First Class Stamp (9 page)

Ben Lathem was a confirmed bachelor. After he’d split with
Jill he made a conscious decision to remain single – unattached – alone. Yeah,
so marriage seemed to agree with his brothers, he’d told himself. Actually it
appeared to agree with
all
of his brothers but that meant nothing for
him
.
He wasn’t ready to settle down to the doldrums of monogamy. And becoming a
father? He’d decided that wasn’t for him either. And if anybody had ever asked,
he could say with complete honesty that he was happy with his choices.

But something happened at a little Italian restaurant, that
incidentally had the most delicious meatballs he’d ever tasted, when the owner
stopped by Ben’s table as he, Sophia and Alex were wolfing down dozens upon
dozens of the scrumptious little things, and said, “What a delightful family!
Thank you for joining us and I hope you are enjoying your meal.”

Alex wasn’t paying any attention to the older gentleman, as
he was too busy trying to out eat Ben. Placing his fork on the edge of his
plate, Ben looked at Alex and thought that perhaps it might be nice to think
about having a family…one day…far into the future. To have a son to take to
ball games and play video games with. A family to take vacations with and a
wife to make love to every night. His eyes traveled to Sophia, who looked
mortified, which instantly irritated him. Ben’s immediate reaction had been one
of pride – completely unwarranted pride. It left him bewildered and confused.
Confused as to why in this moment he’d thought about having a family and
bewildered because Sophia wasn’t interested in him. Her expression made that
painfully obvious. The whole thing just irritated him…to the point that he
couldn’t continue eating, which was another source of irritation because that
meant he would lose the bet to Alex, and Ben never liked to lose. He picked up
his fork and tried to put the comment, and his reaction to it, out of his mind.

With her embarrassment past, Sophia returned her attention
to the plate of spaghetti in front of her.

“How is it that your parents are Italian and you can’t eat
spaghetti?” Ben asked in frustration after watching her try to swirl the
noodles around her fork.

“I can eat spaghetti,” she scoffed, and lifted the fork to
her mouth as noodles dropped onto her plate leaving three or four strands at
her lips. “See?” she smirked as the sucked them into her mouth.

Ben’s stomach lurched at the innocent movement. He watched
her full pink lips latch on to the fork and then slowly ease the metal from her
mouth, leaving behind a tiny drop of marinara in the corner where her upper and
bottom lips met. And then she stuck out her tongue and licked the sauce away
and it was Ben’s turn to be mortified as he felt an erection forming under the
constraints of his jeans. He quickly looked away, cleared his throat, took a
drink of ice water and picked up a breadstick.

The waitress came by to see if they’d like some gelato for
dessert, which of course Alex did. Sophia and Ben graciously declined.

“Last of the wine?” Ben asked as he lifted the bottle of red
from the table.

“All yours,” she smiled.

He poured the last few drops into his glass and swallowed it
all in one gulp. He just might need another bottle.

As always the gentleman, Ben walked them to the door after
they climbed from the taxi and handed Sophia the takeout order of meatballs for
Gloria. “Whatever you do,” he said to Alex in all seriousness, “DO NOT tell
your grandmother that these are better than hers. Got it?”

“Got it!” Alex nodded. “Bye!” he said, walking into the
store as Aldo was lowering the metal window bars to lock up for the night. “Hi
Grandpa,” Ben heard him say. “I can’t tell grandma that we had better meatballs
than hers.”

Ben chuckled. “He’s a good kid.”

Sophia smiled. “Yeah…he is.”

Then came the uncomfortable silence. They both knew it
wasn’t a date, but…

“Thank you for dinner,” Sophia said. “I guess I’ll see you
around.”

“Yep. I’m sure you will. Good night.”

As Sophia opened the door to the store, Ben swung the other
way and almost sprinted across the street and into his apartment building.

“Good evening, Mr. Lathem,” smiled the doorman, as Ben
entered.

“Evening,” he replied and hurried through the lobby. He
needed to get up to his apartment as quickly as possible and take a cold
shower.

