Trigger (9 page)

She points to the blackboard, unable to talk with
her mouth so full.

“The Judy-Judy-Judy? I’ve never known anyone who had
a sandwich named after them. You must be really special.”

Simon picks up a couple napkins and wipes the Chef
husband’s sauce off her chin.

“Hey Richard, can you make me a Judy-Judy-Judy?”
Simon calls out to the back.

“If you didn’t show up Simon, I was going to kick
your ass. Your order is ready. You really want one?”

“Are you kidding? If it’s nearly as good as what I
can see on Miss Mason’s chin, it’s something I have to try.”

“Okay, but I’ll pack it to go. Your order is going
to get cold and I won’t be happy.”

She’s still chewing and staring into Simon’s eyes
laughing at her.

Simon jumps up, leans over the counter and then
hands her spoon and keeps one.

“Richard is an incredible chef. His sauces should
never be wasted and should be served in a bowl.” Simon scoops a
spoon full off her plate, puts in his mouth and groans with
pleasure. His eyes never leave hers.

“Is that your car?” Simon nods toward BB.

She blinks.

“Nice.”

She looks at his. A mud covered ancient something
that has been seriously modified complete with huge tires and a
roll bar.

“I call her Jelly Bean. She’s sweet but tough and
I’ve never figured out what color she really is.” His laugh that
she hears and feels runs through her body like silk on
steroids.

“Open up, something this wonderful should not be
wasted.” His spoon is touching her lower lip. She can’t help it.
She opens her mouth and he gently puts the scrumptious sauce on her
tongue. Her mouth closes and he slowly pulls it out.

All by itself, the sauce is the most delicious thing
she’s ever tasted.

“Good isn’t it?” He gives her a crooked grin and
leans closer.

She blinks.

“Here you go, Simon. I put the Judy in a box. She’s
on top.”

“Sounds delightful.” Simon winks at her and then
looks at Chef Richard.”How much do I owe you?”

“Five hundred -- three hundred for the Judy and two
hundred for the others. That’s what it costs to harass my
customers, especially Judy.”

She takes her cue to escape, jumps up and puts
everything in her pocket on the table. It looks like a twenty with
some smaller bills mixed in. Whatever it should cover her bill, and
dashes out the door.

She and BB are backing out when she looks up and
sees Simon watching her. He has that crease between his eyes. It’s
deeper than Steven’s. Inside BB, she’s safe from Simon Perry.

“I’ve run the numbers
over and over. It’ll work. We’re going to be slaving for the next
month or so – or year -- but it’s very doable.”

She’s been pacing in front of Franklin and Evelyn,
who looks much better than she did last night. Judy has talked
non-stop since she arrived. Once finished she plops down in a
velvety soft sage green big chair. “Well?”

“You know it’s good. Do you want to hear me
agree?”

It feels like he just slapped her.

“Franklin, you know you’re the only person in the
world I listen to. If you say no, that’s it, its no.” She can’t
help but feel the sting of his words. She blinks quickly and gets
up.

“Thanks for letting me barge in. I would have come
by anyway to check on you Evelyn. I’m so glad you feel better. I
was worried.” She heads for the door and grabs the doorknob.

“It’s good Judy.”

She doesn’t look back and quietly shuts the door
behind her and moves on.

Another three hours and she’s put it all down on
paper. Sometimes things look different on paper than they do in her
head. This is better than what was in her head. But the amount of
work, merging three companies into hers is daunting only because of
the amount of time and effort it will take.

Details flow off her printed pages like Niagara
Falls now her brain is tired. She leans back in her chair and opens
Spider on her computer. It’s Simon’s face she sees.

Grinning at her, his eyes sparkling in fun on a
beautiful Sunday afternoon, but it’s his words and actions that
scare her. Sexual undertones play through everything he says and
does. It’s as though he only sees her one dimensionally. In his
eyes, she’s nothing more than a toy – a plaything to have fun with
for awhile before he finds someone else to play with.

