Jake ended up spending two days in Cancun. When he returned to the U.S., he was a certified member of The Association. His membership would be announced to the rest of the group by the end of the week and his induction ceremony would be held the following month. He was sad to hear that Aturro had died in the gun battle at Yingu, while Sergio was badly wounded, and Joaquin got arrested for fraud. The Mendici dynasty was officially dead and buried. When he got home, he found Victoria and Linda in the TV room watching a cartoon. “Daddy!” Victoria squealed and ran into his arms. “Hey, pumpkin. How are you doing?” “Happy!” She replied excitedly. “Hi, Linda,” he greeted his mother-in-law after putting Victoria back on the couch. “Welcome home, Jake. You’ve been gone forever.” “Yeah… Work.” “You’re working too hard, Jake. We’re not poor, you know. Sherwood Holdings will still be standing if you take a few days off to rest.” He smiled at her. “You’re right. I was thinking the same t
“What’s the hold-up? I don’t have forever to wait!” “I’m not selling Sherwood Holdings to you, Martin. Get lost!” “What did you say?” “You heard me, clown. Scram!” “I see… you think Stephanie and I are bluffing, don’t you? You think we’re playing games with you, huh?” Jake chuckled. “If you think those amateur props you and that tart put together will make me hand over my empire to you, then you’re more stupid than I thought.” “What!” Jake was thoroughly enjoying himself. He could imagine the veins on Martin’s head were straining against his skin right now and he almost laughed out loud. “You think this is a joke, don’t you? We’ll see then. By the time I’m done with you, you’ll be sinking under the sea like the Mendicis!” “Bring it on, Martin. I’m ready.” “Watch out for the news tomorrow, boy. You’re going down!” After Martin hung up, Jake called Mamba and she answered on the first ring. “He’s doing it tomorrow,” he said. “Noted,” she said and hung up. Later that night, J
While Jake and Victoria were getting whisked away to an unknown destination, The Association sent a team of cleaners to Sherwood Mansion to clean up Jake’s fingerprints. They’d also driven his car back to his mansion to eliminate any evidence that he was ever at his former home that evening. They finished up and disappeared before the real police showed up. When they called him later that night to break the news to him, he did his best to act upset on the phone. He was told to make himself available for questioning. “What now?” He asked Mamba after he got off the phone. “Now, we’ll rehearse your statement,” she said flatly. “They’re going to consider me a suspect because of how Morgan and I separated.” “That’s none of my business. Just do your part and let The Association handle the rest.” “The Association, my foot! Weren’t they supposed to protect my family?” “You didn’t inform us that you were separating from your wife.” “I thought you guys knew everything.” “That’s a lousy
“We, therefore, commit these bodies to the ground. Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust; in the sure hope of the Resurrection to eternal life,” said the priest. His bleak voice rang out across the quiet graveyard where the remains of Morgan and Linda were being buried. It was raining lightly and the few funeral guests were huddled together under their umbrellas. Both Jake and Victoria were covered by the umbrella held by Rex. The usually lively toddler was very quiet today. It was as if she understood what was happening. After the bodies were laid to rest, everyone expressed their condolences to Jake again and left. He instructed Rex to take Victoria back to the car so that he could have a moment alone with the spirits of the departed. “Thank you, Morgan, for changing my life,” he whispered over his wife’s grave. “I don’t know what you and Richard saw in me, but I’m grateful to you guys for elevating my status.” He faced Linda’s grave and said, “Thank you for trying to be
“What are you waiting for? Another company is about to make a move on Mendici Shipping,” Mamba said two days later over the phone. “Hello, to you too,” Jake drawled. He was remembering their intimate moment together. “I’m not joking with you, Jake. Seal the deal today.” “Yes, ma’am,” he replied jokingly. “What else shall I do? Take out the trash?” She hung up. Jake instructed his PA to set up a meeting with the Mendicis. To his surprise, he was notified that Roman Mendici would like to see him as soon as possible. The meeting was fixed for that evening and Jake showed up at the opulent Mendici Villa with a bouquet of lilies for Arturo’s mother. “Please, accept my condolences,” he said mournfully when he was met at the entrance by Joaquin. “Cut the crap!” He snapped. “If it wasn’t for you, my brother would still be alive.” “Excuse me?” “If you hadn’t tried to play smart, everything would have gone smoothly as planned.” Jake chuckled. “You must be kidding. You guys tried to for
“What the hell was that last night?” Mamba asked him angrily the next morning. “Good morning to you too,” he replied dryly. “Answer me!” “Don’t yell at me in my office!” He fired back. “If you cannot talk like a sane human being, then get the fuck out of my establishment!” “What?” “I won’t repeat myself.” “Do you realize who you’re talking to?” “I don’t give a shit about who you are, Athena. Fix your tone or get out of my office.” She was stunned to silence. Jake ignored her and started working on his computer. It took her a while to recover from her shock and speak again. “My apologies,” she said calmly. “How did your meeting with Roman Mendici go last night?” “It went well,” Jake replied flatly. He was still working on his computer. “Well?” “Well, what?” “Did he agree to the partnership?” “I thought The Association knew everything?” “Can you please stop stalling and answer the question?” “We’re still deliberating,” he lied. “Once all the loose ends are tied up, I’ll l
“Stay away from my daughter!” Zeus barked.“Why?” Jake asked calmly.“Because she’s off limits. She’s not some dumb bimbo you can play around with as you like.”“I don’t think of her that way.”“I don’t care what you think! Stay the hell away from her. She’s not going to be your plaything like Mamba.”Jake was surprised. “Wait, Mamba told you we had sex?”“Yes, Jake. She tells me everything. It’s part of her job description and the fact that she keeps to it even in uncomfortable circumstances shows her undisputed loyalty to me. I can’t say the same for you.”Jake sighed. For some reason, he felt sorry for poor Mamba who had no secrets. He sipped from his wine glass and scanned the party crowd indifferently from his spot in the secluded VIP section where he was chatting with The Boogeyman.They were at The Association’s second quarterly meeting for the year. Zeus had sent for him to have a private chat. He’d already known what the conversation would revolve around and he hadn’t been di
“Daddy said he’ll cut me off if I don’t stop seeing you.”“And what did you say?”“I told him to go to hell with his money. He can’t keep wielding his wealth over me like a weapon!”“Attagirl! I’m proud of you.”She grinned and kissed the tip of his nose. They were lounging in his bed on Saturday afternoon.They hadn’t seen each other in over two weeks because Jake had been out of the country on an important business trip to Japan. He’d deliberately made himself unreachable from her because he wanted her to miss him. It worked.“I thought I’d been in love before but I was wrong,” she said softly. “This is the real thing.”“I feel the same way too.”“Do you mean that?”“Completely.”“Aww… Jake!”“I brought a special gift for you from Japan.”“You did? Ooh, let me see it!”Her excitement made him smile. He reached for his bedside drawer and pulled it open to remove a small gift wrapped in baby pink foil and tied with a crimson bow.“Ooh!” She squealed delightedly when he gave the gift.