Dixie Ch. 02

"Your trusted friend was right on target then."

"It would seem so. My trusted source by the way is Rita."

"Your secretary?"

"That's right. She's proving herself to be invaluable."

"I wonder if she did the same for Frank."

"I have to think she did, but I'll find out right after I send her a bouquet of roses and a gift of some kind."

"Be careful stud or she might misinterpret that."

"I'll be sure to be careful with the card. I'll say something like, for services well beyond expectations."

"Um...honey, change services to...maybe assistance well beyond. You wouldn't want anybody to think that she has been servicing you."

"You're just too funny. Okay, assistance it will be. Are you sure you don't mind if I run off?"

"Of course not, that's why we came home early. Besides, I'll call Linda and maybe we can get together and get caught up. It's time you met her anyway since she'll likely end up being a partner my business."

"Maybe the next time we go see Chuck and Sandy we won't have to come home early."

"That would be a lot better. But you know, now that we're home I'm okay. I'll miss them so much, but I'm going to be so busy that I won't have time to think about that too much." After one more kiss, Loren headed off to talk to Frank, and Holly called Linda.

When Linda answered she asked Holly, "Where are you today, Florida?"

"No, we're home."

"What are you doing home?"

"I can explain later, how are things going?"

"Better. Rubin is here putting the final touches on a project and...oh and I have a website design to show you. He came up with that Thursday and I think you'll really like that."

"Sounds like I wasn't even needed here."

"Are you kidding? It's Sunday and I'm at the office so that should tell you something."

"Well lock the door and come over so we can talk."

"See you in twenty minutes."

Chapter Twenty

Glen Valley, the rehabilitation facility where Frank was now staying was head and shoulders above any other institutions in the whole area of that type. As Loren walked in through the impressive entrance, he was also sure that it was the most expensive. He stopped at the desk where a young aide adopted him and led him to Frank's room. They stopped at his door that looked like the front door of a house and knocked as Loren looked at it and said, "Nice touch."

"I think so too. The whole idea is to do whatever we can to make feel like home to the residents." Before anything more could be said, Frank's weakened and slightly slurred voice could be heard as he said, "Come in." The aide stepped aside and then left, leaving Loren to open the door and see his former boss not far inside sitting in an electric wheelchair.

"It's about time you came to see me. What the hell has taken you so long?"

"Hi Frank. Got time to chat?"

His face was slightly distorted from his stroke, but Frank's sneer was unmistakable. "I have nothing but time." He turned his wheelchair around and led the way to his apartment sized couch. "Have a seat. Want something to drink? I have a great white wine if you're interested."

"Thanks, but maybe next time. This is one hell of a place."

"Great place to visit but living here sucks as you can imagine."

"I'm sure that's true. Okay Frank, first things first, how are you feeling?"

"Well half of me feels fine and the other half feels damn little."

"Any chance of that improving?"

"They say with continued therapy I will improve in some areas, but nothing very impressive."

Loren decided to test the waters by saying, "Does Ginny get in to see you everyday?"

"Oh hell no, maybe three times a week. She's too busy doing whatever the hell she thinks is so damn important."

"Well let me explain something to you Frank. I got what I thought was very reliable information that even if I did come to see you you'd probably not even recognize me."

"Who the hell told you that? I haven't been that bad off since before I left the hospital."

Rather than lie to him, he changed the subject saying, "I guess you've heard that I'm in your office now."

"Yeah, Ginny told me you were interim CEO while the board drags its feet and of course waits to see if I'll be able to come back."

"When did she give you that information?"

"I don't know, maybe...oh about...well less than a week ago that's for sure."

"Well, I was made permanent CEO about...over two weeks ago."

"Ginny's doing a great job of keeping me informed. Congratulations then."

"Thanks. Frank, I just heard that Gordon is having an affair, has Ginny told you about that?"

"Hell no, the dumb ass, what is he thinking. You going to fire him?"

"I won't know for a few days. I'm curious who he could possibly be seeing. It's somebody local I know and old enough to know what she's doing."

"Isn't his wife pregnant?"

"Yes she is."

