by Sam Fintz
“Hi. I’m Ben,” he said.
“Hi Ben. I am Julianna,” Anna lied.
“Pleased to meet you, Julianna. I couldn’t help but notice you didn’t look very happy. Such a beautiful woman as you shouldn’t be unhappy,” he said to her.
“Oh, you flatter me,” she said. “A handsome man like you shouldn’t be on his own.”
“Thank you, Julianna. You are too kind,” he said.
“Boyfriend problems. This is why I am sad. Sometimes he can be such an arse,” Anna said to him.
“Then he is an idiot. What is your accent?” he asked her.
“Polish. I am from Krakow originally, but I live here now for 6 years. I met my boyfriend here, but as you can tell that isn’t going so well,” she said to him.
“Poland? Really? My family are from there, but a long time ago. Anyway, as I said he is a fool,” Ben said to her.
They sat for a good hour talking and eventually he told her he needed to get back to work.
“That’s a shame. I have enjoyed this,” she said to him.
“Well, I tell you what then, here is my card. Call me if you want to meet again. I am just over there in those offices,” Ben told her.
“What time do you finish today?” Anna asked Ben.
“I think around 4. Why?” he asked.
“Meet me here at 4. We can talk more. I like you Ben. You are sweet, and you have made my day better,” Anna told him convincingly.
“Ok, see you at 4. Can I get your number? Just in case,” he said.
“I will be here. Don’t worry I won’t disappoint you,” she said.
“What about your boyfriend?” he asked her.
“What boyfriend?” she asked coyly, and she got up and left the cake shop, leaving Ben with a childish grin on his face. This mysterious woman with a horrible boyfriend had intrigued him. He hoped she would show up later.
When Anna got around the corner from the cake shop out of view of Ben, Jason was waiting for her in his BMW Z4. She jumped in and he sped off in the opposite direction to the cake shop.
“How did it go?” he asked her.
“Fine Jason, fine. I feel sorry for him. He is a lonely fool who thinks with his dick. He won’t be a problem,” Anna told him.
“Good. Let’s update Aiden,” he said as they sped towards Anna’s flat, using the voice command on his little sports car to call Aiden’s number.
When they got to Anna’s flat, Jason told her he would collect her again at 3 and he left to go and have lunch at his office and get an update on his business. Not that he was worried. This year was going to make him even wealthier than the last. He also couldn’t wait to go to Torremolinos again with Aiden. The two of them generally went out there every three weeks or so, except recently because of this little inconvenience Aiden had got into. Even though there would be others there, he would still mostly have Aiden to himself and that could only be a good thing.
Chapter 48
When Jason got to Anna’s flat at 3, she was waiting for him outside. She had tried to make herself look a little stressed to be more convincing. She was good at this he thought as she stepped into the BMW.
“Ready?” he asked her.
“Ready,” she replied, and Jason sped off to Cheadle.
When he dropped Anna off, she walked around to the cake shop and went in and ordered a latte. Ben wasn’t there yet, but she was a few minutes early. At 4 on the dot, he appeared at the door and came in.
“Hi, you came!” he said to Anna.
“Of course, I told you I would,” she said.
He ordered a flat white but no cake this time and went to sit with Anna at the small table in the window. At this time of the day the cake shop was empty as it closed at 5. They sat and chatted about this and that until Ben finally got the courage up to ask about her boyfriend.
“He is still an arsehole. He has been calling me, but I won’t answer. Let him worry. In the meantime, I am looking at my options and you are one of them,” she said.
“One of them?” he asked with surprise.
“Ha-ha Ben, I am kidding,” she said jokingly. She took his hand and held it for a while. Ben was surprised by this bold move, but he liked that about her. British girls, especially the ones he met, were much more frigid.
Her hand looked small in his. He leant over as if to kiss her and she pulled back and said, “No, not here. In case he comes by and sees me. He has a bad temper.”
