Lonnie's Enterrpise

"She really did love Lonnie, you know."

"I'm sure she did. Miranda, I'm not proud of falling in love with a married woman, but in spite of all my attempts to keep a safe distance, I'd find myself in situations where we were alone together and having fun. It's like we were made for each other."

"You sure know how to get into situations."

"It's a lot easier getting shot at, or having an ex husband try to punch my lights out, than what I've had to do this time."

Miranda held up her empty cup again and Russ gave her the last of the coffee and topped it off with rum. "You know when I told them at the office I was taking some time off, my assistant told me to go get laid."

"Don't look at me lover, I'm married."

"Yeah and...here you are drinking my booze and alone with me. Just kidding, I'm not in the mood for that. I've really screwed everything up that's for sure."

"I'm sorry Russ, I really am."

"Is Megan doing okay?"

"Well, considering the fact that her husband is going to prison for ten or more years, and the other man that she loved she now hates, I'd say she's doing okay."

"Don't sugar coat it for me."

"Well you asked, so what now?"

"Damn good question. I just wish I had some kind of answer for you. Is Megan starting to accept the fact that Lonnie is guilty of a felony?"

"Yes, but that's pretty hard medicine to take."

"I'm sure it is. He really is guilty, Miranda he's a guilty as they come, and a lot of damage..."

"Hey, you're preaching to the choir, Russ. I have no doubt that he's guilty, especially since he pled no contest. He knew that if it went to trial on the bigger charge of espionage, he would likely spend a good part of the rest of his life in prison."

"That's exactly right. I think he ended up with a pretty light punishment. Is Megan okay financially, or will this destroy her too?"

I don't know for sure, but I think she's okay at least for a while. The company is a goner of course, and I don't know what will happen with the assets from that."

"It might end up belonging to Fairmont."

"That could be if they decide to sue for damages."

"I hope they don't for Megan's sake."

"Me too, I understand what you did and why you did it, but at the same time, I want to wring your neck for hurting my friend."

"I don't blame you in the least. I've helped find the guilty parties of which there are several, including Lonnie's lead chemist, but knowing how much I've hurt Meg, I'm not sure it was worth it."

"Let's say Lonnie wasn't in the mess he's in now. What would you have done about your feelings about Meg?"

"There's nothing I could have done."

"So you would have gone along living next to the woman you loved and not done anything?"

"Miranda, I didn't think that far ahead I'm afraid. I just don't know how to answer your question I guess, other than I was setting myself up for a lot of hurt and disappointment."

Miranda stood up and said, "Well, I better go before I'm caught here."

"Thanks for coming over it means a lot to me."

"I wish I could have brought you better news about Megan though."

"Me too, but then I'm not surprised either. She was burning when she left here."

She kissed his cheek and said, "Russ, you're a good guy. A tragic mess and you're feet are in quicksand, but a nice guy none the less. Maybe I'll try to sneak back here and help you with your rum again one day."

"Bring your husband next time."

"Hell no, he'll just drink some of the rum. Bye, lover."

"Bye, friend." Russ watched her go and went back to his place on the couch and turned the television on for something to do.

Chapter Nine

Monday morning found Russ back at his office in town, and talking to Mel his manager. "Russ, I thought you were taking some time off."

"I need to keep busy, anything going on?"

"I was to meet with a possible new client at ten, but if you're going to be here..."

"I'll be here. I'll meet with them I guess unless you have some thoughts on that."

"No, that's fine. I don't have any advance information other than it's another cheating spouse."

"Okay, and the other cases?"

"Case, you mean. We're making a little progress there, but I'll save that for our meeting if that's okay."

"Yeah, I can wait an hour." At the meeting Russ let Mel run the show while he listened. They didn't need his input, so except for a few questions he kept quiet and then returned to his office to wait for his appointment with the new client. Most of his business was coming from the south edge of Cleveland, and if that trend continued he was going to have to consider opening a second office up there, or just move his business up there and abandon Akron.

