by Nick James
“Well, it killed Addison Denton, for Christ sake.”
“Yes, and it could have been, should have been, you. You’re the one they wanted to get. Let’s remember to count our blessings here, Bobby. After all, I could be having this conversation with Miss Denton right now instead of you.”
“I had the police in my office. They just left about fifteen minutes ago.”
“Detectives Woodley and Carrick, I believe.”
Bobby glanced at Luis, but didn’t say anything.
“We still want to know you’re safe. No harm in watching. How did the interview go?”
“Well, I guess given the circumstances…”
“What are they going to do? Arrest you because someone tried to kill you? What is the term, they’re grasping at hay?”
“Straws, they’re grasping at straws. Yeah, I know. I just wish they’d go away. It’s uncomfortable having them asking me questions.”
“Just tell them what you know, which isn’t much.”
“That’s exactly what I did.”
“They’ll be back to ask you more questions. Probably more than once, but in the end you don’t know anything. Honestly, you don’t, unless you planted the bomb. You didn’t, did you?”
“No,” Bobby’s voice was a little louder than he’d meant it to be. “Sorry, didn’t mean to shout. The whole affair has me more than a little nervous.”
“That’s why we’re here, to protect you, to keep you safe.”
“Thanks, I appreciate that. Say, I should probably be heading back to the office. If you wouldn’t mind dropping….”
“Bobby, Bobby, I think you should just relax and let us keep you safe. Hmm-mmm.”
“But my work, I told them I’d be…”
“Your work can wait. Besides, you and I have got an important meeting tonight.”
“A meeting? What are you talking about?”
“Please just settle back and relax, you wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise, now, would you?”
“Luis, they’re expecting me back at the office,” Bobby said trying to sound calm.
“Then call them and tell them you’re in a meeting.”
“A meeting?”
“Yes, a meeting.” He turned to face Bobby. “A meeting with a prospective client. A prospective client who is planning to take over the Montcreff business.”
“Take over Montcreff? I haven’t heard anything about this. His buildings and investments? He hasn’t mentioned anything to me about this. What are…”
“I’m not quite sure Mr. Montcreff is aware of the plan just yet.” Luis glanced at his watch. “He’ll know shortly. Right now the best thing for you would be to just sit back and relax.”
Chapter Fifty-Three
“What we’ll need is a complete detailed listing of all the properties,” Luis said, then took another sip of mineral water.
“I understand that’s what you want. That’s not a problem. The difficulty you’re going to face immediately is resistance from the various partners. And the partners are different in each and every partnership and LLC. You’re easily looking at five to ten years’ worth of negotiations here, Luis. That’s if things run smoothly, and you know my feelings on that.”
Luis smiled and refilled his glass then squeezed another slice of lemon into the water. “Another one for you?” he asked.
“Maybe one more, but light, especially if we’ve got this meeting tonight.”
“Actually, I learned a little earlier that the meeting has been postponed until tomorrow evening,” Luis said. Then he turned and called, “Gabriela, another for Senior Custer, not quite so strong,” he said raising his eyebrows and nodding at Bobby.
They were seated at a glass topped table under a large umbrella on Luis’s penthouse patio. They were thirty-seven stories up, on the rooftop of the tallest building in the city. Gabriela was the same woman who had met Bobby three hours earlier in the skyway and brought him to Luis in the underground parking garage. Just now she was sunning herself, only twenty feet away and topless. At the sound of Luis’s voice, she hurried over to the bar area, opened the refrigerator and poured a good bit of orange juice and a much smaller amount of champagne into a freshly chilled champagne flute. Bobby couldn’t help but stare as she carried his glass over on a silver tray and set it down in front of him.
“Will there be anything else, gentlemen?”
“Bobby, anything?” Luis asked.
“No, no thank you. This is more than enough.”
“You’re sure?” Luis asked. Gabriela stood there, holding the silver tray against her hip and smiling as she turned slightly from side to side. “That will be all, thank you,” Luis said. She picked up Bobby’s empty glass and hurried back to the bar.
