The Corporate Raider part 20
by Denise Mayes
Chapter 20
Alex took the elevator to the fifth floor, where she stormed off of it and headed down and around the hallway to where Taylor's room was located. Alex banged on the door, Loudly! The girl was inside asleep, and when the banging rang through her hotel room she was startled awake. She jumped out of the bed, and eased towards the door that was still being banged on intermittently. In a shaking voice, she called out to the person on the other side. "Wh...who is it?"
"OPEN THE DOOR!!" Came Alex’s authoritative voice.
"Alex??" Taylor said to herself, surprised by the visit. She peeked out the peep hole and then opened the door slightly.
The woman stood glaring at her, and Taylor stood holding her robe closed. "Alex? What’s wrong?"
Alex pushed the door all the way open and stormed inside. She went half way in, then turned around to see the girl was still standing at the open door. "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!!" She shouted at the girl.
Taylor jumped, but she closed the door so as not to disturb any of the other guests in the hotel. Then she walked slowly turned towards Alex and looked at the envelope the woman was holding up. "Oh...that’s just the money I owed you." Taylor said, slightly relieved.
"First of all did I, or did I not say, you didn’t owe me anything, as long as you didn’t make the same mistake?"
"Yes, but I had it, so it was the right thing to do. Is that what you're so upset about? The fact that I paid you back??"
Alex was now baring her teeth, and as a result she began speaking through them. "Secondly...where did you get 3 million dollars?"
"It sort of...fell in my lap." Taylor answered sincerely, but Alex didn't hear it that way, she only heard an evasive response.
"Fell into your lap huh? From where?" Alex asked, now leaning forward slightly to look deeper into the flinching girl's eyes.
"Alex, what does it matter? The point is I paid you back!"
Alex leaned back up straight and her eyes narrowed. She then hissed through her teeth at the girl. "Why are you being so evasive Taylor?"
"I’m not. Why are you acting like I’ve done something terrible?"
Alex crossed her arms over her chest and rested back on one heel as the other foot was tapping the floor impatiently. "You’ve heard, I’m sure that my companies are about to be investigated by the SEC right?"
"Yes, I heard...WAIT! Alex!! You don’t think..." Taylor was now in shock, and couldn’t believe what the woman was accusing her of. Alex saw the moment Taylor realized what she was saying.
"Tell me where you got the 3 million." Alex said evenly.
"I can’t believe you actually think I could do something like that to you?! Goodness! I knew you didn’t trust me, but..."
"Where did you get it?"
"I never thought you could ever think I would do something like that??"
"Never mind all of that, just tell me where you got the money!"
"No! And I think you better leave Alex." The girl said, hurt and angry by the accusation.
Alex brought her arms down to an akimbo position as she now looked at the girl with ironic amusement. "No...No?"
"That’s what I said." Taylor said, standing up to the woman from a distance.
"Well aren’t you just the one? What are you going to do Taylor if I don't leave?" Alex asked sarcastically, with a dangerous tone ringing through her voice.
Taylor wanted to stand up to the woman, but she knew Alex could break her in half if it came to physical confrontation. So she did the next best thing. "Fine! Then I’ll leave!" Taylor said, turning to head for the door. Alex made it there before her and backed her away from it by just moving towards her.
"Oh...no Taylor, we’re going to finish this, you're GOING to tell me where you got this money. I’m not leaving until you tell me where you got 3 million dollars!"
Taylor knew the woman was determined, and she saw the rage in her eyes. She felt trapped and tears began to roll down her face from hurt, frustration and fear. She looked for any escape, and seeing none, she realized the bathroom would have to do. "Fine!" She shouted, then darted into the bathroom and locked the door just as Alex reached it.
"Taylor come out of there!!"
"No!"
Alex huffed at the response, then hit the door while at the same time calling to the girl. "OPEN THIS DOOR TAYLOR!!"
"NO!! I can’t believe you think that about me!!"
"Taylor I’m starting to get pissed! Open the door!!"
