INVESTED (Dunning Trilogy Book 1)

by Iris Bolling

  The elevator stopped on the sixth floor. An employee started to step in.

  "Take the next one," Chrystina said then pushed the close door button. "You are a scheming, egotistical, trashy excuse of a little ho who I am sure is intelligent enough to know when a man is done with you. Myles has moved on. I suggest you do the same." Chrystina stepped back, folded her arms across her chest and took the same pose.

  "Moved on to what?" Savannah took a step towards her. "You? I think not. Have you looked at yourself in a mirror? You are not a threat to me or anyone else. What are you, a good two-fifty? Now, take a good look at me." She stepped around in a circle. "Slim, petite, just the right size to lift, bend, or carry." She did the motions as she spoke. "You see, it's easy to flip up and rub it down." She smacked her own butt in Chrystina's face. "You know what I know to be a fact? Myles is a very active lover." She smiled. "Variety of positions takes flexibility." She looked Chrystina up and down with a smirk. "Can you even open those things you call thighs?" She grinned. "I can...wide." She held her arms wide open.

  "Hmmm...all of that and he still walked away." Chrystina took a step closer to Savannah. "Could it be you spread those legs wide for one too many men?" She put a finger up to her chin as if thinking. "Or could it be what's between those things could not compensate for what is missing in your brain?" She placed a hand on her hip. "I could be wrong, but after the spreading of legs, you need something else to keep a man interested. Your depth of conversation is as shallow as you are. A man needs a before and after to stimulate and entice his mind." She turned her back on Savannah and smacked her behind. "Every now and then a little more meat on the bones don't hurt either."

  Savannah stepped back. "So...you finally came clean on your feelings for Myles. Good for you. The question you need to answer is does he feel the same way about you. I doubt it, but let's say he does. Why the sudden interest on his part? You have worked together for years. Could it be he simply needs a shoulder to cry on? With all he's been through in the last few months, it is conceivable. Don't you think? Here is something else for you to consider. Now that he has full control of the bank, where does that put you?" She used her fingers to demonstrate a quote. "'Family First and Foremost.' Are you somewhere in there? I think not." The elevator stopped on the third floor. Savannah stepped out, then held her hand out to keep the door from closing. "Oh, and you might be right, Chrystina, men do want a little meat to hold on to. What they don't want is a whole hog." She smiled then let the door close.

  That stung, Chrystina thought. She was thick, too thick, that was no lie. She had to take steps to change that. Working out with Myles was just a start. She realized she needed to be more serious about her weight. "Okay, Savannah, you may have unwittingly given me the push I needed." Her resolve was in place. The next time she saw Savannah Whitfield, she was going to smack that ass right in her face. Chrystina huffed to herself. The elevator stopped on the first floor, but her spirit wasn't right to give Pamela the news. She pushed the button to go back to the eighth floor. Why now, hit her mind. The question Savannah asked. Why was Myles all of a sudden attracted to her? There was a lot of turmoil in his life. His father's death, the emotional drain from helping his family cope, now all the pressure of the bank. The incident with Mr. Mitchell couldn't have been easy to deal with. Like it or not Savannah may have a point. This could all come down to having a shoulder to cry on. What happens after the scars heal, and things settle down? Will there be anything more than her wishful thinking left to hold onto? Will his kisses, his touch last or is this a temporary reprieve for him? The elevator ding interrupted her thoughts.

  The door opened and to her surprise Myles was standing there.

  "A meeting in the elevator?" He raised an eyebrow.

  "Not exactly." Chrystina exhaled then started to walk away.

  Myles reached out taking her arm, then pulled her into the executive elevator. He waited until the door closed then hit the stop button. "Cainan mentioned Savannah rushing to get on the elevator with you. I am certain he is wondering why I left the office suddenly. So I am going to have to make this quick. I'm certain words were spoken between you and Savannah. Do you want to share?"

  Chrystina thought for a moment. The two of them had always been open and honest with each other, almost to a fault. She had no intentions of changing jobs, which meant if this attraction between them led to something more or not, they still have to have a working relationship that had to be maintained. "I need honesty here."

  "Always." Myles frowned as he took a step back.

  She exhaled. "Why the sudden attraction? I mean we've been working together for almost ten years. Never once did you even look at me the way a man looks at a woman. So why now?"

  "Honestly, I don't know. It could be you never crawled across my desk in a seductive manner before."

  "That one act - and that is what it was, an act - doesn't take you from boss to...lover?"

  "You may have a point there." He bowed his head, then looked back up at her. "All I can say is for ten years I've come to depend on your counsel, your blatant honesty and that radiant smile you bring into my life every day. I don't know why now. I do know that I want that in all aspects of my life. In the office and when I go home at night. It's not an attraction, Chrys. I'm in love with you. Your mind, your body, all of you. Life is short, I don't want to spend time questioning why."

  "Savannah suggested I'm the shoulder you need to sink your sorrows into. At least that was my take on what she said."

  "In other words I'm using you to hold me together right now." The anger in his voice was evident. "I'm not strong enough to deal with my father's death or take over the leadership role in the bank or with my family. Is that what you think, Chrys?"

