Smokescreen

by Ahren Sanders

  Until the factory renovations were done, my association with JOS was mostly positive press releases and working with the community interest. Laci’s efforts had secured a few new clients and I was starting on their business projects next week. He was actually relieved I’d be stepping back because he felt my visibility was dangerous.

  We didn’t talk about business for the rest of the weekend, but enjoyed the time alone, the lake, and the solitude. Each night, we gave into the throes of passion and made love until we fell asleep with our bodies tangled. I hated to admit it but I woke up this morning filled with dread. Knowing we had to go back to the “real” world and things were changing scared me a little. After our boat ride around the lake this morning, we packed our bags in silence.

  “Bella, why so quiet?” He runs his fingers down my arms.

  “I’m sad to leave.”

  “We’ll come back anytime.”

  “Max, do you think things are going to change, now that we’re not working together every day?”

  “Change how?”

  “I’m probably being stupid, but I’m going to miss working on JOS, more importantly, working with you. Do you think our relationship will change?”

  “No.”

  “How can you be sure?”

  “For you to even ask tells me you’re not confident in the way I feel about you. Where’s this coming from?”

  I shrug. “I don’t know really. My mind is reeling with everything happening around us and my insecurities are coming through.”

  “I thought we’d established how deep my feelings are before we left on Friday. Remember ‘forever’ and ‘the rest of our lives’?”

  “Yes.” My confidence returns. “I do. Sorry for being an idiot.”

  “Move in with me, live with me and share my life. We’re practically living together now. Let’s make it official.” He turns me gently to face him.

  “W-w-what?”

  “You heard me. Move in for good.”

  “But I love my house. It’s a reflection of me.”

  “Make my place a reflection of you. Change anything you want. Add any touches. Whatever makes you comfortable.”

  “I think it’s too soon. And you just recently got rid of a woman in your place.”

  “That duration thing again? Thought we’d established time doesn’t matter. It’s how we feel about each other. And do we really want to bring her into this conversation?”

  “Why are we talking about this now? Did my lack of confidence force your hand?”

  “Nope, been wanting to ask since Friday night when we got here. But I knew you were processing everything. So I took the opportunity to seduce you all weekend, in hopes to wear you down so you couldn’t argue.”

  “I could argue with you even on my weakest day. It’s a specialty of mine,” I joke.

  “You’re also good at changing the conversation. Say yes.”

  “You didn’t ask a question.”

  “Stella,” he moans.

  I raise an eyebrow waiting.

  “Will you move in with me? Make my home our home?”

  Excitement and giddiness fills me inside and I nod my head smiling.

  Relief washes over his face and he picks me up, spinning us around.

  “This week?”

  “There’s a lot to look into.”

  “We’ll figure it out—together.”

  “Okay.”

  “Let’s go, we’re staying at your place tonight. Maybe we can take inventory of what you want to bring and I can arrange movers.”

  “Max! I still haven’t seen the entirety of your home. Give me some time.”

  “Nope, I want this official as soon as possible. We’ll go by tomorrow after work and I’ll show you the space you haven’t seen. You can rearrange and decorate anyway you like.” He lets go of me and I slide off his body.

  Without say anything else he grabs our bags and walks out, leaving me to follow. My mind starts to clear from my Max haze. Will I ever be able to tell this man no?

  “Any updates?” I question Jake as soon as he answers his phone.

  “Nothing substantial. Got locked into all her accounts, business and personal. Running a program to see if anyone is watching her movements through spending patterns. Did a walkthrough of her house, found a few windows that needed locks replaced, took care of it. Her car has a tracker now. Also, updated the software on her phone to include tracking. The footage from her office parking lot comes into a feed on my laptop. She’s taken care of.”

  “The others?”

  “That’s a whole other story. Edward spent the weekend at home. No extra-curricular activities so to speak.”

  “Is that unusual?”

