When she arrived at his office building, she was dressed in an all-black Dolce & Gabbana single-breasted power pantsuit. The wide-leg pants were tailored to fit Jessie’s body perfectly. The suit harkened back to old Hollywood. Her hair was pulled back into a tight bun and she wore a minimal amount of makeup. Jessie also kept her accessories to a minimum except for one…her Kel-Tec P32 smart gun which she wore on her ankle. This gun was all power and would only fire if she fired it. That’s what made it so smart. Jessie was all business and ready for anything.
For an urgent matter, Jessie was frustrated that Mr. Wellington made her wait for the better part of twenty minutes to see him.
“Excuse me. You’re Mr. Wellington’s Administrative Assistant, April, correct?”
“Yes I am.”
“My appointment with Mr. Wellington was twenty minutes ago. Please let him know my time is important, if he can’t see me immediately, I can have an associate recommend someone else for him.”
It was obvious that no one talked to Mr. Wellington in such a manner. The assistant was a bit nervous but nodded her understanding and went into his office to relay the message. A moment later, April opened the door, “Mr. Wellington will see you now.”
Jessie walked through the double doors as he was finishing up a call. She’d heard him say, “She’s here,” in Mongolian.
The office was set up to intimidate all visitors. There was a large desk that put more space than necessary between himself and whoever sat across from him. Jessie smiled to herself that the chair was positioned much lower than his. The room was decorated with fine art on the walls and the furniture was different shades of brown. The warm colors should have made the room less threatening but somehow managed to do just the opposite.
“Would you like something to drink, Ms. Ramsey?”
Jessie looked at her watch, “Sorry, but no.”
“My apologies for keeping you waiting.”
Jessie nodded, “Mr. Wellington, let’s be clear. This is an interview and I’m making the determination if I want to work with you. So far, your power moves are falling flat.”
He stood, walked over to his bar, and poured himself a drink. “Are you sure you don’t want a drink?”
Jessie shook her head no. John Wellington was a very attractive man. His broad shoulders and six-foot frame could be intimidating to some. He actually reminded Jessie of a younger version of Liam Neeson.
“I’m prepared to pay you millions of dollars for this assignment.”
“You’re a smart man so I’m sure you’ve done your homework on Mega-AX1. Money has never been the main motivating factor behind our work. Although, we expect to be paid accordingly for the work we do.” Jessie got up to leave, “I think I’ve wasted your time this afternoon.”
“Wait! Please don’t leave. Let’s start over. Please accept my apology.”
Jessie slowly turned back around, “Convince me why I should take you on as a client?”
“You should take me on as a client because I need to save the life of one of my employees but also a man who is like a brother to me, Dr. Jerrod Sheitz.”
Mr. Wellington walked back over to his desk and pulled out a photo of his friend, “He’s missing. I think someone may have abducted him.”
Jessie took the envelope out of his hand and sat back down, “Why? What would make you think that?”
I’ve known Jerrod for more than twenty years. He’s a disciplined man who follows a strict routine. In all this time he’s shown up for work at 7:10 a.m. every day; however, a few days ago he didn’t call or show up.”
“That doesn’t mean he’s been abducted.”
“No, it doesn’t. However, my staff became worried when he didn’t show up for two days in a row. I can count the times on one hand that he’s been off sick. So, for him to miss two days in a row was very worrisome. I sent one of my security guys to go to Jerrod’s home and check on him. The place had been ransacked.”
“Why didn’t you call the police?”
“I run a multi-billion dollar business, Ms. Ramsey. The moment there was a hint of scandal, the stock in my hedge funds would plummet.”
Jessie wasn’t sure if she bought that explanation.
“If he was abducted, do you have any idea who would want to take him?”
Mr. Wellington pulled out another envelope, “I’m not sure, but you could start with these men, the Jalanni Militia out of Tanzania.”
Before Jessie could ask why, John Wellington answered the question for her, “We believe he may have been taken by these men because they are angry that a business deal between us went badly for them.”
“Have they contacted you yet?”
“No, but I fully expect them to.”
“Why is that?”
“Because I’m a rich man. A very rich man...isn’t that enough?”
Jessie gave him a skeptical and piercing glare to let him know that her patience was running out for his bullshit.
Mr. Wellington exhaled and rubbed his forehead, “I honestly don’t know. It may be them or someone else. My enemies list is pretty long. I’m just begging you to please help me save the life of my friend.”
If Jessie were going to take this assignment it would be because of the anguish she’d finally heard in his voice. She stood, “I’ll call you in a couple of hours with either instructions or a recommendation for someone else.”
Mr. Wellington nodded, “Thank you for your consideration.”
Chapter 16
For the past several hours, Jessie continued to go over all the information that had been gathered regarding the Wellington assignment.
Gray knocked on her door. “Hey, I was able to verify the final
