Chapter 43: Putting The New Me Into Action

January 7, 1992, Chicago, Illinois

“I’m sorry I put you off yesterday,” I said.

Jeri and I were sitting in the small conference room.

“You were up to your eyeballs with work; don’t sweat it. What I wanted to talk about could wait.”

“So, talk,” I grinned.

“May I be blunt?”

“When aren’t you?” I chuckled. “Even your quotes from those trashy novels are blunt! They’re just flowery language!”

“True! Though I kind of had to work up to it.”

“All it took was having our reservations in LA messed up! You were pretty blunt and bold.”

“Fear will do that to you.”

I smiled, “Sure. And so will desire.”

“What?!”

“Jeri, you were quiet because your mom was so domineering. You took the opposite approach from me. I talked back and spoke my mind and told my mom off repeatedly. You chose to simply become reserved and not speak your mind. But the minute we were on that plane to LA, and you got over your fear of flying, you decided to sleep with me at your earliest opportunity.”

“I did NOT!” she protested.

“You did, too!” I chuckled. “The messed up reservations made it easier. You deftly manipulated me into taking your virginity when you knew I’d say ‘no’ if you handled it any other way.”

She shook her head, but was smiling, “How long have you known?”

“I had some inklings, but when I saw you at that podium today, it hit me that I’d misjudged you. Yes, you were afraid of flying. I totally get that. And you were concerned about being alone in LA. But, when you got into my car, you knew you weren’t going to come home with an intact hymen. I’m sure of it now. Dave warned me that you were more than you seemed, and he was correct in his assessment!”

“Are you upset?”

“Are you kidding?” I said with a huge smile. “I VERY much enjoyed both that time AND the week in San Francisco.”

“You were a far better choice than those society pricks, and some of the girls here talk!”

“Of course they do,” I sighed. “Is this widespread? I mean, is it still discussed?”

“Only between the girls you’ve had. Me, Penny, Tasha, and Kimmy. Well, you had Julia, but she’s management. And Charlie, but she refused to speak about it. And Elyse is a special case.”

“So you all know about each other?”

“You aren’t quite as discreet as you thought you were.”

“No, I guess not. But Penny never let on she knew about Kimmy.”

“She decided she had to keep that quiet to protect you. Tasha said the same thing.”

“Wonderful,” I sighed.

“Don’t worry about it. You have four girls who think you are the greatest lover the gods ever put on this planet.”

“That’s a dangerous thing to say, even privately.”

“I know. But I’m saying only to you. I’d NEVER say a word to Howard. And besides, he is no slouch!”

“Now we’re in ‘too much information’ territory!”

“Oh give me a break! I don’t know anyone more secure in their manhood and sexuality than you are. If I told you Howard was a beast and made you look tame, you’d shrug your shoulders and not even think about it in the future. You don’t try to compete. And THAT is what makes you so good!”

“Can we get back to the reason you wanted to talk?”

“That IS the reason I wanted to talk, though I did want to talk about the Press and about the article in the paper.”

“Maybe we should do that first,” I said.

“You gave an interview to Crain’s this morning, right?”

“Yes. The Trib reporter tipped them off. There will be an article about NIKA in a future edition. But it was purely business focused.”

“Unlike the blurb in the Trib,” Jeri said. “That was a nice sidebar about you and Jessica. You seemed to have deftly navigated the problem of Kara. ‘A family friend’?”

“That picture from the article by the ‘society’ writer in the Tempo section? I didn’t like that at all. The news story was fine.”

“It’s the Tempo section article I want to warn you about. That statement, and the picture of you with Kara, is them telling you they’re going to reveal your family situation in the future, if the opportunity presents itself.”

“Huh?” I asked.

“The unwritten rule is that they don’t just blab gossip. The Trib isn’t a rag. But, they ran that picture, and the next time they write about you, no matter what it is, they’ll bring up your family situation. It’s just the way things work. You can’t prevent it. All you can do is manage it.”

“You’re just full of good news,” I sighed.

“Did the Crain’s reporter ask you ANYTHING about your family?”

“He asked about marriage and kids, but I explained I wanted to keep them out of the limelight. He seemed to accept that.”

“Crenshaw is a pure business reporter. We’ve dealt with him before. I suspect he’ll write a pure article and just mention that you’re married to a doctor. He probably won’t even mention her name. But Mom knows a lot of people at Crain’s. It might be a good idea for her to place a preemptory call.”

“For what?”

“To make sure they stick to your business.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” I said.

