THR33 DIFFERENT WOMEN. Part 56.

"I'm sorry."
Jay smiled to himself, waiting for the punchline. The Princess never apologized, unless it was the diversionary opening to a rebuke. He shifted in the driving seat, when the sting in the tail failed to arrive. She'd said it softly. When he looked at her in the rearview mirror she seemed sad. An emotion? The Princess would never admit to an emotion. He swallowed the lump in his throat.
"What for?"
Now she appeared momentarily confused. That meant she hadn't realized she'd spoken out loud. They were nearly at the building where the Kreuz Electronics offices were. He saw her taking a deep breath, arranging her face into her best fake smile.
"I bought this building as well, so park anywhere you like Jamie."
Knowing each of the 3 women she was, as well as he did, Jay knew it was pointless questioning her. The barriers would spring up. Her words become cold and clipped. Even when she was his Nef, she'd evade, avoid, equivocate and emotionally blackmail him into silence.
"Will the FBI be turning up at some point?"
"No." Leilani straightened her clothing as the car came to a halt. "They're already here. Wouldn't want a conscientious employee wiping any of the evidence. Don't forget my briefcase."

Damn. It sure was a tall building. At least 50 floors and over 600 feet in height. That was a lot of office space. Jay had to keep himself distracted. The something was going to happen before too long. He wouldn't like it. This was her way of softening the blow. By drawing it out. Delivering the distress in small easy to handle pieces. So he could acclimatize before the big reveal. Personally he prefered to rip the plaster off quick, rather than peel it slowly. It wasn't like he had a choice here. There were two men, with loaded double wheeled freight trolley's, waiting for them just outside the main entrance. Along with a middle aged woman in a business suit. She shook The Princess' hand, after a few words Jay would have loved to hear. A few seconds later they were in through the twin glass doors, heading for the elevators and the 43rd floor. It was a bit cramped with him, his wife, the woman and the men with the trolley's. Miles and Lev had taken the express elevator. This was going to be a surprise then.

The fact confirmed when they reached their floor. The two security men were already in control of the situation. The staff were looking worried. Uncertain of what was taking place here. The receptionist reached for the phone. Lev shook his head. A trembling hand was withdrawn. Again his wife knew exactly where she was going. Striding along the corridors with the confidence of a prowling tiger. The trolleys and the businesswoman trailing behind them. The conference room looked to be their destination. The girl at a desk outside was scrutinizing them as they approached, consulting her desktop. When Leilani breezed past she jumped to her feet.

"I'm afraid you can't go in there madam. You don't have an appointment."
She received a condescending smile.
"I don't need one. Jamie could you explain to the young lady how much pain she'll be in if she doesn't get out of my way."
Oh no. She was in one of those moods. Leilani had taken the silk glove off her iron fist. Someone had really pissed her off. There was no way he'd hurt a woman unless he or someone important was in immediate danger. The threat hung in the air as it was processed. The pretty redhead nodded, then sat down. At that point another one came through the door behind her, took a look at the situation. Then bolted.
"There's no way I'm tackling her to the ground for you." Jay stated in a hushed tone.
"No need. This is the only way out. They aren't going anywhere." She paused. "Unless they start throwing themselves out of the windows. Which might just happen, when the shit hits the fan. Follow me everyone."

Jay decided he needed to relax. This was going to happen. In a very real sense he knew it already had. It was far too late to go back now. He'd just have to deal with it. Their party made it to the double doors of the conference room. Only he and Leilani entered, the others stayed outside. Reason unknown, but they would be delivering something nice. The boxes on those trolleys would contain something that would ruin someone's day. Potentially his. Though he suspected this dagger was intended for someone else's heart. The six members of the board didn't notice them. They were all too busy paying attention to the lady who'd bolted. She was breathlessly informing them of the new arrivals. Jay closed the door as quietly as he could.

