITs, just be done with it all. I didn’t know what the hell they were going to do next. Kill you? Simone? Stuart? Me?”

  He shakes his head in bewilderment, his body shaking.

  I have zero sympathy.

  “Okay, Larry,” Mike says soothingly. It’s a good thing he’s here since I not only can’t think straight after that confession, I just want to beat him to a pulp. “Why would they need dirt on Simone in case she was guardian?”

  Larry looks up at Mike in surprise. “So her guardianship could be challenged.”

  Mike’s eyes dart to me in confusion then back to Larry. “By Archer?”

  Larry looks at me, then at Mike. “No, by his mother. They knew she needed the money and figured if she had guardianship over both Stuart and his estate, she would be an easier sell in terms of buying into Bennett Financial. All they had to do was nudge her to fight for guardianship. I suppose they figured she had a legitimate shot.”

  That one is like a punch to the gut. “She knew about all this?”

  Larry blinks at me. “I…I don’t know.”

  “Get out,” I say, trying to keep control of myself.

  Larry stares at me for a moment.

  “Get the fuck out!” I roar.

  This time he quickly pops out of his seat and runs for the door. Mike is already pulling out his phone to call the Feds, but he looks up at me before dialing.

  “Archer, I know what you’re thinking.”

  “No, you have no idea.”

  “Yeah, I do, but you need to—”

  “You need to leave too, Mike,” I say quietly.

  Something in my voice silences him. Then he stands up to leave. Before he gets to the door, he turns around to look at me. I know he wants to caution me, serve his role as my attorney the best he can, but he knows it’s too late for that.

  I still have a score to settle.

  Chapter Forty-Six

  This time when I walk past my mother’s personal assistant she doesn’t even try to stop me. The look on my face must be murderous, which is understandable considering that’s exactly how I’m feeling.

  “Archer!” my mother exclaims as I storm in, slamming the door behind me.

  This time she’s alone, which is good.

  “Tell me you didn’t know,” I say in a voice so calm and deadly her eyes go wide.

  “Didn’t know what?” she asks.

  “Don’t play dumb, Mother. Excelsior. I know they came to you with an offer. How involved are you with this?”

  I saw the way she blinked at the name Excelsior and it stops me. A part of me had held out one tiny bit of hope that I was wrong. That look, confirming that she’s familiar with the company, breaks my fucking heart.

  “Jesus, Mom. How could you?” I say, falling into the seat across from her. I finally feel the ache in my muscles after being so tense from the news I learned this morning in my office.

  “What in the world are you talking about Archer?” she asks, now giving me a confused look that’s almost believable.

  “Did you challenge our guardianship just so you could have control over Stuart’s half of Bennett Financial to sell to Excelsior?”

  “Of course not!”

  “How do you know them?”

  A shroud of suspicion darkens her gaze as she looks at me.

  “Tell me everything, Mother,” I say in a voice so low she shrinks away from me.

  She stares at me a moment longer, then exhales and gives me a stubborn look. “I’ve needed a loan for s
ome time now. Just to get this company to the next level,” she adds quickly. Then, she sighs. “I haven’t been successful so far, I’m just too new in this business.”

  She pauses and looks cautiously at me. “Excelsior was the one to actually get in touch with me. It was almost a godsend. They promised me everything but hinted that it would be helpful if I could show I could be entrusted with something a bit bigger than Miranda Fashion. They knew about Stuart’s estate. I mean, everyone did, and they made it clear that if I somehow managed to become guardian over the estate then….well, the loan would be mine.”

  She shrugs before continuing. “I didn’t see the problem with it. I had been considering challenging Simone for guardianship over Stuart anyway. Originally, I was planning on giving her a chance, see how well she managed and stepping in only if I needed to. Then when Excelsior came to me it just made since to start with her, which would have made it easier to gain guardianship over the estate.” She shrugs again, letting the rest trail off.

