The entire family migrated to the pool deck for the afternoon. Caroline and Curtis sat under an umbrella-covered table with Charles and Maggie, sipping fruity cocktails and chatting quietly.
Kat lounged on a chair by the pool with a beach read — her name for whatever book she had snagged from the shelves in the study — and sunned herself in a stunning white one-piece suit. I noticed David kept stealing glances at his wife and smiling to himself.
Not that he had many opportunities, since the twins quickly commandeered their father and their uncles to a marathon war of chicken in the swimming pool. I made it through two rounds before I had to call a timeout. Sam and David persevered for the final championship battle.
The screams of delight from Carter and Camden probably scared away half the forest animals. Their joy was infectious, and soon the rest of the crew moved poolside to cheer them on.
After twenty minutes the score was tied, with only one more stumble before someone was declared the winner. David was huffing hard, struggling to stay on his feet. Sam sucked wind, as well, leaning against the opposite pool wall. The twins, sitting on their shoulders, anxiously prodded their “ponies” to get back in the fight.
“Come on, honey. You can take him,” shouted Kat. David grinned and stood a little straighter. Carter, straddling his father’s neck, squeezed his temples a little tighter, tensed for battle.
“Stay strong, Sam,” said Curtis. “You know what to do.” Sam looked at me and winked. He reached a hand up and Cam slapped it for encouragement.
“Let’s do this, Uncle Sam,” he said, ending with a loud war whoop.
The two embattled — and exhausted — human stallions plodded waist deep into the middle of the pool. Below the surface, the bottom slanted deeper toward the far side, so one misstep in that direction and horse and rider were going down.
The two teams circled each other, feinting and lunging, getting a measure of their opponents’ remaining strength. From where I sat, I didn’t think either Sam or David would survive much longer.
Suddenly, Sam attempted his signature foot-hook move, but David sidestepped in time. Carter banged on his father’s head with glee and watched Sam’s moves like a hawk.
“Come on, Uncle Sam. Do something!” yelled Cam, pulling at his hair.
“Watch out for his feet, Dad!” yelled Carter. David backpedalled a few steps, sensing something. Sam looked at me, my feet dangling at the water’s edge, and smiled. I smiled and gave him a small nod.
He charged. He ran straight for David and Carter, yelling at the top of his lungs. David’s mouth dropped, Carter screamed, and Cam barely held on as Sam lunged through the water toward certain victory.
There were shouts and screams and bodies splashing. It happened so fast, I didn’t see exactly who did what or when, but after the players resurfaced, sputtering and spewing water, we all agreed that Carter and Cam hit the water simultaneously. Everyone laughed and cheered. Carter and Cam were happiest of all, even though no winner could be declared.
“Now that’s what I call an epic battle,” said Caroline, wrapping a dripping Carter in a large beach towel as he climbed out of the pool.
“But nobody won, Grandma,” said Carter, hugging the towel.
“Well, didn’t you have fun?” she asked.
“Oh, yeah,” he answered. “Best chicken fight ever.”
“Then I think you’re a winner, don’t you?” she said.
“I guess,” said Carter with a shrug. Kat handed Cam a towel and he rewarded his mother by shaking his dripping hair, flinging water in all directions. She yelped and jumped sideways, laughing.
“I think we’re all winners this weekend. Let’s hear it for Uncle Jack and Uncle Sam,” shouted David.
“Yay!” came the family chorus. Sam yanked me into a side hug and I looked at him with a huge grin. I felt like the biggest winner of them all.
After a short rest under mother’s orders, the twins returned to the pool to use the slide and low diving board. The slide itself cascaded in twisting curves over the rock falls at the far end. Sam put the kibosh on any upside down or backwards slides. We didn’t need another busted head to deal with.
It did make me think about security and where Ben had run off to. I knew he was around, and there were always other agents keeping a watchful eye on things. I was so relaxed I had actually forgotten to be worried about anything. I didn’t even know where my magic panic button was at the moment. Weird.
“I’m hot,” said Sam, wiping sweat off his brow.
“I’ll say,” I whispered from the lounge chair next to him. He turned and grinned at me, wiggling his eyebrows.
Kat, lounging on the other side of Sam, groaned with mock disgust and turned the page on her book.
“Can’t help it, Sis. Hotness runs in our family,” said Sam.
“I’ll say,” said David, stroking his wife’s leg from his chair next to hers. Kat looked up from her book and smiled at him. The sun itself would be jealous of that smile. When she put the book down and stretched, David sat up at attention.
“I think I need a break from the sun,” she declared, rising from her chair and reaching for a gauzy wrap. With a pointed look at her husband, she turned and headed for the house.
“Later, guys,” said David with a grin, and Sam and I laughed.
Sam reached for me as I lay back with a sigh, squeezing his hand.
“How you doing, little man?” he asked.
I turned my head and squinted at the handsome face turned toward mine. I stretched and he met me halfway. Our lips touched and I might have moaned just a little. He deepened the kiss, but I put a warning hand on his cheek. We had an audience today.
“I love you so much, big guy,” I whispered. “Thank you for being my family.”
“Forever,” said Sam.
Sunday dinner was a barbeque feast. Sam and Curtis manned the grill. Charles helped Maggie set everything up on the table on the top deck. Caroline and I moved trays of salads and fixings from the kitchen. The boys were told to get out of the pool and change into shorts and t-shirts.
Kat and David reappeared deliciously relaxed and very touchy-feely. I caught Caroline smiling at them and realized she often looked at Sam and me the same way. I sighed with gratitude that at least one parent in my life accepted my love for Sam for the beautiful thing it was.
“Need any help?” Kat asked Maggie.
“I think we’re almost set, dear. Your boys should be along shortly. You could help me put serving utensils in all these bowls. How’s the meat coming over there?” she shouted in the direction of the grill. Sam grinned and held up a huge set of tongs like a giant thumbs up. Curtis laughed and patted his son on the back.
I leaned back against the deck railing and watched my new family interact. It was magical in its simplicity.
“How you holding up,” said David, moving to stand at my side.
“Good. You?”
He smiled. “Like new. I can’t thank you enough for this weekend. I had no idea how much I needed the break, man. I feel…normal, again.”
I grinned. “I’m glad. You’re welcome anytime. I hope you know that.”
He sighed and turned around to rest his arms on the deck railing and stare into the trees. Intrigued, I turned to do the same.
“How do you do it?” he whispered.
“Do what?”
“Make everything so…perfect for people.”
I frowned at him. “I don’t.”
He looked at me sideways. “Uh…yeah, you kinda do. All we had to do was show up, and you and Sam handled everything else.”
I sighed. “That was all Sam. And Maggie, I guess. I had very little to do with anything this weekend. My whole goal was survival.”
David chuckled. “You did great. Caught your first fish and everything. I’ve got the pics to prove it.” He bumped shoulders with me and I grinned.
“It was fun. More fun than I thought it would be.”
“It was awesome, Jack. My boys will be talking about this for weeks. All I’m gonna hear is, ‘When can we go back? When can we go back?’”
“Like I said, anytime you want. You know, if you and Kat ever just need a weekend to yourselves, Sam and I could come out and stay with the boys. Or just bring them here. Whatever works.”
He looked at me like he hadn’t heard right. “You and Sam will be in school. You’ll be way too busy for weekend trips to Connecticut.”
“Have you seen Sam with your boys? They’re like his own kids, no offense. I don’t think he’ll find it a hardship. Neither would I. They’re awesome.”
“They love you, too, Jack. Count on it. We all do.”
I smiled and looked down at the railing. “Thank you. That means a lot.”
“Can I tell you something?”
“What?”
“Look at me a sec,” he said. I turned and looked into his eyes.
“You know it’s not about the money, right?”
I swallowed and shrugged.
“Trust me. It’s not the plane or the house or the mountain — or any of it. It’s nice, don’t get me wrong. But you’re so much more than all this,” he said, gesturing to the house and the woods beyond. “You’d still be Uncle Jack, even if you had none of this stuff.”
I wanted to believe him, and part of me did. I loved being Uncle Jack, part of a family, accepted and loved just for who I was. I didn’t really know what to say, so I nodded and changed the subject.
“How’s things with Mason and Harry?”
