Perfect Match (29 page)

“Okay, I’m going to get my attorney started on the legal
stuff first thing Monday morning. He paused. “How’s Sandy? Looks like her
cooking is agreeing with you. I can tell you’ve put on some weight. You look
the best ever. Ready for a centerfold in GQ?”

Billy grinned. “Sober too. What took us so long to figure
out that sobriety has its advantages?”

They both laughed.

“Sandy’s the best girlfriend I’ve ever had. I really like
being with her…easy going woman…no pretense. What a relief that is. How about
you, met any wild nurses up here?”

He chuckled, thinking of Amazon Annie, but better leave that
one alone. Even Billy wouldn’t believe it, if I told him. “No, they’re all
professional and straight-laced. Cobalt has a good staff.”

Later, Roscoe’s realtor, scavenging for business 24/7
called. “Roscoe, you are one lucky guy. I’ve leased your penthouse for three
years, and the Alaska investment group accepted your counter without a quibble.
You’re the proud owner of one of the lowest rated properties in Asheville. If I
didn’t know you, I wouldn’t say that. I just hope this works out for you.”

He chuckled, “We’ll see. You’ll probably be one of the first
to know of the success…or failure.”

“Okay, one other thing. The sellers agreed to give you sixty
days to secure financing. You think that’s gonna work for you?”

“I…think so. Give me the names of the smallest and newest
banks in town.”

“I’ll send you an email with that info. There’s one in
particular that was started by a small group of investors that were laid off by
a couple of the bigger banks. They’re giving some serious competition to the
big guys.”

“I’ll check them out. Okay, let’s do the paper work on
anything else I need to sign first thing Monday morning.”

They wrapped up their call.

Roscoe placed a call to the auto dealership regarding his
wrecked Corvette. “May I speak with Walter, please?”

He waited for the patch through.

“Walter here. What can I help you with?”

“D.R. Fallington calling.” He thought, wonder how long it’ll
take me to switch the world from D.R. to Roscoe?

“Hey, man, got some info for you. Let me pull up my notes.”
The computer keys were clicking. “Since you carried the premium insurance, you’re
going to get almost full replacement value, which means if you pay nothing, you
can get a new model with fewer options. How’s that sound?”

Roscoe thought a moment. “What if I select a new one but
don’t take delivery? You sell it new.”

“So-o-o you want the car replaced, but you want the
dealership to sell it?”

“Correct.”

“We can do that. We’ll charge you a small commission, but we
can probably get new car price for you.”

“What are the most popular colors for Corvettes?

“Right now it’s white, black, and silver in that order.”

“Make it white. Now about the commission…you’ve gotten lots
of business from me and Fallington Enterprises through the years. Do you want
my future business or do you want that small commission now?”

“Forget the commission. We want your future business.”

“Good. Call me when you sell the car.”

“Will do.”

Roscoe hit another number on his phone.

“Attorney Steve Jackson speaking. How may I help you?”

“You are probably the only attorney in town working on
Saturday morning.”

“You got that right. As a matter of fact I’m working on your
case right now…was going to call you later today.” He took a deep breath and
exhaled. “The District Attorney wanted to throw the book at you, but I was able
to get him to see the errors of his ways. He’ll actually recommend a plea of
guilty along with a Prayer for Judgment Continued, which means there won’t be a
trial, and the guilty plea will not be entered against you. However, a trial
date will be set, probably a year from now to see how you’re behaving. By that
time you’ll probably have been nominated for sainthood, and all of this will be
moot.

“Although the police have been well aware of your fast
driving through the years, you’ve had no prior convictions. That was in your
favor. I also learned the police “estimated” your speed. They weren’t able to
clock you with technical devices. Lucky again for you. In most cases the judge
accepts the recommendation of the District Attorney. That’s going to help you.
But I think the community service we discussed the other day is going to be the
key, so polish up your anti-crime presentations.”

“How can you be so gleeful about this?”