  “Yeah, credit card patterns show a standing Saturday charge for a known escort service, but this weekend he never used his card. Also, he left his house four times and each time he went to your condo. Twice he went up and knocked, twice he watched for you. His phone records show him calling your mom and Dana.”

  “What the fuck?”

  “Don’t know, talk to them and tell me.”

  “Okay. Anything else?”

  “Maybe nothing but Erica spent the weekend at their place. Never going to her new condo. I’m not even sure she’s living there.”

  “I don’t give a fuck. As long as she’s out of my life.”

  “Thought so.”

  “You’ll meet me at Stella’s house in the morning?”

  “Yeah. See ya then.” He hangs up and I dial my mom immediately.

  “Maxwell. How was the weekend?”

  “Perfect. The place is solid. Needs a little touching up, but that’s for you and Stella. Lake was great, boat worked fine. How was your weekend?”

  “Great. But Edward called me on Saturday. He pretended to be checking in on me and invited me to his and Rita’s house for dinner. After a few minutes of awkward conversation, he asked if you were visiting this weekend. My response was vague about not knowing your plans. Why would he call here?”

  “He’s fishing, Mom. Last time I saw Erica I told her I was in a serious relationship. He’s curious. He’s not stupid, he knows it’s Stella, but he’s looking for a way to undermine her work. Linking her to me will give him ammunition if anything happens negatively with JOS.”

  Her laugh surprises me. “Yes, he is indeed stupid if he doesn’t know. I’m pretty sure anyone within one hundred feet of you and Stella would pick up on the relationship.”

  “Especially when she moves in with me next week.”

  “What?” There’s a screech behind me, scaring the shit out of me. One hand immediately goes to my pocket where I keep the small handgun.

  “Jesus Christ! Fuck, Laci! You can’t sneak up on people like that.”

  “Max!” my mom yells through the phone.

  “Sorry, Laci just appeared out of thin air. I’d better go.”

  “I expect a call tomorrow to explain in more details.”

  “Yep, love you.” I disconnect and catch Laci’s stare. She walks past me and into the house.

  “Stella Bella! Where are you?”

  “In the kitchen.”

  “Laci—” I try to stop her but her eyes slice to me in warning so I shut up.

  “You’re moving?” she questions Stella, whose face pales a bit at the surprise.

  “How did you know? I only decided two hours ago.”

  “That’s one hour and fifty-nine minutes you’ve had to call me. That’s what we do. We share everything. Instead I have to find out by eavesdropping on Max.”

  I growl and Stella sends me a concerned look, then she burst into laughter. Laci joins in and I cross my arms, waiting for the punch line.

  “Quit the dramatics, Lace, I was going to call you tonight.”

  “Ladies,” I warn causing them to quiet and focus on me with amused looks. “Care to share what’s so funny?”

  “Eavesdropping is Laci’s specialty. She’s perfected the art.”

  “Well, sh
ould we inform Laci that I carry a firearm at all times and her little stunt could have ended very differently?”

  “Come on, Stellax, lighten up. If you’d have been paying better attention, you’d have heard me drive up.”

  “Laci! I told you to never use that term again. It’s terrible.” Stella shakes her head.

  “Haven’t come up with anything better. Where’s some wine?”

  “I’ll get it,” I volunteer and move to the wine chiller. “You girls go sit, I’ll bring it in.”

  When I join them, Stella’s talking about our weekend and explaining every detail of my new place. Her excitement fills me with pride and I mentally think of the next weekend we can plan a getaway.

  They take their wine and I force myself in the small space behind Stella, eventually situating her onto my lap.

  “There are two other chairs in the room.” Laci points out.

  “Have at it,” I suggest and sip my scotch.

  “Ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous,” she murmurs and I grin.

  “Okay, so if you’re moving what are we doing about Brutus?”

  Stella goes still, and she shakes her head slightly.

  “Who’s Brutus?”

  “Brutus is Stella’s dog.”

