The Chauffeur (#61) A Shooting

The Chauffeur (#61) A Shooting

By PABLO DIABLO

Copyright 2019

CHAPTER 1

It had been several weeks since we have heard of the Russian guys as well as Horowitz and his band of criminals. However, Dakota kept a log in her journal of any issues, even if they were not confirmed. She still didn’t trust that the Russians had been foiled and she certainly didn’t think that Horowitz group was out of business.

As the morning rolled in, so did a thunderstorm. Not a lot of wind, but plenty of rain, lightning, and thunder. I really didn’t even want to leave the Chateau but work at the Hawk called.

I got into the limo that Fred was driving. Sharon, Dakota, Jill, Donna all came with me. John chose to drive his truck so he and Diane went to the Hawk in his truck. The weather really was lousy. On the way to the Hawk, we came across lots of accidents, almost as if people forgot how to drive in crappy weather.

What usually was about a 20-minute drive became an hour’s drive to get to the Hawk. Fred pulled the limo into the parking garage, so no one got wet going from the limo to the elevator. I told Fred to return about noon to take us to lunch. I had that Italian place that Fred introduced us to in my head for lunch as they always have great food, and everyone seems relaxed and happy to eat there.

We took the elevator up to our floor. Jill dialed up Diane to ensure that she and John were getting through the crappy traffic. She said that the going was slow, but they were only a few blocks away from the parking garage.

Jill and Sharon immediately went to their desks to tackle ongoing projects and hopefully finish them up today. Donna went to her desk and began making phone calls as she was again working on the purchase of a new office tower. This one was to be in Kentucky.

I got on the phones and made phone calls to the various offices we had following up on things that I had asked to be corrected earlier.

One thing that I did notice was we came to the office with only two SS agents. When I opened my computer, I saw an email from one of the agents telling me that some of them were going to spend most of the day reassessing the security at the Chateau.

As John and Diane got off the elevator, I saw Mariana also get off the elevator with them, which made me feel better that she was able to safely get to work through the crappy weather.

As I made my way through the morning phone calls, the storm outside seems to intensify. Flashes of lightning and crashes of thunder were constant. At one point, the lights flickered in the Hawk, but they never went out.

I got up from my computer and walked around the office telling everyone that if they didn’t need to be on their laptop to stay off them. Most of the office staff were able to go to making phone calls and stay off their computers. A couple of staff members needed to continue making phone calls.

John, as usual, was being his goofy self. He stood at one of the large windows watching the storm. Suddenly, a large lightning bolt hit the building across the street causing John to jump back as the thunder was almost immediate.

Fred came up to the office and suggested that we leave for the restaurant at about 11:30 am due to the storm and water buildup in the streets. We all agreed and saw that it was currently 11:20 am so we were about 10 minutes away from leaving for lunch. In my head, a big bowl of spaghetti and meatballs sounded good on this wet day.

John, of course, came over to my office to point out that it was 11:30 am and time to leave for lunch. It really wasn’t a surprise that John was ready to leave to go eat. He collected his wife, Diane, and they headed down the elevator to go over to the parking garage. The rest of us collected at the elevator and rode down together. It was nice seeing all the ladies in their cute raincoats and umbrellas.

When we got to the 2nd floor, the elevator opened, and everyone spilled out to head across to the parking garage via the crossover.

Fred, of course, was waiting at the limo with the back door open for us.

All the ladies got into the limo followed by me. Fred closed the door and headed around to the driver’s seat to take us to lunch. Fred had to sit and wait at the exit on the first floor as there were three or four cars ahead of us.

When we finally got to the exit to the street, a large truck came flying by and hit a puddle that splashed the whole front of the limo. Fred had to put the wipers on high speed to clear the window as quickly as possible.

Everyone seemed happy to be heading to the Italian restaurant for lunch. When we arrived all the ladies got out and quickly headed inside the restaurant. When the owner saw us arrive, he greeted us warmly and brought out a couple of baskets of toasted garlic bread, which is always a delight.

All the ladies were chatting away as the waitress worked her way around the table taking everyone’s drink orders. Fred looked much like a drowning puppy. He just sat in his chair and asked if they had a cloth, he could borrow to dry his hair. One of the busboys brought over a large cloth. Fred thanked him and began to use the cloth much like a towel.

