Lovers and Takers (34 page)

That was perhaps what Roni was beginning to love most about Jake: his devotion to his children.
 
“So she chose eight percent shares in Varnadore Global over potential custody of her own children?”

“Yes,” Jake said sadly.
 
“That’s the kind of woman I’m dealing with.”

Roni could see warring emotions in Jake every time he spoke of his ex-wife.
 
She could see the hatred there, it was perhaps the most dominant emotion, but she could see a twinge of regret at what could have been there too.
 
That was why they were taking their relationship one day at a time.
 
It was always too damn complicated.
 

“So with you, Aubrey, and Pam’s shares,” she said, “coupled with your ex-wife’s shares, you would always have majority stake in your company?”

“Right.”

“So are you saying, then, that this Halprin guy now has locked up the shares of all of the other stakeholders?”

“Except for four of them, who together controls six shares.”

“And I take it he’s contacted Dena?”

Jake nodded.
 
“Of course.
 
She was in my office today trying to make a deal with me, just before we found out about Aubrey.”

Roni nodded.
 
So that was how they ended up arriving at the crime scene at the same time.
 
“What was the deal, if you don’t mind my asking?”
 

“I don’t’ mind at all,” Jake said, squeezing Roni’s hand.
 
“She would agree not to sell any of her shares,” he said, “if I agree to take her back.”

Roni looked at him, astonished.
 
“Really?”

“Really.
 
And you know how she put it, Roni?
 
She said she wanted me to take her back so that we could be a family again.”

Roni shook her head.
 
What nerve the woman had.
 
“Wow,” was all she could manage to say.

“Wow is right,” was all Jake could manage, and then he sipped more wine.

But then the solemn songs of the cicadas took over again, as he and Roni continued to hold hands and think about Dena, and Pam, and their own budding affair.
 

But most they thought about Aubrey.

EIGHTEEN

“Where were you all night?” Kara nervously asked her cousin as Roni arrived at the law center the next morning.

Roni looked at her cousin.
 
She’d obviously heard about Aubrey.
 
But Roni had stayed all night with Jake, snuggling with him in bed, and had turned off her cell phone.
 
The last thing he needed, she felt, was any more drama.
 
And last night, she had made it her business to attend to Jake, and Jake alone.
 
“Why does it matter where I was all night?”

“I heard late last night that Aubrey had been arrested.
 
I tried to phone you, I tried to phone Pam, I even tried to phone Mr. Varnadore, but none of y’all would answer.
 
I even went to your house late last night to wait on you, but you never showed up.”

Roni began heading up the backstairs, with Kara right behind her.
 
“It doesn’t matter where I was last night.
 
What matters is that I’m going to do all I can to get Aubrey out of this mess he’s in.”

“You?”
Kara asked, astounded.
 
“You’re his attorney?”

“Yes,” Roni said as they entered the second floor.
 
She stopped walking and looked back at Kara, who was just coming up beside her.
 
“Why?
 
You look concerned.”

“But that’s not good, is it?
 
You as his attorney, I mean?
 
He needs a real attorney, Roni.”

Roni was highly offended by that, but she was used to it.
 
People associated money and fame with talent, but that wasn’t always the case.
 
She defended the poor on purpose, but that didn’t mean she was any less of an attorney than some high-powered, celebrity lawyer.
 

She continued walking.
 
“I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that,” she said.

“I didn’t mean it that way.
 
It’s just that. . . It’s just. . .” Roni noticed that her cousin was rubbing her hands and seemed almost unhinged.
 
She knew she cared about Aubrey, but still.

When they made their way into Roni’s office, and Roni closed the door behind them, she looked again at her cousin.
 
“What’s the matter?” she asked her.

Kara looked as if she was coming undone.

“Kay-Kay, what is it?”

“It was just a prank,” Kara said.
 
“I didn’t think he’d do anything to Troy.
 
Druce said it would make Mr. Varnadore get rid of him, but he never said he’d hurt Troy.
 
It was just a prank.”

Roni frowned.
 
“What are you talking about, Kara?
 
What was a prank?”

Tears began to drop from Kara’s eyes.
 
Roni knew better than this.
 
She knew her cousin wasn’t caught up in this craziness too!

“Come and sit down,” she said to Kara as she helped her to the chair in front of the desk.
 
Roni sat in the chair beside her.
 
“Now tell me what you’re talking about.”

“I was upset with Aubrey because he wouldn’t spend any time with me anymore, and he wasn’t even trying to take our relationship to the next level.”

“So what did you do?” Roni asked her.

“I went to Druce.”

“But why?
 
What would Pam’s boyfriend have to do with you and Aubrey?”

“Aubrey didn’t like Druce.
 
He felt there was something shady about him.”

“Then why didn’t Aubrey just fired him?”

“Because he’s the best sales executive they have.
 
The best one.
 
Last year alone he was responsible for all of their big accounts.
 
Running hotels isn’t as simple as running hotels, Roni.
 
You have to cut deals with vendors who want to operate in your hotels.
 
Druce is the master at that.
 
Besides, if they fire him he would just go to their competitors and that could be an even bigger headache for Varnadore Global.”