"I'd really have to question whether he has enough self discipline and intelligence to do his job."

"Can you think of anybody within the company or say outside contractors or...well even wives or whatever that might have an affair with Gordon?"

"Let me think about that one for awhile."

"I've hired a private investigator, so it won't be too long before I know who and maybe even why and for how long."

Frank seemed to get the stares for a second and then he asked Loren, "So when will you find out if you you're the new CEO?"

Loren's world spun for a second. So was what he said about Ginny not visiting him accurate? Was anything that Frank had said or might say have any value at all?

"Um...Frank I am the new CEO now."

"Great, congratulations"

Loren stood up and told him, "Well, I better get out of here. I'll try to get back here in a few days."

"I'd like that." He turned on his bright blue electric wheelchair and followed Loren to the door, but before Loren walked through the now open door, Frank told him, "I'll bet Gordon and Ginny are screwing. Look into that for me would you?"

Loren closed the door again and said, "What makes you say that Frank?"

"She's done it before, but she thinks I don't know that. Hell, I'm surprised she didn't get into your pants."

"You didn't care?"

"Of course I cared, but our situation was less than traditional. She's never really loved me. Oh she cared for me I'm sure, but she wanted to experience the good life. I could afford it and I enjoyed her company. When I met her she was wild as hell and I liked that about her. She was smart, and crazy and would consider about anything you could imagine."

Loren sat on one of Frank's kitchen chairs and asked him, "What settled her down?"

"Time as much as anything, but I finally reached a point where I told her to either slow down and act like a lady or hit the road and have no money."

"She'd get half of yours though."

"Nope. We have a prenuptial agreement. She'd be anything but broke, but by her present standards, she'd think she was."

"Frank, I don't know what to say. Why are you telling me this?"

"Why not? You've hired a detective so you'll learn the truth soon enough anyway, at least most likely you will."

"Frank, how would you like me to handle this?"

"However you need to Loren. Discreetly if possible of course."

"Of course. Frank, shortly after I arrived I told you that I was now CEO, but then later you asked me about that. Are you having trouble with memory?"

"Yes, damn it I am. Oh, you wonder if what I just told you is the truth. All I can say is it's the total truth...all of it."

"She told me once that she was sure she could do your job. That you two had talked about everything so much that she was confident that she could step in."

"Oh hell, that would be a disaster. Look, she's a smart woman, and give her a charity or a community function and she'll organize it and run it right. But she doesn't know up from down about manufacturing or running a plant with five hundred men and women and a union."

Getting up again, Loren said, "Okay, I have to run, but I'll be back to see you as soon as I can." Frank stayed where he was until Loren left and then he went back to the television because he was becoming addicted to the damn box as he called it.

Loren stopped at the nurse's desk and asked, "Does Virginia, Frank's wife get in to see him?"

"Oh yes, she's in here at least three times a week and sometimes more. Is there a problem?"

"No problem. Frank has a little trouble with his memory is all."

"He does sometimes, but he's aware of that so if you question him, he doesn't get upset."

"Is that happening more or less than when he arrived here?"

"About the same. I doubt that he will ever improve in that area."

"Thank you, I feel better now," and he left. He didn't tell the nurse that he felt better because that information would be helpful to him as he thought about what he was going to do next.

Chapter Twenty One

Linda and Holly were still talking when Loren got home, so when he went in Holly introduced them to each other. "Don't let me interfere with your work," Loren told them.

"We aren't working now, we're just talking."

Linda smiled at him and said, "She was telling me about your cruise. What a fantastic experience that must have been."

"That's exactly what it was. Have you told her everything honey," He asked Holly.

She did her best to show him a sweet and innocent smile before she said, "I'm sure I didn't tell her everything, but enough for her to get a sense of what it's like. You know like all over tans."

Loren smiled and then looked at Linda, whom he had just met and said, "Oh, so she told you about that part."

Yes she did and I'm still trying to imagine how wonderful that would be."

"How is Frank?" Holly asked him.

"We had a nice talk, but I'll go back to see him in a couple of days to see how much he remembers what we talked about. Oh, and I learned more about Frank's wife too."

"I'm very curious, so don't forget any of the details."

