~ Lara ~
John Maxfield was dutifully waiting in her office at Stone and Associates when Lara arrived.
“I’m sorry to be late, John.” She smiled and the attorney was distracted as he poured a cup of coffee.
“No problem, Lara, I just got here. But, today we need to have a long talk.” His tone sounded ominous and Lara skipped the coffee and sat in the chair across from him.
“What do you mean, John?”
The attorney took a deep breath and started, “I know your first reaction to inheriting Eliot’s estate was to make large charitable donations, but I’m going to advise against doing so…and hope you’ll hear me out.” Lara sat still and listened as Maxfield spoke, sensibly and logically about the economics of her situation.
“First of all, as your appointed representative, I’m responsible to do my fiduciary duty, in other words, to look out for your best interests, financially. I’m advising that you make smaller donations to charitable groups and invest a large portion of the estate in a trust for your future. I know your husband has a security business and there is the possibility that he could die or voluntarily leave you some day. If that happened and you had given all of the money away, you’d be penniless except for what you could earn. That would not be a good position for you.” Lara saw the rationale in what he was saying.
After a lengthy discussion she decided to sell Eliot Stone’s estate once the renovation was completed. Maxfield spoke softly, “The property will bring you six million, at least. Perhaps you could use some of those proceeds to help the young woman you mentioned – Nadia, I think you said. The sixty million will be set aside in a trust fund in your name only. Eliot’s rare paintings and other smaller assets would be auctioned off and that money could be donated to any charity you choose.”
The plan seemed reasonably sound to her and it felt good to know she’d have a safety net if anything ever happened to Ben. It was a thought she had never considered, but now that she knew how dangerous his missions were, it all seemed to make sense. And, she never thought of him leaving her voluntarily, but the sheer mention of Abigail Roth the night before planted the smallest seed of doubt in the back of her mind.
The one asset she didn’t want to sell was the 40-foot Hinckley sloop at the Falmouth Yacht Club. She loved the boat and the memory of her first time sailing -- seeing Clearwater Farm from the water. She stated, “I’m keeping the sailboat and want to maintain membership at the Falmouth Yacht Club, if possible.”
Maxfield made a note to speak to the owner of the club. It was customary if someone passed away to give their membership to a spouse. But in this case, the attorney would see if Lara would be able to step into Eliot’s position at the club. “I’ll take care of the details.” Maxfield said with an air of efficiency. For the next twenty minutes Lara signed mounds of paperwork.
As Maxfield collected the documents and two briefcases, he briefly turned to Lara as she held the door open for him. “Thanks, Lara, for making this so easy.” She thanked him and he was gone. Closing the large mahogany door, she was once again alone with her thoughts.
She felt odd talking with the attorney about the possibility of Ben leaving her. For a moment she was filled with suspicion about Abby. Her nerves had been on edge lately with all of the life-changing decisions she was making at warp speed. She hoped to talk with Ben tonight and learn more about Abby.
Why would this woman from his past suddenly reappear? She could not stop the feeling of unbridled jealousy seeping into her mind. Ben was Abby’s first boyfriend and she saw the photos of him in his childhood bedroom. He must have been the guy voted most likely to have women hanging on him. No doubt about it, Ben was good looking. His most attractive quality, however, was he seemed to be unaware of that fact.
The door opened and Betty interrupted her thoughts. “Lunch from the deli?”
Lara smiled, “Yes, just a salad today, thanks.”
“The usual?” Betty quipped.
Lara nodded and Betty disappeared to place the order. Lara remembered eating lunch with Ben at the university when he first started working there and walking Einstein every day. She missed having time to check in with him like that. Truth was, she missed Ben terribly at that very moment. It was Friday. Why not pop into his office and surprise him? She could split the deli salad with him.
Thirty minutes later, Betty returned with a salad in a large paper bag. “I’m taking it to go.” Lara smiled at her. “If anyone calls please take a message and tell them I’ll get back to them. I have a lunch date today.”