"Someone call security. Get them thrown out."
That was Randal Kreuz, a man Jay had a passing familiarity with. Sitting next to him was Bradley. When The Princess cleared her throat, loudly, they all looked up.
"That wouldn't be a good idea Mr Kreuz." She announced. "Scream and shout as much as you like. No one's coming to help you." She was staring at Bradley when she said that. "Besides my security is a lot better than yours. It wouldn't end well for anyone. Except us of course. So before you call for security call for some ambulances first."
Bradley noticed Jay for the first time. Did that thing cowardly bullies do. Pretended to leap to his feet, hoping that someone would stop him. When no one did he sat back down again.
"What's that asshole doing here?" The asshole growled.
Jay gave him a big smile.
"Nice to see you again Bart. This time without the piss stains."
Another half hearted attempt to get to his feet before his non-existent courage failed him.
"You can't threaten us." The older Kreuz declared heatedly. "We're in the middle of an important meeting here. One you had no right to interrupt. Who the hell are you anyway?"
She gave him the full beam fake smile.
"I'm Princess Leilani of Tuvah. This is my husband. He's the new CEO of Kreuz Electronics."
"What the fuck?" Jay exclaimed.
She gave him her best repentant wife look.
"I should have told you darling, but I wanted it to be surprise. Don't worry. I haven't spent too much on it. We're getting it really cheap, thanks to forensic accountancy."
A few of the board members seemed worried by that statement. Kreuz decided to bully and bluster.
"I'm the CEO of Kreuz Electronics. This company has been in my family for almost 70 years. Anyway we've just completed a merger with..."
"Me." Leilani pointed at herself.
Kreuz huffed dismissively.
"Bullshit! We're supposed to be meeting with John Able to sign off on the merger. Only he hasn't shown up yet."
Jay grimaced. Leilani simpered at him.
"That's me." Jay admitted, before turning his attention to his wife. "When we get home, I'm going to have words with you."
"Oh good. We won't be going home for quite some time. I'm sure I'll find ways to make you forget." Spinning on her heel, her face became hard and merciless. "It's no longer a merger Mr Kreuz. This is a hostile takeover. You have no idea how much hostility I have for you and these other odious creeps."
Her eyes were locked on Bradley again. He tried to meet her gaze, but eventually dropped his head.
"I'm afraid you don't know much about American law. If you think you can simply walk in here and take over an entire company, you're in for a very rude awakening. Now leave, otherwise we'll have you arrested for trespass and anything else we can think of." One of the board members gabbled.
"You're the lawyer aren't you." She calmly responded. "Brian van Horne. You are correct. My knowledge of American law is quite sparse. That's why I hired the best talent money could buy. That's going to cost me more than this company will. If you think back to a few moments ago, you may remember I mentioned forensic accountancy. Best that money could buy."
Gliding over to the door as she spoke, Leilani opened it and the trolley's were wheeled in. The woman looked at some photos on her phone. Then walked around the boardroom table handing each man a thick envelope as she did.
"You've been served." She trilled happily to each of them. Eventually she came back to stand beside Jay and his wife. "Normally I have a process server doing this, but I wanted to hand those out personally. I'll be seeing some of you in court I expect."
All of the men stared at the ominous envelopes before them. A couple even started to open them. The intercom buzzed loudly. Jay gave his wife a questioning look. She nodded and smiled. Randal Kreuz smashed his fist down on the button.
"Mr Kreuz. The FBI are here.... They want to see you... What's happening? Are we in trouble? We're not allowed to leave our desks or touch our computers or phones."
Mayhem descended. It looked as though some of the board members might come to blows. Jay's party stepped back.
"What's with the trolleys?"
Leilani grinned.
"Bit of showmanship. It's all the incriminating material Marie and her people found. We thought it would be nice if the FBI got a bit of a helping hand in their investigations."
"Nice touch. Hold on. Marie's got people?"
"Yes. She can afford them given the money we've been paying her for the last few years. Let's let the officers in. Then we can all go for a late lunch." She looked around at her crew. All of whom accepted the invite. "You're paying."
"What? I get paid a lot less than Marie... Actually I don't get paid. Do I?"
"I pay you in love darling. You're paying because I'm a princess. I don't carry money around with me. We can stop at an ATM on the way."