“Are you serious?” Travis asked in disbelief.
“I am. And I know I can’t prove it, but I really think he sabotaged my report. A mistake like that was sure to get me fired. And now ...” Her voice trailed off.
“And now he has come in to save the day for you. He’s moved you up here to Silvermont and is taking care of your every need,” Travis said.
“I am beginning to think I was set up,” Beryl realized.
“Me too,” Travis agreed.
“But why?” Beryl said. “And why me?”
Travis had some ideas, but again didn’t want to get Beryl too riled up. “Beryl, do you trust me?”
“Huh?”
“I mean do you really trust me, when it comes down to it? Do you know that I would never intentionally do you or the boys any harm?”
“Yes, Travis.”
Travis thought about it. It was Friday and if they didn’t act today they’d have to wait until Monday to activate the plan that was quickly starting to form in his head. “I am going to tell you something and I want you to just trust me. Don’t ask too many questions, just trust me. I’ll explain everything else later.”
“Okay,” Beryl said. He could tell she was resigned to the thought.
“Tomorrow, as soon as Darrin leaves the house, I want you to gather any and everything that is important to you and put it in the trunk of your car. Important papers, mementos, and things like that. Not everything will fit. You are going to have to leave most of your things behind,” Travis said.
“Huh, what? What do you mean? What are you talking about?” Beryl asked.
“Trust me, Beryl. Don’t ask so many questions,” Travis said.
“Okay, okay,” Beryl said.
“Not everything will fit, so think about all the things that will fit and stuff them in the trunk. Don’t try to pack anything in plain sight in the car that Darrin will see. You got that?” Travis asked to make sure Beryl was listening to everything he was saying.
“Yes, I got it,” Beryl said.
“Okay. Go about your regular routine tomorrow, picking up the boys and all, and go back home.”
Beryl began to speak. “How do you know what my regular—”
Travis cut her off. “Listen, Beryl, Darrin might wake up at any time.”
Beryl stopped talking to listen again.
Travis continued, “After you have been home for about twenty minutes I want you to call Darrin at work. Not on his cell phone. Call him at work to make sure he is there. Ask him something you would normally ask him. The main thing is to make sure he is actually at work.”
“Okay,” Beryl said.
“Once you have confirmed he is at work, then you put the boys in the car and you leave and take them out of there. Drive to 122 Sycamore Street; it is where I live. There will be a key under the front doormat. Get the key. Open the door and the garage from the inside and park your car in there and close the garage back down.”
“But Travis—”
Travis cut her off again. “Beryl, did you get all that?”
“Yeah, pack in the morning, go about my regular routine, make sure Darrin is at work, and leave.”
“Yes, leave and go straight to 122 Sycamore Street. There will be a key for you. And then wait for me until I get there,” Travis said.
“Darrin will have a fit if he comes home and doesn’t find us there,” Beryl said.
“Beryl, do you hear yourself? Why would Darrin have a fit?”
“Because he ... he ... he just would. He wants to know where I am at all times,” Beryl said.
“Do not, under any circumstance, call him after you have pulled out of that driveway or answer any of his calls.”
“I don’t know, Travis,” Beryl said.
“Well I do know, Beryl.”
“What if Darrin—”
“Don’t worry about Darrin. I will take care of him. Please just trust me on this. Can you do that for me?” Travis asked.
“Yes, I can do that,” Beryl replied. Travis could hear what sounded like relief in Beryl’s voice.
“Okay, good. Now go ahead and go back to bed before Darrin wakes up. I’ll see you tomorrow evening.”
“Okay,” Beryl said.
“And, Beryl, if anything goes wrong, call me.”
“I will. Bye,” Beryl said.
“Bye, Beryl,” Travis said.
Chapter 27
On Friday, October 28, Travis went to work early as he always did. He was glad that they were in between training classes, because he didn’t know how well he would have been able to give his full attention to a class of eager learners. As soon as he had gotten to work he let Kevin know that he needed to get off a little early.
After getting off the phone the night before with Beryl, Travis thought about what he would do that next day. He’d come up with a plan. If his plan went well, by nightfall both he and Beryl would be able to breathe and sleep a lot easier.
All the way up until he left work at three o’clock, Travis hoped he wouldn’t get a call from Beryl saying that she had changed her mind or that something had gone wrong. The one time his cell phone had rung, it had ended up being a telemarketer calling to ask him survey questions. He’d told the guy that he was at work and to please take his name off of the telemarketing list.
By 3:03, he was pulling out of the parking lot of his job. By 3:25 he was pulling up to the same place he’d pulled up to the day before in front of Cameron’s school. He didn’t see any sign of Darrin, but he did see Beryl sitting in the car pool line waiting for school to be let out. He wondered if Darrin was somewhere else lurking or if he only picked certain days to follow Beryl around.
When Beryl left the school she went straight to pick Jayden up from daycare. This time he did actually see Darrin parked on a side street as he drove by him. Travis had ended up driving on past him in hopes that Darrin hadn’t recognized his car. But he figured with the tinted windows he had and Darrin’s pompous attitude, he wouldn’t notice someone like him in his ordinary car.