With that thought in mind he called for Mel. Once he was there and the door was closed he said, "Mel am I right in that ninety percent of our cheating spouse cases come from Cleveland?"

"That doesn't sound far off."

"I'm just thinking out loud here, but what if we were to open an office up there, and specialize in marital issues?"

"I have to think that would work. I'm sure we'd get more business if we were closer to the source. Of course, some people come down here because they feel like it will be safer and more confidential for some reason."

"We wouldn't discourage that, but I think that in the majority of cases we could end up handling them from up there without losing the client."

"I agree."

"Okay keep this to yourself for now and I'll think about it some more. If you have any thoughts in that area I'm all ears."

"Well my thought would be I could take over that office for you." Russ smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, I had the same thought, but don't get rid of your mistress and shoot your dog just yet. It might be some time before anything happens and you move north."

"Okay." Russ was becoming a business man more and more and doing less field work all the time. That was just as well when he thought about how badly he had performed with Lonnie and Megan Becker.

Business wasn't brisk enough to keep Russ distracted from Megan, so when Miranda called one evening it was like a vicarious connection to Meg. "How are you Miranda?"

"I'm pretty damn good actually, how are you?"

"Plodding along, how's Meg?"

"I think you're phrase captures it. She's plodding along, but that's on a good day. You busy this evening?"

"You looking for a date?"

"Yeah. You up to meeting someplace for dinner?"

"That would be great, any place in mind?"

"Oh...how about that Italian place on Camden in an hour?"

"You letting your hubby come along?"

"No, he's gone for a few days."

"I see you're lonely too."

"Not really, but it would be nice to see you."

"See you in an hour then, and thanks for calling."

"See you then."

Russ waited for Miranda just inside the restaurant entrance and when she appeared, they shared kisses and went to the hostess. Their conversation was light and superficial for the first several minutes, but Russ knew there was a reason for her call and he was waiting for her to say something. As they sipped their drinks and waited for dinner, she started by saying, "By the way this dinner is on you."

"That's fine."

"You see you owe me. Not long after I was at your house, I went to Megan's and we talked a long time."

"How did that go?"

"Not very well I'm afraid, and that's why you owe me dinner. When I left that night I wasn't sure she would talk to me again."

"Damn I'm sorry. I'm screwing things up for you too now."

"Maybe not. Sam...I'm still having trouble with that. Russ, Megan's world has been like a bottle of soda that had been shaken violently. The only thing that has kept her intact is the fact that her top didn't come off. Slowly and I do mean slowly, she is settling down and we've talked a few times since then by phone."

"Miranda, please don't spoil your relationship with Meg for me."

"That wasn't my intention. I just wanted her to listen to some facts, but she didn't see it that way, at least not at first anyway."

Their conversation was interrupted by their dinner being served and they enjoyed their meal before it continued. "Look Russ, I'm not trying to build your hopes up. I just wanted to tell you that I've told her at least some of what you shared with me, and to let you know that I think she's coming to terms with things and she just might get on with her life one of these days."

"I want to be with her, but even more than that I want her to be happy again, to laugh like she and I could laugh when we were together."

"I'm sure she will, Russ. I don't know when or how, but I think she'll be okay."

It was a bittersweet message for him, but he smiled and said, "Thank you for taking that risk for me."

"You're welcome, but I did it for her too. She needs to know the truth too."

"I just hope she accepts what you told her as the truth."

"I have no reason whatsoever to lie about it, so I think she will. Look, cracks were forming between her and Lonnie for quite some time, even more before he was arrested. He wasn't telling her the truth, and in fact he was telling her almost nothing, and it was hurting their relationship a lot. She didn't say so directly, but I don't think she's making the long drive to see him in prison very often anymore."

Russ didn't know what to say to that information so instead he commented, "I didn't know they were having trouble."

"I didn't either, until she told me. I'll save the details that she shared with me, but it was pretty evident that something was terribly wrong for Lonnie and the lab. She just would have never guessed it to be that bad."

"What normal person would?"

