by S. E. Lund
"That it does."
Preliminaries out of the way, I decided to dive right in.
"So, I wanted to talk with you about the story you did for MBS on Henry Garner, Emmet Carlson's partner, who was convicted of insider trading back in the nineties."
Mathis went over the story for a few moments, recalling how they were given some leads to track down about a stock deal that had been suspiciously close to the day news was released about the company being charged with fraud and it turned up Garner. They'd followed Garner for several months before they'd been able to write anything substantive. When Garner was finally charged, it was a big local scandal in New Hampshire and notable to people who followed Wall Street, but to people outside of the financial world, it would be nothing much of interest. Just another inside trader who was caught. The only difference was that this time, he went to prison.
Usually, these kinds of crimes led to fines and nothing more. Garner was a repeat offender, so he finally got a sentence of time in a comfy white-collar prison, where he'd spent a decade.
End of story.
Emmet Carlson was somehow spared being charged, despite the fact that the two ran the small investment firm together. I figured that Carlson had nothing to do with that stock or sale. But usually, with a small firm like that, the partners would be involved in any decision to buy or sell stock.
"Why wasn't Carlson charged?" I asked point blank.
Mathis shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. Apparently, Security and Exchange Commission prosecutors decided he had nothing to do with that sale and didn't charge him. He didn't even testify at the trial. I imagine he was questioned by their investigators but wasn't charged nor did he testify against Garner. There is footage of him speaking with the press about the fines Garner paid, and the charges. He defended Garner and said it was a misunderstanding."
"Funny that he defended him, when it was clearly breaking the law."
"Well, he may have cooperated with the SEC. Or he may have been innocent. Either way, it's old news. Why are you looking into it now? Carlson's respected as the Governor of New Hampshire. He's been clean from what I can see for two decades and Garner's dead, so..."
"I'm engaged to Ella Carlson, his daughter."
"Congratulations," Mathis said and held up his beer bottle in a toast. "I can see why you might want to bone up on the case."
I nodded. "I just wanted to know about the case and MBS's role in it so I can get along with my future father-in-law. He's not too well-disposed towards MBS because of our station's expose on Garner, shall we say."
"Politicians always hate the press," Mathis said with a laugh and took a long sip of his beer. "They love us when we make them look good, but when we don't, they condemn us."
"Isn't that the truth?" I replied and did the same.
We talked a few minutes longer about his role in the program on Garner and then I shook his hand once more and left the bar. While it had been good to speak with Mathis, he really didn't give me much more information than I already had gleaned from reading the reports of the day and watching MBS's program on the story. We drove back to the building and after I parked the vehicle, Reg and I went up to the main floor security office to go over the plans to call off the protection we'd had on Ella and me for the last while.
Now that I knew who Mr. Fedora was, I wasn't as concerned about some nutcase following us around with plans of vengeance. He was just a PI looking for some information on me for his client.
It was a relief not to worry about personal security for us.
I went up to the penthouse and Ella was already there, dressed in her bathrobe, her hair wet.
"What's up?" I asked when I took her into my arms. "You just had a shower?"
"I did," she replied and kissed me. "I went for a bike ride and got all sweaty."
"All sweaty, hmm?" I asked and nuzzled her neck. She smelled so good, and her skin was warm and soft against my lips. She closed her eyes and sighed as I opened her robe and kissed her throat.
"You're going to make me all sweaty again if you keep that up."
I smiled and moved lower.
"That's my plan."
And then, for the next half hour at least, I forgot all about Governor Carlson, his business partner Henry Garner and my meeting with Mathis, losing myself in Ella's delicious body.
Later, after a meal of leftovers from the night before, Ella and I snuggled together on the sofa and watched the news.
"We can call off the dogs," I said and turned to her.
"What do you mean?"
I told her about Mr. Fedora and who he really was.
"Oh, thank God," she said and exhaled. "That means we don't have to worry it's some stalker who wants to hurt either of us, right?"
"Right," I said and pulled her closer. "Whoever hired the law firm to hire him to get info on me might want to harm me or MBS financially, but not likely physically. We can stop the personal security detail."
"Good," Ella said. "The guys are great, don't get me wrong, but I want to be able to go out and just wander sometimes. When you have someone following you, it's hard to feel free."
"Well, now you are free to roam, if you so desire."
She smiled and snuggled into my arms and that was the way we passed the evening.
11
Ella
I was so glad to be free of our security detail that I went out the next day and just walked along the East River, enjoying the sights. It felt good to be finally free of the worry that Mr. Fedora would show up and shoot one or the other of us over some slight he perceived Josh, or his company had done years ago. I bought a coffee and worked through one of my breaks so I could take some time off at the end of the day and then I sat on a bench along the pathway bordering the East River and just enjoyed myself.
I imagined how the next couple of months would go as Josh and I worked to get the apartment in order for our move-in date, how we'd be pressed to get the wedding all arranged by Easter, and how I'd manage my workload so we could take some time off and go somewhere to be completely by ourselves for a week. It was nice to have those kinds of things to occupy my mind. My past life in New Hampshire seemed so far away at that moment that I could scarcely believe less than a year earlier, I was depressed and feeling like my life was over.
