by Kelly Holm
“They really just come whenever. Have you decided what you are going to tell them?”
“What I’m going to tell them about what?”
“Well, Dr. Blackmore, of course; I mean, aren’t you planning on telling them about his leave of absence?”
“That’s right, I guess I should mention that to them. I’ll figure something out.”
“Sounds like you have things under control. I’m going to get started on finding that new receptionist; let me know if you need anything else. Oh, I almost forgot, Mr. Nickelbacker will be coming by in about a half hour.”
“Mister who? Is he a patient?”
“No, he and Dr. Blackmore are old friends; he comes in every month around this time. He’s really nice, and he always makes an appointment,” Sofia said, as she got up to leave.
Great, Mila thought, I better come up with something and
quick. What the hell am I going to tell people? Minutes later Sofia buzzed her…
“Excuse me, Dr. Thorton, Mr. Nickelbacker, is here.”
“Already, isn’t he early? Shit… give me five minutes and then send him back.”
Mila was nervous; she didn’t have any idea what she was going to tell people. She really hoped that Jessica would come through and get her a new hypnotist, but she wasn’t going to count on it. At least this guy isn’t involved with the project. I should probably tell him the truth, him being a good friend and all, she thought.
Five minutes later, there was a knock on the door.
“Please, come in.”
In walked an older gentleman, probably in his early or mid-sixties, like Dr. Blackmore. He wasn’t a tall man, he was somewhat portly, but he carried himself well. His hair was silver, and the small amounts that were left around the sides were casually swept over the bare center portion in a gentle swirl. He was wearing a nicely fitting Armani black pinstriped suit with shiny black shoes, and he carried a black leather briefcase.
“Oh, I’m so sorry to intrude, I was looking for Irving, isn’t this his office?”
“Yes, please come in. I’m Dr. Mila Thorton.”
“Ah, yes, oh, aren’t you a pretty one. I must say, Irving mentioned that you were a looker, but I had no idea you were this pretty. I’ve been so excited to finally meet you. Oh, where are my manners, I’m Harry Nickelbacker,” he said, as he walked in and extended his hand to her.
“Please sit down. I have some rather bad news to share with you, Mr. Nickelbacker.”
“Oh, please, call me Harry,” he said, as he pulled a chair a little closer to the desk and sat down.
“Ok, like I was saying Harry, I have some bad news to share with you. Yesterday, Dr. Blackmore, excuse me, Irving, passed away. There wasn’t a formal announcement because we wanted to keep it quiet and out of the press. I don’t want to upset his patients.”
“Oh, my goodness, that is bad news. Was it his heart, I kept telling him, take it easy Irving you aren’t twenty anymore, but he never listened. He thought he was invincible. Oh, again my manners, my poor dear, are you ok? You must be devastated by this news,” he said, as his eyes fixated on her slowly rising and falling boobs.
Mila wasn’t sure what was going on. Why does he think I would be devastated, and why the hell can’t he look at anything but my boobs?” she wondered.
“Yes, we are all very saddened by his passing.”
“Oh, I’m sure. I will miss Irving’s witty comments and our lunches.” Harry Nickelbacker was still staring directly at her boobs, and she was beginning to feel uncomfortable. She hoped that he would quit and engage in the conversation soon.
“Did you know him well?”
“I knew him better then he knew himself,” he said, as he stood and started walking around the office. “You see, we were college roommates, and we’ve kept in touch all these years. We get together once a month for lunch. I know everything there is to know about him. I was so happy when he sent me the text yesterday afternoon saying you agreed to marry him. Irving’s been smitten with you for over a year now, in fact, just the other day, he mentioned that he was head over heels in love with you.”
Harry was improvising, what Irving really told him was that Mila was a hot piece of ass and he wanted to fuck her brains out; which Harry could completely agree. There was no love
involved, but Harry threw it in because he knew girls like to hear that the men they were planning to marry were in love with them.
“Really, that long?” Mila had no idea.
“Oh, yes, I remember the day he first met you. He called me and told me he was going to marry you someday. That’s why I’m here, well, part of the reason anyway; I’m supposed to be performing your marriage ceremony today.”
That wasn’t all he remembered from that conversation. Irving also thought Mila looked the part, she was quite beautiful; and he believed he could easily control her and make her a model wife. If she gave him any flack, he would just hypnotize her into submission.
“Oh, are you a minister?”
“No, child, I’m a judge. Irving wanted this done quickly and discreetly.”
Harry Nickelbacker thought Mila was charming but maybe a little naïve. He wondered if she would be able to continue Irving’s business, or if he would have to step in and take over that portion; which was something he really didn’t want to do, but he would if it was necessary. Irving had told him that he brought her in, but Harry was having a hard time envisioning Mila running such a dangerous and intricate operation.
“Well, I’m afraid that won’t be happening today, we’re short a groom,” she said, hoping to lighten the mood, but he must not have heard her.
“Are you planning on continuing his work?”
“Yes, I’ll be taking over his caseload.”
