CHAPTER ELEVEN: Stormy Monday
Andie Jenson was born in Carrolton, Texas. Her lifelong dream was to be a lawyer. Her father, Joseph, was Baptist minister and her mother, Grace, was a teacher. Her strict father made sure he screened any potential boyfriend Andie brought home. She was a beautiful, blue-eyed brunette and he knew every boy would be after her for one thing – it was the same way he ended up with her mother. Realizing that no boy would meet her father’s standards, she didn’t date. Her college years at Baylor University loosened her up a bit. She had a few boyfriends but nothing serious. Attending law school at SMU introduced her to whole new class of intelligent males. She dated handsome, reserved men. She enjoyed their company but her sex life was far from exciting. She always kept her strict standards for men. She never understood why she became friends with Nick.
Andie was lying in bed, after falling asleep to the boring movie. She was startled to hear the creaking sound of her doorknob turning. Hearing her door open, she looked up and saw Nick. He burst into her bedroom, wearing a silk robe. As he flicked the ashes of his cigar on the carpet, his other hand reached for the sunglasses he was wearing. He gave Andie a seductive smile as he walked to the window. He opened it slightly to let the sound of the beating rain enhance the mood. He was about to disrobe when he noticed the mess he made on the carpet with the cigar ashes. Nick went to her hall closet to get her vacuum cleaner. He walked back into the bedroom wearing absolutely nothing.
As he was about to start the vacuum, Andie heard a voice say, “Sucks like a damn vacuum cleaner. What do you think about all this rain, Jim?”
She didn’t care what Jim had to say as she slapped her snooze button. Looking up, she realized it was a dream and the image of naked Nick was gone. The soothing sound of the rain made her fall back asleep. The next sight she saw was a Foreigner concert. She had always loved this band as a little girl. She was in the front row, screaming at Lou Graham, the lead singer. As he raised his head and waved his hair to each side of his face, Andie saw that it was really Nick. He was singing Blue Morning. All the teenage girls next to her were throwing panties on the stage at Nick. She reached over and hit her snooze button. The song stopped, and Andie fell asleep again. The next thing she knew, she was watching The Mamas & Papas singing Monday, Monday. Standing next to Mama Cass was Nick. He was wearing a Nehru jacket and a fur hat, looking into Andie’s eyes as he sang the song.
“Those guys must have been singing that song about today, don’t you think, Carl?”
Andi slapped her snooze button as if she were actually smacking Jim and Carl in the face. The soothing splatter of the pouring rain sent Andie back to sleep. The next thing she knew, Andie was in a smoke-filled lounge. She was sipping a martini as she watched an old man singing Stormy Monday. He was wearing a fedora with dark glasses as he tickled the ivory keys of the baby grand. He turned towards Andie, slid the glasses down his nose, and stared deep into her eyes. This time, it wasn’t Nick. The man had an evil presence. He got up from behind the piano and walked towards her. Andie was getting chills as he sat next to her and said, “ I would sure hate to be out in this traffic, Jim. It’s 7:15, the rain is causing some flooding, and the traffic is already backed up on the expressway.”
The man was holding Andie’s clock radio, just out of her reach so she couldn’t slap the snooze button. He started running, laughing as he pulled away from Andie. She started chasing after him as she heard him say, “There’s a wreck on the South Freeway and the Loop is feeling the result of the backup…”
She opened her eyes and realized where she was. She had overslept more than an hour and her 45-minute commute to work was going to take twice that long with the bad weather and traffic problems. She threw on a dress, put her hair in a ponytail, brushed her teeth, and ran out the door. Her parking lot was flooded. The water was four-inches deep. The wind blew her umbrella inside out; leaving the frustrated Andie drenched. She climbed in her car, sped out of the parking lot and headed towards the South Freeway. The traffic was at a complete standstill five blocks from the entrance ramp. Andie adjusted her rearview mirror to see herself. She looked dreadful. Then it hit her – this was the face that would be seen by the handsome attorney she was to meet that day. She re-adjusted the mirror and put her Toyota Camry in neutral.
She put her hands to the back of her neck and let out a big scream, “I hate this fricken city.”
