Kiss Lonely Goodbye (27 page)

“Is Marcus okay?”

“Sure, he's fine. We're all on edge. He's just going to take a break.” Nicole spun around so that her back was to Shelly. She wiped a stray tear that almost escaped down her cheek.

“How are you doing? It's been one hell of a twenty-four hours,” Shelly said in a caring tone.

“Fine.” Nicole faced her again. She stood erect, hoping she looked more in control than she felt. “I'm going back to my office.”

“Right. I'll tell Cat to put on a fresh pot of coffee. We're going to have another long day.” Shelly wore a maternal expression on her young face.

Nicole could only nod. She couldn't trust herself not to
break down. Instead she strode off. Russell came out of his office seconds after she passed his door.

“Can I have a word with you?” Russell's face looked pale and pinched.

“I can't deal with much more today. If you've got complaints, accusations, or your usual insults, save them for the family. You usually do,” she added in an undertone.

“No, no. We need to be on the same team. Come in,” Russell said quickly. He gestured to her.

“The same team,” Nicole repeated. She hesitated a moment before turning back and going into his office.

“Hello, Nicole.” Her father waved her in. Uncle Lionel sat in one of three leather chairs.

“Hi, Daddy. How are you, Uncle Lionel?” Nicole went on guard, feeling outflanked by the three men.

“Been a helluva lot better.” He rubbed his neck and grimaced.

“Sit down, Nikki. We've got some serious talking to do.” Stanton patted the back of a chair.

Nicole didn't move. “I'm listening.”

Stanton adopted a stern father scowl. “Don't be stubborn, young woman. Sit down,” he ordered.

“Let's not play the control game, Daddy. My patience has been stretched to the limit today. Now what's up?”

“We certainly agree that you've been through a lot in the past few days. Which is why I think, well, the entire board, actually…” Stanton put an arm around her shoulder. “Take a few days off, a week even.”

“A month,” Uncle Lionel added. “Nobody can say you didn't give it a try.”

Nicole shook her head. “The employees need to see me going strong or they'll lose it. Hold it, are you giving me a choice?”

Stanton and Uncle Lionel exchanged a glance. Her father patted her. “Honey, you did a really fine job, considering.”

“You can't fire me. The will—” Nicole swallowed hard. She wanted to get angry, but all she could feel was despair. First Marcus walked away and now this.

“You're bleeding money like crazy,” Uncle Lionel said. “Your clients don't trust you, not to mention Marcus having ties to a crook. Damn it, girl, we shouldn't have to tell you any of this.”

“My father made the mistake of putting his trust in an outsider, and so did you.” Russell wore a self-important, serious face. “Uncle Lionel and Uncle Stanton agree with me.”

“Do they really?” Nicole glanced from her uncle to her father. She didn't know whether to cry or curse a blue streak.

“I'm afraid the decision has been made, Nikki,” her father said gently. “As executor of the will, Uncle Hosea's attorney has appointed me interim CEO until the next board meeting.”

“Like hell.” Nicole could feel anger taking control.

“Now, Nicole,” her father warned and puckered his lips in censure.

“Your sister Helena will pitch in, too. Thank God she can take time off from her company,” Uncle Lionel added. “You should be grateful we're taking this monkey off your back, young lady. As I recall, you screamed like an angry kitten at having your party life interrupted.”

“Under the circumstances, a change in management makes sense. I know our clients well,” Russell said as he smoothed down his Ralph Lauren silk tie. “In fact, I've already made a few calls. Two clients decided not to cancel their contracts this morning.”

“Really? We'll discuss the details with you after we're through with Nicole.” Uncle Lionel blinked at Russell in frank surprise.

“Now we need to know how much the media knows. If they connect the thefts with this girl's murder—” Stanton broke off when Russell flinched. “Sorry, son. I know you cared a great deal for her.”

“Yes, terrible thing no matter what she did,” Uncle Lionel rumbled in a subdued voice.

Russell sighed. “Thank you for the concern. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around it all. She left me with happy memories in spite of, well, you know. I expressed my condolences to her family.”

“Very appropriate, Russell.” Stanton nodded.

