by Nella Tyler
Meg picked up her juice to drink then set it down again.
“Did you hear that?”
“Hear what?” Ashlee said.
“I’ll check outside,” Drake said. Drake left the kitchen by the back door.
The girls looked at each other nervously. They then heard the front door being forced open. They got up to run when suddenly Doug was standing in the kitchen. He held a gun pointed at Meg.
“One move and she’s dead,” he barked.
“What do you want, Doug? You have the jewels. You are you here bothering us?” Meg stormed.
“Because I need to get rid of the one person who can turn me in,” he sneered.
“You fool! Now there are three people who can turn you in,” Meg said. “Do you think Beni and Ashlee won’t report you?”
“Not if there dead along with you. The dead can’t talk from the grave,” he said. “And there’s nobody else here to tell the tale.”
Meg realized that he didn’t know that Drake was with them. That was to their advantage. She saw Drake approach the back door and look through the window. Then he backed away.
“Just leave, Doug, while you still can. The FBI agent is coming to check on us today. He’ll be here at any time,” Ashlee said.
“And when he arrives, he’ll find three corpses,” he spat.
“Where’s Denise? Does she know you have come here?” Meg asked.
“I told her just before she tossed me to the wolves. She took most of the treasure and left me with next to nothing. The bitch!” he said harshly. “So I figured I might as well send you to an early grave for all of the trouble you caused me.”
“Doug, you’ve lost all reason. Killing me will only make more trouble for you. Leave now while you can,” Meg said.
“Not before killing all of you,” he grinned evilly. “It will give me great pleasure to hear you beg for mercy, only to then hear you scream in pain. It will fun to see you die.”
“Fun? Have you lost your mind completely?” Beni asked in astonishment.
“I’m very sane. Now move into the other room. All of you.” He jerked the gun toward the living room.
Meg was glad to go into the other room. This would allow Drake the opportunity to come back into the house. He could go down the back hall through the house. And that was exactly what he did. Drake slipped silently through the back door and moved down the back hallway. He needed to get to his bedroom and get his gun from the nightstand drawer. He could hear Doug bragging about how he intended to kill the girls and his blood boiled with anger. Well, he had a surprise for Murphy.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Drake retrieved his gun from the nightstand drawer and moved quietly down the hall to the front of the house. He leaned against the corner of the wall and aimed at Doug.
“Drop the gun, Murphy,” Drake called out.
Doug quickly grabbed Meg and put the gun to her head.
“Now who’s going to drop their gun,” Doug boasted.
Meg fisted her hand and rammed it into Doug’s groin. He howled in pain and Meg pulled away from when a shot rang out. Doug fell to the floor wailing pitifully. Drake had shot him in his shoulder. Drake ran over to kick his gun away from him. Then he moved to Meg.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
She nodded.
“I’m fine.”
He kissed her temple then started giving instructions.
“Beni, find something to tie him up with. Ashlee, get some towels for the wound. Meg, call paramedics,” he said. “I will call Lono.”
Everyone ran to do his bidding. In a few minutes, the paramedics had arrived along with Lono. Lono handcuffed Doug to the stretcher before they took him to the hospital.
“Good shot, Drake. If you ever decide to join the FBI, let me know. I’ll hook you up,” Lono grinned.
Drake smiled ruefully.
“I think I’ll stay in the construction business. It’s a lot safer.
Lono laughed.
“Now you can enjoy the island. Have fun!” he said, then left the house.
“It’s over. It’s really over!” Meg exclaimed.
The girls literally jumped for joy.
Epilogue
It was two years later and Meg sat on the lanai overlooking the beautiful Pacific Ocean. She rocked a baby boy in her lap who slept peacefully. Life could not be better. She was living in Hawaii on the lovely Oahu Island, living the life of luxury. She and Drake had married four months after their adventure and now had had a beautiful, baby boy: Chase Alexander Hanover. Meg didn’t believe it possible that she could be happier. She had everything that she had ever wanted.
She often saw Peleke and they would have long, happy talks. He had become a good friend, and it no longer perturbed her that he would leave as mysteriously as he had come. Doug was now serving twelve years in prison for theft and attempted murder. Denise had never been found, but she had miraculously sent the treasure to the Bishop Museum. Meg had received a text from her stating that money had not brought her happiness and maybe it would come to her if she did the right thing. Meg returned her text wishing her well.
Beni and Ashlee had moved to Oahu as well. They said they couldn’t envision a life being so far away from their best friend. Meg was moved by their friendship and love. But she knew that their decisions to move to Oahu had a lot to do with Kai and Noah, whom they were engaged to.
“There are my two most favorite people in the world.”
She tilted her face up to receive Drake’s kiss. He then kissed Chase’s forehead. He sat on the arm of Meg’s chair and stared out at the view.
“I never grow tired of this view. I think it’s the most beautiful in the world,” he sighed.
“I agree. I could sit in this chair forever and never tired of it,” she smiled. “How was work?”
“The Tropics will be open for patrons next week.”
