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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781504915281 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | AuthorHouse |
| Publication date: | 05/29/2015 |
| Pages: | 776 |
| Product dimensions: | 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.71(d) |
Read an Excerpt
Bullard
Suspicious Finn
By D. F. Les Pierre-Luke
AuthorHouse
Copyright © 2015 D. F. Les Pierre-LukeAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-5049-1528-1
CHAPTER 1
Meetings
Jay, Tes and Roxi were invited to attend separate meetings with Mr. Reid to speak about their inheritances from their husbands. They all had breakfast at a diner downtown, Capital City, until it was time for them to attend their individually scheduled meetings. The trio talked and laughed at almost anything and everything they saw and anyone that passed by. It was the first time they had gotten together on official business, since their court case. They were in cheerful moods, something that escaped them for a very long time. Then the time came for Jay's appointment.
Jay hugged Roxi and Tes, locking cheeks together instead of actually kissing to prevent their lipstick from smudging. She then headed straight to their Attorney's office, which is located in one of the old English designed buildings uptown. The traffic was heavier than usual in the Capital City, so a brisk walk was the only way of ensuring she reaches on time. The Law Firm shared the building with other law firms, making the entire building into a 'Legal College', so-to-speak. Jay was dressed in an all black, couture, skirt-suit, made of a combination of leatherette-type fabric and black denim. The long-sleeve jacket fits closely to her arms and the skirt snugly fits her legs and butt with a high zipper slit on the left leg, exposing sheer black stockings. She wore black 4" stilettos and matching black handbag resting on the middle of her left arm that hung just below the elbow. Still mourning the death of her husband, perhaps, she walks with bold strides, her head up in the air and black Serengeti shades covering her eyes. Into the legal college-type building she walked with quick steps, the 'clack-clack' noise from the heels on the highly polished porcelain floor could be heard with each step. Jay heads straight to the security officer, who escorts her to the brush-silver coloured elevator and engages in small talk until she disappeared behind the closed doors, allowing the lift to take her to the third floor where the Law Firm is located. The office assistant who sat at the reception desk welcomes her and in minutes, she was guided to where Mr. Reid, the head attorney, would have the meeting with her.
"It's so nice to see you again, Jay. Welcome, can I get you some coffee, or tea?" Mr. Reid extends his hands and escorts her to where she would be sitting for the meeting.
"Thank you so much. I'm fine thanks. Some water will be fine."
"So how have you been?" Mr. Reid went over to a small table with refreshments, bottled water, tea-mug and a jug of freshly squeezed juice that were all closely bunched together.
"I'm hanging in there, one day at a time. You know, got some stuff on my mind but ... God is good."
"Good, good, so how are your friends ... Roxi and Tes, I believe are their names? How are they really?" Mr. Reid asked after picking up one of the 'Dasani' water bottles, removing the cap, and pouring the contents into one of the tall crystal-like glasses that were turned down on a small wooden table at the back of the conference room.
"I believe we have been doing great, considering things could have turned out worse than they have been already." Jay crossed her legs after unzipping the slit in her skirt even higher than she had it, exposing her black stockings. She rests her bag on the table and got comfortable in the high back chair.
"True, I agree with you. So today we're going to discuss your inheritance as part owner of the business, among other things that we have to get clarified."
"Yes, we are. I'm assuming that the girls are also co-owners and heirs to the company's investments?" Jay asked, just for clarification.
"Yes they are but I need to speak with each of you individually, for obvious reasons. That is why we asked that we see you all separately. It's the ethical thing to do."
"I understand that."
"It's how we do things around here. If you all wish, after I have spoken with each of you, you can discuss the details together."
"Oh certainly, they told me that they have appointments later on today as well, so we all planned to meet before and after you have completed the meetings with all three of us. We had breakfast together actually. I just left them."
"Very nice, you all seem to be quite close to each other."
"Yes we are; we have been friends since attending University. We have been friends since then and we married three friends, who were also great friends, buddies as they all studied business management together."
"Wow! That's remarkable and they have all been together ever since and this dreadful thing came and happened. I don't mean to bring it up but it has rocked the country indeed; your community more so than any other place I would imagine." Mr. Reid walks over with a tall glass of water wrapped in a white napkin and gives it to Jay and another napkin to place beneath the glass to avoid leaving water marks on the mahogany table top.
"It is what it is and what's sad about all of this is that folks who we didn't think would be carrying news and ill-speaking us, are the ones who actually believed that we had something to do with all of this drama. Can you imagine? How sick is that?" Jay exclaimed, tossing her head from right to left as she took the glass from Mr. Reid.
"People will always talk, you can't get away form that. It's the world we live in. They even post stuff on social media sites, expressing themselves in ways that are so ... hmm, unimaginable." Mr. Reid articulated.
"Let's don't talk about that. Facebook was fraught with negativity, comments from people who don't even know me or any one of us and our situations."
"That's the downside to social media. But don't let it get to you Jay. You're actually going to be very pleased after this discussion."
"Oh really, why is that?"
