We make some polite chit-chat for a few moments, and then we get into the details. “Do you have the pictures the lawyer was sent?”
“I do.” Erin slides them over to me.
“Do we know if these were taken the same day as the ones of Judge Williams?”
“I ran the dates you sent me by her, and we think so.”
“Maureen believes that beyond Judge Williams, Joshua Applegate with California Alcohol and Beverage, Nicholas Garamaldi, the founder of a poker gaming app, and Felicity Newsome, the head of the teachers union, may be plausible candidates for blackmail. All three were here the same three nights.”
Erin sits back in her chair. “If this gets out, it will ruin me.”
I know she’s right, and it will force people into the deep-underground clubs, which aren’t regulated or as safe. “We’ve got that covered,” I assure her. I clear my throat. “In addition, we’ve discovered that two of your employees had significant deposits into their bank accounts in the last few weeks.”
Erin looks up at me, tears pooling into her eyes. “Who is it?”
I reach for her hand. “Don’t trust anyone right now. If it’s who we’ve identified, they’re close to you. We can’t confirm quite yet, but two people each received twenty-five-thousand-dollar deposits that coincide with the dates on the photos. We’re tracing the deposits now. I suspect we’ll have that information no later than tomorrow.”
“Two people?” Erin chokes back the tears. “What do I do?”
“Once we confirm who was behind the scheme, we’ll turn it over to the FBI. I have a contact in the US Attorney’s office, and he’ll help us broker this. Extortion is a federal offense, and coming down on them hard will do two things. It will show your employees that if they’re ever approached to do something like this, they should report it immediately because they’ll end up going to jail. And, most importantly, it will show your clients that you don’t tolerate this kind of behavior, and their personal lives are to remain personal.”
She nods and looks out the window. “I can’t tell you how disappointed I am that people I’ve trusted could do this to a place they claim to love.”
I sigh. “I think that will be a great question for them. But I urge you to hold back on confronting anyone for now. You need to work as normal, and we need to finish the last few steps. We want to be sure the money in these accounts didn’t come from a family member or something else. And ultimately, we want to find out who’s behind the blackmail scheme.”
“Okay.” Erin sits for a few moments, looking devastated. She’s spent the last decade building The Dungeon. She has a private investor.
We wrap up, and Bash walks me back to the waiting car. “How are you doing?”
“I feel a little like Erin does.” I sigh as I step around the hordes of people on the sidewalk. “Overwhelmed and overworked.”
“I can think of something that will relax you.”
Who can resist that handsome face? I smile. “Maybe later.”
Chapter 19
Bash
It’s been a crazy week, but I’ve done my best to get Fiona out of her office each night before eight. Twelve-hour days are long enough. After cleaning on and off for five days, her office still isn’t back to where it was before the police came in and tore up the place, but she’s given in to leaving on time when I press hard enough. We’ve fallen into a nice routine of quiet dinners and making love each night.
There’s been some fallout over the police in her offices, and lawyers across the City are demanding answers from the DA and the Chief of Police. All three officers involved have been put on unpaid administrative leave. Jim and I believe that Wang-Fang is going to make this ugly, so we’ve stepped up our vigilance and protection of Fiona and her team.
Tonight, however, is the Clear Security holiday party at the W Hotel in SoMa. Stella has spent the week putting the final touches on everything. We have team members flying in from all sorts of faraway places, including Las Vegas, New York City, and London. I’m excited to see them. This is the only time of year we can get together, and we’re not even all here. That’s the hard part of being a twenty-four/seven business year-round.
Despite all the stress, Fiona seems in a good mood as we prepare to go and head out to the waiting car.
Upon arrival at the party, we’re each handed a gift bag but asked not to open it.
“What do you think it is?” I ask.
Fiona holds hers up. “Air?”
I reach for hers, and the weight is much different. “They’re definitely not the same.”
Vincent leans in and winks at Fiona. “They’re all different and sealed tight.”
What is he doing here and why is he flirting with my woman? My woman? I’ve never had a jealous bone in my body, so this thought stuns me a bit.
Vincent bends down and gives Fiona a hug that lasts a few moments too long. “Joyeux Noel, ma belle.”
Fiona giggles, and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
“Vincent, you’re quite a flirt,” she says.
Stella walks up. “Have you guys seen the photo booth? It’s entertaining.” She grabs Fiona and me and drags us over. “Be the first so people will see it’s fun.
I salute Stella. “Yes, ma’am.”
She gives me a look. “You can call me general.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll have fun with the photos.” I’d love some naked ones—this could be a blast.
“They’ll be posted for all to see later tonight,” Stella warns as she walks away. “No mushroom caps!”
I cringe. I’m glad she told me.
Fiona laughs. “She reads you like an old book.”
Fiona takes my hand and pulls me into the photo booth. We read the directions. We have fifteen seconds between pictures, and they’ll take four shots.
“Should we come up with a plan?” she asks.
“You’re in charge. I just follow.”
She chuckles. “We’ll return to that tonight at home, but let’s say the first one is serious—like the farmer couple by Grant Wood. The second should be a cute one. I can put my head on your shoulder and you look at me. What do you think?”
