Copyright 2010 by Wren Phoenix

Monday mornings were frequently less than pleasant, even for people like Michael, who really enjoyed his work. It was so tempting to lie in bed and cuddle with Jenny, but he had never learned the habit of being lazy. He gave her a quick kiss, then dressed and got ready for an interesting day.

“Good morning, Sweetheart,” she said as she woke, stretching. It did wonderful things to her breasts, and he was very tempted. She noticed, and quickly covered them, giggling. “You’re naughty!”

“Oh, if I only had the time, my love! I’ll leave the keys to the Cayenne on the table for you. I know you need to talk to your Boss, and I filled it up Friday night, so you can go wherever without worry. If you decide to go to California, call me, I’ll make it a business trip.”

“But what if we don’t want you along?”

“I would think you’d miss my devilishly handsome face, my chiseled body and my plastic credit card!”

“Well, maybe the card!” She laughed as she flung herself into his arms. “Oh, I’ll miss you, but only until Dinnertime. Have a good day, good luck at your meeting.”

“I love you,” he said, kissing her before he hurried out to his sports car.

He passed his PDA to Lisa when he arrived at the office. She seemed quite perturbed.

“There has been a change in the schedule, and a board meeting has been called for this afternoon.”

“Thanks, David left me a message on my answering machine. My cousin is playing games, hoping to find me unprepared. I have a few surprises for him, though.”

The morning passed fairly uneventfully. Michael did bring up the subject of an internship for Diane, and Lisa asked if she could be allowed to train her as an interim assistant for Michael. After a quick call with Erin Holly, the Human Resources manager, the internship was approved. Michael was glad to make a call to his home.

“Hello, Jenny?”

“No, sorry, it’s Diane. Jenny was called in to work today.”

“That’s okay; I really wanted to talk to you, little Sister. Would your schedule allow you to come here to work tomorrow morning?”

“Really? Yes, of course, but I have classes later in the afternoon.”

“I will sort all of that this evening, depending on how long this meeting takes. I’ll call when I’m on my way, all right?”

“Sure, Mike! See you tonight!”

She hung up before he could correct her.

You know what? He thought to himself. For her, it’s all right.

He was really starting to enjoy having a sister-in-law. He had always been an only child, and he liked the feeling of being an older brother. He loved the feeling of having a family again.

The day proceeded as it always did until Michael returned from his lunch. David and Michael went over some
last minute plans and updates, and then entered the boardroom with several of the other board members.

What would happen if I lost this challenge? How would I handle it? Michael wondered. What is the worst that could happen?

Well, he told himself, eventually it would all come back to me eventually, as I am my parent’s only heir. My personal accounts are not in any jeopardy, and there are several million dollars there. He could easily weather the wait until his parents bodies had been found, if necessary. In fact, all of this was really for show. If his parents were to suddenly show up, Michael would have been overjoyed, but Michael knew that this was only a dream. No one had survived that terrible crash.

He looked over at his cousin. He almost felt sorry for him. Sooner or later, he knew he would have to fire Randy, and it angered him. It had never been Michael’s choice to do that, but Randy had pushed the wrong buttons, and he couldn’t be trusted. Oh well, he thought. Let’s get this farce over with.

“I see we are all here, so let’s get the meeting started. I believe the first order of business is the challenge from Randall Tallon as to my suitability as Chairman of this board.”

Randy stood, and Michael sat down into the comfortable chair.

“Members of the board, I am sure you have read the report regarding this person that Michael has chosen to have his sordid relations with. By choosing this man, he has brought shame and scandal to our door. His actions are irresponsible, disgusting and immoral. He is not fit to chair this board or to lead the company.”

There was quiet for a few minutes, and then Jack Davis, a longtime associate of Bob Talon, spoke up.

“Uhm, Randy, did you know Bob Talon?”

“Well, of course, he’s my Uncle.”

“Son, you apparently didn’t know him very well. Bob followed his own set of rules. Oh, he followed the law, but his rules were usually tougher than any law written. He would never cheat or lie or treat anyone with anything less than they were due as a human being.

Nobody ever dictated policy to Bob. No one ever claimed that Bob was unfair or prejudiced or that he didn’t care. You may not understand it, but almost every one of us here have worked and sweated alongside Bob and his family. I know you do a good job in Finance, Randy, but I’m telling you, you’re about to get your ass kicked out of here. We don’t tolerate backstabbing traitors.”

“B-But he’s dating a MAN! Uncle Bob would never have tolerated it!”

Mike Evans took up the discussion.

“And what makes you think that, Randy? You knew Bob well, I know. So did Bob ever give you any impression that he was weak, or indecisive?”

“No, he was always very sure of himself.”

“And what did he value above all else?”

“His family and his employee family were always first in his mind.”