Today just felt like a pizza day to my lunch colleagues. We ordered three extra-large pizzas. One was plain cheese, one was all meat, and the third was chicken, mushroom, and sweet onions. Everyone was delighted with the pizzas ordered. Since it was a wet rainy day, we decided to pass on the usual bottle of chianti. Instead, everyone had a nice hot cup of coffee.

I noticed that John and Diane were being all Lovey-Dovie which was nice to see. As the pizzas were delivered, everyone dug into the ***********ion. I had asked the two SS agents to join us, which they did.

As we were eating, a couple of large round men came into the restaurant and sat at a table. One of the SS agents wouldn’t take her eyes off them. I wasn’t sure, but they sounded as if they were speaking Eastern European between themselves. I kept one eye on them as well.

When we neared the end of the meal, Fred got up and headed outside to get the car. It did seem as if the two-round guys were keeping an eye on us. We all got up and started toward the restaurant door. The ladies stopped and put on their raincoats and made sure that they each had their umbrellas.

Fred pulled the limo up to the sidewalk by the front door. Just as we were leaving the restaurant, a lightning bolt hit nearby, and the crack of thunder was immediate. There was a second crack just a moment after the first crack.

Suddenly, I felt something whiz by my left ear. One of the SS agents yelled for everyone to hit the ground. All the ladies dropped to the wet sidewalk as more things whizzed by us. Both SS agents withdrew their weapons and discharged them down the sidewalk towards 4 large round men who were outside waiting for us.

Fred, who was standing in the rain, also withdrew his weapon and fired at the large men about 50 feet away from us on the sidewalk. John watched the two-round men that were inside the restaurant, but they didn’t seem to be involved in our shootout.

When the SS agents gave us the all-clear, we stood up. Everyone was standing when I heard Sharon asking Jill, “Jill…. Jill……are you alright?”

Jill was still laying on the ground. One of the SS agents dialed up 911 requesting paramedics and police. The owner of the restaurant came outside with a handful of towels to help stop the bleeding. Diane and the other SS agent took the towels and put them on the two large holes in her that blood was pouring out of onto the concrete sidewalk.

While it was only a few minutes, it felt as if it was an hour or more. The two male paramedics asked Diane and the SS agent to move aside so they could work on Jill and her baby. I watched in stunned silence as they shocked her heart to start again. Dakota came over to me and stood next to me. She gently grasped my hand while the paramedics worked.

It took every bit of control not to fall to my knees right next to Jill. The paramedics shocked Jill three separate times before she took an inhale breath, but it was very shallow. Once she began breathing, they put an O2 hose under her nose to give her continual oxygen.

While they were waiting for an ambulance, they were working on the two bullet holes that had an immense amount of blood flowing out of her body. I didn’t see it happen, but John moved over next to me and put his hand on my shoulder. At that moment I saw that the sidewalk was covered in blood and that it was dripping off the sidewalk into the parking lot.

Once again, they grabbed the heart paddles and shocked her. Without saying a word, my eyes teared up and tears began rolling down my face. As I was standing there, Dakota squeezed my hand tighter and put her head on my chest. Sharon and Donna were visibly shaken by the shooting. Both were crying, not hysterically but they were full-on sobbing.

When the ambulance arrived, the paramedics were still frantically working on Jill. The ambulance attendees unloaded a rolling stretcher and brought it over next to her body. The paramedics stopped working on Jill for a moment to load her onto the rolling stretcher. Once she was loaded, the ambulance attendees lifted her up and rolled her into the back of the ambulance.

One of the paramedics got into the ambulance with the other ambulance attendant. They both continued to work on Jill frantically. The attendant that didn’t climb into the back shut the back doors and ran around to get into the driver’s seat. They pulled out as the second paramedic cleaned up their equipment and loaded it back into the paramedic vehicle.

As he pulled out, I stood there stunned not knowing what to do. Dakota walked me over to the limo putting me in the back. Everyone else got in after me. John and Diane went to his truck which was only a few feet away. Fred closed the back door and headed towards the hospital with all of us.

I don’t really know how long the drive from the restaurant was to the hospital. When we arrived, Fred pulled the limo next to the ER entry doors. All the ladies got out of the vehicle and went inside. Dakota had to take me by the hand to get me out of the limo and inside the ER.

CHAPTER 2

I heard Dakota ask the guard where Jill was located but I didn’t hear the answer. Dakota never let go of my hand and walked me towards the exam room that the guard told her.