He relaxed and leaned back on the railing again. “Better than I could have hoped for. Mason’s giving Harry and me our own accounts already. I didn’t expect it so soon. I closed two new deals last week. Mason’s…” he sighed. “Mason is like no one I’ve ever worked with. He’s young for a corporate leader, but wicked smart, and incredibly focused on growing the business. And yet, he never lets you forget you’re important, too.”
“Yeah, Todd was pissed when he left. Said there was only one Mason Wheeler in the world and we needed him. That’s why we’ve worked hard to keep him as close to our company as we can. I’m thrilled it worked out for you guys.”
“Thanks to you,” said David.
I shook my head. “No, thanks to you. And Harry. You guys did the heavy lifting. And it’s paying off, so I’m happy for Mason, too. Does he ever mention his father?”
David nodded. “He said the other day he’s back to work in Chicago, taking it slow. Mason flies back there every other week and stays for a day or two, from what I understand. They’re making it work.”
“Good, I’m glad. Family is important.”
He put a brotherly hand on my shoulder. “Family is everything, Jack.”
“Do we really have to go home?” asked Cam, rubbing his very full tummy.
We had all eaten our fill of fabulous food. I felt a little sick, myself.
“You boys have soccer camp starting tomorrow, so yes, we need to go home,” said Kat. “How are we doing that exactly?” she asked, looking in my direction.
I inhaled sharply. “Uh…,” I mumbled, realizing I had not given their return flight a moment’s thought. Crap!
“Margie has you guys all set on a charter flight. You’ll get in just about the time we originally planned,” said Sam, reaching a reassuring hand to mine under the table. I exhaled a sigh of relief. “There’ll be a car service to get you home from the airport. A second one for mom and dad.”
I looked at my man and smiled. He had it all under control. Go, Sam. And yay me, I didn’t have to stress out about the change of plans.
I expected a snarky comment about the cost of a chartered flight, but Kat just sat back with a deep sigh. “I could get used to this way of life,” she said.
David snorted. Caroline, sitting on my right, looked at me and smiled. I smiled back. She lifted a hand and we high-fived softly. It was our joint victory.
“What’s that for?” asked Kat, confused.
“Nothing, dear,” said her mother with a grin.
“Would anyone like to take leftovers with you?” asked Maggie. “We have so much.”
Groans all around the table nixed the idea. We were all stuffed to the max. Sam had even turned down a second dessert, raising eyebrows from the twins.
“It was all so wonderful, Maggie. And Charles. Thank you so much for everything,” said Caroline graciously.
“Yes, thank you all,” said Curtis. “And boys, I will be putting those clubs to good use, I can promise you that.”
Sam grinned and squeezed my hand. “You’re welcome, Dad. Glad you like them.”
Carter was half asleep, leaning against his father’s arm. Kat’s eyes were closed, too. David smiled at Sam and me and mouthed a silent, “Thank you.”
Sam and I helped the boys pack their suitcases.
“That’s the clean stuff, Uncle Jack. Those go in here,” said Carter, pointing to a different pocket inside his case. “That one’s for the dirties.”
“What about all the wet stuff?” asked Cam, holding up his dripping swimsuit.
“Dude,” said Sam. “Didn’t you wring it out? Come on, let me show you.” He led Cam to the bathroom to twist out as much water as he could from their swimsuits. Then he ran upstairs for plastic, waterproof baggies.
I was tickling Carter, and Cam was trying to tickle me, when Sam returned to find us lying all over the pile of clothes on the one bed.
“Seriously? I leave you alone with them for two minutes?” he said, hands on his waist. We looked at him for two seconds and burst out laughing.
Next thing I knew he was on the bed with us and a tickle fight ensued. Carter saw me go for the back of Sam’s left thigh, so he went for the other one. Cam attacked his neck and Sam squealed hysterically. We were all gasping for breath when I called a truce.
Red faced, Sam fell back on the bed. I laid next to him, with a twin on either side of us.
“When will we see you again?” asked Cam.
“I’m not sure, buddy,” said Sam. “We’ll have to work around our school schedules.”
“I hate school,” said Cam.
“Woah, dude. You can’t hate school.”
“But it gets in the way of everything. What’s the point?”
“Remember what that sailor said? You need to do your best in school so you can be whatever you want to be when you grow up,” answered Sam.
“I want to fly jets, like Captain Ron. And Justin,” said Cam. “Justin flew planes in the Air Force, didn’t he?”
“I think so,” I said. “Justin’s a smart guy. I’ll bet he worked hard in school when he was your age.”
Cam sighed. “Fine. But it’s gonna take like forever.”
I looked at Sam and he grinned at me. Forever was fine by me.
Ben had two large SUVs in the driveway, engines running. Sam and David piled the luggage into the rear vehicle.
“How many of these things do you have just lying around,” asked Kat, with a wave of her hand at the vehicles idling.
“I have no idea,” I said with a shrug. “That’s Ben’s department. They just sort of appear whenever we need them.”
She looked at me sideways and I shrugged again.
“Stop bustin’ his chops, Sis,” said Sam, sliding up next to me.
“I’m not, Sam. I was just curious, that’s all. This whole thing makes my head spin. I take it back, I’ll keep my old, boring life. With a maid, though. Jack, you wouldn’t have an extra hiding in the bushes, would you?”
I laughed. “No, and no you can’t have Maggie, either, so don’t ask.”
“Fine,” she said in mock frustration. “You’re so selfish.” Sam and David laughed loudly.
“Shut up,” she said, hitting David’s shoulder.
The boys shook Charles’s hand and hugged Maggie. Her eyes were moist, which of course caused mine to water. Ugh. I had made it the whole weekend without tears.
Finally we were all crammed into the front SUV and headed to Centennial, Sam driving and me holding his hand. Ben was in the car following us. I didn’t recognize the driver, but that was nothing new.
Vacation chatter faded, and by the time we arrived at the hangar, everyone but Caroline was asleep. I turned around to announce our arrival and she put a finger to her lips.
“You did good, Jack,” she whispered. “They’re going home happy. Me, too,” she said with a wink. I blushed.
Sam and I carried the luggage to the rear of the jet on the tarmac, while Ben conversed with a man in a dark blue uniform by the forward stairs. I assumed he was the pilot for this charter flight. The plane itself was very similar to ours, maybe a little shorter.
Ben waved us back over to the SUV. “Everything’s set. Flight should be smooth. I let him know about the incident on the inbound, in case he gets any questions from the kids. He’s got two of his own, so I think he’s prepared for the onslaught.”
Sam grinned.
“Shit,” said Ben. He turned and yanked open the back door, pulling a small cooler from the rear seat. “Maggie packed some goodies for the flight. She’d kill me if I forgot.”
“Cool,” said Sam. “What’s in there?” He reached for cooler and Ben stepped back.
“Don’t make me shoot you, now,” he said, half serious.
“You two are impossible,” I said with a sigh.
“Me?” Sam whined. “He’s the one threatening violence over here. I just wanted a cookie.”
I rolled my eyes and they both grinned.
I saw a familiar face standing near the pilot. “Is that Justin?”
I walked over to join the two uniformed men. Same color – dark blue – with slight differences.
“Oh, hey boss,” said Justin as I approached. “Regis, this is Jack Schaeffer. It’s his family were flying tonight.”
Captain Regis extended a hand, which I shook. “We’ll take good care of them, I promise.”
“Uh…thank you, I appreciate that. Justin…um…I don’t understand…”
Sam arrived at my side with the cooler, placing his free hand on the small of my back.
“I volunteered,” said Justin. “And Regis agreed. I figured with what happened on the inbound, you guys might appreciate knowing a familiar face was watching out for the family.”
“Wow! Thanks, man,” said Sam.
“No problem,” said Justin.
Regis glanced at his fancy black aviator’s watch. “We should get going if we want to keep our slot. Gentlemen, have a great evening.”
“Come on, let’s get them on the plane,” said Sam, grabbing my hand.
The groggy goodbyes took awhile. Nobody really wanted our time together to end.
“Take care of my son,” said Curtis, hugging me tightly. “And see that he gets to school on time.”
“I will, I promise,” I said.
