"Yes, Miss Williams?"
He turned to look at me, and I fixed him with my most menacing look. I'd honed it in the mirror for weeks, Mark coaching me the entire time. It was useful, and I could go from seductive to menacing in about two seconds flat if I wanted. "Don't even think of fucking with me on this. I'm letting you off easy. Take the money you've doubtlessly squirreled away and your wife, if she'll stay with your cheating ass, and get the fuck out of the city. If I see or hear that you're back in town, let's just say bad shit might just happen to you."
"What do you mean?" Traylor said, his lower lip quivering. "Do you think I'm worried about what you might tell the IRS?"
I let my mouth spread into a smile, but not a friendly one. "No. I just have friends too, Gerald. Very efficient friends."
Silently, so as to avoid letting Vanessa hear (she was totally in the dark on the other side of MJT), I formed the word that struck fear in the hearts of the city's evil and corrupt. “The Snowman."
Traylor's eyes grew wide, and he almost ripped the door open getting away from me. I watched from my desk as he hightailed it out of the MJT office, Vanessa still sitting at her desk watching him go. When he was finally gone, she came into my office, her face still professionally impassive. "Shall I pencil in the Padre for another appointment later, Miss Williams?"
"No, I don't think that will be necessary. And how many times do I have to tell you to call me Tabby?"
"I don't think so, Miss Williams. By the way, Mrs. Bylur called while you were in your meeting. She says she has returned from her doctor's appointment, and will still be able to have her work completed by the time you get home."
Vanessa left my office, and I went around to my desk chair, unbuttoning my suit jacket before plopping down. The meeting with Traylor had fired me up, and I was in the swing of things now. If Sophie's message was that she was fine, I could hear the details when I got home that night. I still had some adrenalin to work off, and I figured I could use it to make up for the hour of zoning out I'd done.
Chapter 2
Mark
Tabby nearly sent the door to Mount Zion off its hinges when she came in the door that evening, causing Sophie and I to hide our smiles. We knew that when we called and had only gotten to talk to Vanessa, she’d be itching for an update. She's a great front for our company, a great friend, and smart in her own right, but she's a total softie when it comes to Sophie.
"So?" she asked, barely taking the time to toss her briefcase to the side, where it clattered to the floor. I was grateful she didn't carry a computer in her briefcase, as we had her computer at MJT networked with ours at home. While Tabby is hardly as messy as she claims, I do have to admit I spent about twenty minutes a day picking up after her. Tabby is difficult as hell to get out of bed in the morning, so between waking up and leaving for work, she somewhat resembles the Tasmanian Devil. Thankfully, my new lifestyle allowed me the time, as long as I got into the stock markets on time. That meant that most mornings, while Sophie did the back rooms or got started on her work with the computer, I spent the time cleaning up, getting done just in time for the opening bell on the market.
"Well, the doctor's got some new magazines in his waiting room," I said, stirring dinner. It was a unique setup of our supposed work. On paper, Sophie (excuse me, Joanna, but we used our real names around the house) was supposed to be the housekeeper, and she did do a good amount of housework. On the other hand, as beautiful and talented as my wife is, she's not as good a cook as I am, so I would often do outside yard work or other things befitting my "job" and then come in to make dinner. Neither woman had ever complained, even when I experimented with new recipes. "I got to read a very interesting article in the latest Popular Mechanics."
Tabby replied by making a face, sticking her tongue out and blowing a very loud raspberry. "I'd fire you if you weren't my boss," she mock-complained before coming over and seeing what I was cooking. "Smells good."
"Thanks. Doctor Atkinson said that Sophie needs a bit more Vitamin K in her diet, so we're having sautéed kale as a side dish. Sorry, no pizzas or stuff for a while."
Tabby stood on her tiptoes and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "You're too much, Mathew Mark Bylur," she said in reply. She would call me that at least once a day, as practice to make sure she didn't screw up and call me Marcus Smiley or Mark Snow in public some time. "I swear I'm going to find a company that can just clone you for me. Just need to give him naturally black hair."