Power Trip

Jonny turned to Margie, raised an eyebrow. She smiled at him, stood up and asked him to dance.

She was a great dancer. Jonny was used to Beth, who was okay. Jonny had his innate athletic ability, and was very good on the dance floor. They did a jitterbug, another faster dance, and then a slow dance. Jonny found himself quite attracted to Margie. That attraction was reciprocated. But after the slow number, he whispered, "Maybe we should dance with our spouses." She gave him a small look of disappointment, then nodded. She said, "Dan can't dance. I have to protect myself at all times. He lacks rhythm." She gave him a smile with her head turned from their table.

Dan and Beth were already at the table. Dan was in Jonny's seat. Jonny held his hand out to Beth, who hesitated only briefly before allowing herself to be led onto the floor.

They had a nice time rocking back and forth to a medium number. Then another slow song came on and, as they danced, Beth said, "I see you hit it off well with Margaret."

"Sure did. She's great. Good dancer."

"I saw. She must have some type of training."

"She's a librarian. She just has good rhythm, footwork."

"Ummmhmm. Hip work was what I noticed."

"No sweat, Beth. I do note that your boss didn't ask me about dancing with you."

"He...well, he's not a man who's naturally polite."

"Does that mean he simply takes what he wants, Beth?"

"Jonny, stop. He and I work together. That's it. He has his family. And his sexy wife."

"As long as he doesn't try for my sexy wife. You be careful, Beth."

"Noted, counselor."

The rest of the evening went on without a hitch. But Jonny was alerted.

During the next four months or so, Jonny paid more attention to Beth's work, and what she said about it when they talked at home.

Prior to the holiday party, and for a while after, Beth would discuss Dan and the team. She wasn't allowed to give details of the work to him. But she did speak about interpersonal stuff. Dan's kids, the dating behavior of the other team members, who were all single. Office gossip. But for the last two months, the gossip continued, but Dan was hardly ever mentioned. Jonny noticed this. He decided to do a deep dive into Dan, the firm, and the merger. When he started, he already knew a small amount about the merger. Blackburn Company, the larger of the two firms, wanted to acquire Newstar. Jonny had done a bit of business with Newstar. He had licensed some code to them, on an exclusive basis. He got some income from that. Well, his sole proprietorship got income. Thing was, Newstar's license to use the code was non-transferable without TLC's authorization. When he did his deep dive, he discovered that the merger would not affect that. In other words, for the new company to use his code, they'd have to get TLC's permission. All that paperwork had been handled by TLC's in-house counsel, and also signed by him - Gerry Dolan. Dolan was one of five TLC employees.

Jonny wondered why Beth was anywhere near this deal, since TLC was a part of it. Then he considered that, since he owned all 100% of TLC, his name would not be in any public filings. There were no public filings, really. There were tax returns, but none listed under the LLC. Anyway, they were supposed to be private. So, maybe the firm was unaware of his position. He thought that, if true, it was a major oversight on their part. But, so far, neither Beth nor anyone else had mentioned anything to him, although he was a possible stumbling block to the merger.

Jonny also had a security firm look into Beth's law firm, Carrington and Brady. Specifically, he wanted a report on the group at the firm that handled the merger. Also, one on the name partners, including William Brady, Beth's father.

He got back a potpourri of information gleaned from lunches with staff - or near staff, conversations with spouses at coffee shops, and general observation of comings and goings at the firm's office. There was nothing very interesting, except that Beth and Dan Dewitt often went to lunch together, and not usually with others from the firm. They had gone to several lunch venues, and one fancy restaurant. That lunch took over two hours. It had been two weeks before the report.

Beth's father was investigated. It seemed to some of the staff that he had a special interest in Julia Stanton, a new partner. But there was nothing to show that the two were sexually involved. Innuendo. Always interesting. William was sixty, and fit. Carrington, his partner, was also sixty, and divorced, apparently due to the infidelity of his former wife.

As the SEC filing was nearing completion, Jonny called Gerry Dolan and asked whether he had any communication from Carrington, Brady about the merger. Dolan told him that he had a letter the day before, asking for a signature on a waiver of exclusivity as to his code. The letter made it seem as if it was a simple formality.

Jonny told Gerry to hold the letter, and make no response. Then, he waited to see what would happen.