“Curtis, leave the man alone. Honestly,” said Caroline, pushing her husband aside to hug me, too. “I had such a wonderful time, Jack. Your home is lovely, and it means so much to me to see where my boy lives. Mostly to see him so happy. That’s all you,” she said, a hand to my cheek.
“He makes me happy, too,” I said.
“Take care, and we’ll see you soon,” she said, turning to say goodbye to Sam. He hugged her and they did that eye staring thing. No words were said, but I saw a tear fall down her cheek. I think it was a happy tear.
I turned and Kat was standing in front of me, purse on her shoulder. She looked a little sad. I opened my arms and she swept in. I held her tightly and she put her arms around me.
“Thank you so much,” she whispered into my chest. “For everything.”
“You’re welcome.”
She leaned back and looked into my eyes. “You’re very, very good for him. See that you keep it that way.”
“I promise.”
She nodded, a hand traveling down my arm, then pulling back.
“Bye.”
“Bye,” I said, choking on the lump in my throat. Crap! I was beginning to hate goodbyes.
The far engine started, settling into a high-pitched whine. Wistful, and a little sad in the moment.
The twins let go of Sam and climbed all over me, thanking me for the funnest camping trip ever in the whole wide world. I kissed them each on the head and hugged them till they squealed. They took off running for the plane.
David shook my hand and pulled me into a quick hug.
“I meant what I said. You’re all welcome any time,” I said.
“I’ll take you up on that, I think. Save some fish for me.”
I smiled. “Not a problem. I throw them back, remember?”
He laughed and waved goodbye. Sam handed him the small cooler and they hugged again.
One by one they ascended the steps into the plane. Sam stood by my side and held me close.
“It was a great visit,” I said into the growing darkness.
“Yeah. The best.” He had tears in his eyes. I didn’t even try to stop mine.
Ben met us back at the SUV. Sam reached for the keys in his pocket, but Ben stuck his hand out for them, instead.
“Why?” asked Sam.
“We need to see Ron,” said Ben, his expression brooking no argument.
“What’s going on?” asked Sam, reluctantly handing over the keys. I stiffened next to him and his arm flew around my shoulder, pulling me closer.
“Come on,” said Ben, getting behind the wheel and nodding for us to get in.
The three of us rode in silence across the tarmac and around several hangars until we reached the place where our plane was normally housed. I recognized Ron’s truck parked near the hangar entrance, and Ben pulled up next to it. I glanced at Sam, who shrugged.
We found Ron inside the cavernous empty space which smelled strangely of lemons and jet fuel, studying what was left of the landing gear from our plane. Pieces were spread out over several folding tables pushed together to make one large platform.
Ron looked up with a grim smile. “Thanks for coming, guys. I need to show you something,” he said. No handshakes. Something was seriously wrong.
“What’s up?” I asked.
Ron sighed heavily and pushed a hand through his hair in frustration. “That’s just it, I’m not sure. Something about this landing gear malfunction doesn’t make sense.”
“Tell us what you know,” said Ben, taking the lead. His concentration was total, his demeanor instantly on alert.
“Sam,” I said, shivering under a sudden pulse of fear. He grabbed my hand and pulled me close.
“Easy, little man,” he whispered in my ear.
Ron looked at all of us and nodded. “Right. Well, as you already know, on our approach here the other night, the landing gear did not automatically engage as it should have. Justin lowered it manually, but unfortunately, it was locked horizontally, so even though it was down, it was essentially useless. What we see here is the mangled result.”
“What does it tell you?” asked Ben.
“It’s what it doesn’t tell me,” said Ron.
“Explain.”
“I called you this afternoon because my initial investigation is…disturbing.”
“How so?” asked Sam. I was too shaken to speak. I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear this.
Another sigh from Ron. “I can’t say for certain, but after reviewing service logs and video from Gulfstream maintenance, and the logs Justin and I prepare before every flight, I’m thinking this was no accident.”
Ben stood an inch taller and the veins popped out across his temples. “Spell it out, Ron. What are you saying?”
“I am reasonably confident that the routine servicing of the plane in Savannah was by the book. They sent video that shows the torque pins and other equipment related to the nose gear were installed correctly. I have the pictures. Furthermore, Justin and I both have examined the nose gear prior to every flight since. We saw nothing out of line.”
“Yet the nose gear failed on this last flight. Why?” asked Sam.
“That’s what I want to show you,” said Ron, moving down the table to a small pile of disconnected mechanical pieces.
“What are we looking at?” I asked, finally finding my voice. It sounded a little shaky, and Sam’s hand at the small of my back pressed firmer in support.
“These are the main parts to the hydraulics that raise and lower the nose gear. Look at this thin line here,” he said, reaching for a shiny black tube about six inches long. He carefully bent the tube back and a small hole appeared under the fluorescent lights about the table.
“I found three of these in the hydraulic lines. I’m convinced this is why we lost hydraulic power and couldn’t lower the gear.”
“What caused it? Do you know?” asked Ben.
Ron gave him a pointed look. He hesitated, then sighed. “I think it was deliberate.”
“What!” I shouted, snapping a hand to my mouth. Oh, crap!
Sam squeezed me to his side. As much as he was trying to keep me from flying apart, his next thought was of his family.
“We have to warn them,” he said with a slight panicked tone.
“Who?” asked Ron.
“Justin. They just left. Oh my god, my family,” he said. I grabbed for him and we more or less propped each other up, leaning against the display table.
Ron raised a hand. “Don’t worry, Sam. Justin and I carefully inspected every inch of that plane this afternoon. And Captain Regis and I go way back. I trust him implicitly. Justin insisted on flying with them so you would know he was not concerned about the safety of the aircraft.”
Sam relaxed a fraction. I’m not sure I did. I couldn’t tell anymore.
“Why do you say this was sabotage?” asked Ben, inspecting the black tubes again.
“Because it’s the only thing that makes sense. These lines are brand new. They were replaced as part of the routine maintenance last week. Gulfstream sent me the receipts and the inventory reports showing new parts, and the serial markings match. I think whoever messed with the lines did it after we got back from Calloway, probably here at Centennial.”
“Because?” said Ben.
“Because, think about it, Ben. Assuming everything was fine when we left Savannah, we flew to St. Thomas, where Justin and I never left the plane. There was no opportunity for anyone to touch the aircraft. We even supervised the fuel loading ourselves. Justin doesn’t trust fuel jockeys. Says they like to underfill and overcharge. He watches them like a hawk.”
“I’m assuming the same holds true in Danbury?” said Ben.
“Exactly,” replied Ron.
“So, you’re suggesting that the only time the plane was left unattended was here, in this hangar.”
Ron nodded. “Yes.”
“Who would do this?” mumbled Sam. “Why?”
Ben walked closer to us and put a hand on each of our shoulders. “I don’t know — yet. But I promise you guys, I will find out.”
“There’s one more thing,” said Ron.
Ben spun around to face him. “What?”
“I have no idea why, but I think I have a pretty good idea how they did it. Acid.”
“Oh, god,” I whispered, feeling my knees give way. Thankfully Sam held me up.
“Explain,” said Ben, stepping back over to the suspect parts.
“I’m not sure what exactly was used, but I’ve heard of this kind of thing before. These aren’t cut. If they had been, the edges would likely be clean and tight. Here, they’ve sort of dissolved. See, I can’t get the edges to match up at all. A hole like this, once it forms, no way to stop the leaking. I’m thinking someone put some kind of gel or solvent containing an acid or acid-like chemical on the lines, knowing that in time it would eat a hole and render the hydraulics inoperative.”
“But it makes no sense,” said Sam. “If someone wanted to sabotage the plane, why not do something more…certain.” He grimaced as he said the word. I thought seriously about fainting.
“I agree,” said Ben. “Can I have those parts, Ron? I want to send them to a lab and see if they can figure out what exactly was used. Might give us a lead on who did this.”
“I need to sit down,” I whispered, as my legs gave way. Sam helped me collapse to the concrete floor, uninjured. Ron scrambled to pull a chair over from against the wall, and I struggled to get up into it. The room spun a little, but one look at Sam, and I knew I had to pull it together. I wasn’t the only one scared out of his mind.