Lara bounded down the staircase to the parking lot and hopped into her Fiat. She knew Ben’s lunch break was usually right about Noon. The traffic was thick, but she got to the university parking lot and pushed the heavy outside door that led into the building housing his office. The bright sunshine disappeared as she entered the ancient brick building and her eyes adjusted momentarily to the lack of light.
As she approached Ben’s office she sensed he was already having lunch with someone. The door to his office was open and the sound of female laughter drifted into the hallway. She couldn’t hear his words, but Ben was talking and the girl was amused by whatever he was saying. Lara stepped into the doorway of Ben’s office and saw the back of a woman. She appeared to be tall and slender with long dark hair. When she turned in the chair she glanced at Lara as if she’d seen a ghost.
~ Abby ~
Ben was making Einstein do tricks for a dog treat and Abby found this immeasurably amusing. Sitting in front of her, a super-tough former Navy SEAL was cooing softly to an English Bull Terrier. Her giggling stopped the moment she turned and viewed the figure standing in the doorway holding a large paper bag.
Abby swiveled as Ben jumped up from his chair and leapt across the room as if royalty had just arrived.
“Darlin…I’m so glad to see you. And, you brought me lunch…how thoughtful.” Abby watched as he fawned over Lara, taking the bag from her hands and kissing her lips gently as he slipped his arm around her. “Abby, I want you to meet my wife, Lara.”
Abby stood and extended her hand to Ben’s wife and a warm smile spread over Lara’s face.
“It’s great to meet you, Abby. I saw a photograph of you in Ben’s childhood bedroom.”
Abby didn’t know what to say about the photograph in Ben’s bedroom, so she made light of it, “Oh God, high school photographs! You probably wouldn’t even recognize me now! That was thirteen years ago, I think.” Lara’s eyes seemed to see through her and she felt a bit intimidated. Ben’s wife sat on the sofa and Ben put the paper bag on the coffee table. There was an awkward moment of silence as Ben tried to communicate with Lara while trying to make Abby feel at ease.
“Abby dropped in to get the details of her teaching position squared away. She’s looking for an apartment near the university and I told her about the pink Victorian. There may be a vacancy there.” Abby listened as Ben diplomatically explained her presence.
“Oh that’s wonderful, Abby.” Lara replied sweetly, a little too sweetly, Abby thought.
“Oh gosh, this salad is delicious,” Lara gushed, “I’m sorry, Abby, if I knew you were here I would’ve gotten one for you.”
Abby took her cue to leave, “Tell you what, Ben, I was thinking of walking around the neighborhood and this might be the perfect time to do that. I’ll go check out some houses in the area to see I can find a rental. I’ll drop back later before I leave.”
Ben handed Abby her sweater and purse and walked her to the office door. “Sure. Just call if you need anything. You’re new to the area and I’ll answer any questions.”
As Abby escaped through the doorway she noticed Lara happily eating her salad. She even smiled at Abby and waved goodbye with the fork in her hand. Abby wondered what Lara would be saying to Ben once she left.
Lucy Adams had offered to take her on a ride through the neighborhood to find an apartment; she headed back to the dean’s office to take her up on the offer.
Talk about timing. His wife could not have arrived at a more awkward moment. Ben knew what the scene probably looked like. He was trying to read Lara’s thoughts. She was probably under the impression that Ben was having lunch with Abby and had given her a campus tour. She was right about the campus tour, but he did not intend to invite Abby for lunch. That would be too much, even though they were old friends. He didn’t want to get the relationship off to a bad start. Lara had set his lunch before him.
“Thank you for the lunch, darlin…I didn’t bring one today.” He spoke lovingly to her.
“How’s Abby doing?” she queried.
“She’s pretty much the same.” Ben replied flatly.
Lara stopped eating and stared into his eyes, “Same old person?”
This he did not want to discuss.
“There’s really not much to say about her. Abby and I dated for a while in high school. Period.” Ben exhaled.
Lara was busy eating but let another question slip out, “What happened back then? Did you break it off with her or did she break it off with you?”
