CHAPTER 9: AND THE CLAWS COME OUT…

CHARLES & DAVID’S HOUSE – LATE FRIDAY EVENING

CHARLES’S OFFICE

CHARLES

“You have got to be fucking kidding me!”  I shout into the phone.  “How in fuck has that happened?”

TREEHOUSE – LATE SATURDAY MORNING

FAAL

When we got the news from Charles that the restraining orders have been rescinded yesterday, Zee was absolutely furious.  Charles and Adam are flying up to New York tomorrow to appeal them but as of now it looks like Lindsay and Michael can come back to Pittsburgh.

But at least Cody Bell won’t be problem. He’s in jail.

LUTHER STARK’S CONDO

OFFICE

LUTHER

“Finally something is fucking going our way!”  I smile at Talon who smiles back.  “It’s always good to have a judge who owes you a favour.”

“That’s great!”  But then her face falls.  “So does that mean you’ll be going to Pittsburgh with her now?”

“Oh now my darling girl...you know you’re the only one for me.  Come now put away that frown.  No I can do my thing from here.”  I pull her into my arms.  “The money will be with Taylor by Wednesday and I have Grady plans for Lindsay.”

“Grady?”  She looks up at me.  “Why?”

“He’s a good looking boy and it will stick in Zee’s craw that they’re together.”  I kiss the tip of her nose.  “Now tell me what annoys you so about Michael.”

LUTHER STARK’S 2ND CONDO – TWO HOURS LATER

LOUNGE

LINDSAY

Finally, we get to go home... well visit at least.  But right now I have a slightly more pressing problem to sort out.

“Michael, you and I need to have a little talk.”  I take a breath and then frown.  “Put the comic down Michael and listen.”

He looks up at me.  “Oh you’ve decided to speak to me then?”

“Michael.  Don’t talk to me like you would your mother.  Now this is important.  You’ve got to stop speaking to Talon like she’s staff.  I don’t know where you’ve got this tone from but you’ve got to lose it…”

“Tone?”  He looks incredulous.  “I’m treating her the way she deserves to be treated, like the slut she is. The question is why aren’t you?”

“What makes you think that?  Luther has asked me to add my influence to her behaviour and there are ways and means of treating people how they need to be treated without making it so obvious.  So just calm it down and be polite to her.”

“Fine.  Can I go back to my comic now?”

“Yes.”

MAIN RECEPTION

TALON

Now that was stupid.  I head back outside and this time announce myself loudly.

“Hello!  Is there anybody here?!”

“Talon!  How lovely to see you again.  What can we do for you?”  Lindsay smiles at me.

“Lunch and shopping?”  I smile at her as she almost claps like a fucking seal.

TREEHOUSE – EARLY EVENING

KITCHEN

ZEE

I’m calmer much, much calmer.  I’m an oasis of calmness.  Well that’s what I’m telling myself while trying not to go Tazzy on my kitchen!

“What!”  I snarl into the phone.  “Oh for fuck sake!”

I want to throw the phone across the room. We’ve had a great few days of peace and quiet and now I’ve had nothing but problems… Mercifully it’s just family ones but work wise we’re going from strength to strength.

“Do we want to know?”  Faal sighs. .I nod and wrap my arms around his waist.  “Come on then.”

“Oh wait.”  I pick up my phone again.  “Yeah, had to scream. What? Really? That’s great!  No. I’ll call you back tomorrow.”

LOUNGE

CARL

“So how the hell have these been rescinded then?”

“Seems that Luther knows a judge who owed him a favour.”  Zee replies.

“Got a name for this judge?”  Adam asks over the phone.

“Copthorne, Elias Copthorne.”  She replies then huffs out a breath and frowns at her phone and heads out to take the call.

“You’re kidding me?”  Adam gasps.

“Well fuck me.”  Solly grins.  “Later baby not now.”  He slaps Menno’s hands away.

“Okay so we go to appeal tomorrow.”  Adam advises.

“No don’t.  Leave it.”  Zee comes in grinning.  “That was Millie.  Seems that Wankerboy and Twatzilla are coming after Phil Mitcham for misrepresentation.”

Her phone goes again and again she leaves to take the call.

“And this is good for us how?”  Jennifer looks worried.

“Since the cases are locked down, and there was no finding of fault on his side, I just kicked his ass.”  Solly smiles smugly.   “It isn’t misrepresentation.  So the moment they put in for it, it’s defamation of character…so he should slap them with one fuck of a lawsuit.”

“And trust me with Millie as his aunt, he won’t have a choice.”  Jennifer chuckles.

“Adam, are we done with you?? No offence but I really need to speak to Zander!”

“Sure.  Solly catch me up, yeah?”

“Office!  Everyone now!”

OFFICE

FAAL

“Say it again.  I want everyone to hear this!”  She’s back to being Tazzy.

“Dad asked for my share of the company and I said for $20 million I would do it.”

“Makes no odds brother dearest 75% beats 25%.  So once again I’m on…”

“And 100% beats nothing!”  Zander exclaims.

“What?  What do you mean 100%?”

