The Rented Mule (7 page)

“Come see me. I think I can help. I have an idea.”

Cooper was surprised to learn that Mr. Daniels knew about the land deal, but was more intrigued by his offer. Borrowing a million dollars was a huge deal that he couldn’t do without some very creative financing. He noticed that Mark Wright was staring at him.

Cooper looked over at Gates, whose eyes were glazed over. He then looked back at Don Daniels and, for the first time, felt some hope.

“Great. I’ll call you… I’d appreciate anything that you can do.”

“No problem. Coosa County, right? I like that part of the world, as you may know. Let’s get this sale done, and then maybe we can make you a serious landowner.”

“I promise, I’ll get right back to you,” Cooper replied, liking what he was hearing from Mr. Daniels.

Gates finally snapped out of his stupor and babbled frivolous remarks about the football game and eating doughnuts. The other men paid no attention as they walked out of the conference room.

Cooper returned from escorting the bankers to the elevator, shut the door, and said, “We gotta talk.”

Gates dropped his head into his hands.

Mark pushed the elevator down button and then turned and smiled at Mr. Daniels. The elevator doors immediately
opened, and they walked inside. As the doors shut, Mark spoke, “Something tells me that Gates is extremely motivated to sell. We may can buy the Tower Agency for a bargain price if we play our cards right.”

“That would be part of the plan,” Mr. Daniels stated, punching the lobby button and smiling. “And it’s coming together nicely.”

“Did you notice how red Gates’s eyes were?”

Mr. Daniels stared at him while the elevator descended. When they walked through the lobby, he finally spoke. “Gates appears unstable and weak. All of which will help me buy his business substantially below book value.”

The bankers stood quietly in the lobby for a few moments. Mr. Daniels was in deep thought about the financial aspects of the deal while Mark was mulling Don’s use of the word “me.”

Don Daniels broke the silence, ordering, “Find out
exactly
how deep into debt Gates is this time. It seems like it may be worse than I thought, and I damn sure don’t want to pay a dime more than I have to.”

Mark nodded, appearing agreeable, but his concealed hatred for his uncle was growing exponentially.

C
ooper and Gates emerged from the conference room thirty minutes after the MidState Bank executives left the building. The discussion had been tense. Cooper was concerned about the whole deal, including the selling price, noncompete clauses, and the future of their staff. Gates was clearly frantic to sell, but he also wanted a twelve-month consulting contract. Cooper couldn’t understand and Gates wouldn’t explain why he wanted out so badly. The conversation ended in an impasse. Gates had simply quit talking, visibly distraught about something. Cooper eased off a bit, feeling compassion for his old friend, and promised Gates that he would call Mr. Daniels to work out the details. Both guys, mentally exhausted, staggered silently toward their respective offices.

“Cooper?” Mrs. Riley tentatively asked.

“Yes, ma’am?” He stopped at her desk.

“That new plastic surgeon called and wants you to design some ads for him. He asked if you’d trade the work for a boob job,” she stated flatly and snickered.

Cooper laughed out loud. It felt good. He smiled and asked, “Well, do you want one?”

“Heavens no! I’m nearly seventy. What would I do with ’em? What about Kelly?” she said, handing him his messages.

“No, ma’am! Don’t even
mention
it to her. I’ll call the doctor and work out something. We need the billings way more than we need new boobs around here… or at home.” He walked off, shaking his head, remembering the time that Gates paid for his second ex-wife’s tummy tuck with company funds. He categorized the invoice as Repair and Maintenance. The auditors didn’t appreciate the humor.

Cooper sat down at his desk and stared at the two fish hovering effortlessly in the large aquarium. He wondered about Gates’s desire to sell the agency,
What’s drivin’ him so hard to make this deal?

He considered Gates’s gambling, but discounted it because of Gates’s ready access to family monies and the fact that the company paid practically all of Gates’s living expenses. Cooper started running through as many additional scenarios as he could. After quite some time thinking about it, only two reasons for Gates’s behavior made any sense to him: either Gates just simply wanted out of the daily grind or he wanted a new challenge.
That’s gotta be it. Gates has something else cookin’ that doesn’t involve me… that’s why he’s bein’ so shifty.

