Pay Up and Die (6 page)

“All right. Spill it.” Murph entreated him to air his frustration.

“I don’t want to dump all my problems on you, but thanks for offering to listen. I just want to ignore my problems and maybe they’ll go away.”

Murph snickered. “That’s what JFK thought and look what happened to him.”

Michael chuckled. It felt good for just a fleeting moment to have some levity.

“You know how Steph and I have been trying to get another loan so we can pay for those new treatments for Ally?” He glanced at Murph as he checked his side view mirror. The wind ruffled his hair.

“Yeah, what about it.”

Michael stopped at a red light, then answered Murph. “Well, Graves was going to get it “blessed” for us since the bank knows we are already over-extended and late on some other payments. But now I have a feeling he is holding it up to make sure I fall in line with some office politics.”

“You serious? Want me to fuck him up?” Murph, who was known to be an adept pugilist in his youth, welcomed all opportunities to mix it up some more.

“That would be great if it would help. But, it’s just, you know we always had a really great working relationship. I did what he needed, when he needed it and always quickly, with quality to back it up. I trusted him all these years and now it feels like he is my enemy.” Michael checked the mirror and began to drive forward as the light changed.

“Okay. Got it. So you stopped giving him a reach around, he got pissed and now you have to bend over a little harder. You bankers are so, uh, towel-snappy in the locker room.” Murph tilted his head down and raised one eyebrow higher than the other. That got Michael to instantaneously laugh through his nose, causing him to choke on his own mucus.

“Easy there, tough guy. I’d prefer to make it home alive,” Murph poured it on.

Michael recovered just in time to turn the wheel and get the car headed down Madison Avenue.

“I hate to be a bought-and-paid-for man but I don’t have any choice right now but to fall in line. Allison’s life depends on it.”

“So what was so horrible that got your kiwi’s twisted? Can’t you just suck it up until you get the loan and then flip him the bird later?” Murph eloquently summed up the options.

“He was putting the screws to Gustafson over his defaulted mortgage while his poor wife is dying from cancer. You know Gustafson, right?” Michael glanced at Murph. “He’s that bald guy from the baseball games?”

“Bald guy? Is that a shot at me? Way to bite the hand that helps, pal.” Murph looked out the window then turned back to Michael. “Name sounds familiar, but not the offensive description.”

“Anyway, Graves started threatening him to pay up or there would be some bad things coming and I didn’t like it one bit. These are good people. And customers. You just can’t treat people like that regardless of how much money they owe you.” He pulled to a stop in front of Murph’s house and put the car in park.

“Threatened him, huh? I thought all the banks were shady like that. That’s why I stuff my money in a coffee can and bury it in the backyard. Don’t look for it though. I got claymores hidden around the property to deter the bad guys.”

“I don’t know. I just don’t feel right about how all this is going down. And then to top it off he hints that my loan won’t get approved if I don’t play ball. I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t. But none of it matters because it is all about getting money for Allison. I would do anything to take her pain away.”

“So your boss is a dick. Buck up, man. All bosses are dicks. You’ll get through this. Listen, I got some money stashed away which I can, you know, make a little under-the-table, wink-wink loan to you to get you by. I would do anything for you, man. You’re good peeps and if I can help you help Ally then it is worth getting grief from my old lady.”

Embarrassed at Murph’s extraordinary generosity, Michael looked down in his lap. He didn’t know if he wanted to cry again or run away before Murph saw his red face. “Thanks, but I can’t take your money. You’re a real friend, Murph. I appreciate all your support.”

“It ain’t for you, believe me. I just want to ensure I keep getting rides to work until my cherry car comes back from the shop. Then I’ll dismiss you like a skid-marked pair of tighty whiteys.” Murph opened the door and started to step out of the car.

“Gee, I feel so lucky to be your prom queen.” Michael sassed back. “You know, I’m going to talk to one of the corporate attorneys tomorrow. Someone who owes me a favor and might have a solution to scare Derrick off a bit about his underhanded practices. Maybe that will quiet him down. And he won’t know where it came from so he might feel obligated to approve my loan just in case it was me that ratted him out.”

