"Jimmy."Jim thought he was going to die. His heart was beating too fast, and when she called out his name again, it stopped working altogether.
It was only when the need in her voice turned to a choke, that Jim had the hint that something was wrong. Loosening his hold on the missus, he bent back and looked into her eyes.
She was still dazed, but had recovered enough to say between gasps, "You"re holding me too tight."
She was barely breathing.
Jim almost held his head in his hands.
Well…
Of course he was holding her too tight!
What if she ran away again… just like she had, back then?
When morning came, Ben was the most confused person in the room.
He did not know what had happened to mommy and Jimmy while he had been asleep at night. They were not talking to each other again, but they were also not fighting. They kept looking at each other though.
They did that a lot.
But Ben noticed that they both only stared at the other when the other person was not looking. And if they happened to look at each other at the same time, they both turned red and quickly turned away, mostly calling out to him after that.
This was new. And Ben didn"t understand it.
If they were not angry, why were they staring?
And if they were not angry, why were they not talking?
And why did they both start calling "Ben, Ben," when they were caught looking?
Clearly, the boy wasn"t happy.
Meanwhile Jim wasn"t sure how to handle his feelings. Last night had been awkward, to say the least.
When Miya had convinced him that she was choking, he had reluctantly let her go. He had realized he was holding his own breath too, and it had taken quite some time for air to then enter his lungs. When they had both finally started breathing customarily, they just stood there before each other awkwardly, not knowing what to do, staring with blank expressions.
Hugging again felt stupid.
Kissing would have been nice, but the atmosphere was so tense and heavy, he didn"t want to start looking like a h.o.r.n.y idiot.
And then, there was the ring.
Jim now cursed himself a thousand times, when he realized that he had actually thought of his father in the midst of such an intense scene. His father"s face had flashed in his head almost impulsively, and he had remembered the old man"s words, back when he had been in the car with Miya.
"Miya," he had said, "Where is your wedding ring, dear? Could we have dropped it at the store?"
Realization had struck Jim. They were married, but he had made that rookie mistake.
His wife didn"t even have a ring.
After that, and the breathing sequence, nothing had made much sense, and when the young master just stood frigidly, staring, Miya too had stepped back and simply wished him a "Good night".
That was how ridiculous the night had been!
And now, in the morning, Jim was simply lost.
He needed Hartley! The womanizing, flirting chick magnet, Hartley!
Argh. He really, really needed help.
Relief came to Jimmy only when the clock struck ten. He realized that it was time to finally go meet Simon Hunter. In fact, he jumped at it and quickly got dressed. He also reminded Miya in a small, quick voice that they were to leave, and he didn"t look at her even once while they talked.
Ben was watching the two with hawk eyes.
Something, he noted, was very wrong.
And the child wanted to know what.
Albeit Miya hadn"t paid much attention to her dressing style, but once they entered Simon Hunter"s room, which was just one floor above theirs, she was immediately conscious. Rebecca had already arrived there, and she smiled at Miya subtly once she saw the girl. The older woman was dressed in a formal pantsuit, and had her hair neatly tied up. The Chairman too, was dressed gracefully in a suit. Jim breathed in only tuxedos and he was wearing one. Miya, on the other hand, had chosen to wear baggy pants and a lousy pink t-shirt that had "Everybody Eats" written on it.
She punched herself mentally for it.
Simon Hunter gave the daughter-in-law a peculiar look too, looking pointedly at her dress. When his eyes matched hers though, he gave her a small smile and indicated the two to come in.
They were all seated around the table, with Simon at one head of it, and Jimmy beside him. Miya wanted to go and sit beside Becky, but the young master simply held her hand, like it was the most normal thing in the world, pulled out a chair for her, and made her sit beside him too. All the while, he remained with a poker face.
Miya couldn"t help but squirm in his hold, hoping with all her might that Jimmy would let her hand free. She even turned a tomato red and looked fixedly at her thighs.
Simon Hunter looked at the two and rolled his eyes.
Then sighing, he was the first one to start.
"Ms. Storm and I have begun without you two," he said, "And to say the least, she"s acquainted with us, and how the Hunters are involved. Ms. Storm, you understand I hope, how your father and I were supposed to be business partners?"
Rebecca was sitting with poise, but from the terseness of her mouth, Miya could tell that she was nervous. She held her own though, before old Hunter"s piercing gaze, and nodded calmly.
"Yes, sir."
"Good," the Chairman said, "Then I"ll take it from here. It started in May, 2004. Jonathan Freeman approached me for investment in his publishing house, the Toby-Freeman Publications. His company was going under, to say the least and I was looking to start an a.s.sociation in the publishing industry, at least one with a newspaper and magazine. Honestly though, Toby-Freeman was a guaranteed loss, and I didn"t want to take it. Your father, Ms. Storm, was a good man, but a horrible businessperson. His company went into losses because he got too emotional about the library you"re currently librarian at. When no one major from the private sector was willing to provide even 20% of the funds for the largest public library, that was to be built in a different country, mind you, your father stepped up. He made a huge investment, taking a debt from his own company, and that debt became his ruin. The library wasn"t an investment, it was a donation. Practically, a waste of effort and money. At least for your father."
