Chapter 25: Tying up Loose Ends

Helen and I had just begun to heal, and then I found a picture of her daughter talking to my would-be killer. Of course, she told me they hadn't been close in a long time, but it was hard to believe that Helen didn't know her daughter was talking to career criminals... especially when they worked for the same company. Surely, she would have known something about the kind of people her daughter was hanging out with! Hadn't Helen been the one to assure me that her Ashlee had been cleared of suspicion on the day of the robbery? What kind of boss was she? Scratch that... what kind of parent was she?

What if Helen had been lying?

I stared at her hard, looking for even a hint of subterfuge, but I couldn't find anything. All I could see when Helen stared back at me was genuine surprise and concern.

"Marcus, I promise you... I have no idea who that man is or what Ashlee is doing with him."

I met her gaze without saying a word, unsure what to think.

"Marcus," Helen said as she took a few steps toward me. Despite the concern in her eyes, she managed to keep her shoulders back and her head straight; her demeanor was calm and collected. "She and I can barely stand being in the same room together. I don't know her whereabouts every moment of every day."

"You said she'd been cleared."

"What?"

"The day the news broke about me. You said Ashlee's movements were all accounted for."

"I... they were."

"Then what's this?" I said, throwing the paper down on the paper. "She met with the guy who tried to shoot me, Helen!"

"I don't know! She was using a company car! We have the logs! We have the information from her cell phone! She went straight to the coffee shop and back!" I could see the desperation in Helen's eyes giving way to frustration.

"What coffee shop?" Henry interrupted.

The question from the investigator took me by surprise, and it took me a second to remember the name. "Uh... The Blue Beans. It's just down the street."

"Nice, large establishment that seems to ride that fine line between hipster and avant-garde?" he asked.

"Something like that," I said, unsure what avant-garde meant, but it sounded right.

"There's a lovely little antique bookstore just behind the cafe. A nice lady owns it. A bit eccentric. She has five cats... in a place of business, no less." He shook his head and smiled amusedly as he continued his story. "Dreadful smell. Frankly, I'm surprised she stays in business, but apparently, her store's been there for a decade and a half."

His smile faded, and he looked directly at me as if about to tell me my mother had just died. "She had a camera installed in the back because some vagrants kept dumpster diving, leaving the place an absolute mess. That was where I found this image."

I looked down at the photo on the table, staring at Ashlee's image. Her sunglasses were on, but there was no mistaking her. She was wearing the same yellow dress I had seen on her when she first propositioned to be my girlfriend. She must have met with Cartwright just after sweet-talking me. What if I had taken her up on her offer? Had she sent Cartwright after me because I turned her down? Jesus... hell hath no fury.

"It's really easy to get answers, you know," Erin said, pulling me out of my thoughts. "Just buy her off. Helen, you know Ashlee's all about the money. Wave enough of it in front of her, and she'll sit up and bark for you."

"Or," Chloe said coolly, "We could just ask her without the money. If bribes work so well on her, you might not be able to trust anything she tells you." She glanced at Henry. "We know someone who's great at keeping people honest."

I looked at her in surprise. Stories about the CIA were plentiful, but to be in the same room as a former member while she suggested torturing a young woman for information felt too real.

"No," Helen said. "This doesn't feel like Ashlee."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"She's smart and manipulative, but this feels out of her league. This feels more like Roger."

"You think Roger tried to have me killed?"

"He's wealthy, connected to your grandfather, and has a motive."

"Look," Erin said, "I'm sure he's not thrilled that Marcus is sleeping with his wife, but I've seen the bills. Marcus pays YPV way too well. Anyone savvy enough to make partner at that firm has a little more self-control than that. You're making him sound like a Lifetime movie villain."

Helen shrugged. "Maybe, but if Roger doesn't need Marcus or YPV anymore, then why not? I don't know every facet of Roger's business. There could be a lot there that we're just not seeing."

"What are you thinking?" I asked Helen.

Helen's lips tightened as she looked at me. "I'd play Ashlee's game."

"What?" Erin and I both said together.

"It makes sense," Helen insisted. "If Roger is trying to have you killed, then he's using Ashlee to get close to you."

"Why, though? If he's trying to kill me, then why send Ashlee to seduce me? Why not just have Cartwright or some other asshole wait in an ally and put a bullet in my head as I walk by?"