  "No," she replied with a bit of an attitude. "I know what you are capable of, Myles Dunning, and I don't appreciate you trying to turn this back on me. I'm telling you what your ex........thinks."

  "It could be your unyielding belief in me that is causing this sudden attraction."

  He took a step closer. The anger had dissipated. It was replaced with a softness. Her stomach was fluttering. He nudged her chin up with his thumb, then gazed into her eyes. The confusion there disturbed him. It was something he never wanted to see there again. He held her gaze then slowly lowered his mouth to hers. He brushed her lips with the gentleness of a summer's breeze at first, but that taste. Her taste enticed him far more than it had the night before. He cupped her face with his hands then possessively delivered a thorough kiss with more passion than he knew he possessed. The he pulled back. "I'm invested in you and me. Are you?"

  Chrystina smiled then put her arms around his neck, nudging his lips back to hers. "Invested. I like your play on words." Her mouth captured his, matching the passion he shared so freely.

  Myles took complete control at that point, pushing her body against the back wall, raising her hands above her head. Their bodies flush. A fire, so intense emerged from deep inside of him. He wanted her. Needed to be inside of her. The elevator next to them dinged. The sound made him realize they were in a public elevator. He had to pull away. Stepping back his lips parted from hers. But he held her arms in place. "No doubts, Chrys?"

  The weakness in her knees did not deter her from acknowledging his words. "I'm all in."

  Myles smiled. "Thank you. No more elevator meetings. We are going to take our time at this. More than anything, outside interference will not be allowed. Clear?"

  "Clear."

  He pushed the open door button, and they stepped out, together.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  The sedative had worn off. William looked around the room horrified at where he had landed. His father's words from years ago came back to haunt him. 'You follow that colored boy and he's going to lead you to a place of despair.' Well, here you are, he thought.

  It was always his plan to take over the bank. To show his father he was a leader, not a follower. Yes, he would control the bank and have Winnieford as
his mistress. The realization that he could never marry her only now apparent to him. After all the years that had passed, the truth was so clear now. Winnieford could never love him because he was a white man. The memories of her smiles when they were in the library studying was, what? Just her being nice? He sighed and turned over on his side to clear the undesired thought from his mind. No, that was impossible for him to believe. All the time they spoke together. The talks they had about a better future. The laughs they shared. Was it all in his imagination? It could not have been. Winnieford loved him until Hepburn came into the picture.

  "William?"

  That wasn't Winnieford's voice.

  "William? I've been here for almost two hours. Now wake up. Open your eyes."

  The harshness of the voice warned him to dig back into the recesses of his mind. Don't do it. Keep your eyes closed.

  "William, open your damn eyes."

  William opened his eyes and looked over his shoulder. He knew those legs. But that voice, the anger. It couldn't be.

  "William."

  He looked up. "Elaine."

  "What in the hell happened yesterday? Did you talk to Myles about the BIT account?"

  "What?"

  "The BIT account, William. Did you talk to Myles about putting me on the account?"

  William turned back over and closed his eyes. "I was fired yesterday, Elaine. Fired. After giving them thirty years of my life. He fired me just like I was nothing."

  "William." Elaine walked over to the other side of the bed and shook William until his eyes opened. "Tell me what happened? Everything."

  "I don't want to go through that, Elaine." He turned over.

  She yanked him back to her. "You are going to have to, William. I've been called into a one on one meeting with Myles and I need to know what you told him."

  William jerked back to the other side.

  Elaine walked around in a circle, frustrated. She stopped, closed her eyes and exhaled. She did it again. When she felt she was ready, she walked around to face him again. She pulled up her chair and sat next to the bed.

  "William," she spoke softly. "You know I have always been here for you. Nothing has changed."

  "Yes it has. My life is ruined," he cried out. "Ruined."

  She wanted to slap him, but she knew to get her answers she had to stay cool. "Tell me, what did he say to you?" she asked in the most concerned voice she could pull together. "It couldn't have been much. Why, he doesn't know half of what you do about running Dunning. Whatever he said, you and I know he was wrong. There is no way Dunning is going to function without you."

  "That's what I said."

  Elaine almost jumped out of the chair with relief. "What did he say when you told him that?

  "They pulled out files." William frowned. "Files from years ago. Marie had them. Had been keeping them for years."

  Elaine sat closer to his bed. "What files?" Her mind was whirling.

  "They had everything. They had people following us. Following us, can you believe that? They know everything."

  "I will get them for you."

  William's eyes opened wide. "You will?"

  Elaine smiled and spoke, almost crooning. "Yes, William, I will get those files for you and destroy them."

  "They had files on everyone in the room. They probably have them on you too."

  "Really, on me? I haven't done anything."

  He sat up. "Oh yeah, remember when you tried to seduce Hepburn? Remember that night Marie walked in on you in Hepburn's office with no clothes on? I bet they have that. You have to get it. And get those files on me too. If we get rid of those pic.... I mean files we can make things right again."

  "Yes, William, we can. Now, tell me this. Where do they keep the files?"

  "How would I know that?"

  "Think, William. Who told you about the files?"

  "Myles and Chrystina, but Marie had them."