Meanwhile, on the northeast turn of the Loop, Benny sat in his Yugo. The traffic was at a near standstill. The defroster was broken, so he had to keep wiping the windshield with a towel. With a swirling motion, the Downtown Expressway sign was revealed. He worked his way into the exit lane. A quick glance at his temperature gauge showed past the H mark. Smoke started spewing from the engine. He was going up the ramp, so there was no way he could stop. He had one foot on the clutch and the other was revving the engine in first gear. The car in back of him was about an inch away. The rain was pouring harder. He started hearing a strange whirring sound as the windshield wipers started moving slower. The combination of smoke, rain, and the wipers near death made visibility close to zero. He rolled his window down and stuck his head out into the deluge. A sudden wind blew his Armani glasses off his face. He squinted his way onto the expressway. His transmission started shaking below him, as his top speed was ten miles per hour. Luckily, the traffic was only moving five. He hadn’t moved at all in five minutes so he turned the radio louder as the traffic report started, “…And the Downtown expressway is backed up all the way to the Northeast entrance from the Loop. There’s a car on fire at the entrance so that’ll probably slow things down some more. That’s traffic this morning. Back to you, Jim and Carl.”
“Thanks, Captain Sky Dude. Hey, Jim, let’s dedicate a song to that poor soul with the car on fire. Here’s Fire and Rain by our old buddy, James Taylor.”
Benny started laughing to stifle the oncoming tears. At least someone was having a worse morning than me, he thought. At that instant, he saw the flames rise above his windshield.
Andie pulled into the parking garage of the Kensington Building, one hour later than planned. The building was a two-year old high rise in the trendy area of the city, just southwest of Downtown. Wainwright & Grimes occupied the 10th, 11th, and 12th floors. Andie made her way up the elevator, trying to fix herself up in the process. The elevator stopped at the second floor and a handsome man entered, carrying a cup of coffee. Andie kept facing the opposite direction, trying to touch up her face using the little mirror from her purse. Stopping on the 10th floor, Andie walked off, not noticing the man making a waving gesture at Debbie, who was sitting behind the receptionist desk.
“What in the world happened to you?” asked a smiling Debbie.
“Don’t ask. Why are you playing receptionist?”
“Ginger called in sick, so I’m filling in until the temp gets here. I see you met Harold.”
“What do you mean?”
“Did you enjoy your elevator ride with him?”
Andie was mortified. “Please don’t tell me that was him.”
“Of course it was. Didn’t you talk to him?”
“Look at me. I’m not ready to face the janitor, much less a handsome stranger in the elevator.”
“Well, you better be ready to meet someone a little higher up than the janitor in twenty minutes.”
“Why?” asked Andie.
“Mr. Grimes wants to meet with you at ten-thirty in his office.”
Andie put her hands over her face to muffle the scream. She turned and ran back into the elevator, down to the first floor. She zoomed into LuAnn’s, a little boutique near the lobby. She grabbed the first size six dress off the rack, threw her Visa card on the counter, then yelled at the clerk to ring her up while she changed. One minute later, she was out the dressing room wearing her new dress. She signed her receipt, threw her rain-soaked dress in a bag, and scurried across the lobby into Ramone’s Hair Boutique.
“I need a quick blow dry. It’s an emergency,” ord
ered Andie.
The stylist saw the panic in Andie’s face and immediately had her in a chair. Andie adjusted her make-up while getting her hair dried. Five minutes later, she handed the stylist a twenty and ran to the elevator.
When it stopped on the 10th floor, she yelled at Debbie, “Throw this in my office,” as she hurled her wet dress like a bowling ball at Debbie without leaving the elevator. The door closed and the next stop was the 12th floor.
The taxi carrying Benny arrived at the Eagleton Building at ten-thirty. At 30 stories high, it was the tallest building in New Lake City, located downtown on Main Street. Apocalypse Records occupied the top three floors, with their recording studio taking up the second floor. He stopped at the second floor, hoping to see Nick doing some kind of work. Benny was two and half-hours late, but Nick’s apartment was in the Village, which was a ten minute walk from there. The studio was empty. Benny’s office was on the 30th floor, but he took the elevator to the 28th. He took the back stairs up two flights, by-passing the graphic arts department, which was located near the elevator on the 29th floor. He definitely didn’t want to see Kat this morning.