After picking up Jayden, Beryl stopped by a Walgreens store. She stayed in there for a few minutes; then she headed home. Just as he had done the previous day, Darrin followed Beryl all the way home, then continued driving and went to his office.
If the plan went right on Beryl’s end, then she would be leaving the house in a few minutes. Now Travis had to commence with the other part of the plan. Travis sat outside of Darrin’s office building and waited fifteen minutes before getting out of his car.
He stepped into the foyer of the office building and looked at the information sign that listed all of the businesses housed in the building. Travis found what he was looking for, which read Excel Investing, Inc. It was on the second floor, in suite 208. Travis stepped into the elevator. As he pushed the button for the second floor, he took a deep breath. His heart was beating like crazy. The last time he was this pumped up and nervous was when he and his teammates stepped onto the field his senior year and competed for the football state championship for the 2A division. That day the state championship had been on the line. Today his family’s life was on the line.
As soon as Travis stepped off the elevator, suite 208 was right in front of him. He stepped into the door of the office and was greeted by the receptionist.
“Hi, sir. How can I help you?” the woman said.
“Yes, I am here to see Mr. Hobbs.”
“Oh,” the woman said. She looked down at a calendar. “Do you have an appointment?”
“No, I don’t. And Mr. Hobbs isn’t expecting me, but I am here to see him about a very urgent matter.”
“Oh, okay. Let me see if he’ll be able to see you. What is your name?”
“Mr. Highgate.”
“Okay, Mr. Highgate, please have a seat and I’ll check for you.”
Travis took a seat in the waiting area. The office was nice, filled with high-end furniture, abstract art, and piped-in parlor music. It looked as if Darrin really had it going
on—on the outside, that is. But on the inside, Travis knew the brother just wasn’t right.
He sat and waited almost ten minutes when he stood up to ask the receptionist what was going on. As he did he saw Darrin strolling down the hall toward the waiting area. He was looking at some papers in his hand as if they were important.
“Ah, Travis. How can I help you?” Darrin’s question sounded snide. There was a cockiness and arrogance in Darrin’s voice and demeanor that Travis didn’t like one bit.
“I need to talk to you, Darrin,” Travis said. Darrin had chosen to call Travis by his first name so he in turn did the same. If Darrin wasn’t going to give him the common courtesy of speaking to him in a professional manner, then he wouldn’t either.
“Normally I don’t see people without an appointment. My receptionist can set one up for you if you’d like,” Darrin said. His voice dripped with condescension.
“Well I think you’ll want to make an exception for me.” Travis looked over at the receptionist. “You can write me in as a walk-in.”
When he looked back at Darrin, he could have sworn he saw the man sneer for a millisecond at the receptionist.
“Really, Mr. Highgate, I have some business matters I need to attend to. This is very inconvenient for me,” Darrin said.
“Oh, it’s Mr. Highgate now? Make up your mind,” Travis said.
“Excuse me?” Darrin asked.
“Look, I know what kind of business you attend to; and, believe me, I am not here for your convenience.”
Travis noticed a couple of Darrin’s other employees look out of their offices into the hall to see what was going on. And Darrin noticed it too.
“We can talk out here, or we can talk in your office, it’s up to you. But believe me, we will talk,” Travis said.
Darrin looked around as a couple more of his employees poked their heads out of their offices. Although the receptionist wasn’t looking directly at them, Travis knew she was taking in every word. He also knew that whenever he and Darrin were out of earshot they would be talking about the altercation their boss was having with a client.
Darrin turned his attention to the receptionist. “Amanda, hold all my calls.” Then he turned his attention back to Travis. “Right this way, Mr. Highgate.” He gestured for Travis to walk in front of him.
“No, you first,” Travis said. He had no intention of getting stabbed in the back while walking down the hall.
Travis followed Darrin into the office. Once both men were inside, Darrin closed the door with a little more force than Travis thought necessary.
Darrin walked behind his desk and stood. Travis took a seat in one of the client chairs.
“Travis, I really don’t know what I can help you with here. We help people with investments. If you want to open up a savings or checking account, you’ll need to go to a local bank.”
Darrin’s snide remark hadn’t escaped Travis. There was no doubt Beryl had told him about their financial situation during their marriage. If she did then she would have also told him that Travis didn’t have a savings or checking account in good standing. But that was then and this was now. It all was irrelevant because Travis wasn’t there to talk about his finances with the man anyway. He wasn’t going to let Darrin get under his skin, either.
Darrin sat down in his office chair. “You probably don’t have an investment portfolio. So if you don’t have any investments, then I really don’t see why you are here. I can’t help you.” He sat back in the chair.
Travis sat up. “I’ve got stock in BCJ. I’ll bet you don’t know anything about that.”
“BCJ, what kind of stock is that? Must be some kind of petty stock in some little company that no one has ever heard of.” Darrin laughed.
“No, it is a family stock. Beryl, Cameron, and Jayden stock. I’ve been investing in them for years,” Travis said.
Darrin laughed again. Travis didn’t see a thing that was funny.
“That’s funny because that’s not what I heard. I heard you wanted part of your stock to take care of you. You haven’t been taking care of your family.” Darrin shook his head. “Man, you’re a joke. Coming in here like you’ve really got something that’s worth hearing.” Darrin looked at his watch. “Stop wasting my time.”