  "Okay, okay, that's good. I'll check for them. Now tell me one more thing. Did you talk to Myles about BIT?"

  "No-no, I never got a chance to. They found out about the meeting with Hershel."

  "What meeting with Hershel?"

  "The one I set up to force Myles to make me President of the bank."

  "You did what?"

  "Oh, I had it all planned out. I was going to meet with the Hershel reps to show them how incompetent Myles was to take over as President," he said, eagerly telling her about his failed plan.

  Elaine was livid. "You stupid son of a bitch. I had everything we needed to bring them down in place and you ruined it with a stupid scheme that had no chance at succeeding. All you had to do was follow instructions, William. What is it with you stupid ass men? Of course you got caught. Who in the hell said you were smart enough to pull off any side jobs?

  "The plan was simple. Get Homeland Security to do an investigation. Have BIT pulled from under them. With the investigation looming, Hershel would have walked."

  "Elaine." William sounded like a wounded child confused by his mother's anger.

  "Everything was in play, William. All you had to do was lay low and you would have had what you have wanted all these years. You would have had the bank, the money, and Winnieford. Now look at you. You have nothing."

  "I still have Winnieford," he whimpered.

  "No, you don't and you will never have her. You want to know why? Because you are white. Her husband was black. You are stupid. Hepburn was smart."

  "That doesn't mean she can't love me."

  Elaine all but screamed, "Oh my lord, please save me from stupid ass men." She grabbed her purse and stormed out of the room.

  "She loved me before Hepburn," he yelled at her back. "When I leave here I'm going to prove it."

  "Mr. Mitchell, do you need anything?" the nurse asked from the doorway.

  He slid back under the comfort of the sheets then turned his back. His eyes closed and his mind drifted back. Hepburn was supposed to be his friend. He knew how William felt about Winnieford. The conversation they had after William introduced Winnieford to Hepburn was clear.

  "She's beautiful, isn't she? Those bright brown eyes and that wonderful laughter. She is always like that, you know, Always cheerful and happy. I'm going to have her," William said. "When she is ready, I'm going to make my move. She is poetry in motion and I'm ready to ride her like a stallion." William laughed. "I'm telling you, Dunning, she is going to be mine."

  William's mind dug back deeper trying to recall Hepburn's reaction to his declaration. Somewhere along the way he missed it. It was the following week, when Hepburn walked Winnieford to the library. That was when William saw what was happening. The two walked hand in hand smiling at each other. William was so angry he snarled out his hello to them. He waited until Hepburn was gone before saying anything to Winnieford.

  "What are you doing with Dunning?"

  Smiling, Winnieford placed her books on the table and looked at him. "Thank you for introducing us, William. You are a wonderful friend." She touched his hand. He was so taken by her touch that all William could do was nod in agreement. The next day in the locker room William approached Hepburn. He whispered to keep others from hearing. "You knew Winnieford was mine. I told you so. Why would you go after my girl?"

  "Winnie isn't a piece of property, Mitch. She doesn't belong to anyone." Hepburn stopped what he was doing then stood to his full height over William. He stared at the man and said, "A woman is not an animal for you to ride. She is a gift from God for you to love and cherish."

  "What in the hell is that supposed to mean?" William asked.

  "Winnie is a woman, not a horse. She is to be loved, treasured as if she was the most precious gift a man could have. If you don't understand the difference in your observation of Winnie and mine, you are a lost soul."

  Opening his eyes, he noticed the drapes in the room were open. The light poured through. Looking out the window, the weather seemed to be as cloudy as his spirit. He was a lost soul. He had lost the bank, Winniefo
rd and his dignity. What in the hell was there to live for?

  He closed his eyes as the last forty-eight hours of his life replayed in his mind. The company he had worked for over thirty years voted in a boy younger than some of his shoes over him. He should be President now. That boy humiliated him, had him escorted out by security all in front of employees who were beneath him. That was not the way he should have been treated. Adding insult, Myles exposed his darkest secret. If his family ever saw those pictures they would disown him.

  There was a knock on the door. "Mr. Mitchell, this gentleman has some documents for you," the nurse said then stepped out.

  "William Mitchell, you have been served." The man put the document down then walked out.

  William picked up the document the man placed on the bed. He opened it and read. It was an injunction. He was not to enter headquarters or any branch offices of Dunning Bank & Trust.

  Maybe it was time, William thought as he lay back down. Hepburn and the bank were gone. The only thing that was left was Winnieford. His Winnieford. After all the years he had loved her, he could not believe she would just stand by and let this happen to him. She would come to him. He knew in his heart Winnieford would not let Myles do this to him. She would come. He knew it. He would give her a day or two. If she doesn't well then he would have to show them all what he was made of. Yes, they believed he was down and out, but they had no idea he had just begun. How dare Hepburn die and leave him at the mercy of his son. The more he thought about it the more he realized his problems began and ended with Winnieford Pitchfork-Dunning. No worries. They will fall. The mighty Dunnings will all fall.

  #

  Elaine got into her car then screamed into the steering wheel. "Two years of planning. Getting everything lined up just right and these dumb ass men. The leaders of the world could not get it right. Damn."