“Really! Finally. It’s has taken longer to rebuild than you had thought,” she mused.
“Yeah. But it was worth all of the extra time. It’s absolutely gorgeous. Just stunning. I will have a grand re-opening to welcome our first guests,” he said.
“It’s a sign of the good things to come for us,” she said.
“I can agree with that. We have a wonderful life. And it’s only going to get better and better.” He tilted her face again and kissed her deeply.
Meg melted into his caress and thought he was absolutely correct.
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NAILING THE BILLIONAIRE
By Nella Tyler
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2017 Nella Tyler
Chapter One
Dexter
I ran a hand through my hair one more time in an attempt to tame it. Some mornings, it felt nearly impossible to grapple with the thick black mop of hair on my head, no matter how much I styled it. I knew I was late to meet with my father, but that didn’t stop me from fidgeting in the mirror just a little more. I double-checked my cufflinks, rebuttoned my suit once, twice, three times, and then finally stared at myself in the bathroom mirror.
What the hell are you doing? I turned my head, watched my own green eyes interrogate me with their unsettling brightness. You’ll never make him happy.
My phone went off, and I turned off the alarm I’d set to meet with my father. I exited the bathroom, took a deep breath, and walked down the hall and into the biggest office at the end of the hall. A plaque carefully placed in the center of the glass door read ‘Leonard Mason, CEO.’
I pushed the door open, and didn’t see my father at first. The enormous mahogany desk at the back of the room was empty, and so were the lux
urious chairs that sat in front of it. I walked up to the desk, examined the name plaque with a repeat of my father’s name and title, and looked out the window; like my own office, this entire back wall was a window overlooking the city.
I wondered if I would ever own this office. I walked slowly around the perimeters of the office, where bookshelves had been stacked and piled with every book on law, business, and negotiation that had ever been written—at least, that’s what I was inclined to think. I knew, too, that my father had read every one of those books, and could probably recite them.
I had a bookshelf in my office, too. I used it to store pictures of my family and friends, as well as a few of the textbooks I’d gotten the most use out of in business school. I took a book off the shelf and opened it.
“Having a look-see?”
I jumped in surprise and nearly dropped the book. “Dad! I didn’t see you there.” My father stood at the entrance of the room.
Leonard Mason cut an intimidating figure in a suit. He had the sort of skinniness that suited a suit, and made him look grossly out of place in a pair of shorts and T-shirt. His glasses hung so permanently on his face that when he removed them, there was a small dent on his nose. The wrinkles between his eyes and on his forehead spoke of years of hardline business. Now, though, he had on a rare smile.
“Well, I heard you’d closed an account today,” Leonard said.
I set the book back on the bookshelf. This was true, but I didn’t know whether or not to own up to it. Perhaps my father intended to compliment me or praise me, but this was rarely the case. Usually, Leonard had criticism to give, or at least some sort of half-praise that left me striving for some kind of acknowledgment.
The easiest thing to do was not expect anything. Leonard was difficult to please, some would argue. I would argue he was impossible to please, and that anyone who tried to please him was wasting his time.
And yet, here I was, working this job in the hopes that I would one day inherit this life.
“Dexter? Did you close the account or not?”
“Yes,” I said. “I did, this morning. Got off the phone about an hour ago, actually.”
Leonard nodded slowly, eyeing me up and down almost like a lion measured its prey. “That’s good work. You’ve been doing well this quarter.”
I did my best not to literally squirm under the critical heat of his stare. This praise made me suspicious at most, at least; wary of a lecture. “Thank you. It’s been a lucky few months.”
I didn’t want to linger here in this strange environment where my father was kind, and I started towards the door to be on my way.
“I… wait a moment.”
I whispered a curse under my breath and turned around.
Leonard sat down beneath his desk and gestured for me to take a seat in one of the chairs. I did, and I sank into it a bit too comfortably for my liking.
“You’re 28 now,” Leonard said.
I nodded.
“You’re growing up. Well, you’ve grown up, now you’re getting older. One day you’ll own this company. This desk, these books, the view.” Leonard turned slightly to glance out the window, as if appreciating the Florida skyline for the final time.
I furrowed my brow.
“Are you surprised?” Leonard seemed to read my mind before I could even fully formulate my thoughts.
“A little.”
“I’ve noticed you lately. I’ve seen the way you look at this place. You’ve always claimed this life wasn’t for you, but you pull more hours than anyone here. You claim to do this to appease me, but I know you see your name on that door.” Leonard motioned to the glass door where his name and ‘CEO’ were engraved on a plaque.
That might have been true to an extent, but I didn’t know that I really appreciated having my mind read and assumptions drawn about my character and ambitions. It wasn’t something worth arguing, anyway, so I merely nodded.
“I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it,” I said. “But I have a brother. Is he not a factor in this decision?”
Leonard frowned—well, deepened his frown from the eternal scowl his face had set in long ago. “Tyler is a lost cause to the company. You know that probably better than I do.”
I did. I loved my brother dearly and considered him to be my closest friend, but he wasn’t cut out for business. “I suppose.”