“I’m sorry, guys,” said Ron. “I suppose this is all a shock.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “Thank you…for digging in, like you promised. I just wasn’t expecting…”
“We’ll get to the bottom of it,” said Ben, intentionally interrupting. “In the meantime, I’m tightening security here at the airport. No one gets close to the plane unless authorized. Always supervised, and only for their specific tasks. When will the plane be ready to fly back over here?”
“The parts arrive tomorrow. Jack, I took the liberty of hiring mechanics to expedite the repairs. I hope you don’t mind. They should be finished on Thursday.”
I looked at Sam. “We’re supposed to fly to Chicago Thursday afternoon.”
“So if they don’t get done in time, we fly commercial. No big deal,” said Sam.
“I’m sorry,” I replied. “I know you like your plane.”
He smiled. “I like you more, little man.” He squeezed my shoulder and I held onto his hand.
“Anything else, Ron?” asked Ben.
He shook his head. “No. I wish I had better news. Again, I’m sorry for the shock.”
“It’s fine, Ron,” said Sam. “Thank you for everything. Can you do me a favor?”
“Sure,” he said.
“If you can, ask Justin to text me when they arrive in Danbury. I need to know.”
“Sure thing. Don’t worry, your family is in good hands.”
I stood on shaky legs and Ron returned the chair against the hangar wall. With a final glance at the mechanical debris field, I turned to Sam.
“Can we go home, now?”
He nodded, sweeping an arm toward the hangar entrance. I walked alongside him, his right hand firmly on my back. Very possessive. Oh, Sam.
We were snuggled next to each other in bed, wide awake but not talking. We were talked out. After an hour of pacing around the living room, voicing our fears and confusion, we were both exhausted.
Now, in the darkness, my mind raced through yet another dozen disaster scenarios as I silently battled waves of anxiety. Who would do something like this? And why? What if they hurt Sam? Or someone else I loved? Did I do something to put them in danger?
Sam’s cell phone dinged and his hand slammed down on his nightstand to retrieve it. With a sigh, he said, “They landed. Nothing to report.”
I exhaled and the tears I had been holding back flowed down my cheeks. Sam pulled me to his chest and I clung to him.
“I’m so sorry,” I mumbled, lips tickled by his chest hair.
“Shhh…it’s not your fault. Everyone is safe.”
“But…what if…”
Sam lifted my head and kissed me, effectively shutting me up. I didn’t fight him. I didn’t want to give voice to my worries, either.
I settled into his warm body, breathing in his scent, mentally telling myself, “All’s well that ends well.”
This time.
I slept fitfully, and woke for the last time at sevenish, feeling like a horse ridden hard and put away wet. Mentally alert but physically exhausted. Too much stress. Again. For a long minute I thought seriously about dragging Sam back up the mountain to hide out from all the madness.
We showered together. Lots of comforting touches and neck nuzzles, nothing more. We dried off with fresh towels and stood side-by-side at the double vanity, grooming for the day. I didn’t know what to say. Everytime I thought about what could have happened to Sam’s family, my knees felt weak and nausea threatened.
I gritted my teeth and dug deep. I had to hold it together. For Sam.
With a deep sigh, I slid my toothbrush in its holder and turned to him. His eyes were restless, troubled. I opened my arms and he stepped in. We held each other, his stubbly chin grazing my ear.
“I love you,” I whispered.
“I know.”
Breakfast was a trial. Maggie looked worried, on top of her physical exhaustion from taking care of everyone over the weekend. Charles watched her closely. Ben, the guilty party who had obviously spilled the beans about the plane and thus causing the added worry, looked away the second our eyes met. I could kill him for upsetting Maggie.
Sam wasn’t too thrilled, either.
“What did you say?” he asked, going straight for him, hands clenched. Ben put his hands up, but didn’t rise from his chair.
“Easy, Sam. I’m sorry. Maggie heard me on my cell talking to an investigator. It was an accident. After that, I figured the truth was best.”
Maggie made an incoherent noise as she wiped something off the island counter.
“You boys okay?” asked Charles.
Sam sighed and after a brief pause, simply nodded. My answer was easy — hell, no, I’m not okay! But I kept it to myself. I didn’t need Maggie hovering like a mother hen.
“I’ll get your plates,” said Maggie, making herself busy. Knowing how she baked when she was upset, I figured we’d have a dozen loaves of home-made fresh bread by dinner time.
We ate in somber silence. Ben checked his cell phone two or three times when it dinged, but didn’t divulge anything. I wanted to ask, but Sam, who was chewing bacon and watching Maggie over my shoulder putter around the kitchen, shook his head. I kept quiet and ate my eggs.
Ben’s phone dinged again. As he read the text message, his dark eyes flared and he inhaled sharply. He looked at Sam, then me. With a tiny jerk of his head, he indicated he needed to talk to us. Privately.
He rose from the table, carrying his dirty dishes to the sink. He paused, then put an arm around Maggie’s shoulders as she stared out the kitchen window at nothing. He whispered something in her ear and she leaned into him. Her shoulders relaxed just a little. I glanced at Charles. He was watching the exchange and nodded his approval.
Okay, maybe I wouldn’t kill Ben. For now.
For some reason, over bacon and eggs my anxiety and fears had morphed into wild fury. I was pissed. Spitting mad some fool had the nerve to endanger the people I loved. I would marshall every resource I had to find them and eliminate the threat.
My angry resolve must have shown. Sam took one look at me across the breakfast table and stopped chewing. His dark blue eyes invaded mine. I let him in, silently daring him to try and stop me. He put his last piece of bacon back on his plate and nodded. I knew the very second his resolve aligned with mine.
We pushed back from the table and carried our plates to the sink. Sam pulled Maggie into a tight hug, which she didn’t fight. I hugged her from behind. She might have sniffled a little.
After a few seconds, she seemed to realize where she was and pulled herself together, pushing gently back from Sam. I stepped back to give her room.
“Did you put all your dirty laundry in the baskets?” she asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” said Sam, forcing a grin. “Jack and I stripped all the beds and put the sheets in the big hamper upstairs, too.”
Maggie gave us a thin smile and touched my cheek. “Thank you. Please promise me you’ll both be careful…and do whatever Ben tells you to. Can you do that for me?”
Sam and I both nodded.
“Good. Well, I’ve got work to do. Charles, can you start on the outside kitchen? It’s gonna take two days to get this place back together. Come on now, you can read your paper over lunch.”
We left them to it.
We found Ben pacing in the driveway, pinching his lower lip, his brow creased.
“Good, you’re here,” he said, seeing us come out the front door. “We need to talk. Over this way.”
We followed him further down the driveway toward the far end of the house and away from possible listening ears.
“Tell us,” said Sam.
With a sigh, Ben looked at me. “You remember that day when you asked me to follow you to the food trucks for lunch?”
I nodded. “Yeah. That’s the day you told me you were leaving us.” I regretted the words the second they came out. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I know you…never mind. What about that day?”
“We were standing at an intersection. You stepped off the curb and a white, unmarked van nearly clipped you. Remember that?”
Sam looked at me, shocked. “What!”
I gave Sam a guilty look. “Uh…yeah, I sort of remember that. You pulled me back. I’d forgotten about it.”
Ben nodded. “Yeah, so had I. Until Ron’s little revelation last night got me thinking.”
“About what?” said Sam. “And how come nobody told me about Jack almost being hit by a car?”
Ben raised two hands. “I didn’t say anything, because like Jack said, it didn’t seem all that serious at the time.”
“Hey,” I interrupted. “Didn’t you take a picture or something as it drove off?”
Ben nodded. “I did. And I followed it up routinely. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. So I dropped it.”
“And now?” asked Sam.
“I had a guy do a little more digging. Turns out whoever rented the van claimed they needed it for business deliveries and rented it for a week. But when it was returned, they had only driven it about thirty miles, total. My guy went over to the rental place this morning. The van was there in the lot. He managed to access the GPS history, and that’s where it gets interesting.”
“Uh…why do I think I’m not gonna like this,” I said.
“The guy spent an entire morning, driving around your building. And when we went for a walk, he took his chance.”
“You’re saying the guy deliberately tried to hit Jack?” screamed Sam, his fists opening and closing. Uh, oh. I’ve seen that look before. I took half a step back.