  She gives me an irritated sigh. “I know you’re not happy with what I did, and you probably don’t believe that I also had Stuart’s best interests in mind. Contrary to what you’re thinking right now, he’s not just a payday for me, Archer. He’s my grandson and I do love him and want what’s best for him.”

  “You played right into their damn hands, Mother,” I say, trying to keep my anger in check. “They weren’t about to give you a damn loan, Mom.”

  “Archer, how in the world do you know about Excelsior?”

  “They’ve been trying to buy into Bennett Financial for months. That would have been the only way you got anything, somehow managing to make it happen when you gained control. Do you know they tried to ruin us to get what they wanted? Ruin us! One of my own employees was sabotaging me.”

  “I didn’t know about that,” she says, softer now. Then she straightens in her chair. “But I swear, I never promised them any part of Bennett Financial and they never asked for it..”

  “They would have eventually, stringing you along until you caved.”

  She stares at me, stubborning refusing to let that sink in.

  I lean in to stick the dagger in. She more than deserves it. “And for that, Kevin and Bette were killed.”

  That finally perks her up. “What?”

  I stare hard at her. “They killed Kevin to get to you,” I say through gritted teeth.

  Her hand flies up to her mouth in horror.

  “No…” she whispers.

  “Yes, Mother, we have proof.”

  A loud sob escape her lips behind her hand. Before I can react to it, she’s bent over practically hyperventilating.

  Now I’m the one blinking in surprise. I quickly round the desk to kneel in front of her.

  “Oh…oh my God. Kev—Kevin! Oh my sweet boy…,” she wails. “What have I done? Oh, Archer…what have I done?”

  I reach up and put my arms around her. I’m angry with her, but I realize that she’s been just as much a pawn in this as everyone else. Not even she would have willingly played a part in getting Kevin and Bette murdered. She falls into me, the same way Simone did and I let her cry it out.

  “God, what have I done?” she repeats when she pulls away to look out of the window.

  I rest a hand on her lap. “Mom.” I wait for her to look at me. “It’s not your fault. They were going to get rid of Kevin anyway. What he knew was too risky for them. Frankly, if you hadn’t challenged the two of us…who knows what they would have done to Simone and me? Or Stuart for that matter.”

  The thought sends a chill down my spine.

  “It is my fault,” she whispers, looking down at her hands.

  “It isn’t.”

  She stares at me with an uncertain look. For the first time that I can even remember, she looks vulnerable, human. Her make up is smeared, her face splotchy, eyes red. It pulls at something inside of me.

  “The people who did this are going to pay…dearly. As for you…you’re going to drop any further challenge to Simone and me. This family has been torn apart too much already. I’m not going to let anything tear us apart any more.”

  I wait for her to accept it with nothing more than a humble nod.

  “We need to come together as a family, Mom. I’m not going to let this eat you up, we’ve all suffered enough. But I repeat, I’m maintaining guardianship over the estate and Simone is going to be his guardian. End of discussion.”

  She just nods again, looking down at the floor.

  I lean in and look at her. “But you are Stuart’s grandmother. You’re my mother. He needs you in his life…and so do I.”

  Now she looks as though she’s going to cry again. Her hand reaches to cup my face. She strokes my cheek as a smile comes to her face. “You’ve changed, you know?”

  “I think we’ve all changed,” I say returning her smile. “Kevin would be proud.”

  “Yes, he would.”

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  “What do you think, Stuart?” Simone asks, looking down at him and biting her lip.

  The three of us are in my apartment around the kitchen island. Stuart is on a stool and Simone and I are on either side of him. We’re situated around the laptop looking at the memorial webpage for Kevin and Bette. The main picture on the screen is the one from Kevin’s office of him, Bette and Stuart hugging each other from behind.