“But they did fire him, Kara.”

“I know.
 
But that was because he and Aubrey got into it in Mr. V.’s office, and Mr. V. fired him on the spot for insubordination.
 
It wasn’t because of what Troy said.
 
Yeah, they were going to chew him out about it, but they weren’t going to fire him about it.
 
But nobody was going to disrespect Mr. Varnadore’s son the way folks said Druce had disrespected him, he didn’t care how wonderful they were at their job.
 
At least, that’s what the gossipers around the office are saying.”

Gossipers never know the whole story, Roni thought.
 
“So after Druce was fired, you went to see him?”

“No, Roni, before he was fired I went to see him, goodness!
 
Aren’t you listening to a word I’m saying?
 
I was mad at Aubrey.
 
And then you were running around saying Aubrey wasn’t going to ever want me, and I was just upset, okay?
 
And I figure Druce was the kind of man who would like to see Aubrey lowered a peg a two.
 
And that’s all we were doing.
 
We just wanted to embarrass him in the eyes of his father a little, so that he wouldn’t be so high and mighty anymore.
 
Druce would then rise in Mr. V.’s eyes, and I would be there for Aubrey when he got fired and knocked down a peg or two.”

Kara’s logic always mystified Roni.
 
She was as puzzled as when their conversation began.
 
“Why would Jake fire his own son?
 
I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

“He would fire him because he would see him kissing on a man.
 
Druce said Mr. V. hated homosexuals and would be disgusted by his son when we presented the pictures.”

Roni stared at Kara.
 
Jake wasn’t like that, what was she talking about?
 
“Did Druce know for a fact that Jake hated gays?
 
Because that’s not the man that I know.”

“That’s what Druce thinks, anyway.
 
He said Mr. V. thinks like
him,
and Druce hate homosexuals to his guts.
 
So he figured Mr. V. did too.”

Roni wanted to shake her head.
 
What a fool’s logic Druce, and Kara too, were operating from.
 
“So you guys would take some pictures of what, and how?”

That distressed look reappeared on Kara’s face.
 
“Druce told me to plant some cameras in Aubrey’s apartment.
 
It would all be video cameras, but he knew how to isolate the scene he wanted and turn it into a still photo.
 
Troy would then go to Aubrey’s place, kiss Aubrey on the mouth, and even if Aubrey knocked him out cold or something, Druce said he would be able to capture the kiss only in a still photo.
 
It’ll look like Aubrey was kissing Troy back.”
 
Then Kara frowned.
 
“At least that’s what Druce said.”

“And so you just trotted into Aubrey’s apartment, planted cameras all around, and trotted back out?”

“I went over to Aub’s to see him, and as usual he was busy on the phone talking business, so I just pulled out my little cameras and did what I had to do.
 
He didn’t notice a thing.
 
But it was just a little prank to me.”

Roni gazed at her cousin.
 
“Getting Aubrey fired from his job was a prank to you?”

“I knew it would be temporary.
 
Mr. V. loved Aubrey too much to just cut him off completely. But it would have been enough time for Aubrey to turn to me, and love me, and make a commitment to me because he wouldn’t have anybody else.”

It was so pathetic that Roni knew it was true.
 
But as Kara kept minimizing it by calling it a prank, and kept insisting that she never dreamed it would lead to Aubrey killing someone, Roni realized the danger.
 
She nearly jumped from her seat.

“Oh my Lord!” she said.

Kara looked at her.
 
“What is it, Roni?”

“Good Lord!”

“What, Roni,
what
?”

Roni looked at Kara.
 
“Do you have those cameras now?” she asked her cousin.

“I tried to get them.”

“Do you have them, Kay-Kay?”

“No!
 
I tried---”

“This is a nightmare,” Roni said, pulling out her cell phone.

“What’s a nightmare?” Kara asked.

“Aubrey isn’t gay, Kara.
 
So if he’s on video hitting Troy or rebuffing him, which I’m sure he’ll be on video doing, then we have a problem.
 
Because if the police find those cameras, and see what really happened between Aubrey and Troy, then that would implicate Aubrey even more.”

Kara’s heart began to pound.
 
“Are you saying that I could have caused, that I can cause them to find Aubrey guilty?
 
Oh, no, Roni!
 
What are we going to do?”

“You don’t have a key to his place?”

“No.
 
I asked and asked, but he wouldn’t give me one.”

Roni phoned Jake’s cell phone, but it went straight to Voice Mail.
 
She then phoned Varnadore Global, but Jake wasn’t in the office today.
 
She then phoned Jake’s home, but that phone went to Voice Mail.
 
She even phoned Pam, who she knew was probably in no condition for conversation, but this was vital.
 
Her cell phone went straight to Voice Mail, too.
 

Roni stood up.
 
Kara stood up too.
 
“We’ve got to go to Aubrey’s place and retrieve those cameras,” she said.

But Kara shook her head.
 
“I told you I tried already.
 
Security won’t give me access to his apartment, they didn’t care who I was.
 
And I could never catch up with Aubrey to get the key.
 
Not that he was going to give me his key, but I was going to maybe steal it or something.
 
But I couldn’t even see him.”