Private Stock

by Iris Bolling

$ $ $

  Gina was inside Preston’s office. She had furnished it from top to bottom, with no expense spared on what she considered necessities. Every executive needed a conference area with glass surrounding, a twelve seat table and the Dunning emblem they all loved with the words Family Integrity First and Foremost displayed for all to see.

  Effective on Monday, she would officially become Preston’s assistant. By no means was she giving up her dream to head the school she and Myles had discussed. This was a means for her to reach her ultimate goal. Besides, if Preston was going to be her permanent man, she stopped setting up his desk to let that thought settle in her mind. “Yes,” she said. Then thought, as soon as he is ready. She wasn’t sure he needed to deal with his mother and the thought of a woman with three children all at once. That would have to be eased on him.

  Gina took a look around the office and declared it done. She turned and walked out to the receptionist’s office where she would be stationed for the next year or two, to ensure everything would be ready for Monday morning.

  “Gina,” Warren walked in. “Grace sent this gift for Preston’s office.

  Gina smiled. “Now, that is how you welcome an executive to his new position.” She took the box from him. “Do you know what’s inside?”

  “Of course I do. If you agree to have a drink with me after work, I’ll tell you what it is.”

  Gina patted his cheeks. “Oh. Silly boo-boo, I don’t have to sleep with you to find that out. Preston is going to tell me anyway.”

  “I did not say anything about sleeping with me, however, since you brought it up. I know we could rock that mattress.”

  “Oh, don’t I know it,” Gina smirked. “I know how to work my money maker. I got three children. But, umm, no. I’m done playing. I’m about to make some moves in my life and you, as fine as you are, are not on my chess board.”

  “Gina,” Warren laughed. “You have a way of turning men down that intrigues them.”

  “I know,” she put her hand on her hip. “I have to do it all the time. It comes with practice. May I help you?”

  Warren turned to see a man standing in the doorway.

  “Hello. I am looking for Preston Long.”

  “Well, you found his office.” Gina replied. “However, he is out until Monday.”

  “Gina,” Warren stood. “I will leave you to handle business.”

  She nodded. “Thank you, Warren.” She looked up at the man. “May I have your name, sir?”

  “Michael…Brentwood Michael.”

  Gina knew that name, but did not let on. She smiled. “If you like, I would be happy to set up an appointment for you to see him on Monday.”

  “Would you be kind enough to give me his location. I am only in town for the weekend and would like to speak with him on an urgent personal matter.”

  Oh he was smooth, Gina thought as she picked up her tablet. “If you give me a number I will get that message to him. He is diligent with returning calls.”

  “Is all of that necessary?” Mr. Michael smiled. “I am a friend of his mother’s and really need to see him. Could you just tell me where he may be located? I can go to him.”

  Gina smiled. “No,” you slimy mother—she thought. “I really cannot do that. Even if I knew exactly where he was, I would not do that.” She saw the smile fade from the man’s face. “Do you want to leave a number?”

  “Yes,” he nodded then proceeded to give it to her.

  Warren ran right into Grace’s office. No knocking on the door as a warning, just straight in. “Brentwood Michael is in Preston’s office.”

  Grace stood. “You are lying.” She grabbed her phone and dialed Jonathan as she quickly walked into the reception area as Warren continued to talk.

  “Even if I had not heard his name, I’d know that London accent anywhere and I don’t mean any harm, but Jonathan is a dead ringer for his father.”

  “Jonathan, your father is in Preston’s office.” She tapped Warren. “Get my purse and keys. And call Gina, tell her to stall him.”

  By the time Warren returned, Grace had disconnected the call. “We’re going to follow him to see who he meets up with.”

  “I got a hundred on Elaine,” Warren said as he called Gina.

  “I’d put a thousand on that,” Grace said as she ran from the office.

  $ $ $

  Grace met Jonathan in the garage. My car, he may know yours.” She threw the keys over to Jonathan, then jumped into the passenger seat. Her cell phone rang. It picked up in the vehicle.

  “He just left the office,” Warren said.