  “Excuse me? Whose dog?”

  Stella twists so she can see both our faces. “Number one, I don’t have a dog. And if I did, she wouldn’t be named Brutus. Number two, I’ll just explain my living situation has changed. They’ll understand.”

  “One of you needs to explain this, because I’m completely fucking lost.”

  “Landon told us about some puppies found a few weeks ago. They’re at the Humane Society until they are ready for homes. I’ve been watching them, that’s all.”

  “Babe, you want a dog?”

  “Not now.”

  “Why not now?”

  “Because you’re place doesn’t have a yard. And all your stuff is so nice, it’s no place for a puppy. They’re known to ruin things.”

  “There’s an enormous courtyard on the left side of the property and a park across the street. And who cares if it ruins anything. It can be replaced.”

  “Dog’s need yards, Max.”

  “We’ll buy a house with a yard.”

  Laci chuckles.

  “Don’t be ridiculous.”

  “I’m not, you want a house with a yard, we’ll get one. I’ll move in here until we find something and—”

  “You’re crazy! I can’t believe you’re serious.”

  “Babe, get Brutus.”

  “Her name’s not Brutus!”

  “Whatever, get her. We’ll work it out.”

  She gives me a non-committal shrug and I catch Laci’s eye. She winks quickly and changes the subject. Looks like I’m adding an unexpected trip to the Humane Society to my schedule soon.

  The financials on my desk are proof that all the marketing and PR efforts we have loaded into JOS are helping every area of Hurst & McCoy. The endless phone calls, public appearances, and television interviews have paid off. Between being busy with all this shit, the construction crew on site has given me an update every twelve hours.

  Things are on track with everything except the mystery man who approached Stella. It’s a complete dead end. None of our people in South America are talking and Pedro hasn’t seen anything suspicious or out of the ordinary.

  It’s been two weeks since we got back from Lake Lanier and I’d give anything to be heading there again tonight. But instead, I have to go home and prepare Stella for the news I’m leaving for New York on Monday and then directly to the factory for a test run of the new equipment. It kills me to leave her, but we knew this may happen. Hopefully my surprise will help soften the blow.

  “Max?” Dana walks in and hands me an envelope, crossing her arms angrily.

  “What’s this?”

  “This is a series of invoices sent to Hurst & McCoy that are outstanding.”

  “Dana, why are you brining these to me?”

  “Because they’re all for Sullivan PR. I took the liberty of going into the A/P System and noticed there’s a flag on them to halt any outgoing payment.”

  “What?”

  “You heard me.”

  “You mean nothing has been paid? Not even the retainer?”

  “Nothing.”

  “What the fuck?”

  “I’ll give you one guess. So I took the liberty of scheduling a call for you in five minutes with the Accounting Manager and CFO.”

  “This is tens of thousands of dollars. Why didn’t I know?” I thumb through the invoices.

  “Laci said Stella’s concerned because of your relationship.”

  “Bullshit! This is her business. She gave us weeks of uninterrupted dedication. Other clients sat on the back burner. I can’t believe she didn’t mention we weren’t paying her. This must be why Edward has been avoiding me.”

  The phone at her desk rings and she backs away. “They’re a few minutes early, but you need to handle this and then you have that other appointment.”

  I nod in understanding and sit back to wait for her to transfer the call. As soon as it rings through, I press the speaker button and bark, “McCoy!”

  “Max, this is Grant and I have Brenda, the Accounting Manager here with me.” Grant sounds nervous. He’s been the CFO for years, even before my dad died, and we’ve always worked well together. Hell, he even helped me hide the declining profits a few months ago. But I’m pissed and he has to have seen this oversight.

  “Grant, I suspect you know what I have on my desk?”

  “I’ve recently been made aware. But we’re in a difficult situation. Funds to Sullivan PR have been restricted until approval by the board. Edward sent the memo himself. Your initials are actually on the signature line.”