A cold silence arose at the table once the Chairman stopped speaking.
Miya felt a chill go down her spine at the old man"s words. He wasn"t the kind person from yesterday anymore.
The man before scared her.
Involuntarily, she grabbed tighter Jim"s hand.
The Chairman"s gaze never left Rebecca Storm, whose expression too had turned to stone.
He continued.
"But I agreed. Your mother Meera, was one of the incentives. She directed under the name Toby, and I had watched a few of her works. To say she was simply brilliant, would do her discredit. She was the one of the best in the game, I"d say. She enjoyed a lot of confidence. And her doc.u.mentaries had people believing in her. Her word held power. And so, the collaboration was decided upon. And I –"
Simon Hunter was about to say his next words, when Jim"s quiet but firm voice interrupted him.
"Tell her," he said, looking pointedly at his father.
Something pa.s.sed between father and son, and the young master only had to say, "She should know what we want, why we"re here," before Simon agreed in a nod.
Taking a deep breath, the old man continued again.
"The other incentive for agreeing to the deal with your father, Ms. Storm. And the more important one. I noted how exceptionally good a writer Jonathan was. I wanted him to do a biography of the Hunter family. He agreed, and we decided to seal the deal on your nineteenth birthday. I remember you to be a rather daring creature back then, Ms. Storm. I wonder if you still maintain that rigour."
Rebecca said nothing, but a slight blush crept across her nose.
She remembered what she was like, back when she was nineteen. Moreover, she hadn"t had the faintest idea that her parents were about to have business ties with the prestigious Hunter Corporation. She didn"t even remember meeting the Chairman, ever.
Simon"s face spread into a mock smile at the woman"s expression, but the story was long, and he didn"t like wasting seconds. He continued again.
"We know what happened later, and how business fell into the hands of Carver. He"s a sh*tty man. I put you in his custody, in the hopes that you"d fare out well. I would have given up on Toby-Freeman, but Jonathan had become a friend. He would often visit my house with his wife, in order to discuss the details on the biography. So as an old man, I was not willing to let the only survivor in the family ruin.
Of course, Carver later told me you died of drug overdose. It never occurred to me otherwise. You had always been the problem child, Ms. Storm, I had heard about you from both your parents. I didn"t trust Carver, but I never doubted the credibility of his reports on you that I ordered him to present to me every three months. Your slow progression into an addict seemed natural, going by the reports.
I guess Carver overestimated my attachment to Toby-Freeman. I didn"t really care about the publication, and when I heard about you Ms. Storm, I withdrew any and all investment from the company. In fact, it was my way to get back at Carver. He was useless enough to not even keep the last heir alive. I wanted him and the company to fall face down."
Simon Hunter stopped for a cigar.
Rebecca"s face had steeled, and Miya looked over at her friend worriedly.
She knew Becky hated herself for giving in to drugs back then. Things might not have turned out to be the way they had, if she hadn"t.
"I"m surprised, Ms. Storm," Simon Hunter said again, this time a bit gently, "But believe an old man. Your sudden appearance has put me at ease. Tell me what you have on Carver."
Rebecca nodded.
Thad Carver, was the name of her uncle, the sh*tty son of a b*tch.
"It was around three months ago," Rebecca began, "I came into contact with a drug dealer"s daughter. His name is Karl. It was in the library, one of these days when –"
Manipulating the story in parts, so that she didn"t have to actually admit before the Chairman that she got into a relationship with that man, Rebecca narrated the whole story.
Miya looked weakly at the Chairman, Jimmy and Becky.
From the old Hunter"s eyes, she could tell that he already knew whatever Becky was telling him. He was too shrewd to not know. Maybe, he was just gauging her.
When the girl was done, Simon Hunter leaned back comfortably in his chair. He gave Rebecca a long look, and then smiled.
"What do you think, Carver does Ms. Storm?" he asked her amusedly, "How is he involved in all of this mess of drugs?"
Rebecca hadn"t expected the question. But she wasn"t flinched as well.
"Karl did say to me that he was the big boss and that he gets his investments from the black market."
"Good."
The Chairman breathed, and then without turning his head, said in a clear voice, "Give Ms. Storm the right word, Miya, for a criminal organization dealing in trafficking drugs."
The statement took both Jimmy and Miya by surprise. Jim frowned at his father"s words, but Miya wasn"t alarmed.
The Chairman had done that yesterday, asking her the contents of the purse Jim had sent.
Looking up nervously in the direction of the old man, Miya said quietly.
"A cartel."
"A drug cartel, yes. Thank you dear. Now Ms. Storm, you might be pleased to know that your uncle, Thad Carver is a f***ing drug overlord. And his organization has its roots spread out in three different countries.
You might ask me where he began though, after Hunter Corporation withdrew support from the company. Well… you gave him the idea of a lifetime when you abused yourself with drugs.
This criminal organization of your uncle operates under the name Rivqah. That"s Hebrew, Ms. Storm, for Rebecca."