  “Thank you Warren,” Grace replied as Jonathan pulled out of the parking deck to get to the front of the building. “You’re going to the front of the building. You should go to customer parking.”

  Jonathan smirked. “You don’t know my father. He is not going to drive himself. I bet odds he has a driver.”

  From the corner, they watched as Brentwood walked out the front door. And just as Jonathan predicted, he had a driver. “He is so fucking predictable.” Jonathan said as he turned the corner then waited for the black sedan to pull into traffic.

  They followed the vehicle until it turned into the Omni Hotel. “Only the most expensive for Brent.” Jonathan said as he pulled in a few cars behind him. They intentionally waited until Brentwood was inside the building before they stepped out and gave the keys to the valet.

  “Come on,” Jonathan grabbed her and ran inside. They scanned the expansive lobby looking for Brent. “Damn, if he went upstairs, it’s going to be hard to find him, we will lose him.”

  “No,” Grace said, “We will simply wait down here until he comes back down.”

  “That could be all night, Grace.”

  “I don’t think so, darling. He is on a mission and like his son, he does not waste time.” She turned to face Jonathan. “Look over my shoulder. Isn’t that him going into the bar?”

  “Yes,” Jonathan began kissing her as he turned his body so Brentwood would not see him. He broke the kiss, then licked his lips. “Mmm, tasty.”

  Grace smiled as she grabbed his hand. “Come on.”

  “Hold up.” Jonathan glanced around. “This is the only entrance into the bar. We don’t have to go inside to see who comes in or goes out. You stay here while I get us a room.”

  “A room?” Grace asked.

  “Yes, we are going to watch from up there.”

  Grace looked up to see where he was pointing. “A third floor room with a view of the lobby below. You are a genius.”

  “I know.”

  Grace stayed in the lobby until Jonathan was able to get the room they needed to see the lobby. Her cell phone buzzed as she watched the entrance to the bar. “Hi Mother.”

  “Hello my darling Grace.”

  “Mother can I call you back. I’m in the middle of something right now.”

  “No, Grace, take a minute and listen to me.”

  Grace cleared her throat. “Okay Mother what is it?”

  “I just paid a visit to William.”

  “You did? What did he say? Did he know anything that can help?”

  “Why my dear Grace. He had the key.”

  Grace saw Jonathan waving down at her, he had the room. She held up a finger indicating for him to wait. “What do you mean he had the key.”

  “Just what I said. Elaine Jacobson paid him a visit a few days ago. She wanted him to sell her the shares of stock he has in the bank.”

  “Did he do it?” Grace’s heart began to race.

  “He did not. He told her to come back after he thought on the matter.”

  “Oh Mother, that confirms it. Elaine must be working with Brentwood. He came by the office today to see Preston.”

  “Oh that man….I knew he was a snake.”

  “And like a snake he is dangerous. Look I have to tell Jonathan. Thank you for the information Mother.” Grace disconnected the call then took the elevator up to the third floor. “You will never believe wh
at Winnie just told me,” she said as she walked towards Jonathan.

  “What did she say?” He asked as he opened the door, then pulled the drapes in the room open. There was a sofa in front of the window. Grace dropped her purse on the sofa, then folded her arms across her chest.

  “Elaine Jacobson is in on this.”

  “How do you know?” He asked as he continued to watch the entrance to the bar.

  “Winnie just came from seeing William Mitchell. The stocks he received in his exit package, well Elaine offered to buy them.”

  Jonathan’s eyes met hers. “Did he sell them?”

  “No.”

  Jonathan exhaled. “Okay, that is damning on Elaine’s part for sure. However, it does not prove she is working with Brentwood.”

  “What other reason would there be?”

  “Oh I do not doubt for a minute Elaine is a part of this, Love. I need to know she and Brentwood are cohorts, so that when one falls all the dominos will tumble over.”

  “Then I have to ask, what would be proof for you to move forward with Sydney’s plan?”

  Jonathan looked out of the window and smiled. He took her by the shoulders then turned her to the window. “That.”

