Brice walked into the windowless executive conference room of the Kingsley building to find his brothers Alexander and Morgan sitting across from each other in red leather wingback chairs at the six-seat oval mahogany table.
“What the hell happened?” Brice asked, taking a seat next to Alexander.
“It seems that Bob Rosenstein wants to renegotiate our deal because the Carter well is no longer viable collateral for our investment.”
“That’s ridiculous. Rosenstein knows our deal is solid and the Carter isn’t going anywhere, right? Mother did speak to him.” Brice’s eyebrows stood at attention.
“I most certainly did talk to him and he knows our securities in his investment house are solid,” Victoria announced, walking into the conference room in a black pantsuit that reflected her mood.
All three Kingsley men stood and greeted their mother with a hug and kiss on the cheek. “Bob is just trying to squeeze out a few more perks.”
“What kind of perks? These are multi-billion dollar business deals, not a damn ice-cream parlor where he can get free scoops whenever he wants it,” Morgan replied, his tone hard.
“Can’t we just stall him until we wrap this thing up with Perez on Monday?” Brice suggested.
“Hell no, we’re not playing games with that fool,” Alexander stated.
“We have to make Perez think that the Carter is up for grabs. Otherwise, he’ll take off,” Brice reminded everyone.
“And we will, son. I have something else in mind for Bob Rosenstein.”
“We can’t afford to make another enemy, Mother,” Brice declared as Brooke’s face popped into his mind.
Victoria took a seat at the head of the table. “He knows why this has to be done. That I’m trying to protect my family and he’s trying to take advantage of the situation. He’s made himself an enemy, son.”
“What do you have in mind, Mother?” Brice’s curiosity was piqued; as long as it didn’t involve or hurt Brooke, he was open to anything.
“The Patterson Group,” she announced.
Brice face twisted. “What about them?”
“Yeah, what about them? You know they hold the paper on two of Perez’s most recent deals,” Alexander reminded his mother.
“True, but they’d prefer to work with us, which means...” she prompted.
“We won’t need to do business with Rosenstein anymore,” Brice concluded.
“Are you sure the Patterson Group has the same resources as Rosenstein? They’ve been securing our overseas interests for years.” Morgan leaned back in his chair and scratched his head.
“Absolutely, who do you think Rosenstein’s overseas resources are?” Victoria announced, raising her left eyebrow.
Brice sat forward in his chair. “You mean Rosenstein has been fronting all this time.”
Victoria nodded. “Yes, Patterson has been underwriting all of Rosenstein’s overseas businesses for the past few years. I guess, technically, they’ve always been working for us.”
“I bet they’re tired of giving the credit away for their work,” Morgan said.
“Not to mention the commission,” Brice added.
“How can we be sure Rosenstein won’t blow the whistle and ruin the sting on Perez when he finds out what we’re doing?”
“They won’t. First, we have a nondisclosure agreement, so if they say anything they’ll get sued and lose millions. Second, they won’t know about the change until after the sting is done,” Victoria assured them confidently.
“So, what, you’re going to agree with his terms, then renege? We don’t play those games, Mother,” Alexander insisted.
Victoria pointed a diamond clad finger at Alexander and said, “No, son, you don’t play those games and nor should you. You’re not the CEO of my company. It’s not your decision.”
Alexander shook his head. “We have a reputation—”
“Yes, one based off business ethics I put in place a lifetime ago. Now for the record, I’m only going to agree to think about it. By the time they receive their ninety-day termination letter, Perez will be locked away in some jail cell.” Victoria picked up her buzzing phone and read an incoming message.
Brice released an audible sigh. “And Brooke will finally be safe.”
“Excuse me.” Victoria walked out of the room.
“While we’re all together, let’s hammer out a quick outline for this new deal,” Alexander suggested.
“Let’s make it quick. I want to get back to Brooke,” Brice said, smiling, thinking about the nice moments they’d spent together before he left.
* * *
“I cannot believe you talked me into doing this,” Lori stated, adjusting her hat and sunglasses in the mirror of the zoo’s bathroom. “What’s the deal with the stupid outfits, anyway?”
“What? You said you liked the dress when I bought it for you last year.”
“I do. I love multicolored print maxi dresses. They’re light and very sexy.”
Brooke ran her hand down the front of the near replica she wore. “Then what’s the problem?”
Lori turned away from the mirror and faced Brooke. “The problem is we’re dressed like twins, wearing big hats and sunglasses, playing spy games in the zoo and chasing some crazy person.”
“We’re not chasing anyone. You said you wanted to help me stop Shannon and her partner,” Brooke reminded her nervous friend.
“Yes, but I meant help with finding him or even creating a paper trail to nail his ass. Not chase bad guys in the middle of the zoo.”
“If you don’t want to do this, I understand. You can wait for me back at the car.”
Lori frowned and tilted her head slightly. “I don’t want either one of us to do this. After last night, how could you even think about getting anywhere near that woman and not tell Brice what’s going on?”
“I don’t have a choice. Shannon said to come alone.”
Lori threw her hands up and shook her head. “And you just do it.”
Brooke laughed so hard at the look of exasperation on her friend's face she snorted. “It'll be fine.”
“The sister inside your biracial behind should’ve told you to stay your butt at the house until Brice got back so you two could figure out what to do next together.”
“What’s your excuse for helping me?” Brooke said, as she and Lori acknowledged the two young women that entered the restroom.
“I’m your friend and assistant. That’s what I do. But the minute I see something I don’t like, I’m calling 911 and I’m hauling ass out of there. Got it.”
