by Iris Bolling
“I have eyes and ears around the building,” he replied as she took her seat. “How did the family take the information?”
“Better than I did when I first read it.”
“Thank goodness for that.”
“AnnieMarie is livid. She is going to have somebody’s ass for this.”
“As should you all.”
“Yes, but I want the person or persons held responsible. AnnieMarie just wants to kill the first person that looks at her wrong.”
Warren smiled as he sat across from her. “It’s good to have her back.” He glared at her.
“What?” Grace asked.
“And you? Who are you taking the news out on?”
She glared back at him. “No one. I’m holding my rage for the murderer.”
“Bullshit. I heard you handed Elaine her ass on a platter during the meeting.”
“Believe me I held back. She had the nerve to put her ass in my mother’s seat.” Grace put her feet up on the desk, crossed her legs at the ankles then laid her head back. “There were a few times in the meeting when I wanted to snatch her ass.”
“So, I heard.” Warren nodded. “But I want to caution you.”
Grace held her head up looking at him with a raised eyebrow. “Don’t show your hand too early with Elaine.” He crossed one leg over his knee. “We know she is up to something when it comes to Mr. Michael. She had one of her people conduct a confidential information search on his private life.”
“How do you know this?”
“Pillow talk is amazing if you have the right person on the other side of the bed.”
Grace smiled. “I am so grateful you are willing to whore yourself for me.”
“I do get my rewards.” Warren smiled. “Here is what you need to know from the report. The only people Jonathan sees regularly outside of work is his mother, at least three times a week, and Sydney.”
Grace hoped her expression did not show how that bit of information bothered her.
“From what I gathered from the report, Elaine was looking for some kind of dirt she could use against Jonathan. Anything that could reflect negatively on his character that she would be able to present to Myles.”
“You saw the report?”
Warren smiled. “I even saw the request. I’m very thorough.”
“I see.” Grace smirked. “You are a sneaky little devil. Chrystina trained you well.”
“She did.” Warren nodded. “You know my goal is to beat her as the assistant of the year.”
“Tall shoes to fill. She worked the coup Mitch tried to pull on Myles.”
“I’m still reeling from that. But I think whatever Elaine is up to is bigger. I also know for a fact that someone from the outside is feeding her information.”
“Information on BIT?”
“Why do you ask that?”
“She presented some proprietary info at the meeting that I knocked down.”
Warren nodded. “She’s getting that and more.”
“Do we know who she is getting the information from?”
“Not yet, but I can find out...for a price.”
Grace glared in his direction. “Are you blackmailing me?”
“Of course not. I’m simply ensuring your future and mine.”
“Mmm hmm. What do you want?”
Warren smiled. “I understand you got a promotion today.”
“I did.” She held a keen eye on him.
“Well, Ms. Deputy CEO. I want your word that I will remain your assistant in your new capacity.”
Grace shook her head. “As if I would trust anyone else to screw around to gather information for me.”
“And damn proud of it.” Warren smirked.
Grace laughed. “You are full of yourself.”
“I cannot help it that the women around here want a taste of my magic dust.” He laughed. “On a serious note. It seems like Elaine is working hard to discredit Jonathan. In fact, she has several meetings set up with other members of the board to solicit their assistance.”
Grace pulled her feet from the desk and sat up. “Why?” She questioned.
“I think he has something on her.”
Grace thought for a moment. “See if you can find out what. In the meantime, Chrystina sent over the employment paperwork on Sydney Landon. Let me have that.”
Warren stood. “Yes, it came in while you were in the meeting. You also have the report on all employees with working Visas you requested.”
“Good. I need to start the re-verification on each of those.”
“Are we at all worried that requesting immigrants to re-certify their legal status may spook some of them?”
Grace nodded as she looked up at him. “I am, but we have to get a handle on it before any of our competitors attempt to use it against us. In fact, I want it handled very delicately. Limited eyes only.”
“I will handle it personally.” Warren walked towards the door. “By the way, Agent Roark called again.”
Grace nodded. “Would you go ahead and get him on the phone for me. I need to speak with him.”
“You got it.”
Warren left the office giving Grace a chance to marinate on the information he had gathered. Elaine had Jonathan’s personal life investigated. Why? The question bothered her on a professional level, but more on the personal level. In her mind, there was no way Jonathan would be personally involved with Elaine. For one, she was old enough to be his mother. Yes she had kept herself up. Nice shape, attractive, but still an older woman. Grace could not imagine Jonathan going there. But then...he hadn’t gone there with her either. There were multiple times when Grace flaunted herself shamelessly at Jonathan, but he never reciprocated. He was always a gentleman when turning her down. She remembered him saying, When they made love for the first time, he would be in a position to care for her as she deserved.
She took that as sweet when they were in college. But who would have thought it would turn out to be a ten year wait?
The phone on her desk buzzed. “Agent Roark in on line one, Ms. Dunning.”