Ben did, too, raising his hands in surrender again. “Easy, Sam. And no, I don’t think he was trying to injure Jack. I think he was only trying to scare him.”
“What? Why?” I asked.
“You remember what happened that same day? Back at the office?”
I dug around in my memory and pinged on the attempted data breach. “Are you saying the van gunning for me and the data breach were the same guy?”
Ben sighed. “I don’t know for sure. But something Ron said last night makes me think all of these incidents have one thing in common — they weren’t meant to cause real damage, only put you on notice they COULD cause you real harm.”
“But the airplane nearly crashed! With my family on board!” yelled Sam. He so wanted to hit something. Or someone.
“But that’s the thing, Sam. It didn’t,” said Ben. “And you said it yourself, if they wanted to bring the plane down, there are a lot more sure ways to get it done. Instead, they chose an inexact way to slightly cripple the plane, but in reality, they knew all along Ron and Justin could still land the plane with no nose gear. Leaves you with an expensive repair, but no one actually gets hurt.”
Sam paced in a circle, bleeding off angry energy. Ben and I watched him process the new information. My own thoughts were reeling now.
“So,” I said, thinking out loud. “You’re suggesting what? That all this is intended only as a warning of some kind?”
Ben nodded. “Yes, I think so.”
“But…wait, I’m confused,” I said. “We didn’t even get the threat. I mean, I sort of see what you’re saying, but why not just send a threat directly? Why all the…whatever this is?”
“Wait a minute,” said Sam, stopping in his tracks and pointing at me. “Shit. They did, and we missed it. Fuck!”
“What?” I asked.
He marched over and grabbed my biceps, his blue eyes piercing with intensity. “The letter. Don’t you remember?”
I did. “Stay out of Texas,” I whispered, feeling a chill as the morning summer heat rose off the pavement.
“Fuck me,” said Ben. “I think you’re right.”
We just stood there, the three of us, staring at one another as this new reality sunk in.
“What do we do, Ben?” I asked, thinking about our promise to Maggie.
Ben looked at me.
“I’m serious, Ben. Tell us what to do,” I said.
He glanced at Sam, then back to me. He swallowed and took a deep breath.
“Okay. First, we absolutely tighten the security net. We’ll do it as quietly as we can. I’ll work with agents at the office so it doesn’t feel like we’re doing much different. But we’ll toughen the screening process. Every person, every package, every single thing that comes near you guys or the business will have to go through my team first.”
“Thank you,” I said. “I appreciate your concern about the perceptions in the office, but honestly, and I think Sam would agree, I don’t give a crap if they like it or not. I can’t, Ben. I can’t have people that work for me, people I care about, get hurt. Please do whatever it takes to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
He looked at me, his eyes never more intense. He took two steps toward me and put a hand on my arm. “I promise, Jack. No one is getting hurt on my watch. I’m all in, and you can count on that.”
“Sam,” he said, turning to face him. “I don’t think your family was an intentional target. Whoever sabotaged the plane could not have had any idea who was using it or when. The timing was too loose. That being said, do you want me to organize security around any of them?”
Sam inhaled sharply. Neither one of us had thought about this possibility. Crap, crap, crap!
“Uh…are you sure?” said Sam, sounding more uncertain than I had ever seen him. “I want them to be safe, but I don’t want to alarm them.” He looked at me. “Oh, god. They can’t know about this shit. They can’t, Jack. My mom…dad…fuck, they’ll freak. And they’ll…no…no, no, no. Shit, what do we do?”
His eyes pleaded with me for answers. I knew what he was saying without him saying it. If his family knew the danger that I had inadvertently put them in, the pressure for Sam to part from me, for his safety, would be intense. Strangely, there was a tiny part of me that understood, despite how utterly devastating it would be.
Was that the whole point of these threats? To break Sam and me up? Why? Who? None of this made any sense, but that wasn’t my immediate problem.
I reached for Sam and thankfully he let me pull him into a hug. I squeezed my arms around his waist and held him close. Looking up into his watery blue eyes, I did my best to smile.
“Sam…I won’t let anything happen to your family. To our family. And you know I’ll do whatever you need, however you need it, whenever you need it. I made that promise to you, and I WILL keep it…forever.”
“Jack,” he whispered, his voice cracking.
“Shhh….” I touched his lips. “I know. I know, big guy. I’m…a little scared, too. But I think Ben’s right. They aren’t in any real danger. So far, everything has been focused on me. Actually, now that I think about it, it’s really been focused on the business. I don’t know, maybe this isn’t personal. Maybe it’s not about you and me, or our family.”
His eyes flared and the truth of that statement seemed to settle in both of us at the same instant. He spun out of my arms and focused on Ben.
“Do you think that could be true?”
Ben pinched his bottom lip again, thinking. “Yes, that does seem to be the common denominator. I would agree, nothing has been directly aimed at you, Sam, or your family. But…I hate to say it, Jack is still in the crosshairs. Maybe not for anything personal, but he is the figurehead for the business. Whoever was in that van was watching for him, specifically.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat and inhaled slowly. I silently pushed back nausea and another surge of anxiety and focused my simmering anger on whoever had invaded my world, intent on stopping me from…what? All I ever wanted to do was change the world for people. Do good things. Be a good person. Who would fight that?
“Guys, I know we all have questions,” said Ben. “But let’s go back to basics. As I said, we’ll tighten security around the business, and that includes all vehicles and the plane. The house and property here, as well. I don’t think we need anyone inside the house, except me. But I’ll have more eyes and ears around, keeping watch. I’ll let Maggie and Charles know.
“Sam, for now we won’t alarm your family. I really don’t think we have anything to worry about there. David doesn’t work for the company, so he shouldn’t be in danger from the business.”
“Do we go back to having you drive us everywhere?” I asked.
Ben started to say yes, but then stopped with a grin. “No, I don’t think so. Let’s not give anyone who may be watching your routine think we have this figured out.”
“Which we don’t,” said Sam with a deep sigh.
Ben nodded. “True, but we know more than maybe they think we do. So let’s have you and Jack complete the defensive driving course we planned, the sooner the better. We’ll still have shadow vehicles with you at all times, just in case.”
I relaxed a fraction, until Ben focused on me again. “I need you to do one very important thing.”
“What?”
“Now more than ever, we need to know who attempted that data breach. Something tells me that’s the key. Where are we on that?”
I shrugged. “Nowhere, from what Will told me. They can trace the attack only so far, but haven’t been able to identify the source. I think he’s looking to find a super high tech guru that might be able to do more, but I’m not sure.”
“Let’s get on that, right away. See if Will can expedite getting the help he needs to get to the bottom of this.”
“Oh my god, has anyone even talked with the docs down in Texas? Are they okay? Shit, how did we just leave them hanging?” said Sam.
Ben smiled. “We didn’t. I put two guys on security at their clinic the day we got the letter. You think we could convince them to accept a new, more secure vehicle than the beater they drive around?”
He was looking at me. How would I know? “Um…I think they choose to drive something a little less…upscale…because of their clientele, you know?”
Ben nodded. “Got it. What if I was able to get them a vehicle that looks like a rust bucket on wheels, but is actually heavily fortified.”
I shrugged. “Might work. I’ll call and ask.”
“You going into to the office?” Ben asked.
I looked at Sam. He nodded. I sighed, resigned to the fact that Operation Rest and Relaxation was over.
My re-entry into my business after nearly two weeks away was slightly chaotic. Margie, my assistant extraordinaire, met me at the elevator, having been apparently warned by Josie at the security desk downstairs of my imminent arrival.
Extracting a half chewed plastic pen from her mouth, she juggled a stack of folders to grab my arm and steer me toward the kitchen.
“Before you say anything,” I said, as she pushed me into a corner opposite the refrigerator. A young woman I didn’t recognize looked at us with a frown, grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and slowly walked away. I’m not sure if she thought I was in danger, or Margie.
“What?” said Margie.
“What?” I was confused now.
“You said, ‘before you say anything’. So…what?”
“Oh…yeah…um…I was going to say thank you, for everything. I know I kind of left everyone in the lurch last week. I’m sorry. I’m…”
“Yeah, yeah. Fine, whatever. Jack…you have to do something about Danny and Simon. I can’t take it anymore.” Her flashing eyes indicated she was not joking.