"No!" Taylor shouted back through the door.
Alex hit the door again, this time out of frustration. "Open this Damn door Taylor!!"
"No." Taylor said more quietly. She didn't want to add to Alex's anger by yelling at her.
The woman let a volley of colorful expletives fly from her mouth towards the door, and the girl behind it. Taylor covered her ears and sat down on the closed toilet as the tears rolled down her face. Suddenly there was a knock at the door of the room. Alex smirked and then knocked on the door of the bathroom very gently. "Taylor?"
"What?"
"Someone is at the door to the room."
"Who?"
"I really don’t know." The woman said in a deceptively sweet voice.
"Well open it."
"No, this isn’t my room. You have to open your own door...hmmmm...you better do it soon, they seem a little anxious." Alex said, now leaning against one side of the door jam of the bathroom door. Waiting for Taylor to come out.
"Will you please see who it is?" Taylor asked kindly.
Alex walked over to the door, looked out the peep hole, then casually walked back to the bathroom door and waited for the girl to say something else.
"Well are you going to see who it is Alex?"
"It’s Yasmeia."
"Yasmeia? Well let her in!"
"No."
"Please let her in?"
"No, I’m perfectly satisfied to keep this between you and me, who knows, there's no telling what I may have to do?"
Taylor swallowed hard at the indirect threat. "Why are you doing this Alex?!!" Taylor asked with frustration.
" Open the door and I will tell you why." Alex stated evenly.
"Taylor?!! Open the door!" Yasmeia called fearfully.
"Hmm....you know if you don’t open the door soon, Yasmeia is going to think you're hurt. She will worry and then she’ll have to go and get help as a result. In the interim I may just make such a thing happen Taylor Young If YOU DON'T OPEN THIS DAMN DOOR NOW!!!" The woman’s voice rose to a crescendo. She once again began banging on the door of the bathroom and this time her strength was showing. The door shook with every blow against it. She continued yelling at the girl to open the door and what would happen if she didn’t. Taylor was yelling back for Alex to stop and to calm down.
Meanwhile, Yasmeia had caught one of the housekeepers on the floor getting ready to use her master swiper to go into one of the recently vacated rooms.
"Excuse me, can you open this door for me? I think my friend has her t.v. up too loud and therefore she can’t hear me at the door."
"Oh, okay." The two women walked back over to the door and the housekeeper heard the loud voices and assumed that it was the t.v. "You're right, it is up loud." She swiped the key lock and the door clicked. Yasmeia thanked the woman. Then she waited for her to go back to the previous room, and then she turned and opened the door to Taylor’s room.
When the door opened, Yasmeia was stunned to see Alex banging on the door and cursing at Taylor to open it, and Taylor refusing. Yasmeia immediately closed the door of the room and walked nearer to the scene. "Ms. Madison??"
"Yasmeia." Alex said, irritated by the intrusion.
"What’s going on?"
"Ask Taylor, she’s locked herself in the bathroom and won’t come out."
"Well I can see why she wouldn’t! It’s a bit scary for me to see you banging on the door like you were a moment ago. I can only imagine that the child is scared to death to come out. I know I wouldn't come out."
"Well she had better come out, otherwise I’ll be going in." Alex said tightly.
"Well go over there and I’ll try to get her to come out."
"Fine." The woman said as she stormed over to the bed. She crossed her arms as she waited for Taylor.
"Taylor it’s me Yasmeia, please come out?"
"Yasmeia?! She wants to hurt me, and I didn’t even do anything! I’m not coming out."
"No Taylor, she doesn’t want to hurt you, she’s just upset, but she would never strike you...right Ms. Madison?"
Alex glared at Yasmeia, but seeing the request for an answer, she complied. "Right, whatever! Just get out here Taylor!" The woman shouted.
"See Taylor, please come out. I’m here now anyway, and she won’t hurt you with me around." Yasmeia hoped, but looking at Alex she wasn’t sure.