Russell wore a troubled frown. A respectful silence fell for a few moments. All three men looked down at the floor with somber expressions, like pallbearers at a funeral. Then Russell cleared his throat.

“Difficult as it might be, I'll have to carry on. I offered some modifications in the contracts. You could call them concessions that persuaded those two clients to stick with us. I also have a list of changes in hiring and staff supervision we can discuss.” Russell became the dignified, but determined-to-press-on, businessman.

“Excellent start.” Stanton smiled at him briefly. His smile faded as he turned to Nicole. “Nikki, I'll stop by your house this evening. Why don't you go to your favorite spa and treat yourself. Use the company credit card.”

“Goody! Can I have a double scoop ice cream cone, too, Daddy?” Nicole said, and batted her eyelashes. “That should make up for being insulted, fired, and humiliated in front of the entire city.”

“Now, Nicole, don't make a scene,” Stanton warned with a stern look.

Nicole stood. “Wait until the next board meeting. I'll give you a scene. What's more, I did a damn good job. I'm not going to go quietly.”

“You'll make things worse. I think we should all do what's best for the family and Summers Security.” Russell affected an empathetic air. “Not that I don't sympathize with what you're feeling. I've been there.”

Nicole gazed at him for several seconds. “You bounced back from grief very well.”

The façade vanished and Russell glared at her. “I had my new secretary move all the important files from your desk and into my office.”

“You did what?” Nicole spluttered and took a step toward him with balled fists.

Stanton stepped between them. “That's enough, Nicole. We'll talk after you've calmed down.”

They stared at each other. Nicole saw the determination in her father's eyes. Stanton would not back down. The other two men seemed to hold their breath as tension filled the room. Finally Nicole shook free of her father's firm grasp and strode from the room. As she walked by employees, conversation ceased. Cat met her halfway to her office.

“I'm sorry, Nicole. Russell's latest secretary barged into your office while I was at the coffee shop downstairs. I came in just as she was leaving. Told me, ‘Mr. Summers gave me instructions.' Honey, she didn't know how close she came to going from blond to bald.” Cat marched after Nicole, fuming. “I hope you give him a very public whipping on this one, boss lady.”

Nicole went to the closet and found a large Neiman Mar
cus shopping bag. “Don't worry about it, Cat. Besides, I'm not the ‘boss lady' anymore.”

“What? You can't quit. I know things are rough right now, but—”

“I've been kicked out. My father and uncle just told me.” Nicole's throat tightened. She pressed her lips together as she cleared her desk.

Cat watched her in stunned misery. “But Mr. Hosea's will put you in charge.”

“On certain conditions. In spite of my woofing and growling, there's not a whole lot I can do about it. And I'm not sure I want to try.”

Nicole thought of Marcus standing tall beside her. She hadn't realized just how much strength she'd drawn from him. Maybe too much. He'd put his old ties ahead of her. Deep inside Nicole had to wonder just how far he'd go to help Shaun. His defense of Shaun hadn't helped ease her mind.

“Well, I'm going to let them know how I feel.” Cat wore a fierce expression.

Nicole dropped one last item in the bag she was packing. “Thanks, but this is my fight.”

“It's not fair!”

“Actually, in their shoes I'd probably make the same decision.” Nicole shrugged.

“What will you do?”

“I'm going to make one huge effort to see the good side of this entire situation.” Nicole forced a smile and tried to feel it. “I can sleep late again. I'll get to watch those action-packed court TV shows during the day.”

Cat wasn't fooled. She crossed her arms. “Get over this pity party act and get mad.”

“I've been working fourteen-hour days for the past five
weeks, Cat. I'm too drained to wrestle with anything more than my fuzzy slippers and favorite sloppy T-shirt. Now if you'll excuse me, there's a gallon of pecan praline ice cream with my name on it.”

“Sure, let them all say, We knew she couldn't deal with the big stuff,” Cat wheedled.

“Frankly, I don't give a crap what
they
say. And I see right through you. Very obvious.” Nicole winked at her. “Bye, girl. In case I didn't mention it, you're the greatest. I appreciate everything you did for me.”

Cat's expression softened. “Hey, I had to earn that paycheck and feed parakeets. The employees are behind you. They know Mr. Hosea made the right choice when he left you in charge.”