“I’d like a copy of that picture,” I tell her.
“The third should be us with funny faces, and the fourth a makeout pic. Does that work for you?”
“I’d be good with mushroom caps.”
“I have a feeling they’ll know it’s you. And that would mean you’d be unemployed.” Fiona steps in so only I can hear. “They’d all be jealous because you’re so hung.”
I love this woman. Wait. Love? Slow your roll, Bash.
“I know you think I need help,” she continues, “but it would be a significant pay cut to come work for me.”
“We can discuss payment terms later,” I assure her.
We sit for our first picture with no smiles. For the second, we put our heads together and grin. For the third, Vincent sticks his head in, and we’re all laughing. And with the fourth, we make out. So much for our planning. We continue to make out long after the flashes have stopped.
Vincent sticks his head back in the booth. “There’s a line, and your pictures are ready,” he reports.
We break apart. “Sorry, dude.”
“Fiona, care to join me for my pictures?” Vincent asks.
She looks at the two blondes with him. “I think you’ve got it covered.”
I grab the pictures from the slot, and they really are pretty good. Moments later, I see them on a screen behind the stage. “I’m happy now that we didn’t do any groping or mushroom caps.”
Fiona is all grins, and I love that she’s so relaxed.
Next in the slideshow are pictures of Stella and her team. And then we see Stella holding her belly with Gage’s head on her lap. It’s adorable, actually.
We wander the party with our gift bags and take in all the festivities. Most people know Fiona and stop to chat with her. She’s like an adopted member of
our team.
When we enter the dining room for dinner, our gift bags indicate our table and seat numbers. I thought Fiona and I had the same bag number because we checked in together.
“Isn’t Stella creative?” Fiona says.
I nod. She’s right.
“This party is spectacular,” Kate announces as she and Jim approach the table. She leans over to Fiona. “Did you see those pictures of Stella and Gage?”
“I know,” Fiona says. “Adorable.”
They continue to talk, and I roll my eyes at Jim.
“Women,” he says. “Can’t live with them, but I would never want to live without them.”
I lift my beer bottle. “I’m right there with you.”
Gage approaches the table, and the girls fawn all over him. He seems very excited. He tells them he has a surprise for Stella later. “And if it doesn’t work out, I may be looking for a place to stay for a while,” he says.
“There are bunks at the office,” I remind him.
“Those are full tonight with everyone in town.”
“I thought Stella made arrangements for rooms?”
“She did, but even after a thousand warnings, a lot of people still missed the date and had no place to stay. Next year they’ll know better.”
Jim shakes his head. “These are guys who can’t be allowed to make their own decisions. Next year, we just tell them they have a room booked and it’ll be deducted from their year-end bonus.”
Stella walks up. “That sounds like a great idea. I wonder where I heard that before? Oh yeah! Me! That’s what I was asking for but couldn’t get an answer.” She looks between me and Fiona as if to say, See what I’m dealing with?
“Have a seat with us girls and we’ll team up on the clueless men,” Fiona tells her.
“Fuck, we’re in trouble,” I say.
“And you had to bring the ringleader,” Gage says, looking at me.
“Hey. You got the ringmistress pregnant,” I remind him.
“I did, and it was fantastic.”
Fiona scowls and covers her ears, turning away. She’s still a closet Catholic.
Jim holds up his hands. “I’m leaving in three weeks for three months. Are you guys going to be able to handle this?”
I look at him. “Of course we are.”
“Then stop measuring your dicks and tell me what’s going on with Fiona.” He gives me a pointed look.
I look over, and Fiona’s safely engrossed in a conversation with the women. “The IRA stuff is quiet, but it will get busy after her dad passes.”
“We’ll need to increase her protection.”
“If I have my way, she’ll still be living with me. After that asshole jerked off in her bed, she moved a bunch of her shit into my place.”
“You’re okay with that?” Jim cocks his head.
“I’ve never been happier.”
Jim nods. “Okay then. What about the other issues going on?”
“Hunter Anderson’s case looks like it’s close to being pushed over to Damien Lewis. And research on the blackmail scheme at The Dungeon is coming along. Gage has been working with Maureen, and they seem to be playing nicely.”
“We have different skill sets, and we’re at a point where we can appreciate each other,” Gage says.
“Keep the relationship positive,” Jim reminds him.
“Already done,” Gage says.
Stella hops up and walks to the microphone, where she gets everyone’s attention. “Tonight, dinner is a standing rib roast, roasted heirloom potatoes, sautéed Brussels sprouts, and there should be bottles of red and white wine from the Bellissima vineyards on your table. After dinner, we’ll have a few words from our fearless leader and a few announcements. Make sure you leave room for a champagne toast and birthday cake. After that, we’ll be working off this big meal with a scavenger hunt. And before you think about cutting out early, everyone who finishes will get a cash reward, but the winners will receive a ten-thousand-dollar bonus.”
The room goes crazy. These guys make some serious cash, but that’s incentive enough to keep them involved and not just drinking and getting into trouble. Once again, Stella’s a genius.
***
After we’ve finished our amazing meal, Stella returns to the microphone. “I’d now like to have Jim say a few words,” she announces.