Not going to happen to her and end up dead in an
alley, thrown away because there’s nothing left of her body worth
hurting anymore. When the fun is gone, she’s disposable. It’s
Simon’s way.

While talking to Dion, who couldn’t wait until
tomorrow to take her offer, a loud knock on her door makes her
jump. She checks her gun and slowly makes her way. “Hold on a
minute, Dion someone is at the door.”

“Miss Mason. It’s Ron . . . security. A package was
delivered a few minutes ago. It addressed to you and its marked
perishable.”

“It was just security. I’m so thrilled that I get to
work with you, Dion. It’s going to be great and we’ll work through
everything, so don’t worry. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay?”

She takes a large Styrofoam box into her office.
There’s no return address only a delivery order from a service.
Other than the name of the delivery service company and that it’s
dated today and an hour ago, there’s nothing to give her clue to
what’s in it.

A chocolate ice cream sundae and it’s huge. Eight
people could eat on it and get full. At least five different
flavors of chocolate ice cream, dark and milk chocolate syrup,
chocolate fudge, chocolate whipped cream, chocolate shavings, with
a chocolate covered cherry on top.

She doesn’t even have to look at the card to know
who sent it. The chocolate covered cherry was a dead giveaway. Only
one person she knows could be this crass, insensitive and asinine,
Simon.

She physically shakes with humiliation and anger and
reaches for her gun, intending to fill the sundae full of hot lead.
It looks so innocent. It didn’t do anything to hurt her. Its ice
cream and its starting melt and it will die without being enjoyed.
Who is she that she could deny this ice cream sundae its purpose
for being created? Sacrilege is not and will never been one of her
failings. She can also see Steven’s disapproval and that settles
it.

She opens the box of silver plastic spoons and eats
like there is no tomorrow.

Squeamish with so much sugar, she rests and opens
the note. Handwritten by Simon:
You left me without even having
dessert
.

She pops the chocolate covered cherry in her mouth.
“It’s mine. It will never be yours.” She packages it up and puts
what’s left in the refrigerator freezer in the break room.

Don’t confront, best them, is what Steven taught
her. Looking over the work she’s done today, it’s good. It’s more
than doable.

“Mr. Wade, its Judy Mason. I’m sorry to call on a
Sunday night, but I’ve got it all figured out and you are going to
love what I’ve put together for you and Mr. Shockley. May I meet
you both for breakfast at Sammy’s tomorrow morning? Six-thirty or
seven would work for me. I’m so excited to show you what I’ve done,
I can’t wait.”

He’s hesitant but agrees. “I’ll pay, so leave your
wallet at home. Thank you, so much. See you in the morning.”

The email she’s been waiting for pings. Her fingers
shake a little when she clicks on it to open. She reads knowing
it’s going to bad, but hoping it’s good. It’s good. She got the
loan.

John also says that he’s sorry he didn’t get to
chance to talk to her last night and the governor stole his dance.
Maybe next time, he says. She hadn’t even seen him there. She would
have dumped Simon and the governor for a chance to see him for a
few minutes. Damn.

She quickly replies that she’s sorry she didn’t see
him. Thanked him for the loan and when will she close.

He replies that we can go to lunch after you sign a
thousand pages and the title to all your children and
grandchildren. He adds a smiley face.

How could things be so bad and then be so good? She
decides to work on figuring that out another time. The sugar high
is falling fast. Plus she wants to tell BB everything that’s
happened since she left him alone in a dark and dingy parking
garage all afternoon and evening.

A half an hour late for
Monday morning staff meeting and when she opens the door everyone
stands up and applauds, whistles and claps. On the far side of the
conference room is a life-size photo of her lifting her gown and
holding out her gun and holster. She stops dead in her tracks
looking at the photo and she’s so repulsed and shamed she wants run
to the bathroom and throw up the breakfast she just ate with Wade
and Shockley.

How could they do this to her? That awful person she
was that evening is staring back at her mocking her, reminding her
of how bad she could be, if she didn’t follow her own rules. It
wasn’t them, her people. They couldn’t have done this to her. It
had to be Simon.

