“What could possibly be so fascinating about me that you’ve spent months following me around and stirring up trouble?” I asked.
“People are going to want to know how a small forgotten town in Nebraska stood up to a billionaire and won.”
My jaw tightened. “And what have the people of Salvation won by not accepting my help? Their youth are leaving for good because there aren’t enough jobs. Corporate farms are squeezing out the family farm. A trade war involving agricultural products would decimate this town. So, tell me again, what they’ve won?”
She pursed her lips. “They’ve still got their free will and dignity.”
“I wonder how much of the mortgage that will pay.” Not wanting to have a discussion with her and have it end up misrepresented, I said, “You need to leave and stop harassing me and the people of this town.”
“You’re just a bully, Stark. You don’t scare me. I’m going to finish covering this mayoral race until the election in two weeks. You can threaten me all you like, but I’m not backing off this time.”
I frowned. This time? What was she talking about? Knowing she’d make a scene if I had her escorted out, I left her there and focused on the event.
As soon as it was over, I headed home. My property was built by a man who built one of the first breweries in Nebraska a zillion years ago. The large nearly eighteen thousand square foot home on it was where I ran my empire. At least for now.
I went directly to my office, tossing my coat and tie on the back of a chair as I headed to my desk.
“Did everything go well at the event tonight, sir,” Marvin, my butler asked as he picked up my coat and tie.
“Well enough.” I searched my desk for the info on Erica Edmonds.
“Is there anything I can get you?”
“Bourbon.” I straightened when I found the file. “Erica Edmonds. She works for a paper in Omaha.”
“Yes sir.” Marvin set the clothing down and went to pour my drink from the bar in my office.
I pulled a clipping from the paper she’d written about me and the prison fiasco last year. Of course, it had that same slant that she had now. Greedy interloper interfering in the lives of good rural Nebraskan folk. I went to the next page to find my answer.
“Ah, she was contracted by Nebraska Now to do a long piece on me.”
“Yes sir.” Marvin handed me my drink. I took a long swig and then sat down at my desk. I picked up the phone to call my lawyer. “Anything else, sir?”
“No. Thank you, Marvin.”
“Very well.” He picked up my tie and coat and left my office shutting the door behind him.
“It’s late on a Friday, Si, what could you possibly need now?” my lawyer, Angela Kimmel said.
“I want you to contact Nebraska Now magazine and tell them I’m going to file charges against their reporter and it for stalking if they don’t stop harassing me.”
I heard her sigh. “Reporters harass. That’s what they do. And stalking…you’re not going to succeed in that.”
“Oh? She’s been coming to Salvation for months to do a story on me, but hasn’t talked to me once, except when I approached her. How can she be doing a story on me and not talk to me? She also hasn’t talked to anyone in my camp. She’s either a very bad reporter or she’s stalking me. I won’t have it.”
“It won’t look good for you trying to stop the media.”
“I’m not stopping the media. I’m happy to talk to them. Further, she’s become a part of the story. She’s insinuating herself into my business. If she were a cop it would be entrapment.” Okay, so I was going off the edge a little bit.
“What do you want?”
“I want her off the story.” I had a tinge of guilt. The fact that I felt that was proof that my heart and conscious hadn’t completely withered and died. I didn’t like fucking with people’s livelihoods, but
I wasn’t going to let Erica Edmonds skew and slant my work to make me look like some evil Lex Luther.
“That’s a little much, don’t you think? That act will become her next story.”
“Not if I put a restraining order on her.”