“Thank you again for doing the airplane and hangar deals for Arrington. She’s very appreciative.”
“You’re both very welcome,” Mike said. “I
enjoyed doing it.”
“What’s happening in New York?”
“It’s weirdly quiet,” Mike said. “Things are just rolling along; the company seems to be taking care of itself. None of our security clients has been shot or had his car blown up.”
“Oh, that reminds me,” Stone said. He told him about the exploding Mercedes.
“Well, shit,” Mike said. “I should have kept some people at the house. I thought that, after Arrington left, there wouldn’t be any further problems.”
“So did I,” Stone said.
“I’ll have people there in an hour.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Stone said. “Dino and I can handle it.”
“You didn’t handle it too well the last time, did you? And anyway, you’re our corporate counsel and a member of our board, and you have to be protected.”
“If you insist.”
“I do insist! I’m glad I called to see how things were, since things are so terrible in L.A. I’m going to come out there and personally see that you don’t die before Tuesday.”
“You’re just bored and looking for an excuse to get out of New York.”
“You could be right,” Mike said, “between now and Tuesday, we’re all going to watch your ass. I’ll be there tomorrow. Dinner?”
“You can join Arrington, Dino, and me.”
“I’ve got an airplane to catch,” Mike said, then hung up.
44
Stone managed to sleep late on Sunday morning. He had eggs Benedict in bed and read both the New York Times and Los Angeles Times. It was nearly noon when the bedside phone rang.
“Stone? It’s Rick Barron.”
“Good morning, Rick. How is everything?”
“I’m not sure,” Rick replied.
“What’s making you unsure?”
“Something’s wrong with Jim Long.”
“Rick, he’s suffered a knife wound and lost a kidney; of course something’s wrong with him.”
“No, I mean about his shares in Centurion.”
“Rick, you can rest easy about those shares; they’re bought and paid for, and I have the stock certificate.”
“Yes, I know that, but I just had a call from the attorney for Jennifer Harris’s estate, and he told me he’s had an offer for her shares.”
“So Prince is still trying to get them.”
“No, the offer is not from Prince; he wouldn’t tell me who it was, but he did tell me it was for four thousand dollars a share.”