Ben eyes dropped to the salad bowl. “Does it really matter?”
“Oh, do tell me. I love a good story.” Lara exclaimed with a little too much enthusiasm.
Agitated, Ben stood up and paced across the office floor to his desk. He didn’t want to talk about Abby, but figured he had to get some details out of the way.
“Look, it was like this. She was my first real girlfriend. Her parents didn’t like me. They set her up with this other guy, he was at West Point. She ended up marrying him.”
“And, go on.” Lara waved her hand,
“It didn’t work out.” Ben wrinkled his brow.
Lara tilted her head, “Oh, poor Abby. I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Darn, look at the time. I’ve got to get back.” Lara glanced at the clock and stopped eating. Within a minute Lara collected her purse and walked out of his office. She waved her hand, “I’ll see you tonight for dinner, Ben…” She stopped to rub Einstein’s ears and she didn’t kiss Ben goodbye.
He cringed as he watched her exit; but at the same moment realized how gorgeous she looked in that red suit. He felt a twinge of sadness that he didn’t get to tell her how beautiful she was. Hell he didn’t even get to kiss her goodbye. What just happened? He felt horrible about her walking in while he was with Abby. But he didn’t even know why he felt so badly. Nothing had happened.
Lara seemed to be taking this all in stride. He wondered why she wasn’t more suspicious about Abby. Couldn’t she see the possibilities here? His old girlfriend working a few doors down the hall from his office. The possibility ran through his mind that maybe Lara just didn’t care about it. Or, maybe she didn’t care about him. That thought was painful to consider.
The rest of his day was filled with messages from Moshe and some action on the Dark Horse gaming site with the team. The detailed plan was being formulated and he buried himself in the computer until the dinner hour approached.
Sixteen of the men they would execute were visiting high end concubines at a secluded coastal restaurant. The building they gathered in would be perfect for the hit.
The armed guards would need to be taken out before the targets could be executed. Currently, all of the targets were being tracked with miniscule GPS devices attached to their vehicles and forward-deployed drones the size of a mosquito. These were inside drones that delivered crisp sound and images.
Four of the targets ate breakfast together at the same café every week.
Twenty two of them attended the same mosque.
The Dark Horse site connected to Moshe’s war room looked like a high-resolution computer war-game. In fact, it was the tactical plan dissected into second-by-second moves. Each time Ben logged on, there was more information and the plan improved. Statistics and probability algorithms were built in. Real-time satellite imaging was overlaid.
Interrupting his computer work, several new students dropped by to ask questions and chat with him. But most of the afternoon was spent with Moshe and his men. Although, the thought of Lara lingered in the back of his mind.
~ Lara ~
A text arrived on her phone mid-afternoon from Ben asking if she would like to have dinner at one of her favorite restaurants. She sent an enthusiastic reply, “Yes!” and the afternoon was a blur of activity at the firm. Ben was waiting for her at the doorway when she arrived home. He had taken Einstein for a run and they were both panting heavily.
He kissed her and huffed, “I need to clean up a bit. I’ll be right back, darlin…” She washed her face in the powder room and brushed her teeth and applied a soft red lipstick. Ben appeared dressed in chinos and a sweater. The evening air was cooler now.
Ben wedged himself into the Fiat and made Lara giggle.
“I think I need to get a slightly bigger vehicle for your six foot two body!” she announced,
Their conversation was normal. They bantered about which vehicle to purchase and Lara chose a Mercedes SUV, which was fine with Ben. Lara watched his every move even though she was exhausted from her day at the firm. She wondered what had transpired with Abby. She forced herself to smile and gave Ben the benefit of the doubt. But the picture of Abby laughing in his office remained etched in her mind. Lara didn’t have a good feeling in her gut about this chick.
Ben had reserved a table at a tiny French bistro overlooking the Fore River in Portland. The service was impeccable and the meal delicious. Ben seemed curious about the meetings she had at the firm, “How did your day go? Any new challenges at the firm?”