When we got there, it was the same exam room where I came to her aid when she was in the accident. Just as Dakota and I arrived, I saw the three doctors and two nurses pulling a white sheet over Jill’s head. At that very moment, my knees buckled underneath me, and I fell to the floor. Dakota sat on the floor with me just hugging me.

When John and Diane came around the corner, they saw me and Dakota on the floor. Diane knew instantly something wrong had happened. She whispered into John’s ear to find out what happened as she would go tell the others that were in the ER waiting area.

As John walked around me, he saw the white sheet over Jill’s face. He knew that nothing good has happened. Diane realized what has happened and went running out to the ER waiting room. She frantically told everyone that Jill and the baby are dead.

Just as she finished telling the group, several city Policemen entered the ER. Diane overheard them ask where the group for Jill Greene would be. Diane went over to the officers and introduced herself. She took two of the Policemen to the group that was waiting in the ER waiting area. After that, she took the remaining two policemen down the hallway to the exam room where Jill’s body was still laying with a sheet over her face.

I saw Diane leading the officers down the hallway towards me and Dakota. She helped me up off the floor, however, my knees were still very weak, so she leaned me against the wall to help me stay standing.

“Hello Mr. Greene, I’m Sargent Don Major. We are here to investigate the shooting in front of the Italian restaurant,” the officer says to me.

I just stand there numb.

“Hello officer, I’m Dakota Mr. Greene’s personal assistant. What can I do for you?” Dakota asked.

“Did you see the shooting?” Officer Major asked.

“Well yes. I was in the center of it along with David. We didn’t know that Jill had been shot until after the shooting was over,” Dakota told the officer.

“Who actually did the shooting from your group?” Sargent Major asked.

“Why would you want to know officer,” Dakota asked.

“We need to know who shot and where the shots went,” he says.

“Well, 4 large men were at the end of the sidewalk. When there was a large crack of thunder then a second crack which we thought was thunder as well, but it was their first shot at us. The bullet went whizzing by us. Both of our secret service security guys withdrew their weapons and returned fire,” she told the officer.

“And where was Mr. Greene located?” Sargent Major asked.

“He was standing next to his wife Jill,”.

“And where is Mrs. Jill Greene? We have questions for her as well,”

Dakota just raises her left arm and pointed towards the exam room. Sargent Major stepped around us to go into the exam room, but he stopped when he saw the body underneath the white sheet.

“Mr. Greene, I am sorry for your loss,” Sargent Major said.

I just stood there feeling numb and not knowing what to do. John came over to me once again and grabbed me by the belt and began to walk me somewhere. Dakota took my hand and walked with John and me. They both walked me towards the group waiting for me in the ER waiting room. I remember hearing a couple of the ladies crying at the loss of Jill. I just couldn’t bring myself to let any emotion show.

Fred must have seen us as the limo pulled up to the ER doors and our group all walked out to the vehicle. Fred opened the back door and John and Dakota pushed me into the car. John and Diane went to his truck while the rest of the ladies all climbed in behind me.

As usual, Fred shut the door and began driving us home.

When we arrived at the Chateau, everyone was waiting for us. Fred pulled the limo into one of the garages. We all got out and headed into the house. Dakota kept with me, holding onto me making sure that I kept moving.

As we made our way into the house, everyone that was there said how sorry they were that we lost Jill and the baby. I felt numb from head to toe. Dakota gently guided me into my bedroom, which now looked so vacant without Jill.

Dakota took me to the bathroom. She gently began to strip me down. Once I was naked, she pushed me into the shower stall. In just a couple of moments, she joined me. She turned on the water hot to soothe and relax my muscles. She asked me to bend my head down so she could shampoo my hair. I did everything that she asked of me, but I was still in a huge daze.

When the shower was over, Dakota turned the water off and stepped out of the shower to grab a couple of clean dry towels. At first, she used one to dry me off. When I was dry, she used the other one to dry herself off. When we were both dry, she walked us out of the bathroom to my bedroom. She opened the dresser drawer and pulled out a pair of basketball shorts. She had me step into them. After they were on my body, she opened another drawer to get me a white tee shirt and she had me sit on the edge of the bed for her to put it on me.

She pulled out a tee shirt for herself and put it on. When we both had something on, she took me by the hand and walked me out to the TV room. I remember looking at the clock on my dresser. It read at 8:30 pm. It had been almost 9 hours since I had something to eat and about 7 hours since Jill died.