Brooke giggled. “Got it.”
“Are you sure you’re feeling up to this?”
“I’m fine.”
“What’s the plan again?” Lori nervously looked over her shoulder.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m making sure we’re not overheard,” she whispered.
Brooke pressed her lips together to keep the smile she wanted to release at bay. “When we leave here, we head to the fountain. You go out first and a few minutes later, I’ll follow you. Once we get there, you go left and I go right. You hang out at the entrance area and act like you’re checking your phone or something but keep your hat and glasses on.”
“What will you be doing?”
“I’ll be hanging out at the concession stand, waiting for Shannon to meet me. There’s always a ton of people around. She won’t try anything in such a public place.”
“You hope so, anyway.”
Brooke could hear the concern in her friend’s voice and while she’d never admit it, she was a little scared. However, her fear for what Brice might do if he was in the same vicinity as Shannon scared her more. While she knew he’d never lay a hand on Shannon physically, he would have her arrested on the spot, putting their whole plan in jeopardy.
“And what am I a diversion for again?”
Brooke checked her watch. “The security team trailing me. With all the sundress-and-hat-wearing women out here, add the fact that we're basically the same height and size, and we should easily blend in. Hopefully, they’ll follow you to the front, buying me some time before they start looking for me.”
“This plan seems...”
“Simple.”
Lori placed her left hand on her hip. “Reckless.”
Brooke reached for Lori’s hand and gave it a quick squeeze. “It’s going to be fine. I’m sure of it.”
“If you say so.”
“Ready?” Brooke plastered on a fake smile, feeling thankful that Lori could not hear how loud her heart was beating.
“Nope, not at all. Let’s go.” Lori walked out of the restroom.
After several seconds, Brooke peeked out the door and as expected, the two security guards that had followed her from home were now on Lori’s trail; their black outfits were hard to miss. Brooke took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She pulled out the phone, opened the recording app and texted Shannon.
After receiving her reply, Brooke exited the bathroom, checking for more men in black as she made her way through the zoo over to the concession area. Brooke smiled as she thought about all the times she and Brice had spent in both the park and the zoo. She only hoped they would get a chance to do it again. Their attraction for one another was undeniable. It was just her past and present issues she wasn’t sure they could get through.
Brooke spotted an empty table near several families and sat down. She scanned the crowd for Shannon, spotting her leaving the line at the concession stand holding two bottles of water. The big man standing behind her sent a wave of panic throughout Brooke’s body and she suddenly couldn’t breathe. Brooke just knew it was the same man who had hurt her the night before. She reached for her purse and cell phone and was about to run, only her fear-riddled body made it impossible for her to move. When she saw the man head in the opposite direction, her lungs started working again. Brooke watched until he disappeared into the crowd.
“Hello... Hello.” Shannon snapped her fingers in front of Brooke’s face.
Brooke swatted away her hand. “Stop it.”
“Just making sure you’re still with me.” Shannon sat down and handed one of the bottles of water to Brooke. “You should have some. It’s getting really hot out here. I’m glad I wore this romper.”
“No, thank you. You agreed to come alone. What’s that animal doing here?”
“I agreed to meet you alone. Besides, where else should animals be than in the zoo?” Shannon laughed, lifting her sunglasses off her face and placing them on the table.
“What do you want now?”
“Not so fast. How do you feel? Things got a little rough last night.” Shannon took a drink from her bottle.
“What do you want?” Brooke repeated, her tone firm. She refused to give Shannon the satisfaction of knowing how much pain she had been in and was starting to feel even now.
“What I want is for you to remove your damn sunglasses and loosen the hell up,” she ordered through gritted teeth.
Brooke dropped her shoulders, removed her sunglasses and hat, placing them both on the table. She ran her hand through her hair and smiled. “Better?”
“Much. Now take the water and act like you’re glad to see your old friend. That way, the security team I’m sure the Kingsleys have on you won’t think anything is wrong and interrupt us before our business is complete.”
Brooke complied, cracked the seal of the water bottle and took a drink. She only hoped Shannon couldn’t see the shake in her hand that she was trying to hide. “What makes you think I have a security team?”
Shannon rolled her eyes. “You may be getting divorced but you’re still a Kingsley that’s worth millions. You’ll always have some sort of security, especially after last night. Speaking of which—” she took another drink from her bottle “—what did you tell everyone about what happened? My contact at the hotel said you were taken to the hospital but returned sometime later.”
Wow, Meeks’s plan had really worked. “I told everyone I walked in on a robbery and that I didn’t remember anything. They checked me out and sent me home.”
“Good girl.”
“How could you be sure I wouldn’t tell everyone the truth? I could’ve had you both arrested.”
“You could have and yet you didn’t. You have too much to lose...to protect.” Shannon pulled out a business card from her back pocket and handed it to Brooke.
Brooke read the card. “What is this?”
“That, my dear, is the routing number to my personal overseas account where you’ll reroute five of the seventy million dollars you’ll be sending Monday morning.”
“You mean five million of the blackmail money you’re making me steal from the Kingsleys,” Brooke clarified.
“I’m not making you do one thing. You have choices.”
“Some choice, pay you or you’ll destroy my life...my family’s life...with the pack of lies.”
Shannon smirked. “What’s a few more lies? Your whole life has been one big lie, Brooke Avery Smith Kingsley.”
Shannon’s words stung but Brooke knew part of what she was saying was true. She had lied to Brice when she hadn’t told him about her past or her illness—but that stopped today.