“Good plan, Einstein, but it IS you who is ratting him out.”

“You know what I mean. Derrick will feel the pressure to change his ways so he won’t want to make any waves around the office since this promotion is so important to him. He’ll probably put his head down and hope everything blows over until he gets what he wants. By then he won’t give a crap about me or my loan or anything else.” Michael felt somewhat resigned with his new plan.

“Just be careful, Mikey. These stuffed shirts can be real pricks when they get push back. They ain’t used to getting their hands slapped and when they do they tend to act like rotten kids. You may defend your position but still take flack in the battle, know what I mean?” Murph slammed the passenger door shut and leaned down into the window. “Take care, Mikey. Go get some rest or your body will start looking as bad as your face.” He took two steps up the walk when he paused and turned around. “And don’t be late tomorrow morning. I’ll give you some PT if you ain’t here by oh-seven-hundred hours.” He spun and went into the house. Michael just snorted at Murph’s attitude. The guy was a real trip. But he knew his way around people and hostile situations for sure.

Michael checked the side view mirror to make sure the coast was clear before he pulled away from the curb and headed home. The evening sunset causing him to lower the visor.

Chapter 11

Michael looked impatiently at his watch. The coffee shop was fairly busy for a mid-afternoon. He scanned the crowds of stay-at-home mothers and young professionals that kept entering for their afternoon caffeine fix. He couldn’t help but wonder if he had made the right decision about reaching out to Larry this morning. Murph had supported his choice to “rat” Graves out but it didn’t make this process any less stressful.

Last night, Michael avoided Stephanie as much as possible so he wouldn’t feel compelled to reveal the conversation with Derrick. She eventually caught up to him before bed but he lied and said that there was no news on the loan status. He just said Derrick was following up on it for him.

He glanced down at his watch again and then took a sip of his steaming coffee. Scanning the crowds once more he still didn’t see signs of Larry. Larry the lawyer is what folks called him at work. Larry was a stand-up guy. He was very intelligent and super conservative when it came to business contracts and regulations of any sort. He had a reputation for being a stickler about each comma and period in a business contract. The sales force tried to hook up with one of the other attorneys whenever they had a hot deal that they wanted to rush through because they knew Larry would slow it down and go over every minuscule point. Sales people just wanted their commissions, not the business or legal side of the transactions.

Just then, Michael saw a rotund body waddling around a pack of mothers with strollers who were blocking up the doorway. It looked like he jovially excused himself to squeeze past them and he waved to Michael as he came towards him.

“Hey, Michael. Good to see you again,” Larry greeted. He offered a pudgy hand for Michael to shake. The hand was sweaty and he resisted the urge to wipe it against his slacks right in front of Larry.

“It’s good to see you too, Larry. Thanks for agreeing to meet with me away from the office. I just didn’t feel comfortable talking to you there. You know. Gossip and all.” Michael nervously sipped his coffee again. He slid a second coffee cup across the table to Larry. Larry grabbed the cup and brought it to his nose for a deep sniff. He sighed, enjoying the aroma.

“I don’t usually do things like this but you sounded sort of desperate on the phone. So, what can I do you for?”

“I just want to make sure that this discussion is completely off the record and I know you are a very professional lawyer, you know, with discretion and all.”

“Sure. Sure. You’re making me wary though. What’s on your mind?” Larry slurped a hot sip of his coffee and it left a foamy mustache on his chubby mouth. It was taken care of by a quick, fat tongue that swished across his upper lip like a windshield wiper. All foamy residue was instantly gone.

“A situation came up yesterday when I was in Derrick Graves’ office.” Larry’s attention visibly sharpened. “He was threatening a delinquent customer, who I just happen to know personally. I sort of overstepped my authority and defended the client which angered Graves.” Michael paused to read Larry’s reaction. Larry had a deer in the headlights look behind his eyes. His cheeks reddened a bit as if he had just exercised. “Is something wrong?”