  It’s been two months since they first disappeared. Indictments have gone out for my former Vice President, Larry, and his niece Glory for conspiracy to commit a number of crimes. Excelsior has even more legal troubles, both criminal and civil. My bittersweet satisfaction comes from the fact that the company that wanted to buy us is currently going down faster than Enron.

  As for my mother, I went ahead and gave her the ten million dollars, no strings attached. It’s not even a blip on my net worth and I refuse to let money come between me and any of the remaining family members I have. Simone is right, I should appreciate her while she is around. Besides, Stuart loves spending time with her.

  Right now he is staring at the photo of him with his parents with a quiet look on his face. “I like it,” he says softly.

  Simone reaches out to stroke his hair. “I know it’s difficult, sweetie, but now you can look at pictures of them and read about all the nice things people have to say about them whenever you want.”

  He just nods, still staring intently at the picture of him and his parents. I feel his pain as I watch him. My eyes roll up to Simone’s and she meets mine with a sympathetic smile.

  “I have something special that’s just for us, our own Bennett Family Wake.”

  Stuart finally tears his eyes away from the page to look up at her. I’m also curious since I have no idea what she’s got planned.

  Simone just smiles at both of us as she walks off to get something. Stuart turns to me questioningly and I respond with a shrug and a confused smile.

  She comes back with paper, crayons, pens and three glass bottles in her arms.

  “I want all three of us to write something to Kevin and Bette. Our own secret messages that aren’t going to be revealed to anyone but them.”

  Stuart and I both just stare at her, wondering where she’s going with this.

  “Don’t think, just write. Write what you’re feeling. Write everything you didn’t get to tell them,” she’s looking at me as she says this.

  Then her eyes fall to Stuart. “Or draw. Draw your happiest memories.”

  She places the crayons before him and a sheet of paper and pen before me. Before Stuart and I can say a word, she’s bent over her paper, writing away.

  Stuart turns to me for guidance and again I just shrug, darting my eyes to the crayons before him encouragingly. He twists his lips in that way that is achingly like Kevin, then reaches for the crayons.

  I stare down at my sheet of paper, wondering what to say. There’s so damn much, one sheet doesn’t seem like enough.

  I sigh and pick up the pen.

  Dea
r Kevin,

  ….

  The floodgates open and it all comes pouring out. All the memories, regrets, changes, hope, promises, anger, excitement.

  When I’m done, I’ve taken up one whole side and most of the back. I pull up and find Simone and Stuart staring at me with smiles on their faces. I’ve been so absorbed I didn’t even notice them.

  It was a brilliant idea, I’ll give it to her. When I set the pen down, I feel like a huge weight has been lifted, like the new me has finally settled in.

  “So what now?” I ask, looking back at her with a smile.

  “You’ll see,” she says with an enigmatic smile of her own.

  “You know, we could have taken my car,” I say, looking around at the weekend crowd on the N Line. I can’t remember the last time I’ve ridden the subway.

  She and Stuart are sitting down and I’m left standing, holding on to a pole that has been held by God knows how many other people. I try not to think about it.

  “What fun would that have been?” she chides. “Part of the adventure of going to Coney Island is riding the subway, and Stuart has never been.”

  I look around again. This is definitely an adventure for me. Stuart seems thrilled with it, which makes it worthwhile.

  “We call it the Tube in London,” Stuart proclaims.

  “I know, sweetie,” Simone says, tickling him. He laughs then presses his face against the window as we approach another station.

  Almost an hour later, we finally reach the end of the line and pile out with the rest of the crowd to enjoy a day at the beach.

  We’re standing at the edge of the pier staring out at the ocean. Each of us has our own bottle holding the message, or drawing, we made earlier today.

  Leave it to Simone to come up with such a creative way to say our goodbyes. But it’s fitting. Somewhere out there in the deep blue Atlantic lie Kevin and Bette.

  “I think we all said or drew what we needed to, and this is where we can send our love and goodbyes to the two of them,” Simone says. “Let’s all throw our bottles out at the same time, okay.”