Russ and Miranda were having an after dinner drink when her cell phone rang and she was ignoring it. "You can answer that I don't mind." She dug it out of her bag and as she answered she walked away from the table and disappeared around the corner. Russ signaled for the bill and sat there slowly nursing his drink as he waited for Miranda. He didn't know how long she was gone, but his drink was gone and he was getting restless and the bill was long since settled. She finally appeared, but she was still talking and he was sorry he'd encouraged her to answer it.

Chapter Ten

Miranda sat down as she kept the phone to her ear and then said, "Hold on." She handed the phone to Russ and said "Here."

"What? Who is it?"

"Just say hello okay?"

"Hello?"

"Russ?"

He looked at Miranda in surprise and answered, "Yes...Meg?"

"Yes."

His eyes were instantly moist as he mumbled, "God, it's good to hear your voice. I love you."

"Could you come home so we can talk?" He kept looking at Miranda who had tears in her eyes and she was smiling.

"Yes, I'll be there as soon as I can." Miranda pointed at her watch and signaled twenty minutes. "I'll be there in twenty minutes."

"Okay bye." He handed the phone back to Miranda and wiped his eyes still stunned by the development.

As they left the restaurant, Miranda told Russ, "Now listen don't get the idea that all is well. We talked a long time and she almost hung up on me so she isn't exactly feeling all lovey and eager. I got her to agree to take as long as needed for you two to talk it out and nothing more. What happens from there is anybody's guess."

"But I get to talk to her and I told her I loved her. Thank you for doing that."

"Just remember that..."

"I know it's up to me now to start patching things up."

"It's going to take some serious patching judging from the way she sounded. If by some miracle you two stay together, you better be damn sure what you're asking for is what you want, because she'll give you everything she has to give emotionally. She's an all or nothing woman."

"Miranda, I couldn't be more sure of what I want to see happen. I don't know how I'll ever repay you for this chance."

"I'll come up with something one day and I don't come cheap."

"I'll start saving right now." Russ was very quiet the rest of the way home as his mind flew from one thought to the next.

As soon as he saw Miranda off, he cut across the yard to Megan's door and rang the bell. Miranda was right, she was somber faced and kept her distance as she stepped back and said, "Come in." He followed her and the two of them went to the kitchen, where she could keep the table between them and didn't even offer him anything to drink. They looked at each other for a second and he could feel his heart racing. "I want to ask you some questions."

"Please do, I'll tell you whatever you want to know, and so help me I will not lie to you."

"First, I want to say I can't believe Miranda was having dinner with you."

"Meg, she is your best friend and she worries about you and cares for you very much. I'm proud to say she's my friend too."

"Why didn't you tell me who you really are at the beginning?"

"I couldn't. I wanted to so much, but I was hired to do a job and I had spent many months and many thousands of dollars investigating data losses for Fairmont Holdings. I had no way of knowing where it would lead me, but I had to follow through with it. Once I'd screwed up and had dinner with Lonnie and had given him a false name, I couldn't do anything but stay with that fiction."

"Miranda told me a lot of things, but I want to hear you tell me. Did you really own a business?"

"Yes I did in Steubenville. I inherited it from my dad and I did sell it and move up here."

"And your marriage?"

"Just as I said it was, a disaster and it ended a couple of years ago."

"Why buy the house next to us if it wasn't to spy on us."

"Two reasons. I wanted out of my apartment and having that house come on the market was a pure fluke. At the time I saw it as a great house, a nice neighborhood, and I could be close to you."

"So you were spying on us."

"No, I said close to you. Meg, I fell for you so hard I just wanted to be near you even if that was all I could have." That stopped her for a minute and she looked at him.

"But you knew I was married to Lonnie, so what did you think would happen between us?"

"Probably nothing, but that didn't stop me from loving you. Nothing could stop that. Meg, I wasn't thinking about any tomorrows as far as you and I were concerned. I didn't handle myself very professionally at all, and for that I apologize except had I done it differently, I might never have met you and that would have been such a loss for me. I never intended for things to go as they did. I didn't want to get involved with you in the beginning. I wanted to finish my investigation, give the data to Fairmont, and collect my fee. That should have been how it went."