“The only problem you have is your wife.”
I looked up with a bit of surprise. “I’m sorry?”
“Well, that you don’t have one.” Leonard leaned back in his chair. “If you’re going to take my place, you should find a wife that inspires some sort of trust in the companies we’re involved with.”
“What? I don’t… I don’t follow.” I was more than aware of the fact that I was 28 and single, but I wasn’t concerned with making some sort of marriage for business. That sounded like the sort of thing that happened hundreds of years ago.
“It sounds antiquated, I know. But it’s common in our profession to marry someone involved in the companies we want to do business with.”
I shook his head. “Dad, I understand your concern, but I promise, I’m working on it. I don’t really think…” I didn’t want to argue, and so I changed my approach in rebelling against this idea. “I wouldn’t know where to start, anyway. It might be best to apply myself to business.”
Leonard gave a harsh, jarring laugh. “I agree on an ideal level. But practically, this will cement the company when I’m gone. And don’t worry about finding someone.”
I got a bad feeling in my stomach.
“I’ve given you the week off next week and arranged you to meet with…” Leonard trailed off and checked a note he’d written on a Post-it note. “Tiffany DuBois.”
Tiffany DuBois. I knew the DuBois as a wealthy family. They were enormously powerful influencers; my family was at every party thrown by the DuBois trying to get the older couple to lend them their ear. I’d never met their daughter. To my understanding, she’d spent much of her childhood in private schooling, and then, private colleges.
The implication, then, would be that refusing to meet Tiffany would be a slap in the face to the DuBois family. It wasn’t an option to refuse my father, not only because he couldn’t be argued with, but because I didn’t want to face the consequences of having the DuBois on my bad side.
On my way out, I texted my brother to meet me at the gym. We had a lot to discuss, for sure, and I was sure I was in need of advice that I didn’t even know I needed yet. I stopped at my house briefly to get changed into some gym clothes, and then made my way over to meet Tyler.
The gym was located in one of the gated communities downtown. I didn’t live in the community, but I had memberships to all the community’s country clubs, and my family had basically paid to have the gym built. I had a membership here, as did my brother. It was usually empty, because most of the wealthy people who lived around here had personal trainers or at-home gyms.
I set a bottle of water and my wallet in the designated locker and headed into the main area to meet my brother. Tyler sat on a weightlifting bench, hands pressed against the bar. For all the time Tyler spent in the gym, he never really bulked up, but remained lanky and unintimidating. His hair was a little lighter than mine and his eyes a dark brown instead of green, but besides those two things, we looked very similar. We were almost exactly the same height; who was taller seemed to change every day.
“Getting started without me?” I made sure my brother had set the weight back into its pegs before speaking and startling him.
“Didn’t think you were going to show up.” Tyler looked up. “Make yourself useful and spot. Tough meeting with Dad?”
I stood behind the weights, knowing full well that if Tyler did drop one, there wouldn’t be much I could do to help him. “It was… weird. It went okay, I guess; he was glad that I closed the account.”
“I’m not. Now he’s gonna be on my ass to get things done.” Tyler huffed and pushe
d the weight off his chest.
I shrugged. “He’s always on our asses. Doesn’t matter what about.”
“Yup. But you’re still working for him.”
“So are you.”
Tyler pushed the weight back onto the rack. “I have a bachelor’s degree in music theory. I don’t have any other choice. You could at least go find a different firm.”
“You know I can’t do that.” Not with the knowledge that if I left now, the firm would be left to Tyler, and that would probably crush Tyler more readily than any weight in this room.
“Yeah, I know. I just wish you’d stick up for yourself sometimes. He pushes you around, and you just let him. He’s only in this for himself, you know. You’re not like that with anyone else. Remember when those lacrosse pricks were picking on you in high school?”
I smiled. “I didn’t beat them up.”
“They looked beat up.”
“I didn’t tell them to follow me down the stairs.” I shook my head at the memory. A few kids from the lacrosse team had decided to start making fun of me. I’d eventually baited them to the steep staircase behind the gym and run down it; they’d tripped and gotten hurt, enough to put them out for the season.
“Whatever, man. You know what I’m saying. You could at least tell Dad that enough’s enough with all the bullshit. Add another 10, would you?”
I gave a sarcastic bow and added a 10-pound weight to both ends of the pole. “Well, it’s a little more complicated now.”
Tyler rolled his eyes. “It’s always more complicated. The longer you stay in, the longer it’s complicated.” Tyler generally had a much more cheerful demeanor about him, but when it came to the company and our father, he got serious, or at least, more existential than usual.
“No, I mean, it got a lot more complicated. He set me up to meet with Tiffany DuBois.”
Tyler laughed, and I had to grab the weight before it could fall on him. “Sorry. Tiffany? What do you mean meet? You don’t mean…”
I stared down at him. Tyler burst into laughter, sitting up to allow himself to make the most noise mocking my plight. “Jesus fuckin’ Christ, man. Tiffany DuBois. I thought she was 19? Or 12?”