“You’ve already started getting calls looking for money.”

“Yes, unfortunately.”

“So the goal is to make sure that the article is just about business. No reference to charitable giving. After all, NIKA didn’t do it, and technically, it was Doctor Jessica who gave the money, not you.”

“Ah, I see your point. Have your mom do what she thinks is best. By the way, I was surprised at how positive she was about me, and about Howard.”

“Politics and propaganda,” Jeri sighed. “I hate that with a passion. But they are necessary evils. And speaking of necessary evils. I have something for you before we talk about the other thing.”

“What’s that?”

She slid an envelope to me. I removed a single folded piece of paper. I unfolded it to see the Foundation letterhead. I read the text and just shook my head.

“No fucking way!” I spat. “Forget it!”

“If I recall, you told me, based on advice from Ben Jackson, how to accomplish what I wanted. This is an important step. I need you to do this for me.”

“I don’t want to be in the limelight in any way, shape, or form.”

“Too late,” Jeri said. “That went out the window when Jessica decided to make her gift public. You can’t put that djinni back in the bottle.”

“My lovely wife, the doctor, and I had some serious words about that this past weekend.”

“Given your penchant for privacy and taking the back seat, I’m not surprised. Well, you just got shoved into the driver’s seat whether you like it or not. Take the wheel and drive.”

I chuckled, “You sound like my friend the Navy Ensign who insisted I take the controls of her plane when we were flying to Ohio a week ago.”

“And you obviously didn’t crash!”

“Obviously.”

“I’m going to send this out first thing in the morning.”

“What about what I want?” I asked.

“You’re a Star Trek fan, are you not?”

“I am.”

“What you want is irrelevant, what you have chosen is at hand.“

“But I didn’t choose this!”

“Sure you did,” Jeri said. “When you came to me and asked me for money for Bethany’s project. You know damned well there is always consideration given in exchange. You’ve made that clear in meetings here, especially with Dante.”

She had a valid point. In the same way I exchanged favors with the Outfit, and for NIKA, negotiated contracts which both sides felt were sufficiently valuable, I’d asked Jeri for something. And now, she was, rightly, requesting I keep my end of the unspoken bargain. But I was going to try some levity first.

“I think that request for money was about YOU repaying the favors I did you in California!” I smirked.

“Hey, asshole, if I’d wanted to SELL it, there were plenty of society jerkoffs I could have gone to. Ones with more money than my mom! Besides, you LIKED it AND you got my cherry! That was the consideration in that deal!”

We looked at each other and cracked up laughing.

“You’re serious about this?” I asked a minute later.

“Deadly.”

The question that immediately sprung to mind was whether or not I was being submissive. She wasn’t asking. She was telling. Or was she? I was reasonably sure that if I said ‘no’, she’d tear up the piece of paper. I also knew that if I said ‘no’, she’d be back again, and she was very persuasive. I didn’t like it, but she was right. Right about the cat being out of the bag; right about me encouraging her; right that I should have expected her to ask for something in exchange for the money.

“Fine,” I said.

“No, I want you to sound like you mean it. And actually mean it. Not acquiesce, but embrace. Remember your line about consent when we discussed having sex the first time?”

“Acquiescence isn’t consent. You’re right. I accept. It’s the right thing to do.”

“Good,” Jeri said. “Now, about Kajri.”

“I have to keep my own counsel on that, but I’ll listen to what you have to say.”

“Remember what I said about her having bad experiences? In both instances, the guys blamed her and told her she was lousy in bed. She’s convinced that they’re right. She hasn’t been on a date in years, and your party was the first one she’s been to since she was a Freshman at Oxford. Her self-esteem is near zero. It took me hours to convince her to even show up. And then in about thirty seconds, you had her dancing and feeling confident about it.”

“And I think a few more things like that would be sufficient,” I said. “I’m not sure it needs to go as far as you’ve suggested.”

“Maybe, but I’ve hung out with her a bit and I think taking her on a date or two, and then blowing her mind, while showing her that she isn’t worthless, is just the ticket. And you’re the guy to do it. You’ll be patient, have no expectations, treat her well, and knock her socks off.”

“While that might be true, I’m not too happy about you trying to set up an assignation.”

“Oh stop! How many girls have you been with? Tell me honestly.”

“Over a hundred.”

“So why not do this favor for me?”

I smirked, “And the consideration?”

“In a heartbeat, if it weren’t for Howard. I know your rule and I made a promise to Howard and he to me. So it’ll have to be something else.”

