Consequences

She thanked Tony repeatedly for the trip of a lifetime and the wonderful memories. She drifted into a dreamless sleep with her head resting on his shoulder, listening to his breathing.
    He was exhausted too as he hugged the soft warm body that nestled against his. Hearing her thank him for the memories filled him with intense satisfaction. He closed his eyes, inhaled the scent of her hair, and recalled their memorable trip. Before he drifted off to sleep, Tony said, “I plan to go into the office tomorrow.”
    “Then I’ll see you tomorrow evening, I plan to sleep through your alarm.”
    Tony smiled.

 
It’s not a question of enough, pal.
It’s a Zero Sum game, somebody wins, somebody loses.
Money itself isn’t lost or made, it’s simply,
transferred from one perception to another.
Like magic.
—Gordon Gekko
     Chapter 41
    Anton stood silently outside of his grandfather’s home office. Even though the grand double doors were tightly closed, he could hear voices from within. His father insisted that Anton be excluded from the conversation within. As far as Anton was concerned, that was ridiculous. Something big was happening, and it had to do with his name and the company that he’d been told would be his.
    Samuel could shelter him from the discussion and knowledge of the business dealings, but Anton wasn’t stupid. He could read a NYSE ticker. Rawls Corp. stock had plummeted from 79.8 to 56.4 at the close of trading. The news release proclaimed rumors of wrongdoings within the corporation. The four men within the office weren’t drinking beer and playing cards; this was deadly serious. It seemed like everything was crashing down around them. Someone opened a dam, and the water couldn’t be stopped.
    Inside the cherry-paneled regal office, Nathaniel questioned Clawson. “You said no one would ever know. What the hell happened? Where did these allegations come from?”
    “Mr. Rawls, I don’t know. We have covered our tracks for almost ten years. You have made a bloody fortune. Maybe the feds got nervous because you were making too much profit.”
    “What the hell is that , too much profit?” Nathaniel couldn’t sit. He paced every inch of the plush carpet. “Have they investigated Trump or Gates? I’m nowhere close to those men.”
    “It doesn’t matter who else has been investigated.” Samuel tried to bring the men back to the task at hand. “What matters is that we get our ducks in a row and meet the investigation head-on.”
    Clawson gazed over to his assistant, Cole Mathews. Mathews was busy organizing stacks of paper and utilizing a shredder to reduce the paper overload. Clawson addressed both Rawls men. “Cole and I are making sure that there is no evidence that can be linked to any of the allegations.”
    “You said no one would know. Why is Mathews shredding papers? There shouldn’t be anything that needs to be shredded.” Nathaniel watched as Mathew’s green eyes briefly met his. He seemed to be working as fast as the shredder would allow.
    Cole Mathews entered their inner circle about two years ago. He didn’t talk much, but was a whiz at research. Tell him a stock or a company, and bingo, he will have more insider information than one would believe humanly possible. Suddenly, Nathaniel regretted not having Clawson and Mathews sign some kind of power of attorney, a way to distance himself from them.
    These two men helped to make him mega-wealthy. At this moment, if possible he would hang them both out to dry to save himself and his family. Hell, Samuel wouldn’t even meet his eyes. Briefly Nathaniel thought about the recent news, the space shuttle “Challenger” blew up during takeoff. That was a damn shame. Just maybe that news would overshadow the unfortunate false allegations regarding Rawls Corp.

 
The sudden disappointment of a hope leaves a scar which the ultimate fulfillment of that hope never entirely removes.
—Thomas Hardy
     Chapter 42
    On the day following their return, Claire woke late, relishing the large empty bed. After Cindy brought her coffee and food, she sat on her balcony, ate breakfast, and enjoyed the summer day, truly contented to be home. August in Iowa reminded her of Indiana, and even though the temperature and humidity continued to increase, the summer’s climax was rapidly approaching. Before long, the balminess would diminish, and evidence of autumn would materialize.
    Claire intended to appreciate the remaining days of summer. She took