“I wasn’t talking about his psychiatric work sweetie; I’m talking about the other project he was working on… the one where he was weeding out the weak…” Harry paused, he wasn’t sure she was as involved as she claimed to be, and he had to make sure Irving really did bring her in before he said much more. She was
answering his questions, but she lacked the enthusiasm that he saw in Irving’s eyes when they would discuss the project.
“Yes, I know the project you’re talking about, but I’m not qualified; I’m not a hypnotist or a surgeon.”
“Don’t worry your pretty little head about this tiny detail, my dear, there are plenty of surgeons on staff, and I’m sure you’ll find another talented psychiatrist to perform the hypnotism portion; you just need to be your charming self and keep the machine going. There are so many people involved, and we are doing such extraordinary work. Even talking about it gives me chills, I feel like I’m somehow involved in it.”
Mila could feel the excitement coming off of him; it made her sick to her stomach and somewhat aroused all at the same time. She really wanted to keep the project going; she was completely and totally addicted to the thrill of judging the patients and sentencing them to death, not to mention the money.
“Even if I find someone to hypnotize the patients, there’s still a huge problem.”
“I can’t imagine what that could be. I’m sure you and the other ladies in the office can take care of the administrative side, just let the men do the heavy lifting,” he said with a gentle grin. “What exactly are you worried about; and please, speak freely, I know everything about the project.”
Mila wanted to smack Harry Nickelbacker right in the head with a bat. It was so hard to listen to his antiquated views of men and women and the condescending way he spoke to her, but he obviously knew a lot about Irving’s business and could help her keep the machine moving, so she swallowed her pride and continued the conversation.
“Well, I’m concerned about the Indian cartel that we sell the organs to.”
“What’s the problem?”
“Well, for starters, Irving told me that they won’t even consider meeting with me unless we’re married, and well, that
isn’t possible anymor
e. So, you see; there is a major problem.”
Harry looked at her with a devious sparkle in his eye and said…
“Is that all?”
“Isn’t that enough? What are you suggesting?” Mila wondered what she might be getting herself in to.
“I’m a judge; I can perform a confidential marriage.”
“What does that mean?”
“Only the bride, groom, and I know about the marriage.”
“What happens when you file the license with the state, wouldn’t it become public information then?”
Harry got up from his chair and walked around the desk, so he was standing behind Mila. He slowly crouched down, took a whiff of her hair, leaned one arm on the desk the other around her shoulder, and said in her ear…
“That’s the beauty of it; it’s all confidential. I file the license, and if anyone wants to see it, other than you, of course, they would have to get a court order.”
He was making Mila very uncomfortable. Who is this guy, and why was he so willing to help me? She wondered. He was giving off a strong creep vibe, but he was also quite helpful, so Mila did her best to disregard the inappropriate comments and gestures.
“That’s very interesting, but I still don’t understand how that solves my problem.” Mila lied; she was beginning to understand what he was offering, but something told her to proceed with caution.
“I’m offering to falsify the marriage license, my dear. I can sign Irving’s crazy signature, probably better than him, and then
we backdate it. I have all the necessary paperwork in my briefcase. What do you think, are you ready to get married?”
Mila couldn’t believe what she was hearing, was he seriously offering to falsify a legal document just to keep this machine rolling? She thought for a moment. I’m in pretty deep already; would one more indiscretion really make that much of a difference?
“Are you sure there aren’t any repercussions?”
“Well, just those between you and your higher power.”
“Hmmm, it does sound tempting…” Mila couldn’t believe she was actually considering his offer, but it did seem foolproof…
“So, are we having a wedding or what?” He asked as he opened his briefcase and shuffled the papers around until he found the Confidential Marriage License.
“We are.” Mila couldn’t believe this was actually happening, she was going to be richer than her wildest dreams; she broke into her happy dance in her mind.
“Since Irving won’t be joining us, we can bypass the actual service. I’ll just need your signature here,” he said, as he pointed to the line, “and I’ll sign for Irving right here, be sure to use yesterdays date.”
Mila quickly signed and backdated it.
“Now what?” she asked.
“That’s it, congratulations; you are now a married woman. I’ll file the license today. Do you have a copy machine here; we need to make a copy for you to show the Sharma Cartel when you meet with them. I’ll order you a certified copy for your records later. Irving also mentioned to me that he was going to make you the sole beneficiary of his will. Did he send that paperwork over to his lawyer?”
“He said he sent him an email yesterday after I signed the contract, but I don’t know if any additional paperwork is needed.”
“Perfect, I’ll give the lawyer a call and let him know the marriage was performed yesterday before Irving died, and I’ll take
care of any paperwork he needs.”
“I really appreciate you helping me out like this.”
“Irving was my best friend, and I know he would have wanted me to do all this. He would be devastated if all his hard work would be over and forgotten.”
“Is there anything I can do for you?” Mila wished she hadn’t asked as soon as it came out of her mouth. She could just imagine him saying… why yes, you could come to my office and fuck me twice a week… or something just as crass.