“Easy, because I’m the attorney and you’re the defendant.”

“Glad you reminded me of that. Okay, what about…am I going
to have to appear in court?”

“No. I can represent you, enter your plea. We may have a
back-and-forth on a couple papers I’ll need you to sign, but justice can
sometimes be served by shuffling papers and exchanging money…uh, and plenty of
community service.”

“Yeah, let’s not forget that. Okay, let’s do this as soon as
possible. I’d like to put this mess behind me.”

“It’ll happen first thing Monday morning.”

Roscoe placed his phone on the small hospital table,
thinking, running through the rough figures again, adding and subtracting,
concluding that if everything fell in place he’d have enough money to sustain a
business for about three months. He knew those were very risky odds, damn near
unrealistic, but for the first time in his life he didn’t have access to any
other options. He had to survive on his own.

He shook his head in disbelief that he’d let a salary of
$175,000 slip away from him, as he fell from a prized-position of CEO of a
successful company. He thought, arrogance really does blind a person, but I refuse
to feel sorry for myself.

Monday

Madison’s flight departed Asheville Regional Airport at 6:30
a.m. with a connecting flight in Detroit and a final destination of Hong Kong.
Estimated trip time from airport to airport, 36 hours. It usually took Madison
only 20 minutes to get to work in downtown Asheville.

She’d loaded her Kindle eBook reader with a dozen or so new
novels. Her smartphone and Media Tablet were fully charged. Weather for the
next ten days in Hong Kong was to be in the low 80’s. She had packed
accordingly, with her flashiest scarves as her signature accent. Every article
of her clothing was made in America. She was on a mission that went further
than a fashion statement.

Weeks ago she had secured her passport, taken all necessary
medical inoculations and precautions for international travel. Since this was a
business trip for Fallington Enterprises, the attorneys had completed and filed
all paper work in compliance with state and federal regulations. The paper
trail for Madison’s trip was longer than the trip itself.

Edna Fallington had made a number of trips to China when she
was younger. She always got along well with the Chinese, but relations became
strained after D.R. became involved and traveled to Hong Kong. Relations had
become particularly testy over the past two years.

During the past three years, Madison had learned to speak
Chinese moderately well. The Fallington office in Hong Kong was staffed by two
Americans who had moved to China fifteen years ago. Both had married Chinese women.
In addition, six Chinese, three men and three women were employed. Madison had
enjoyed friendly conversations with each staff person. They all spoke fluent
English in addition to their native Chinese.

As the jet banked, Madison caught a glimpse of the Cobalt
Medical Center campus in the distance. With a cloudless sky, she could see
clearly the helicopter pad near the main building. She hoped so much that a
helicopter would soon bring a new kidney to Selena.

Her heart lurched thinking of her daughter and what a good
patient she’d been through the years. She wondered if most girls Selena’s age
would have adjusted to the limitations that easily. Madison felt the gripping
fingers of anxiety, as she had a passing thought of something going wrong while
she was out of country. But she knew the trip was necessary. A lot of money was
at stake for Fallington Enterprises.

Her anxiety quickly jumped to anger as she thought that the
trip might not have been necessary if D.R. Fallington hadn’t screwed something
up, or literally screwed the wrong women in Hong Kong. Since becoming CEO of
Fallington she’d spent countless hours mending broken business relations,
shoring up company operations, and now trying to patch up the offended feelings
of one of Fallington’s biggest suppliers in China.

She wasn’t sure her approach to the Chinese problem would
work, but she was willing to give it her best. As she explained her strategy to
Edna, they both agreed that she should be accompanied by three personal
bodyguards from Cold Steel Security, an international security firm that
operated quietly, providing security for a variety of private and governmental
individuals world-wide. Their services were expensive, but if Madison could
recover the money at stake it would be worth it. She had gone through her
strategy so many times that she’d been dreaming about it the past few nights.