“My office is just there. Come there with me. We will have privacy. My assistant is gone so we can just talk there. Anyway, this place is about to close, and I want to be with you as long as I can,” he told her.
“Oh, Ben I don’t know,” she said to him. “Actually, what the hell. Why not?” she said suddenly.
Ben paid the bill and they left the cake shop. They hurried over to Ben’s office and he unlocked the door and opened the cover on the alarm panel and keyed in the four-digit code. To Anna’s relief he didn’t try and hide the code. She managed to see it all. It was easy to remember, and she thought to herself how typical it was of a lazy man to have an easy passcode.
They went inside, and he closed the door. He closed the blinds and put on a desk lamp. The outer office was furnished with a large leather sofa and he led her over to the sofa where they both sat down. He pulled her close and tried again to kiss her. Aiden had told Anna that if it got to that stage, she should go along with it so that he didn’t get suspicious. He wouldn’t want to admit to anyone later his embarrassment at being misled by a beautiful woman, if he ever cottoned on to the whole sting.
She kissed him willingly and he put his hand on her leg and tried to move it up further. This was more than Anna was prepared to do even for Aiden, so she pulled away and said to Ben: “Sorry, Ben I can’t, not yet. You understand, right?” she asked.
“Yes, sorry Julianna, I understand. I couldn’t help it. You are just so beautiful. Your boyfriend is one lucky man,” he told her.
“Yes, he is. I should go, Ben. I have your card. I will call you soon, I promise,” she said. She knew full well that would never happen. She kissed him on the lips and let herself out.
Anna hurried around the corner where Jason was waiting patiently. She hopped into his car and told him to drive. She had Ben’s card in her hand and she tore it into pieces. She opened the window and threw it out. She wouldn’t be needing that anymore.
“Did you get it?” he asked. Aiden had called him five times to ask so he was anxious to know.
“Yes, typical man. Too lazy to remember a hard number. 4321, can you believe?” she asked.
“Yes, I can believe it,” Jason said to her. He rang Aiden and told him. He thought to himself that he had better change his safe combination.
Aiden thanked him and then said to Anna: “Thank you Anna. You are a star, but you knew that already. I am busy tonight with some business for my Dad, but I will call you soon and we can party a little,” Aiden lied. He didn’t have business to attend to, he had a holiday to plan.
“Ok Aiden speak soon,” she said, and Jason ended the call.
Jason dropped her off at her flat and he went over to his own apartment where his maid had packed his holiday suitcase. He grabbed it and headed over to Aiden’s apartment where Aiden was waiting for him.
“Did it go ok?” he asked Jason.
“Yeah, like clockwork. She’s good,” Jason said to Aiden.
“Yes, she is good. I will buy her something stupidly expensive when we get back. That will keep her faithful. Can you believe that arsehole had such a simple code? I gave it to Mike Chalmers already and he was also amazed. Now, besides me, what do you want for dinner? Besides being famished, I am also as horny as a toad, but I think dinner first,” Aiden said to Jason, who was thinking again that he really needed to change that code!
“Just what I was thinking. Let’s have meat again. I can never get enough,” he joked.
Chapter 49
When Ben got home to his modest house in Chea
dle, not too far from his office, he felt a little let down by the whole experience. He poured himself a glass of red wine from the box he kept in the kitchen cupboard and turned on the small TV. He opened his fridge and rummaged around a bit for something to eat. He settled on some chopped liver his mother had made and some crackers. He put the oven on and popped a readymade lasagne in. As the wine started to filter through his system, he felt a little better about everything.
“You win some, you lose some,” he said to himself.
While the lasagne was cooking he called Rose, but he got her answering machine. He thought that she must be at the hospital, so he left a message. Now that she was a widow, maybe he could rekindle that fire. Suddenly he felt guilty as it was really too soon, even for someone desperate. Must be the wine making me think this way, he thought.
