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Life's Illusions - 10 years on - Chapter 17
Pete sat in solitude on the roof terrace of his parents home in Torremolinas, PJ and Lenny were at Montclair enjoying a few weeks with Woody and Jacqueline.
They'd all but begged him to join them, but for Pete there was the hurdle of seeing Jaque, he could just about cope with this empty meaningless life if he kept busy, but when he allowed his mind to remember, the heartache returned, eating away at him, he'd known he couldn't go to Montclair and carry on as if nothing had happened.
He couldn't and wouldn't deny his feelings to anyone, he loved Jaque, plain and simple, he always had and always would.
In the three months since they'd parted, neither had spoken to the other, neither had called the other, and neither knew how many times the other had sobbed, or how many times they'd dialled the others number without connecting the call.
Just about every family member and friend had tried to get them to talk, but neither was willing to make the first move, surprisingly, not because either was angry with the other, they weren't, not because either thought the other should make the first move, they didn't, it was bizarre, they were frightened, no, terrified, that the other would reject any advance leaving them permanently alone, and yet, neither could see that's exactly where their inaction was taking them.
Finally Lenny, in cahoots with JJ, managed to persuade Jaque to fly back to Torremolinas with them, on condition the plane remained on standby, available to whisk both him and JJ back to Montclair if things went wrong.
Pete was oblivious of the upcoming meeting, he'd received a message from his Momma that she and his Poppa were flying home to Torremolinas later that day, she wanted him to be available for dinner, she'd neglected to mention they wouldn't be arriving alone.
Jaque was terrified, he was a complete bag of nerves, being held together only by JJ who rarely let go of his hand throughout the journey.
Arriving at Thorn Plaza Jaque was visibly upset, shaking, JJ unbuckled his seat belt and climbed into Jaques lap.
"We talked about this Poppa, it's going to be alright, remember when you asked me to trust you, well now you have to trust me, let me go in first, it will be alright".
Jaque nodded and hugged his son.
"What if he doesn't want us to be together, I don't know what I'd do, how I'd cope, I'm frightened but I know one of us has to do this, we can't let it go on this way".
JJ kissed his cheek before they got out of the car and into the elevator.
As they entered the apartment, Rosa met them and whispered to Lenny that Pete was up on the roof terrace.
JJ let go of Jaque's hand.
"Come up in a little while Poppa, let me talk to him first, please?".
JJ walked away, up the stairs leading to the roof terrace.
It was a warm balmy evening in Torremolinas, Pete was relaxing, awaiting his parents return and sipping a cold beer, from behind him he heard footsteps, unusual footsteps, they were small.
"Poppa Pete".
Pete turned, shocked, he was staring at a small boy, JJ, what the hell was he doing here?.
JJ shrank back, it was the same look he'd seen that first time at Montclair, he thought maybe he'd been wrong, Poppa Pete didn't want them, or worse, he was the problem, Poppa Pete wanted Poppa Jaque, he just didn't want JJ.
Pete snapped immediately out of his shock, extending his arms.
"JJ, oh boy what a surprise, come give me a hug".
JJ almost ran to Pete, throwing himself into the hug.
Pete was pleased, really pleased, this little fella was looking good.
"How is your Poppa doing?, I miss him".
What Pete heard in reply made him jerk up straight, holding JJ out from him and looking straight at the boy.
"He's here, he's frightened you don't want to see him".
From behind Pete came a familiar voice.
"We can leave if you don't want me here".
Pete didn't need to think his response was automatic.
"I want you always, here in my arms, nowhere else, I been such a fool, I was stupid, can you forgive me, give me another chance?".
Jaque almost collapsed with relief.
"I can, if you can, it wasn't your fault Pete, I was the stupid one, I never wanted you to leave, I never would".
JJ could see they were okay, the ice was broken.
"Poppa's, I'm going to see Grama and Gramps".
As he lifted up from Pete's lap he held out his hand to Jaque.
"Come here Poppa".
As Jaque came close and took the boys hand, JJ placed Jaque's hand into Pete's hand.