Peter Grimes was the latter namesake of the Wainwright and Grimes Law Firm. Andie never had a one-on-one conversation with him. William Wainwright was the actual partner that hired her. She would be in the same room as Peter during staff meetings but was never noticed by him. He liked to keep meetings with his lower level attorneys on as an-needed basis. His suave demeanor and rugged, handsome appearance made him a natural for being the successful attorney he was. He mastered the art of faking sincerity and learned to trust no one, except his longtime personal secretary, Ursula Vanderhousen. Ursula was a master of keeping unnecessary people away from Peter. Andie was familiar with Vanderhousen’s reputation. She was supposedly a mean old ugly witch. She walked up to Ursula’s desk and was remarkably pleased to find a rather attractive older woman behind it. She appeared to be in her early fifties and didn’t look menacing at all. Andie prepared herself for what she hoped was a pleasant introduction.
“May I help you?” asked Ms. Vanderhousen, as she pulled her reading glasses down her nose.
“I’m Andrea Jenson. Mr. Grimes is expecting me.”
Ursula checked her appointment book, looked at her watch, and said, “You’re two minutes late. I’ll let him know you’re here.” She picked up the phone and buzzed Mr. Grimes. “Your ten-thirty is finally here, sir – yes, sir, I’ll send her right in.” She put the phone down then looked at Andie. “He’ll be ready for you in about ten minutes,” she said with a snarl.
Andie was confused. “I don’t mean to contradict you, Miss Van…”
“It’s Ms., thank you very much.”
“Ms. Vanderhouse, but…”
“It’s Vanderhousen, missy.”
Andie took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Ms. Vanderhousen, but didn’t I just hear you tell Mr. Grimes I would be right in?”
“You’re new here, aren’t you?” She took off her glasses and used them as a pointer towards Andie. She studied her up and down.
“No, ma’am, I’ve been here for about a year. This is my first case to be first chair.” Andie stood proud. “I’ve never had the privilege to work directly under Mr. Grimes before.”
Ms. Vanderhousen stared at Andie’s legs. “It’s a wonder it took you a whole year, dressing like that.” She shook her head in disgust as she put her glasses back on her face.
Andie glanced to a side mirror on the wall and saw what she meant. The dress barely covered her upper thighs. In her rush, she didn’t look close enough at the length. This was no way near her conservative style.
“You can have a seat, Jenson,” said Ursula, with a sneer.
Just as Andie was about to sit, Mr. Grimes opened the door.
“What’s keeping you, Miss Jenson? Come on in,” said Mr. Grimes.
Andie followed Mr. Grimes into the office, giving Ms. Vanderhousen a nasty glance as she passed her desk. As she closed the door behind her, Andie saw an amazing panoramic view of the city. The corner office had two full walls of glass overlooking the city. She was at eye level with the rainbow peeking over the dissipating clouds.
“Have a seat, Miss Jenson,” said Mr. Grimes. Drooling over the sight of Andie’s exposed legs, he added, “Or should I call you Andrea?”
“Everybody calls me Andie, sir.”
“Well, everybody calls me Peter. Don’t worry about all that sir business. You can call me Pete, if you’d like.” He glanced in a mirror, making sure every strand of his salt and pepper hair was in place. “I’ve been impressed with your work at our firm, Andie, and I thought it would be a good time to give you your own case.” His eyes were fixed on Andie’s legs.
“I appreciate you noticing my work,” said Andie.
“Oh, I’ve noticed.” He got up from behind his desk and walked towards Andie. “I’m giving you this case involving an particularly important client. Have you heard of Carlos Verona?”
“Yes, sir. I do believe I have.”
“Remember what I said about this sir thing. Anyway, Mr. Verona has a restaurant called Little Italy on Lakeside Drive, and an unfortunate incident involving an alleged food poisoning has taken place. I’d like you to handle the case. I trust you already have begun reviewing food poisoning precedents like you were instructed.”
