Forced Love

"She's telling you something. Open your eyes and listen, Jeff."

Jeff took out his phone. "Hey Siri, call Cindy."

The phone rang only once.

"Hi, Boss. What's up?"

"I need you to take Friday off."

"Okay, why?"

"I'd like you and Sophia to go with me to Disney World," he said.

"We'd both love that. Can we take my car? I'm not sure your old truck could make it."

Jeff laughed. "How's nine o'clock?"

"Eight would be better. It's an hour from my house and if you pick up the magic passes, we get in early and bypass some of the lines."

"Cool beans," he said, which elicited a laugh from Cindy.

"Want me to get tickets?" she asked.

"No, I'll take care of that. You do business, this is personal."

"Well, cool beans yourself," she said. "We'll see you Friday."

"Friday then," he said, ending the call.

"You're welcome," his sister told him.

They sat quietly for quite a while and Lori's phone rang again. It was Leon.

"I just sent you the updated info. There's a ton of new stuff."

"Leon, I need your opinion on something. I'm putting you on speaker so Jeff can hear."

"Sure, not a problem. I have an opinion on most things."

"Let's say you ran across this information, and it had nothing to do with me or Jeff. What would you do with it?"

"Lori, I love this country and believe in what it stands for. As far as I'm concerned, Arthur is pissing on the American people he's supposed to be representing."

"So, what would you do?" she asked.

"If I ran across it on my own, I'd take it to the FBI office personally. If I found it as part of J-D security, I'd mail it to every major news outlet anonymously. The less the government know about our talents, the better. Does that answer your question?"

"It does mine. Thoughts, Jeff?" Lori asked.

"Lori, I'd do the exact same thing," he replied.

"Leon, we're all three in agreement. Let's do the right thing," Lori advised.

"I can mail it to my friend in New York after we patch your system. We know we can trust him. He'll drop it in the mail from there. Lori, the feds are going to be all over Combs, Inc. once this breaks."

"We're clean, Leon. Thanks," she said, ending the call.

"That was a tough call to make," Jeff said.

"Yes, it was. But it was the right call," she replied. "Indy has changed since you've been gone. Any interest in a tour and some lunch?"

"We've both had too many beers for that."

"Not to worry," she said, picking up her phone and dialing. "George, Jeff and I need a lift. He forced me to sit in O'Malley's and drink with him. I want to show him around town and take him to Griner's for lunch."

"Give me ten minutes."

"Bring a cold six pack of Guinness draught with you," Lori told him.

"Make that fifteen minutes."

*****

Lori received a text from Miriam with photos about two fifteen. She shook her head looking at them then handed her phone to her brother. The man pictured appeared to be about forty. The woman was clearly their mother. The photos reveal them both entering and leaving the room together, and also showed them kissing standing next to her car.

Lori called Leon.

"Did you find anything on Bedford's computer?"

"Nothing other than a standing appointment on his calendar for every Wednesday for 'client visit. It doesn't specify client or location. He looks pretty clean."

"How long has he had his standing appointment?" Lori asked.

"A couple of years."

"Is he expensing out anything for that time? she asked.

"Not a nickel"

"Thanks, Leon."

Lori called Miriam next.

"Are you still at the hotel?"

"No, but I'm only five minutes away."

"Think you can turn on your charm and get any info from the clerk?"

"I can try," Miriam said laughing. "I'll get back with you shortly."

Miriam called back about fifteen minutes later.

"Every week for at least a year. She registers and pays under Sonja Marston."

"That's my grandmother's maiden name. Can you stop somewhere and get enlarged hard copies of the pictures before heading back?" Lori asked.

"No problem."

Lori looked at Jeff. "Looks like mom's got a long-term boyfriend and she's even paying for the room. Thoughts?" she asked.

"About what?"

"The boyfriend."

"Are they violating any company policies?"

"Not unless he's doing it on company time."

"What's your policy on falsification of timecards?"

"Reprimand the first time. Termination for subsequent."

"There you go."

"But what about mom?"

"She doesn't work for you, Lori," her brother advised.

"But she's cheating."

"On a crook. She's probably having more fun in that hour than all the rest of the week."

"You're okay with it?" Lori asked.

He chuckled. "I don't care if she fucks everybody on your payroll, except for you and Miriam, of course. I draw the line there."

"Hell with it. Let her have her fun. I am going to suggest to Bedford that he not do it on company time."

"Good plan."

*****

Jeff was again introduced to IT as Dean Vickers, but this time as a cyber security man. Lori and Miriam were with him. He explained the back door but didn't demonstrate it. He told them of the need for new badges which Miriam had already ordered. Processing should be complete by the following Wednesday, one week from today. The patch would be installed beginning at 11 pm on Wednesday and would take about four hours. The servers, computers, tablets, and company phones would be offline during the patch. As far as Jeff was concerned, they had asked all the right questions and expressed the right concerns. The meeting was adjourned with everyone happy. After IT left, he sat with his sister and Miriam.

"That took longer than I expected. I'll need to say this quickly. You two love each other. That's something, in my limited experience, that's very rare. You both work to damned hard and should be spending more time enjoying what you have. It's 2022, and people...."

"The wedding is August first," Lori said.

"What?" he asked.

"We're getting married on August first," Miriam told him.

Jeff grinned and hugged them both. "That's wonderful!"

"We want you to be the best man," Lori said.

"Uh, which side do I stand on?"

"We're still working on that," both chuckled.

*****

Jeff flew home that night. The Disney trip was a rousing success. Cindy, Jeff, and Sophia were an item from that day on, and married just under a year later, with Lori and Miriam standing with Cindy. Sophia made a beautiful flower girl and stayed standing with her mom and new dad during the ceremony. Leon, and Dean's table, complete with Jameson, stood with Jeff. Lori did not drink any Jameson.

The patch was installed and worked flawlessly. Jeff and Leon honored Dean with a shot of Jameson afterward.

It was Friday before the news broke on Arthur Combs III. He resigned from the House of Representatives and withdrew from the Presidential race a week after that. His case was still being investigated by the DOJ a year later when he died from an apparent heart attack.

Rather than being best man, Jeff gave his sister's hand to Miriam at their wedding in August. Arthur, by this time, had become a recluse. No one missed him.

When Lori talked to Walt and suggested he start an hour early on Wednesdays, so he could take a longer lunch break, he jumped at the opportunity. Ellen Combes dumped him after her husband died for a younger man.

Lori and Miriam joined Jeff and his family every Christmas and for a two-week group vacation every summer.