"Now you talk, see you later".
Then he was gone leaving them alone.
Pete pulled Jaque down onto the sofa next to him, looking into those beautiful eyes.
"I've missed you so much, I thought we'd never get it back, I was too frightened to call you, I thought you'd be so angry, I worried if I called it might be the last time I ever got to speak to you, how stupid of me, can I come home, please?".
Jaque stood up, pulling Pete with him.
"Lets go somewhere more private, I have a lot to say and do to you which would not be proper in a public place".
In the privacy of their bedroom the first sounds came from Pete when he moaned to indicate his pleasure as Jaque's hard tool slid deep into his hole.
"Yes, yes, oh I've missed you, deeper, fill me, I want your seed inside me".
Jaque was sweating as he drove deep into Pete, reaching down to fist Pete's big cock, bringing them to climax together, his seed pumping into his lovers bowels they slumped into a hug.
"Don't ever leave me again Pete, whatever happens, whatever I say or do, stay and make me listen, we could have lost each other because of our stupidity, I'm so sorry Pete, all those things I said were just said in anger, I never wanted you to leave".
They dozed for another half hour before there was a knock at the door and JJ popped his smiling face inside, Pete beckoned him in.
"Come here son, we are really grateful to you for bringing us back together, we're lucky to have you as our son".
JJ was giggling.
"You have to stop slopping now and get dressed, Grama and Gramps are hungry and so am I, see you in the lounge".
JJ scooted off slamming the door behind him.
For dinner that evening they didn't make reservations, there was no need, the four of them plus JJ, Leo and Rosa, strolled along the promenade and as they approached Mano's Restaurant the owners materialised outside to welcome them in.
This was their preferred eatery on a warm sunny evening and they were ushered straight through the restaurant and out onto the beach terrace, Mano quickly set up a table for eleven as Pete had called Pauly earlier to give him the good news, resulting in Pauly, Reece, Josef and Sofia joining them.
Josef and Sofia quickly reorganised the seating to put themselves and JJ at the far end of the table where they could enjoy themselves without being under the watchful eyes of their respective parents.
Dinner was a happy affair with everyone congratulating Pete and Jaque for settling their differences, Pete though told everyone, JJ was the hero of the hour, it had been him who had pushed them back together.
During dinner Pauly had mentioned to PJ that he and Reece wanted to arrange a meeting with Josh, Bryan and himself, he also thought it might be good to get Woody in, when PJ questioned what the topic was, Pauly stunned him.
"Reece wants to dispose of the Businesses, he's bored, no that's not true, he wants us to concentrate on something else which we have been running as a separate enterprise, so the first step is sorting out how we liquidate our current commitments.
PJ had pulled out his phone and called Pip, still his and Lenny's PA after all these years.
"Pip, sorry to trouble you on a Sunday evening, could you work on setting up a meeting for me with Josh, Bryan, Woody, Pauly and Reece, soon as possible please, I think we need to figure in a series of meetings over a few days, say three days, okay I'll leave it with you, I'll fill you in on the details tomorrow, that way you can give out details as you see fit".
PJ had no problem with Pip knowing the details, he knew she would only release as much information as was necessary to ensure the attendance of any particular participant.
Pete, Jaque and JJ stayed for a week with PJ and Lenny in Torremolinas before flying home to Montclair.
On the journey home Pete brought up a subject he and Jaque had talked about but were hesitant to broach with JJ for fear it would upset him.
"JJ, we want to talk to you about something and we don't want you to get upset, if you don't think it's a good idea you just have to say no, we'll understand, it's about your Momma and Poppa, we know where your Poppa is buried but we didn't know where your Momma was, I've had investigators working on it and yesterday they gave me the details we needed of the churchyard she's buried in".
They could both see the tears as they rolled down the boy's cheeks.
"You found Momma, can I go see her?, I didn't say goodbye, they wouldn't let me, I want to tell her I'm alright, can we, please?".
Pete pulled him into a hug.