I look around, and the crowd has to be almost two hundred people. Jim looks over at Kate, and she’s beaming.
He steps to the center of the stage. “I can’t tell you what it means to be standing here in front of all of you today,” he begins. “You all know the history, and it’s because of you that we’ve grown as we have. We don’t advertise. We just work well with our clients, and they refer us. Tonight is my way of saying thank you. And, although I’m the head of this crazy group of people, I would be lost without my wife, Kate.”
Kate stands and blows him a kiss. The crowd whoops, and we all laugh.
“I’d also like to point out Sebastian Pontius and Gage Eaton,” Jim continues. “Not only have we built this amazing company together, but when I called Gage for our very first job, he drove down from Portland in a piece-of-shit van, and inside was this tiny little thing. Yes, I’m talking about Stella. She’s the glue to our organization. So, thank you, Stella. As you all know, Kate and I are taking a break for a few months, and we’ll be back in March. If I’m lucky, Kate will be pregnant when we return.”
The crowd goes crazy again. Kate has a giant grin and shakes her head.
“But in the meantime, I’ll have Bash, Gage, and Stella holding down the fort. What they say goes. So remember that.”
The waitstaff has been passing out glasses of champagne and birthday cake.
When everyone is ready, Jim continues. “A toast to another ten years of Clear Security,” he says. “Thank you for all your help in getting here.”
“Cheers,” echoes around the crowd.
Quickly, I walk up to the mic. “You missed someone,” I whisper in Jim’s ear.
“I did?” He looks terrified.
I take the mic and look out across the room. It’s full of former soldiers and Marines. Very few get into our line of work who haven’t been in the military. “Jim, I’m speaking on behalf of everyone here. Without you and your guidance, and the work you’ve given us, we’d likely be homeless veterans. You’ve provided us with a home—not just a job. To Jim!”
Everyone rises to their feet, whooping and hollering. The applause is almost deafening.
Once things quiet down, Stella begins a slideshow of the pictures everyone took in the photo booth. Two images pop up side by side. One is a mushroom cap pic. Stella leans into the microphone. “James Holiday, you’ve got nothing to brag about. Next time put it away.”
Everyone laughs, and he’s a bright shade of crimson.
Then there’s a picture of Gage’s girls holding up a sign that says, “We love our daddy.”
Then there’s Stella holding up a sign that says, “I love you, Gage.”
The next picture shows her with the girls. Their sign says, “Will you marry me?”
Gage stands up and yells, “Yes! I’ve only asked you a thousand times.”
The crowd goes crazy, and they embrace.
After a moment, Stella wipes her fingers under her eyes. “All right, everyone. If you didn’t already notice, everyone at your table has the same color gift bag. Inside the bags is a group of clues. Now figure it out.” She looks at her watch. “It’s eight o’clock. You have to be back by ten.”
The room erupts in conversation. The teams scurry around, and soon they’re all gone, except our table.
“I couldn’t figure out a way for our table to compete,” Stella says with a shrug. “I hope you don’t mind just hanging out for a little while.”
Fiona hugs Stella. “You’re amazing. And congratulations!”
“Aw, thanks. He stopped asking, so I figured it was my turn. If he’d told me no, I’d have been a puddle of tear
s.”
“I’ve loved you for so long, baby.” Gage takes a ring from his pocket. “I was going to ask you in front of everyone tonight. You just beat me to it. I’m so happy we’re finally doing this.”
Kate takes Stella’s hand. “I beg you to wait until we’re back.”
“Oh, don’t you worry. I want to wear a pretty dress and not look like a whale. You’ll probably have a baby before we have a wedding.”
We all talk for a while, and then Jim pulls Fiona away from the table for a long conversation. I want to be present and assure her that I’ll be there for her, but I don’t want to put any pressure on her.
A little while later, the first group returns with photographs of all the required items.
“Very clever,” Fiona says as she looks over their work.
They’ve laid it all out on their table, and I can see a picture of the top of the tree in Union Square, a decorated cable car, the lights on the Bay Bridge, the shops in the Castro lit up, the tree decorated with bongs in the Haight, the Palace of Fine Arts garland and twinkle lights, and the menorah in front of the Congregation Emanu-El with the first three candles lit. As required, each picture has everyone at the table in it.
“You did a fantastic job with this,” Fiona tells her.
Stella glows. “Thanks. Sometimes the new guys take for granted all the work I do for them, but the old guard? They know.” She grins big. “So, you and Bash?”
My ears perk up, though I keep myself angled toward Gage. Now I’m going to get a real scoop.
Fiona shrugs. “It’s fun. I don’t expect it will last long, but we’ll enjoy it while we can.”
What? While it lasts? Why is there an expiration date?
“Come on,” Stella says. “I’ve never seen Bash like this. Usually if he brings a date, he’s hardly interested in her. He’s over there pretending not to listen to this conversation right now.”
I’m caught, so I turn to look at her. “You know me so well, Stella. I can see this lasting a while, and we will have lots of fun.”
Fiona blushes and looks at me through her eyelashes. We will be discussing this later.
Unwrapped: Clear Security's Holiday (Clear Security Holiday Book 2) Page 14