Lara ticked through the list of things she talked about with the attorney and she mentioned Finn’s unannounced arrival. She watched Ben’s face but he seemed to be neutral on the subject of the disbursement of the money.
“Enough about me, Ben…how did your day go? Did Abby find an apartment? That was when she noticed his demeanor changed ever so slightly. She could tell he didn’t want to talk about Abby. His reluctance only served to heighten the suspicion already lurking in her mind.
~ Ben ~
The dinner was fantastic until Lara started her lengthy explanation of what she planned to do with Eliot’s fortune. Most of it would be set aside in a trust for her…in case he left her. What was that all about? He would never leave her willingly, and he had major life insurance policies in place in the event of his death. But, if the money sitting in a trust made her feel secure and happy, he could live with that.
The thing that still bothered him was the fawning she was doing over Hawk. Yes, the guy saved her life and there were many ways to show gratitude. But, Ben thought it was over-the-top to pull him into the business and reward him with physical assets. And was it really necessary for her to be in contact with Hawk every day?
Hawk was taking up exorbitant amounts of his wife’s time. Or was it the other way around? Then again, it was so like Lara to be kind to a guy who was trying to make something of himself after such a rough start. He had to admire her generosity when it came to Hawk, but hoped that’s all it was. Still, he couldn’t help but wonder why she spent so much of her time fawning over a grown man capable of caring for himself.
Lara was once again asking about Abby. “Tell me more about her, Ben.”
There was nothing to say about her. Ben spoke firmly as he gazed into his wife’s lovely eyes, “I’ve got to accept the fact that Abby has landed a teaching position at the university. I will be running into her from time to time. But I have no plans to become fast friends. Our friendship is in the past and I’m not planning on rekindling it. I’d really prefer to drop the subject.”
As Ben’s eyes drifted upward, he saw the figure of a man standing in the doorway with an attractive middle-aged woman on his arm. Late, as usual, Kip Larson made it to the restaurant. Ben nodded to him and the handsome couple made their way to the private table. He saw Lara’s eyes go wide as he introduced the pair and they sat down to order dessert.
> Kip Larson almost smiled, “Lovely place, Portland Maine. Sorry we’re late, but stopped in a few shops along the way. There are some fabulous jewelry shops on this block. Well, have you made a decision, Chief?”
Men dressed in black hovered at the tiny bar and one stood near the doorway of the small dining room. Secret service. He saw the smile dissipate from Lara’s lovely face.
Finally, Ben knew he had to bring up the subject of the upcoming mission and presumed it would go over like a lead balloon. He turned to Lara to explain, “I’ve got something coming up around the Thanksgiving break.” He watched Lara’s beautiful green eyes become expressionless. Ben felt an overwhelming urge to reassure her, “It’s not a big deal. It’s an overseas trip, but no longer than a week or two. It won’t be like that last one. Oh, darlin – please don’t look at me like that.”
Lara glanced down at the food on her plate and she peered at Larson as she took a sip of water from the crystal glass. Ben sensed she was a bit intimidated sitting across from the CIA’s Special Activities Director and he wished he would have told her in advance.
She was silent for a few minutes and Ben dreaded what might be coming. Finally, she spoke. But it wasn’t with a tone of anger or frustration.
“Sure, I understand.” Her eyes moved over Larson and his wife, “It’s strictly business. I won’t be cooking a turkey dinner this year. It’s no big deal.”
Larson smiled, which was rare for him. Then he took a sip of brandy, “Support is very important in this field, Lara, and I’m glad to see you are so understanding with the Chief, ah,…I mean Ben.”
However, Ben perceived a mood swing in her lovely demeanor. He detected the slightest hint of a tear welling in her eyes. Dinner was over. Although he had anticipated lingering with Larson and his wife at the table, he stood up and caught the waiter’s attention. As he paid the bill, he asked him to put the cheesecake with fresh blackberry sauce in a container to go.
Flawlessly Executed (Dark Horse Guardians Book 3) Page 5