After the Win Pt. 02

He had no idea of what was going on with this one? Why does Mike want him and her to get together and why do the women all seem to want the same thing. The last time he had seen her, she looked wonderful. Beautiful to a fault. Tall with blue eyes that can look right into your soul and read you like a book, blonde hair and the whitest teeth on earth, built beyond belief, Fantastic sense of humor, and an honor code beyond belief. A fantastic woman for sure. Was she to be his or vice versa as the case may be. Again, why was Mike so set on this? It bothered him a lot to think of Mike doing anything nefarious. It just wasn't in him to do so. Still...

Back on the tour of the house, Steve went from room to room and saw nothing but fantastic beauty and quality of both materials and workmanship. Every room was tastefully decorated in a southwest pattern giving the illusion of a country estate of the first order. There was even a modest sized home for the gardener and cook/housekeeper, providing of course that they were a couple he thought while smiling broadly.

Okay. Time to talk to Mike and see what could be done or can be done to buy this place.

Steve found Mike sitting at the kitchen table nursing a cold beer with their two friends that had just arrived with the beer and some barbeque sandwiches and went to the refrigerator and got a beer and joined them at the table. "Mike, you do know that you are a rotten SOB, don't you? You knew I would love it, didn't you? Well, how much is it listed for and what am I going to have to pay to get it. And why are you smiling like that? You thinking of the commission you are going to make without having to work for it again? Just like a damn lawyer, smile at your face and cut your throat or reach around and stab you in the back at the same time. My own brother. Well, come on, asshole. Talk to me about the money."

"There is a full 640 acres between the fences here. The house has 5 bedrooms and 5 baths plus a powder room and a master suite with a master bath in it. Kitchen, dining room, breakfast area, den, living area, large office/study, 4 car garage with a mud room, storm cave, auxiliary/emergency power supply, pool, pool house, changing area, 1200 square foot guest house, and finally a 1600 square foot gardener/housekeepers home off to the side. Original asking price was $3.3 million. You have this house and all contents and everything between the fences for a total of $2.5. Here are your keys and congratulations, Steve, Brother, Friend." Mike said holding out two sets of what looked like house keys."

"Whoa!! Just hold up the damn horses for maybe 25 seconds here. I have to take Mikey here out back for a serious ass whipping and then I will be back in and we can start without him."

"Why 25 seconds, Steve?" Asked one of their friends.

"I was pissed and thought I might have wanted to do it twice." This brought a roar from everybody except Mike, and Steve grabbed Mike in a head lock and asked how he had done it and he was told that he paid for it from the refund money they had earned after recalculating the amount of tax owed the state on that other gamble they had taken part in, so in reality, this property had not cost him a single penny when you looked at it that way. He had waited to tell Steve until the time was right and it could not have been any more right than right that minute. Everyone agreed whole heartedly.

Steve looked at Mike and simply said "People, no matter what nor where we go, let all men know this is my brother, now and forever." And kissed him on the cheek before hugging him and then telling everyone that he gets jealous easy, so for them not to engage in too much public kissing.

Mike grabbed Steve's elbow and told him to grab a cold six pack and meet him out by the pool house as soon as possible. And headed off someplace.

Stephen went to the pool house and looked around a bit before putting the already cold drinks into the refrigerator. He had not paid much attention to the pool house the first time they came through so he paid special attention to details now. He was impressed by the sheer luxury that he felt out there. He could not explain it to anyone, not even himself. There was just a feeling inside this room that everything was right with the world. There was a comforting richness that was hard to describe but easy to feel. If you entered the room and was in an agreeable mood with whatever spirits might be inhabiting the room at the time, you could lay back and relax and let the mellowness flow over and envelope you completely with a feeling unlike any other one might find anywhere on earth, without the aid of mysticism or mood enhancing illegal drugs. But a glass of nice wine or a smooth whiskey might help.

Stephen began trying to understand all that had happened and all that was still happening it seemed. It looked like it all went back to some occurrence relating to Christie. He hoped that Mike would explain it in full when he came back to the pool house. If not, he thought he could bury the body behind the pool house in the flower beds.

Stephen was looking out the window of the pool house when he saw Mike coming down the sidewalk so he went to the refrigerator and pulled out two beers and sat them on the coffee table between the front facing couches. Mike came in and smiled at Steve and said, "Bro, I know you are confused and maybe even a little mad at me right now, and I don't blame you one iota. I would be totally pissed if I was you. But then you always were nicer than me, that's why I am the attorney.

"Steve, I cannot explain everything 100% for lots of reasons. Most you will learn over time from other sources thus saving my career and keeping me from jail perhaps. Confused? Good. It is confusing as only real life facts can be. Fiction could never come up with a plot so devious and convolved as this. Christine is the totally innocent victim here and she has no idea that there ever even was a plot to rob her of her birthright, money, and even her life.

"As I told you, Christie is really my Aunt but doesn't know it. I treat her as a sister and we both love it like that and have started telling anyone that asks that we are brother and sister, even more so than you and I being brothers, even if Mom did want to adopt you. It was hard to keep this information from you growing up, but Christie going away to school helped with keeping it a secret, but it also hurt efforts to correct the mess from what my father has told me.