"I don't know," Helen admitted. "Maybe it's not that simple. You've been a difficult target since you acquired security."

I pointed to the photo. "That was before I hired Chloe."

Helen pursed her lips and took a moment to think before saying, "This is exactly my point. You don't know enough. I promise Ashlee isn't driving whatever this is, and if it is Roger, then he's withheld information from Ashlee."

"So, what are you suggesting? I date Ashlee?"

Helen gave me a look that didn't need any words.

"Seriously?"

"You should invite her to Vegas."

"Fuck no!"

"Marcus-"

"I'm leaving town to get away from all of this! I'm not taking it with me!"

"It's a good opportunity to isolate her," Chloe said. "Cartwright and Roger won't be around."

I looked at Chloe like she had just stabbed me in the back. She simply shrugged at me.

"Chandler's here," Erin said, looking at her phone. "I need to go get him. Want me to bring him to your office?."

"Yeah," I said sullenly.

"I'll come with you," Helen said. She gave me a look. "Think about it, Marcus."

Erin gave me a piteous smile as she brushed by me and trailed Helen out the door, leaving me with Chloe and Psalter.

"Henry, can you keep an eye on Helen while I'm gone?" I said as soon as the door shut behind her.

"Certainly," he replied. "Is there anything specific you're interested in knowing?"

"I just want to make sure she's being above board with me."

"And the girl?"

"Ashlee?" I asked. I looked at Chloe for guidance but got nothing from her except a stone-faced expression. "Maybe. I'll let you know."

After saying my goodbyes to the investigator, I returned to my empty office. A few minutes later, Erin entered, followed by Chandler and Helen. Chandler Grayson was all smiles as he walked in, bright grey eyes wandering and taking in the typical vibes it gave off. Considering I'd just bought an apartment and an airplane, the office decor at the Dunbar building wasn't exactly high on my list of priorities and still looked like any random office you might see in marketing stock photos.

"Hello again, Mr. Upton! Lovely to see you again!" he said, stepping forward and extending his hand to me.

I stood up and grasped it, smiling back at him despite all my frustrations. I had only met Grayson once, but that was enough to decide I liked him; his friendly demeanor, easy smile, and bouncing gate made him seem more like a lovable uncle than a high-level executive of one of the most successful companies in the US. The fact that Helen trusted him made it all the easier.

"Chandler," I said and gestured at him to have a seat, "it's good to see you again."

Unlike Psalter, he didn't give me some weird story about murdering priests and altar boys before resolving to never sit in the presence of others again, which was another point in the likable column. He unbuttoned his suit jacket and took a seat as he thanked me. I sat behind my desk while Helen and Erin both took the couch. Fortunately, the smell of sex from earlier had faded to almost nothing.

"I'm terribly sorry I didn't get a chance to speak to you after yesterday's interview with Mrs. Lyons," Chandler said. "You did rather well, considering you're a new hand at this sort of game."

"Thanks," I said with a nod of gratitude. "There's no need to apologize. I saw how busy you were. Everyone wanted a piece of you after it was over."

"No doubt," he said. "Yunger was quite taken aback by the change in the messaging, but he's an old pushover. He'll fret and fuss but ultimately fall in line. I dare say you're going to give poor Mrs. Rodriguez a bald batch if you keep this up." When he noticed my apparent confusion, he clarified. "The communications director up there with us. I don't think you've had a chance to make her acquaintance yet."

"Hopefully, I won't give her any other reasons to pull out her hair. Listen, Chandler... Helen filled me in on the situation with the new CEO. Apparently, there's a push to bring on someone named Kelly Maddox?"

"Er... yes," Chandler said, shooting a look at Helen.

"And you don't trust her?"

"Not particularly," he said. "How much has Helen told you?"

"Just the high-level stuff. I know my grandfather had his hands in all sorts of things and that you probably have a better idea than most what those are."

"I'd like to think so... at least to an extent," Chandler said.

"So he trusted you more than most?"

Chandler snorted. "I should say not. Colin Gerrard wouldn't have trusted his own mother, let alone anyone who worked for him."

"Doesn't mean anything if she was a horrible person," I countered.