Nicole gave her a quick, fierce hug. “That's the highest compliment I've ever gotten. Call everyone into the conference room. I owe it to them to say goodbye.”

“Sure.” Cat brushed a tear from her cheek as she turned and walked away.

When Cat buzzed her ten minutes later, Nicole steeled herself to give one last brave performance. She'd be able to break down later, she mused. Nicole headed down the hallway feeling empty. In one twenty-four-hour period she'd lost way too much.

“T
hat's tough about Nicole. Black folks like her look at us and see ghetto thug life. Nothing else. Hey, might as well find out who's really on your side.” Shaun spread his arms out wide.

Marcus nodded slowly and took a pull from the bottle of beer in his hand. They sat in a hotel room in Katy, Texas, a small town on the outskirts of Houston. He'd left the office and Nicole earlier that day. As if he'd known, Shaun had called him moments after Marcus had driven off. Three hours later Marcus had followed his instructions, taking great care that he wasn't followed this time.

The large-screen television played in the background. Wesley Snipes, dressed in tight black leather pants and vest, silently kicked butt in some futuristic thriller movie. Neither man paid much attention to the screen. Shaun paced with a cell phone in one hand. In contrast to Shaun, Marcus felt numb, lethargic even.

“You know what?” Shaun pointed the phone at him.

“Huh.” Marcus barely mustered interest enough to respond. Even so his grunt wasn't a question.

“The police tryin' to set me up. Yeah, that's what this is all about. They couldn't get me on those other bogus cases, so this is payback. They can kiss my ass, 'cause it ain't gonna work,” Shaun snarled. He stabbed the phone in the air like a weapon.

“Uh-huh.” Marcus tried once more not to think about Nicole. His effort didn't work any more than it had for the past twenty hours.

“I'm faster than they can keep up.”

Shaun let out a rasping laugh of contempt. He flipped open the slim digital phone and dialed a number. With his back turned to Marcus, he moved to the other side of the room to talk. Marcus barely noticed he was gone. He ran through his list of options. They all included Nicole in some way. Should he call her? Hell no, he reminded himself. If he did, what should he say? Nicole looked at him the same way other upper-class Black folks had through the years. Seeing the question and mistrust in her beautiful eyes had cut deep. Anger mixed with grief drove his mood swings. One moment he seethed with thoughts of showing the entire Summers clan. Just as quickly he'd sink into a hole so dark he couldn't see the point of doing anything but having another beer. Speaking of which. Marcus put the empty bottle down on the table with a thump. Shaun strode over and put a fresh bottle of a fancy imported brand next to it. He continued talking into the cell phone. Marcus grabbed the frosty dark green glass. He glanced around the room without paying attention to the décor.

“What am I doing here?”

“We're hanging together like we did back in the day.” Shaun slapped his shoulder, then someone on the phone
grabbed his attention again. “What? Hell, don't give me that weak-ass excuse!”

Marcus hadn't even realized he'd spoken aloud. He drank more beer and turned up the sound on the television. Without thinking, he channel hopped. His finger paused on the local news. A female Latino reporter stood outside the police station.

“Yes, Dan. What started out as an investigation into a single robbery has widened, with some surprising results. Summers Security, one of the largest African-American-owned businesses in the Southwest, seems to be at the center of a crime wave. Sources tell us that the recent murder of Aliyah Manning may even be linked. Suspicions of gang involvement have some in the department concerned. Earlier we spoke to Stanton Summers, acting CEO of Summers Security.”

A taped interview of Nicole's father appeared. Marcus recognized the lobby of Summers Security. Stanton stood in front of a wall with the picture of Hosea Summers in the center. He wore a stern expression.

“Certainly we're cooperating fully with the police department. Our staff has been instrumental in providing key information.”

The reporter made a concerted effort to pry more details out of Stanton, but he sidestepped her questions. He even managed to do a fair job of spinning the situation to help the image of Summers Security.

“We've investigated all levels of staff. Those with questionable ties have been terminated.” Stanton gave a curt nod.

“Does that mean that your employees are suspects in the murder and the thefts?” the reporter shot back as she pushed the microphone at him.