Did she die because of me?

What could I have done to change what happened to her?

What am I going to do without her?

As these questions were swirling around in my head, Melanie came to me and put her arms around me. She just held me without saying a word. I just stood there not really knowing what I was supposed to do.

After what seemed like an eternity, Melanie quit hugging me. Dakota kept walking me towards the TV room where most of our group was sitting. When we reached the TV room, Paula and Amy got up off the couch and put their arms around me telling me how sorry they were for the loss of Jill and the baby.

“Boss, is there anything I can get you?” John asked me but I was at a loss for answering him.

Jennifer pushed me down onto the couch. The ladies rotated sitting next to me and hugging me. All of them told me how sorry they were for losing Jill and the baby. Every time someone said something that the last look of Jill covered by that white sheet kept burning a hole in my brain.

I was torn between being miserable and angry. My brain was stuck between both emotions.

When Sharon came over to me and sat down, she gently told me that she called the board of directors in NY and let them know that Jill was murdered today. They told her to let them know when her funeral will be.

Mariana wasn’t at the Chateau, but she called and spoke to Amy about how badly she felt about losing Jill and the baby. She went on to say that she cajoled her husband into keeping an eye on the investigation by City Police.

The two chefs had a simple cream of mushroom soup made for everyone to eat for dinner. Amy got David a bowl of soup, which he really didn’t seem interested in eating. Both chefs understood but offered to make anything that he might want, which was nothing.

As David sat on the couch, his son showed up at the gate asking to see his father. Amy pushed to proper buttons to let him drive into the courtyard. Sharon was waiting for him at the front door. She warned him not to upset his Father any further than he already is. Michael quickly agreed as he stepped into the Chateau.

Sharon escorted Michael over to his dad. Michael took a seat on the loveseat.

“Hey Dad,” Michael said.

David did not respond at all. He turned his head, looked at Michael than just went back to staring into space.

One of the chefs offered Michael some soup, which he gladly accepted. He got up from the loveseat and walked over to the dining room table where he sat and enjoyed the soup.

Michael really didn’t say much as he had been warned by Sharon.

When it got close to 11 pm, Dakota came over to David and took him by the hand and led him to bed. All of the ladies, both chefs, Fred, Melanie, John and Diane, and even Michael wished him a good night’s sleep, even though everyone knew that having a good night’s sleep was virtually impossible.

Dakota took his hand and led him to the bedroom. When David reached the doorway to the bedroom, he stopped and just looked at the bed. Dakota stood there quietly with him not pushing him at all. She just stood there quietly holding David’s hand and waiting for him to make the first move into his bedroom. Much to Dakota’s surprise, David turned and took a few steps down the hallway to Dakota’s door.

She opened the door and David stepped inside. She walked hand in hand with David as he headed towards her bed.

“David, is everything OK?” Dakota asked.

“It’s fine. I just can’t sleep in my bed tonight with no Jill,” he responded.

Dakota stripped David down and turned the quilt back as David gently got into her bed. She was quite surprised as he had never slept one minute in her bed, but she had spent many nights in his bed.

Once he got comfortable in her bed, it took about 5 minutes for him to fall asleep, which truly surprised her. She stripped down and got into the bed with him. She took her usual spot, her back facing him and her cute little ass wiggled up against him. He put one arm around her and pulled her in tightly. It didn’t take very long before she heard gently snoring out of David, which made her smile that he was getting some peaceful sleep.

CHAPTER 3

When Dakota woke up in the morning, she didn’t feel David behind her. She sat up in bed and looked around but didn’t see David anywhere. She got up and went into the bathroom to check for David. She didn’t see him in her bathroom. She quickly jumped into the shower and took a quick shower, maybe 3 minutes long. When she was through, she dried off and got dressed.

She walked out of her bedroom and over to David’s bedroom. She gently opened the door to see David sitting quietly on Jill’s side of their bed. She walked quietly over to David. She sat on the bed next to him, gently rubbing his back.

“Is there anything I can do for you?” Dakota quietly asked.

“No, darling. I just don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing,” he responded.

“You’re supposed to be doing whatever you feel comfortable. Everyone is here to help you,” Dakota said to him in a quiet low tone, almost a whisper.

