Chapter 34
CHAPTER 34
HUDSON
I can still hear the roar of the departing airplane behind me when I get my phone out and place a call to Alison.
“Meet me at the office building in an hour,” I tell her.
“We’ll have to put a pin on that,” she retorts. “Rakeem just got in contact with me. He wants to meet us.”
“Do you know why?”
“I reckon he got news of the factory shutdown.”
“Okay. I’ll meet up with you in thirty minutes,” I tell her, ending the call. It should be easy dealing with Rakeem, and I hope that I don’t leave the Fejitos with bad news for the sake of everything I hold dear. Back in the car, I can still smell Juliette. I sniff the air, letting her essence fill me up again. I embrace that in her absence. I miss her already. It’s a strange feeling, almost as though a phalange I had no idea I had was taken from me, and now, the absence of that phalange fills me with some loss. I can’t put my finger on it and define it properly, but I feel incomplete.
This is crazy I hiss as I drive out of the airport and head immediately to the Fejitos mansion. There’s still a lot to do today; I must ensure that by tomorrow, work resumes in my factory. Failure to do that will be a thing of concern. I look at my wristwatch. It’s just a couple of minutes past noon. There’s still a lot of time in the day. I relax and enjoy my drive, looking out into town at the detached look on the faces of all who walked past me. It takes me a long while to figure out that I have been comparing everyone’s face to Juliette and none of them catch my attention like hers. I receive a call from Jasmine about a mile from the estate.
“I’m sorry,” she starts. “I slipped up. It was all my fault. I am sorry for whatever hurt my mistake might have caused you.”
“It’s okay, Jasmine. This is no fault of yours. I got in bed with you, knowing the risk that came with it fully well. I’m a grown man, and I take responsibility for my actions.”
“Thank you. How’s Juliette?”
“On her way back to Dallas.”
“You two got in a fight?”
“No. Frank made a move. He got the SEC to stop production in my industries. Things are about to get messy, so I moved her out of town. Besides, our ruse got blown this morning.”
“You’ve had a busy day,” she says.
“You have no idea. Where are you?”
“Away. Never to be in Manhattan again. The city has given me all it can. I need to find something new.”
“I see. Where will you go?”
“Do you want to come looking for me?”
“I don’t think so. I think I’m done looking for temporary pleasure.”
“You found someone to tie you down, huh? I told you the two of you were lying to yourselves. I am happy you realized that quickly.”
“I’ll miss you,” I tell her.
“No, you won’t. You’ll forget all about me and soon, you’ll barely even recollect what I look like. But I’ll remember you. No one who meets you will ever forget you, Hudson Sinclair. Goodbye.”
She ends the call before I can say anything else, and I drop my phone on the passenger’s seat. That is one door closed, never to be opened again. I wonder what she’ll do now, but I don’t worry about her. Jasmine has always known how to survive.
I pull into the estate, and once again, I meet Alison waiting for me. We walk into the mansion and meet Rakeem in his study again.
“I don’t know whether to say you’re a sight for sore eyes or to lash out,” Rakeem says as we take our seats. The study remains the same.
“You have nothing to worry about, Rakeem. All is going well,” I tell him.
“What’s your plan to have production back on track?” he asks me. “We can’t have you focusing solely on the company as a source of income. If you do that, you open yourself up, and Frank will have an easier time tracking down your source.”
“I know, and before the end of the day, production will be back on.”
“The end of the day. That is a wild reassurance. Are you assuring me of this?”
“Yes, I am.”
“It’s important that you do not fail because I have made moves in your trust.”
“What are you talking about?” I ask him.
“You’ve developed a reputation for yourself in the last couple of months, Hudson. People have been watching you, and more importantly, they’ve been watching Frank even more closely because of you. People see he is faltering. They are looking to exploit a weakness in him, and it all depends on how this battle with him pans out.”
If these people knew what I have uncovered about Frank and how I intend to use it, they’d pull all they can and rally behind me. But I don’t need them. Not now. I have all I need, and in a couple of hours, this should be over. But I pay attention to Rakeem all the same.
I pay attention to Rakeem. There is more to what he’s saying but he’s taking his time to get to it and that irks me. I want it done now. I want to know what I’m dealing with.
“I have curated a list for you. You have to go through the list and get in contact with them before the end of the day. Since you’re reassuring me you’ll get your production back on track by the end of the day.”
