Chapter 15: Update to The Boss

William asked Jimmy to change their hotel to The Deermont. It was Argonne’s newest hotel, had the best rooms, and was Sarah’s favorite. Jimmy took a ride down the strip and because he was there in person it took a little less arm twisting than usual to secure the rooms.

“Get rooms?” asked William when Jimmy returned.

“Yes. Got them for tonight for the two of us, tomorrow night for us plus Dennis and Sarah, and then Tuesday night for the other presidents and their assistants.”

“Good, thanks.”

“Want me to take your luggage?”

William said, “Yes. Go on and head over. I need to make another phone call or two. I’ll find you at the bar.”

When Jimmy left, William walked to the small desk and sat heavily. He pulled out his phone and looked at the screen and saw his reflection.

“Aren’t we getting too old for this nonsense?” he asked his reflection.

He slid his finger across the screen, entered his code, and then made a call. He was on the phone for less than five minutes, but that was all it took.

Sarah arrived at The Deermont with all the usual fanfare. The manager, Edward, Eddie “Big Man,” Bloussard met them at the door.

Sarah was on the phone and had diverted to the side of the wide entrance. Dennis saw Eddie and approached with his hand extended.

“Dennis,” bellowed the manager in his deep southern voice. “How are you doing?”

“Big Man,” he replied. None of the executives would call him Big Man. Dennis only did when he was alone. “I’m doing fine. Lots of travel the past few months, but all’s good. I think the crises we faced here with the hotels is mostly over and we’re on track for a record quarter. How are you doing with the new twins?”

Big Man laughed heartily. “I am working more than ever. I need my rest.”

Dennis playfully slapped him on the arm as Sarah approached.

“Hello Edward, how are you doing?” she asked.

“Ms. Ooverest, I am doing well. I hear that you have traveled a great deal the past few months, but business is good?”

Sarah gave Dennis a quick glance, wondering what he had said, but replied, “That pretty much sums up my life the past three months, yes.”

“Then welcome, please let us get you settled.”

Big Man escorted them into the hotel and past the check-in counter. That was not needed for the CEO on an expected visit.

“I am honored to have to have the Argonne executives here this week. And especially happy that Mr. Richard will speak. The staff is very exited to hear from him directly.”

“To tell you the truth, I’m kind of exited to hear what he has to say, too,” said Sarah.

They had reached the end of the massive entryway. Big Man paused.

“Can I get you anything before we go our separate ways?”

Sarah smiled. “No, I don’t think so, we’re good. I think our first stop will be our rooms. We are scheduled to meet with Mr. Estes in about an hour.”

“Ahh, yes, Mr. Estes arrived yesterday. I remember,” said Big Man. Sarah knew this was feigned. He knew exactly when each president was arriving and had plans to meet them all at the entrance.

“We are going to meet William and Jimmy for lunch at A Lotta Beef.”

“Of course. I will make sure you have a table and the chef is aware of your arrival. Would you like anything special to be on the menu?”

Sarah started to shake her head but was interrupted by Big Man. “Oh, I forget. Mr. Dennis, you are here for the cheesecake. Yes, that is right. You find Chef’s cheesecake the best in all of Vegas.”

Dennis sheepishly nodded. “Yes, it is very good. If it isn’t a problem, I would definitely enjoy cheesecake.”

“It is no problem.”

Like the feigned remembrance of William’s arrival, Sarah would bet handsomely that the chef had already prepared the cheesecake knowing that Dennis was en route.

“Thank you, Edward, you always make my arrival an event.”

“You are the queen of our empire, Ms. Sarah. Of course we want to make your arrival special.”

Sarah blushed slightly and shook his hand. She watched as he turned and headed to the wing with his office.

“He’s something else,” she said almost to herself.

“That he is,” agreed Dennis.

They went to their rooms and freshened up. A few minutes before noon Sarah knocked on Dennis’s door.

“Ready?” she called out.

She heard, “yes,” through the door, then a moment later Dennis exited carrying his briefcase.

They walked to the restaurant and were the first to arrive. They were led to a private table at the back, well away from other tables. The waiter seated Sarah and placed her napkin in her lap, then followed suit with Dennis’s napkin.

“May I get you a drink while you wait for the rest of your party?”

Sarah and Dennis both ordered and sat back. Before their drinks arrived William and Jimmy were seated. Drink orders were taken and greetings exchanged.

Even though there was obvious tension, William drove the conversation and kept it relatively light. Dennis was starting to become impatient, but was quieted when the waiter announced cheesecake and coffee would be served shortly.

After lunch, William suggested they retire to his suite to continue their conversation.

In his room, William sat in a chair across from the television. Sarah on the couch to William’s right. Dennis was also on the couch, while Jimmy took the second chair across the small glass table in the center of the room.

William cleared his throat and said, “Let’s review what we know so that when we talk with Richard later tonight we are all on the same page.”

Sarah said, “You haven’t talked to him yet?”

“No. the last we spoke was to arrange this meeting. He does not know anything that has happened in the last week.”

Sarah would not have guessed that answer, but took William at his word.

“Starting with the doctored phone we fed to Heidi on her visit,” William began.

He recounted the break from that planted evidence that led them to Edith, who then led them to Leonard on his yacht. There was moment of awkward silence as Sarah and Dennis thought about what may have happened afterward. Both were smart enough to keep their mouths shut.

“Leonard led us down two pathways. One was in Chicago and one was in Vegas.”

William looked to Sarah. “Why don’t you tell us what you learned?”

Sarah said, “We know Leonard saw Guy Smart, a VP in Sports coming down the hallway. He saw a second thumb drive and assumed Guy was involved. It turns out Guy is Joseph’s brother-in-law.”

She paused for shock value. Jimmy reacted as expected. William just sat stoically waiting for Sarah to continue.

“When I spoke with Joseph he was slow to accept the idea that Guy, and possibly his wife, were involved, but the more he considered the possibility the more convinced he is that they are acting together and were responsible for tanking the soccer deal.”

Before William could ask, Sarah said, “I convinced Joseph to play it cool and act as if he knew nothing out of the ordinary was happening. With the presidents meeting tonight he’ll be able to stay away from both his wife and Guy.”

William sat silently for a moment, as if he was saving all the information Sarah gave him in the steel trap that was his memory.

“Very good.”

William sat back, crossed his legs, and looked at Jimmy, then to Dennis, and then to Sarah.

“In Vegas,” he began, “we found more than we expected, but maybe not all there is to know.”

He recounted the email to the anonymous source, leaving the thumb drive, and then finding Evan, the hotel manager, and Lindsey, the front-end manager in flagrante dilecto.

“Fucking like teenagers,” Jimmy added with a smirk.

“Yes, thank you, Jimmy, but I think everyone understood what I said,” William said with a scowl.

“Neither Evan nor Lindsey knew about the pouch in the knight. However, when we got the camera and showed them the video, they both thought the woman that retrieved the thumb drive looked a lot like Evan’s wife.”

Sarah snapped her fingers. “That would track with what JJ told us all along. The source seemed to be someone connected to a higher up, but maybe not an official employee.”

“Yes, I thought the same thing,” said William with a pleased smile at Sarah’s quick conclusion.

Dennis said, “OK, that’s the story to date. We’re all on the same page, but what are we going to tell Richard? He wants actionable next steps and not just a summary of what has happened.”

William uncrossed his legs and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.