"Dry your eyes little one, that was our first thought, we'll go tomorrow, it's not far, but there's something else we wanted to talk about, you might need to think about this, Poppa Jaque suggested we have both your Momma and Poppa brought to Montclair, we want them to be close, to see you grow up, somewhere you can visit easily and talk to them, you don't have to decide now, you can think ...................".
Pete didn't get to finish the sentence.
"You'd do that for me?, Yes, oh yes, I want them at home with me, they'll love Montclair, and they'll know how kind you are, they'll like you, I know they will".
Pete and Jaque were smiling.
Just over a month after they'd returned to Montclair, JJ's beloved Momma and Poppa were laid to rest in the family plot at Montclair, gone were the rough crates they'd originally been buried in, when they arrived at Montclair it was in beautiful polished oak coffins with gleaming brass handles and name plates.
JJ had asked that only the Montclair family were present at the internment and so on a beautiful sunny morning JJ walked alone ahead of the two coffins, each being carried aloft by six estate workers, up the winding hill to the little cemetery plot.
Following behind were Pete, Jaque, Woody, Jacqueline, Roslyn and Paul.
After the local priest had said prayers, JJ spent about fifteen minutes knelt between the coffins, a hand on each talking openly to his parents before they were lowered side by side into the ground.
In the weeks that followed a stone was placed at the head with its inscription below the names and dates exactly as JJ had wanted.
'Sleep peacefully sweet Momma and Poppa, watch me grow and know I'll love you always, JJ'.
Pete and Jaque could tell something was bothering JJ but no amount of cajoling could prise the answer out of him, until one day he came strolling back from the cemetery after school, struggling to drag behind him a section of the wooden gateway arch, the section that said Montclair, which had fallen in front of him as he exited the plot, he was babbling excitedly about it being a sign, leaving Pete and Jaque totally confused and upset, this could have seriously injured him, but JJ explained, "Momma and Poppa did it, sorry about the sign, but I think that was the only way they could think of to answer me".
Everyone was now completely confused, no one understood what JJ was talking about until he looked at his Poppa's explaining further.
"I've been asking them for weeks if they'd be upset about me changing my name, I want to be you, I want to be Jetmir Jashari Montclair, but they didn't answer so today I got annoyed, I told them I wasn't asking for much, just a sign, and I got one, they dropped this in front of me".
JJ was beaming, to him, it meant his beloved parents were watching and listening, and they were happy for him to change his name.
In New York at Woodruff Corporate Headquarters, Reece and Pauly, flanked by their legal council were attending their first meeting relating to the damage done to their business and reputation by Woodruff Corporate, their legal team had received an offer of compensation in the sum of Ten Million Euros.
Receiving a nod from Reece, Pauly asked to be heard.
"It would appear you feel this compensation offered reflects and puts right what befell us, I can tell you quite categorically, it does not".
There were mutterings from around the room, mainly believing Pauly was about to demand a much improved offer, the muttering ceased as Pauly continued.
"As I understand it, one man chose to disregard the explicit instructions of both The Executive Chairman and Chairman of Woodruff Corporate, I want everyone around this table to understand the ramifications of his actions to Reece and myself, we were arrested, publicly humiliated, our reputations left in tatters, our children were traumatised, bombarded with press and television images of their parents in handcuffs, lastly but by no means least, my Momma, she came out fighting for us, as she would for any travesty of justice, but this time it nearly killed her, financial compensation aside, I have to know this cannot happen again, I, we, want you to explain what you have done to ensure this is not going to happen again".
PJ raised a hand as Woodruff's legal counsel began to speak, effectively silencing them.
"Reece, Pauly, you have to understand how sorry I, and the whole of Woodruff are for what happened, you are right in saying it was the action of one man, against the express instructions of myself and Josh, one man who instigated the chaos that ensued, but the blame must come back to me".
As he paused, Woodruff's legal team were trying desperately to limit what he admitted, his answer stunned them into silence.
"Shut up, sit still and listen, I'm talking to my son and son in law, they bare me no malice, of that I can be certain".