  Grace smiled. “Well, what do you know.” She picked up her purse and burst through the door.

  “Wait,” Jonathan ran after her.

  “Don’t try to stop me Jonathan. That heifer’s been running towards this ass whipping for years.”

  “I’m not going to stop you, Love. I want to be there to trample Brentwood’s bloody arse.”

  Grace called Myles on her way down in the elevator. “Chrystina, let Myles know I am at the Omni Hotel. Tell him to get bail money and a lawyer. I’m going to whip Elaine Jacobson’s ass.” She hung up the phone, dropped it inside her purse then pulled out her wallet.

  “Put that away, Love,” Jonathan reached into his back pocket. “This one is on me.”

  Elaine walked into the bar, searched around and spotted Brentwood at a booth in the back. Using her slow seductive strut, she was ready to get this deal done and over with. She didn’t care that she was going to lose money by selling the shares of Dunning to Dewberry. Watching Dunning go down would be her just reward.

  “That strut of yours tells me your visit was successful.” Brentwood smiled as she took a seat.

  Grace did not strut, she literally ran up to the booth, grabbed Elaine by her hair then pulled her from the booth knocking her head against the bar. “I’m going to give you the ass whipping my mother intended back in the day.” Elaine was dazed between two bar stools when Grace put the palm of her hand in the woman’s face then pulled her up. At that point, Elaine must have realized what was happening. She bit down on Grace’s hand. Grace punched her in the face continuously with her left fist until her jaw opened. Elaine fell back between the two bar stools. Grace yelled to the bartender. “A bottle of Grey Goose please.” The bartender looked at her in disbelief.

  Jonathan put his card on the bar. The bartender shrugged, then pulled down a bottle and shoved it down to the end of the bar. “Thank you,” Grace said as she caught it. She looked down to Elaine trying to squeeze between the bar and the stool. “Oh no, bitch. You ain’t going nowhere,” Grace caught her by the leg and pulled her out onto the middle of the floor. “This one is for my Mother, for trying to fuck with her husband.” She opened the bottle then poured the alcohol in Elaine’s face. Then she took a drink. “This is for trying to kill my Daddy,” she poured more into Elaine’s face. Then took another drink as tears ran down her cheeks. “And this is for trying to ruin my bank.” She emptied the bottle in Elaine’s face. Stared down at the woman as if daring her to get up. Then she placed the bottle on the bar and turned to Jonathan. “Your father is running out the back door.”

  Jonathan ran past her. Suddenly she felt something hit her in the back. Grace heard the glass break when it hit the floor. She slowly turned back around to see Elaine standing there with a gun. Grace just glared at her. “Really!” She walked briskly back towards Elaine who was now backing up. Grace grabbed the empty bottle from the bar and backhanded it upside Elaine’s head. “Don’t bring a glass to a bottle fight.”

  Chrystina beat Myles to the bar. She ran from the bank the few blocks it took to reach the hotel the minute she got the call from Grace. Along the way, she had to make a decision to either stop Grace or sit back and watch the action. About a block away she decided to try to stop Grace. However, when she arrived at the bar and broke through the crowd, she saw Elaine pick up a glass and throw it at Grace’s back. Chrystina gasped and was about to charge Elaine when she saw the look on Grace’s face. She decided whatever Elaine got, Elaine deserved.

  CHAPTER 36

  Jonathan reached the exit door and pushed it open. It led out to an alley way. He looked in both directions. There was no sign of Brentwood.

  “Bloody hell,” Jonathan exclaimed.

  “He’ll be back.”

  Jonathan looked in the direction of the voice. There was a man dressed in raggedy clothes sitting next to a large green dumpster.

  “Did you see a man come out of this door?” Jonathan asked.

  “Sure did. Oh, in a minute or so he’ll be back. There’s a gate up. You can’t get out that way.”

  Jonathan walked in the direction the man pointed.

  “Save your energy. Looks like you’re about ready to tear into him and he knows it from the way he was hauling ass round that corner.”