Rakeem stands up and walks to his drawer; when he returns, it’s with a dossier, which he passes to Alison, and then she passes it to me. I take a brief look at the list and almost gasp. Big names in the financial world. The conglomeration of these men is sure to bring down Frank. They’ve never had an incentive to, until now. If I can add these men to the plans I have for Frank, total annihilation is assured.
“Is this real?” I ask.
“Yes. Very real. Frank’s time is over. They want you to usher in a new start. A new beginning. You just need to defeat Frank.”
“They’re using me because I’m dispensable.”
“Don’t look at it that way.”
“But that is the way it is. I don’t care. I’ll do what they want but also show them that I am not dispensable.”
Oh, they’ll all know I’m not dispensable, but they’ll not be able to tie me down.
Rakeem smiles. “I knew I could count on you. Let’s drink to celebrate this,” he says and walks to his liquor cabinet. “My wife and I will be leaving the States in three days, and I want to head out knowing I have a big win in the bag.”
“You will. I also want to thank you for believing me. For taking a chance on me.”
Rakeem smiles and passes me a glass, and then Alison another.
“You showed me I could take a chance on you. Here is to future collaboration and a resplendent future which you will usher in.”
He raises his glass, and I follow suit. Soon, we shake hands, and we’re on our way back to the garage.
“You said you wanted to see me,” Alison says before we get into the car.
“Not here,” I tell her.
I don’t want to deal with her just yet. I want to ruminate over what Rakeem just told me, and I will do that as I drive to the company building with the dossier on the passenger seat. I can see what this means for me. It might not be what the men intend for me, but it is what I must get from it. I have seen how much of an embargo being under people can cause. Frank had the finance world in a chokehold because he had the leverage to pull on everyone. I don’t want anyone to have leverage on me. Never. So, I must make use of this opportunity well. I must fashion my freedom from it. My absolute freedom. That has to be it.
Alison follows me into the office and takes her seat. I pour myself a cup of coffee before I finally speak to her.
“Do you want to explain why you did that?” I ask her. There is no need to be explicit. She knows exactly what I’m talking about.
“She was distracting you,” she says, feeling justified.
“I warned you not to impose yourself on me.”
“I did what I thought was right for the company. I needed you at your full game and with that girl here, that wasn’t possible. I saw it, and I knew telling you would never achieve anything, so I took matters into my own hands.”
“Do you see that you were wrong?”
If only she knows what I have planned, then she’ll understand just how wrong she is.
She thinks about it for a while and nods. “But you must understand. I meant no harm.”
“Maybe you didn’t. But your action shows that you don’t trust me, and I can’t have you around if you don’t. If you don’t believe in my ability to make the right decisions and to segregate my emotional decisions from analytical ones.”
“I trust you,” Alison says, her voice breaking. “I trust no one the way I trust you, Hudson. You must know that. You have to know that.”
“Maybe I used to. Maybe you do, but I do not trust you, and I can’t have you around if I do not trust you.”
“Hudson, no, don’t do that. We can fix this. I’ll never go behind you to act in such a way, never again.”
“You don’t get it do you? When your ways were antagonizing, I could take that. I welcome contrary ideas and thoughts. But your actions can’t contradict mine. We need to present a strong front. A united front. I don’t see that happening with you again. You’ve been an immense help, Alison. But we must go our separate ways now.”
“Hudson please, don’t do this. I did it for you, Hudson. I did it because you couldn’t see she wasn’t meant for you. You know I am committed to you. She was nothing, nothing. I am the one for you. Can’t you see it? Can’t you see I did it for you? I don’t mind if you have Phillipa, she’s not a threat to us. It’s supposed to be me and you, Hudson. Not you and her.”
I sigh and stand up. Why does it always lead to this?
“You have to leave, Alison. Don’t make a fool of yourself any further than you have already.”
Alison blinks back the tears already forming in her eyes and raises her shoulder up. She stands up then, gives me a slight bow, and heads out. That is the Alison I know. Not the teary one who broke down just now.
It’s just past midday, and I’m exhausted already. As I sink back into my chair, I get a phone call. It’s Elizabeth.
“Yes?” I say.
“You’ll receive a package soon. Don’t let this go awry, Hudson. I’m counting on you.”
There are so many people counting and banking on me.