PJ carried on addressing Reece and Pauly.
"I should have expected that the two of you would focus on the most important aspect of cleaning up this mess, ensuring this could not be repeated, saving anyone else from the suffering we put you through, I acknowledge my guilt in the process of what happened, there were no constraints to prevent the Head of Legal at Woodruff from issuing court proceedings without the approval of the Chairman or the Executive Chairman, that has been rectified in every Woodruff Division, the scale of what we did to you boys is such that, until I'm satisfied the reigns can be relaxed, a final approval before proceedings can be issued must now be sought from a majority of board members, I am hoping that will reassure you of our conviction to prevent any similar catastrophe being unleashed on another party".
Pauly looked at Reece who again nodded.
"Poppa would you pass me a dollar please."
PJ along with everyone else looked baffled, everyone except Woody, he was just grinning, he knew what was coming.
PJ did as Pauly had asked, sliding a one dollar bill across the table to Pauly who took it and held it up.
"We, Reece and Pauly Caswell-Thorn, accept this dollar bill as settlement of our compensatory damages, the only condition, it is dependent upon your agreement to settle all of our legal fees associated with this action".
Reece and Pauly's legal team were having a fit, they'd expected to settle for mega millions but as Pauly explained, it was never about money.
Woody looked at the Woodruff legal team.
"Now can you understand why we expressly forbade any legal issue?, there never was a need, we knew, we were dealing with two completely honourable individuals who would go out of their way to ensure the settlement was fair to both parties".
The sale of Reece and Pauly's Gym business had originally been planned as a simple procedure nearly four months earlier but that meeting had been quickly and unexpectedly put on hold by Woody after the legal department had raised serious concerns.
When he'd spoken with Josh and Bryan they'd agreed, the complexity of the franchise agreements binding Reece and Pauly to Woodruff was something they could not ignore.
It had taken Woody and their legal team some considerable amount of time to determine if the two franchise agreements, under which Reece and Pauly operated, had originally been issued on the understanding they could be passed, or in this instance, sold on, and how that would affect future relations between the two parties.
The wording on the original agreement, raised to give Reece full control of the Fielding Gym and Spa outlets clearly did allow the franchise to be passed on for gain, subject to the usual agreement of all parties.
The second agreement raised when Reece had been asked to take control of the Spa outlets in a number of the larger Woodruff complexes had vastly different wording, alarmingly, it made no allowance for the franchise to be transferred or sold on, however much more worrying was the lack of any mention or clause, allowing for the franchise to be terminated in the event Woodruff became concerned with Reece's operations, in effect whatever Reece did the franchise couldn't be taken from him without he agreed to it.
The second agreement had, to all intents and purposes, given Reece control of the Woodruff Spa outlets to do with as he pleased, in effect he could run naked foam parties in them and Woodruff could do nothing about it.
In consultation PJ agreed with Josh, Bryan and Woody they'd been lucky this was Reece and Pauly, anyone else would have held them to ransom, but they were content they could negotiate this out, telling their Head of Legal, Jeff, exactly that, instructing him to do nothing, they, PJ, Josh and Woody could arrange a settlement with Reece and Pauly once they'd decided the future requirements.
One week before the meeting date, to their utter surprise and dismay, Reece and Pauly had received a notification from Woodruff's Legal Department of their intention to apply to the courts for the second agreement to be set aside, or nullified, returning operations to Woodruff without compensation to Reece and Pauly, it also informed them Woodruff would be taking back control of its Spa Units from midnight on that same day, essentially reducing their revenue by some twenty million Euros annually and devaluing their company worth by around twenty five percent.
After the initial shock had worn off they'd reacted in completely different ways, Reece was upset, despondent, completely demoralised, wounded that family would do this to them after the years of impeccable service they had provided.
Pauly was incensed, enraged, bloody furious, after trying both Josh and Bryan's cell numbers and getting only an answering service he'd tried Woody and his father, getting the same responses he'd placed a call to Josh's office number, it was answered by a total numpty who informed him he had called the office of the Chairman of Woodruff Corporate and its Subsidiaries.
