First Class Stamp (8 page)

“Understandable,” Matt nodded. “But absolutely avoidable.
This whole damn thing. Avoidable.”

“And what would you’ve done differently?” sneered Ben. “This
is not the only building we own and occupy…or did you forget that?”

Matt took a mouthful of his drink and placed the glass on
the table in front of him. Leaning back he calmly looked Ben straight in the
eye and said, “I’m going to make the accurate assumption that this has been a
difficult day for you and therefore you are not always thinking before you
speak.”

Ben instantly realized he was going to have to remove all
emotion during this conversation. Matt had not gotten to where he was in
business by being emotional. Calculating and shrewd? Yes. Ethical and honest?
Yes. But never emotional.

“First and foremost we need to ensure the safety of ALL our
employees, our contractors, and our tenants. The building is expendable. Human
life is not. We need to have our people down there to assess the situation and
feed me accurate information about what is going on.”

“But Maria…” Ben blurted.

“Maria is a valuable employee,” Matt stopped him
mid-sentence, “and will be treated as such. But it appears that she has been
unwilling to either, one, realize the seriousness of the situation, or two,
inform us because she assumed we would assume she was unqualified or not suited
for the job, either of which, or both of which, has brought us to this place,
right here.”

Ben couldn’t argue with that. He had been confident in
Maria’s abilities but in this, the thing she’d done wrong was assume Patrick
would do his job, and Ben voiced his opinion firmly.

“Yes,” Matt agreed. “You were right in firing his ass. And I
wouldn’t have faulted you for breaking his arm on the way out.”

The two men continued to discuss the threatening note and
then the offer to purchase the building. Matt had no intention of selling…well,
not at that price, anyway.

It was agreed that security would be tripled and Matt would
be sending a couple of employees to go and assess not only the damage to the
building, but the climate of the protestors and find out what in fact they were
really upset about. Matt never broke the law, but quite often, when there were
protests at one of their locations, a check for an undisclosed amount of money
usually sent the protestors away quite happily. He had no reason to believe
that this would end up any differently. 

A plan was made. They each had their own tasks to complete
so Ben stood and headed for the door.

“Ben,” Matt said as he reached the doorway. “I understand
that you want the reigns, but don’t make the same mistake Maria did and fear
telling me what’s
really
going on.”

Ben didn’t reply…he just continued out the door and back to
his office.

“So who is he?” Willis Grossman demanded.

“Nobody! He’s a nice guy who has taken an interest in your
son. Something
you
haven’t done!” Sophia snapped back.

“I just spent the whole damn weekend with the kid! What more
do you want?”

“You mean he spent the weekend at your apartment but you
didn’t pay any attention to him the whole time he was there. You got him a new
computer game and left him to his own devises for forty-eight hours. That isn’t
parenting! Especially when you haven’t seen him in weeks!” Sophia yelled.

“Take this outside!” demanded Aldo. “Alex will hear you!”

“I’m finished,” Sophia said, folding her arms across her
chest.

“I’m not!” Willis spat and grabbed her by the arm to yank
her outside.

“Take your hand off my daughter!” Aldo screamed.

Willis instantly let go and shoved the door open, storming
outside. Sophia followed him onto the sidewalk. It was almost eight o’clock and
pedestrian traffic was slow.

“He could be a pedophile,” Willis yelled at her through
gritted teeth. “You let my son go off with some man who could be doing God
knows what to him!”

“He is not a pedophile, you asshole! Are you that jealous of
a man because Alex loves to spend time with him and is bored to tears when he’s
with you? If so, that’s one hundred percent your fault. Don’t you dare go
bringing Ben into this.”

“Oh yes Ben,” he seethed. “That’s all I heard about all
weekend. “Ben did this and Ben said that and Ben took me to a ballgame and Ben
has a suite and Ben bought me a jersey! Ben, Ben, Ben, Ben Ben! I’m sick of
Ben!”

“Would that be me you’re referring to?” asked Ben as he
stopped behind them.

Sophia whipped around and was face to face with Ben…the Ben
that Alex adored and Willis despised.

“Are you the pedophile who’s been stalking my son?” Willis
demanded.

Ben stood at least four inches taller and a good thirty
pounds lighter than the punk in front of him. And this wasn’t a good time to
goad him.

“I haven’t had a particularly great day today, so I suggest
before you open your mouth again you think about what you want to say,” Ben
replied.

“I asked you if you were the pedophile who’s been stalking
my son,” Willis demanded again.

Ben turned to Sophia. She looked thoroughly distraught.
“This is Alex’s father, Willis Grossman,” she said.

“Where’s Alex?” asked Ben.

“He’s upstairs with mom,” she replied.

In one swift move, taking him completely by surprise, Ben
swung his right arm and popped Willis right in the jaw. He went down like a
sack of potatoes. Leaning over him, Ben fought back the urge to kick him.