*****

Standing at the baggage carousel, Maria watched for the
luggage to pass by and Luca stood, mouth open, taking in his surroundings. It had
been a long flight; first to Atlanta - Luca had curled up next to the window
with a pillow and slept most of the way, and then on to New York. Now they
stood hauling bags off the carousel, starting a new chapter in their lives in
New York.

MEL Holdings held several apartments in the city for the
purpose of housing visiting employees. Ben had made sure that one of them was
ready for Maria to use until she was settled enough, both in the city and in
her new job, to find a permanent home. While she had mixed feelings about
leaving her home and relocating, she was grateful for Ben’s concern for their
safety and was looking forward to her new position in the company, even though
she wasn’t sure exactly what it was.

Human Resources had given her a new title – Support Staff
Training Director – and eventually she hoped to learn exactly what the job
entailed, but Ben had told her she was tailor-made for it and seemed excited
enough for the both of them. She trusted him and had packed up her belongings
on a moment’s notice and now here she stood in New York City.

A car had been sent for them and the driver, obviously a
skilled Tetris player, managed to stuff all the luggage in the trunk and their
new adventure officially began.

*****

“Huh?” Ben said to his dad.

“Do. You. Want. Peas?” Peter Lathem repeated.

“Oh, thanks,” Ben mumbled and took the bowl from his
father’s hand.

“You okay?” Janie asked.

Ben nodded. “Didn’t get a whole lotta sleep the last few
nights and it’s catching up with me.”

“You gonna be good to go in the morning?” Mark asked.

“Of course!” Ben scoffed. “Four hundred employees hanging on
my every word,” he grinned.

“No work talk at the table,” Maureen frowned. “Sunday
dinners are family talk…nothing else.”

“Yes ma’am,” grinned Mark.

“Actually,” David said. “This is the perfect moment for
Lindsey and I to tell you all that in six months there will be another Lathem
around the dining table.”

Clapping and cheers abounded as congratulations and hugs
were offered. Maureen smiled at her daughter-in-law and said another silent
prayer to God asking all to go well with this pregnancy. Lindsey still had some
morning sickness, but had been to the doctor and had been told that all was
well. She caught Maureen’s eye and smiled.

Talk of babies and maternity clothes, and diapers and
midnight feedings continued through the meal and Ben watched as each of his
brothers was actively engaged in the conversation, including Mark, who didn’t,
and wouldn’t, have children of his own. Even Tim, his youngest brother, who’d
been married for only a few months, was interjecting and talking about “when
they had kids”. Ben picked at his plate, moving peas around his mashed potatoes
and building bridges with his carrots. His brothers were all so animated and
excited about being fathers and Ben’s mind drifted to Alex, who had a father,
just a shitty one.

I would never ignore my child,
he thought.
What
kind of person can know he has a child and not want to see him?
His
thoughts turned to Luca. He’d never known his father. Did that make it easier?
Or worse?

He’d made sure throughout the years that he would never
father a child…using condoms
every
time he had sex, sometimes doubling
up to make sure
nothing
got through, especially with Jill. He’d wondered
a couple of times if she would try to get pregnant to trap him into a marriage
he didn’t want…wasn’t ready for, but fortunately that hadn’t happened. He
wouldn’t let it happen. He hadn’t unilaterally ruled out having children one
day, but he certainly didn’t see it anywhere in the near future. And this
dinner conversation was boring him, as evidenced by the castle and moat he’d
built with the roast beef and gravy in front of him.

“That’s funny,” giggled Ella looking at her uncle’s plate.

“You like it?” he grinned.

“Uh-huh,” she nodded. “Can you build me one too?”

“Sure,” he smiled. “We’ll do it together.”

*****

By six o’clock Ben was in his office ready to begin the work
day. Sitting behind his desk, dressed in his favorite dark blue suit with a white
dress shirt, yellow and white striped tie and matching handkerchief in his
pocket, Ben felt like the professional that he was. He was confident in his
abilities to run the company and manage the employees that trusted him to do
so.

The continental breakfast that was being served before the
conference was to commence at ten so he had a couple of hours to get a handle
on his email. Deleting all the junk mail first, he settled back into his
leather executive chair and began reading one at a time. Several he forwarded
to his secretary to handle and a couple he replied to quickly. Then came one
from Vicente Rivera.

