“I know he did, Victoria, but he did have a very good reason for letting it go. Have you met Rafael Rivera?”
“Oh, yes, I’ve met him.”
“Oh, of course, you mentioned that earlier when you said your mother wanted you to go out with him. Sorry. What do you think of him so far?”
Victoria hesitated. Should she admit to falling in love with a man she’s known all of five days, and who has been accused of stealing her father’s business and causing him to commit suicide? She decided that, given the circumstances, she would.
“I have been seeing him every day since Daddy’s funeral. In fact, that’s where I met him. I can see nothing but honesty, kindness, and a deep affection for my father in him. I am also very attracted to him, and feel like I’m falling in love with him. I know, it’s crazy. I’ve only just met him about five days ago. Mother accuses him of stealing Daddy’s business and driving him to suicide. But I am just telling you where I’m at with him right now. He seems to have mutual feelings for me, unless he’s a great con artist.”
Mr. Hall leaned back in his chair and thought for a moment. He wondered if this was the proper time to tell her what he knew about the transaction. And about Rafael Rivera.
“What do you know about Rafael’s work history here in the Thornton Building?” he asked.
“Well, just what he told me, about starting out as a messenger boy and working his way up to being my dad’s assistant. Not much more than that.”
“Those are the high points,” Mr. Hall said, “but there’s a little more to it than that. After Rafael’s father died, David took a real interest in his boys, both Rafael and his brother Mateo. He tried his best to befriend them, but Mateo especially fostered a hatred in his heart for David. Mateo tried to influence Rafael to hate David also, but Rafael was younger, and didn’t fully understand the whole situation like Mateo did.
“David gave Mrs. Rivera her husband’s former job of janitor here in the building. He secretly took food boxes to their house, because he knew they didn’t have much. When Rafael got old enough, he gave him the job here of messenger boy. I know he paid him a lot more than any other messenger boy has ever seen.
“He also helped the boy with his personal life. Rafael was a bit of a—how shall I put it?—misfit. I’m sure some of it had to do with his early childhood and his father’s death, but he became overweight and lacked self-confidence. Mateo tended to be lazy, but he portrayed himself to little Rafael as the big brother who needed to order Rafael around. Consequently, Rafael was, to put it bluntly, a fat, pimply-faced, mouse when he came to work for David”
Victoria’s mouth fell open. “You mean that shy, fat kid was Rafael? Wow! What a change! I remember that kid, but I sure never pegged Rafael for him.”
“The change took time, but it was dramatic. Your dad really worked with him. He set up a workout room in the basement of this building just for Rafael. He taught him how to exercise to turn his fat into lean muscle. He coached him on social skills. He mentored the boy in business procedures, and groomed him to be his assistant for several years before Rafael actually became his assistant.
“From the time Rafael became David’s assistant, which was just about the time you left for college, he talked to Rafael about you. He also worried when Rafael started dating girls around here. He really wanted Rafael to marry you. But Rafael was having too much fun playing the field to take you or David seriously. And you left town, which threw his plan for a loop.
“David was not deeply in debt. Where your mother got that idea, I don’t know. But suffice it to say that David’s business was quite solvent. The reason he transferred it to Rafael, was because he was planning to divorce Marian and didn’t want to have to give half of the company to her. He planned to give her a more than adequate settlement, but he didn’t want her fingers in his business. You know, he never did allow her name to be anywhere on the corporation papers. In fact, I have a paper here that I drew up that is not part of the sale documents because he didn’t want Marian to know about it at all. I think maybe it is time that you see it, though.”
Mr. Hall got up, went over to a polished wood filing cabinet, opened a drawer, and pulled out a thin folder. He crossed the floor and handed it to Victoria. She opened it up and began to read.
Transfer of Real Property and Assets.
“I, David Edward Thornton, being of sound mind and without duress, do hereby place the Thornton Building and Thornton Enterprise and all their associated assets in the temporary custody of Rafael José Rivera, until such time as I am fully divorced from my wife, Marian Lee Smith Thornton. At that time, full ownership of the Thornton Building and Thornton Enterprise will revert back to me. In case of my untimely demise before such time as the said assets are returned to me, they will transfer to my sole heir, Victoria Marie Thornton.
“I, David E. Thornton, will still maintain advisory control of said assets under this provision. Rafael Rivera will in no way and under no circumstances be able to sell, trade, give away, or otherwise dispose of said assets as long as they are under his name.
“If and when such transfer should occur, I do so state that my heir, Victoria Thornton, shall keep Rafael Rivera on as chief executive officer until such time as he proves unworthy of the position. If my fondest wish becomes reality, and Rafael Rivera and my daughter Victoria Thornton are wed, the said assets will become theirs jointly to have and to hold.
Signed: David E. Thornton
Date: March 21, 2016
There were more signatures: Rafael’s, the lawyer’s, and it had been notarized. Victoria was stunned. Her dad didn’t sell the company, he just loaned it to Rafael for a while. But wait; there were more papers.
The other set of papers was a divorce petition, all filled out and signed. It was dated June 19, 2016. That was the day before David Thornton was found dead of a gunshot wound to the right temple.