“What happened?”
“Danny happened. He’s becoming a tyrant. Well, okay, not a tyrant. But still, I mean…”
“Margie, take a breath and tell me what’s going on. And why aren’t we in my office instead of hiding out here in the cafe?”
“Couldn’t take a chance on either one of them getting to you first. I had to bribe Josie with movie tickets so she’d give me the heads up.”
I shook my head. “You’re not making sense, and you’re freaking me out a little. Is this a pregnancy thing?”
The look she gave me would crumble mountains. Crap.
“Sorry, that just slipped out. Won’t happen again,” I groveled.
She poked me in the chest with a bony finger. Ouch, that hurt.
“Yes, I am pregnant. Yes, I am hormonal. No, I did not get a lot of sleep last night. Yes, I have heartburn that could torch the entire city to ashes. And no, I will not stay home and put my feet up, or whatever other lame statement you’re about to suggest. What I am telling you, is your company is imploding. And you need to fix it, pronto.” She poked my chest once more for emphasis.
I took half a step back — to avoid more finger stabbing — and adjusted the lapels on my suit jacket, shrugging to bleed off anxious energy. Out of the frying pan, into the fire. Yay, me.
“Okay, I hear you. Walk me through it…slowly.”
She took a deep breath, realized she was still holding five pounds of stuffed files, and put them down on the closest table. Waving her chewed pen, she recapped.
“We’ve had six more former hotel management staff agree to join us here, after we offered relocation assistance. That was your idea, by the way. Thanks for that, except now we’re busting at the seams. Danny’s team is four times the size of everyone else’s, and it’s ruffling feathers.”
“Are the software consultants still here?”
“Some of them. Thankfully Danny agreed with Simon to let the majority work remotely. Two of their project managers give us updates weekly. So far so good.”
“Okay, that’s good. So why is Danny’s group so much bigger?”
She sighed deeply. “Most of the new staff from the hotel group are accountants, or at least focused on financial tracking and reporting for the hotels. So it made sense to lump them in with Danny’s group. Honestly, it seemed like a good plan, but the issue is Danny.”
“Why?”
She leaned in closer and lowered her voice. “Because…he sucks at managing people. I’ve had a dozen complaints about his attitude in the last week.”
“I’ll talk to him,” I said, not at all sure I would even know what to say.
“Good, but I think you need more than that.”
“Like what?”
“It’s your call, but I think we should maybe separate the hotel group into its own department. I know we didn’t want to create more layers, and I agree with that. But…when we lost Mason, we lost a high level manager. Will has his hands full with IT and legal. Simon and Danny are splitting the rest, and neither one of them ever wanted to manage this many people. It’s just not their strength.”
“Got it. What does Todd say?”
She snorted. “If we leave it up to him, he’ll send everyone home and tell you to open a small shop in a strip mall and be done with it. I love my husband, but he has zero patience for drama. He can manage the big picture all day long, but if someone tries to drag him off into the weeds, he gets super cranky. Simon and Danny won’t go near him after his last blow up.”
I sighed and looked at my watch. “Okay. Do me a favor. See if Todd, Simon, Will and Danny can meet us in the conference room in twenty minutes. If not, find a time when they can. Oh, and I have to leave today around two thirty. I have a thing off campus.”
“Off campus?”
I smiled. “Sorry. I guess my mind has been on school lately. I have an appointment with a counselor.”
“Is everything okay?” she asked. Now that she’d unloaded her heavy burden on me, she was all concerned. It was sweet — and also a little annoying.
“I’m fine. Just part of my effort to not lose my own mind.”
She gasped. “Oh, crap. I’m so sorry. I didn’t think. Shit. I just dumped on you without thinking.”
I touched her arm. “Margie, I’m fine, I promise. I’ve had some time off. I’ve got my head screwed back on reasonably straight, no pun intended. I can handle this. I’ve actually been thinking about something that should help. Set up the meeting for me, okay?”
“You got it, boss. And you might want to see Todd, first. He’s got some good news he’s dying to tell you.”
Her eyes perked up with that, and my own anxiety level drained a little. Whatever his level of impatience with personal dramas, Todd was very good at leading this ship, and I had no doubt he could keep his eye on the ball in the midst of crazy chaos.
“On my way,” I said. “Anything else?”
“Nope, I think that’s enough, don’t you?” she said with a smile.
“It’ll do.”
I used the bathroom, dropped my coat and briefcase on my desk, then went to find Todd. Robbie, his assistant, was frantically typing at his computer. He didn’t even look up when I approached.
“How’s it going?” I said, startling him. He looked up, saw it was me, and smiled. He pushed the keyboard back and stood.
“Hi, Jack. How was the vacation?”
“Fine, thanks. Is Todd in?”
“Um…yeah. But he’s on the phone with some outfit in Europe. He had me come in early today to set up the conference call. He can’t figure out the new phones Will put in the executive offices.”
I smiled. I probably couldn’t either. “Any problem I should know about?”
“Uh…I don’t think so,” he replied tentatively.
“Sorry, force of habit,” I said, realizing I had made him uncomfortable. “I didn’t mean to make you nervous. From what I hear, you’re doing a great job.”
“Thanks,” he said, breathing a little easier.
“How’re your studies going? Agriculture, right?”
He smiled. “My summer course ends this week. I have the final next week, and then one more year before I finish.”
“Cool. If you need time to study, I could mention something to Todd, if you like.”
“Uh…no, thank you. I don’t…um…I don’t…”
I thought about what Margie had just told me about her husband. “Say no more,” I said to Robbie. “You don’t want to upset him. I get it. He can be intense, but I promise you, he’s a very nice guy. He expects a lot of himself, and therefore of the rest of us. That’s a good thing in the long run. If you do decide you need the time to study, though, let me know. I could find a way to maybe borrow you for a project or something. He wouldn’t have to know.”
Robbie grinned. “Thanks. I’ll let you know. I should be good, but this class has been a real ball buster.” He glanced down at his phone and we both saw a light go off. “I think his call is finished now.”
“Have a great day,” I said, turning to knock on Todd’s door.
“Enter!” came a shout from the other side.
I fake grimaced, then grinned at Robbie. “Wish me luck.”
Robbie laughed and returned to his computer work as I pushed into Todd’s inner sanctum.
“Hey, boss. You’re back. How was everything with the family? You survived the camping trip, from what I can see.”
“Hey, Todd. Yes, I survived. It was fun, actually. The twins are a riot, and the rest did me good. Oh, before I forget, I talked with David, Sam’s brother-in-law, and he said Mason is killing it in New York. Growing the business and managing to keep his father in control back in Chicago.”
He sighed and sat back in the fancy ergonomic chair behind his desk. “I miss Mason. He was…stabilizing…for lack of a better term.”
“Margie filled me in a little. I gather tensions are high with all the new staff?”
“Yeah. Sorry about that. It’s been a bigger adjustment to the team than I anticipated. Back at the bank, everything we did was more numbers and transactions. This is a lot more people-focused.”
He sighed and looked down at his hands. I had never seen him so down before.
“What’s wrong?”
He glanced up, then back to his hands. “Honestly, I don’t know. I feel like maybe I’m not the best person for this job. Numbers I get. The rest of it…”
“Hey, it’s okay. Growing pains. We’ll figure it out. I asked Margie to call a meeting with you, me, Simon, Will and Danny. I have a few ideas that might help.”
Todd groaned. “Ugh. Those two are driving me crazy. Will’s…well, between you and me, Will is not being properly utilized. We need to get him out of IT and legal and back into the numbers game. Could that be part of your plan? I could really use his help.”
I nodded. “My thoughts, exactly. I want him to be your right-hand man. In fact, I want all of you to have a right hand, so you guys can focus on what’s most important and stay out of the drama. Margie can help with that, I think.”
Todd smiled. “See that. That right there is why Larry knew you were the right guy to be doing this.”
“I don’t know about that,” I said.
“Nonsense. You see through all the crap and sort it out for us, and we take it from there. I’ll make sure the guys are there. What time?”