Someone must be in the front office. It was the only time Warren referred to her in a formal way. She hit the button on the phone.
“How’s it hanging, Roark?”
She could hear the laughter in his voice.
“If it’s not the ever politically incorrect Grace,” he responded. “How are you holding up?”
“So you heard about the results?” Grace sighed as she sat back in her seat.
“Yes. I did. I am sorry it turned out this way.”
“I know. Thank you for that.”
“Have you told your mother?”
“Not yet,” she sighed. “We had a family meeting and decided to tell her together, tonight.”
“She has been through a lot. Are you certain you should tell her at all?”
“We considered that but decided against it. We need to handle it as a family.”
“What about the authorities? The ME is going to be required to share his findings with them.”
“Yes, we know. We have decided to run our own investigation in the meantime. Mike and Jerome will be handling it. We would appreciate it if you joined them in some capacity without involving your agency.”
“That’s going to be a little tricky. There is a trail of paperwork that accompanies any request for use of resources. I could do it as a consultant to help guide you in the right direction.”
“Anything that you can do to help will be appreciated.”
“Count me in. Have Mike give me a call. I will be in Richmond tomorrow. We could set up a meeting.”
Grace smiled. “Thanks, Roark.”
“So...”
Grace grinned. ‘Here it goes’, she thought.
“How is wonder boy handling his first day on the job?”
Grace huffed. “Why do you have to do that?”
“Do what.”
“Call him out of his name?”
“Hey, that wasn�
��t me,” Roark replied. “That is what the news media called him this morning.”
“You don’t have to follow suit. You could have just asked how Jonathan is doing. In fact, you could call him. Welcome him back to the states. You two were friends, once.”
“That was before you declared him the king of your heart.”
Grace sighed. “Roark, you realize the only time we argue is when you disrespect Jonathan.”
“That’s because the nerd blocked the one woman I wanted to get with. Then he up and left her without as much as saying good bye.” He hesitated. “It was the only time I ever saw you cry, Grace.”
Grace thought back to the day she walked into her dorm room to find the letter he had pushed under her door. For a long time, she couldn’t believe he was gone. For him to leave without finding her to say goodbye.
“That is not on him,” Grace explained. “Phase International had secured the plane ticket and he could not find me before take-off because I was with you.”
“If it had been me, I would have found you. The hell with the plane.”
Grace took a deep breath trying to forget the hurt of that day. “Well he’s back now.”
“Is he, Grace, or is this another stop on his way up the ladder?”
“I guess we will find out.”
“I’m thinking of driving up tonight for my meeting. Have dinner with me.”
“I can’t. The office is having a get together to welcome Jonathan.”
“Hmm, and so it begins,” Roark groaned. “I’ll try to catch up with you tomorrow when I get in town.”
And with that the call ended.
Grace hung up the phone. She turned in her chair and looked out the window. Leave it to Roark to plant doubt where Jonathan was concerned. Was this a stop on Jonathan’s climb to the top?
CHAPTER 11
Myles had just settled into the report when Chrystina walked through the connecting doors of their offices.
“Heads up. Elaine is on her way here.”
Myles wondered how Chrystina always knew what was happening before it actually happened? “I’m surprised it took her this long,” Myles acknowledged.
“She came down pretty hard on Jonathan.”
Myles looked up. “Yes, she did. Any idea what’s happening there?”
Chrystina shook her head. “No, but you know I’m going to find out.” She smiled. “Don’t forget you have lunch with Jonathan.”
Mrs. Vazquez knocked on his open door. “Mr. Dunning, Ms. Jacobson would like to know if you have a few minutes for her.”
“Yes, give me two minutes.”
“Yes, sir,” she replied then stepped back out.
“She is going to ask you to allow her to report directly to you. It’s a power move to show Jonathan she outranks him in your estimation. Don’t let her undermine him in that way.”
“I think you are wrong on that.” Myles shook his head.
“You can think it, but I’m not wrong.” Chrystina smirked as she walked back to her office. “Women have a way of getting a man to do things and make them think it was their idea.”
Myles shook his head at that statement as the door closed between them. He pushed the intercom on his desk. “Mrs. Vazquez, you may send Elaine in now.”
“Myles,” Elaine said as she closed the door behind her. “I know this is a busy day for you.”
Myles pointed to the chair in front of his desk. “Have a seat, Elaine.” He waited until she sat before continuing. “It’s not just a busy time, it is a very exciting time for Dunning.” He smiled. “By the way, I want to thank you for taking an interest in how Jonathan is going to fit in around here.” He sat behind his desk. “Making a move in the manner that he did took courage. It had to be a difficult decision to leave a prestigious position with the number one bank in the world to dedicate his talents to moving our legacy forward.” He shrugged. “But you know that.” He tilted his head to the side as he looked at her. “You said as much in the meeting.”
Elaine smiled in a knowing manner. “You are Hepburn’s child.”
“Through and through.” Myles smiled.