"As you remember, my grandfather was and still is a corporate mogul. He doesn't even have a clue as to how much money he has as it comes in faster than he can have it counted. Kind of like the national debt in reverse. However, while he is rich as hell, not all that money is his. There were assorted agreements, loans, defaults, repayments, with so much drama and detail to the financial wranglings going on that it would be mind boggling if it imploded suddenly. There was always lots of drinking and carousing by the higher echelons of management at all those old companies, which is why there was a constant turnover of nice looking office staff. Dear Old Grandfather got drunk after a board meeting one day and seduced, actually raped Christie's mom and she became pregnant with just that one tryst. She was so ashamed that she left town much to the protests and chagrin of my grandfather. She had her baby in Switzerland and then killed herself by skiing off that ledge, or so it was rumored. Yes, it was labeled an accident, but it wasn't. It hasn't been proven but we know dear old Grandfather pushed her off that cliff. She was an Olympic grade skier and there was no way she would miss that turn and gone over the cliff. She carried her guilt to her grave but also made a report on all that had happened and how it happened and a part of that report was an expose of grandfather's business dealings and collusion with numerous other executives from other companies. Had any of that gotten out, several of this nation's top corporations would have had to replace many corporate executives and board members, causing trillions upon trillions of dollars in stock value to disappear. Some stocks would have been almost worthless. And the downward spiral would have caused a financial avalanche you would not believe because these corporations are so intertwined with each other no one or group could ever separate them in our lifetime.

"Christie is involved even though she is that proverbial innocent bystander. She has done nothing and is totally unaware who her father is let alone his business dealings. Herein lies the problem base. My grandfather was and still is a total skunk. He and others of his ilk conspired to bankrupt and close certain companies they deemed detrimental to their financial future. It was at one of the meetings that certain plans were put in place that was to have made the group even more wealthy and powerful in the business world. When you already have more money than you can ever spend, why go after more except to feed that obsessive greed they each had. Most, if not all of those plans discussed that day were as illegal as could be and would have landed them all in jail forever for the multitude of crimes they conspired on. Christie's mother was shocked and sickened that her boss that she had so admired could actually be that way and that he would expose her to those actions and deeds so cavalierly. Feeling the power that had magnified itself during the meeting, he started drinking and forced Christie's Mom to drink a few also but she was able to dispose of some of them or else she might have died of alcohol poisoning from the sheer number and size of drinks he tried to force down her. In the end he decided that she should grace him with her body and love and virtually raped her and Christie was the result.

"Grandfather gave her a lot of cash and sent her to one of those private hospitals in Switzerland to have the baby. Little did he know that she also took years of notes from those meetings with her and while she was laid up she was able to go through and organize them into meaningful groups ready for the Securities and Exchange Commission and the FBI and Justice Department.

"She was going to burn them all without a stake, such was her anger and shame. Had grandfather of taken credit or blame as the case may be for his actions instead of sending her away, none of this would be happening now. She admired him greatly but did not think she was in love with him, just in awe of him as so many others were.

"When she died in that skiing mishap, which was under mysterious conditions to say the least, a lot of things happened. Christie's mom was cremated and at the same time, a strange fire broke out at the hospital cottage where Christie and her mom lived and the house and contents were totally destroyed. Christie was at the home of one of her mother's friends in the village at the time of the fire or else she might have been a victim of the intense fire as it so destroyed everything else.

"Christie was placed under the care of a relative on her mother's side that lived back east before they finally relocated to Dallas. That you already know about. She was the "Beneficiary" of her mother's life insurance policy, except there was no policy. Grandfather paid it all and set up the trust fund she has always lived on. She thinks it is all a part of the insurance. He wanted her to not worry about money and her situation and go looking into things that might have destroyed his world.

"The notes that Christie's mom made did not burn up in the fire because they were not there. Christie's mom had secretly made arrangements with a friend to keep them for her and if something were to happen to her, then they were to be mailed to her sister in New York where Christie grew up. Not thinking anything was amiss, the friend in Switzerland kept the notes and it wasn't until the friend passed away and her family found them and mailed them to the address on the package and here we are today, wondering what to do with it all.

"Even today, besides tearing Christie completely apart and destroying her forever, it would still send shockwave throughout the business world and would tie up the Justice Department lawyers for years and years and the government would have to build another country club prison for all the culprits. However, and here we kind of go off the rails and out into the unknown somewhat, should someone such as yourself happen to marry Christie, then they would theoretically own half her stock or at least have a bit of control over them and a leveling effect could be started to bring a bit of justice, for lack of a better word, to the situation. It could take years of careful doings to systematically take care of the situation.

"Steve, please don't get me wrong here, I beg of you, and for so many reasons. I was not kidding when I said that you and Christie were made for each other. Not at all. You are a perfect match in every way. I know you would never purposely hurt her in any way or for any reason. It just isn't in you to do that. That is why we are having this talk. Trust me, my brother, she is more than worth any effort to win her hand and love. She is the just like you. She just would not ever hurt anyone on purpose or cause another to hurt themselves,

"I have those notes from Christie's mom and have read them. Didn't sleep for three days afterward. Yes, they were that scary with what was planned. If, and when, you should marry her or you ever wind up on a board or boards, then you will be given the proper information to use as you see fit."

