Hampton Manor (19 page)

“That’s one idea you can get out of your head right now,” she said with a smile. “Are you sure about the rest of it, though?”

“I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life. Of course, you know that I was just kidding about the volleyball thing.”

She smiled as she said, “Yes I know, but you did have me going for a few seconds. Then I realized that since you’ve got me, you’d never need a bunch of young female bodies jumping around on a volley ball court.”

“Just think about what this means, Lauren. We’ll have a four month hiatus between seasons to travel or do whatever we want. It’s the best of both worlds. Oh, incidentally, I asked Judy if she would come up to Westfield with us if the company moved and she said yes. I say let’s do it.”

“Do you have the phone numbers for those realtors handy?”

Hours later, Lauren sat alone in her bedroom. She found herself tossed between joy-filled feelings of making a fresh start in Westfield and her resentment of Adam Hampton that she has harbored for years. Ambivalence was new to her, but no matter how much she tried to resist, something took possession of her whenever she heard his name or entertained a thought about him, her thoughts vacillating between the pain and suffering he inflicted on her prior to their divorce and his current attempts to hurt her and Daniel.

Lauren started thinking of Adam,
You’re not
g
oing to get away with it, Adam Hampton. Maybe Daniel is willing to turn the other cheek, but I’m not. You ruined our lives in so many ways. I know you won’t let 65 miles stop you, so before I leave town, I’m going to repay you, in spades. I’m going to put a stop to your harassment, once and for all.

Daniel sat alone in his office. During the past hour he had received a proposal for renting a football stadium ten miles north of Westfield. He turned over all the information about the team franchises and stadium deals to his attorney to work out the remaining details. He was finally ready to leave Old Brooking. He sat back with a drink and reflected on the early days with the three franchises.
Those were really fun days. I can still remember sharing the ups and downs of the teams with Adam. We had so many good times watching the games from the owner’s box; drinking, flirting with young ladies and trash talking with each other.
How could things turn one hundred and eighty degrees in such a short time?
Why is he so bitter? Why is he so hell-bent on hurting me? Is it just because of Lauren? Why should he care?
It seems like something is driving him. I don’t know if he’s more interested in hurting me or Lauren, or maybe it’s both of us, but either way, I’m not taking any more chances.
I’m not going to sit around and wait for him to make another move against us. I need to be free of the Hamptons for good. I don’t like doing this, but I have no choice.

Minutes later he had Walt Madding on the phone. “I’m going to need that number we talked about the other day. I’m going to need some help.”

Chapter 25

Adam sat in his favorite chair in front of a roaring fire, a “Rusty Nail” in his hand. Bootsy was resting on his left side contented by the warm fire. Occasionally, the crackling fire would cause her ears to perk up. On the other side of the chair Flopsy gnawed on a large rawhide bone. At the edge of the fire, on the hearth, was a small metal plate. As the flames flickered the inscription “THE CONTENDER” was clearly visible.

As he watched the painting burn, Adam thought,
I can’t for the life of me understand whatever possessed me to buy that piece of trash.
His eyes shifted to the portrait of his grandfather which had been returned from its temporary exile in the West Wing. A warm glow overcame him that couldn’t be attributed to the scotch.
There was a great man, a real empire builder. I can’t let him or my father down. I’ve got to do everything in my power to preserve my heritage. Why did I let myself get so distracted by that tramp? She isn’t the only woman in the world with a great body. I guess I inherited that from my dad’s lust for life, but there will be no more tail chasing. From now on I’m going to be more like granddad.

That last thought bounced around his subconscious for a moment. He was trying to forget about the conflict raging in his life. Adam mixed another drink. The scotch/drambuie combination always relaxed him; helped him gather his thoughts. He settled back in his chair to ponder what his next moves would be.

The first thing he needed to do was name a replacement for Marcia Bloom at Bretton Trading. That wasn’t going to be easy. There were no candidates on the succession horizon.
That two-bit whore. I’ll make sure that any monies due her are frozen for as long as I can.
We’ll sue her for breach of her employment contract. It’s her word against mine that I threw her out. Maybe we’ll spread some nasty rumors about her taking drugs. A few threatening phone calls wouldn’t hurt either. That bitch will rue the day she messed with me.

The merger of Hampton Industries and Preston Industries was about sixty-five percent complete. Adam decided to take personal charge of the remaining planning, which mostly involved the UNITE organizing effort at a handful of Preston Industry plants and the sale of the British toiletry factories and Italian fashion shoe lines. Only loose ends remained to be handled.
That’s another thing. I need to settle the score with that trouble maker Kane Masterson. I think I’ll send an anonymous tip to the media that an audit of Preston’s books showed that Masterson siphoned off millions before he was forced out.
When the press comes to me I’ll tell them I can’t comment because of an ongoing investigation.
That should be enough to trigger an SEC probe that will keep him tied up for months to come. I want him to stick around so I can see him suffer He and the tramp won’t be going anywhere for a while. It couldn’t happen to a nicer couple.

Adam’s thoughts. shifted toward Daniel McKnight.
I know that bastard Daniel was instrumental in Lauren’s divorce proceedings. Then he ups and marries her and parades her around town like one of his sports trophies.
It’s very humiliating having them living in the same town. I guess that union ploy wasn’t enough to discourage him. McKnight found ways to circumvent it. Apparently I need to send a stronger message, one that tells him in no uncertain terms that he is no longer welcome in Old Brooking.
I know just the thing. Before I’m finished with them, they’ll be happy to say goodbye to this town.

Finally Adam got to his last concern. The admission by his dad that he had fathered another son. Adam picked up the phone and dialed the West Wing. “How’s my father tonight, John?”