Bobby watched her for a brief moment, then took a sip and said, “The meeting isn’t until tomorrow evening?”
“Yes, I’m sure they’re just getting some things in order. I understand it’s complicated.”
“Complicated doesn’t begin to cover it.” Bobby said. “Luis, I know nothing of the legal system down in Mexico, but it can frankly be a pain in the ass up here and, well things just don’t happen overnight.”
Luis smiled, “Let’s hope for the best, shall we?”
“I don’t mean to throw cold water on your hopes, Luis. But Montcreff is a tough man to deal with. He doesn’t do anything unless it benefits him. That’s first and foremost. I just can’t believe he’s going to suddenly divest himself of everything that he’s worked the past fifty plus years to get.”
Luis nodded, then raised his glass in a toast. “To Montcreff’s change of heart and to our success.”
“If you say so.”
Luis chuckled. “For someone who is about to become very wealthy, you certainly seem to favor the dark side. Come on, think positive, Bobby.”
“There’s positive and then there’s practical.”
“Correct, along with one more, the possible. Possible, if only we dare to dream, Bobby. You’ll see.”
“All right, then, to the possible, to all the possibilities,” Bobby said.
“Wonderful. Now, I think it would be best, in fact I insist that you be my guest this evening and…”
“This evening?”
“Yes, I don’t feel it’s safe for you where you live. Believe me,” Luis indicated the two men standing in the shade near the patio door. “You will be safe here. Relax for a day, enjoy yourself,” he said and nodded toward Gabriella sitting with her eyes closed in a lawn chair.
“That’s very kind of you, but…”
“No, I insist. We have a busy night tomorrow. I need you well rested.”
“Luis, you are aware I’m disbarred at this moment and unable to practice law, aren’t you?”
Luis smiled, “Actually, that’s one of the many benefits you bring to the table. We can talk more about this, but it would seem you might want to think about starting your own firm. A very special practice handling the needs of just one client, me.”
“But like I said, I can’t practice and…”
“And as I said, I’m aware of that and I happen to consider it a benefit.”
“But…”
“You worry too much, Bobby. You need to relax. Gabriella.”
Chapter Fifty-Four
Dinner wouldn’t be for a few more hours. The brilliant white sheets were lightly starched, slightly perfumed, and felt cool against his skin. His head rested on possibly the most comfortable pillow he’d ever had. The bed was overly large, with four heavily-carved, dark-wood posts, mahogany or maybe walnut. He fought for a moment or two in an attempt to keep his eyes open, but after the half-dozen mimosas he quickly gave up and drifted off to sleep.
He dreamt he was having his shoulders massaged relieving the stress, and releasing the kinks and knots in his back as experienced hands kneaded his shoulders then worked their way down his spine before moving back up to his shoulders.
He gradually surfaced from his sleep and realized he wa
sn’t dreaming at all. He half rolled over and looked up into Gabriella straddling him. She smiled, put a finger to her lips, signaling him to be quiet, then gently pushed his face back into the pillow and resumed her work.
After quite some time, she rose slightly and with a light pressure on his hips indicated he should roll over. As he did he opened his eyes and became aware for the first time that she was naked. She began to slowly massage his chest muscles back and forth, then up to his shoulders and back down to his chest.
It was impossible to hide his physical arousal and after a few minutes she slowly began to work her way down, massaging, gradually moving further and further down although clearly in no special hurry. She held him for a minute, maybe two, although he was incapable of monitoring the actual length of time. Then he felt her move, sliding down toward his knees, before she took him in her mouth.
Chapter Fifty-Five
“So, your nap seems to have refreshed you, given you a bit more positive outlook,” Luis said. He nodded at the woman who had just placed the slice of roast on his plate. She stepped to Bobby’s left and laid a slice of rare beef on his plate. He nodded, and indicated with a wave of his hand that one slice was enough. Then she walked around the table to Gabriella who took just one slice as well.
