by Iris Bolling
“That’s true,” AnnieMarie nodded. “We did make that agreement with Uncle Walker.”
“But we did not know his plan,” Gary stated. “We were looking at a way to bring the family together.”
“Walker exploited your feelings about family,” Grace clarified. “He would have used that and more to separate us.”
Myles sat forward and exhaled. “We seem to have many enemies attempting to exploit this families basic core. Family integrity is what has gotten us to where we are today. We will not allow others to dictate how we deal with family, this bank or our customers.” He stood, then exhaled. “We have a legacy that was not built on greed or the power that comes from rankings. Our legacy was built on trust, honor and community. That was and is our priority. Phase International’s only interest is power. Whichever entity controls the purse strings of the world controls government and even countries. That…is not our goal. We are not going to allow Phase to push us in that direction. We will continue to concentrate on our customers and the communities they live in. That is what got us here and that is what is going to sustain us.”
Grace glanced at Preston. “We are not going to allow Dewberry to get away with this. I am going to handle Elaine. Because I agree, she is connected to this plot against your mother in some way.”
“I am going to handle Brentwood,” Jonathan nodded. “He will not interfere with your mother again.”
“I’m going to have a talk with Mitch,” Myles stated.
“Oh no,” Chrystina shook her head. “That did not go well the last time.”
Gary laughed. “I think we should call Mrs. Vasquez to visit Mitch.”
“I have a better idea,” Myles smiled. “I think Winnie should go.”
Grace smiled as she nodded. “You know I think that would be good for her and for him.”
“Either way, we want you to know, we will stop this attack before it has any significant impact on your mother.” Myles stated.
Preston exhaled as he shook his head. “I honestly had no idea how you all would handle my situation. At times I thought it would be best to leave the bank and find employment elsewhere. The problem was…” he hesitated, “this is my home. I just lost my mother who was my anchor. I could not stand to lose the only anchor I had left. Thank you for securing that anchor for me.”
“That’s what you say now, but wait until we start really getting into your business,” AnnieMarie smiled. “You are going to long for the days of not being a Dunning.”
They all laughed.
“So what do you need me to do?” Preston looked at Jonathan.
Before Jonathan could answer Myles’ cell phone buzzed. “Hold that thought for a second Jonathan, Mike’s calling.”
“What’s happening, Mike?”
Myles listened but did what he could to keep any expression from his face. “I understand. How is he?” He watched as AnnieMarie sat forward at his words. “I see. No, everyone is here in my office. I will let them know. What is your status?” He nodded as he listened. “And Jerome?” He listened a little longer. “I’m going to need you back here.” He nodded at Mike’s response then disconnected the call.
He closed his eyes in a short prayer then looked at AnnieMarie.
“Cainan is fine.” He watched as she closed her eyes and exhaled.
“What about Mike and Jerome?” Grace asked.
“What happened, Myles?” Jonathan asked.
“There was a shootout at the courthouse. Jerome’s man El was shot. He did not make it through surgery.”
“Oh my god,” AnnieMarie exclaimed.
Myles looked at Grace. “Roark was also shot.”
Jonathan took Grace’s hand in his. “He is still in surgery at this time. Cainan’s partner, Agent Sereena Chase was shot, but not hospitalized. The judge has set a trial date for Monday.”
“No one from Cainan’s family was harmed?” AnnieMarie asked.
“No.” Myles replied.
“What about Jerome?” Grace asked.
“He wasn’t hit.”
“I have to go to New Jersey,” AnnieMarie stated.
“You have a responsibility here, AnnieMarie,” Myles stated. “Mike is going to return home. He will escort you to New Jersey that morning for the trial. Then you will return here. You will not stay in New Jersey.”
“I think that is fair,” Gary exhaled.
“I do as well,” Grace nodded, then looked up. “What do you think Preston?”
Myles watched as Preston hesitated before he spoke.