"Mike... I don't know what to say. This is so mind boggling and difficult for me to understand and comprehend. I am deeply honored that you, even though we are as close as brothers are trying to place the trust in me to do the right thing, not only for me but for others that I have not seen in ages or have never met. I will probably never progress in my understanding of the situation much beyond where it is now. You do know me and know that I will do anything I can to help anyone I can, but I do have some questions. Me and Christie hooking up sounds like a great idea and as I remember her, she is a looker. However, Mr. Match Maker, what if she doesn't like me or care for me in that way? What if she is a closet lesbian? Or not in the closet? Or any number of reasons we don't click? This would destroy your plan right at the start. You cannot just give her a double dose of Love Potion Number 9 and say 'sic 'em' and let it go at that."

Mike roared with laughter at that comment and with tears in his eyes said "Damn, Bro, where did that one come from? You are not smart enough to come up with something like that on your own. That was a good one.

"We have a plan in place that would arrange all of that over time. My father has no love or respect for his father, my grandfather. He calls him a backstabbing asshole and a "Reverse Zorro" in that he steals from the poor and gives to the rich. They have no family dealings at all and only a few business dealings that have to be done because of legal reasons.

"Dad is fully on board with all this and loves the idea. Loves you, too, Bro. Anyhow, he sits on lots of boards and as you now have lots of money you are qualified to sit on some high profile boards that do not require specific business experience. I think he has three boards in sight right now that he wants to talk to you about joining. This is going to get your fingers into the business bowl and will open a few more doors for you down the line. Like I said, we really cannot give Christie all this information for all the reasons you know about. Off the record. Steve, I do love you both like family. Actually, closer than family as I got to choose you and family is pot luck at best. If, and I do say if, you and Christie should marry then more things will open up in your name that will help in reversing those actions of so long ago.

Now, ideally you two would be married and established before she inherits her birthright. While she does not know at this time who her biological father is and this is going to be a real shock and surprise to her, we will try to soften the blow as much as possible. She will come into vast amounts of money and I would prefer the term influence instead of power, but the result is the same. She and/or you will be a very powerful duo in the business world.

"My grandfather is not going to be happy at all, but hopefully we can smooth his feathers out a little. After all, he and his greed made this mess and now we are going to clean it up. He can scream and holler all he wants to but those screams will only fall onto deaf ears.

"There might be a hell of a fight between Christie and my father for control of grandfather's stocks and money and companies and everything else as they are actually half brother and sister, and if you ask me nicely I will show you who wins each of those battles. It is more than fair to each of them. Any questions right now?"

"Oh, Hell, yes, do I have questions. There is not enough time left in the day to get around to all of them my friend. I cannot believe you are roping me into this like you are. Let's start off with my original question. What makes you think Christie would ever be interested in me or someone like me?"

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8--proofed above here

"Let me show you something that can never ever be discussed anywhere or with anyone but me." Mike reached into a briefcase he had with him and handed Steve a stack of assorted paper items and said to look at them and the dates on them carefully. They were just pieces of paper, the backs of letters, envelopes and just whatever. When Stephen looked at them, he was shocked to see that because almost every available space was filled with a beautiful script of someone either proclaiming or practicing signing their name as Mrs. Stephen James Armstrong, Mrs. Stephen Armstrong, Mrs. Christine Armstrong, Christie Armstrong, and other assorted variations. Steve was almost embarrassed at what he was seeing but instead asked if this was the rantings of a school girl with a crush or what.

Steve liked to have choked when Mike asked him to check the stamped dates on some of the letters and was in awe of the fact that some of them were dated earlier this same year. Did this mean that Christie has had a secret yearning or whatever you might want to call it for a while. Wow! Damn! What the huh?? He could not believe it for lots of reasons but mostly because she was what she was, and that was a beautiful young lady, smart, intelligent, daring, funny, fun to be with type woman that just made you want to get to know her lots better and in lots of ways, too. What man in this or any other world would not be proud to walk down any isle or pathway or sidewalk of the world with this prize on his arm. Why had she chosen him to want, if in fact she did. Their first meeting in a long time was going to prove interesting to say the least. He already knew that he did not know how to act, especially at first. "Man, O Man, Mike, you are going to die if I get my hands around your throat.

"Okay, Mike. I can kill you later, I guess. Now what about all this teaching little miss New York Princess all the dirty things upstanding and hardworking cowboy types have to do and why the hurry with it?"

"You missed your calling, Steve. You should have studied law as you sure have the gift of gab. But probably you can't be as devious as a good lawyer might need to be. We won't mention truth, justice, and the American way... Oh, wait... That was Superman, wasn't it? Seriously, Steve. Christie needs as much well-rounded farm girl knowledge as is possible as soon as possible as a major part of her inheritance is going to depend on that knowledge. If she passes the test they have devised, she will inherit a large ranch, and if not, then it will pass on to someone totally undeserving, like my grandfather.