"Your husband made some really good investments together with his buddies and had the business sense to include our firm as executors of their wills and the legislative arm of the business. He even hired one of our colleagues, Vonrick Daniel, a Financial Investments Advisor to be a part of the business."
"Oh I heard about him. The chairman mentioned to me that they normally have board meetings. I guess I should ask him to schedule one some time soon."
"Yeah you should."
"I can't say what day it will be ... hmm, so I guess he will be invited to attend the meeting and he will introduce us. I'll meet him then."
"Certainly, so let me get right to it." Mr. Reid dressed all in black, very dapper as is expected of most if not all attorneys. He sat directly opposite Jay and opened a file with the firm's logo very prominent on its cover. The file was then moved from on top a dossier that was also opened. He began reading from one of the documents that was in the file and referred to the dossier intermittently, while Jay sat there listening attentively.
"Can I record this meeting Mr. Reid?" Jay asked.
"Sure, once you're not going to use it against me in the future ... ha, ha, ha, I'm just kidding. Yes Jay you can."
"Oh no, ha, ha, ha, Mr. Reid you have jokes? It's just that I find recording is so much easier than me taking notes."
"Yeah, I know. We do the same thing here. You can Jay go right ahead."
The meeting went on for no longer than twenty minutes after Jay was asked to include her signature to a series of documents that she browsed, even though she was supposed to read them as he guided her through the entire process. Soon after the meeting ended, Jay exchanged pleasantries with Mr. Reid, grabbed her bag and left the building. She headed to where Tes and Roxi were waiting for her to return. The next person who was scheduled to meet with Mr. Reid was Roxi. The ladies hugged each other when Jay arrived in the diner. Tes asked about the meeting and Jay articulated how pleased she was with the way it went and reminded Roxi that she was the next person to see Mr. Reid.
Finally, it was time for Roxi to have her meeting and so the three ladies walked to the old English building that looked like a Legal College. Roxi, dressed in a cream armless blouse made of a light fabric, tucked into a pair of black pants that fitted her snugly on the waist and hips and flared very wide covering her black stilettos, walked proudly together with Jay, who dressed all in black and Tes who was the only one in colourful attire, into the building. Roxi held a black handbag in her right hand and went over to the security officer who, like Jay, escorted her to the elevator and pressed the button to where Mr. Reid's office was located, while Jay and Tes sat on the chairs in the lobby. Tes wore a light blue and white, table-cloth-checked patterned material slim-fitted dress; the tail was just above her calves and fuchsia and white, table-cloth-check patterned coloured stilettos that contrasted and coordinated with the dress. She had chunky pearl jewellery around her neck and left wrist with a bronze coloured handbag that matched her bronze metal framed sunglasses that covered a greater portion of her face. It was now mid-morning and so Jay and Tes made plans for lunch as Roxi attended the meeting with Mr. Reid.
After thirty minutes, Roxi came through the elevator doors with a smile on her face, something she hadn't done in years. She too was pleased after having the meeting with Mr. Reid. It was Tes' time to meet with Mr. Reid and so she walked over to the security officer after hugging Roxi, kissing her cheeks. The security held her hands and guided her to the elevator so she could be taken to the meeting with Mr. Reid, while Roxi and Jay sat in the lobby waiting for Tes before heading for lunch to discuss the details of their inheritance among other things that would put them at the helm of their late husbands' business.
"Girl, I'm so happy right now, I could just scream!" Roxi exclaimed.
"I have bitter-sweet feelings about this entire issue baby. I still remember John and I miss him so much. I reflect on those years we spent together ... all the good times and ... the not-so-good times." Jay slowly articulated with teary eyes. Then as she was finished a couple drops fell unto her cheeks. Slowly she wiped them away and held her head up high once again.
"I understand, trust me I do. I miss Terrance as well with all the accusations ... all the negativity ... the freaky shit that was revealed, I still have a soft spot for him. He didn't have to go like that, no, no honey, not like that." Roxi added, her voice sounded strong and with confidence. She too was experiencing eyes filled with tears but managed to keep them from falling.
"That is why I'm going after the fucker who took them away from us ... and it has to be that sick fuck – that nerdy looking squeamish looking bastard, FINN." Jay said with a bold assurance, her head still held high. You could see the creases in her forehead as she spoke.
"You really think it's him Jay?" Roxi quizzed.
"I have no concrete proof but I'll find out, trust me I will. I have a plan for his ass." Jay was adamant.
"Wow! You really mean to get back at the perpetrator huh?"
"He must pay for the trauma he has put us through and taking the lives of our husbands."
"But are you sure FINN is indeed that dude who walks the streets at night?"
"Roxi baby, it has to be him, all the leads point to him; those flyers that were seen on his shop's countertop; the same ones that were stuck on the light pole by the abandoned park. Let's not forget baby. And how about those letters that we got? What about that?" Jay questioned as her eyes got filled with tears yet again.
"Oh I forgot about that."
"Well I haven't forgotten. It's all in my head. I had countless, sleepless nights Roxi for years after this shit happened."