“The nap was just the thing I needed. It’s been a stressful day, starting with the early morning wakeup from that bomb blast.”
If Gabriella was listening to the conversation, she gave no indication.
“I’ve had a confirmation of our meeting. Everything is falling into place,” Luis said. “Tomorrow evening at eight.”
“Tomorrow evening?”
“You don’t have anything planned, do you?” Luis half-laughed.
“No, no, it’s just that, I’m sorry, but I’m going to sound negative here. This is going to be a very involved process. If we’re meeting Montcreff for dinner just to set the stage, that’s one thing. But if you’re looking to come out of there with everything signed, sealed and delivered, you may be in for a disappointment. He can be difficult to deal with.”
“There’s actually a team of,” Luis paused for the right word, “negotiators, working as we speak.” He looked over at Gabriella. “How is your meal?”
“Quite good, thank you,” she said, then smiled and sort of shrugged.
“And your nap, darling? You enjoyed it?”
“Yes, very,” she laughed, then raised her eyebrows and smiled across the table.
Bobby felt his face grow beet-red.
“I’m concerned about you returning home before we’ve completed our discussions tomorrow evening. If you’ll agree, I’m going to have Gabriella take you shopping tomorrow and get you some clothes for our evening meeting,” Luis said. Then he turned toward Gabriella. “Were you able to get the items I requested?”
She had just shoveled a forkful of food into her mouth. She smiled, nodded, and said, “Mmm-mmm.”
“Excellent. Gabriella was kind enough to get some under garments along with a clean shirt and trousers. They’ll be waiting for you in your room when you turn in for the evening.”
“Luis, you’re going to an awful lot of trouble and I'm starting to feel like I’m really imposing. I don’t want to…”
“Please, if I did anything less I’d never hear the end of it from my sister, Camila, and my little Valentina. A toast to both of them, Bobby and to your courage for saving them. I, no, we, all remain in your debt.”
Bobby nodded then raised his glass as did Gabriella. “To all of you, my dear friends,” he said and they happily toasted one another. Dinner extended into the late hours and they laughed and traded stories.
Three separate times a man walked into the dining room and whispered something into Luis's ear. Each time Luis nodded, smiled, and said something like, "Good, very good," or, "Excellent, excellent." He never did mention what the interruptions were about and Bobby never thought to ask. Following a few after-dinner drinks, they eventually adjourned to their respective rooms. Sometime after midnight, Gabriella tiptoed into Bobby's room and quietly slipped into bed with him. She pleasured him three separate times over the course of the night, but was gone when he woke in the morning.
He showered, dressed in the new clothes laid out for him, and then phoned the office. He attempted to place the call a number of times, and each time the call was dropped. He tried to call Cori Denton, bracing himself for the reaction he’d receive, but the same thing happened, the call was dropped. “Damn worthless phone,” he groaned and tossed the phone on top of the clothes he’d worn yesterday.
Luis was seated at the dining room table reading the paper when Bobby walked into the room wearing his new trousers and shirt. “Well, good morning. I trust you had an enjoyable sleep,” he said looking over the newspaper.
Funny adjective to use, Bobby thought then said, “I was dead to the world. Thank you for the wonderful evening and for the clothes.” He sort of stood with his arms outstretched, indicating the new outfit. He noticed that the table had been set for two.
Luis nodded, folded the newspaper and set it down. “Please,” he indicated a long mahogany buffet cabinet with four silver trays arranged on top. A butler stood alongside. “Help yourself to whatever you would like. Coffee? Orange juice?”
“Coffee would be fine, just black.”
The woman who had served them dinner the previous night was standing near the swinging door and she hurried into the kitchen after his comment.
