Deal for my love - Under Reconstruction

Chapter nine

Chapter nine:

There was a noise and his head was bitterly complaining about the marching band banging on his brain and whatever it was making the room spin. Matthew hurt and he hurt bad, his phone was out of reach and the spinning wasn’t stopping and the marching band was going for gold on his brain. His phone went off again, seemingly in competition with the marching band for the gold, as he rolled over and the room span faster, his stomach heaved and his gag reflex let itself be known, Matthew cursed all that was alcoholic in life and stumbled, fell into his bathroom, basically crawling the rest of the way to the toilet bowl.

His stomach felt better for it but his mouth tasted rancid and his phone kept going. Matthew brushed his teeth and washed his faced, he felt wretched and apparently the mirror said he looked it too. There was a knock on his door and his phone was silent; Martha the family housekeeper was on the other side of the door holding the house phone for him, “Mr Cohen, Mr Davis.” She said handing him the phone and a glass of water and aspirin, Martha was a goddess among woman. “Thank you, Martha that will be all, no breakfast for me – just hot, strong coffee” Matthew said accepting both the phone and the water and aspirin.

“morning Sam, keep it down, the marching band isn’t done yet.” Mathew said to the receiver as he gratefully drank his water and aspirin. “Matt, answer your phone damn it, and that will teach you to drink alone.” Sam replied, feeling better that his friend and boss was indeed conscious, “i have something, an important something” Sam continued after a beat, “Angel gave birth, the kicker is she gave birth to three and not one little Davis heirs” Sam told his friend, Matthew knew he had to have heard wrong “did you say three? Are you certain it’s her?” he questioned feeling queasy again. “Im positive, im looking at the hospital footage of her arriving heavily pregnant and leaving, with the aid of nurses with three little bundles and yes i have someone going over to the hospital to question the staff.” Sam explained, he knew that Matthew needed good news and this was it. Matthew sat down and took in what his friend had said, they had proof that she had given birth, it was just a matter of time before he met his fate... Angel Dean and her three children.

“Thanks Sam, i appreciate that you had to call in a favour from the boy wonder for this one” Matthew stated and knew how much it galled Sam to ask for help on anything. Sam sighed at the mention of Dean and his help, even though he was grateful that Dean had found something, it did not mean he had to like asking for help from the boy. “its cool man, just make sure that we handle this potential PR with kid gloves – excuse the pun. The press will be all over you and her if they get a whiff that those babies were your brothers – you have to make it seem like you were and have been in a relationship with this woman Matt.” Sam told his boss, he had thought about the media and what could be done to stop the negative press and Matt having a secret family was better negative press than his brother’s many undesirable secrets coming out. “you can’t be serious Sam, we have no clue how this girl has been living and you want me to seem like this callous bastard who didn’t care about my own children till i needed them to keep the family fortune?” Matt scowled outraged that Sam could even suggest such a thing, he was not Mark!

“think about it buddy, the press would stop focusing on Mark and his family and look at you and yours, but if you or the PR think tank you  pay have a better solution go with it. Damage control is still damage control no matter what form it comes in.” Sam said effectively “Bye man, call you with an update.” Sam rang off and went to check with his men what was happening. “Bye” Matt replied, distractedly aware that he was speaking to a dialling tone. Sam was right and he knew it, this was damage control and Matt had to get his head in the game, time to talk PR and look at the best way to get out of a shit storm smelling less shitty.

Tomorrow was Monday and he was needed at the office to stroke ruffled feathers and calm the panic, never mind he had just buried his family, he needed to stop another storm from destroying what he was effectively trying to save. The stock market was volatile at best and this was not making investors happy, he knew they would be trying to get all they could salvage before the opening of the stock exchange and he needed to call an emergency board meeting and assure everyone that he would be getting married and doing so very soon.

He also needed to call his broker and have him buy up any shares sold off by ship jumpers and shore up all he could to try and stop the major liquidation process as majority shareholder, just in case Angel turned out to be the Devil. Like the saying went, there is no rest for the wicked.

He walked back into the bathroom and started his shower as per usual any thought of that redheaded woman he was aroused and angry. His shower was cold, not that it helped much. He went through the images of her heavy with child and noted that scared, distressed look in her eye and his heart tugged. She looked so innocent, so young and afraid. He had to stop himself from going down that road, for all he knew that look was in the moment and in everyday life she was a shark – she had lived with his brother as his mistress for a time. And everyone knows that if you lay with dogs, you wake with fleas.

The landlord was at her door and Angel had a bad feeling about this particular visit. “Chris, what can i do for you” Angel asked politely, trying not to shiver – Chris gave her the creeps and it had nothing to do with his usual state of being un-kept or his age and everything to do with the way he looked at her when he thought she wasn’t paying attention to him. He made her feel dirty.

“Angel, dear girl” Chris stated looking over the young mother appreciatively and slightly inappropriately “it would seem that this building is going to be condemned, and well you and everyone else living here need to leave before month end. now the city is willing to let the people with leases stay in other vacant places or replace whatever money had been paid in advance but im afraid there is nothing they can do about squatters.” Chris delivered his message will a slight gleeful look, this little slip of a girl always made him feel like he wasn’t good enough, like she was something special but she wasn’t and now he was proving it. “W-what do y-you mean s-squatters?” Angel asked, her nervous stutter was in full force, her stomach was knotting up and she just knew that she wasn’t going to like what she was about to hear. “You don’t have any papers, no lease - no place to stay, curtsey of the government.” Chris happily replied, he enjoyed that pale look on her face and those widening eyes filling up with uncertainty.

Chris liked to take advantage of his position in the building and when his female squatters couldn’t make rent, he had other ways for them to pay him- but no Angel, miss goody two-shoes, the righteous bitch just always found a way and now he was paying her back. It was a small satisfaction but satisfaction it was.