"I tried thinking about where their bodies were found ... lawd, who would do that to another human being?" Tes quizzed as tears flowed down her cheeks, this time she was weeping, almost uncontrollably. Jay held her hands, patting them as they both consoled each other.
The ladies continued chatting about their loss, their pain and the trauma that they all sustained during the whole ordeal during the two years in and out of court, as the lobby got busier with people coming into and going out of the building. The large glass doors slid open automatically as people approached them. Then minutes after, the brush-silver coloured elevator doors opened once again. This time it was Tes. She walked over to the security officer's booth and exchanged her pleasantries, then walked over to where Jay and Roxi sat. The three ladies group-hugged each other for a few seconds, tears flowed down their eyes simultaneously as if rehearsed for a staged-play or big-screen movie. After their brief moment of sadness mixed with joy of having gone through their individual meetings, they walked through the doors that slid open as they approached them. Armed with their eyeglasses, dark-lenses to shade their eyes from the stinging rays of the midday sun, Jay, Roxi and Tes each put them on as they walked up the street against the heavy winds that blew the dust and debris off the ground; it was time for lunch.
* * *
A meeting based on Jay's request was called by Clyde, the chairman of board, the overseer the business that was set-up by John, Ricki, and Terrance, the husbands of Jay, Roxi, and Tes. Jay, being the leader, got in contact with Clyde so he can schedule a meeting to introduce Roxi, Tes and herself to the rest of the board and perhaps the executive management team, because they were now co-heirs of the company. Such a meeting she felt was the best way of gaining a better understanding of its performance. She also needed to know who was at the helm of their company and didn't want to have any operational ties to it. According to Jay, this initial meeting was for her to be known and to see who were the players responsible for running the company. After Jay chatted with Clyde, it was revealed that the appointment of a CEO for the company is needed, since the chairmanship wasn't an executive position. Clyde explained that he was only doing John and his colleagues a favour in the interim because he had his own business to take care of. They agreed that such an appointment will also be discussed at the meeting with the new owners' input.
It was a week after their meetings with Mr. Reid when they were poised to be introduced to the entire board and perhaps members of an executive management team, if one was in place. It would be their first meeting. Roxi and Tes, like Jay, didn't want to be actively involved, so they all had a conversation about meeting the board of directors, the trustees and perhaps an executive management team, if one was appointed.
On the day of the meeting, the three ladies got there just in time after being in a bit of traffic coming from the east into the Capital City. On arrival, they were ushered to the conference room by the executive assistant, a pretty-faced, petite young lady, adorned in Afro-centric accessories against a very corporate styled, true-grey outfit. She wore long locs that were held in a pony-tail, the ends brushed her butt. Her butt, noticeably protruding, was held snugly in the fitted grey pants, and a waist length jacket made of the same material, also fitted, exposed most of her bust line; which looked very stylish and appropriate for the office. The suit's couture design, accentuated her shapely form. A huge wooden necklace, matching rings and bracelets all handcrafted in colourful painted wood and polished leather were worn, bringing energy to the grey suit's dullness.
She was the person to arrange the meeting, sending emails, confirming attendances via mobile phones and organizing the refreshments for the attendees. She liaised with the chairman who in turn contacted the financial investments advisor, Mr. Vonrick Daniel to be present and also the investor, who before now, was considered an 'angel' for the business, an unknown to the board of directors and trustees.
Their husbands needed capital from an investor to keep the company from folding and so they had to arrange and close a deal with him. This transaction happened just before they were all murdered. Mr. Daniel was the person who recommended the investor, who was highly recommended because he is the son of a wealthy business man, now deceased. The business man owned a large corporation that recently went public.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Bullard by D. F. Les Pierre-Luke. Copyright © 2015 D. F. Les Pierre-Luke. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Table of Contents
Contents
Dedication, vii,Acknowledgements, ix,
Author's Note, xi,
The Plans,
1 Meetings, 3,
2 Telecommunications, 27,
3 Reminiscence, 42,
4 Alta Ego, 64,
5 Connections, 82,
6 Constructed Dialogue, 111,
7 First Move, 128,
8 Luring, 150,
9 Unexpected Situations, 170,
10 Reflections & Connections, 195,
Double Crossed,
1 Getting Reacquainted, 231,
2 Linkages Strengthened, 249,
3 Recuperation Dialogue, 275,
4 Pawns Played, 303,
5 Conversational, 331,
6 Reconnections, 358,
7 Dangerous Liaisons, 390,
8 Deceit in Action, 428,
9 Intercourse by Two plus One, 447,
10 Jealousy Packaged, 481,
Revelations,
1 Jealousy in the Open, 521,
2 Comparing Notes?, 549,
3 Brother Benedict, 570,
4 Patiently waiting the Perfect Truth, 597,
5 The End is Inevitable, 623,
6 Unconditionally, 644,
7 Twice is Nice, 675,
8 Recalling, Revealing, Referencing, 697,
9 No Response, No Signs, 712,
10 Puzzled Pieces, 723,
References, 733,