Sealing Fate Read online

  At twenty-eight, she and one other woman got off. Michael followed a few feet behind her, trying not to be noticed. He knew the twenty-eighth floor was marketing and advertising.

  He followed at a safe distance as she walked down one of the corridors, turning left onto another. Then she disappeared into an office. From there, it didn't take Michael long to determine who she was, Catherine Jenkins, marketing director. He didn't approach her. Michael didn't even know why he had followed her, other than curiosity about the sensuous woman he had seen making love to another man at a party. Michael turned and walked back toward the elevator banks.

  A secretary in a green print dress watched him walk away. “Jenny, isn't that Michael Hayward?”

  The secretary at the adjacent desk stood to get a better view of him disappearing down the hall. “The next president?”

  “Yeah. I think that was him.”

  “Maybe, but the penthouse guys don't usually show up on this floor.”

  The secretary in the green print nodded. “I know. I felt like trying to get an autograph.”

  * * *

  At ten o'clock on Thursday morning, Brian sat in Josie's Coffee Shop, staring at the door and waiting. Pink booths lined the window that looked out on the street. The booths also occupied the adjoining wall, forming an L-shape that surrounded the black, circular swivel seats that lined the counter. Josie's was a favorite of the locals, where good food was inexpensive and the relaxation was easy.

  Cathy came in and looked around until she saw him waving in her direction. A warm smile came to her face, and she walked over to him and kissed his cheek before sitting across from him in the booth. She wore a gray suit with a red blouse. Her hair was up, which made her look taller. Brian noticed how big her blue eyes looked. She was mesmerizing.

  “Good morning, Congressman,” she said sweetly.

  “Good morning,” he replied, unable to take his eyes from her face.

  A female server was beside the table immediately. “What can I get you?”

  “Some coffee would be good,” Cathy said.

  The server nodded and turned to go.

  “Good to see you,” Cathy said to Brian, taking his hand across the table.

  “You too. You look great.”

  “Thanks. But I bet you say that to all the marketing directors who want to screw your brains out.”

  Brian stifled a laugh. “One for one so far.”

  “I'm glad you had time to get together this morning. I just didn't want to wait until tomorrow night to see you again.”

  “Me either.”

  “Come with me,” she said, standing up. “I want to show you something.”

  The server placed a cup of coffee in front of where Cathy. “You change your mind?”

  “Maybe,” Cathy said.

  She put five dollars on the table and took Brian by the hand, leading him out of the restaurant and into the parking lot. She stopped in front of a Mustang convertible. “What do you think?”

  “New car?” he asked.

  “Yeah.” She kissed him on the cheek. “Take a ride with me.”

  Brian looked at his watch. “I don't know if we should right—-”

  “Get in.”

  Cathy climbed behind the wheel, and Brian got into the passenger seat. She put the top down, and they headed out of town. Brian knew he should be concerned about how long they were gone. There was so much to do, and his absence was unexplained. But the wind in his hair felt great, and Cathy looked wonderful behind the wheel. The moment was not too hard to take.

  He let himself go. “So where are we going?” he asked loudly to be heard over the wind.

  There was a wide grin on her face as she said, “You'll see.”

  She turned up the radio and began to sing along with “The Monster Mash.” Brian laughed at her imitation of the Boris Karloff accent and then began to sing along.

  An hour and a half later, Cathy stopped the car beside cliffs that overlooked a deserted strip of beach. They were consumed by the moment and didn't notice the car that stopped about a hundred yards behind them. The woman who drove the car watched in silence as they got out of the car.

  “Come on,” Cathy said.

  He followed her over to the cliffs. They held hands and looked out across the vast ocean to the horizon with patches of clouds dancing above it.

  “It's gorgeous,” he said. “I've lived in this city almost forever, and I had no idea there was a place this beautiful within reach.”

  She nodded. “Let's go down to the beach.”

  Brian regarded her skeptically. “It's steep, and we're a little overdressed.”