Alex stood casting a gaze at Yasmeia as if to say don’t bet on it. Taylor meanwhile thought about Yasmeia’s logic and after a moment she eased the door open. Alex went to move near, but Yasmeia’s hand went up to tell her to stay where she was. Alex glared and then sighed with frustration. She turned and walked back over towards the bed. Taylor eased out the door, all the while watching the angry woman pace and cast evil glances at her.
"Yasmeia!" Taylor cried, as she went into her friend's arms and sobbed bitterly.
"Taylor it’s all right, I’m sure things can be worked out. Most likely it’s just a misunderstanding."
"No! Alex has been cruel and mean and hurtful!" She said, lifting her head to look at Yasmeia and then looking back at Alex.
"What’s going on?" Yasmeia asked, not wanting to take anyone’s side.
"Tell her Taylor."
"Tell her what?!"
"Tell her about the 3 million dollars."
"Three million dollars? What about it?"
Alex waited to see if Taylor was going to tell her, but then realized she wasn’t. "Fine, I’ll tell her. It seems that Taylor was able to pay me 3 million dollars, paid via cashier’s check."
"You gave her 3 million dollars??"
"Yes, I owed it to her."
"So what’s the problem Alex?"
"Ask her where she got 3 million dollars cash to pay me? As if I didn't know?"
"See! There you go again, accusing me! I told you I could never do such a thing, and I don’t know why you would even think it!" Taylor cried, as she shouted back as much as her tightening throat would allow.
"Then tell me where you got it from!"
"NO!"
"Taylor TELL ME!!!"
"No! I won’t! It’s none of your business!! You're not the boss of me anymore! And I mean that literally" Taylor shouted.
"See! See why I’m pissed? She won’t even answer a simple ass question!"
Yasmeia understood both women’s point at the moment. Taylor not wanting to tell Alex because of Alex’s anger, and Alex taking Taylor's silence about the money as an evasive response. "Alex does it really make that much of a difference where she got the money?"
"Yes!" Alex said sharply.
"Okay...Taylor why don’t you just tell Alex where you got the money from, and then this can all be over?"
"NO! Not after what she accused me of!!"
"Accused you of?"
"Yes!"
"Alex? What is she talking about?"
Alex sneered at the questioning, and after a moment of glaring at Taylor, she turned her focus on Yasmeia, and raised a brow at the thought that came to her mind at that very moment. "Interesting."
"What?"
"Yasmeia, have you heard that there’s an investigation going on of a person inside of my company and someone outside of it, for insider trading? "She asked, as she cocked her head at the woman standing near her.
Yasmeia gave a confused look and then she answered. "Yes, but what has that got to do with any of this?"
"It’s sort of convenient to suddenly have 3 million dollars, wouldn't you think?"
Yasmeia’s brows knitted at first, but then Taylor spoke out again. "I didn’t do anything!!"
"Then tell me where you got it from!!" Alex shouted at the girl.
"No!" Taylor said, and Alex moved to get to her, but Taylor ran back into the bathroom and barely had time to lock it before Alex was on it.
"Taylor open this damn door!!"
"No! Not until you apologize."
Alex literally flinched at the statement. "Ha! You’ve got to be kidding? What have I got to apologize for? I'm not the one who suddenly ended up with 3 million dollars!"
Suddenly Yasmeia put it together and she couldn’t speak quickly enough. "ALEX?!! You can not honestly believe what I think you're thinking?!"
"Why can’t I?!"
"Alex...no, you are sooo...wrong, I....I’m shocked that you could even think that that child would EVER do anything like that to hurt you. It's a malicious and vindictive act, and I can not believe, no! I won't believe that you think that child, or myself could EVER be a part of Insider Trading? Alex that child could no more have anything to do with that then you yourself. I know you don’t believe Taylor to be such a wicked person, I know you don’t!"
Alex inhaled deeply, and looked at the closed bathroom door. She turned away from it and faced Yasmeia. "What am I supposed to think, when she won’t tell me otherwise? What am I supposed to do? Alex said, moving back towards the bed.