“Yes, sir, I…”
“Ah, what did I just say?”
“Yes, um, Pete.” Andie was intimidated. “Ms. Vanderhousen sent me some files on Friday to look over during the weekend.”
“That Ms. Vanderhousen is a jewel. I don’t know what I’d do without her. She literally runs this place. My only regret is that I didn’t notice your attributes much sooner.” He walked behind Andie’s chair, put his hands on her shoulders, and then started rubbing them in a gentle fashion.
Andie was extremely uncomfortable. “Excuse me, Mr. Grimes, but this is…” Andie’s objection was interrupted as the office door flew open. Mr. Grimes jumped back as Ms. Vanderhousen burst into his office.
“You’re wife is here to see you, sir,” she announced.
“Well, send that beautiful wife of mine right in,” he said, loud enough to be heard in the outer office. “That’ll be all, Miss Jenson.”
Andie stood up, shook his hand, and said, “Thank you – sir.” As she was walking out, Peter’s wife, Francine, was walking in. Andie smiled as Mrs. Grimes gave her a catty look.
As Francine was closing the office door, Andie heard her say, “Peter, your associates need to wear more appropriate attire.” Although she was a beautiful woman herself, she was well aware of Peter’s tendency towards womanizing.
“Really? I hadn’t noticed, dear.”
Andie didn’t know weather to feel elated or disgusted.
Robert Levon was head of Apocalypse Records. He was a WWII veteran who was involved in the mission resulting in the Hiroshima bombing. He didn’t handle civilian life well and ended up in jail for a short time. Disturbing the peace and public intoxication were the charges. His incarceration made him realize that no matter what he had done during the war, he was in charge of his own destiny. He started up his own record company. His love for music and the constant haunting of the bombing motivated him up to come up with company’s name. He hated rock and roll but was business savvy enough to know how to make his company thrive. He would always hire young people who were up to speed on the current music scene and would mold them to his liking. The combination resulted in many years of successful recordings. Benny was his latest protégé.
Benny found his office after making the roundabout trip to get there. As soon as he sat behind his well-organized desk, Mr. Levon stormed in.
“Where in the hell have you been?” asked Mr. Levon. He stood there, all 6’2”, 250 pounds of him.
“I’m sorry sir. My car caught on fire and…”
“That was your car? I heard about that on the radio this morning. I thought you had a brand new Lexus?”
&
nbsp; Benny started sweating. He was thankful that his clothes were still wet so Mr. Levon didn’t notice.
“It’s in the shop. I had to take my Yugo this morning.”
“You still have that piece of shit car?” Mr. Levon wasn’t impressed. “Get yourself a damn rental. I pay you enough. I don’t want my executives driving around in piece of shit cars. You are the VP of talent. Show some respect for your position.” As president and owner of Apocalypse Records, he liked to see Benny live up to his own standards. “Now, what’s all this crap about some Zipper character killing himself?”
“I’m working on it right now, sir.”
“I’m not paying some hippie band good money to go around killing themselves. It’s bad business. We got this takeover crap happening and I want all our affairs in order.”
Benny was startled. “What takeover? I thought you were hiring an assistant to help you out.”
Mr. Levon calmed down, put his hand on Benny’s shoulder and said, “No, son. It looks like some pansy-ass company is buying us out. They’re sending this O’Malley woman here to check us out and make necessary changes. So do yourself a favor. Get to the bottom of this Zipper crap and get your people prepared for the worse.”
“Sir, you’ve got to be kidding.” Benny couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He never dreamed that once the stock for Apocalypse Records went public, something like this could happen.
“Benny, I would never kid about something as serious as losing my company.” He hung his head as he walked out the office.
“What in the heck am I going to do now?” Benny said to himself. He had never seen Mr. Levon with a defeated look before. “I need to find Nick.” He picked up the phone and hit “one” on the speed dial. The phone rang ten times before the answer machine picked up.
“…Hi. You’ve called my number. It’s obvious I’m not answering. If you don’t know what to do next, you’re an idiot and shouldn’t be allowed to use the phone. Have a nice day.”
Benny didn’t bother to leave a message.
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