“I think AnnieMarie understands the seriousness of Cainan’s situation,” he looked directly into her eyes. “I also believe she understands that going to New Jersey will give those people another target against Cainan and protecting her will take his focus from the trial. With that said, I would suggest AnnieMarie knows what is best for the long term future rather than a short term release.” He nodded. “Knowing all that is at stake, she will make the right decision.”
“Damn, that was good,” Gary sighed.
“It was,” AnnieMarie nodded. “Thank you for allowing it to be my decision, Preston.” She cleared her throat. “Now back to this situation. I am not at all convinced that Grace should be the one to confront Elaine.”
“Girl, thank you so much for saying that,” Chrystina sighed. “Whew, I thought it was going to fly unchecked. But Grace, you’re not the one.”
“I disagree,” Myles stated as he sat back down. “I think it’s time to nip Elaine once and for all. If anyone has the ability to take her down for good, it’s Grace.”
“I’m going to squash her ass like a bug.” Grace smiled.
Chrystina raised an eyebrow at Myles.
He smiled back at her then chuckled. “Squash that ass, Grace.”
“Don’t encourage her,” Chrystina narrowed her eyes at him.
“Oh please make it happen before Monday,” AnnieMarie pleaded. “I so want to be here to see that.”
Myles stood, “I will leave this in Jonathan and Grace’s capable hands. Preston,” he tapped him on the shoulder. “Let’s go up to the atrium and get drunk as men do.”
“Hey, I’m a man,” Gary said as he followed them to the door. “I know how to get drunk.”
“Then by all means, come along,” Myles nodded.
“Are you going to see Roark?” AnnieMarie asked Grace as they gathered their things.
“Once he is out of surgery and recovering, I think I will.”
“We will both go,” Jonathan exhaled. “He was a friend before he was an enemy.”
Grace smiled. “You are such a good man.”
“I know,” Jonathan replied as AnnieMarie and Chrystina laughed.
“How are you doing AnnieMarie?” Chrystina asked.
“My heart stopped for a minute there, but I’m doing okay.” She smiled.
“You know, Cainan is surrounded by his family now. That’s got to be good for him.”
“Yes, and I am happy he is with them. But he needs me too.”
Chrystina put her arm around AnnieMarie’s waist as they walked out of the office. “Yes, he does. He needs you to prepare a home for him to come back to. Which is exactly what you are doing. Keep concentrating on that, until Monday. Then you go and let your man know you have his back.”
CHAPTER 29
Myles was laughing at Preston as they walked into his office. “It’s good to see you relaxing, sitting back having a drink and enjoying the moment.”
“It has been a trying time,” Preston said as he walked into the office ahead of Myles.
“I see you are moving in,” Myles looked around. “I can give you a hand unpacking some of these boxes.”
Preston laughed, “You aren’t serious.”
“I’m not too drunk to help.”
“A team of admin assistants cleared out my old office and moved everything in here.”
“Have you hired an admin assistant for yourself?”
“Not yet. I plan to ask Gin
a to pitch in for a while.”
“Listen, she is a little dynamite when she gets to work, just like her sister. She would make anyone a great assistant. To be honest I have plans for her once she finishes school.”
“Yes, she is a dynamite, that’s for sure,” Preston smiled.
“Is that smile on a professional assessment or personal?” Myles asked.
Preston thought about that question. “I tend to keep the two separate, but I have to say, she is an intriguing woman.”
“And loyal,” Myles added. “She came to me to talk about you.”
“Gina?” Preston was surprised to hear that.
“I’m not going to share what was said, however, it showed me how concerned she was about you.”
“That’s nice to hear,” Preston nodded.
“You are not alone, Preston. My door, home or office, is always open to you. This situation is uncomfortable, I realize that. But we are family and we look out for each other.”
“I appreciate that, Myles.”
“So, this is your place now,” Myles looked around. “Have you selected your furniture?”
“The furniture that is here is fine.”