Cooper suddenly noticed the e-mail icon blinking on his computer screen. He clicked on it. The e-mail was from Brooke saying, “I’m leaving to run some errands, but I’ll see you at 12!” It had a flashing yellow smiling face at the end of the text. It made him feel like he was in high school again. When he had read it twice, he deleted it. Looking up, he watched Gates walk into his office and plop down in a chair—his exhaustion, both physically and mentally, was obvious.

“Man, I’m sorry… I just want to sell this thing and move on with my life,” Gates whispered so no one else could hear.

Cooper motioned for him to close the door. Gates got up and eased it shut.

“I can understand that… I just don’t wanna sell it to some bottom-feeder. I wanna get top dollar,” Cooper explained. “You know that I gotta to do whatever you want, but it doesn’t make sense to sell it to Daniels… or anybody, if we don’t get what it’s worth.”

“I just want out, dude,” Gates said as he looked around Cooper’s office.

After a long moment, Cooper finally said, “Look, I wish I could afford to buy you out, but you know that I can’t come up with that kinda cash, unless, of course you’d finance it yourself?”

Cooper was fishing for Gates’s reaction. If Gates would even consider financing the sale, that would shed some light on his economic situation and his true motivation for “just wanting out.”

“I can’t. I need this to be a cash sale.”

“Need or want?” Cooper asked, now realizing that Gates might actually be in serious financial trouble. He also knew that Gates would never readily admit it. Cooper continued, “Just remember, I’m on your team through all this… let’s communicate and work the sale together. Let’s not appear desperate or divided. Okay?”

“Sure. Okay. I swear, if you could just help get the wheels back on this deal… I’ll make it up to you.”

“I’ll do what I can. Mr. Daniels has always been nice to me, but I know he’s cold-blooded when it comes to money,” Cooper replied, staring at Gates.

Gates stood. “Coop, I can’t do this without you, buddy. I really need your help. Get ’em back to the table and
please
get me a year’s consultin’ fee.”

“I’ll do what I can. I promise.”

“Thanks, man. I knew I could count on ya. I’ve got a freakin’ lunch meetin’, so I’ll be out for a while. Call my cell if you need me,” Gates explained as he started for the door. He stopped and turned as though he’d just thought of something, “Hey, can I have one of those south-of-the-border Cokes?”

“Sure.”

“You gotta be the only guy in Montgomery with these things. Thanks, man.”

Gates walked out of Cooper’s office, without opening the bottle. Cooper didn’t notice.

A
fter finally finding a parking place, Brooke parked and quickly hurried into the RSA Tower, home to the Tower Agency and many other businesses. The building was a monument to exceptional money management. While the elevator was traveling to the eighth floor, she took out a compact and checked her face. As she put the small mirror back into her purse, she smiled, thinking that this lunch was a significant step in her plans.

The elevator doors opened, and Brooke stepped out, onto the dark brown marble floor of the advertising agency’s foyer. She walked through the glass doors to the receptionist area, which was unattended. She looked around but didn’t see anyone, so she just walked straight back to Cooper’s office. Peeking around the edge of his door facing, she watched him skimming a magazine. Her heart raced a bit.

“Knock, knock. Did you call an escort agency for a lunch date?” she whispered and smiled, holding up lunch with one hand and art boards with the other.

“Hey there! Yes, yes. I definitely need an escort. Come on in. Let me help you with that.” Cooper laughed, walked over and took the art from her.

“You’re gonna love those boards,” she replied confidently.

“Excellent. I can’t wait to see ’em, and thank you so for bringin’ lunch. This is a real treat,” Cooper said eagerly.

“Hamburger steak, black-eyed peas, and mashed potatoes with gravy for you, and a chef’s salad for me.”

Cooper sat his lunch on the edge of his desk. He then took the ad boards and quickly spread them out on his desk to ensure that their meeting appeared to be all business should anyone walk in.

“This looks
soooo
good,” Cooper said as he opened the white Styrofoam tray and stole a quick glance at Brooke’s long legs.

“Looks like you got some sun at the beach,” Cooper added, casually. “I like your pink toenails.” Cooper grinned like a school boy.

Blushing, she replied, “And it looks like you got some sun too?”

“
Waaaay
too much… as you can tell,” Cooper explained, pulling his hair off his forehead.

“That’s gonna peel.”