It was unfortunate that his call was then passes to one of the Chair Committee members whose job it was to field calls to the chairman, and the member was not terribly good at doing his job, he'd refused to connect the call to Josh, advising Pauly the chairman would not get involved in legal matters and suggested he should consult his own legal council before cutting the call.
Pauly's next call was to their Attorney who immediately launched an action in the courts to prevent any Woodruff employee or persons acting on behalf of Woodruff from entering the franchised premises, within a matter of hours the injunction had been issued and a copy was displayed in every Woodruff Spa.
Woodruff Legal Department fought back causing a further problem by mistakenly obtaining an injunction barring any of the Spa employees from entering both Woodruff and Fielding premises, adding Fielding into the mix and compounding the problem by effectively and wrongly denying Reece and Pauly's employees from getting to work as most of the Spa Units were within the Woodruff or Fielding buildings, even the ones with external entry or exit required footfall over Woodruff or Fielding land to gain entry.
By six pm that evening every Woodruff and Fielding Spa was closed indefinitely, customers were besieging Hotel front desks demanding information and refunds, hotel bookings were being cancelled as news channels ran reports of the closures.
That evening a further devastating blow was dealt to Reece and Pauly when a legal message was delivered from their prospective purchasers, officially terminating all discussion related to the purchase of their business, also informing them of the commencement of legal proceedings to recover the wasted costs involved in negotiations to date, most worrying was the section which advised the Spanish Serious Fraud Office had been alerted to the possibility of their offering for sale a business falsely represented, one which they did not own.
At the family apartment in New York, Lenny was just retuning from her health check up, when Rosa told her Pauly was on the phone.
Her check up hadn't gone well, the battery of tests had produced some alarming results, they'd told her she must rest, the pains she'd been experiencing recently were a sign that she was possibly heading for a heart attack, they suspected several blockages would need urgent attention, arrangements were already in hand for her to be admitted, exploratory procedures were required as soon as possible.
Pauly was finally able to speak to his mother but as he was explaining the situation Reece interrupted him to say there were Serious Fraud Officers at the door and they had warrants for his and Pauly's arrest, he quickly begged his mother for help as the Officers demanded he terminate his call.
While Reece and Pauly were being questioned at the local Police Headquarters, Josef and Sofia were being reassured by their housekeeper and staff that all would be sorted out.
Lenny on the other hand had forgotten the instructions to rest, she'd summoned her car, arriving at Woodruff Corporate Headquarters in an absolutely foul mood.
Striding through reception she took the elevator to the Corporate Executives floor and on arrival headed for PJs office, his secretary informed her he was in a meeting in the boardroom and had asked not to be disturbed.
Lenny's reply almost sent her reeling backwards.
"Really, he doesn't want to be disturbed, well when I've finished with him he'll be more than a little disturbed, he'll be lucky if he's still breathing".
She stormed off towards the boardroom, slamming the door wide, it bounced on its full rotation and swung back violently, slamming loudly behind her.
Seated around the boardroom table were PJ, Josh, Bryan and Woody with Chris who was Head of Finance and another person who she later found out was the Head of Legal, the very person who'd caused the chaos.
The noise of the door bursting open and then slamming shut had startled all of them but seeing the look on Lenny's face gave PJ and Woody a chill down their spines, they'd seen this look in the past, they would liken it to a volcano, moments before a catastrophic eruption, it turned out they weren't wrong.
"What the fuck have you imbeciles done to Pauly and Reece, are you mad, have you finally lost the plot, right now they are under arrest by the Spanish Serious Fraud Office, every Spa in Woodruff and Fielding Hotels is closed because you denied access to their employees, their potential buyers have terminated negotiations and are suing them for costs".
The occupants of the room just stared at her, not comprehending, or understanding what she was saying.
"One of you better have something to say because someone just hurt two of my children and I'm in a mood to draw blood, now speak".
Woody took the lead, "I don't understand, we've all but worked out the problems, why have Reece and Pauly been arrested?".
