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“He’s even a gentleman,” Anthony comments to Mandy, before giving me a nod of approval. “Speaking of gentlemen, let me introduce you to Gator and Crusher. It’s good to see you guys. How the hell are ya?”
“We survived,” Gator, replies with a sigh.
“It was a tough fuckin’ stretch,” Crusher adds, cranking his head and cracking his neck. “Excuse my cussin’,” he adds peering over at Mandy.
“Don’t mind me,” Mandy replies. “I’ve heard it all before.”
“This is Trey Addison and Mandy Grayson,” Anthony tells the two men as we turn toward the entrance. “Trey’s family has built this company from nothing over the last hundred and twenty five years.”
“That’s impressive,” Gator says, giving me a genuine nod. “So your family still owns quite a bit of it?”
“Yeah, and we still have the majority of voting rights too, which is rare for a Fortune 500 company,” I tell him, feeling a little pride in the success my father, grandfather and great grandfather have achieved. “I’ll take you guys up to the executive suite.”
All three guys look like fish out of water as we head through the lobby and across to the elevators. I keep waiting for someone to question our presence, but everyone seems to recognize me. They probably think I am Tyler, since he has worked here for years. We grab an elevator along with several junior execs, who can’t stop staring at Crusher.
“He’s a big son of a bitch, isn’t he?” Gator finally asks, since no one else is saying a word. They all nod their heads and turn back toward the control panel to watch the light move from number to number as we climb toward the top. By the time we reach the top floor it’s back down to the five of us.
“I think I’m a little underdressed,” Crusher says as we step off the elevator, finally breaking his silence. “I didn’t think people wore suits anymore.”
“They do at Addison Media,” I tell him with a chuckle. “It’s not Mad Men around here, but it’s definitely old school.”
“Here, I have something for you,” Anthony tells me before proceeding into the Tommy’s executive suite. He hands me something that looks like a piece of transparent tape. “These circles are tiny FM transmitters made of clear graphene.”
“This is a transmitter?” I lift the edge of one of them with my fingernail.
“It uses the latest nanotechnology,” Anthony explains. “It works best if you can slip it between a smartphone and the protective case, but you can put it on the back of a watch, a computer or anything electronic. The transient energy given off will keep it charged and will allow it to send out a constant tracking signal.”
“Wow. Even if he found it, he would never guess it was anything like that,” I reply, handing them to Mandy. “Maybe I can distract him and you can stick it to the back of his phone. Even better, he seems to take off his diamond studded Rolex when he works on his computer. It’s been sitting on his desk both times I’ve been there. He will never leave that behind.”
“Sure, make me do the dirty work,” she says with an instant spark in her eyes.
“You’re the one who claims to love the adventure,” I tease her. “Now it’s time to walk the talk. Just don’t end up on your knees like you did with me.”
“Well, if you’re able to do your part, I won’t be forced to take any drastic measures,” she replies sarcastically.
Mandy
I feel a burst of excitement as I take the transmitters from him. Entering the office suite, part of me had expected Trey to confront Tommy with all three brutes in tow. Instead, he motions for them to take a seat in the reception area for now.
“I want to see if we can get him to open up first,” Trey tells the three men. “When we have gotten what we can, I’ll bring him out to introduce him to you guys.” He turns to me. “Hopefully his phone or watch will be on his desk, because that will give you plenty of time.”
Trey takes my hand and raps the knuckles of his free hand on the door before cracking it open. “Are you ready for us?”
“Sure.” Tommy jumps up from his chair and greets us just inside the door. “So what can I do for the two of you today?” He spins on his heel and heads back toward his desk chair. He’s acting as if he’s hopped up on amphetamines or something.
Trey leads me over to the chairs directly in front of Tommy’s desk and plops down into one of them. “I met with Nolan and Aileen this morning,” he says, crossing his legs and taking a deep breath. “Obviously, that conversation has created more questions than it answered,” he adds, staring intently at Tommy.