Myles chuckled. “This is Elaine’s old furniture, Preston.”
“Yes, it is.”
Myles shook his head, “This will not do for a man of your stature.” He pulled out his cell phone. “Gina, I’m in Preston’s office. He’s going to need your assistance.” He smiled as he hung up the call. “She’ll be here in a minute. You have a corporate account. I’m sure Gina will know how to use it.”
Preston laughed. “She could teach us a thing or two.”
“You’re right,” Myles exhaled. “Preston, welcome to the executive suite. It was earned, not given. Step into this new role knowing you have the confidence of all of us behind you.”
Preston hesitated, then spoke. “Myles, my mother said something to me that I hope the family will take into consideration.”
“What was that?”
“I don’t think she intended to kill Hepburn. Walker, yes, I believe she simply snapped. But with Hepburn,” he shook his head. “I don’t’ think it was intentional.”
“Neither of us knows what was in her mind at the time,” Myles stated. “What I would do is have her attorneys get a good psychologist in to see her as soon as possible. Let them assess her now, then her defense can determine how they should move forward. The truth is she did insert the syringe with the intent to do harm. That is what caused his death. If there were extenuating circumstances, the court should know that. Whatever they decide we will work through it.”
“Yes, we will,” Preston agreed.
“Oh, here is Gina now.” Myles smiled. “I can hear the cha-ching of the Black card now.”
“Black card?” Gina beamed. “I can handle the hell out of a Black card. What are we buying?”
Myles laughed. “You’re in good hands.”
Preston watched as Myles walked out of the area. If there was any sunshine to this nightmare he was living, the woman standing in front of him and the man walking away were it.
“So, what are we buying?” Gina smiled.
$ $ $
“Jonathan,” Sydney met him as he walked into the area. “I have that information on the Board count you requested.”
“You seem happy about it,” he sat behind his desk.
“I am and you will be too,” she chuckled.
“You are giggly,” Jonathan smiled. “What the bloody hell did you find?”
“A perfect storm.”
Jonathan raised an eyebrow.
“When they detained you in London, it stirred up a hornets nest of publicity. However, it wasn’t good at all. The chatter in London is that Phase International rose to prominence under the leadership of Richard Dewberry only because he had Jonathan Michael steering the ship, so to say. The moment Michael was removed from the scenario, Phase’s ranking began to drop. They not only ordered him to get you back, his chairmanship depends on it. That isn’t the delicious part of the chatter. The Board is split on Dewberry, here’s the cherry, the four deciding votes are people you know who will have no issue voting him out, if the incentive is right. Let’s be honest, our gripe isn’t with Phase the bank, it is with Dewberry and his underhanded tactics. We can take Dewberry down without touching Phase’s reputation. In fact, we can use the vanity of the Board members to our advantage. And I know just the person to deliver the package, all we have to do is dress it right.”
CHAPTER 30
Benny sat in the bar at the Byrd hotel. It was downtown, Newark, but not in the thick of things. He always chose this hotel whenever he was stepping out on Kennedy, because there wasn’t a snowball chance in hell that she would end up there. First it was known to be frequented by some shady characters and it was not in an area of town where she would drop in without reason.
Tonight he needed a release. All the drama surrounding Cainan was working his nerves. It was good to discover Kennedy’s brother was alive. And the case he was testifying for was going to put him at the top of the list for the next DA. He had every reason to be thrilled. But he had to admit, the shootout shot his nerves to shit.
Benny was still in the judge’s chambers when the courthouse was shut down with an active shooter alert. So he had missed all the action, thank goodness. But he also had at least three trials connected to Cainan’s testimony. That meant more court appearances and who knows what that would bring. He took a drink. It wouldn’t surprise him if Giuliani tried to blow up the place next.
“Hey, Sugar.”
He felt the warmth of her hand on his back, even through his suit jacket.
