I Never Thought It Could Be This Way
Chapter 1: The Prodigal Son Returns

Copyright© 2019 by Pappy

I was the only son, the only child, at least I think so; at least that’s what the lawyers told me. From Atlanta to Miami was a tossup whether to fly or drive for his funeral. The ice on the roads gave flying the edge. We down South don’t do well driving on ice. Getting to Hartsfield–Jackson Airport nearly four hours early when you have the first flight out is a neat trick. Makes you want to reconsider the drive. No it is not near Jackson MS, it’s named for former mayors, as if anyone cares about a politician and it’s just South of Atlanta. Not as bad a drive as getting to LAX or Dulles but try driving near Atlanta these days, bad, bad, bad.

I was told a driver would meet me in Miami then take me to the funeral, the lawyers, the main office and home, Dad’s home and I guess now my home for a bit. S. Banyan of maybe Prescott, Mac Mahon and Tate would need me for a week or two so I should plan of meeting several key executives and two or three trips. Calls to Canada and Argentina should suffice for now he said but to make certain I had a valid passport. The companies would process the Visas and Letters required to validate a business relationship and domicile. I almost told him I already had a credit card but thought better of it. Both firms spoke some English and he confirmed I spoke some French and Spanish.

Dad and I were not close unless being in the Western Hemisphere at the same time counted. Mom and Dad split early on. Somehow he seemed to know a bit about me. I was twenty-one, a college dropout and not really the ‘numero uno’ applicant for most starter jobs. There was a reason for that, at least I thought there was; but hold that thought.

S. Banyan (Call me Sil) did not need to hold a sign for me or anyone to notice her. Grey silk shirt, short skirt, high heel pumps and long silver hair made her tall, slender frame the center of attention of any man within 200 feet, some women too. Her coming up to me saying “Walk this way” not only made me raise my eyebrows but brought to mind the classic male responses. Man was not built to walk the way she did.

Her, “Baggage?” brought a “Huh!” from me as I was still watching her sway in front of me. I thought I heard a light chuckle followed by ‘good’ from up ahead. The cop standing by the still running Mercedes convertible got a hand wave from Sil and a “Thanks for watching” and I don’t think he was only watching the car.

I threw my carry on in the back and almost managed to close the door before she did a NASCAR pit exit. I thought anti-lock was supposed to stop tires peeling rubber off. Not certain how it was in Miami but in Atlanta you’re used to stopping at red lights. The wind had an effect on that blouse of hers and that blouse of hers had an effect on me. Not sure but I think she was a few years older than me, but I was not stupid enough to ask her age, no sir re.

“I’m your Dad’s Personal Assistant. Did they tell you what ‘our sched-dule’ was today?” It wasn’t just a slight UK accent this was said with. Later Sil said some of St. Leonard’s in St Andrews and her Oxford education must have rubbed off on her. Never heard a complaint from me.

“At least until ‘we got home’ they left the remainder of the night open. What are we having for this evening?”

Never missing a beat or a dratted red light, she said. “Crab claws at Joe’s or steak at Ruth Chris unless ‘we’ decide to stay in.”

I wisely just nodded still looking at her windblown chest.

I happily followed her around all day. Last stop on the schedule was home. I guess she was his ‘Personal Assistant’. But of course the car’s remote garage thing worked, her fingerprint opened the lift up and the key code she entered got ‘us’ inside the Penthouse.

“Well, have you decided?”

“In a way? I should have ... I don’t know ... spent more time here earlier, a lot earlier. Do ‘we’ have separate rooms or...”

“The reading of the will is in the morning, ‘we’ can decide after that. I may be too boring for you if you take after your father.”

“How much trouble am I in?” I only meant with her but ... Without missing a beat, she said: “Some, about half I’d say. The ‘Legit’ stuff is pretty straight forward, 51% or more handles things. The rest, Ugh, there’s always problems with those.”

“What gives ‘us’ the best return with the least risk?”

“The Casinos, high-end girls and maybe the hotels. The rest is ‘difficult to keep’. Montreal and Buenos Aires are just in the early stages and unless you are tougher than your Dad they may not be worth the effort. I won’t be seen as anyone to deal with there; it’s mostly a ‘men’s club’. Here at least I can broker your interests for you.”