  Dana rushes in and her face is red. “I never approved this and I’m instructing you to pay seventy-five percent of these invoices tonight. I’ll have Dana draft a new and updated memo and include the entire board, executive staff, and mid-level managers. It’s not just this one vendor, how many more are we holding payment on?”

  Silence.

  “Grant?”

  “None, sir, just Sullivan PR.”

  “Don’t worry about transferring the funds to the business account. Have a check cut in in ten minutes and in my office. I’ll deliver it myself. I’ll be out of the office the next few weeks, but Dana will schedule a time when I return for a one-on-one between us. This is unacceptable.”

  I press the off button before either can respond. Dana shakes her head and gives me a sympathetic look, then goes back to her desk. Within five minutes, a memo comes through for approval. It basically states, that any restrictions on payments to any vendors will now come directly from me and will include a full explanation of delay. I approve.

  Five minutes later, Grant walks in looking ashamed. He hands me an envelope and I open to confirm the right amount.

  “Max, I’m in a bind here. It’s a power play between you and Edward and I have a whole department scared to lose their jobs. Brenda was only doing what she was told.”

  “Didn’t you think it was odd that the restriction to pay invoices was on the one company helping us save our reputation?”

  “Yeah, but honestly, I saw your initials and thought you approved.”

  “I’d never withhold payment to a vendor for an ongoing job.”

  “Is it true? Do you have a vested interest in this specific vendor?” he asks quietly.

  “If you’re trying to chase the rumor patrol, I won’t dignify with an answer. But if you’re asking if I am making sure a small business that has done a tremendous job is getting paid, then yes.”

  He nods and walks out as I grab my coat and my things. Dana hands me a folder on my way out with several copies of my itinerary and wishes me luck.

  When I get to the waiting car, I wish I drove today. Sitting and stewing in the backseat of the town car makes me more furious.

  Whe
n we drive up to the Humane Society, a small group of volunteers are outside with dogs and I look to see if one of them is Brutus. I snicker at the fucking name but it grew on me. When the receptionist sees me, her eyes grow wide with recognition. She picks up the phone and speaks softly then sends me a bashful smile.

  A second later a small voice behind me calls, “Mr. McCoy?”

  “Max, please.” I turn to the woman and shake her hand.

  “I’m Tanya, the Director here. Please follow me.”

  We go into a small room and in one corner is a cage with the slate grey puppy I’ve been watching for the last two weeks looking at me with trepidation. Instead of sitting in the chair, I drop to my knees and slowly put my fingers through the cage hoping to calm her. She backs away at first and then sniffs each finger before licking them.

  “Hey there, little Brutus,” I say softly and her tail wags.

  “You’ve already named her?” Tanya asks.

  “No, it’s a nickname. Stella will name her.”

  “I’d really have liked to meet Stella. She’s been so attentive to this puppy litter and their health.”

  “I’ll send her in to meet you, but thanks for allowing this.”

  “It’s a really sweet gesture. Hopefully it will be well received.”

  “It will, she has no idea I get to pick her up today. Everyone is in on the surprise but her.”

  “Mr. McCoy, I hate to be tacky, but your presence at this shelter is a really big deal. Can I take a picture for our brag wall?”

  “No.”

  “Okay, I understand.”

  “No, I will send you a picture of me and Stella with the puppy for your brag wall. You can name both of us. But I want her to be a part of it. This is for her.”

  Tanya’s face lights up and she nods quickly. “Of course. That would be wonderful.”

  “Can we open the gate now?”

  She rushes forward and lifts the latch and in an instant, the puppy is in my arms, licking me.

  “You have everything you need from me right? I can walk out this door with Brutus?”

  “Yes, sir. And thank you for the generous donation. It will go a long way in helping other animals not as lucky as her to be adopted.”

  “Thank you for your help. Stella will be in touch.” I lean back and stand with the squirmy puppy in my arms.