Victoria laid the folder down on her lap and looked at Mr. Hall.
“Was my mother served with these divorce papers?” she asked.
“Yes,” Mr. Hall answered.
“When?”
“On the same date as the papers are dated,” he said.
“One more reason to point the finger at her for killing my dad,” she said sadly.
“Possibly. Although it’s circumstantial.”
“Yeah, I know. But adding it to all the other incriminating evidence just makes the case more solid, does it not?”
“It could,” Mr. Hall conceded.
“Is there anything else I should know?” Victoria asked wearily.
She wondered how many more surprises lay in store for her. She didn’t know how many more she could handle. Even winning the lottery would just about overwhelm her. To say nothing of the kinds of things she had been being hit with all week.
Dennis Hall pondered her question for a moment before answering.
“No, not that I know of now,” he said carefully. “Go home and try to not worry about all this stuff. I know it must be totally overwhelming to you. But it won’t do you any good to stew about it. Things like this have a way of working themselves out given time. The police will do their job to investigate David’s death. I’ll do my job to execute David’s will properly. If you need to leave town, let me know, please.”
Victoria stood and so did Mr. Hall.
“Thanks for everything you’ve done for Daddy over the years, and for what you’ll be doing for me,” she said. “I will need to make a run back to Seattle to move my things back down here. I have decided to move back. But I won’t be gone very long. No more than a week. I’ll fly up and rent a moving truck up there, then I’ll need a couple of days there to pack, then it’ll be a two-day run back here. I hope to go within the next two or three days, if possible.”
“Shouldn’t be a problem for me, as long as the police don’t need you for something,” he said.
“I’ll check with them first, of course,” Victoria said. “Well, I’d better be going. Thanks
again, Mr. Hall. See you soon.”
“’Bye, Victoria, take care of yourself,” Mr. Hall said.
He gave her a hug, and then let her go. She took the elevator down to the first floor and walked to her dad’s office. She and Rafael had things to discuss. At least now she understood why nothing had really changed here at the Thornton Building. Why all the same employees were still in the lobby. Why even the large, now antique sign on the corner of the building that said “Thornton Building” had not been removed and a new one hung in its place proclaiming the change to “Rivera Building.”
Just as Karen was buzzing Rafael to let him know that Victoria was there, her cell phone rang. She pulled it out of her purse and looked at the caller ID. Oh, good grief! It was Harry. That was all she needed right now—him calling and pestering her. She silenced the ringer and let the call go through to voicemail. She’d deal with him later. Or not.
“Go right on in, Victoria,” Karen told her.
Victoria walked around the reception desk and into Rafael’s office. He was already half-way across the room to greet her.
“Hi, beautiful,” he said, reaching out to take her in his arms. She allowed him to put his arms around her, but she just stood there, not responding.
“What’s the matter, baby?” he asked. “Are you all right?”
Victoria sighed and pulled away from him. She wrapped her arms around herself and paced the office that had once been her father’s domain. How she missed him.
“I’m just on overload right now, Rafael,” she said. “I’ve just come from the lawyer’s office where I learned even more stuff. My head is about to explode with all the twists and turns my life has taken this week. I swear, my life has turned into a bad movie, with me as the star, and you, you … I don’t know if you’re the villain or the hero.”
She sank into an overstuffed chair that had been her favorite since childhood. She hadn’t come to her dad’s “city office,” as she had thought of this room, very often, but when she did, she always wanted to sit in this particular chair. When she was small, it was a big, cozy chair in which she could cuddle up and feel safe while her mother and daddy talked. Today, she didn’t get that same safe feeling from the chair. Her life had just spiraled completely out of control.
Daddy wants me to marry Rafael, she thought to herself as she sat there looking at him. He didn’t really sell the business at all. And now it’s mine. What do I do with it? I’ll have to marry Rafael. He seems to know what he’s doing. Daddy must have thought so or he wouldn’t have let him keep it for him. Do I love Rafael enough to marry him? Does he love me? Or is he just after me because he wants the company? How will I know?
Rafael leaned against the large cherrywood desk that dominated the room. He wondered just how much the lawyer had told her. Was the secret out about the business? That it’s not really mine, but now it’s hers? Just how much did she know? Does she know that I promised David that I would do my best to court her and win her hand in marriage? Does she know that I’ve been in love with her since I was thirteen? If she knew about the arrangement, will she marry me out of duty, or the misguided notion that she must in order to maintain the business? Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we decide to deceive. Or however that little ditty goes, he thought.
“Rafael,” Victoria said at last, “why did you pick up on me at Daddy’s funeral?”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“Just what I said. “Why did you come on to me? Was it only because I’m David Thornton’s daughter and you thought if you could seduce me, you could retain control of the business?”
“Well, I’ll admit, yes. That was the initial reason that I asked you out. Well, that coupled with the fact that your dad had been talking you up to me for two or three years. I was curious to find out what all the hoopla about you was. If you were all he made you out to be,” Rafael confessed.
Victoria’s face crumpled and she put her head in her hands.
“But, that’s not the end of it, Vic,” he said.