“I said I would do it, I didn’t say I did do it.  I went there with mom’s lawyer and then mom turned up and she’s got another $15 million in the divorce.  And…I have transferred my part of the company to you… You own it outright baby girl. It's yours as it should’ve been.”

“Mine?”  Zee whispers.  “Stark Securities is mine?”

“Yep.  And there’s more.”

He goes on to tell us about Lindsay and Michael and how well they are getting on with Talon and then he drops the bomb about Grady.

“Hang on.  So he’s trying to fix up Lindsay and Grady to annoy me in the hopes that I’ll do what grandpa did and pay him to leave?”

“Grandpa did what?”  Zander gasps. .

“A test to see what Grady would do and he followed the money.  He told me pretty soon after the check cleared.”  Zee sighs.  “And poof, he was gone.”

“Grady told you!”  Zander looks appalled.

“No grandpa did but he thought he was doing the right thing.”

“Jesus shit baby girl! How the hell have you survived the shit the men in your life have put you through?”

“Because of the one man that didn’t.”  She winks at me and I blush at Brian’s smirk.

“And another thing. Apparently the money for someone named Taylor should reach by Wednesday and…”

“Any idea how much?”  Ted interrupts him.

“About five mil.  Why?”

“He’s about to get Schenked.”  Ted grins.

“Zander, are you sure we can trust Talon?”  Debs demands.

“Absolutely.  Talon is a slut but she’s an honest one.”  He replies; Zee snorts with laughter.  “Come on Zee she is!”  Zander chides her and she nods.  “Vicious when crossed. Almost as vicious as you but a lot less subtle!”

“She is in…”  Suddenly she stops and smiles that smile.  “He doesn’t know.”  She breathes.

“Who doesn’t know what?”  I ask.

“Zan.  Do me a favour. Tell ...Talon to do unto Michael what Lindsay does to her.  And I’ll call you back in the week, yeah?”

“Yeah okay bye.”

We look at each other in bewilderment as Zee dials another number.

“Melody, hi it’s Zee Ugerstacht.  I’m good, I’m good.  You?  Thanks again for recommending Hunter for the showing. He’s so excited but I need a ticket favour as in 5 of them but with just your name on it.  You can?? Thanks! You Tare a babe and a legend.  The names are: Luther Stark, Grady Holster, Lindsay Peterson, Michael Novotny and Talon Stark-Kho.  I’ll explain later but and let me know when the tickets have been sent and they’ve RSVP’d.  Oh yeah, definitely.”

“Uh mom can you explain why you want her at the opening?”  Matt demands.

“Yeah but in the lounge.  Emmy Lou we’re on bubble duty.”

LOUNGE

“Spill.”  Brian demands

“The Pearlman Show is being held at the MoMA and she will see the invite as a triumphant return to art circles…”

“But she’ll take that as an opportunity to cause problems for Hunter…”  Blake interrupts.

“Which is why I asked Melody to take his and Miranda’s names off the invite.”  She takes a sip of champagne and smiles that smile again.  “So she goes in cold.”

“So what does this have to do with Grady?”  I ask.

“Nothing.  But Grady is, amongst other things, narcissistic and arrogant- -a lovely combination.  He loves to be the centre of attention and there is nothing Grady loves more than people fighting for his affection and attention and he will make sure that they do…”

“Oh my God.”  Matt just stares at her.  “Are…are you saying that dad is…”

“Bisexual.  I found out after we split.  And if Luther knew, he wouldn’t be in contact with him.  So let’s get Talon to do what she does second and third best…create discord and match make.”  She chuckles.

“Speaking of discord.”  Emmy Lou skips to the TV with a disc in his hand.  “I have something for us to watch.”

Ten minutes later we are screaming with laughter.  “Emmy Lou!  How the hell did you keep that secret for so long?!”  Justin is almost hiccupping with laughter.  “Can we watch it one more time?!”

“Yes in fact I’ve got a copy for you.  As for how, I have no idea at all!”  He replies wiping his eyes.

“Oh speaking of…”

Carl stops her.  “Zee!  We are not taking bets on what Jenny and Gus are doing on their dates.”

“I wasn’t going to say that.  Thank you very much.  I may be ribald but I have decorum!”  She mock glowers at him.  “Well sometimes.  No what I was going to ask Brian and Justin what was it like?”

“What?  Facing off to Hobbs?”  Brian frowns.  “We already told you.”

“No. Fucking my brother…and by ‘my brother,’ I mean Zeon.”

You could hear a pin drop, before Jennifer stammers.  “I-I thought you two were monogamous; you said that.  You’re married now! Why!  Would you risk that by…”

“How-how did you know?”  Justin blushes. “And mom it was long before we were monogamous.”  Justin reassures her. She sighs in relief.

“I knew Zeon was gay before Zeon did and when he finally came out to me, long before dad, he would tell me about his exploits and he always got the watchacallit Ted??”

“Replay face.”

“Yeah that’s it! And when he first came here, he looked twice and got the replay face.”

“Yes!  I knew he remembered us!”  Brian exclaims and then looks around at us.  “What? Seriously we are fucking awesome in bed.”