Now, everything was good. I couldn't look at anything in my life and wish it was different. I often felt like pinching myself and seeing if this was some sort of dream or hallucination, but it wasn't. It was really happening.
I'd met my own Mr. Big, and I was having my own story of happy ever after.
My cell dinged, signaling an incoming text.
It was Steph.
We hadn't been in contact for more than a week and I felt a bit bad that I'd neglected her. I vaguely remembered she'd decided to apply to Oxford for her Masters, after it looked like she would graduate with one of the highest GPAs in her graduating class. I had hoped she would come to live in Manhattan, but she wanted to do her MA instead.
STEPH: Hey, girlfriend. What's up? I miss you.
ELLA: I'm fantastic. How are you? How was your Christmas? How are classes going? You decided to take one more semester of classes for your honors, right?
STEPH: That’s right. I’ll graduate in the spring. Then, this girl is going to Europe for a backpacking trip with big sis.
ELLA: That sounds wonderful. You need a break, working so hard like you have. What about Oxford? You should be hearing back soon, right?
STEPH: My advisor thinks I'm a shoo-in because of my grades and great recommendations plus my extra-curricular activities. I'll be hearing back within a week.
ELLA: That would be so terrific for you. Fingers crossed.
STEPH: Thanks. The semester starts in October, so I'd be going for a year of courses and then the thesis work.
ELLA: Will you come to Manhattan at that point?
STEPH: We'll see. It's my fallback plan. If I don't get in, I'll go backpacking with Char and then mo
ve to Manhattan and bug you.
ELLA: You could never bug me.
Steph's younger sister Charlene was working in the restaurant business, waiting tables while she took courses and would be finished in the Spring as well.
STEPH: What's up with you and Mr. Handsome?
ELLA: We set the date.
STEPH: SHUT THE FRONT DOOR! When?
ELLA: Easter Saturday.
STEPH: Wow - that's so soon. What's the rush? Will you even be able to get everything ready by then? You'll have to book a church and a venue...
ELLA: Josh wanted to get married right away. I said we should wait three months at least. We're going to have the ceremony in LA at David's mansion so it's no problem booking a venue or anything. Of course, I want you to be my maid of honor.
STEPH: LA? That sounds great. Please don't make me wear a silly dress. That's all I ask. Something tasteful, okay?
ELLA: I'll let you pick out your dress. How's that?
STEPH: Perfect. I'll try to coordinate with you, but you know me. I have this giraffe physique and not every style looks good on me.
ELLA: More like a gazelle physique. Don't put yourself down like that.
STEPH: I happen to love giraffes, kiddo. ;)
ELLA: LOL
STEPH: Who will be best man?
ELLA: I don't know who he'll ask. Probably David, I would think.
STEPH: OMG, David McIntyre. I'm in love already. He's such a hunk of dangerous man-flesh. Will the other brothers be there? Is there one who I could snag?
ELLA: I thought you were going to Oxford in October...
STEPH: I might reconsider if I could snag him. Seriously, Ella. David is a babe.
ELLA: He's actually quite sweet once you get to know him.
STEPH: That's right -- you and Josh spent time in LA at Christmas. We haven't talked for almost two weeks. Spill, sister. What's he really like? He has such a bad-boy persona.
ELLA: David's quite deep, when you get to know him. He seems really rough around the edges when he performs but he was a perfect gentleman the whole time we were there. Of course, he just lost Terry, one of his band members and I think it hit him really hard.
STEPH: Yeah, it must have been traumatic. I heard that they finished the latest EP and will be going on tour with the new guy.
ELLA: Yes. David seems to have recovered, but Josh says there's a sadness in him that wasn't there before. He wants us to spend the honeymoon there, too, but maybe we'll go somewhere exotic for a week. Bora Bora or French Polynesia.
STEPH: You should. You deserve it, kiddo. What do your parents think of Josh? Is your dad okay with it? I know there was that thing with the business partner back in the day.
ELLA: Mom gave him the word and he was a gentleman the entire two days we were at their place.
STEPH: That's good. The last thing you two need is a family feud to get between you.
ELLA: I know. I'm glad they put down the muskets and agreed to a truce.
STEPH: How's your writing going? Have you finished your own book yet?
ELLA: Still writing it. Maybe one of these days...
STEPH: You're too busy living your own Mr. Big fantasy to write about it, I guess. Now, we have to find one for me.
ELLA: Maybe in Oxford? Some brainy hunk with glasses and tattoos, spouting philosophy?
STEPH: I wish. Oh, you’ll never guess who I ran into at the chiropractor last week. None other than Jerkface himself.
ELLA: UGH! That must have been awkward.
STEPH: Oh, yeah. We both had to sit in the waiting room for at least fifteen mins. He tried to make small talk. Said he'd heard you had a new BF. I really rubbed it in, saying that he was very rich and very smart.
ELLA: What did Jerkface say? I hope he was green with envy.
STEPH: Man, I could almost see the steam coming out of his ears, but he played it so cool like it was nothing to him. I knew better. You are so lucky you got rid of him, Ellie. I'm serious. He may be a hunk but IMO he's a hunk of sh*t.
