Hampton Manor

Chapter 29

Lauren sat on a box in the storage area of her house. Packing was not going well. She started two days ago but has made little progress. There were too many memories attached to the items she picked up. At this rate it’ll take me a week to pack. I’ve got to stop reminiscing about everything I touch. Hell, half of this crap should go in the trash can. I think I’m going to have to go by the rule that if I haven’t used it in the past three months, or plan to use it in the next three, it goes to the poor or out in the trash. That should help move things along.

With her new resolve she emptied the storage room within two hours and returned to the kitchen for a glass of wine. Daniel walked into the kitchen just as Lauren was ready to uncork the bottle.

“When did you get back?”

“Just a few minutes ago. I was at my lawyer’s office signing the last of the contracts. Everything is on schedule. We’re free to go. That is if I can get you to finish up here. Hell I had all my stuff packed two days ago. You’re still days away.”

“I’m sorry it’s taking so long, Daniel, but I am making progress. I just finished going through the storage room.”

“That’s great. How can I help?”

“Actually, I think you can help. I made a decision that will help me weed through everything faster. I’m going to build a big pile of things I’m not going to take. You could go through it and separate what is good enough for Goodwill and what has to be trashed. That will help me a lot.”

“At your service, ma’am. I’ll get a box of large trash bags and build some cartons. I’ll be ready to go in about five minutes.”

Lauren uncorked the bottle and poured him a glass. “Sit and have a glass of wine with me, first.”

“Don’t mind if I do,” he said as he pulled up a chair. “You know, if you wanted to, I could get someone in to pack everything up and you can go through the boxes at your leisure up in Westfield. They’d mark what is in each box so if you really needed something, you’d be able to locate it quickly. It would relieve a lot of pressure on you. We have lots of space up there to store the boxes until you can get around to unpacking them.”

“That’s a very tempting offer, Daniel, but I wouldn’t want to have a stack of boxes piled up reminding me that I had to go through them. I only want to take the things that can be used when we get there. We’ll probably have to move only twenty or thirty percent of this stuff. I just have to concentrate on the job at hand.”

“Okay, but the offer is open in case you change your mind. It would allow us to move sooner and that ain’t all bad.”

Lauren sat back in her chair and gazed up at the ceiling. A pensive expression appeared on her face as her mind abandoned the mundane chores at hand and traveled to a deeper place.

“You look like you have something on your mind besides moving. Am I right?”

“Yes, but it’s nothing I can talk about.” There’s no way I can tell him what I‘m planning. I can‘t believe that I’ve stooped so low as to play by Adam Hampton’s rules, but I don’t feel that I have any alternative. She answered, “You know how sometimes you have to do something even though it goes against everything in your nature. It’s like that.”

Daniel thought for a moment about what she said. Man, if she knew what I did, she’d be very disappointed in me. This is one secret that I best take to the grave. I led her to believe that I was taking everything in stride, but I couldn’t sit idly by while that man undermines my livelihood. “I think I understand what you’re talking about. I’ve had to do some things in my life that I’m not very proud of, but, as you said, sometimes there is no way out. The decision is often taken out of our hands.”

“I’m glad you understand. I don’t ever want to have this discussion with you again. I just want us to get on with our lives.”

He raised his glass in a solemn toast, “Here’s to secrets, best left untold.”

Chapter 30

Bert Wilson was slow in responding to Kane’s question. “I don’t know how to advise you. I know it’s been a week since we got word about the SEC investigation, but the wheels of government move slowly. They either have a case and are being careful to dot all the ‘i’s’ and cross all the ‘t’s’ or they can’t find anything and are trying to find a way to justify having spent tens of thousands of dollars of the taxpayer’s money on a wild goose chase. Either way, my contacts tell me that a statement is due out tomorrow morning. We’ll just have to wait until then.”

“It’s the damn waiting that is getting to me. I want to leave this town, but I can’t until this matter is cleared up. Don’t you have any clue about which way they’ll go?”

“None whatsoever. I just got back to the office, but Tom kept me current while I was recuperating. Once an official inquiry begins, even the most reliable contacts clam up. They all have their careers to worry about. Thanks to some recent bad press, the SEC is taking leaks very seriously.”

“I hear you, but I don’t like it one bit. Call me as soon as you hear anything. I guess I can be patient for one more day. By the way, shouldn’t you be taking things easy for awhile? It’s only been six days.”

“Thanks for your concern. It seems they do things differently these days. They want you on your feet as quickly as possible. They figured out you heal better with some activity than without. Don’t worry, I’m following my doctor’s orders to the letter. As long as I limit my physical activity, I’ll be fine. I’ll call you the moment I hear anything. Thanks for being so patient, Kane. I’m betting they’ll drop the investigation soon and you’ll be free to get on with your life. Say hello to Marcia and your mother for me, and thank them for the get-well cards and flowers. They were really appreciated.”

“You bet!”

Kane was finally alone with his thoughts, This SEC nonsense will be over soon. I just have to play along for a little while longer and continue to look like the abused party. I can do that. One thing , is for sure, I’m going to leave Old Brooking with Marcia, but I’ll be back and when I am, I’ll be in the driver’s seat.

Kane called his mother and Marcia to update them. Neither were surprised by the lack of definitive news. They both knew that Adam Hampton was behind the bogus investigation and that he would continue to do all he could to muddy the waters in an attempt to destroy Kane’s reputation.

Evelyn was especially unsettled by the news. Her mind became a fertile ground for retribution as she contemplated taking justice into her own hands. That man can’t help himself. He just doesn’t know when to stop. He thinks he can terrorize people and they won’t fight back. Well, Kane may be too much of a gentleman to fight dirty, but being a good mother, I will stop at nothing to protect my son, which the Hamptons are about to find out.

Marcia was not surprised that the attacks by Adam continued. During her several years at Hampton Industries, she observed that Adam’s II and III could be ruthless in their dealings with people. It didn’t matter whether it was a customer, friend, employee or business associate that was involved. If they felt that someone crossed the line, they struck back with a vengeance totally disproportionate to the alleged transgression. Once she asked Adam why he was being so harsh with a female employee who had only misplaced a file. His reply was, “I don’t ever want her to forget the lesson that I’m teaching her. There is no place in this business for slipshod work.”

Well, two can play that game, Marcia thought, as she mentally pondered what had transpired since the problems with Adam began just a few days ago. I’m the target of some pretty vicious rumors. I’ve had harassing phone calls, money I have coming to me has been frozen indefinitely, Kane is accused of stock fraud and someone has been following us again. Maybe what I have in store for the Hamptons is disproportionate to all that, but according to their rules, it’s the only way to assure that they learn their lesson.