  “I know.” She kicked off her pumps and threw them down on the beach. Then she began to climb down the rocks.

  Brian stared after her for a few moments and then grinned and followed her down. When they had climbed down fifteen feet to the beach, they were in an isolated alcove, surrounded by rocky cliffs on three sides while the fourth looked out at endless, blue ocean.

  Cathy sat on a rock and peeled off her nylons. “Much better. Now I'm ready for some serious beach walking.”

  Brian also sat on a rock and took off his shoes and socks, finding it hard to believe that all this was happening on what was supposed to be another day at the office. He watched Cathy staring out at the ocean and was amazed at her beauty. She turned to see him watching her and smiled. She took his hand, and they walked down the beach. Brian felt the wind caressing his face, the warmth of her hand in his, and the sand moving under his feet. Everything else was gone.

  When they returned to the alcove, an hour had passed. They stopped to kiss before climbing back up the cliff. The kiss was at first tender and then became passionate. Gulls cried out to the blue, cloudless sky as they soared overhead. The ocean came closer to them with each wave that broke against the rocks encircling the cove.

  As Brian looked out across the ocean to see it touching the sky, he couldn't tell where one stopped and the other began. It was all a merging of beautiful blue. It was heaven.

  Cathy pulled him close and kissed him softly. “I guess we should go. Sooner or later, we're going to be missed at work.”

  He nodded reluctantly. They climbed up the rocks, stopping at the top for one last look and one more kiss before walking back to the car.

  As they drove back to the city, absorbed in each other, the unidentified car followed at a distance.

  Chapter 4

  Michael Hayward stood behind his desk with his arms folded, talking into the speakerphone. He spoke to the Chairman of Insignia Insurance about the protections the man might have if International Resource acquired a controlling interest in his company, something they both knew was more than a possibility.

  “That's all I can do, Chuck. One year to turn a profit under our plan. You report to me as a division of International Resource. You know the rest.” The line was quiet. “If you doubt your willingness or ability to follow my directives, take the package and walk away.”

  Jackson F. Parker, John to those who knew him well, walked into the office, waving a hand at Michael. He moved toward the couch across the office. In the other hand, he carried a file. The expression on his rotund face was serious, perhaps even sad. He sat so he was looking away from Michael and waited.

  “All right, Mike. I understand,” Chuck said finally. “I'm going to stay with you and try it. I think we'll get along.”

  “I think so too, Chuck. Welcome aboard.”

  After hanging up, Michael smiled at Parker. “Hi, John.” He walked over and sat in a chair opposite Parker. The visit was unexpected. It wasn't lost on Michael that most visits with Parker were in Parker's office and were prearranged.

  Parker looked at Michael squarely and let out a deep breath. He loosened his coat. “Looks like things are moving along well with Insignia.”

  “Yes, everything's in place.” Michael knew that Insignia had nothing to do with this visit. Parker knew it was a done deal. Michael waited for Parke
r to speak.

  There was a silence while Parker selected his words. “I'm not going to beat around the bush,” he finally said. “We've known each other a long time, and I owe it to you to be direct.” He looked away for just a moment and then looked directly into Michael's eyes. “Jason Ross is going to take over for me.”

  Michael was stunned. He felt himself beginning to sweat. “Why, John? What happened? I thought I was the one.”

  Parker nodded. “I know you did. A lot of people did.” He looked at the floor, hesitating. The search for words was uncharacteristic of Parker, who always seemed to know what to say. “You know I think highly of you. You've got one of the keenest senses for business I've ever seen.”

  “So what is it then? You think Jason Ross is better qualified?”

  Parker rubbed a hand across his chin and then leaned toward Michael. “You've done some great things for this company, Michael. But a lot of it's more than making money.”

  “Like what?”

  “Not making mistakes.”

  “What are we talking about, John?” Michael demanded, his eyes blazing.

  Parker lowered his head. “The Westmont Manufacturing deal.”