After a week, Gerry had a call from a member of the SEC team. Not Beth, and not Dan. Nate Conklin. Gerry put him off, saying that he had to consult with ownership.

Conklin asked, "Who's that? I haven't found anything about that. It's important to us. We need an answer."

"Gerry said, "I'll get back to you soon." The call ended.

Meanwhile, Dan and Beth were discussing their mutual attraction. The initial part of the case was almost complete, and they'd not acted on anything they were feeling. They talked. And, when they went to lunch at Mason's, they had a kiss in their booth. They both knew that they might soon go their separate ways, workwise.

Dan told Beth that he'd like a week with her, at Stonewall Hotel in Chicago. He said they could tell their spouses that it was a work trip, since some of the Newstar offices were there. Dan said they wouldn't go near those. Stay in bed, go to shows, dinner. Have a good time. Beth wanted to do that. Dan was a paradigm of the type of man that revved her up. Big, brash, fit and assertive. His dark hair was never neat, and he was rarely close shaven. He looked like a movie star. She wanted him. But she loved Jonny, and was not inclined to lie to him. She told Dan that.

He made the reservations anyway. He regarded Jonny as a small fish - someone who could be pushed around, if necessary.

After the scene when Beth informed Jonny about the proposed trip, Dan was alarmed by her call. The last thing he needed was some family drama from Margie. He thought about how to prevent Jonny from contacting her. He decided to steamroll him. The next day he had his secretary put in a call to Jonny at work.

Jonny answered and was told, "Hold the line for Mr. Dewitt." He considered hanging up. But he was curious. He decided to give Dewitt one minute - no more. He turned on the device that recorded phone conversations.

Dewitt came right on the line. He said, "Mr. Bishop, I'm calling to make an attempt to avoid problems that could arise for you, if you speak to my wife about the proposed Chicago trip."

Jonny said, "Yeah?"

Dewitt paused. "You could be in for a world of hurt, professionally, if you speak to her about it."

"How? You can't do shit to me."

"This firm is one of the largest in the nation. In the world. If we stomp on you, you'll know it."

"You're a major asshole, Dewitt. And you and your firm are sloppy as shit. You don't have any idea what I do, or what you might do to fuck with me. Speaking of fucking, I'll make you a promise. If you fuck my wife, I'll do what I can to destroy you and everything you have." A pause. "Legally, that is."

Dewitt was pissed off, now. "Bring it on, you fool. I'm not cancelling. I'll fuck her if I want to, and nothing you can do will stop it."

By the time he was finished, the line had gone dead. Jonny stopped the recording and copied the conversation to his phone, to replay for Beth later.

Then he got on a conference call with Gerry Dolan and Rick Maynard, the guy from the investigators he had looking into Beth's firm.

He said, "Listen to this, fellas, and record it." He played the recorded phone call with Dewitt.

When it stopped, Maynard said, "That guy's a menace. What could he do to you?"

"He seems to have no idea who I am or what I do. I want you to monitor him and the firm, and try to figure out what they're going to do. I'd like to know if anyone tries to probe my finances, license status, taxes, and so on. Some of that, if they get it, would involve them doing a crime."

Maynard said, "Okay. But that won't be easy.

"I know. Do what you can. I'll email you all my account details."

Gerry Dolan said, "What about the merger? They...I mean, I don't know how important the license is to them. They haven't made any big effort to get an agreement."

"We'll let that play out. It's possible that it's quite important. I get a nice steady income stream from the license. Maybe I've underpriced it. I'll look into that."

Jonny decided to go home. He needed to deal with Beth. He had made an attempt to call her at work, but they said she had taken the day off. Her cell went directly to voice mail. He had started to worry about her.

She was nowhere to be found when he got home. Looking around, he saw that a few items of clothing were missing, along with her toothbrush, and her private laptop. He ran a phone locator app on her phone, and discovered that she was at her parents' house, five miles away. He ordered a pizza. When it came, he opened a pale ale and ate 'dinner.' Then he got into his car and drove over to the house belonging to the Brady bunch.

Lights were on there, and there were several cars in the drive. The front gates were open. To Jonny, it looked like a party. He parked on the circle that fronted the main entrance, got out, and walked up to the door. No music. He rang the bell.

Beth's mother, Livia, answered. She looked fearful, but opened the door and stepped aside. She said, "I guess you'd better come in, Jonny."