Still angry Lenny replied.
"You idiots issued court papers alleging they didn't own the Spa's and their purchasers accused them of fraudulently trying to sell them, you must be aware of what you've done, you've ruined a business worth more than One Hundred Million Euros, are you seriously telling me you don't know you've been issuing court orders all day?".
Woody looked for all the world completely baffled, "But we haven't issued any legal papers, Jeff brought up the possibility, but we dismissed it, there's no need, we know we can settle amicably with Reece and Pauly".
As he said the words it was as if a light came in his brain, a light he didn't want to see, turning to Jeff who was Head of Legal, he simply said.
"Please God, tell me you didn't".
Jeff was visibly shaking.
"I thought it for the best, we needed to protect ourselves, I know you said there was no need but I have a duty to protect the company".
Lenny was getting angrier by the minute.
"Protect the company, you fuckin little weasel, you've ruined my sons and you've caused Woodruff and Fielding God knows how much harm, the news channels are reporting mass cancellations, I swear I'll drag you through the courts until I know you're begging on the streets to survive you stupid bastard".
All through her rant she'd been advancing on a clearly terrified Jeff until Woody jumped up to stop her advance.
"Momma, please calm down, we need a solution and to find out how bad this is, please don't do anything foolish".
Lenny rounded on her son.
"Foolish, foolish, I want to rip the little bastards head off, and you lot, how the hell did this happen, explain to me why your brother couldn't get hold of any of you while that stupid bastard was destroying him, you were all so wrapped up in your little boys club, the inner sanctum".
PJ had been silent throughout Lenny's rants but now he stood up.
"Lenny, that's quite enough, stop this ridiculous tirade".
It was a mistake, he knew it straight away and so did everyone else in the room, she'd turned slowly, fixing him with a chilling stare as she walked slowly towards him.
The slap still caught all of them, especially PJ, by surprise, it resounded loudly around the room and sent him backwards into his chair.
"Don't you ever dare speak to me in that manner again, I'm your wife not an errant employee, the last time you did this you lost Woody for years, well this time you went too far, I'm giving you an ultimatum, I'm leaving now and taking number 1 back to Torremolinas, if this is not cleared up before my flight lands, I don't want to see anyone in this room ever again, you and I will be divorced within the year, do you understand me?".
PJ nodded, he didn't speak, he couldn't.
Woody tried to appeal to his mother but she was having none of it.
"You all but destroyed Pauly and Reece and you expect me to be rational, you heard what I said, you have about eight hours to get this mess sorted, fail and I don't ever want to see you again, this business has spoiled all of you".
At that she stormed out giving him no chance to reply.
Getting into her car she simply said,"Teterboro the plane".
In the boardroom, PJ looked at Jeff, "You bloody fool, clear your desk, you're suspended, get out".
To Josh he said, "Get the assistant head of legal up here now".
He was dialling as he finished speaking to Josh.
"Pip wherever you are get here now, we have a massive crisis, I need all hands on deck, ring Alfred Turner, I need him here as well, also, this is of paramount importance, you and Ramon have delegated parental rights for Josef and Sofia, tell Ramon to go to Pauly and Reece's Villa now, make sure he has a copy of the legal paperwork with him, tell him to move the children to your home, I suspect Child Services will try to take the children, I need to know they are safe, I'll explain when you get here".
The assistant Head of Legal had arrived and Woody had filled him in whilst PJ was on the phone, when he ended his call to Pips answerphone the man approached him with his hand out.
"Hi Mr Thorn, I'm Tom Petterson, Woody's filled me in on the problem, I can reverse the company part, I'm not sure if I can reverse the damage done to your son and son in law but I'll give it a bloody good go, I'm going to have a stenographer brought into the room, I'm also going to bring in a tape recorder so from the minute it enters the room I want everyone to be careful what they say, one thing before I do that, did Jeff do all of this against your explicit instructions?".
PJ nodded.
"Yes he went directly against our instructions".
Tom nodded.