“No former or current employee has been charged.
Thank you.” Stanton marched off before she could ask more questions.

The station switched back to the news set. “Dan, we have learned from police that they have several leads and expect to make arrests soon. Marietta Sanchez reporting.”

“They throwing you to the wolves, bro. Damn, your lady cut you out cold!” Shaun stood behind him, still holding the phone to his ear.

Marcus changed the station. “I didn't hear anything about me.”

“Call you later. Right.” Shaun hit the button and dropped the phone into the chest pocket of his Fubu shirt. “Look, I know it hurts, but you gotta face facts. She's hanging you out there, man.”

Marcus wanted to argue back. Unconsciously, he touched his silent cell phone. Nicole should have reached out, his pride told him. In his old world a man didn't chase down a woman or beg her to support him. Shaun seemed to read his mind.

“She hasn't called. Now what does that tell you? She's listening to her daddy, that's what,” Shaun said before Marcus could respond. “I'm not going down for murder just because I was born in the ghetto.”

“Yeah.” Marcus pressed the channel button on the remote harder than necessary.

“First time something happens she can't be found. I know it's rough, but hell, there it is.”

Marcus wanted to change the subject from Nicole. “What pisses me off is how those employees pulled a fast one.”

“You know, people gonna steal. It's human nature, right? If you don't pay folks enough, they pay themselves. Listen, they don't have anything on us and they know it.” Shaun broke off when the hip-hop tune of his cell phone played.

When Shaun moved away again, Marcus got up to stretch
his legs. He walked to the small bar, then back again. Nicole pushed her way into his head. Memories of the way she smelled right out of the shower sent a shiver down his back. Marcus closed his eyes and could see her padding toward him across the lush carpet of her bedroom. He thought of the last evening they'd spent together. Lying in bed bedside him, she'd rested her head on his bare chest. Her thick, cashmere-soft hair smelled of flowers from the shampoo she'd used. He forced his eyes open to stop the images.

“Hey, you all right?” Shaun put his arm across Marcus's shoulder.

“Yeah, I'm okay.” Marcus put his empty beer bottle on the counter.

Shaun went to the small refrigerator and got two more. “Man, we need to get this stuff off our minds and have us a party up in here.”

Marcus shook his head and waved away his offer of more to drink. “I'm going home.”

“You can't leave. They're probably sitting outside your place waiting to swoop.” Shaun put one of the beers back and popped the cap on another one.

“I don't care. Like you said, they don't have anything on me. And they won't get anything 'cause there is nothing to get. The police can question me all they want to.”

Marcus was drained, but not because of the investigation. There was nowhere he could go that he wouldn't drag his longing for Nicole with him.

“Right, right.” Shaun sat on one of the three bar stools. “What else did y'all know about the thefts?”

“We didn't notice anything unusual just looking at critical incidents. That's what we called them.”

“Oh?” Shaun drank more beer.

“After Tameka was arrested the pattern started to show.”
Marcus frowned and glanced at Shaun. “We both know Olandon's old territory. You could find out who he's been hanging with.”

“Maybe. I mean we haven't been tight in a while. Except for me trying to straighten him out,” Shaun added quickly.

“Try anyway. We need to do something.” Marcus rubbed his face hard.

“I'll see what I find out on the street.” Shaun's right knee bounced as though it contained all his pent-up energy.

“Find out whatever you can.”

“Sure. I don't want you on the hook for something Olandon did.” Shaun stood up like a man unable to keep still for long. He took out his phone and checked his pager messages.

“Who would want to kill Aliyah? She wasn't into anything heavy.” Marcus looked at Shaun.

“Who knows?” Shaun bit a fingernail, then took his hand down. “She had a taste for bad boys. Could be one of them caught her with another guy.”

“Maybe I'll find out more when the police question me. Yesterday they ‘invited' me to help them investigate.”

“To hell with them. Don't go.” Shaun scowled. “Nah, don't fall into that trap.”

“Other than the fact that I don't have anything to hide, running from the police will make things look worse for me. In fact, you should talk to them yourself.” Marcus knew what Shaun's reaction would be.

“I'm not exactly Mr. Clean like you. I've got to get my stuff together before I go. I'm gonna walk in with my lawyer.”