  Jonathan heard hurried footsteps coming from that direction. As soon as Brentwood turned the corner, Jonathan’s fist knocked the wind out of him. Before he could catch his breath, Jonathan grabbed him, then slammed him against the metal dumpster.

  “You gonna kill him?” The man began standing. “I can’t be a witness to that.”

  Jonathan reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He gave the man all the bills that were inside. “Enjoy your evening.”

  The man looked down at the stack of bills then nodded. “You too,” then walked off in the opposite direction.

  Jonathan picked his father up and threw him into the dumpster. He leaned against it then pulled out his cell phone. “Hello Love. How are things on your end?”

  “I am being detained by the police,” Grace stated. “How are things with you?”

  “No authorities around to hinder my actions.”

  “Did you locate your father?”

  “I did. I’m trying to determine how to dispose of him.”

  “You should ship his ass back to London.”

  A smile appeared on Jonathan’s face. “Thank you, Love. That is exactly what I am going to do. Do you need assistance on your end?”

  “You handle what you need to do there. Myles and Chrystina are here with me.”

  “Very well. I will have this situation cleaned up in a bit and meet you at home.” He disconnected the call then called Sydney. “Sydney, the information you collected on the wives of Brentwood does it include an address?”

  “Yes it does. Would you like for me to forward that to you?”

  “Yes. And I will need a shipping container for international travel.”

  “Air cargo or sea?”

  Jonathan thought for a moment. “Air. I want this cargo out of the country as soon as possible.”

  “I will see if something is available for today.”

  Jonathan thought for a moment, then made another call. “Gary, are you still at the office?”

  “Yes, what do you need?”

  He told Gary what he needed then disconnected the call. He leaned against the dumpster to wait for Gary to arrive and contemplated his next move.

  Twenty minutes later Gary pulled up, parked in the alley, then walked over to where Jonathan stood. He looked over into the dumpster.

  “Holy shit.”

  “Don’t have a paddy, he’s not dead,” Jonathan explained when Gary looked inside the dumpster. Jonathan pulled his father up, smacked him in the face a few times un
til the man groaned. “See, alive.” He smiled at Gary, then punched his father out cold and released the man to fall back down into the dumpster.

  “Every time you come anywhere near Mum I’m going to knock the bloody hell out of you,” he yelled down at the man.

  “I think the warning is supposed to come before you hit him,” Gary suggested.

  “I tried it that way. He would not listen. Did you pick up what I need from my office?.”

  Gary raised an eyebrow at Jonathan. “So what are you going to do with him?”

  “I’m shipping him back to his second wife,” Jonathan replied.

  “I spoke with Jerome. He said this should do the trick.”

  Gary opened the back of the white van. Inside was a wooden, 7 feet long, 2 feet wide and 2 feet high box. They pulled it out then opened it. Inside was a twin size mattress.

  “Perfect.” Jonathan exclaimed as he walked back to the dumpster.

  “Let me give you a hand with that.”

  “No thank you, mate. I do not want you to get your hands dirty with this load of trash.”

  Jonathan pulled his father from the dumpster, placed him over his shoulder, then carried him to the coffin-like box and placed him inside.

  Gary got into the driver seat of the van as Jonathan climbed into the passenger seat. “Where to?”

  “Cargo loading at the airport,” Jonathan replied. “Sydney will forward the shipping information shortly.”

  “You got it,” Gary replied. “I appreciate you reaching out to me to help with this. Myles and Mike tend to keep all the fun tasks between them.”

  “It is their way of protecting you,” Jonathan nodded in understanding. “I will be honest. If Mike was available he would have been my first choice.”

  Gary nodded. “I know. Mike is usually my first call on matters such as this. I have learned a lot from him and Jerome over the years on how to handle delicate situations.”

  “I doubt you’ve had to deal with many situations where you had to choose between killing your enemy or letting him live on with the realization that you will see him on a battle field again one day.”

  “I don’t know about that Jonathan. My uncle had my father killed.” Gary stated. “If I had known what he was up to, I would have shipped his ass to the shark invested waters of Australia, tied a metal chain with a ball to his legs and dropped him in.”