In the living room he saw Beth, her father, William, two lawyers from the firm that he only just recognized, and Dewitt.

Beth was on a chair by her father. Dewitt was across the room, with the two other lawyers.

William said, "We were just talking about you, Jonny. About what to do about the current situation."

"Oh? Had you made some decision?"

"Well, we thought to try to get in touch with you so we could talk. All of us."

"Talk, then. One thing I'm curious about is whether your firm is going to try to 'crush me like a bug.' That's what dickhead there threatened. Also, your own daughter. So?"

"We'd prefer not to have to do any such thing." William was stone faced.

Jonny turned to Beth. "Do you still have plans to fuck this guy?"

Livia took a quick breath and said, "Don't be crude, Jonny."

"Sorry, Livia. But that's exactly what Beth said she was going to do at the end of this week. Naturally, I'm curious."

Dewitt started to speak, but William shushed him.

William said, "Jonny, you should understand that these office romances happen. Quite often, because of the pressure of the job, and the shared stress."

"So? I'm supposed to do what?"

"Just let it play out. What harm is there? A week." William's face serious.

Jonny said, "Not gonna happen. If she goes, she and I are quits. No way back. If she comes away with me tonight, maybe we can salvage something. I hope so."

William said, "Perhaps we're at an impasse."

Jonny looked at Beth. He said, "Ignore all this. The car's outside. I invite you to come home with me. We can talk there, without the asshole."

Dewitt sprang up from his seat. Jonny was on his feet as well. Dewitt was bigger. A cut guy. But Jonny had seen him on the dance floor. Jonny laughed at him.

"C'mon, big boy. Let's see what you got." He spread his hands.

William was shouting at Dewitt to sit.

Beth yelled, "Stop....Stop."

Dewitt didn't move. Then he slumped back into his seat. Jonny did not sit. He looked at Beth. He said, "Now or never."

She smiled. It was an Elvis song that they both liked.

Jonny sang, "Tomorrow will be too late. It's now or never. My love can't wait."

Beth got up and walked to Jonny. She looked at him. She said, "I can come home tonight. But I'm my own person. And I want to take the trip."

Jonny said, "I'm so sorry to hear that. Your invitation is rescinded. As for you, Asshole, Margie will be hearing from me. And Beth, I'll have you served before you leave."

William stood and said, "That would be a huge mistake on your part, Jonny. I'll show no mercy, I swear."

Jonny pointed at William. "Big talk. Just like Asshole here. But it's bullshit. Bring it."

He turned to leave. There was a big guy with a turban standing by the door. Dark, with a beard.

Jonny darted up the stairs as soon as he saw the guy. He knew his way around the house. He heard heavy footsteps behind him. Jonny turned a corner, stopped and waited. When the footsteps neared, Jonny stuck his foot out and tripped turban. He fell like a tree. Jonny was back down the stairs in a flash. Dewitt was now at the door. Jonny didn't hesitate even a millisecond. He launched himself from the last stair and kicked Dewitt in his head, as he tried to duck away. Dewitt went down like a sack of cement. Maybe Jonny stepped on his crotch as he left the house.

But Jonny never turned around. He was afraid of someone having a gun. He was at his car and in it when he saw William and Beth come through the door. He turned the key, and drove off. No gunplay.

On the way home, Jonny considered that he had injured Dewitt. Knocked him unconscious, from what he could see as he flew by him. So, he parked his car a distance away from his house, and jogged there. No cops. No sirens. Jonny went in the back way, got some more things he needed and went out the same way. Still no cops or sirens. He got back to his ride and left the area.

He decided to hole up in an apartment that his law firm kept for visitors. He knew where they kept the key. He went there, set up his computer, and chilled. He used the computer to access the security system at his house. There was no obvious activity. He remotely turned off the lights and locked up. He also changed the code for entry, to deny Beth. He fell asleep.

Meanwhile, at the Brady home. Stephan, the turban guy, was quick to recover from his fall. But Dewitt only came around after several minutes and a dousing with cold water. Beth and Livia helped him onto a chair. He had one hand on the side of his head, and the other on his groin. There was some moaning.

He said, "Did you call the cops?"

William said, "No. Why? We were technically guilty of a felony. He's not a fool. He likely had his phone recorder on. I thought Stephan could take it from him. That was a miscalculation. It was one of several I believe."