“First of all, I am not a pedophile and second, I happen to
enjoy spending time with Sophia’s son and he likes hanging with me…doing guy
stuff…stuff he should be doing with his father, but unfortunately for him, his
father is a douchebag of the worst kind. If I catch you yelling at Sophia
again, or even looking at her wrong, I will not hesitate to break every one of
your ribs one at a time. Got it?” He yanked on Willis’ arm and pulled him
upright.

“This is the asshole you’ve picked to replace me?” Willis
yelled over his shoulder as he hurried away. “Real nice!”

“You okay,” Ben asked Sophia, who’d lost all color in her
face.

She nodded and Ben placed his hand in the small of her back
and led her back into the safety of the store.

“Let’s get you sitting down shall we? And maybe a glass of
water,” Ben said, a tenderness in his voice that surprised her.

“Bravo!” cheered Aldo. “Well done. Wish I could’ve done
that.”

Ben smirked a little. “I thought he deserved it.”

“Sure did,” grinned Aldo. “Come sit here, Sophia. I’ll get
you a drink.” He disappeared into the back room.

“It sounds as though I was the subject of that argument,”
sighed Ben. “I’m sorry. I…”

“No!” Sophia said. “This is
his
fault.
He’s
the asshole that chooses not to spend time with Alex and then
he’s
pissed when Alex spends time with you.
You
are not the problem…
he
is. I wish that I could tell Alex that his father doesn’t want to be a
father…that he prefers his freedom to having to
babysit
, as he calls it.
But how do you tell a twelve year old boy that his dad doesn’t want him?”

“You don’t,” Ben said. “He’s a smart kid and unfortunately,
he’ll figure it out all on his own, if he hasn’t already.”

Aldo returned with a glass of water and Ben made his exit.
What
a shit-filled day!

*****

Ben sat nursing a beer and staring at the television, not watching
the game but his mind on the events of the day. There wasn’t anything else he
could do…for either situation.

When he’d approached Sophia and her ex arguing he was
shocked to hear his name brought up. The last thing he wanted was to be in the
middle of a fight about Alex. Willis was a jerk and he had a hard time
believing that someone as smart and as beautiful as Sophia had fallen for such
a scumbag. She’d given him a look as he’d punched Willis and he wasn’t sure if
he’d actually seen what he thought he’d seen; gratitude, admiration, desire?

His thought was interrupted, gratefully, he thought, by the
shrill ringing of his cell phone.

“Hello?”

“Hi Ben. It’s Maria.”

“Are you okay?” his concern immediate.

“Yeah, but, Luca game home with a cut on his forehead.”

“What happened?

“Initially, he said he’d fallen, but I eventually got him to
tell me the truth. He was shoved into a light pole by a couple of kids who have
been bullying him at school. It appears to be a combination of where I work and
the fact that he is considered an American bastard.”

“Oh shit,” he muttered into a phone.
What is it about
these asshole men who father children and then refuse to accept their responsibility?
“Maria?”

“Yes?”

“How’d you like to accept a position in New York? MEL Holdings
will move you immediately and you can work here where, sadly, it’s almost the
norm to not have a father.”

*****

The next morning when Maria told Luca they were moving to
New York rather than just visiting, his reaction was more than she expected.

“How will my dad find me if we move? He knows we live in
Brazil…not America.”

It broke her heart into a million pieces. “You know honey,”
she began, “when you were still inside my tummy, your dad didn’t think he’d be
a very good dad and he knew that I would love you enough for both of us.
Sometimes people aren’t ready to be parents and your dad is one of those
people. But I love you so much and I will
always
be here for you.”

“But maybe he’s ready to be a dad now,” Luca replied.

“I don’t think he’s ever going to be ready, honey. I’m sorry
that it didn’t work out between him and me and I’m sorry that you don’t have a
dad but I’m not sorry that I’m your mom. I love you with all my heart.”

“I love you too, mom,” he said with a sigh. “But at least
I’ll get to see Ben more if we live in New York, right?”

“Maybe,” she said, hoping that she wasn’t trading one
problem for an even bigger one.

*****

“There’s a Vicente Rivera of Latin World Corporation on the
line for you Ben.”

Ben dropped the pen in his hand and looked at his phone.
“Thank you.” He lifted the receiver and held it to his ear.

“Mr. Lathem,” came the voice before Ben had a chance to say
a word. “I wondered if you’d had a chance to reconsider my offer.”

Ben chuckled. “You’ve called me every day for four days now
Vicente, and the answer is still no. Why would you think I would’ve changed my
mind?”

“Because each day I up the offer,” came the honest reply.
“And today I sweeten the deal.”

Ben had no intention of accepting the offer but he was
curious. “And what bonuses are you throwing in today?”

“I am going to offer you a job you cannot refuse.”

“You think you can entice me away from my brother’s company?
You’re crazy!”

“It is because it is your brother’s company that you’ll
consider my offer.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You work for your brother and sometimes that is hard. It
will always be his company, no? But you work all day for him, not you. You come
work with me and I make you partner, not employee.”

“You can’t afford me!”

“Oh yes I can. You tell me your wage and I will double it.”