“Ten minutes?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
My executive team was seated around the conference room when I entered a short while later. I had first called Sam for a quick pep talk — he’s very good at those — but mostly I wanted to reassure him I was safe, so he wouldn’t worry.
When I left the house with Ben, Sam was nervous about not coming with me. But I was slowly beginning to understand how he ticked, and as much as I would have loved his company, what Sam needed today was time alone, with some physical work to keep his mind from running in circles.
I saw the relief in his eyes when I suggested he spend the day cleaning and storing the camping and fishing gear, and maybe take a hike — by himself. When I hung up, he was telling me how he’d followed the horrible smell to find the no-longer-live bait tin left in the tackle box. Better him than me. Yuck.
Knowing Sam was busy doing his thing meant I could stand with a little more confidence before my business team. I knew I had a long way to go, but these guys — and Margie — they were family, too. There was nothing I wouldn’t do to support them, to help them, to protect them. They had covered for me when I fell apart. It was my turn to step up.
“Hey, guys. Thanks for taking time to meet. And thank you very much for holding down the fort in my absence. I…uh…I had some challenges last week, but I’m better now, and we have a few things to discuss, plus I want to hear from each of you what you have on your plate and how I can help.”
“Welcome back, boss,” said Danny with a grin. “How was your time off?”
“Yeah, Todd said you went camping with Sam and his nephews. How was that?” asked Will.
I grinned. “Way better than I expected. I’m not exactly the outdoorsy type, but Sam took care of everything, and I caught my first fish and managed not to kill myself.”
Simon chuckled. “I’d have paid good money to see you fishing. Maybe we should have a mandatory company outing, go white water rafting or something.”
“Yeah! I’m in,” said Danny. Simon smiled. Okay, at least they weren’t totally not speaking to each other.
“Well, before you all plan my next adventures, I do have a couple of things I want to let you know,” I said.
“First, as you probably heard, we had an issue with the company plane. Thankfully nothing horrible, but we’re still trying to confirm exactly what happened. And unfortunately, we’re going to have to make a few changes…”
I proceeded to give them the short version of what Sam, Ben and I had discussed earlier that morning in the driveway. Predictably they had a ton of questions to which I had no answers. Todd was obviously upset about another round of increased security, until Margie very wisely pointed to her belly, which ended his grousing.
“So,” I said. “We will have a heightened security presence, but Ben and his team will do what they can to be as unobtrusive as possible. Hopefully not like the last time. And one more thing — if any of you ever feel unsafe or you might want some extra protection, just let me know and I’ll make sure you get it.”
“How much danger are we talking about?” asked Todd, glancing again at Margie. That we all had to hear the tremor in his voice really ticked me off.
I took a deep breath, pausing for half a second. “If Ben’s theory is correct, whoever is behind these threats wants to intimidate more than injure anyone. He senses a calculated, measured attack. Let’s hope he’s right. No matter what, we all have to be vigilant and careful, okay?”
“Yeah, for sure,” said Will. “I’m sorry I haven’t been able to trace the cyber attack. I’m looking into other options, but so far, nothing.”
“Have you been able to locate a cyber security expert, like we discussed?” I asked.
“The guy I had in mind is on assignment out of the country. I could hire a recruiter to find someone, I guess.”
“Do that,” I replied.
“Make sure they are vetted six ways from Sunday,” said Simon. “We don’t want to invite the fox into the hen house.”
“Fox into the hen house? You hear that back on the farm?” asked Danny, joking.
“Matter of fact, I did,” said Simon, not seeing the humor. Crap. Time to defuse.
“Okay, now that we’ve settled the security issues, let’s talk about the elephant in the room. Margie filled me in a little on the chaos with all the new people. I want to hear from each of you what you think we can do to sort this out. I know you’re all frustrated, so let’s try to keep the emotions out of it and talk solutions, okay?”
Heads nodded, then I pointed to Danny to start, since I figured he had the most to say.
He swallowed, glanced at Simon, then Todd, then back to me. “I think the real problem is me, boss.”
Simon sat back in his chair, stunned. As did Todd. Margie, sitting next to Danny, smiled at me. Will looked down, fighting a grin.
I nodded. “Okay. Elaborate for me.”
“My group has quadrupled in size, and I’m just not able to handle it. I spend all day refereeing squabbles about desks and printer usage and who’s responsible for reporting what information. Ugh! It makes my head spin. By the time I get the data to my desk, I have no energy to actually analyze it and make decisions, which I’d like to think is my real value to this team. Margie has helped a ton, but I know she’s just as aggravated. I’m sorry guys, but I don’t think I can keep doing this. I’m in way over my head.”
I hadn’t known Danny all that long, but in all the times I spent with him, he was never this defeated. He needed real help, real quick, or we were going to lose him.
“Thank you, Danny. I’ll come back to what you said, but thank you for your honesty. I appreciate it. Simon, how about you?”
He sat up straighter, looked across the table at Danny with a slight shake of his head, obviously in shock. “Um…yeah, well…I guess I’m in a similar situation. My group hasn’t grown as much as Danny’s, but I’m struggling with space for my team and just time to get it all done and not do a half-assed job. I’m willing to work long hours, but I didn’t get out of here until after eight every day last week. Not trying to complain, Jack, but you asked.”
“No, no. I hear you. Thank you for being honest. That’s what I need, guys. Brutal honesty. I can’t help if I don’t know what’s going on. If you’re struggling, you gotta tell me. Will, how about you?”
“I’m fine,” he said, then looked down at the table.
“No…you’re not,” said Todd. I gave him a look to can it, but he jutted his chin at me. I knew he was right, but Will had always been the reluctant one to speak up.
“Will,” I said. “I know I assigned you the IT group for the move, because you seemed to have the best handle on the data systems. But I think that’s coming to an end. Likewise the legal. Margie, let’s start working on finding a solid general counsel as soon as possible. Maybe reach out to Clyde Watson for ideas.”
“I can handle it, Jack,” said Will.
“I know you can, and you have. And I appreciate it. But I also know we can use that magnificent brain of yours in other areas, so it’s time to backfill. I’m going to lean on you to find your replacement for the IT department, as well as the cybersecurity leader. Obviously start with someone from the financial services sector, but don’t be afraid to expand the search until you find the right fit. You know your staff, so include them in the process.”
Will gave me a little nod, then returned to looking at his hands. I started to say something more, then decided to take it offline. I didn’t want to put him any further on the spot.
“Simon and Danny, unless you have any objections, the same goes for you, too. Your number one goal, aside from your day-to-day leadership, is to find your management replacements. Focus on someone you can develop into your right hand person. Someone you can rely on to handle the day-to-day drama and include you only when necessary, so you can concentrate on what you’re best at. Any questions?”
Heads shook around the table.
“Good. Now, last thing,” I said. “We have a serious space issue. How soon can we get the floor above us built out? And while we’re at it, Simon, can you find out from other tenants in the building if they all plan to renew their leases?”
“Why? You thinking of expanding further?” he asked.
“Maybe, if it makes sense. I know you guys are crazy busy, but one thing I can do is keep an eye on the overall stress in the organization. You might say it’s my strength, in a twisted sort of way.”
Margie grinned and opened her mouth. “Don’t say it,” I said, and everyone laughed.
“Anything else?” I asked. No one spoke. “Alright. I’ll loop back with each of you this week for more details on what you’re doing and how I can help, but for now I think we have the big picture. Margie and I are available to help with finding the new people. Oh, if you think there might be someone on your team right now that would be good to elevate to your right hand, let me know. We can kick it around.”
I stood and everyone followed my lead, which surprised me. I did my best to hide my shock as the guys slapped my back on the way out the door. Margie and I were the last one’s out.
“Nice job,” she said, turning off the conference room lights. “Told you.”
“Told me what?”
“Told you we need you to run this place.”
“I didn’t do much, just gave them a forum.”
She snorted and poked my arm. She really needed to stop doing that. “Just you sitting there had Danny surrendering to the truth, after he spent the last two weeks dug in. He trusted you. They all do. That’s huge, Jack. Never discount that.”
I was silent as we walked back to my office. Entering, I flipped the light switch and walked around to sit at my desk. I didn’t realize she had followed me in.
“What is it?” she asked.
“I’m concerned about Will.”