“You learned his technique to disarm situations very well.” Elaine crossed her legs then leaned forward. “We’ve worked well together. Haven’t we, Myles?”
“I think so.” Myles nodded in agreement.
“I think that I have proven my loyalty to Dunning in several ways,” Elaine said. “I realize I am a part of the old regime. Your father placed me on the board early on in my career because he recognized my ability to bring innovative ideas to the table. Today was the first time in the twenty odd years I’ve been here that I felt my input was being ignored. That concerned me, Myles.”
“You are a valued member of our team, Elaine. You have continuously brought suggestions to the table. Some were accepted and some were not. It is that way for all of us, including myself.” He smiled. “You were present when a number of my ideas were rejected at first, but with input from a team of people some of those ideas were eventually implemented. A few of them are still with us today.”
“I fondly remember the suggestion you made for all of the board members to take a bungy jump together as a way of bonding.” Elaine smiled.
“Yes, that was not one of my better moments.” Myles laughed. “You talked me off the ledge with that one.”
“True.” Elaine nodded. “That brings me to my point. I was there to talk you down.” She sat back. “I’ve been there for you on a number of occasions and I never asked for anything in return…never.”
“What are you getting at, Elaine?”
“This is one time I need you to be there for me. You were in the meeting. You witnessed the friction between Jonathan and me. With Dunning foremost in my mind, I believe it would be more efficient if I were to report directly to you.”
In the back of his mind he could see Chrystina raising an eyebrow then staring at him asking, ‘So what are you going to do now?’
“What is your issue with Jonathan?”
“He doesn’t understand my connection to the agency like you do.”
“Jonathan may surprise you. He has done a lot of research on Dunning and the employees.”
“That is information.” Elaine shrugged. “You grew up with us. I watched you change from a young boy, to a man and now CEO. We are in your blood, just as you are in ours.”
Myles smiled. “It has been an adventure for sure.”
“One that is just beginning for you.” Elaine smiled then sat forward. “Don’t dismiss those of us who took the journey with you.”
“Elaine, you mentioned how long you have been at Dunning. This is when that knowledge you’ve gained over the years will benefit us the most. I have a promising young man who has proven his ability to take an agency to higher ground. For a person with his notoriety and possibilities, I need my strongest executive next to him. I am trusting you to fill that role, Elaine.”
Myles sat back and watched as Elaine, who had clearly come into the office to manipulate her way from under Jonathan’s authority, attempt to formulate a comeback.
“Your point is taken. I have to admit, I did not look at it in those terms,” Elaine said. “However, I have to be honest here, Myles. He worked for Phase. We have observed how ruthless they can be. I am fearful that Jonathan may attempt to employ some of those methods here at Dunning.”
Myles shook his head. “That does not concern me.”
“Why not?”
“We have had people who attempted to undermine our core principles before. It did not work then and it will not work now. We have years of dedicated employees with our morals ingrained in them. I trust that those who are with us will rise when needed and those who are not will fall.”
###
“So, how did it go?” Sydney followed Jonathan into his office when he arrived back from the board meeting.
Jonathan shrugged. “As expected. Elaine had a tizzy over my appointment. The Dunning family backed the
decision and we are now moving forward with our plans.”
“We are still going to foil her plans for Dunning?”
“Oh, Absobloodylutely.” Jonathan sat behind his desk as he made that declaration. “It is imperative to discover what wazzock is heading up this muck of a farce. The entire operation will be a damp squib when it’s all said and done. For now it is up to us to limit the damage.”
“When you and I are alone, it is okay to speak our native tongue. However, we are in the states now. We have to use their terminology so that everyone in the room will understand your meaning.”
Jonathan glanced up at her. “It is important to find out who all are behind this dumb scheme.”
Sydney laughed. “I understood what you were saying. If anyone else had been in the room, they would be staring at you as if you were crazed.”
“But there is no one else in the room.”
“You are missing the point.” Sydney rolled her eyes upwards. With her tablet, in hand she ran down the list of appointments he had for the day.
“Add Elaine on that for half past five.”
“Why?” Sydney asked.
“Bloody hell if I know,” Jonathan replied as he opened his computer. “The gist of it is to piss Grace off.”
“You should nip that sooner rather than later. It could cause problems down the road.”
Jonathan was concentrating on the computer as Sydney talked. The code he’d placed on O’Donnell’s bank accounts was working splendidly. It seemed Mrs. O’Donnell was declined at the local bakery. There were several entries where programmers were attempting to delete the code. “Splendid.”
“Jonathan.”
He looked up. “Yes?”
“Did you listen to anything I said?”
“Sorry, Mate. I was a bit distracted. What were you saying?”
“I sent your appointments to your calendar. You have a lunch meeting with Myles then a one o’clock with Mike.” Sydney touched a pile of binders on the edge of his desk. “These are the processes you need to review.”
Jonathan frowned. “Those are binders.”
Sydney nodded with a smirk. “They really need us here.”