‘Mr. Lathem,
I will up my latest offer to purchase Crystal Towers by $500,000.00. That is a
generous offer that I would ask you take to your brother to consider. I know
that he would be the one to approve the sale. It is my last offer and if it is
rejected you will hear no more from me. I believe it to be a sound business
move to sell the building, as we cannot suppose to know when the unruly behavior
of certain groups in Rio de Janeiro will cease, leaving you at risk. But as a
South American company, we have many holdings in the city that are not at risk.
It will serve your interests to transfer ownership before it becomes a target
of increased violence.
As for my other offer, it still stands. You are a smart business man with a
keen eye for the real estate business. I would be proud and thrilled to have
you come and work with me, building an empire together. I have watched you rise
over the years and have followed your career with not only curiosity, but with
envy at your natural skill. Please do not say no before seriously considering
it. But again, if you refuse this offer, it will be the last time I contact
you.
Sincerely,
Vicente’

Leaning back and taking a deep breath, Ben mulled over the
words in the message. He loved Matt with all his heart…as a brother loves
another brother. He respected him and was loyal to him and Matt had earned it
without question. But would he ever have the utmost confidence in Ben’s
abilities? Would he ever completely trust his company to Ben without always
second-guessing his decisions?

With a deep sigh Ben shot off an email to Matt, outlining
the new offer and why Ben thought they should accept it. Vicente was right in
his assessment of the unrest in Rio. There was no crystal ball to tell them
what the future held in the tenuous situation, and by keeping the building they
were in effect threatening the lives of all who worked within its glass walls.
After hitting the
send
button, Ben let his mind wander, for just a
moment, and imagined leaving MEL Holdings and working somewhere else. The money
offered wasn’t the real pull…Ben had plenty of money and with the help of his
brother Andrew, a shrewd stockbroker, he had enough money to live out the rest
of his life in comfort. No, it wasn’t the money. It was escaping Matt’s shadow
and outrunning Tyler, the stepson who, inevitably, would inherit Matt’s empire.
Maybe it
was
time to build his own…to prove to himself that he could.

*****

The first day of school in a new place is always difficult,
but for Luca the excitement oozed like a tangible thing. He was up and dressed
and eating a bowl of cereal when Maria exited the bathroom, her hair wrapped in
a towel turban style.

“We will get your uniforms this week, I promise,” she smiled
at her son who was dressed in khaki trousers and a blue polo shirt. “St. Luke’s
is supposed to be one of the best schools in the city.”

“Ben got me in, didn’t he?”

Maria nodded. “Actually, he said his mother had a hand in
that. If you ever meet her, you should remember to say thank you.”

“I will,” he happily agreed. “I’m gonna brush my teeth now.”
He jumped from the table and ran down the hall.

Pouring herself a cup of coffee, she leaned back on the kitchen
counter and gazed out the window. They had a view of a bridge, she didn’t know
which one, and she felt a bit like a fish out of water. Her home on the
outskirts of Rio was small and modest, but it was hers. She’d worked hard to
provide for her son and they’d led a quiet and happy life. Now she found
herself in the middle of New York panicking about what to wear to the
conference where she would meet the people her future coworkers. Her nerves
were making her stomach do cartwheels and she wished that she felt the same
eagerness as Luca.

“Mama, we don’t want to be late!” he called, making her
grin.

“We won’t be late,” she replied. She hurried to get ready so
they wouldn’t be.

*****

Matt arrived in his office just a few minutes before ten. He
placed a couple of blueprints on his desk and then walked down the hall to find
Ben who was just pulling on his suit jacket and straightening his tie.

“Got your email,” Matt said. “You really think selling is
the way to go here?”

Ben didn’t know if Matt was mocking his opinion or asking
him a genuine question. “I do. As long as there are threats of violence we’ll
never be able to fill the building to capacity and all our employees will be at
risk. I don’t think that’s a smart business move, nor do I need the
responsibility of people’s lives in my hands.”