"The woman was an absolute saint," he retorted without missing a beat. "Anyway, Colin didn't trust anyone with the full picture of what he was involved in. He had everything thoroughly compartmentalized in a confusing network. Maddox knew some of it, as did I. At one time, his brother was a key player in Colin's machinations. I'm quite convinced he handled some of Colin's shadier ventures. Truth be told, he was likely the closest thing your grandfather had to a friend and valued confidante."

"They were close?"

"Indeed."

"Not close enough to keep him out of prison like he did for this Cartwright guy."

Any good mood still in Chandler's expression vanished. "Charles Cartwright?"

"Yeah. You know him?"

"He worked for your grandfather for a number of years. I was never privy to what the man got up to, but I assure you it was nothing good." Chandler shook his head apologetically, "Listen, I'll be of as much assistance as possible, but Colin knew I didn't have the constitution for some of the more cutthroat aspects of doing business on his level. I suppose he respected my skills enough to keep me around but understood that I had my limitations. I was content to look away and was given free reign over my little corner of his empire."

He looked uncomfortable admitting all that... guilty even.

"Look," I said, "I'm not here to judge. All I'm looking for is a place to start. Could you provide me with everything you know or at least suspect? Some kind of layout of all the corporations he owned, what industries they're linked to, the countries they're in... as much as you can. Including any information you can give me on stuff outside your 'corner of the kingdom.'"

Chandler gave me an appraising look. "What do you intend to do with this information?"

"I don't know yet. I'm just getting tired of not having all the answers. Can you put all that together by the end of the week?"

"I could have it in your hands in two days if needed."

"That would be amazing," I said. I felt a weight lift off my shoulders. It felt good to be making some sort of progress, even if it wasn't much.

"About Maddox," I went on. "Is the board convinced to bring her on?

"More or less," Chandler said. "Maddox deserves her reputation as an empire-builder. She fell out of favor with your grandfather, but that always seemed more personal than professional. No one on the board really cares about that sort of thing."

"Do you think you could stall for a couple weeks before the board puts it to a vote?"

Grayson rubbed his chin, looking a little displeased by the request. "Two weeks is a bloody long time to go when many of them have already made up their mind..."

"I just need time to get to know the players," I said, "and figure out what I'm going to do."

"I suppose I could make it work," he said reluctantly.

"Cool. I'm going to be in Vegas for a few days. I'll be back on Monday. We can meet after I've read up on everything and everyone."

"Leaving town? At a time like this?"

"Cartwright showed up this morning and nearly put a bullet in me," I said. "I have news cameras constantly chasing me. My brother was in my face this morning asking me for money, and I just found out that one of the women who's been hounding me for a date has been talking to Cartwright. I'm feeling claustrophobic, and I just need a few days to blow off some steam, collect my thoughts, and read through all the stuff you're going to send me."

"Well," Grayson reluctantly admitted, "when you put it that way, perhaps a short holiday might be in order, but I'd like to stress that if you intend to take on the entire board, you need to be back in town by the beginning of next week. There are just some things that can't be done over the bloody internet."

"That's fair," I said, "and I'll try to take care of as much as possible while in Nevada."

"Very well," Chandler said, his smile having a sickened tinge to it, "and I'll go ahead and set up a board meeting for the Monday after next."

"Sounds good," I said.

"Might I ask," Chandler said, eyeing me, "Who do you intend to run the show if not Kelly Maddox?"

"Would you be interested in staying on in that role? You

did

say you could keep the ship floating in these troubled waters... or something like that."

The look on Chandler's face was one of complete shock. "Me? Why, yes... I would be interested in a more permanent position as CEO, but why me? We barely know each other."

"Helen says you're trustworthy; you've been CEO since my grandfather died, and I don't get any red flags from you. It's not much, but it's all I have until I have something more solid to go on."

"Well," he said, giving me an astonished smile as he grasped my hand, shaking it furiously, "in that case, I would be honored to take the job."

Chandler spent the next half hour reviewing some of the company's high-level details. By the time he left, my head was swimming with names, places, and dates as if I was about to take a History test on VistaVision. After we were done, Helen escorted Chandler to the lobby, promising to meet me at my apartment a little later. That left me with Erin; I gave her a simple set of instructions and then sent her on her way so she could get home in time to pack for our trip.

Fifteen minutes later, I emerged from the elevator onto the floor where I used to work. Chloe was waiting for me in the lobby, but I had one more pit stop before I called it a night.