He crossed the room to come and kneel on the carpet beside her chair.
“I did have ulterior motives at first, I admit it. But after the second date, all that went right out the window, because I knew just what your dad had been talking about all these years. You are the one for me. Victoria, I love you. I know we’ve only been seeing each other for a few days. But I’ve been watching and learning all about you for years.
“What you don’t know, is that I’ve been crazy about you since I was thirteen. I used to watch you when you would come here to see your dad. You didn’t know I existed, but I was totally smitten with your beauty. I didn’t know you as a person, but I had a major crush on you. And furthermore, this week has been so traumatic that I feel like we’ve become close much faster than if we’d have met under ordinary circumstances.”
Victoria searched Rafael’s eyes and saw that there was honesty, truth, and love there. So she figured that she may as well come clean, too.
“Well, I guess since it’s confession time, I may as well come clean, too,” she said. “The reason I went out with you is because Mother made me. She wanted me to find some dirt on you that she could use to take back Daddy’s company from you. She demanded that I keep seeing you until I found something. But after the second or third time with you, I knew there was nothing to find out. That is the main thing that sent Marian into the rages she had the past couple of days. I kept telling her that I couldn’t figure out what she wanted me to find. And that just made her mad.
“And another thing. After Mr. Hall told me about you a little while ago, I do remember seeing you around here when we were kids. But you’ve changed so much, that I had no idea you were that same kid,” Victoria told him.
“So I guess we both had our devious reasons for those first couple of dates, didn’t we?” he said.
“Yeah, but I won’t hold it against you, if you won’t hold it against me,” she said.
“The only thing I’m gonna hold against you is me,” Rafael said, putting his arms around her again.
This time she responded, putting her arms around him, too. They held each other for a long moment while Victoria let a few tears slide down her cheeks and onto his shoulder. He could feel her sobs as he held her close. When she got a hold of herself, she drew back a little ways from him.
“Rafael, we are coming into this relationship with a lot of baggage, both of us,” she said. “But if you’re willing to work at it, and work at it together, instead of letting things come between us, I am willing, too. I know that I already love you, and I don’t want to go through what lies ahead of me without you by my side. It’s not going to be easy. There’s a police investigation ahead. My mother is in a psych ward and will soon be tried for assaulting Lena and threatening you and Karen here, if not for Daddy’s murder. It’s not going to be fun. But I need you, Rafael, I need you. Will you be there for me?”
“Oh, yes, my beautiful Victoria,” he breathed. “I will be there every step of the way. Right beside you. I love you, babe, and I have for years.”
He drew his head back a bit and looked deeply into her eyes. Now? he wondered. Yes. He got up from his knees and walked over to the desk, opened the center drawer all the way and reached clear into the back of it and pulled out a tiny black velvet box. He closed it in his hand and went back over to where Victoria was still sitting.
Dropping to one knee, he took one of Victoria’s hands in his free hand, looked into her face and asked, “Victoria Thornton, will you marry me?”
He then opened his closed hand, revealing the small box. He opened it with his other hand, revealing a stunning diamond and sapphire wedding and engagement ring set. Victoria gasped as she saw the rings. They had belonged to her grandmother, her dad’s mother. She had seen them once or twice years ago on her sixteenth birthday. David had shown them to her privately, and told her that someday, when some young man asked for her hand in marriage, they would be hers.
Just
knowing that her dad had already trusted Rafael enough to give the rings to him, made her weep, aching for her great loss. How she wished her dad could be there. He would have been so pleased. His mother had died at an early age of cancer. Just before she died, she told David and his father that she wanted the rings to go to Victoria someday. She would wear them until she was dead, but then David’s father should take them off, as he was the one who put them on her, and then give them to David to keep until Victoria should become engaged.
“Oh, Rafael,” she said in a shaky voice. “My grandma’s rings. Daddy gave them to you for me, didn’t he? Of course, I’ll marry you. And not just because it was Daddy’s wish, but because I do truly love you.”
Rafael took the engagement ring out of the box and slipped it on Victoria’s finger. Then he pulled her to him and kissed her with all the pent-up love that he’d cherished for fifteen years. Now he had finally come clean about his long-standing feelings for her. Now he didn’t have to pretend that they had just met. Now he was free to love and cherish openly this woman that he had only fantasized about before. What a long way he’d come since he was that fat, pimply-faced juvenile who was practically scared of his own shadow.
He stood to his feet and pulled her up with him.
“It’s time to go, my love,” he said. “Let’s blow this pop stand. I want to take you out to the fanciest place in town to celebrate our engagement. What do you say?”
Victoria gave him a shaky smile.
“Well, I think I need to go home first and fix my face and try to find something suitable to wear. And don’t you need reservations for the fanciest place in town?”
“So we’ll settle for the second fanciest. How’s that?”
“Suits me. I’ll even settle for the third fanciest. I don’t even care about fancy. I got so turned off by high society by my mother’s trying to force me into that lifestyle that I’m more comfortable at a plain diner than at an elegant restaurant.”
The Perfect Revenge: The Couplete Series Page 20