Suddenly Taylor came out of the door. "Think about who you're accusing. Trust in the knowledge that I would never do something like that!" Taylor blurted out, and then went back into the bathroom and locked it.
Alex initially started to move back towards the girl, but Taylor finished and ducked back inside the bathroom. When both Alex and Yasmeia figured Taylor was through, and that she was not going to come back out, Yasmeia started to answer Alex’s questions also. "I..."
Taylor then made another sudden appearance from the bathroom. "And another thing, I don’t appreciate having you question my integrity!" Taylor once again ducked back inside the bathroom.
Yasmeia and Alex both waited for Taylor to come out again and finish, but after a few minutes and not a sound from Taylor, they once again returned their attention to each other.
"Look Alex, you are so wrong, if you knew the truth, you would be ashamed and embarrassed by your behavior toward this child." Yasmeia said, with both respect and honesty.
"Yeah!! You would be VERY ashamed of yourself!" Taylor inserted once again with her random appearances.
"Taylor either you're going to come out of there or stay in! But do one or the other!" Alex demanded.
"I’ll do what I want to do, we’re not together anymore! Why don't you just go back and be with D’Angelo? I just gave you your money, and it's up to you to take it or leave it." Taylor said from within the bathroom.
Alex finally got fed up and she growled out her anger and frustration. "Fine Taylor! Keep your ASS in there!! But let me make something perfectly clear to you little girl. I don’t want you calling me, coming anywhere near me, or asking about me. I'll make sure to make you invisible the way you wanted to be. I refuse to deal with all of this drama and pain. Have a great life Taylor Young!!" She then turned and stormed for the door.
Yasmeia looked at the closed door, and then at the departing woman. She knew if she didn’t do something to stop Alex, then Taylor would beat herself up about hurting Alex yet again, and Alex would possibly hate Taylor.
"Alex Wait! Please?!" Yasmeia called to the woman.
"Yasmeia there’s nothing else to say. Taylor refuses to tell me where she got this money."
"Taylor, please come out. You know you don’t really want Alex to leave. Especially after all the courage it took you to come back here and talk to her. Please come out now, otherwise, you will regret this day for the rest of your life?"
Taylor opened the door after a few moments and stepped out into the main part of the room. She on one side and Alex on the other, still facing the door to leave.
"Taylor please tell her where you got the money?"
"Why should I? She thinks...I’m a thief, and a malicious vindictive person..." Taylor cried through her statement. Although Yasmeia had asked the question, her focus was squarely on Alex, her voice one of a plea, and of demand.
Alex heard the girl's pain and she felt it as well as her own. She turned and stared at Taylor for a moment. Then she slowly walked back over to where Taylor stood. Taylor obviously debating whether to run back into the bathroom or stand where she was. She decided to stand still, although she was trembling at the very thought of what Alex was going to do to her. Finally Alex was right upon her and Taylor kept her eyes looking straight ahead, fearing that if she looked up at the woman directly in front of her, she would just pass out from the fear.
"Taylor, I’m only going to ask you one last time and you can either answer me or not. I don’t want to hear anything else but the answer to my question. If you answer any way other than the way I expect and want, then I will turn around and walk out of here and forget you ever existed." Tears rolled down Alex's face with those words, but she didn’t seem to notice. Taylor had her own tears rolling to match. "If you do answer my question, and I find that I was wrong, I will offer my profound apology, and hope that over time you will forgive me for my mistrust and questioning of your integrity. Now please tell me where you got the money?"
Taylor and Alex both stood within inches of each other both just looking straight ahead. Alex was looking straight over Taylor's head, and Taylor looking at the woman’s long neck, but neither really seeing. Yasmeia stood away from the two just waiting and hoping that Taylor would answer Alex. Finally after Taylor thought about what it would mean, she took a deep breath and lowered her head for just a moment to allow herself a moment to clear her throat. Then she raised her head back up to look at the woman's neck. "My Grandmother left it to me in her will."