“What do YOU want to do?”

“The Crab claws I think. Then let’s sleep on it. ‘We’ have a busy day tomorrow.”

I pretty much knew what Dear Old Dad did for a living. I had married into it myself, That did not last a long time but Vegas and Paradise Island still said hello to me and I didn’t need a ‘clicker’ to check for bombs anymore. I lucked out with Sil, not only was she beautiful, fun to be with, not boring but knew an awful lot about the business. The French had a saying about a woman, Sil must have been who they had in mind when that phrase was coined.

Taking her into my arms and kissing her seemed to be the right thing to do. “Sil. I have a confession to make, my first wife said I snored. I hope that won’t keep you up at night because I always need to have you close-by my side.” That got me a hit on the arm and followed by “Oh You!”

“I know enough to know that there is a lot I don’t know. Any chance ‘we’ might make a more permanent arrangement. I won’t smother you, at least not too much. I know we have not known each other a long time but I think I fell in-love with you after that pit exit at the airport. Oh, and the Crab place, man, great. I could live like that till I die. So, what do you say, here or Vegas and after the will we can get a ring you like.”

Not stupid, I’d never ask her age, it did not matter. She was a 20 on a scale of 1 to 10.

The claws were great, bed was even better. She said I snored the next morning. We ate breakfast on the way to the lawyer. Yesterday they pretty much told me details of ‘How much!’, What stocks were included and which were majority owned assets. I hoped she liked the ring or maybe Dad left me a diamond mine.

You may think that it was foolish, Hell, didn’t you ever hear the story of the worm that caught the fish in the morning. No way was I waiting till then, move when the sauce is hot I always said. She was unique, a sight to behold and if I searched 1,000 years I would find no better. Maybe close but not better. She had something else, the silver hair, man I was a sucker for silver hair. Right, she also had the trust and respect of my Dad, no mean feat there. She knew too much to not have been trusted. Did that mean that she was was the right choice to wed. Hell yes!

Not sure what she said, it must have been hot for her, water was dripping down her face as she pulled out to the lift to get dinner. She drove, like (ABOOH) A bat out of Hell! She still had the same outfit on and I was again staring at her chest straining against the silk blouse.

Joe’s was not far from the penthouse in Bal Harbor. She still was shedding water drops; even with the ocean breeze as we got nearer to the water. “You’re crazy” she said.

“Don’t worry. I’ll teach you how to drive better, no problem!”

When we stopped, not parked exactly since the sidewalk was not meant for cars I placed my hand on her shoulder and turned her head towards me. “Look I know I can do better, maybe even a pretty girl, but I can settle with a plain, simple, dull girl like you.”

“In you dreams Sailor. Wet dreams.”

Put Vegas on ‘our sched-dules’ ASAP. Can somebody make arrangements for flights and a suite?”

“Gee, like ‘we’ do have a plane, and a ship and an island and ... a lot of things and I think Candy will get the suite at Caesar’s ready.”

“See I knew you were smart as well as beautiful.”

“You’re crazy, are you sure you know what your getting yourself into?”

“I’ll know more later tonight once you tell me if we share the same room!”

That got me a look then a pout then more water went down her face.

Same room, same bed, same shower and bathtub. We did have our own closets. Most of Dad’s clothes even fit me. We both wore black, she even went to a Black Limo outside rather then the garage. I was a bit disappointed that Mario Andretti was not behind the wheel.

Banks opened at 9:00 am. We apparently owned one so getting in early was not an issue, same with an account to transfer funds to. They seemed to know her and looked strangely at me. Same name as Dad’s but I added Jr. I also found out we had a couple of joint accounts already set up. I could buy lunch for us.

The stock would take a while to get re-issued, so would the house and island titles. Cars, ship and plane were owned by the corporation. A few $ Million got transferred over with the warning that estimated taxes had been paid in advance. Sil patted my hand and mouthed, ‘Don’t worry’. I knew what she was saying. There was a service then he went to get cremated.

