Excerpt
J. Edward picked up his reading glasses again and put them on. He flipped through the stack of pink telephone messages that Barbara had laid on his desk earlier in the day. Its too late to call any of them back tonight, he chuckled to himself.
There was one from his first wife. That could wait; he placed it aside. What does she want now, he wondered. Probably more money. He had learned a hard lesson from her and quickly became educated about prenuptial agreements after his first marriage. About the only thing she didnt get back then was his Aston Martin V8 Vantage. He couldnt help it if he liked the fastest of everything.
He quickly flipped through the remaining message slips. There was one from his yacht broker; maybe he had a buyer. Also a message from StratoShares, one from his second wife, and one from Liz, his girlfriend. How did I miss that one, he mused. He continued looking and found another from his first wife and finally one from his son.
He took the entire stack and threw them in the gold-plated wastebasket under his desk. He would call Liz and Edward right now. His yacht broker could wait until tomorrow and as far as StratoShares and his ex-wives, well, they could all go to hell.
His conversation with Edward was brief and after a half-hour of talking to Liz, he hung up the phone. He felt his heart racing again. The difference this time was it felt good. What did he care if Liz was half his age. Plenty of guys had trophy wives, so why couldnt he. Hed have to call his attorney tomorrow and see how the prenup was coming along.
He glanced down at the well-designed yellow-gold Patek Philippe wristwatch, a gift from Liz. The time was just after eleven. He pushed back his chair and stood up. He lifted his black suit jacket off the back of the chair and put it on. Reaching across his desk, he removed a Hoyo de Monterrey Double Corona from the humidor and shoved the Cuban cigar into his inside suit pocket. Hed have time to smoke it in the car on the drive to his home on the Upper East Side.
He walked across his office and turned off the burner to the coffee pot. He flicked off the light switch and closed the large wooden door behind him. Stopping at Barbaras desk, he jotted a quick message on a yellow Post-It note and left it for her to find in the morning.
As he proceeded down the long carpeted hall toward the reception area, he realized he had finally had enough. He knew it was time to retire. He had been in investment banking for fifty years and seen just about everything. He had worked with them all. You name them and he knew them.
He just couldnt do it anymore. He suspected his health was failing and wanted to enjoy the remainder of his life. He wanted to go out on top. It was time to turn it over to his son, J. Edward Chambers III.
As he neared the office reception area he could see through the outer glass wall, a uniformed night watchman standing in the hall near the elevator. Edward walked over and pressed several numbers on the security keypad. He activated the alarm and then exited through the large glass double doors.
He approached the elevator while he patted his pockets to make sure he had his wallet, keys, and cigar.
The young Italian security guard greeted him with a friendly Good evening.
Edward looked at him indifferently and replied with a monotone Hello. After pausing a second, he added, I assume the elevator has been fixed? I had to take the stairs down to forty-five earlier today to catch an elevator.
Its been fixed, the guard replied with a distinct Brooklyn accent. He pressed the Down button and stood there chewing his gum, smiling at Edward.
Edward eyed him curiously. I dont recognize you. Are you new?
Nah, he replied, I usually walk the lower floors and thats mostly on weekends.
Edward was there on weekends but didnt recall ever seeing the young man. Oh well, he thought, its a big building.
Edward looked down at his watch as the elevator doors slid open. It was 11:15 P.M. As he said good night and started to step forward, he raised his head and felt his heart skip a beat. His body paralyzed as his mouth dropped open in disbelief. He blinked a couple times and reached up to find he was wearing his reading glasses. He tore them off and blinked again.
He knew his vision was failing, but confirmed he wasnt imagining what he was seeing. He was staring into an open elevator shaft, at gray steel cables and bare concrete walls.
What Edward didnt see was the butt of the security guards revolver come crashing down on his right temple.
The blow instantly knocked Edward unconscious as he closed his eyes and crumpled forward in pain into the darkness of the elevator shaft.
The guard momentarily stopped chewing his gum and stood silently waiting. Seconds later he heard a faint, distant echo as the old mans body collided and became one with the top of the elevator car at the bottom of the building.
The guard pressed the wall button and the elevator doors closed on the now makeshift mausoleum. He turned and walked away as he resumed chewing his gum. He smiled and thought to himself, The boss is sure gonna be pleased.
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