Marcia was determined, however, not to be swayed by his super-clean image. Her job was to make the next six months hell-on-earth for Kane Masterson and that is just what she planned to do. It was not in her nature to be mean or vindictive, but she could be an ill-tempered shrew if the situation called for it and this one definitely did. She smiled as she thought, Get a good night’s sleep Mister nice guy, ‘cause you’re about to be run over by a “bitch on wheels.”
Chapter 10
Daniel McKnight owned several semi-pro sports franchises, one each in football, baseball and hockey. The Old Brooking Wildcats, Old Brooking Indians and Old Brooking Blizzards, respectively. The Wildcats and Blizzards were consistently large revenue producers, but the Indians lost money for the past three seasons finishing in last place for two of them. He harbored thoughts of selling the team, but never acted on them.
Daniel, was powerfully built at five foot six, but his persona dwarfs even the biggest of his players. He played all three sports at Old Brooking High, excelling in each, but not enough to interest college or professional scouts. Daniel’s father died when he was thirteen, leaving four children. He was the only boy and the oldest child which placed the responsibility for supporting the family squarely on his shoulders. During his four years in high school he worked several jobs, balancing work with sports. When Daniel graduated he took a job as a coach at the high school and played semi-pro football on weekends each fall. Although he had several offers to coach for larger school systems in nearby towns, he was content working for the local high school. He filled several positions in the Old Brooking High, Physical Education Department over the next twenty years and only left his job when an uncle died suddenly leaving Daniel his entire two million dollar estate. Unexpectedly, he was set for life. His dreams were finally coming true.
Demonstrating a high degree of maturity and business acumen, Daniel waited until he could acquire the three sport franchises at distressed prices. This happened eight years ago. His penchant for the bottom line keeps him from meddling with the day-to-day field operations of his teams. Considered ruggedly handsome by most women’s standards and a “man’s man” by most men, Daniel was popular wherever he went.
Adam Hampton III enjoyed watching sports. He never played any, but he loved being a spectator. For over six years, he was an enthusiastic supporter of Daniel’s teams. Daniel met Adam at one of the Saturday night football games. While he had seventeen years on Adam, they hit it off right away; the heir apparent to the Hampton fortune becoming a regular in the owner’s box. It was there that Daniel first met Lauren Pendleton who would later succumb to Adam’s whirlwind courtship and marry him. Daniel took an instant dislike to Lauren, who he viewed as interfering with the good times he was having with Adam. Their attendance at the games lessened as Lauren introduced Adam to the “finer” things in life, such as symphony orchestras, museums and the theater. Not being invited to their wedding was the final straw especially when he found out that his three team managers were invited to Adam’s bachelor party, wedding and reception. It was Old Brookings’s biggest social event of the year and he was not invited. Daniel blamed Lauren for the snub until he ran into Adam two weeks later and saw culpability in the man’s eyes. From that moment on he no longer pursued the friendship. Personal contact was reduced to occasional social events in town. Lauren, on the other hand, brazenly acted as if nothing had happened and she did this so openly that Daniel, on one occasion, gave serious thought to violating the rule about a man never hitting a woman.
The strained relationship continued for over a year, until Lauren had an accident in a “jumping” exhibition at the Club’s annual riding show. Against Adam’s advice, she entered the “triple combination” jump. Her horse balked after the first obstacle, throwing Lauren into a hedge at the right side of the fence. The hedge absorbed most of the impact, and although she wasn’t physically hurt the fall resulted in the miscarriage of her four month old fetus. Adam was unforgiving about the loss of his unborn son. Daniel, moved by Lauren’s misfortune, sent flowers and a comforting letter to her. When she did not respond, he chalked it up to her lack of social grace. Still, it seemed to him to be a deliberate snub.
Four years passed before he heard from her again. It was under very unusual circumstances, brought on by Adam’s involvement in his father’s attempted hostile take-over of Preston Industries. She called Daniel to set up a meeting at a park in an nearby town. Out of curiosity, more than anything else, he agreed to meet with her. In his mind there was some kind of poetic justice at work.
“How have you been, Daniel?” She asked the question as if she was talking to an old friend.
This one has balls, he couldn’t help but think. “I’m just fine, Lauren. How have things been with you?
“About the same.” She seemed to be bent on engaging in small talk.
Daniel took control of the situation. “Let’s cut to the chase, Lauren. Why did you ask to see me? What insidious plan are you hatching, that you need me to involve me. I haven’t forgotten, the way you’ve treated me the past few years.”
She looked hurt by his remarks. Tears welled up in her eyes and began the voyage down her well tanned cheeks. She moved her hazel eyes in several directions, trying to avoid eye contact, but finally she met his. “You have every right to feel that way, Daniel. I certainly don’t deserve any help from you after the way I’ve behaved all these years, but you‘re the only person I feel safe talking to, about this.” Lauren reached into her coat pocket for a tissue. She dabbed at the tears as they began flowing freely.
Daniel started to speak, but she held up a hand to stop him.
“Let me finish, please, or I’ll lose what little nerve I’ve mustered in coming here. The bottom line is that I’m in big trouble in my marriage, or what would better be described as the sham of my marriage. Adam is not cheating on me, at least as far as I know, but I believe that he has stolen some valuable antique jewelry that my family has passed down for generations. I always kept them in a vault at the Centurion Bank. Three days ago I went to the vault to get some papers and the jewels weren’t there. The signature card showed that Adam visited the box two months ago.”
“Maybe he’s having them cleaned or perhaps he’s having them reset as a surprise for you.”
Lauren looked annoyed at his rejoinder. “I keep them polished and they’re sealed in air-tight containers.” As if to refute his simplistic explanation, she added, “These are valuable antique pieces. You don’t have them reset,” she added, a bit sarcastically.
He ignored the rebuke. “You’re saying that Adam stole your jewelry? Why would he do such a thing? After all they belong to you.”
Anger replaced the crying as she spouted, “He did it for money and power; he does everything for those two reasons. He’s drained all our bank accounts to buy Preston Industries stock. His father is obsessed with taking over Preston and Adam is a willing co-conspirator. It’s all they think about. After all their shenanigans they fell short of the required votes anyway. It was all for naught.”