It was late, and only a few people were still on the floor, but I paid little attention to them as I made my way to Natalie's office. Her light was still on. Reaching the door, I knocked and waited for a response.

"Come in!" her voice sounded through the door. I opened it and entered to find Natalie clicking away at her computer. She looked up from whatever she was working on and saw me standing there, and her eyes widened.

"Oh! Marcus!" She started to get out of her chair.

"Don't get up. I just wanted to catch you before I leave," I said.

Natalie, who had just started to stand, slowly lowered herself back in her chair. "Okay," she said with a smile filled with uncertainty.

She was dressed in a smart grey suit and a white blouse buttoned up to the hollow of her throat, and I couldn't help but notice a delicate, heart-shaped pendant resting on her caramel skin. A small diamond glinted in the shitty office lighting. I glanced back up to meet her dark eyes and gave her a soft smile. I hadn't seen her since our conversation yesterday.

So much had occurred between then and now. I saw my brother, patched things up with Helen, had a gun pulled on me, bought a plane, found out that my grandfather had evil, manipulative schemes, learned that I had an uncle in prison for murder, found out that Ashlee was in league with the guy who had pulled a gun on me... it had been a busy twenty-four hours. That meant I hadn't had time to think about Natalie.

Seeing her there in all her beautiful glory... it hurt.

I swallowed. "You look good."

Her smile grew a fraction. "Thanks. So do you."

"No, I don't."

She grimaced and said, "Well, you

do

look a little tired."

"Heh," I said, "you can't talk to me like that. You're fired."

Her mouth dropped open in shock, and her discomfort melted away. "I'll sue," she retorted, falling back into our old banter. "I'm black. I'll win."

"I'm half black. I get the privilege and race cards, and I'm rich."

Natalie clicked her tongue against her teeth. "Ouch. Got me."

She looked up and gave me a genuine smile, and I returned it. For a moment, everything felt normal between us again.

Then that pit in my stomach returned, and like a vapor, that peace was gone.

"So, I'm leaving town for a few days," I said.

"Where are you going?"

"Vegas."

"Couldn't you go anywhere in the world right now? Why Vegas?"

I shrugged and sighed. "I have stuff to do, so it's not like I can go too far right now. I just wanted to be able to get away for a few days. The paparazzi have been up my ass, and I just need a break."

I debated telling her about Cartwright but decided against it. Natalie didn't need to know about any of the extra stuff. It wasn't like we were dating, and there wasn't anything she could do about it anyway.

"How's Tyler?"

Natalie stared at me for a full ten seconds before she finally responded. "He's fine," she finally said, and I could tell she sensed that I wasn't telling her everything. "Do you want the truth?"

"Not really," I said and immediately regretted it. I could see on her face that my tone had hurt her a little, but what did she expect? I'd been the one who wanted a relationship with her, so why would I want to hear about how amazing her new boyfriend was?

Still... my reaction felt catty. I sighed and resigned myself to being a good friend, "Actually, yeah."

"He's treating me better than Garrett did," she said. "I've been really happy the last couple of days."

She looked as reluctant to tell me all of that as I felt, but we were trying to maintain some sort of friendship, which meant confiding in each other. It was time to man up and stuff my feelings down where they wouldn't hurt.

I nodded and said, "That's good. I'm happy for you, Nat."

She cocked her head to the side and gave me a disbelieving look.

"I mean it," I said, trying to convince myself as much as her. "I hope you guys are happy. If you need anything from me, just let me know."

She gave me a tight-lipped smile and whispered, "Thanks."

"Alright, I'm gonna go," I said. "I'll be back on Monday. You got this till I get back?"

"Marcus," Natalie said, adopting more of the usual tone I was used to, "You have no managerial role in this company. We'll be fine."

"Yeah," I said, giving her a grin. "You can't talk to your boss like that. You're lucky I need you to manage things while I'm away."

"Have fun, Marcus," she said. I turned and walked out the door, trying to manage the mixed feelings coursing through me.

Tuesday, 8:49 pm

Music played from my phone as I lay on my bed, staring at the large brown box lying on the ground. I was still trying to work through the complex matrix of emotions I felt after meeting with Natalie. Part of me wanted to just get over it and move on with my fucking life. My god... I was the wealthiest man in the world with multiple women who doted on my every whim; it should have been easy to shake this melancholy.