CHAPTER 101: GOOD NEWS (1)

Jack was just getting into his Land cruiser to head back to the hotel after his last class of the day when he received a call from Henry.

"Hey Henry, what’s up?"

"Jack! Oh my god! I am so glad I took your offer to start my own practice!"

Did the FIS act on that evidence he extracted from Gefen and sent to them?

"Well, I’m glad you’re glad, but it sounds like this is more than general gratitude. Did something happen?"

"Yes. Candice keeps in touch with some of the secretaries over at my old law firm, and she just told me that the feds raided the place. Do you know how badly a law firm has to crew up for the feds to raid them?"

Henry didn’t give Jack a chance to answer and continued, "Candice wasn’t certain, but it sounded like all three partners were in deep shit, and some of the associates too. I used to feel annoyed that I never got a chance to work on a case with any of the partners, but now I’m really glad I didn’t, otherwise they’d probably be raiding me too. But here’s the real kicker. I did a search on the names of the partners, just so see what news might pop up, and found a real shocker. I sent you the link to the article. Short version? Gefen is dead. Apparent suicide."

Yes! Take that, you rat bastard. He wondered if it was really suicide or if Gefen’s unsavory associates had taken exception to the feds poking around where they were not wanted.

"Do you think the two are related? The raid and Gefen’s death."

"I wasn’t sure but when I told Candice about it, do you know what she said?"

"I’m not surprised?"

"Yes! Hey, how’d you know?"

"Just a guess. When I visited your office for the first time, we chatted for a bit and she mentioned that she thought there was something off about Gefen. So, I figured if she thought there was something wrong with him, then she wouldn’t be surprised if he died under mysterious circumstances."

"Huh. You know, now that you mention it, she did say she was uncomfortable around Gefen and that was part of the reason why she asked to come work for me."

"I bet she’s good at reading people. Maybe pay more attention to what she has to say?"

"Hmm. You might be right."

"Also, you might want to consider the possibility that there was a more important reason why she wanted to be your secretary."

He put emphasis on ’your secretary’ in the hopes that Henry might get a clue. He was half tempted to just straight up suggest she liked him, but she might not appreciate Jack meddling.

"What, you mean a reason other than wanting to get away from Gefen?"

"Yes. What reason would she have to endure Gefen and only leave when she learned you were leaving?"

"Oh, huh? I’ll have to-"

"Why not just ask her? But you know how women get sometimes, not willing to just come out and say something, hinting at it instead. So maybe pay attention to how she answers. Try and read between the lines."

"Maybe I’ll do that. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you how glad I am you offered to invest. Oh, also Abigail said she has some good news for you, but I’ll let her tell you herself."

"Okay, sure."

"Okay, talk to you later. Bye."

After Henry hung up, Jack silently celebrated a successful mission. He didn’t feel the least bit guilty that he had indirectly caused Gefen’s death. The man was willing to have Jack and Henry killed, so he felt no guilt over preemptively returning the favor.

——————————

Jack was just pulling into a parking spot in the hotel parking garage when his phone rang again. This time it was Abigail.

"Hey Abigail. I just talked to Henry, and he said you have good news?"

"I sure do. The purchase of your mansion just closed. I have the keys and all the paperwork. How do you want to proceed?"

Yes! Of all the places he’d looked at, this one was the one he wanted most. He was planning to stay there for the next few years, at least, so he figured he might as well pimp it out like he planned to live there for a while.

"I want a full surveillance and security system installed, full coverage of the exterior, full coverage of all common areas in the interior, video and audio, key card, and scramble pad entry system, the works. Also, do you know a good interior decorating company?"

"I know a good security company. As for the interior decorating, I thought Miranda was handling that. I let her into the house just the other day so she could get 3D scans of the place."

He did not know that Miranda was handling interior decorating. But he didn’t want Abigail to think he didn’t know what his own people were doing, so instead he said, "Oh, right. Yes, she did mention that. The last few days have been hectic. Must have slipped my mind."

"Understandable. So, for the security system, do you want to be part of the conversation from the beginning?"

"Will they provide a 3D model that shows everything they plan to install, with camera and sensor placement?"

"They can, if that’s what you want. For a deal this big, they probably won’t even charge extra for it."

"Let’s do that. Once you have it, I can review it and make requests through you if there’s anything I don’t like."

"Understood. I’ll get started on that first thing tomorrow. Do you want to move in before or after the security system is installed?"

"I’ll wait until the security system is installed, and the place is furnished."

"Makes sense. I’ll let you know when I have the quotes."

"Great! Any other news?"

Several other house purchases had closed, but he was letting her manage those however she wanted. After hanging up, he headed up to his room. He needed to have a talk with Miranda.

When he entered his hotel suit he found Miranda naked, sitting in one of the sitting room armchairs, leaned back, legs spread. It wasn’t a seductive pose, it was a blatant "fuck me" pose. As soon as he walked in the door, she licked her finger and started playing with herself.

"We need to talk," he said sternly, trying to ignore the growing tightness in his pants.

Hearing his tone, she immediately stopped touching herself and sat up straight, legs together.

"What’s wrong?" she asked, concerned.