"But as soon as you knew Lonnie was involved, why didn't you end it right then?"

"You mean walk away and pretend I never met you? I'm sorry, but I guess I was too selfish for that. I could have and I should have done just that, and handed it over to one of my investigators, or the police. Actually I did hand it over to one of my investigators, but I didn't walk away. By the time I had bought the house, and worked with you decorating it, I knew I was in love with you."

Megan got up and poured them coffee and sat back down before looking at him again. "Do you have any idea how much I was hurt when you told me your real name, how betrayed I felt?"

"Probably not. I knew I had to tell you, and I knew it was going to be tough, and I knew your life was going to change drastically. But Meg, even if I had walked away, Lonnie would have still ended up where he is today. I didn't create that situation, I just reported it. He was on a course of self destruction right from the first time he stole data from Fairmont."

"How long was that going on?"

"Something over three years as near as we could figure."

"My God, he started that business less than four years ago."

"I know. Nobody but Lonnie knows for sure, but I think it's a safe bet that he had it planned before he started the business."

"I'm so confused. How could I live with him and not know anything?"

"Because he saw to it that you never knew much, and what you did know wasn't likely the truth. Don't be hard on yourself about that. Even Fairmont was unaware for a long time. They thought that they and Lonnie just happened to choose similar areas of interest and Lonnie was just one step ahead of them."

"But he spent tons of money on research."

"Yes, he did, but it was only a fraction of what he would have spent had he done his own early phase work. By waiting until Fairmont did the early stages, he could step in with fresh cash flow and build from Fairmont's work."

Megan was quiet again and Russ just sat there to give her time to process what had been said. "So what will you do now?"

"That's pretty much up to you, Meg. I'll continue to live in that house and I'll continue to love you and think about you. Beyond that there is little else I can do. I wish I could think of a way to convince you of how I feel, and have you be certain that I'll never lie to you, or withhold information from you again, but I can't. You'll have to decide how you feel about that."

"You're not going to move?"

"Of course not, I love that house, I love how it's decorated, and I love my neighbor. I'd be a fool to move."

"Do you really think we could be together again after all that has happened?"

"I think we could, and there's nothing I'd like better, but as to whether or not we will be, I just don't know. You have to come to terms with Lonnie being in prison for a very long time, and decide how you'll deal with that. Only you can decide if you'll be able to accept the fact that Lonnie is totally guilty and the primary force behind their enterprise. Plus, you'll have to decide how you feel about me. How would it be now if Lonnie was in prison and you didn't know me or at least knew me very slightly? Where would that put you that is different from where you are now? Plus only you can decide where you want to be tomorrow. Will you divorce Lonnie or wait for him. Will you forgive me and want to be with me, or will you continue to condemn and rebuff me? Just remember, I love you and that will not change."

There was nothing more that he could say. She'd given him his chance and he'd been honest and open with her.

"Russ...I'm still having trouble with that name, I wish I knew the answers to those questions. I think I do but my world has been such an awful mess."

"I know it has." He took a chance and took her hand in his. "Meg, thank you for letting me see you and tell you my side of things. I'd give anything to change some things, but some things I wouldn't change for anything. I wouldn't change the chance to meet you, to know you, and to love you. I wouldn't change the fun we had shopping together, and I wouldn't change the kiss we shared not all that long ago. Those things will be with me forever" and he kissed the back of her hand. Meg didn't resist him, but she didn't smile either. She also didn't take her hand away as he continued to hold it.

Russ stood up, and as much as he didn't want to be away from her, he had nothing more he could say to her. It was up to her now. "Meg, I'll go home and let you think about what I've said. I won't bother you, but if you're willing I'd like us to be together again even for coffee or whatever."

She walked with him to the door and as he opened it she asked him, "Want to come for lunch tomorrow?"

The End