“What would Bob have said if someone told his Son who he could marry?”

“He would have told that person where to go.”

“And you want to do it anyway?”

“Uhm . . .”

“Who do you think you are? You know you are in the wrong. First you go and break the rules here, which I know you helped to write. I know you are well aware of our policies regarding violence in the workplace. Did your actions violate those policies?”

“Yes, they did, but I —“

“You broke the rules. You got suspended, with pay, I might add. You decide to try and do an end run and get Michael canned, thinking you have the moral authority to do so. You betrayed your cousin, repeatedly, and you think everyone is going to take your side?”

“What do you mean repeatedly? I did no such thing!”

Dave Roberts stood up.

“Randy, what set you off the day that you hit Michael?”

“I had just read a report on the man who had placed the ad Michael answered.”

“Where did you get that report? Why were you spying on Michael? For how long had this been going on? Who authorized this line of investigation? Why was it done in the first place? Had you been spying on Bob, as well? For whom were you doing this? Who is doing the actual investigation?”

“No, no, you don’t understand, I was trying to protect Michael, to help him!”

“You spied on your cousin to help him? Why? Did you think him incompetent? Michael has been working here since he was sixteen years old. He holds an MBA, and has been a vice president for almost six years. What were you protecting him from?”

“I just-“

“I’ve been going over some records since Bob and Kathy were reported lost. You’ve overturned some of Michael’s decisions, would you explain to us, please, on what authority this was done?” David was relentless, and every board member had his eye on Randy, who was visibly shaken and sweating.

“I just wanted to help him after Uncle Bob’s plane exploded, and . . .”

“Exploded? How did you know it exploded? Who told you it exploded?” Even David was surprised at this. The accident report had been filed that morning. There was no way that Randy could have seen it.

Randy said nothing. Suddenly, things looked more sinister to David and the other board members.

“Call the Police; I think Randy has some explaining to do. I want security up here immediately.”

Randy’s mouth was moving, but no sound came out.

Michael couldn’t move. It couldn’t be possible. Randy had been his most trusted friend. David had moved to Michael’s side.

“Just take deep breaths, Michael. Let the police do their jobs.”

But Michael had to try and understand, to process the idea . . .

“You killed my parents?” Michael said in a quiet voice, and then yelled at his cousin. “You killed them . . . why? What were you thinking?”

Randy said nothing, and when the security officers came up, he submitted himself to them without a word.

They handcuffed him and led him down to a secure room, where he would stay until the police arrived.

It took Michael a few minutes to get his emotions under control. David stood at his side and requested a full security sweep of Michael’s office, his car and his home. Michael suddenly realized that Jenny had the Cayenne, and he called her cell number as quickly as he could, but there was no answer. Damn! He thought. She must have it off! He called Diane, and had her give him the number to reach Jenny in an emergency. He explained the situation to David, and gave him the number to call.

A few minutes later his phone buzzed, quietly.

“Michael? What's going on?” Jenny’s voice was calm, but concerned.

He told her the whole story, and promised to pick her up as soon as she was ready. He made arrangements to rent a car until his had been checked, and was waiting when she came out of the school.

“Michael, are you all right?”

“He had them killed, Jenny!” He finally broke down and wept. “That bastard killed them!”

She held him, until he could catch his breath. She knew that this would bring all the trauma and pain back to the fore. He had been doing his best to deal with the grief, and this betrayal had hurt him all over again. All she could do was to be there, and to help him let it out. “It’s okay, Sweetie, I know. I’m so sorry my love. “

They held each other and cried, he for his lost parents, and her in sympathy for his pain.

He began to get control of himself and he wiped away her tears. “Please,tell me you have some good news,” he pleaded.

“I do have some,” she said, holding his hand, “I spoke to my supervisor. He and I went over my schedule, and I’ve taken the rest of the semester after April 11th off. So I plan on having surgery around the 14th.”

“Oh my Lord, that’s wonderful!” He smiled for the first time in hours. “I needed that! I’ll let Lisa know that I will be taking some time off that week, also.”

“You don’t need to, honey. I can handle things, and you will be busy.”

“I will be busy supporting my fiancé. I couldn’t let you go through that alone, so don’t worry about it.
Sometimes it is beneficial to own the company, and if anything important pops up, I will have my laptop and my cell phone. Between Lisa and I and my new assistant, we can take care of everything.”

“You have a new assistant?”

“Oh, yeah, you haven’t heard. I hired a cute new girl today; she’ll be an intern while she’s in school.”

“You hired my sister! Oh, that’s good news, too!”

“Don’t tell Diane, but I’m really getting into being a big brother-in-law!”

Jenny giggled.

“I’m serious! I’ve never had siblings, and this is just too cool!”

Jenny leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder. They talked about little things, just being in love, and everything seemed to get better.

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