Bobby took a plate off the table and approached the buffet. The butler raised the top on the first silver tray and took a large spoonful of scrambled eggs. Red peppers, black olives what looked like basil leaves were mixed in with the eggs and he placed them on Bobby’s plate. The second tray contained pieces of French toast, sprinkled with powdered sugar. He used a set of silver tongs to place a piece on the plate. The third tray held sausage links and Bobby took a pass, opting for a half-dozen strips of bacon from the last tray. He pulled a chair out just to the right of Luis, the same chair Gabriella had sat in the night before.
The door to the kitchen swung open. The maid carried a cup of steaming coffee and set it down in front of Bobby. Luis apparently signaled in some fashion that wasn’t apparent and both the maid and butler left the room.
“We’ve a rather busy evening ahead of us. I have one or two things to attend to. You’ve a shopping trip with Gabriella. We’ll meet later this afternoon, here,” Luis said.
Bobby thought for a moment, then said, “I can’t stress enough how difficult Montcreff can be. It’s one of the things that has undoubtedly helped to make him successful. With the number of people involved in the various deals, you’re looking at a lot of partners and investors. I know there are rights of first refusal in a number of these arrangements we’re going to have to contend with. Luis, what I’m trying to say is even if everything goes relatively smoothly, you could well be looking at up to five years in some of these instances.”
“I can appreciate your concern, but please, not to worry. I think we’ll find Mr. Montcreff to be in a very agreeable mood by this evening. I can be a tough negotiator, too, should the need arise.”
“No doubt, Luis, but I don’t want you to get your hopes up only to be disappointed when Montcreff digs in his heels.”
The kitchen door suddenly swung open and a man in black jeans, t-shirt and sport coat entered the room and whispered something in Luis’s ear. A smile spread across his face and he nodded, said a sentence or two in Spanish, then turned toward Bobby. “If you’ll excuse me, the business calls.” He took a sip of coffee, patted his lips with the linen napkin, then waited for the guy who’d just walked in to pull his chair back. “Gabriella will be ready to take you shopping in thirty minutes. I’ll see you later this afternoon.” He stood and the two of them quickly left the room and walked down the hallway. Bobby finished his breakfast alone.
Chapter Fifty-Six
Gabriella walked into the dining room exactly thirty minutes later. They w
ere driven to an exclusive tailor shop that Bobby didn’t know existed where he was fitted for his suit. “This is nice, Gabriella, but I think Luis wanted me to get something I could wear to our meeting this evening.”
“And that looks wonderful,” she said and smiled.
“Yeah, right. See all the work they’re doing…” He suddenly jumped as the man kneeling on the floor jammed a cloth tape measure up between his legs causing Gabriella to smile. “Anyway, all this work, sizing and everything, I’m supposed to wear this tonight.”
“And you will,” she said. “He is Luis’s personal tailor. We’ll be back in a few hours for your final fitting. I think you’ll find everything to your liking.”
She was right, the final fitting was perfect. The tailor wanted to adjust an item, the button position on the suit coat sleeves or something. Bobby wasn’t sure because the conversation was in Spanish between the tailor and Gabriella. Finally, he interrupted and said, “This is fine. I want to take this home and wear it. No more tailoring. Can you tell him that?”
Apparently she did because they were back in the penthouse a half-hour later. The same guy who had whispered to Luis at breakfast met them as the elevator doors opened. He said something to Gabriella and she took the new suit Bobby was carrying. “He’ll bring you to Luis, I’ll have this hanging in your room for you when your meeting is finished.”
He followed the guy down a long hallway. Three doors were on either side of the hall with a final door at the very end. The guy opened the door for Bobby, then closed it behind him. Two men were seated in chairs in front of a massive desk. Luis sat behind the desk in shirtsleeves and he smiled as Bobby stepped in.
“Success?” he asked.
“Very, quite impressive. Even Montcreff will like my suit.”
“Maybe. I think he may have other things on his mind, but we’ll see.”
“Problems?”
“For us, no, not really. For Montcreff, yes initially, but it would appear we’ve overcome those. You may as well get changed. I’m going to clean up and we’ll be ready to go in an hour. All right?”