"Of course not, now what can I get you two to drink?"

"The coffee is made, so how about Kahlua and coffee for us."

"Coming right up." He was back about five minutes later and served Linda first and then Holly as Linda tasted the coffee drink and smiled.

"Very nice Loren, thank you."

You're welcome. Let me know when you're ready for another one," and that happened about fifteen minutes later. As Linda watched Loren disappear, she looked at Holly and said, "I can't get over you two sunning nude with the other couple. That's so edgy you know?"

"I still can't believe that whole week. Linda, with one exception, no man had ever seen me naked before, let alone stay naked most of the day and I let Chuck stare at me and even be close to me."

Linda was smiling as she leaned closer to Holly and asked her, "How close?"

"Very close," she admitted, but Loren reappeared with more coffee and Kahlua for them so their private conversation was ended.

They had each enjoyed three cups of Kahlua and coffee before Linda had to leave, but by then, they were all pretty relaxed, and Loren was having a great time with both women. He flirted with Linda, but he was very careful not to complicate things for Holly and Linda's work relationship. As time passed, the two women would be spending a lot of time together in their partnership and that could become complicated enough on it's own.

After Linda left, the two of them went back to the sofa and sat down as Loren asked Holly, "So how much did you tell Linda about our cruise?"

She smiled at him and asked, "Does it bother you that she knows you were naked on the boat?"

"I don't mind at all, but I don't want to assume that you told her about making love to Chuck or me with Sandy."

"Oh God, I didn't tell her about that part."

"Okay, just so I know where the lines are drawn."

"Now tell me what you learned."

He told her about Frank's current condition and about his sometimes unreliable memory, and then on to what Frank had told him about Ginny. "So you don't know for sure, if what he told you was accurate or if there was even more for him to tell that he can't remember."

"That's right. Oh, and they have a prenup agreement as well, so she only would get a certain percentage no matter what."

"So he must have seen at least a potential for trouble right from the beginning."

"I'm sure he must have. I wanted to ask him if he knew about her scrambling to gather over fifty percent of the stock, but I'll save that until another time."

"So do you think Ginny is done with her attempts to achieve her goal, whatever that may be?"

"I wouldn't trust her for a minute. I have no idea what she might be up to right now, but one thing you can bet on, there will have to be money involved before she'll bother with it. After Frank got so sick and we came racing home, she told me that money wasn't why she wanted his job. Well now that we know about the prenup, we know money was likely the whole reason behind it. Even if she failed at the job, she'd have a year or so to cash in on the CEO paycheck and add that to her marriage buy out before she was canned. Of course, she may well have decided that she's done with trying to make a name or a place for herself, but I can't just assume that."

"Especially with her screwing Gordon."

"That's right."

"You're opinion of her is in the gutter now isn't it."

"Most definitely." He kissed her cheek and changing the subject, asked her, "So what do you have lined up tomorrow?"

Linda is going to show me the new software and where we stand on our data project. Rubin will be there so I'll meet him and he's going to show both of us a piece of software that he designed for us. If it does what he claims, I'm going to give him a nice bonus because it will save us a ton of time. Beyond that I'm not sure at the moment. Are you going to talk to Gordon tomorrow?"

"I'll talk to him, but I won't bring up Ginny specifically because I want to see if I can connect with Claire first. Of course if he brings it and is willing to be up front about it, then all the better."

Loren's issue with Gordon and Ginny came to Holly's mind every time she had a spare minute throughout the day, so when he finally dragged himself in just after six, she fixed them each a drink and led him to the couch. She watched him take about half of his Benchmark and then leaned back and smiled at her. "How was your day Holly?"

"Busy, and I've only been home about twenty minutes myself, but we got so much accomplished that I feel good. I take it your day was a tough one."

"There was just so damn much had to be done, but like you I made good headway."

"Dare I ask you about Ginny and Gordon?"

"Sure. Claire finally called me about two and confirmed a lot of what we suspected. There is something of a routine for them. Usually Tuesday evenings and if not then they try for Friday evenings."

"It's even worse than you suspected then."