“Tear up that press release!” I chuckled.

“Too late! You already agreed. Actually, there is something I can do for you that I know you’re going to need.”

“And what’s that?”

“Finance our buyout of BLS,” she said with a silly smile.

“Excuse me?”

“I’m not dumb! I’ve seen all kinds of little signs. And, well, I travel in certain circles. Someone who knows about it and knows I work for you assumed I knew about it. I simply let them talk.”

“I’m going to kill that someone,” I sighed. “Whoever it is has to be from Allen & Baker.”

“Do you know what ‘insider trading’ is?”

“Five to ten in Federal prison, or more, if it’s egregious enough!”

Jeri laughed, “Sure. For the ‘little people’ as my mom calls them. Nearly everyone in the circles we’re talking about has inside information. And they act on it. It disgusts me, but I’m sure you know there is one set of rules for the rich and powerful, and another set for everyone else. You have to be really stupid to get charged with insider trading, like in Wall Street. The currency in our circles is information. Well, sex, too. But mostly information. Sex is used to get information, or power, or both.”

“That’s pretty cynical.”

“You know it’s true. I can tell by your eyes.”

“Yes, I’ve heard that before, and I have no doubt that it’s true.”

“Then help me change it,” Jeri said. “That’s why I asked you to help me.”

“Fair enough,” I said. “But aren’t we tilting at windmills?”

“Maybe, but I can’t simply abide by the corruption without doing something. And if I can fix even my tiny part of the world, it’s worth it. It’s the same with the Lundgren Foundation and all the idiotic causes my mother supports. What we did for Bethany is the first thing in years I’m proud of. And that’s what you’re going to help with. Two votes out of eleven on the board, with your strong voice and logic? It might take some time, but I’ll win long before my mother dies.”

“She’s going to fight you tooth and nail, behind the scenes.”

“Which is why I need a good ally on the board. One I can count on.”

“I’m not going to be your rubber stamp. And I’m going to speak my mind.”

“I’m counting on both of those. You won’t be a rubber stamp; in fact, I’d be offended if you were. That’s the problem with the Board. Whatever my mom wanted, she got. Until this time. I peeled off the other four female members of the Board, plus a guy who’s been trying to get into my panties since I was fifteen to get a 6-5 majority to get my way. You’re replacing one of the guys who’s too ill to continue.”

“How did you ever talk your mom into this?”

“The Board takes nominations and makes recommendations. You got five votes from the Board to make the final list. Then, when Doctor Jessica made her donation, I went to my mom and told her she needed to put you on the Board. She objected, but I pointed out you were much better as an ally than an enemy. And she knew just how worthy of an opponent you were!”

I chuckled, “I did thwart her at every turn.”

“And someday, you’re going to tell me exactly which strings you pulled to get the unions to screw her royally.”

“Telling you THAT would require more consideration than you could possibly provide, even if you offered another week at the Mark Hopkins.”

“That’s what I thought. Got it. Anyway, about Kajri?”

“Give me her number. I’ll talk to her.”

“Don’t pull one of your famous make them wait six months tactics. I’ve heard all about those from Tasha and Penny!”

“I’m going to KILL them!” I grinned.

“You do know who the real culprit is, don’t you?”

“Penny!” I said.

Jeri shook her head, and smiled, “Not even close.”

“Get out of here and send out your damned press release!” I growled.

“Welcome to the Board of the Lundgren Foundation!”

“I’m not sure if that’s an appointment or a prison sentence!”

“It’s both. Trust me. So about the financing?”

“I need to hear from Jamie about the status. Unless you have something to share.”

“They’re almost bankrupt. Give them enough to pay off their debts, and some money for the founders to feel good, say $100K each, and you’ll get it. But I think the M&A guys at Allen & Baker know that. You should hear by the end of the week.”

“Connections again?”

“Better than the Outfit,” she said with a knowing smile.

“Jeri, I’ll make you an offer you can’t refuse,” I smirked.

“What’s that?”

“No more skullduggery. No more going behind my back. No more keeping information like that from me.”

“In exchange for?”

“Giving Kajri a night she’ll never, ever forget.”

“Done!”

She went back to her desk and I went back to my office. I had about thirty minutes before lunch and decided to talk to Dave about the project for Dante. It was going to require hiring, as we’d discussed, but I had an idea. It would mean letting some information out, but based on my conversation with Jeri, it was already out. I motioned him over, and we went to the conference room.