Dewitt said, "Let's do what we said we'd do. Crush him."

Beth said, "No. This is all way out of hand. It's my fault. Damn." She started to cry. She ran upstairs.

Beth went into her old room. She locked the door. She sat in an armchair and tried to calm down. She needed to rethink the last few days.

William looked at Dewitt. He had a big bruise above his ear. He was a little woozy. When he moved, he was bent over. Livia brought him an orange juice. The other two lawyers were sent home.

William patted Dewitt's knee. He said, "You and Beth have screwed up. If she weren't my daughter, I'd fire her. If she weren't my daughter, I'd cut you off on the morals clause."

"We haven't done anything yet. And she is your daughter."

"If young Jonny makes good on his threat to inform your wife, what will you do?"

"I have children. I'll try to weather it. We haven't done anything yet. That should count for something."

"So, there will be nothing further between you and Beth. Understood?"

"Yes."

"Can she be replaced on the SEC thing?"

"Well, maybe. Not easily. But, yes."

"That has to happen. I don't want the two of you working together. I like Jonny, and I believe she's been foolish. The two of you have been foolish."

Livia said, "Many people are foolish in that same way."

That stopped the conversation. She looked at William. She stood and left the room.

Dewitt said, "I see that you haven't been as discrete as you believed. With Julia and the others."

"Not your business, Dan." But William looked shaken.

Dewitt stood up. He swayed a little, but then rallied. He walked around some. The more he did, the steadier he got. He turned to Brady and said, "I think I need to speak to Beth."

"Don't. What good would it do?"

"You and the others all have these little dalliances. It's part of the job. I haven't, so far. I always thought that it was risky and wrong. But the thing Beth and I have is different. We're so compatible. I don't want that to end."

William felt a bit uncertain. It was true that the partners, of each sex, married or not, had almost to a person dallied with either other lawyers or staff. There had been only one complaint, which had been handled internally. It was also true that Dewitt was an important part of the firm, just now. The pandemic had cut back business, but the firm had not cut expenses so much. The SEC case, and its highly likely further litigation, was quite important to the bottom line. Dewitt was the man who would spearhead that.

William couldn't afford to lose Dewitt, and Dewitt knew it. There was also the matter of his own marriage, which now seemed shaky, based upon Livia's statement.

William said, "Dan, she's married. Up to now it's been a good marriage. In tatters now. If you and she continue, she'll lose that. Maybe she has already."

Dewitt said, "I feel strongly about this. It was only a week out of a lifetime."

"Bullshit. The week would've been only the start, if what you say about the relationship is accurate."

"I want to let it play out. I saw her husband. He isn't coming back to her. She blew that when she said she still wanted to go to Chicago."

William thought about it. He stood up and said, "I'll get her."

He knocked on Beth's door. No answer. He knocked louder and said, "Don't hide like a child, Beth. We need to discuss what will happen. Dan is waiting."

Beth heard that. She had been mulling over her possibilities. She loved Jonny. She thought maybe she loved Dan. But Dan was married with three kids. Off the table, except for sex. She had decided that she wanted Jonny AND Dan. She was trying to consider how to get that when Her father knocked. She got up and opened the door.

The two of them didn't speak as they went to the living room.

When she got there, she was happy to see that Dan looked alert, though damaged. She thought he had been lucky that he didn't put up a better fight with Jonny. Because, she considered that Jonny might have killed Dan.

She said, "Dan, you can't get into it with Jonny. He's very angry and he'll hurt you."

Dan scowled, "He's small. Quick, I agree. But I'd clean his clock."

William wanted to head off any such confrontation. He agreed with Beth about the result. He said, "A simple thing. No matter who won, you'd both lose. No fight."

Dan turned to Beth, "What do you really want, Beth?"

"I want it all, of course."

"Meaning?"

"Marriage to Jonny. Sex with you. I was trying for that. But maybe I took the wrong approach. I still want that. But......if it's one or the other, I'd pick marriage. Sorry. You would, too."

Dan said, "I'm not so sure of that. You can't be sure either. Until we give it a try."

Beth nodded. She said, "But if we give it a try, he'll for sure divorce me."

"If he knows, maybe. But maybe not. I wish you'd have just gone along with the plan."

"If I did that and we got found out, he'd have left me for sure." A pause. "Geez, I don't want that. I don't."