“No.”

“No to telling me?”

“Yes and no to the offer. I’m not leaving.”

“I give you the weekend to consider. Goodbye Mr. Lathem.”

Ben sent a quick email off to Matt making him aware that
another offer on Crystal Towers had been made, but withholding the job offer.
He didn’t plan on telling Matt about that.

At six o’clock he grabbed his jacket and swung it over his
shoulder and left the office. He’d worked well into the night all week and was
going to go home at a reasonable hour. Next week was their conference and he
still had to prepare his presentation on ‘The future of MEL Holdings – Where
we’re headed next.’

He walked through the warm September air, his mind a
whirlwind of thoughts, jumping all over without one real coherent thought.
Before he realized it, he was opening the door of Aldo’s Market and walking to
the counter.
What the hell?
he wondered.
Why am I here?

“Hello Mr. Lathem. How are you this evening?”

“Mrs. Manning! It’s wonderful to see you! How are you?”

“I’m doing well. Much better now. Thank you for asking. What
can I…”

“Mom?” a voice yelled.

“Excuse me,” Gloria patted Ben’s hand and gingerly walked to
the end of the counter. “Helping a customer!” she yelled back. Then she
carefully returned to stand in front of Ben.

“I apologize,” she smiled. “Now, what can I get you?”

“Um,” he said, having no idea what brought him into the
store.

“Mom? Where’s Dad?” Sophia asked as she rushed into the
store from the back room.

“He’ll be back shortly. He just ran to the bank.”

“Why didn’t he tell me? You should be upstairs! Oh, hi Ben.”

Ben smiled and said hello.

“I’m getting stronger every day and ten minutes in the store
isn’t going to kill me. Breast cancer didn’t kill me. You think this will?” she
said.

 “Well at least sit down,” Sophia cried.

“I was!” Gloria exclaimed. “Until someone started screaming
at me and I had to get up to go and see what they wanted!” There was a sparkle
in her eye that made Ben smother a grin. “Now, what can I get for you this
evening, sir?”

“I just need a…a…a book of stamps please?”
Phew! Thought
of something!

“Certainly,” Gloria smiled. “I hear there’s a new Italian
place just opened up on Pearl Street. Have you eaten there?”

Ben shook his head. “I haven’t.” He took the stamps she
offered and handed her a ten dollar bill. “Tell Alex he can keep the change,”
he grinned.

Gloria smiled and pulled the coins from the till and dropped
them in her apron pocket. “He’ll add it to his jar,” she said. “Sophia? You’ll
have to check it out for me. Lucia Wyman says their meatballs are better than
mine.”

“I’d be happy to take you,” Ben offered.
What the hell
did I just say?

Sophia shook her head. “That’s kind but Alex is home and…”

“We’ll all go?” he said.
I need to stop my mouth from
talking!

“What a fabulous idea!” clapped Gloria.

“We’ll bring you back an order of their meatballs so you can
try them yourself,” Ben smiled.

“Sophia! Run up and change.”

“We can’t go now! I’m not leaving you here by yourself!” she
replied.

“Oh pfft! Aldo will be back in a minute.”

“I’ll go home and change and then come back and get you,”
Ben smiled. “About twenty minutes?”

“Oh that will be perfect!” Gloria exclaimed.

As Ben hurried from the store he didn’t see the look of
total contempt Sophia shot her mother. As he ran across the road, he was in a
state of confusion over what had just taken place…what he’d done.

He stood looking in the mirror, adjusting the collar of his
polo shirt. There were a whole slew of reasons why this was a bad idea, yet he
was in the elevator heading back over to pick up Alex and Sophia before he knew
it.

*****

“Mother! What the hell? Why on earth would you push me into
something like this?” Sophia hissed.

“You are either blind or stupid, and I know you’re not
blind,” Gloria frowned.

“Thanks!”

“Ben Lathem is the catch of a lifetime and for some unknown
reason, he likes you.”

“He does not!”

“He does! He likes you. Now I’m not saying he’s in love with
you but liking is a start.”

“Mom! I am not interested in Ben Lathem!”

“Well then you really are stupid! He’s gorgeous and tall and
that thick black hair! I would run my hands through it any time he wanted.”

Sophia looked as though she was going to vomit. “Mom,” she
choked. “Stop! Please!”

“And those eyes! My goodness those dark blue eyes. They just
suck me in every time. Oh to be a fly on his bathroom wall and…”

“Enough!” she screamed. “I get it! He’s gorgeous and sexy
but
please
don’t speak any more!”

“Go get changed for your date.”

“It’s not a date! Alex is coming, for heaven’s sake.” Sophia
stomped out of the store and up the stairs to her apartment.

“What’s all the yelling about?” Aldo asked as he walked in
the door.

“Ben Lathem asked Sophia and Alex to dinner,” she winked.
“With hardly
any
prodding from me.”

With a grin and a skip he kissed his wife on the cheek. “He’d
make an excellent stepfather for Alex. And not a bad son-in-law.”