“Yeah, I know. Ben forgot his cap, so I let him borrow mine.”

His cellular phone rang and as soon as he saw who was calling, he hit Ignore.

“That reminds me, I lost my cell phone this weekend, and I gotta call my carrier right after lunch—I shoulda done it first thing. Anyway, boy I hate that. I thought I left it in the condo, but I couldn’t find it.” Brooke shook her head. “I swear, I feel naked without it.”

Cooper instantly formed a vivid image of her nude. She had an ideal body. Her waist and chest were in perfect relationship to her hips. She possessed a simple, elegant beauty. All he could manage by way of response was a chuckle and a weak smile.

Brooke sat on the edge of the leather couch. Cooper was at his desk, across from her. They gazed at each other, grinning like love-struck teenagers. They had worked together on several projects over the last year or so, and one day while looking at some illustrations Brooke realized that she was falling for him. She appreciated that he was married, but to her surprise, it didn’t
really
bother her too much. She also knew that it was a long shot that their relationship would ever go anywhere.

Brooke was struggling to make it as a single mom, with the added burden of caring for her ailing father. Life’s pressure was intense. Compounding it, her ex-husband rarely made child support or alimony payments even though he had a well-paying job. He didn’t honor his obligations as a power play and hoped that she would take him to court. But since she was so happy to be out of the marriage, she let it slide, choosing to suffer in silence, for the most part.

She knew that her desire for Cooper was wrong, but she needed a dream, something to anticipate, hope for. She was growing weary of doing everything herself. Right or wrong, she knew that these emotions weren’t lust, but she realized they probably were not love either. Tired of being tired, she wanted someone who could help take care of her and Grayson.

“Would you like a Coke?” he asked as he got up and opened his small refrigerator grabbing two glass bottles. Cooper was excited. Being around Brooke made him forget his worries.

“No, thanks. I brought water. Those sure look different, though,” she said curiously.

“They’re from Mexico… they still use real sugar down there, cane sugar actually, and they taste just like the old Cokes used to.”

“Whoa, Mexico? Really? That’s cool.” She was very interested in this newfound idiosyncrasy of the man she wanted.

“It’s a weakness. Coke is one of my favorite brands. I love the old Co-Cola taste. Sure you don’t want one? They’re kinda my thing. I have a buddy that brings ’em to me once a month.”

“Nah, you lost me at sugar,
Sugar
,” she said with a wink and then asked, “So where is everybody?” She was beginning to work her plan.

“Probably downstairs at the deli. This place clears out every day at lunchtime. My creative folks worship their free time,” Cooper said as he peppered his peas. “If I need to discipline ’em, I make ’em work overtime. Even with the extra pay, they hate it! Particularly the younger ones.” Cooper chuckled and shook his head.

They both took bites of their lunches and glanced at each other as they ate.

Finally, Brooke spoke, “I bet this place keeps you busy. You have so many clients.”

“It’s a challenge to manage.”

Brooke tried to think of a good response, but her mind was racing and she didn’t want to scare him off, so she just nodded her understanding.

“I gotta leave at 2:30 today to pick up the kids from school,” Cooper stated out of the blue and then, without realizing it, sighed. He continued, “Kelly’s gone shoppin’ in Birmingham.”

“Our malls aren’t good enough?” she asked sharply, cutting her eyes to watch his reaction as she took a sip of water.

“Don’t get me started,” he responded with a mouthful of potatoes.

“High maintenance?” she asked, watching his body language.

Cooper swallowed. “Very!” He let out another sigh.

“Excuse me for pryin’, but you seem kinda stressed.”

“I am.”

“Can I help?”

He knew that he should not talk about the business sale, but he realized that he wanted to… or maybe needed to talk to someone about it. All of it was weighing heavily on him, and he felt that talking confidentially to Brooke would be safe.

“Well, you gotta keep this secret. Okay?”

“Of course!”

“Okay, nobody outside knows this yet, so you can’t share this with anyone.”

Brooke nodded and said, “Absolutely! You can trust me with anything.”

“Great. Okay, here’s the deal: Gates really wants to sell the agency, and we have an interested buyer. They’re ready to pull the trigger, but I… I don’t really want to sell, but I’m trying to buy a piece of property that I
really
can’t afford, but I
really
want it. I love it. It’s perfect.”