Sil and I went to the main office, near the Penthouse, to get my ID’s and new business cards from the Holding Company. We met Candy. She was quite Dandy and her wink gave the impression she might have been a bit randy. Sil hit me but laughed. I met several people, Sil handled the introductions which ended with her saying ‘we’ were having something or other at the Penthouse Friday night. She spoke with Candy to make the arrangements. This was all going easier than I thought it would. When we got back home, yep, Bal Harbor was going to be home for the foreseeable future, she dropped her dress, picked it up and went into the bedroom. She came out with a laptop case and a medium sized bag; nothing else, nothing on I meant. She was all naturally silver haired.

“Here, passwords and cyrpto code keys are in the bag, keep them secure, and memorize the other codes on paper then burn them. I’m taking a shower first, join me when you are ready.

There was a safe already open in the bedroom. The codes were in the bag. I joined her in the shower and started washing her hair. “get ‘us’ out of anything you don’t want. My Ex’s Father will take some if you can’t sell it. There is enough already for a dozen lifetimes even factoring money for clothes fit for your lavish dress style.”

“My Father will take whatever I say too. He wants to meet you, but in Havana.”

“Whenever, do ‘we’ need to get married there?”

She now glowed. “Have Candy change Vegas to Cuba. I’m in your hands.”

“Aren’t all men?” as she rinsed off her long silky hair under the spray. I wondered what she would have done if I treated her as an Ass. I mean if I was an Ass, not her, but she had a great one too, but ... you know what I mean.

Friday night came, my mouth came down when I saw her. Old Christian never imagined a gown might fit a body like hers. All white, her hair looked White, her gown looked White, so did her shoes. If it was sold by the inch there was not enough material to cover a desktop. Her, “You like?” while twirling around was a party unto itself.

I tried to mumble ‘Yes’ but it did not come out as such.

“A plain, simple girl has to at least try to keep from looking ‘dull and boring’ is she expects to keep ‘her man’,”

“Yes Dear! That look should last us until the next decade!”

“You really like me, don’t you?”

“In time you will find I don’t say something I do not mean and sometimes people don’t like what I say. Dad did not like some things I said. Yes I fell in love with you when first saw you and like I said, wanted you as a wife when we left the airport. Don’t ever, ever lie or cheat on me for I will kill you ... just tell me you want out beforehand, I’ll do the same. They say Love and Hate are two sides of the same coin.”

“What about children and... ?”

“We will decide everything. As far as children I think my part is a lot easier to do than yours will be so 70-30% maybe, your call means more.”

“You are not having lovers?”

“I think I implied that, only you. You don’t want me as an ... as anything else Sil. Is there anything we need to do to get you access to the monies?”

She shook her head. “You’re Crazy, you know that right?”

We had a party room on the deck as well as a pool and sauna. Candy was there as well as a gaggle of long-legged beauties. Some of the ‘escorts’ I would guess. This was a time to better understand those with whom our financial future rested.

“I want to thank you all for coming this evening. There will be some changes, hopefully not many bad ones. You all know all know Sil. We are getting married in Havana so her ‘family’ may attend. You are all invited. Make arrangements with Candy. We are eliminating some lines of business, Most will go over to family. There will be a review of each line of business next month. Each of you will have until then to get you houses in order then present to Sil and myself where we stand and what your short and long term plans are. Any questions?”

I was certain they had some questions. I was the youngest in the room yet had control of the stock for every one of the companies they ran. I don’t think they ever had a review and by the looks on their faces would not be ready. I already asked Candy to schedule board meetings and prepare a list of corporate officers to let go and their severance figures. Sil was to help by preparing her own list who stayed, transferred or exited. We had 23 legit organizations to oversee. All would see changes both to officers and the Boards just because.

I said I was not a ‘Stupido’ but I was not a nice guy either. Our Fiscal years varied but within 7 months all 23 organizations would change faces. Before too many weeks had past new security would be in place as well as accounting and Legal staff. I was never one just to trust. Verify, verify again then maybe trust a little. Even Sil would be further verified before the Wedding took place. I had already begun the checks on her and seven other people long before Dad passed. After all, Candy was one of mine. I think I said Dad and I did not always agree but I had agreed with him when he sad ‘Who else can you trust except family’?

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