“Just keep my monthly checks coming.” He thought about propositioning her, but thought it might be taken wrong since Irving just passed away a day before. Besides, he had his secretary for that.
Mila was relieved; all he wanted was his checks. She wondered why he even got a check, but at this point, she didn’t care too much, she really just wanted to get the information from him and have him leave.
“You seem to know quite a bit about how Irving ran this operation. May I ask you another question?”
“Of course, my dear, I’ll help you in any way I can.”
“How do I know how much to pay out to everyone?”
“Did you find Irving’s ledger and notebook?”
“Yes, but…”
“Then you must have found the little black book that was with them. It has every name, the job they perform, and the percentage they get. Irving always kept outstanding records. Now some doctors just get referral checks, which would be based entirely on how many patients they sent over and how much those patients made.”
“I didn’t find a little black book with the notebook and ledger.”
Mila quickly went over to the closet and reopened the safe to look inside. When she reached in, all the way to the back, she found the little black book. Things were falling very neatly into place.
“Now you have all the pieces, you just need to go to India and meet with the Sharma Cartel.”
“Do I really need to go to India; can’t we do a Skype call or something?”
“You young people and your Skype; no dear, some things must be handled face to face, and this is one of those things. You don’t want to mess with this cartel; they run the entire operation… worldwide; and they can be very dangerous. If the cartel asks you to meet with them in India, that’s where you’re going to meet with them… if you wish to continue with the project…. Do you wish to continue the project?”
“I do. I can’t believe Irving ran this whole thing by himself. I’m going to need an assistant. I can’t tell you how happy
I am that you stopped by today, Harry. You’ve been so helpful.”
“Oh, I almost forgot the most important part. You must call the number on top of the ledger and leave a message with your name and phone; tell them you are Irving’s wife and that you wish to arrange a meeting. Keep it short and to the point, then wait for them to call you back. No matter what happens, do not call them a second time.”
“I’ll do that right away. Again, thank you so much for all your help. Before you leave, let me give you your check.”
Mila opened the ledger and found Mr. Nickelbacker’s name and the percentage he gets. She was shocked that he got such a large amount when it didn’t appear that he actually did anything.
“You’re going to have to use the computer program to do the checks until I can put your name on the account. It should be on his desktop. It’s a great program, you just enter the name and amount, it auto fills his signature. I’ll have his lawyer add your name to all his financial accounts when I speak with him later today.”
“You wouldn’t happen to know where he keeps the check stock, would you.”
“Bottom right desk drawer,” he said with a wicked grin.
Mila added the check stock to the printer and quickly printed out Mr. Nickelbacker’s check and handed it to him.
“Thank you very much. I guess I will see you next month. If you have any other questions, here’s my card. Don’t hesitate to call if you need anything.”
“Thank you so much for everything, I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t shown up today. You may have saved the whole operation.”
“You’re very kind; like I said; if you need anything, don’t hesitate to call. Good luck and I’ll see you next month,” Mr. Nickelbacker said, as he placed the check in his briefcase and left.
Mila couldn’t believe her luck. There was actually a chance that this could work. She grabbed her phone to place the call to the cartel but thought that maybe she should check in with Jessica first, to see if that doctor was intereste
d in joining the team. She quickly dialed Jessica’s number.
“Jessica, have you had a chance to contact that doctor in San Francisco?”
“Yes, I was just about to call you to tell you about our conversation.”
“Was he interested?”
“He was very interested. Apparently, he heard about the project and was planning on contacting Dr. Blackmore next week,
if you can believe it, about joining. I guess Dr. Blackmore approached him at a conference earlier this year and talked to him about it. He wasn’t able to commit at the time, but I guess things changed for him. He’s very interested, it’s just about salary and such now.”
“That’s great. Did he happen to mention when he can come down and meet with us? I’m assuming you’ll be joining us?”
“Sure, I can do that. I’ll call him back and set things up.”
“Thanks so much, Jess, I can’t tell you how grateful I am. I’ll talk to you later.”
When she put the phone down, she was so relieved, everything was falling neatly into place. Wow, this is beginning to look like it might actually work, she thought. She quickly dialed the number on the ledger and waited for someone to answer, when it just went to the voicemail she said,
“Hello, my name is Dr. Mila Thorton; I am married to Dr. Irving Blackmore, who unfortunately passed away yesterday. I would like to arrange a meeting with you to continue Irving’s work. Please contact me at (213)-555-5364, thank you.”
Now all she had to do is wait patiently for the cartel to call her back with the next step. Mila wondered how long it would take and what the next step would be. It was both exciting and scary at the same time. She looked at a few more files, but she was starting to have a hard time concentrating because her stomach was growling so loud. Mila looked at her watch, it was almost noon. It had been a hectic morning.
She walked out of her office, closing the door and locking it behind her, and walked down the hall to the lunch room to get a strawberry yogurt until she can leave and get a proper lunch. The lunchroom wasn’t much, just a microwave, sink and refrigerator, and a long table with several chairs by it. As she walked in, she