On the TV the news was on. They were talking about the current state of the roads in the region. Ben thought that it couldn’t actually be more boring, and he flipped through the channels until he found one he liked. A soap opera was far more interesting than hearing about something that never got any better. He snacked on the liver and crackers while his lasagne cooked and when it was ready he plated it up, poured some more wine and sat down to eat. He really needed to find himself a girlfriend, he thought.
Unbeknown to Ben, his house was being watched. Andries Smit sat in his big Ford Ranger pick-up with the tinted glass. He sat low in the front of the car and had a black baseball cap on. A few people with their dogs wandered past, but nobody saw him. He was sure this man wasn’t going to go anywhere tonight. He could see straight into Ben’s house through the open curtains. He looked sad sitting in there on his own. But not as sad as he would be soon, he thought as he started the Ranger and drove away slowly. Andries had also been watching Ben’s office and he knew that he was a creature of habit, so when he got the go-ahead from Mike, the rest would be easy. He headed off home. He needed an early night. He had been out and about all day for days now.
When Ben had finished eating, he packed the dishes in the dishwasher, turned off the TV and the lights and went up to bed. His bedroom was comfortable, and he liked watching TV in bed. No wonder he was single, he thought. He got naked, like he had done since he was a teenager. Much to his mother’s horror. Once she came into his room and he had thrown the covers off when he got hot in the night. He looked down at his body and thought that he was sure Julianna would like it, if he ever got to show it to her. After all he wasn’t bad looking for a Jewish boy. By those same standards he was well-endowed, or so he thought! Smiling, he hopped into bed reaching for the remote. He turned on the TV, found Netflix and carried on watching the movie that he had fallen asleep watching the night before.
“Life’s not that bad,” he said to himself as he settled down to watch.
Chapter 50
The following morning Aiden and Jason woke at 10. Aiden threw on a robe and went in search of the housekeeper. When he found her, he told her: “Gemma, can we have breakfast for two. Eggs benedict with ham not salmon and some bubbly and coffee. We need to be at the airport by 3, so can you get a car to collect me and Mr Jason in good time. Also, please pack me a bag for Torremolinos, nothing fancy, we are going to rest and party. I am going to shower so please have the breakfast ready for just after that. I want to wear that Boss outfit on the plane so have that ready as well.”
“Yes sir, Mr Aiden,” Gemma said. “I will make it so.”
“Good girl,” Aiden said and returned to the bedroom. He pulled Jason out of bed and they jumped in the shower. When they came out of the shower and went into the bedroom, Aiden’s outfit was ready on the bed. They got dressed and went to have breakfast which was served as soon as they got to the table. Impeccable timing as always, Aiden thought. He paid his apartment staff well, so that was the least he expected. They also got to live in the apartment below his. Whilst it was nowhere near as grand as his penthouse, it was pretty substantial anyway. They were also sworn to secrecy about what went on here. As Mike had said, it’s amazing what you can buy these days!
At 2 p.m. the car was ready, and Aiden and Jason grabbed their passports and went downstairs. Aiden had got one of his father’s assistants to arrange his travel plans and to alert the villa staff of his arrival.
When they got to the airport they were rushed through security and taken straight to the private lounge Harrington Air had at Manchester Airport. It was one of many, but it was Aiden’s favourite. It had a good view of the section of Terminal One that Harrington Air as good as owned.
Aiden and Jason settled down on two of the chaises near the window and a pretty young hostess brought over a bottle of Bollinger in a silver ice bucket with two crystal flutes. She poured out the bubbly liquid and offered them something to eat. Today, since they were off to Spain, there was a selection of tapas on offer and Aiden just told her to surprise them. The hostess, Emily, looking quite smart in the Harrington Air uniform, rushed off to get them the tapas and the two lads stretched out and enjoyed the champagne. The flight wasn’t due to leave for a while yet so there was time to relax.
Jason’s phone rang. Aiden thought to himself that he is going to have to get him to change that ringtone. The Bond theme was so annoying.