“I knew I didn’t like you from the first time I saw you,” Travis said.
Darrin picked a piece of imaginary lint off of his dress shirt sleeve and then wiped his sleeve off. “I can’t help what you like and don’t like. But I know what Beryl likes. All the things you can’t give her.”
“You don’t really care about Beryl. And you don’t really care about my two boys. All you want is a ready-made family, like they will complete the happy little American dream you’ve got going on,” Travis said.
“Again, like I said, Beryl likes it and that is all that matters.”
Travis looked at his own watch. “Look, just like you, I don’t have a lot of time to waste either. Wasting time is not a hobby of mine.”
“Like you really have somewhere you need to go. To watch a movie, huh?” Darrin smirked.
“No, I have to go to work,” Travis said.
Darrin clapped his hands. “Well congratulations, Travis.” Darrin looked around as if looking for something. “I wish I had a bottle of champagne or something to celebrate this momentous occasion. How long are you going to keep this job?”
“Not that it is one bit of your business, but I have two jobs. I work hard every day,” Travis said.
“Again, congratulations.” Darrin’s voice was full of sarcasm. “Well don’t let me hold you.” Darrin stood. “I’d like to say it was a pleasure speaking with you but it wasn’t.”
Travis continued to sit as Darrin walked to his office door.
“Oh yeah, and, Travis, don’t you ever come to my place of business again with this nonsense of yours.” Darrin opened the door so Travis could leave.
Travis didn’t move. “You might wanna close that door back. That is unless you want to give all your employees more to talk about. I’m not finished talking to you.”
Darrin took Travis’s advice and closed the door. He then walked over to the window in his office. “You know, Travis, you are like a pesky little gnat that just won’t go away.”
“Bzzzz, bzzzzz,” Travis said.
Darrin picked up the phone on his desk. “Travis, you have one minute to get out of my office or I am calling security.”
“Hang the phone up, Darrin. Give me five minutes and I’ll be out of your way.”
Darrin hung the phone back up. Travis figured the man didn’t want his employees to see him as anything other than Mr. Perfect.
“I came here to tell you to leave Beryl and my boys alone,” Travis said.
“Okay, get out. I’m not leaving Beryl alone. Beryl wants me. She doesn’t want you anymore. It is just that plain and simple so give it up, Travis,” Darrin said.
“She won’t like you when I tell her you’ve been following her around almost every day, watching her every move and the boys’ every move,” Travis said.
Darrin cocked his head and stared at Travis.
“And I’d bet she’d love to hear about your criminal history of abusing women,” Travis gloated.
Travis could tell he’d hit some sore spots with Darrin. Darrin narrowed his eyes and looked at Travis in disbelief.
“And oh, I just bet she would love to hear how you set her up for the fall at work and got her fired, with your fake complaint calls and the report you altered.”
“Who in the ... How in the ...” Darrin was at a loss for words.
“Do you know the thing about gnats? Gnats can be everywhere. They can get into the smallest of places and find out many things. And you’re right; they can be very pesky as well.”
“Have you been following me around?” Darrin asked.
“Who’s following who, huh?”
Even though Travis had only seen Darrin follow Beryl for two days, he figured the man had been
doing it for a while, and it seemed as though his bluff was working.
“How do you think Beryl is going to react when she hears all of this?”
“She won’t believe you.”
Now Darrin was fishing for information, so Travis gave it to him.
“Oh, I’ve got proof, especially pictures with dates and timestamps of you following Beryl around. And it’s not like there is more than one person driving around here in a black Lexus with plates that say EXCEL.”
“I can’t believe you—”
“Again, I don’t have a lot of time. I promised I’d be out of here in five minutes.” Travis stood. “Listen to me and listen to me well. Leave Beryl and my boys alone. Do not bother them or call them or try to see them. As a matter of fact, just forget that you ever knew them,” Travis said.
“Yeah, right, I hear you,” Darrin said.
“You’d better be hearing me because if I see or hear otherwise, I will put all of your business on blast. I’ll tell your brothers in your fraternity and I’ll tell the people at Carson State University who gave you that civic award last year about how you like to stalk women in your free time. And I’ll tell anyone who works for you and anyone else who will listen. Social networking is a great way to contact thousands of people and I’ll even purchase that billboard across the street if I need to.”
Darrin slammed his fist on the desk. “You do that and I’ll sue you for slander and defamation of character.”
“You can’t sue me for telling the truth, and hey, if you do, so what? Like you’ve said before, I’ve got nothing to lose.” Travis folded his arms. “Just think of how bad you will look. And think of how many customers you will lose.”
Travis could tell that Darrin was taking all of what he was saying into consideration.
“Do yourself a huge favor. Follow my advice and leave Beryl and the boys alone. Find someone else to use to check off the wife and kids on that life list you’ve got, because when it comes to Beryl and the boys, they are already spoken for.”
Travis put two fingers up, one at a time as if counting. “So you’ve got a choice, you can take the easy way out and follow my directions or you can take the hard way.”
The Marrying Kind Page 19