Options

CHAPTER twenty-one

  I looked at Jay’s sleeping face beside me the next morning and promised myself there would be no mental bashing. Although I hadn’t thoroughly analyzed the pros and cons of a relationship with him, it had happened. And I was glad. Maybe it could be a stronger relationship because we’d known each other for so long. Many experts say solid relationships are based on friendship, I reassured myself. He definitely knew all my faults. And there were many.

  I lightly ran my finger down the side of Jay’s face and mentally pinched myself. What had happened last night after the kissing had been tender. I eased myself out of bed and went looking for a toothbrush. I used Jay’s. Now that our relationship had reached a new plateau, I was sure he wouldn’t mind. Besides, we exchanged enough spit the night before that using his toothbrush didn’t seem out of line.

  Jay found me sitting at the kitchen table smoking and drinking coffee. He was shirtless and wearing jeans.

  "Hey," he said.

  "Hey yourself," I replied. He poured himself a coffee and leaned against the kitchen counter. I felt shy and cursed under my breath. I’d never been at a loss for words with him before. The man was bringing out that feminine side that I’d always abhorred in other women. I was definitely not the cute type.

  I looked at him and swallowed. Fuck it. Let’s barge on.

  "So. Are you okay with what happened last night?" I asked him. I tried to be cool about this. I wasn’t looking for a marriage proposal but I did need to know where we stood. I needed to know if it had been a one-night stand for him. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about that, but I wasn’t about to make a fool of myself either.

  "Okay?" he laughed. "I’m great with it. You?"

  "Great," I said slowly. "Is it likely to happen again?"

  "Well, Kate. You were the one who initiated it. Are you going to do that again?" he teased.

  "Depends on how drunk you get and if I think I can take advantage of you," I joked. I was feeling better. "Can I buy you breakfast?"

  "Sure. Did you want to shower before we go out? You'll find clean towels in the closet in my bedroom."

  "Yeah. Give me a few minutes." I stood up and he grabbed me around the waist and pulled me to him. He held me like that for a few moments and lightly kissed the top of my head. He slapped my butt and said, "Get a move on. I’m hungry."

  We decided to walk because the day was gorgeous. Actually he decided to walk and I thought about my arteries. A couple of blocks won’t hurt, I thought to myself. But I found I was enjoying myself as we set a brisk pace block after block. I had to remind him not to walk so fast because his legs were about ten times longer than mine. We finally found a place and we ordered large breakfasts.

  When Jay was finished, he pushed his plate back and stretched.

  "Ah," he sighed. He grinned and looked at me. "Good food. Good woman. What else could a man want?"

  "Good job?" I teased.

  "Don’t remind me," he said. We sat quietly for a few minutes and I thought about Jay and TechniGroup. There were some screwy things going on.

  "Do you realize what we’ve been through in the last three days?" I asked him. "Evelyn died, you discovered some fuck up with the stock options, Oakes called a board meeting and they’re going to fire Cox, and Rick fired you." I ticked each event off on my fingers.

  "I can’t believe that Rick would screw around with the stock options. It’s so bush league. What could he possibly gain?" Jay asked himself out loud.

  "And," I said. "I think they’ve got a couple of other things on him too."

  "Like what?"

  "Fraud and sexual harassment."

  "I beg your pardon?" he said. His eyes widened and his eyebrows shot up.

  "You heard me. Fraud and sexual harassment," I repeated.

  "Just how do you know this?" he asked.

  "You know. I hear things."

  "And the board knows about all of this? That’s why they decided to fire him?"

  I nodded my head.

  "Fraud. I can’t believe it. Won’t believe it. He may be a raving lunatic but he’s no criminal. I’ve worked with the guy and he takes his legal obligations very seriously. What kind of fraud?" he asked me.

  "Something about falsely reporting revenue. I don’t really understand it. You know me and financial statements," I said lamely.

  "I admit some of our accounting treatment is questionable but the auditors always sign off on it. I can’t believe Rick would falsely report revenue," Jay stated.

  "He supposedly ordered one of the controllers to do it," I said.

  "And the guy did it?"

  "I don’t know if he did. The memo said he ordered the guy to do it."

  "What memo?" Jay asked.

  "Nothing. Forget I said it. Look, I think the house of cards is about to come tumbling down. Once the public find out that Rick Cox is gone, our shares’ll be in the toilet. The analysts’ll have a heyday with this shit. Monday is not going to be fun."

  "Yeah, well the bastards have pulled it off before. They’ll say he resigned and we’re seeking a replacement. Remember the last time?"

  I remembered. We’d had a brief sojourn with a chief operating officer that lasted six months. We had touted him to the world as the second coming of Christ. Oakes had hand-picked him and he was going to save the world. The analysts loved it and the share price rose steadily for the six months he was around. I thought the guy was a perfect fit because he was as loony as Oakes. He didn’t last long enough though, and when the board fired him they told the public he was resigning to pursue personal interests.

  I should write a book. It probably wouldn’t sell though because it would be so unbelievable. And now we were firing another chief operating officer who was going to ‘pursue personal interests’. Our only hope was that the public and the analysts had a short memory. The other guy got fired almost exactly two years ago. This was becoming almost an annual event.

  "Well, I have a feeling we’ll have a replacement before you can say Bob’s Your Uncle," I said.

  "Yeah," Jay joked. "Maybe I should apply for the job."

  "Well, you’ve always wanted the job," I reminded him. "Actually, I think Oakes wants to see Philip Winston in the position."

  Jay snorted. "Yeah, right. He’s got no more experience than I do. There’s no way the board will allow that."

  "The board’ll do exactly what Oakes and Larry Everly tell them to do. The board members are there for one reason only. The money. The board fees. And their stock options. Having a conscience and thinking for yourself are not requirements for being on our board."

  We sat silent for a few minutes, both of us thinking. I was thinking about stock options and how they had been the center of almost everything that had happened in the last couple of days. Evelyn and stock options. Rick Cox and stock options. Jay and stock options. Stock options had caused the demise of three people in three days. And two of those people were very close to me.

  "Jay, have you ever known anyone who died?" I asked.

  "My grandmother. And when I was in high school some guy killed himself. Walked in front of a train. I didn’t know him well but everyone at school was upset about it. And Evelyn. But we still don’t know why she died."

  "Exactly. Why she died. Notice you didn’t say how she died. Why. Do you think it could have anything to do with the stock options? Do you think someone planned it?"

  "Kate, get real. Let me ask you a question. Have you ever known anyone who was murdered?" I shook my head.

  "Right," Jay continued. "Neither have I. This is the real world. Not some movie about corporate America where they murder off people every twenty minutes. Our guys are stupid but I don’t think anyone would murder one of the employees."

  "You’re probably right. Besides, they’re all too stupid to have planned something like that. And the police haven’t been knocking on the office door. So o
bviously no one suspects foul play."

  Another thought occurred to me. Was someone smart enough to set up Jay and Rick Cox? But why? With Rick Cox gone the stock was going to take a hit. And all of the top guys were driven by the stock price. They were smart enough to know that when the stock price went down, so did the value of their stock options. Maybe someone hated Rick Cox so much they didn’t care about their personal wealth.

  Fuck it. I was spending too much time worrying about the office.

  "Let’s forget it, Jay. This shit is making my head hurt. It’s a beautiful day. What do you want to do?"

  Jay grinned. "Well, we could go back to my place. I won’t make your head hurt."

  It was a pleasant thought and I felt a blush starting at my neck and rising up my face. I grinned back.