Larry the lawyer snapped back to life. He took another foamy slurp and then responded. “No, it’s just interesting, that’s all. Why are you telling me this?”

Michael sipped his own coffee. “It got worse after that. Graves hung up on the customer and then made a veiled threat towards me. I just don’t think his actions were appropriate and I was hoping that you would know how we can get him to back off. I know you have been at the bank longer than most people so I thought maybe you would know how to handle something like this. Without getting into a big Human Resources thing.” His eyes pleading to Larry.

“Wow. Um, this is not an easy process to navigate. First of all, I would not mention this to HR. And you should probably think twice about overstepping with Graves in the future. He may let it go in a few weeks if you keep your nose clean.”

“Really? That’s your advice? Shut your mouth and pretend nothing happened? I’m surprised at you, Larry. I came to you because I respect your experience and ability to make difficult decisions. But I didn’t expect to hear this from you when customers and employees are getting threatened.” Michael’s voice had risen and he was leaning towards Larry in an aggressive posture.

Larry was looking around from side to side to gauge if anyone was listening to their exchange. He flapped his arms up and down a few times signaling Michael to keep it down. He glanced back and forth one more time then leaned in to speak in a hushed tone. “Look, I get it. You are upset and Graves’ behavior was inappropriate. But I am uncomfortable with this one, Michael. Do you realize what you are asking of me? I have a family to provide for too. I have almost thirty years in the books and I don’t want to find myself involved in something that could jeopardize my position and tenure.” He looked around again, even shifting his rotund weight to check behind himself. Then he turned back to Michael. “Between you and me, a few years back, there was a similar situation and it got really ugly.”

Michael simmered down. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, there were allegations through all the correct channels of HR and lawyers that Graves had threatened a former employee and the guy disappeared.”

“What are you talking about?” Michael was incredulous. He screwed up his face and leaned back in his chair.

“I’m talking about a name that never gets uttered within the confines of the bank anymore. Ten years ago, before you joined the bank, there was an analyst who did the reporting for Graves, back when he was just a manager. Apparently Graves had fudged some numbers to make bonus but the analyst called him on it. So, allegedly, Graves threatened this guy, Ray Thomas, with bodily harm.”

“I don’t believe this for a second,” Michael protested. “I have worked for Graves for a long time now and he has always been a great leader and fair. This is a one-time incident which is why I want to deal with it because I feel it is out of his character. He probably just lost his cool but it still needs to be dealt with. Graves would never hurt someone. Besides, he’s a little guy. He can’t weigh more than 150 pounds soaking wet.”

“Believe it, Michael. Graves is a very determined man.” Larry sat up straight and looked around again. “This Thomas guy suddenly resigned right before they were supposed to meet face-to-face with the attorneys and HR. Like hours before the meeting. And then two days later his wife reported him missing. Nobody ever found him. Did he pick up and leave without saying a word? Is he floating in the Hudson River? Nobody knows, Michael. The police investigated Graves and all the parties involved in the company but there was no evidence so everything was dropped. But I can tell you that those who were working at the bank back then still give Graves width berth. Why risk it?” Larry wiped a bead of sweat from his wrinkled forehead. He leaned back and took a deep breath as if leaning over his massive belly had cut off his oxygen supply.

Michael took it in. Could this be true? The Derrick he knew was not a killer. Or a mobster-type to threaten people. He was a shrewd businessman, sure. But not a criminal. “Well this is a lot to think about. I appreciate your honesty, Larry.”

“No problem. Just do me a favor. Don’t talk about this to anyone. Not what I told you. Not even the fact that I met with you. Please. I’m begging you.” Larry was the one pleading now. He still looked so edgy and rose to leave. “Thanks for the coffee.” He turned to walk away but stopped. “And Michael? Take care of yourself.” It was more of a warning than a goodbye. Michael just nodded and Larry left the coffee shop. He sipped his coffee again and watched two young professionals at a table nearby. They seemed more intimate than just co-workers sharing a coffee. He took another sip of his coffee and decided what he needed to do.