Jason answered, and it was Matt from his office. He told Jason that he had just secured another new client. It was a cleaning company that was literally cleaning up the North West.
“Great stuff Matt. I will see you in a few days. When I get back we need to talk about your future. Cheers again, see you soon,” Jason told him and hung up.
“That sounded good. One day you will be as rich as me,” Aiden joked.
“Yeah, right. Do you even know how rich you are?” Jason asked.
“Yes, filthy rich!” Aiden said.
After they had eaten and drunk their way through two bottles of Bollinger, one of the ground crew came to collect Aiden and Jason. They made their way to the boarding gate and were shown onto the plane ahead of the other passengers. This model of Harrington jet was short haul, but it had a small First-Class section, which put it ahead of the competition. Because of its economical operation, the airlines could afford to give up the economy seats that the First-Class section took up. Aiden and Jason settled down. The rest of the passengers were allowed to board once the curtain had been drawn, closing off First-Class from the ‘cattle class’ and Business-Class. There was only one other person in the section with them and he was a business associate of Malcolm’s, so Aiden knew him as well.
“Here we go mate, get ready to party!” Aiden told Jason as the plane taxied out onto the runway and took off for Malaga.
Aiden wasn’t meant to leave the country while on bail, but he wasn’t one to be bothered by that and the passport controls at Manchester Airport were under so much strain that things weren’t as tight as at other main airports.
Once the plane had climbed to a safe height, the crew started to serve the drinks and snacks for the short flight. Of course, First-Class was served as soon as the captain gave the go ahead, followed by the two Business-Class rows and finally Economy to the rear. Today they were serving smoked salmon on bagels with hand-prepared crisps, a small selection of Spanish olives and tiny chorizo bites. There was Bollinger (Aiden’s choice) and Johnny Walker Gold (Jason’s choice). Once they were served Aiden and Jason feasted for a while on the excellent food and drink and when they were done, they pushed back their seats and listened to music. After a couple of hours, they started their descent into Malaga. There they would be met by the chauffeur in the Rolls Royce who would take them to the villa in Torremolinos. Everything was going so well.
Once they landed, they were taken straight through to where the car was waiting. They knew the boys at the airport so there was no need for all the usual security measures. They hopped in the back of the air-conditioned car and once Xavier the driver had loaded the bags, they were off.
From the car Aiden got on the mobile and started calling around to see who was avail
able. He spoke to most of the people they partied with every time they were there. They were all keen for a party tomorrow night at the villa. Of course they were, Aiden was paying! They would get some others to come as well. Aiden told them not more than 20 people. Any more than that it could get messy. They then settled in the back for the drive to the villa. Tonight, they wouldn’t party Aiden had decided while they were in the air. Tonight, he would give Jason some time alone with him to thank him for his help with the Ben Cohen thing. He felt he had to since he might need his help again and he needed to know that Jason was 100% on side. In his experience these tedious little inconveniences like the one he was dealing with now had a habit of going a little awry.
Chapter 51
Afew days later in Manchester Andries Smit’s phone rang.
“Ya, Mike. How’s things?” he asked as he answered, his voice thick from cigarettes, brandy and talking to Sharon at the pub until 2 a.m.
“All good thanks mate. I need you to move on that investigator tonight. You know this already, but don’t leave any clues that you were there. That way he won’t notice until it’s too late,” Mike told Andries.
“Ok, got it,” Andries told him. He felt a little insulted at being told what was obvious to someone with his skills.
“I need you to copy his hard drive first and then delete that file I told you about in the email. We don’t know what it will be called on there but that will be easy for you to work out,” Mike said.
“Absolutely. Why do you need the whole hard drive?” Andries asked.
“None of your business,” Mike said and then laughed. “We may need something on him, so call it insurance. I think he got the file sent by email so check his emails thoroughly and delete any that relate to this too. Sorry I am not more helpful, but I know you can sort it out.”