“He’s much better , but not fully recovered. Dr. Klein expected him to snap right back from his episode by now, but your father still has some issues. and continues to have difficulty remembering our names. The Doctor is quite sure that in a weeks’ time he’ll be much better.”

“I think that it’s best that I stay away until then, especially since it was probably something I did or said that triggered the episode.”

“That’s probably a good idea, sir. What a shame though, he was making such good progress on that new medicine. Is there anything I can do for you?”

Adam knew very well that his father’s condition was caused by his aggressive questioning about his potential half-brother. The search being conducted by his private investigators was moving much too slowly.
I need answers now, even if it pushes the old man over the edge. I can’t wait any longer. There’s too much at stake.

“Actually, there is, John. Would you ask my father if he remembers who ‘E’ is?”

“Excuse me, sir. Did you say just the letter ‘E’, sir? You mean like in Elizabeth?”

“Yes, just ‘E’. Let me know anything he tells you about it.”

“Well, sure, but if it’s all right with you, I’d like to wait until after he takes his medicine.”

“I‘ll leave the timing up to you, John. Just let me know what he says as soon as you can.”

“I’ll do just that, Mister Hampton.”

His mental list being completed, Adam finally relaxed. A memory of his mother flashed into his mind. He didn’t think of her often. His father had gone out of his way to assure that she had little contact or influence over his upbringing.
Mom was always nice to me. Even though dad treated her cruelly, she never spoke ill of him. Still, see where her softness got her. She was weak and dad squashed her. Pity, though, she was so soft and gentle. She never found fault with anything I said or did.

Adam finished his third drink and began to feel drowsy. The alcohol and the comforting heat from the fire had a relaxing effect. He needed to escape from all pressures that had found their way into his life. It took only a few more minutes for him to enter a deep sleep.

Chapter 26

“Who is this,” Marcia demanded. “Stop calling here! This isn’t funny any more.”

Once again there was no response, just silence until, in desperation, she finally hung up the phone. It was the seventh call within the past four hours. After the first two, Marcia let the calls go to the tape. She stayed close to the machine listening for the sound of a familiar voice, but there was none. The caller didn’t hang up until the machine beeped and made its request for a recorded message. The caller ID screen showed area codes from multiple locations, all within a twenty mile radius of Old Brooking. It was as though the caller was circling his prey. Marcia finally called Kane’s cell phone. He was in his room at the Belmonte watching TV. When she told him about the harassing calls, he told her to call 9-1-1.

“Look, I’m going to check out of this hotel and move in with you. I know you have tight security in your complex, but that wouldn’t stop a pro. This might just be some kids messing around. I did a lot of that when I was a kid. I can’t recall why I thought it was fun to annoy or even frighten other people, but, anyway I’ll feel a lot better if I’m there with you.”

“You may be right. It’s probably just somebody playing a joke.” As she thought more about it, her mind raced back to the day Adam gave her the Preston assignment. The day he joked about “punking” Kane.

“Why the sudden silence? What are you thinking?”

“I think I know who’s behind the calls. It wouldn’t surprise me if Adam is having someone do it. He’s got that sick kind of mind. Marcia told him about the plan Adam had to embarrass Kane by having an overtly homosexual man accost him in the men’s room at Hampton Industries.

“I see what you mean. It does sound like the kind of thing that his sick mind would dream up. Why can’t he get it in his head that it’s over? With all he has to do with the merger, how can he waste time on such petty nonsense? Now, I’m definitely coming over there. Go ahead and call 9-1-1 and I’ll be there in about thirty minutes. I’ll stop and pick up some wine on the way.”

“I’ll cook up some hors d’oeuvres to go with it. See you later.”

Marcia heard a “call waiting” click on the line while speaking to Kane. She ignored it,
Maybe if the caller thinks I’m reporting the calls, he’ll stop.
She started the pre-heat on the oven and removed a box of hors d’oeuvres from the freezer.

The screen showed “Unknown Caller”. Marcia grabbed the phone and pressed the “TALK” button. She screamed into the phone, “Listen, you sick son of a bitch, I’m calling the police, you’d better stop calling here.”

There was no response. She pressed “END” and let the handset slip back into its cradle. She sat quietly for a few minutes, regaining her composure. She took a deep breath, picked up the phone and dialed 9-1-1.

Kane arrived at the gate exactly thirty minutes after their phone conversation.

“You’re amazing, Kane Masterson. A person could set their clocks by you,” she said as she buzzed him in. She met him at the door, took two bottles of wine from him, placed them on a table by the door and returned to give him a hug. The embrace was long and needful. When they separated, tears were streaming down her face. Kane cupped her face in his hands and wiped away her tears with his thumbs. Then he drew her face close to his and kissed her gently on the lips as he kicked the door closed.

Marcia suddenly remembered that she was warming up the oven.
 

“Hold that thought,” she said as she broke away and headed for the kitchen. “I’ll go shut the oven off.”

“That would probably be a good idea.”

Half an hour later they returned to the kitchen. Her kitchen had a cozy nook with a small table and two chairs. Marcia set up the glasses while Kane returned to his car to fetch his three suitcases. He returned to open the bottle of Riesling.

With all their needs sated, they moved to her living room to review where things stood. Marcia began, “I didn’t think it would be this hard. People resign from companies every day. I’m sure that they don’t go through this much shit. I don’t know whether to be afraid or angry.”

“Probably a bit of both is in order. That’s why I’m here. Did Adam give you any warning that he was going to behave like this?”

“Not directly, but when I called accounting today to tell them where to send my last paycheck and the proceeds from my pension and stock accounts, the manager told me that all my funds are frozen pending review of my employment contract.”

“Can he do that?”

“I’m afraid he can. They can hold payments back for up to two weeks. If Adam tries to make it longer, I may have to take legal action. It’s obvious that he’s going to make it as hard as he can for me, even if firing me was his idea.”