Dakota stood up and took David by the hand and lead him out of the bedroom. Once they were in the hallway, she led him toward the dining room. Bobby asked what he would like for breakfast. Dakota ordered scrambled eggs for David and herself. Bobby asked if they would like some toast to go along with the eggs, Dakota readily agreed.

As the eggs were cooking, several of the ladies made their way to the kitchen looking for coffee. Dakota filled her cup and put on another pot of coffee so there would be no rioting over Columbia’s best legal export.

When Bobby finished the eggs and toast, every single lady that was up, came over to David and gave him a smooch on the cheek.

Dakota sat next to David carefully quietly watching as David pushed his eggs around on his plate.

“Hun, you have to eat something. I know you really aren’t hungry, but it is important. Don’t make me pinch your nose closed and when your mouth pops open Sharon will stick a fork full of eggs in your mouth,” Dakota says to David smiling the whole time.

That got David to eat a forkful of eggs, reluctantly of course. Bobby brought over a glass of pineapple juice and put it on the table in front of David. Out of habit, David took a big sip of the juice.

“What do I do about Jill’s stuff? Do I start removing it from our bedroom or is it too soon?” David asks Dakota.

“We will do that whenever you are ready,” Dakota replies.

This shocked the other ladies. They were thinking that it might be too soon to remove her stuff, but then again, maybe David didn’t want to be staring at things to remind him of losing his darling wife.

As David looked around at all the ladies, for the first time he really noticed how much Dakota and Diane were showing their pregnancies. John was extremely attentive to his wife.

David felt much like heel, thinking more of himself than the women who loved him. He also thought about the tumultuous times he and his son have had.

Just then, David made a promise to himself that he would be a better friend, lover, and father. He decided that people such as Dakota who have spent virtually every waking moment helping him needed to be cherished. He also thought about his protégé, John. He thought about how John has grown from a college guy that would be used the work Fuck much like people use salt to this man that he sees before him now taking care of his wife and trying to learn from David everything he can.

“Hey David,” John said.

“Yes John, what can I do for you?” David replied

“Is there anything that I can do for you?” John asked.

“Um, at the moment, I don’t think so,” David said.

“OK, but if you think of anything just tell me and I’ll take care of it,” was John’s reply.

John finished his scrambled eggs and threw his paper plate in the garbage when it was empty. He took Diane’s plate as well since she finished first. He did pour Diane a new cup of coffee even though Dr. Ronda had warned against too much caffeine.

Dr. Ronda, David thought. Has anyone called her or talked to her about what has happened barely a day ago?

Dakota whispered to David that Dr. Ronda will be by after her hospital rounds this morning, probably before lunchtime. That made David smile a bit. Thankfully Dakota, as usual, was taking care of so much for David.

Amy handled the countless number of phone calls from news media, people in the company, and other general friends who just wanted to send their condolences. Amy got a notepad out and began writing the names, phone numbers, and reason for the calls. She was allowing NO ONE to speak to David directly.

She did take a call from Special Agent Fernandez letting David know that City Police will be conducting the autopsy on Jill and the baby, but the FBI will oversee the results to ensure the procedure is done right. Mariana, his wife, and David’s employee really didn’t know if she was supposed to keep going to the Hawk or not. Amy told her to feel free to come to the Chateau and that there would be little to no office duties for the next week.

Jennifer, Sharon, and Paula all made outgoing calls to get small things off of Dakota’s plate in trying to handle David. Paula had a limo sent to the house and picked up the limo that was in the garage.

Jennifer called the people that she was talking with regarding the pending office tower purchases.

Sharon was calling all of the Hawk staff and telling them that the office would be closed for a few days and that everyone would be getting the time off with pay. All of the staff sent their best wishes to David through Sharon.

Everyone, including the porn twins, really had no idea how to handle David. The last time anyone saw David this way was when Jill was in the hospital. However, now she is gone, and David’s heart is broken. The only thing that is keeping him even remotely sane is Dakota.

As David sat in the TV room, he couldn’t even watch TV as the news about Jill’s murder was the lead story on all the news channels.

Belinda really didn’t know what to do. She asked Jennifer what she should be doing to help, however, Jennifer really didn’t have an answer, so Belinda just hung around doing virtually nothing.

As the morning became later, Dr. Ronda showed up at the Chateau. Amy poked the necessary buttons to allow Ronda inside the outer gate and then inside the inner gate. She parked her car inside one of the garages and went inside the house. She was met by Donna and walked to David.