ELLA: My words exactly. Welp, I gotta go. Get back to the office and finish reading my latest batch of manuscripts.
STEPH: Later, kiddo. Big smoochies.
ELLA: Big smoochies back at ya! XOXOXO
STEPH: XOXOXO
I smiled to myself as I read over the exchange.
I missed my girl Steph, but if she got accepted to Oxford for her MA, she'd be gone for the next couple of years and we wouldn't see each other except on holidays. We'd been friends forever so I wasn't worried that we'd grow apart, but I would miss her. She'd be part of my wedding and so she'd be part of my life for the rest of it -- I hoped.
As for her finding someone, Steph was one of those bold women who asked men out on dates. I didn't worry about her being alone. She'd find someone when she was good and ready. She was very ambitious and had a list of things to accomplish before she was willing to find a partner and settle down. Oxford was first on the list and after that, a PhD.
She had a heavyweight mind and was intimidating despite the fact she was a total geek girl. She'd have to find a very special man to make her happy. One who was tall enough to at least look her in the eyes.
* * *
We met with Josh's brother Michael, his architect and interior designer the following week to decide what to do with our apartment. The architect went over options for redesigning the living room / dining room / kitchen. Josh wanted one big room so that we could see each other when we were cooking, watching television or having dinner. He grew up in a house with a formal dining room that was separate from the kitchen and he liked the idea of a great room. I kind of preferred the more traditional separation of the rooms, but it seemed really important to Josh, so I said sure -- as long as there was one formal dining room for big family dinners, I was okay with it. Besides, there would be more than enough room in the penthouse apartment for a separate dining room. There would be an office for Josh, one for me, and our master suite. Plus, one guest bedroom that would serve as a nursery when we decided to have a baby.
We both wanted the apartment to be filled with light, and so all the windows would be replaced and enlarged where possible. The flooring would be a mix of blond hardwoods, pale grey ceramic tile and light grey carpet. We decided on a French provincial style for the cabinets in the kitchen and selected the fixtures and appliances to fit. Josh insisted on a chef's kitchen and I didn't argue. I could see us cooking together and hosting dinner parties with our family and friends.
What I was really interested in was my own office, and of course, the patio on the rooftop.
As for my office, it was the smaller of the two, but I didn't want or need anything bigger. There would be a built-in desk and shelving unit, with a hutch where I could store my supplies. There would even be room for a recliner so I could sit and read if I wanted to. It would be my office away from the office.
"When we have kids, you could work from home if you wanted," Josh said while we looked over the room's layout.
"That would be optimal," I said.
We also checked out the plans for the rooftop space. It would be amazing to be able to see the park and city. The view would be breathtaking. I could imagine Josh and I up there cooking on a big grill, sitting on a nice sectional patio set, or sitting in our own hot tub, watching the clouds float by. The rooftop space was big enough that we could even have a space set aside for a container garden and I could grow fresh vegetables.
When we saw the space, it was the first week in January and the weather was cold and blustery, but I could see the space in my head during the spring, summer and fall. If we built an enclosed space, and had some lattice put up to moderate the wind, it would be really pleasant. There was a small area where we could even put a swing set and sandbox, when we had children.
I watched Josh looking over the plans, his face bright with excitement, as he spoke with the architect and designer about possible layouts for the space. He turned to me, smiling, his blue eyes so warm, and I could sense h
is happiness. He leaned over when he caught my eye and kissed me.
"You like?" he asked, holding up one of the drawings.
"I can't wait to see it when it's done."
"Me, either. We're so lucky we found this place. It's going to be perfect."
It was going to be perfect -- just like our life together.
12
Josh
The following week went fast, and the only item on my agenda to accomplish in preparation for the wedding was a call to David to confirm everything. I selected his number for a Skype and waited, smiling at the prospect of how he'd react to the plans.
Finally, he answered and there he was, but he didn't seem quite as chipper as I expected. In fact, he seemed downright depressed.
"Hey," I said when he sounded down. "What's the matter? I called to ask if we could have the wedding at your place on Easter Saturday."
"Oh, man, of course you can," he said, his face lighting up finally. "I'm just in that post-production blues period after a project is finished and you wait for critical reception. You know, you send the EP out to critics and hope for the best. I'm just impatient, I guess and worried that people won't like it."
"People will love it," I said, remembering the music I heard when I was there earlier in the year. "You guys have a huge fan base and they always love your work."
"I hope so, but with Terry gone, I'm sure people will make a fuss. We dedicated the EP to him so I hope that his fans will be happy. So, Easter Saturday, huh? I can't wait. We'll invite all the brothers, and of course, Ella's family and friends. It'll be great."
"Good," I said, relaxing a little. "Both Ella and I thought it would be a great location. We'll probably fly to some exotic all-inclusive place for our honeymoon, but we wanted to come there for a few days before the wedding and spend time there."
"I'm marking my calendar now. I'll call my chef guy and have him do the catering. I have a decorating guy, too. He'll do the flowers and shit like that. If you guys want, you should fly down for a weekend and we can iron it all out. In fact, why don't we make a plan now? When can you two get away and come out here?"