“Bridget, baby,” he smiled. “It’s good to see you.” He wrapped his arms around her waist, roaming his hand down to her behind and squeezing it while pulling her close.
“I missed you, baby,” she giggled into his ear.
“I just had you the other night.”
“But when you’re good, like you were then,” she rubbed her hand up his thigh, to his balls and squeezed, “I could fuck you all night long.” She whispered in his ear.
Benny grinned from ear to ear. “Let me get you out of this lobby before you get both of us arrested.” He stood, dropped a tip on the bar then walked out with Bridget on his arm.
“Well ain’t that some shit.” Jerome’s man clicked the stop button to end the recording he had just taken with his cell phone while acting like he was sending a text message. Men can be really stupid when it comes to a piece of ass, he thought as he pushed a button to hit send.
Jerome had just completed his interview with Kennedy. From the information she shared with him, he wasn’t as confident as he had been that the leak was coming from the DA. According to Kennedy, Benny was a good DA, she even ventured to say a damn good DA. Committed to justice and the integrity of the law. But he was stupid. Especially when it came to trying to impress women. She shared some of the things he had done to impress her at first. She was right, he was stupid. But he was convenient. He was there when Cainan died, or they thought he had. And she was still with him because frankly, she hadn’t gotten over Cainan’s death until he showed up at the FBI’s offices. The relationship between them wasn’t the long lasting type, at least not for her. For Benny, she was pretty sure he was thinking marriage, babies and the white picket fence.
With that information, Jerome was officially frustrated. No one else fit. He must have missed something and was about to go back over every person when his cell phone buzzed. He pulled it out hoping for any kind of lead. It was a video from the man he put on the DA. The message read: Her name is Bridget.
He pulled the video up on his tablet to view. “Oh hell,” Jerome smirked. “Why would he be stepping out with a piece of trash when he has someone like Kennedy?”
Jerome paused the video then took a still shot of the woman. He pulled up his facial recognition software, then inserted the picture into the program. He set it aside, thinking it woul
d take some time to run. He then turned back to the list of people on his team and around the house. He was going to go back through everyone’s background again. Something had to pop. It was less than two minutes later that the program began flashing the match across the screen.
Jerome could not believe his eyes. “Was it possible to be that damn bold?” He chuckled while shaking his head. “Is it possible to be that damn stupid?” He looked at the message from his man again. Her name is Bridget. He glanced at his tablet again.
“There was no way in hell this man could be that stupid.” He picked up the phone and dialed SAC Taylor. “I need you to meet me at,” he looked at the location, “The Byrd Hotel. I’ll fill you in on the way.”
Jerome checked his weapon as he walked into the family room. The family was all in the room enjoying just being a family, as they should. Cainan was sitting with his sister Kennedy next to him. Kandace was in the large chair rubbing her belly, Wayne beside her doing the same. Kaitlyn was smiling up at Scott as he told Cainan about the anniversary party from hell, it seemed. The scene was what family time should be. He could see AnnieMarie in this setting. It was his job to make sure it happened.
He tapped Sereena on the shoulder. “You up to taking a ride?”
“Sure,” she replied as she grabbed her jacket. “It’s good to see them like that,” she said as she looked over her shoulder.
“How’s your shooting arm?” Jerome asked.
“Good, the bullet grazed the left arm. I’m right-handed.” Excitement jumped in her eyes. “We going to shoot somebody.”
“Maybe,” Jerome smiled for the first time since this job started.
$ $ $
“I knew you’d be back….” Benny said as he opened the door butt naked to find SAC Taylor, Agent Chase, Jerome and two agents all staring back at him. “Holy shit,” he grabbed a towel out of the bathroom.
They burst through the door with weapons drawn, pushing Benny aside. They checked the closet, bathroom and under the bed before putting their weapons away.
Sereena scanned Benny up and down. “You’re missing some parts there, aren’t you?” She closed her eyes then huffed. “It’s going to be hard to unsee that.”