"It is and I'm still deciding what to do. I know I have to confront him tomorrow, but what I can't decide is whether or not to fire him. Now, with so much going on, it would be a really bad time to try to replace him. On the other hand, Ginny has to be out of the picture completely. Like we talked about before, she could be a danger to the company."

"Time for another visit with Frank?"

"That's another one I can't decide about. If I tell him what Ginny's up to it could just kill him."

"Maybe not. He said she's strayed before and with him in assisted living and her living a good life at home he has to know that gives her ample time to get into trouble."

"That's true too. Maybe I'll go out and see Frank and just see how he's doing and take it from there. You better eat without me honey and I'll grab something while I'm out."

Chapter Twenty Two

Loren went to the nurse's station at Glen Valley first and asked the nurse sitting there, "I'm here to see Frank Wilcox, but before that I'd like to inquire about how his day has been. The last time I was here his memory pretty much collapsed."

"Yes, he did have a time of it for awhile, but we're making some changes with his medications and working with him to build his strength. If he gets too tired he does tend to lose focus. I know he's in his room, but if he seems tired I'd suggest you not stay long."

"Thank you for your help." It took him a minute to walk down the hall, turn left and then go another fifty feet before he came to apartment nineteen. He knocked firmly and waited and was ready to knock a second time when he heard Frank's voice.

"Come in, whoever you are."

Loren eased the door halfway open and said, "It's me, Frank."

"Great, come in Loren." Frank's voice sounded stronger than the last time, but as Loren smiled and stepped in he saw two other men in suits sitting on the small couch.

"I'm sorry Frank, they didn't tell me you had visitors."

"That's okay, come in." Pointing to the man at the right end of the couch Frank introduced him saying, "This is Barrett Myerson, my accountant. This other gentleman is Conrad Overton, my lawyer. Gentlemen, this is Loren Banks, my friend and former V.P."

Hands were offered and taken and then Loren said, "I'll just go find a cup of coffee until you've finished your business."

"We're done, we were just having a chat is all." Both men stood up and after reaffirming their arrangements for a meeting the next day, they shook Loren's hand again and then left.

"Frank, are you sure I didn't interrupt something?"

"Not at all, sit down and be comfortable. So how is the front office going for you?"

"As you know, busier than hell, but so far it's going well."

"Good to hear. Hell I always knew you could handle it and in fact I told Graham that very thing about a week before I got sick."

"Thank you for those words Frank. That probably had a lot to do with why I was offered the position."

"You were offered the position because you're right for the job, pure and simple."

"How is Ginny, has she been out to see you?"

"She came out and had lunch with me and spent an hour or so."

"That's good to hear."

"Are you keeping the Fenton Group pacified?"

"They've been uncharacteristically quiet actually and for that I'm grateful."

"They were almost more trouble than they were worth so I'm glad to hear that."

"You seem sharper and more energetic this time."

"I'm feeling much better now."

"I'm impressed. Think you'll go back home soon?"

"Loren I doubt that I'll ever go home. This is where I live now because the only way I could go home in this condition would be with a full time nurse. And let me tell you, the nurse and Virginia would never get along, no matter who was hired to take care of me."

"Frank...the last time I was here you really opened up about Virginia's past and some of the troubles you two have had over the years."

"Hope I didn't overdo that."

"I appreciate you trusting me with that information. I have the easy part, all I have to do is listen to you, though I'm sorry you had to go through those times."

"Thanks."

"You never quoted dates so should I assume everything of that nature happened in your early years?"

"Funny you should ask that, because it took me a long time to realize that she had kind of a routine. About every five years is what it turned out to be. Or at least, those were the times that I caught her at wandering."

"And the last time was about how long ago?"

"You're full of questions about...Frank, just spit out what's on your mind okay? Something is chewing on you."

"Damn it Frank, I don't even know how to talk to you about this."

"Just say it, hell I can't fire you now."

"What's on my mind won't be very pleasant for you at all."

"Obviously it involves Virginia."

"Yes. Frank are you aware that Ginny tried to make a run for your office by cornering a majority voting block?"

Frank stared at Loren for a long minute, but Loren waited him out. "Are you sure of that?"