She knew if she could literally choke D.R. Fallington this
very moment, it wouldn’t solve anything. But I’d personally feel a heck of a
lot better, she thought. If anything happens to Selena while I’m on this trip
I’ll never forgive him.

As Madison’s plane left Asheville behind, Roscoe was up and
had finished eating another tray filled with unrecognizable “foods” called
breakfast, according to the hospital menu. I’ve got to escape from this
hospital or I’ll never survive.

He scribbled a few more notes, mentally lining up his plan
for the day. He still hadn’t had a call back from Trevor Drake, the hospital
technician he’d met the other day. That was added to his follow-up list, and at
the right time he’d have his conversation with Rachel, who’d become his
favorite nurse.

By 9:00 a.m. sharp he hit the call button on his phone to
the biggest bank in town, the one Fallington Enterprises had done business with
for decades. Roscoe remembered the extension number and was soon talking with
the Vice-President for Business Relations. The conversation was chilly from the
beginning.

“Yes, D.R., what can I do for you?” Generic business
greeting.

Roscoe said, “I need a business loan.” He gave the VP a
brief outline of his plan, the property involved, and the general business
operation.

A grandfatherly chuckle drifted through the phone.

“D.R., as you know, we’re in the business to make money,
along with responsible customers. Your idea doesn’t fit our requirements for,
shall I say a prudent venture that the bank can responsibly become involved
in.” He paused a moment. “By the way, I understand you’re no longer associated
with Fallington Enterprises.” He paused again, letting that sink in. “I’m sure
you understand our position. We’re just not interested in such a high risk.
Please give my regards to Edna Fallington. She has been a trusted business
customer of ours for years. A dear, dear woman.”

“I’ll be happy to pass your compliment along to her.”

Roscoe ended the call.

He made three other calls to the leading banks in the area,
but received the same response. Rejection delivered with condescending
attitude. Roscoe thought, not a good feeling. But then he wondered how many
times he’d used the same tone in dealing with people. Not a pleasant memory
about myself.

He placed a call to the small, new bank that had opened a
few months ago. After listening to Roscoe’s business plan the banker exhaled,
and said, “Well, there’s plenty of risk in that plan, but I like the overall
idea. But that location and the property are almost worthless, and that’s the
only collateral you’ve got?”

“I’ll have an operating cushion of about three or four
months. My attorney should be able to prepare financials for you by the end of
the week. I’ll also have an additional amount in reserve in case I or we have
to bailout. Remember, my plan includes my portion for the renovation of over
eighty percent. I stand to lose everything. The most the bank could lose would
be a small fraction.”

There was a long pause.

The banker finally said, “Okay, get your financials to me.
I’m about ninety percent positive, if your financials check out.”

After the call ended, Roscoe gave thumbs up.

He bypassed everything cooked on the hospital menu for
lunch, opting for any kind of raw fruit he could order. Feeling encouraged by
the conversation with the banker, he gave some thought to his foot. He extended
it while seated, moving it in all directions, feeling only a little twinge of discomfort.
They had put in a few fresh stitches to repair the damage when his foot crashed
against the wall while subduing Gregory Styles. Nothing major as far as he
could tell.

The gash he’d received on his cheek from the wreck had
healed beyond his expectations. He’d been so busy with his plans for the future
he’d almost forgotten the scar, glimpsing it only when he shaved. His hair
usually fell over the six stitches on his forehead from the Styles incident. No
worry there. I may be close to getting out of this joint, he thought.

He started to use his crutches, but decided to use his
wheelchair, just in case he saw Selena in the sunroom. He’d be at eye-level
with her.

When he wheeled into the sunroom, Selena was gazing out the
windows watching the birds swoop down for water in the landscaped garden pool
in the front grassy lawn. He eased his chair around and immediately noticed
that she looked tired, almost gaunt. She was pale, but her underlying impish
teenage looks were still there. He’d come to like that about her, but he was
most intrigued by her energetic personality, and her questions always seemed to
make him think more deeply about things.