The Love Of Money - Episode 201
31-07-25 (07:12)
"Oh, hey, man," I said.
"That looked a little heated," he replied.
I shook my head, looking back in the direction Helen
had disappeared. "It's nothing serious. I just don't think
Roger and I get along really well."
"Probably has to do with you sleeping with his wife," he
said, and I snapped my attention back to him. Vikram
had been frank with me before, but this felt almost
inappropriate.
Apparently, I wasn't doing a good job keeping my face
from telegraphing every thought I had because Vikram
was quick to say, "Don't worry. I'm not here to judge. I
can't really blame you. She's an incredible woman."
"Who knows?"
"Karl and William, for sure," Vikram said. "Probably,
most of the stakeholders on your account, except the
paralegals and newer hires. It's not the first time
Roger's leveraged Helen like this. It's the first time he's
let it go on so long, though."
I looked back at the dancing crowd and asked him,
"Should I stop?"
"Yes," Vikram sald matter-of-factly.
We stood in silence for a good two minutes, drinking in
silence while watching the people dancing to the beat
of the DJ's music. I could literally feel the base thrum
through my body as I considered Vikram's words.
Finally, I asked him, "How familiar are you with my
grandfather's estate?"
"I was on the team that itemized and categorized
everything, as well as checking it all for legal
compliance."
I looked at him. "Legal compliance?"
"Yeah. We had to ensure you weren't inheriting blood
diamonds or a cache of plutonium," he said.
"I didn't inherit any plutonium?"
"Nothing's in the official books," he said "Nothing's in the
official books," he said
"What about the unofficial ones?"
He took a drink and then looked at me. "I haven't seen
those."
"What about flash drives?"
"Flash drives?" he asked.
"Yeah," I said. When I was being held, a woman asked
me if you guys had given me a flash drive."
Vikram thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I
don't remember seeing a flash drive listed among the
inventory. Have you checked your grandfather's office
at VistaVision?"
"Erin's going there tomorrow to take a look. What
about the keys to his house? I haven't even set foot in
that place yet."
"Which one?"
"He has more than one?"
Vikram snorted. "Try eleven."
"Eleven houses?"
He nodded. "Maybe more. didn't mernorize the whole
list. He has a brownstone here in New York. There are
apartments in London, Paris, Zagreb, and Tokyo. There's
a second home in the Hudson Valley, too. All that's
yours now."
"Fuck. He had all those homes?"
"Correction," Vikram said, "you have all those homes."
I had been so busy over the last two or three weeks
that I hadn't even stopped to consider that I already
had houses before I bought this apartment. I started to
feel a bit foolish, spending money on a new place
when i already owned a brownstone in the city, but
then I remembered Erin telling me that most of the
money I'd spent had already been recovered. I
probably had enough money to buy a small country.
The funds used to buy this expensive apartment were
grains of sand on the vast beach of my wealth.
"There are some bank lock boxes listed among the
Inventory that we can check if you'd like, Vikram went
on, but I don't think there was a singular flash drive
listed.
"Yeah," I said, distracted by Natalie heading in my
direction. "I'd appreciate any help you can give me."
"HI," Natalie said when she got in earshot. Her eyes
were dark pools of concern as they took in the injuries
to my face, but she offered me that same warm, wide
smile accompanied by dimples in her cheeks that I'd
come to adore. Once again, seeing her physically in
front of me made me feel all sorts of things I thought
I'd put aside.
She was resplendent in a red champagne skirt and
matching jacket with a cream blouse underneath that
plunged just enough to show a tasteful amount of her
formidable cleavage. Her black heels gave her an
additional three Inches of height and showcased her
smooth, caramel legs.
I suddenly felt my stomach lurch, and I felt the old,
familiar desire to kiss her once again. Except, unlike the
other countless times over the better part of a year,
now I knew what kissing her was like -better than any
fantasy. God, she was good at it.
"Hey," I said.
Vikram looked back and forth between the two of us
and said, "Well, I'm getting low, so I'm gonna get a
refill. Marcus, I'll let you know what I find out."
"Thanks," I said absentmindedly as i stared at Natalie.
"I didn't think you'd come," I said.
"Why not?"
I shrugged. "Just with everything... you know..."
"We're still friends, right?"
"Of course!" I looked around and asked, "Is he here
with you?"
"No," Natalie said. "He said he needed to work over the
weekend. He's taking me to his home in the Catskills
this week. Just an overnight trip."
I didn't want to hear any more than that. "Sure. Take
whatever time you need." Don't forget to leave a Comment 