"Okay, I can work with that, I'll draft a press release in the next few minutes, I can get it on the major networks within thirty minutes, that should take away the stress relating to the company, I'm assuming you have alerted your personal attorney, let me know when he gets here I need to work with him to rebuild your son and son in laws profile".
PJ was amazed, how was this guy second in command when there was an idiot in the driving seat.
True to his word, within thirty minutes and with the approval of Alfred Turner, PJs personal attorney, Tom had prepared and presented a press announcement on the steps of Woodruff Corporate Headquarters.
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for being here, we at Woodruff have an apology and an announcement, I'll make the announcement first.
Today an employee of the Woodruff Corporate Legal Department went directly against express instructions of the Woodruff Executive Chairman and against the instructions of the Chairman of Woodruff Corporate, he issued proceedings against Pauly and Reece Caswell-Thorn which were a complete and utter travesty, there is no other way to describe what was done.
Reece and Pauly Thorn have legitimate legal contracts in place which prove their ownership of the business which controls the Spa Units within Both Woodruff and Fielding Hotels.
There is no suggestion, no hint, of impropriety, I can confirm on behalf of Woodruff and Fielding, they have always provided an excellent service which their clients have always rated highly in every satisfaction survey ever done, they have done nothing wrong.
The content of those proceedings lodged on behalf of Woodruff were completely false and we intend to petition the court to wipe the records and ask for their leniency as soon as they open in the morning, though we will be fully accepting of any penalties the court may decide to impose on Woodruff as a result of the actions of this employee.
Now the apology, Woodruff is sorry, Woodruff apologises for the wrongdoing and harm it has wrought on an innocent, properly managed company that has been both a partner and friend of Woodruff and Fielding for many years, we can only hope that everyone understands, this was caused by the foolish act of an employee, who acted without authority and wreaked havoc.
Woodruff accepts responsibility, further we encourage and implore the Spanish Authorities to drop all actions against The Mr's Caswell-Thorn before they find themselves embroiled in a class act lawsuit, they are holding a completely innocent couple, Woodruff is offering openly to not only support them fully in clearing their names, Woodruff will also shoulder any and all costs associated with said actions, without limit.
Tom took a few well placed questions then thanked the press for hearing him out, he was a natural at this.
Within a matter of minutes the press release went national in the U.S.
In Spain the rumblings also started within minutes of the U.S. Press release, a tired and stressed Reece and Pauly were released with apologies and offers of a car to take them home just as Lenny's car drew up at the Police Headquarters, they declined and went home with Lenny.
On the way home Pauly was almost crying.
"Thank you Momma, I don't know what you did but it worked".
Lenny was somber, now she could reflect, she could evaluate, she knew she might possibly have lost a lot, but in truth, asking herself would she do it again, yes she would.
Back at the apartment in Torremolinas Lenny took a call from Pip.
"I have him on the line Lenny, I hope you're going to be nice, he's really worried, remember who he is, and I don't mean Executive Chairman of Woodruff, I mean PJ, the love of your life, differentiate Lenny, it's not easy but right now you need to do it".
The line beeped and she heard his breathing.
"Lenny, I love you, don't tell me I can't come home, that would be a death sentence, I hope we've done everything we can to make it right for Pauly and Reece, if not and you agree, we'll compensate any difference, I'll even buy them out if needed, I'm sorry my love, I did something unforgivable, but I'm asking for your forgiveness, I treated you badly, I didn't intend for that to happen, I never would, you have to know I couldn't function without you, I'll shut up now, I know I'm rambling, you're probably getting annoyed".
She smiled, he knew her so well, she saw Rosa looking at her with an odd expression, she realised she was swaying, then it struck her, the pain, it was excruciating and getting worse.
"Come home quick lover, I really need you".
PJ realised her voice was shallow, she didn't say anything more before he heard someone screaming, it sounded like the phone fell to the floor, there was a crash as something smashed, then the line went dead.
TBC
ARB Allan
Comments are welcome to cfgw2000@aol.com.
Thank you for giving me your time, enjoy.