She smiled. “You don’t miss much. Take him to lunch. Get him out of here and talking to you. He’ll open up, one-on-one. He’s not ever gonna do that in a group. Not his style.”
“I know the feeling.”
Lunch with Will was fun. We walked to a small, hole-in-the-wall pizza joint he said was a favorite a couple blocks from the office. Ben followed at a discreet distance. I was hyper vigilant for runaway vans at crosswalks.
Out of the office, one-on-one, Will relaxed and engaged in conversation. We talked about what he loved the most about his work, and what he didn’t. He was excited to spend more time working closely with Todd, someone he saw as a key mentor.
“So you’re cool then with me pulling you off the tech gig?” I asked, taking another bit of sausage pizza. A thick string of hot cheese fell across my chin. Ugh. So messy, and so good.
“I guess,” he said, reaching for another slice. “I can do it, but tech really isn’t my jam. I just didn’t want you to think I had dropped the ball on the security thing.”
“Will, did the hacker get to our data?”
He paused mid-bite. “No, not even close.”
“Then you didn’t drop the ball, did you?”
“Oh…okay…I guess.” He shrugged like he still wasn’t sure.
“No guessing. You didn’t drop the ball, plain and simple. And that was all you. No one else on the team had a clue about how to set up firewalls and whatever else you did to protect us. Now you’ll find us a cyber geek who can take it all to another level, and we’ll be in great shape.”
“Thanks. I found three tech recruiters that I’ll put the position out to. One of them is bound to find the right guy. How much are we willing to pay?” he said, removing the lid to his cup to get a mouthful of ice.
“Whatever it takes to get the right person. It has to be someone you trust, Will. And we’ll have Margie do her whole deep background check and all the rest. It will be fine.”
“Cool,” he said. “So how was the birthday bash on Calloway?”
I smiled and sipped my soda. “Awesome. Sam was totally surprised. We had a great time. Which reminds me, I need to talk to Simon about something with the hotels.” I reached for my phone and made a note.
“Have you spoken with your friends lately, the ones trying to adopt the baby?”
I shook my head. “Not since the birthday party. I should invite them over. Sam goes gaga for that kid.”
Will laughed. “Hard to picture Sam with a baby.”
“I know, right? But you should see him. He gets super protective and wants to do everything, including change the diapers. Ick. He made me help. Once was enough for me.”
“Think you guys will ever have kids?”
I paused, setting my pizza on the plate. “Um…I don’t know. Probably. At some point.”
“Sorry, none of my business.” He looked out the window, embarrassed again.
I took a chance and cleared my throat. He looked back at me, a little skittish. “Will, it’s okay. You can ask me anything. If I don’t want to answer, I won’t, okay?”
He exhaled. “Okay. Sorry, I just…”
“What?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I’m getting a little anxious for a family of my own? I don’t know. It’s not like I ever date. I haven’t even thought about it all that much. My mom says I’m married to my work. She’s probably right.”
“Do you want to have a family?”
He shrugged and looked out the window into the distance. “Sometimes I think it would be cool to have a wife to come home to. But then I wonder if I’m just in love with the idea of a wife, and not the reality of one. At this point in my life, I don’t think I’m exactly great husband material. I’m hardly ever home.”
“Do you have friends you hang with?”
He looked back at me. “Some. Valerie was great at getting me out of my apartment on the weekends. But she’s back in California working, I think.”
“Did you and she have a…connection?”
His eyebrows lifted. “Valerie and me? Naw, just friends. Guess it’s just work for me right now. Good thing I love what I do, I suppose.”
“Well, for what it’s worth, you’re very good at it, at least as much as I understand it all. Todd speaks very highly of you, so there’s that.”
“Yeah,” said Will. He was back to being uncomfortable and staring out the window.
“What?”
He sighed, twisting his napkin and not making full eye contact. “Is it just me, or is Todd, like…really intense?”
I laughed. “He’s super intense. But surely you knew that from working with him at the bank, right?”
He shrugged again and looked up. “I guess. We did some projects together, but Larry was our real boss. Todd sort of took me under his wing, which was great, don’t get me wrong. It’s just, ever since we started Schaeffer Associates, he seems…unsettled, or something. I keep thinking maybe I’m doing something wrong.”
I swallowed the last bite of my pizza and wiped my hands on a gnarled napkin. “Todd has a lot on his shoulders. Don’t forget, his wife is pregnant and he’s getting used to the idea of being a father. And that’s on top of leading you guys and making sure the company is making money and anything else I throw at him. I know he can get…snappy. He does it to me, too. But I can tell you for sure that he respects you and your work. We all do.”
He exhaled again, relaxing his shoulders. I made a mental note to remember to personally encourage this guy more often. He needed the attaboys almost as much as I did. What a thing to have in common.
I left Will at the elevator and escaped to my office. Shutting the door behind me, I leaned back and just breathed. My cell phone rang. Glancing at the number, I punched the button.
“Thank god, it’s you,” I said, pushing off the door and walking over to the windows.
“You okay?” asked Sam.
I sighed. “Yeah…mostly. So far I haven’t fallen apart or had an anxiety attack. Small miracle. I’m so, so sorry, Sam. I never in a million years…”
“Shhh…Jack, it’s okay. None of this is your fault. Ben will get to the bottom of it. We need to trust him. Besides, you’re doing great, today.”
“How would you…wait…what do mean?”
“Um…”
“Sam, what’s going on? What aren’t you telling me?”
He laughed. “Sorry. I called Margie earlier.”
“Why?”
“Uh…to see how you were doing? I was worried about you.”
I smiled at my faint reflection in the window. “Awww, that’s sweet. Thanks for checking up on me.”
“She said you nailed the meeting. Total rock of confidence.”
I snorted. “Yeah, right, that’ll be the day. We did manage to work through some stuff. How are you doing?”
His deep sigh spoke volumes. “Fine. Trying to stay busy. Keep my mind off…you know.”
“Yeah.”
“Can I drive you to your counseling session?”
I heard the need in his voice. “Sure. Two-thirty?”
“Cool. See you soon,” he said.
“Be careful,” I said.
“Always. Love you, little man.”
“Love you back, big guy.”
Sam surprised me in the lobby as I stepped off the elevator with Ben.
“Hey, you didn’t have to come in. I could have met you at the curb,” I said, stepping into his open arms. He grinned and kissed me lightly. Josie, manning the security desk, blushed and grinned at her computer screen.
“You bring your truck?” asked Ben. Sam nodded. Ben nodded back. I followed them to the parking garage.
I climbed up into Sam’s big rig and he started the engine. Loud rumbles echoed around the concrete pylons.
“Thanks for coming to get me,” I said, reaching for my seatbelt.
“I missed you. First day apart in a while. Charles got irritated with me moping around the house. I tried to help out with the yard, but I kept being distracted. He said, and I quote, ‘Go get him. You’re no use to me here.’”
I smiled and reached for his hand. “I missed you, too. I so wish we could just go home and I didn’t have to do this counseling thing today. I’m wiped.”
“Tell me about your day.”
I filled him in on the details, and my lunch with Will, as we drove to the hospital complex.
Skipping the parking garage, Sam dropped me at the front lobby of the Doctor’s Building. Ben pulled to a stop behind us.
“You want me to park and come up with you?” asked Sam.
I shook my head. “I’ll text you when I’m done. Should be about an hour, I guess.”
“You okay?” he said, squeezing my hand.
I shrugged. “I don’t really want to talk about this crap with her, but I’m guessing I have no choice.”
“You’ll do fine.”
I reached over and touched his cheek. He turned and locked eyes with mine. I let him in, needing the weird connection. I blinked as tears formed. Oh, hell to the no.
I shook my head, hard, to push them back.
“What?” asked Sam.
I gritted my teeth. “I’m sick of this, Sam. I’m tired of being scared, and I’m tired of psycho assholes wanting to mess with me and the people I care about. I don’t want to feel all this…this anxiety…and not knowing what’s happening or why. It’s not…it’s not fair.”
I ran out of steam and he simply leaned over and kissed me. A little heat, and a whole lotta love. Our lips separated as our foreheads touched.
I closed my eyes. “Just love me, Sam.”
“Forever,” he whispered. “No matter what.”