“Who did that?” In her mind she’s shouting. Her
voice comes out a whisper.

“Charlotte.” Charles says with a big grin.

“Please. Please take it away. Destroy it, please,”
and she’s running down the hallway hoping she makes it to the
bathroom in time.

The atmosphere in the conference room is the wayside
of different the second time she enters the staff meeting. Subdued,
confused and wary, they watch her to see how they should act. The
life size poster is gone.

“Sorry about that. Let’s move on.”

Even Franklin is shocked at what she’s accomplished
over the weekend.

“It’s done. We’ve doubled the size of Stalwart.” She
looks at the faces, hoping for excitement but she sees stress.
That’s her fault. Move on.

“Bill you will be in charge of the conversion, I’ve
laid out a schedule with priorities and a basic timeline. Please go
over everything with me in the beginning. I’ve made promises and
suggestions and we need to take those into account while we’re
putting all this together. We have only one month before Mr. Wade
and Mr. Shockley close their doors. That’s not much time to get
everything in place and working. But I’m not worried even a tiny
bit. You are all the best in the business.

“Charlotte, we need to fix up an office for Dion.
He’ll start tomorrow and will help us organize three companies into
one. Bill he will work with you directly, but include me when you
think it would be beneficial.

“Franklin, will you please go with me to the bank
tomorrow at eleven? I will close the loan and then I’ll be taking
John and, maybe Seymour to lunch. Can you make that?”

He nods.

“Anything else?” No one has anything to say.

The phone rings in the conference room.

Charles quietly answers it. “Just a moment.”

“Miss Mason it’s the governor.”

“Shit. What does he want?”

“Good morning, governor, what can I do for you?”

He tells her he appreciated that she danced with him
and that his wife was jealous, but it was worth it. Next time,
Grace said she was not going to let him go to those events without
her. She doesn’t know what to say, so she doesn’t say anything. He
has an opening on his economic development committee and would she
consider taking the position.

“No, sir. I wouldn’t have time right now to take on
something that important and do a good job. I would be glad to help
in another way that would fit better with my schedule.”

He appreciates her honesty and does she have Mr.
Harter’s phone number.

“Yes sir. Are you ready? That’s his personal cell
phone, so please don’t give it out without his permission. I
mentioned to Steven that you might be calling.”

Will she spar with him some time?

“Certainly, sir. I look forward to knocking you on
your ass.”

He laughs and Judy hangs up.

“We’ve got lots to do folks. Let’s all go and have a
great day.” She heads straight for her office.

She’s shaking so hard her teeth are chattering. She
wants to cry, but there’s no way she’s going to cry in Stalwart’s.
She can’t let her people see her like this.

She hardly ever shuts her door, but she locked them
both and ignores several knocks. They sound like Charles, and maybe
Franklin. She can’t face either now. She’s not in control. She’s
never been this way before. She’s fearless and has proved that over
and over again. What’s different?

It’s a big deal buying the companies, but no, that
doesn’t frighten her if she can get it finished and put together
properly. She feels stress and some anxiety that she’s too far out
on the cliff, but she’s eager to try. Even the red dress incident
is manageable. She’ll just suck it up and deal with each
consequence as it comes up. Her Dad’s brutality, her anger toward
her Mom, but she’s dealt with that all her life.

What comes to the surface is Mr. Perry’s obvious
distaste verging on hate for her in front of Simon and his mother.
Simon’s pressure to go out with him, the way it felt to be in his
arms after years of hero worship and his sad look when he asked if
he was her enemy and the you’re wrong remark.

The Perry’s that’s what different and she has no
experience, no understanding of them.

For the first time in her life, she realizes that
she needs help that she can’t give herself. She has no experience
with their games, their thought processes or their arrogant
character. She’s stupid to go up against them.

She searches her head. Who can she trust? Who in her
life would understand how desperate she feels over her disgrace
that her staff threw in her face this morning? The pressure Simon
and the Perry machine is putting on her. Apparently no one at
Stalwart, not even Franklin, and the thought makes her groan in
pain. Who?