  “It closed two months ago. Everything went fine.”

  “Until now,” Parker said.

  “Let me in on what's going on,” Michael said.

  “Your group had control of the project from the ground up.”

  “That's right.”

  Parker dropped the file on the coffee table between them. “The company's going to have some problems explaining this, Mike. Westmont has been disposing of hazardous waste improperly for years. There's going to be EPA cleanup liability. It's not clear how bad it's going to be yet, but it will be in the millions. Some say well over two hundred million. Not to mention a lot of negative publicity.”

  Michael felt a knot in his stomach. He was trying not to appear visibly shaken. “But the contracts contain representations about violation of federal law and hazardous waste.” Michael knew that wasn't much of an answer, and he knew that Jackson Parker knew it too.

  If we had known this, we would have walked away from the deal. But why didn't we know it? It was the job of my people to be on top of the critical issues, he thought.

  “I had Brad Fisher on this. We went over all of it. He said it was all in order, governmental compliance and everything.”

  Parker reached over and slapped Michael on the shoulder. “I know, but when it all comes out, you know where it's going to land.”

  Michael just nodded. The pain in his stomach was becoming nausea with the realization that this was his career.

  “They're going to look right at you and me, Mike. I'll be all right. I'm retiring anyway. But I won't get away with giving you the top job when this comes out. With the political fallout, the board won't let it happen.” He shook his head and then let out a sigh. “There's one other qualified candidate. And now Jason Ross becomes the safer choice.”

  Michael couldn't think of anything to say. He held his head in his hands silently.

  Parker stood and turned to leave. “The announcement won't be made for another three weeks. I wanted you to know as soon as possible.” He paused. “I want you to know that I still think you're the best man for the job. I just can't give it to you.”

  Michael was still nodding, staring at nothing, when Parker left the room and closed the door behind him.

  * * *

  Michael looked through the file while he waited for Brad Fisher to arrive. It didn't take long to find what he was looking for. The picture was clear. All of it should have been discovered before the deal was closed. He checked the information Parker had left with what was in his own files. He had none of it. But Brad had to have known. Brad had worked on acquisitions for ten years.

  There was a knock at the door. “Come in,” Michael said, looking up from the file.

  The door opened, and Brad Fisher stood in the doorway. His curly blond hair and light mustache made him appear younger than his thirty-five years. His expression said he was some combination of curious and tentative.

  “Come in, Brad. Sit down.”

  “What's up, Chief? Figured it must be important when you pulled me from a meeting with a big lender.”

  “It is.” Michael sat back in his chair and looked into Fisher's eyes. He said nothing. He could see Fisher starting to look uneasy.

  “What is it, Michael?” Brad finally asked again.

  Michael threw down the file in front of him with critical documents on top. “Explain it.”

  Brad didn't have to look at the papers on the file long. Michael could see recognition in his expression. He was silent for a few minutes. Michael glared at him and waited.

  “Well, sometimes things emerge that you didn't count on when you were checking the deal—-”

  Michael interrupted him, “Save it, Brad. You're not talking to anybody you can bullshit. I asked you specific questions about the deal, and you assured me it all checked out. We went over governmental compliances, including waste and environmental. According to you, the deal was clean. No governmental problems.” He pointed to the file. “Some of the approvals were never obtained, and you knew there were environmental cleanup issues.” Michael made a fist and shook it in the air. “You knew it, and you sat on it.”

  Brad was silent, but there was no surprise in his eyes. Michael had lost the top job, what he had he worked for all his life, because of one of his own.

  Anger flared in his eyes. “You're through here! Clean out your office and be out of the building within the hour.”

  Brad looked up at Michael and actually smiled. “I've taken a job reporting to Ross as a vice president,” he said calmly.

  Michael's eyes glazed over as it all fell into place. The negligence of a subordinate hadn't let him down. It was worse. His enemy had betrayed him. Brad was in Jason Ross' pocket. For a moment, Michael thought he would put a fist into Brad's face. He stared at Brad, who averted his eyes.