Next to David, was Dakota. She was like the unwavering sentinel watching over David. Still, the phone calls kept coming. Amy had taken so many phone calls that she finally asked for assistance. Diane sat down next to Amy. Jennifer put a phone in front of Diane along with a spiral notebook and pencil.

Bobby and Sammy asked Dakota what they should be making for David and the family for lunch. Dakota suggested sub sandwiches and maybe some soup. Bobby and Sammy had an idea of what to make. They brought out several loaves of long French bread. They pulled out a rotisserie chicken out of the fridge and stripped all the meat off the bird. Sammy began to make the basics for the chicken noodle soup. Bobby began cutting the bread into several sub sandwiches. He got out the sliced meats of salami, turkey, and ham. He put mustard and mayonnaise on each half of the bread along with sliced tomatoes and lettuce. They did slice up some sweet onions for those who might want onions on their sandwich.

CHAPTER 4

Dr. Ronda started listening to David’s heart and breathing with her stethoscope. She pulled out her blood pressure cuff and checked him. She had a few questions for David, which he didn’t answer. Instead, Dakota answered the questions for David. Although Dr. Ronda would have rather had David answer them.

As the day wore on, David’s mood really didn’t change. Dr. Ronda left the Chateau for a while only to return about dinner time. David did manage a smile when he saw Ronda return.

Fred sat next to David for a while. He whispered to David that he should spend some time at the gun range to work off the anger and thus be prepared if they are attacked ever again. David nodded in acceptance.

Bobby and Sammy decided to cook some steaks for dinner along with baked potatoes and a nice big salad with homemade ranch dressing and an Italian dressing available. In addition, they also had steamed broccoli with a squeeze of fresh lemon.

One of the female SS agents came over an sat down next to David. She was apologizing for not protecting Jill and keep her from getting killed. Dakota answered for him telling the SS agent that it was a surprise ambush, and no one can protect someone 100% of the time. The agent still apologized and got up and went into the kitchen.

As dinner approached, Fred announced that there would be two sessions at the shooting range later this week. Dakota readily agreed and offered to guide David and ensure that he did OK.

About mid-afternoon, David got up and turned off the TV. He was tired of hearing about Jill’s murder as it dominated the airwaves and all the news outlets. Everyone heard the news helicopters fly overhead to get pictures of the house and the courtyard.

Donna instead turned on their DVD player and put the movie ‘Secondhand Lions’ in to try and alleviate the depressing mood in the house. Many of the women smiled when they saw the movie that was put into the player. Since David was still sitting in his chair at the dining room table, Donna held him by the ears from behind and kissed him on the top of the head, making sure to muss his hair trying to be funny. This did cause him to smile a bit.

About 4:30 pm, David got up and took a spot on the couch in the TV room. He sat there for about 15 minutes before he got up and headed up to the office to check his emails. When he logged on, he saw that he had about 850 emails. He was afraid to open Jill’s computer, fearing that it would be too emotional for him. As he sat in front of his computer, he began to think about who would replace Jill as the Director of Financial affairs.

He sent out an email asking the one or two HR people their opinion on finding a new one.

David began sorting through the emails. The first one that caught his eye was one from the recording studio. They were having issues and didn’t know who to turn to for answers. David suggested in a return email that they go to Mike Booker.

David also sent an email to Dave Burgundy a headhunter that he has used before. He made a long list of requirements for a new Director of Financial affairs. Hopefully, Mr. Burgundy will have a couple of qualified people to send to him.

From there he eliminated all the duplicate emails and began to read and delete the read-only emails. By supper time, David was worn out and closed his computer and headed back downstairs. As usual, he came across Dakota first.

“Are you doing OK?” she asked.

“I guess. I answered lots of emails and read many more,” David replied.

“Are you hungry? The chefs have dinner ready,” she told David.

In David’s mind, dinner sounded good, so he headed over to the dining room table. He sat in his usual chair and Dakota sat on his right. All the house members came to the table and chose a chair, however, no one sat in the chair that Jill usually sat in on the left side of David. He just stared at the chair, almost as if she was coming to take her seat at the table.

Each of the members of the house, got up one by one to go into the kitchen and get a plate full of food from Bobby and Sammy. However, without David even getting up from the table, Dakota brought him dinner.