“Yeah, well, just tell them what you know about Aliyah.”

“Some jealous lover got hold of the woman. Aliyah jumped from dude to dude,” Shaun said.

“Seems like the police would have tracked him down by now. Besides, she put all her energy into Russell and his big
bankbook.” Marcus shook his head. “The way she was beaten means somebody was really mad at the lady.”

“Sounds like a love thang gone wrong to me. Russell dude must be pretty shook up.”

“I hear he's consoling himself by lobbying to be the next CEO.” Marcus twisted and turned what he knew, trying to discover answers.

“He's fired a bunch of people. Guess he's searched that data you were talking about,” Shaun said.

“More than likely they'll turn up something. You know, if it was an organized theft ring using our employees, whoever came up with the idea was smart. They recruited people who didn't have criminal records, like they thought it all out. You know?” Marcus glanced at Shaun.

“But why would law-abiding citizens agree? That's a wild theory, brother.” Shaun lifted a shoulder.

“Like you said, hard times can push people to the limit. If I know Nicole, she's digging right now. I just don't see her giving up easily.”

“You think?” Shaun tapped the cell phone against his jaw and frowned.

“When Nicole is angry she does something about it. She really was into that job. Not for the power or prestige.”

“Her family must not think so. Her daddy is acting CEO now.” Shaun waved a hand toward the television, as though Stanton were still on the screen.

“Nicole won't roll over. When she makes up her mind to do something, watch out,” Marcus said. He imagined Nicole's lovely burnt almond eyes flashing with anger and determination.

“Uh-huh, just like she made up her mind about
you
.” Shaun pointed to him.

“Right,” Marcus said quietly.

He let out a long, slow breath. He sat down on the sofa in front of the television again. Shaun's phone rang and he muttered into it.

 

Nicole walked off the elevator at Summers Security. No matter what her father and the rest of the family said, she still felt part of the company. Imani rounded a corner and broke into a wide grin when she saw Nicole.

“I'm glad to see you. What do you think?” Imani showed her a catalogue of high-tech security products.

“The voice and fingerprint recognition systems. Looks good. So, my father and Russell are moving forward with going after big corporate accounts.”

Imani nodded. “They're riding on the work you and Marcus did. We all know it.”

“Thanks.” Nicole gave her a grateful smile. “I've been watching the news. I see your brains behind the smart way y'all have been dealing with the bad publicity. Good work.”

“Thanks back at ya, boss lady.” Imani gave her arm a squeeze.

“Better not let Russell hear you. I'm not in charge of anything around here.” Nicole walked with Imani beside her.

“You should be,” Imani replied. “Not that I don't respect your daddy, but you and Marcus had a real feel for this business.”

Nicole felt a sharp, stinging sensation at the mention of his name. She didn't want to go down that path. Not after three nights of no sleep and regrets. “So, how is it working with Russell these days?”

Imani let out a tortured groan. “I now believe in purgatory.”

“Bad, huh?” Nicole smiled at the way Imani screwed up her face.

“Your dad is trying not to show it, but he knows Russell is
a management disaster waiting to happen.” Imani glanced around and dropped her voice low. “A classic example, Russell ordered six thousand dollars' worth of palm pilots for the security guards.”

Nicole laughed out loud. “What for?”

“To keep them on schedule. Six have disappeared already. Seems he had Jesse distribute them too fast. Some of the fired employees suspected in the thefts got units.” Imani raised a hand. “I know what you're thinking. Remember this is Russell we're talking about.”

“Daddy must have breathed fire for days.” Nicole tried not to look as pleased as she felt.

“Honey, we all kept a low profile for a week. I—” Imani broke off when Russell appeared.

“Hello, Nicole.” Russell turned to Imani before Nicole could answer him. “I'm sure you've got the rough outline for marketing our new services.”

“Mr. Summers is looking it over,” Imani said in a cool tone.

“I was supposed to get the first look,” Russell said.

“Mr. Summers asked for the proposal, and I gave it to him. You could go ask him to give it back.” Imani raised an eyebrow.

Russell's jaw muscles worked for several minutes. He turned away from Imani. “I thought you'd cleared out the office.”