  “You sold me out, Brad. I'll see that your career is over,” Michael said with a deadly edge to his voice.

  “I'm sorry, Mike. It was just business. I have greater potential with Ross. I know I'm not moving up any higher than where I am right now if I stay with you. You don't appreciate my talents. So when a chance came to get a promotion under Ross, I had to go for it.”

  It was the payoff for the ultimate act of disloyalty. Michael had to restrain himself from grabbing Brad by the throat. “I'll see that you don't survive with Ross either, you son of a bitch. Now get out!”

  Brad stood and walked to the door without looking back.

  * * *

  Michael sat with Carol on the patio, sipping a bourbon. She held a glass of white wine and tried to engage him in conversation. It was Saturday at twilight, and Michael had just returned from the office. He was quiet, lost in his thoughts. He had thought about nothing else since his meeting with Parker three days ago. He kept reliving the realization. The betrayal had cost him his ultimate dream. The presidency would never be his. Nothing else seemed to matter.

  He looked at Carol, and she smiled at him. Her red hair was clipped up in a bun, revealing her diamond stud earrings. Her soft features were understated. Large green eyes illuminated her small mouth and straight nose. She tried to be supportive, but she would never understand. Michael didn't really expect her to know the depth of his disappointment and anger. No one could.

  “You haven't been sleeping much, have you?” she asked with concern.

  “No, not much,” he replied softly.

  “I know how hard this has been, Mike. But at some point, you'll have to accept it and move on.”

  He was instantly angry. “How can I accept this? I was stabbed in the back. Now that asshole Ross gets the job, and I never move anywhere again.”

  She walked over and touched his hand gently. “I know, but there's nothing you can do. It's a done deal. Unless Jason Ross drops dead in the next three weeks, he gets the job
, and you have to live with it.”

  Michael was quiet. There were stirrings within him. It took him a few moments to realize that he was reacting to the thoughts of Jason Ross dropping dead. Maybe it wasn't quite a done deal, he thought, downing the last of his bourbon.

  * * *

  Brian pulled into the driveway at seven thirty on Thursday. He walked in the front door and called to see if Barbara were home from the meeting she told him she was going to attend, a fund-raiser of some kind.

  “Barb,” he called from the entryway.

  “In here,” she yelled. Her voice came from the kitchen.

  At the same time, the smells reached Brian's olfactory senses. It was something spicy. He walked into the kitchen to see her pouring beef and sauce over plates of noodles. The adjoining dining room was set for a candlelight dinner.

  “Wow,” he said.

  She grinned. “Your favorite dinner all done and almost on the table. Just like Ozzie and Harriet, don't you think?” She walked over and kissed him on the lips.

  “This is great,” he said. “Can I help?”

  “Sure. Kiss me again.”

  Brian hesitated and then kissed her. She put her arms around him and kissed back. Putting his arms around her, he realized she wasn't wearing a bra. He kissed her again and then lifted the sweater over her head. She smiled, watching him look at her breasts. She pressed against him and kissed him deeply. Then she pulled off his tie and undid his shirt buttons so nothing was between them.

  She looked into his eyes and grinned. “I think dinner's getting cold.”

  He nodded. “Stroganoff temperature cold. Body temperature hot.”

  He kissed her again. Then they shed the rest of their clothing and made love on the kitchen floor. It was more spontaneous than they had been in years. The stroganoff was a million miles away.

  After the lovemaking, they shared a candlelit dinner, still feeling the glow of intimacy. After dinner, they decided to take a walk. There were few streetlights in the neighborhood. Most of the light came from the stars and the crescent-shaped moon. The night air was calm and cool. They spoke of Brian's new responsibilities and of being rookies in a world of veteran movers and shakers. They spoke of all the political dinners and speeches ahead, and they decided to take a vacation as soon as they could. They held hands as they walked, stopping to look at a star and to share a kiss.