The whole group seemed very subdued with Jill gone. As everyone was finishing dinner, John got up and walked over to David. He pulled a chair up next to David.

“Hey Boss, I have an idea for you to think about,” John said.

“What is it?” David replied.

“Um, well I was thinking that with two ladies still pregnant here, maybe you should set up a legacy for Jill,” John said.

“What do you mean by a legacy for Jill?”

“Put about 10 million into a project that would give the money away to certain types of people, such as single parents who are struggling to make ends meet and do it all in Jill’s name,” John suggested.

I looked at Dakota, who was nodding her head in a yes manner, telling me silently that we could turn a positive out of such a huge negative. I just sat there thinking about what John had just suggested. Jennifer walked over and listened in also nodding yes trying to get me to seriously think of the opportunity.

“David, what do you think of the idea?” Jennifer asked.

“Well, I like the idea, but I was thinking that 10 million might not be enough,” I said.

“Well, how much do you think should be put into this project?” Jennifer asked.

“I was thinking about 100 million.”

“WOW, 100 million? Do you have anyone in mind to run the program?” Jennifer asked.

“Well, my first instinct is to ask Melanie. I know that she is looking for something to do and this would most likely make her feel fulfilled.”

“Who is plan B if she declines?” Jennifer asked me.

“Allison and Belinda. They both want out of the business and this project would give them quality employment.”

Jennifer says, “What about Melanie overseeing the project with Allison and Belinda doing the grunt work. Mom has a long history with large amounts of money, and she could work part-time keeping Belinda and Allison in check and honest.”

“That’s not a bad idea. This way both Belinda and Allison could still go to college and I would feel good that someone, such as Melanie was really running the project.”

“OK, then tomorrow you will get off your ass and go to the Hawk. We will call the lawyers and ask them about setting this project up. Speaking of the lawyers, we got a letter from them today telling us that we are going to sue the insurance company that has refused to cover the fire. They sent us a 31-page letter explaining their position (the insurance company’s position). Our attorney’s position is that they agreed to cover the building without an inspection and thus they should be paying for the damage. The letter also said that when the fire department completes its investigation, they will send us a report and we will pursue the proper insurance company to repay us.

“Jennifer, will you please send Mom, Allison, and Belinda down to see me if they are thru with their dinner,” I said.

Jennifer walked away from me and down to the other end of the table. She whispered into the ears of the three which caused each of them to get up and come to my end of the table.

When all three came over to me, John got up and drug two other chairs over to me where the ladies could sit while I talked to them.

“Ladies, I have a proposal for the three of you,” I said to them.

“OK, what is it, David?” Melanie replied.

“I want to run with a project that John suggested. He thought that we could start a program for struggling single parents. It would be Jill’s legacy,” I replied.

“Tell me more. This sounds interesting,” Melanie said.

“We form a charitable organization, dump a bunch of money into the project and let Melanie run the whole thing with Allison and Belinda being operational managers.”

Melanie smiles indicating that she likes the idea. Belinda and Allison were interested but not quite as happy about the project as Melanie.

“Any questions ladies?” I asked.

“Um, will we still be able to go to college?” Allison asked.

“Of course,” I replied.

This made Allison smile more.

“Since this is a charity, how many hours a week would we be working? And would we be getting paid?” Belinda asked.

“Of course, you would be getting paid. I don’t remember what you’re making now, but how about I double your pay to take on this project? Also, maybe about 30 hours a week. Of course, there will be special weeks where you may have to work a bit more, but that shouldn’t be more than a couple of weeks a year,” I tell Belinda which caused her to smile her beautiful smile.

The three ladies looked at each other and all shook their heads in agreement that they would accept the offered positions. Each lady got up and walked over to John and all three of them kissed him and thanked him for his idea.

As the evening went on, Sammy brought out three cakes for everyone to enjoy: Chocolate fudge, lemon crème, and Carrot cake. All the ladies giggled with excitement seeing the cakes. John, of course, got a slice for Diane then three slices for himself.

I KNOW THAT THIS CHAPTER IS SHORT, AND FOR THAT I APOLOGIZE. HOWEVER, IF YOU ENJOYED THE CHAPTER PLEASE LEAVE ME A SHORT NOTE. I PUT IN A BIG SURPRISE IN THIS CHAPTER AND I HOPE IT DOESN’T FREAK TOO MANY OF MY FANS OUT………. PABLO DIABLO.

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