Alex didn’t move. She continued to stand where she was, still not convinced. "She just happened to leave you 3 million dollars? Maybe a little more? I mean I can’t imagine that you would give me 3 million dollars if that's all she left you?"
"No, it was a little more, and you're right, I wouldn’t give you all of it. But I would give you half of it, and then once I made the other half again, I would give you the rest."
Alex glanced down at the girl out of disbelief, but Taylor didn’t know it. "So how much more Taylor?"
"57 and some change."
Both Alex and Yasmeia’s brows knitted, then they both caught on at the same time. "57 MILLION?!!" They both said in unison.
Taylor heard the shock and the surprise in Alex’s and Yasmeia's voices and a small curl came to the corners of her mouth. She found the courage to finally look up into Alex's eyes, that were now staring at her. "Yes. Grammy left me everything except a few million that she gave to her other kids and their children."
"She had 60 plus million dollars Taylor?" Alex asked shocked.
"Yes. Her attorney told me that she had been investing in aggressive stocks since she was a little girl and that it was her parents who first invested for her. She just recently converted to less risky stocks. After she retired from her business, she was living off of the interest. Plus the money she was left by her parents when they passed on"
Alex now felt the shame that Yasmeia said she would. She lifted her head upwards and rolled her eyes at her own mistake. Then she took a deep breath and looked back down at Taylor. "I’m sorry, I didn’t want to believe you would do anything like that to me, but when you wouldn’t tell me, my mind and my blind anger ran away with me. I can never find the words to tell you how sorry I am for scaring you the way I did. If it helps to know, I would have never hit you, I might have shaken you a bit, but I would not have struck you. Taylor I hope you will accept my apology, and one day forgive me for my temper." Taylor looked into Alex’s eyes, and made her own deal.
"I’ll forgive you, if you will forgive me for the pain I've caused you?"
Alex smirked at the deal, but then with a smile, she said in a gentle voice. "You have a deal Taylor Young. We were both wrong, and made fools of ourselves."
"I agree, only you're scary about it." Taylor said, with a mild tease in her tone.
Alex chuckled slightly, and then brought her hand up to shake Taylor's hand. Taylor just stood looking at it, and then she thought of a better way. She looked up into Alex’s eyes and saw the inquisitive look. Taylor knew that her next move would be a bold one and completely unexpected by Alex, and she was taking a chance of being rejection, but she had to risk it. Taylor brought her hand to Alex’s cheek and with uncertainty but resolve, she pulled Alex down to her and kissed her fully. At first Alex stiffened, but then she slowly relaxed and before she knew it, she had her arms around Taylor's waist pulling her close. Taylor moaned as she felt both relief and excitement at the response her body was having to Alex's embrace.
Alex felt herself being pulled in, but she couldn’t allow herself to, not without finding clearing up some things first. So she suddenly broke the embrace. "No Taylor, I can’t go there with you."
"But?"
"Taylor I’m sorry, but I can’t go there with you without knowing."
"Knowing what? What Alex, I’ll tell you anything you ask!" Taylor cried, scared that Alex was going to turn away from her.
"I need to know if you can handle this relationship. You have to be honest with yourself, that’s the only way you can be honest with me. I can't and I won’t go through the rejection again."
"I still have my fears, but not like they used to be. I admit, I will most likely still be shy about certain things, but knowing that it’s you I'm sharing with, will alleviate those times of shyness.
"Trust me, I only want to love you. As far as your shyness I can deal with it, I actually find it quite adorable. It’s the pulling away that I can’t deal with.
"I trust you Alex, and I won’t ever pull away from you like this again. My biggest fear about our relationship is the thought of....losing you out of my life. I will endure anything if you're with me."
"Then Taylor Young, you’ll never be alone." Alex said with a smirk.
Taylor didn’t know whether to laugh, cry, or just jump up and down, so she did all of them. Taylor wrapped her arms around Alex’s neck and planted a kiss on the woman that caused her to stumble backwards onto the bed, bringing Taylor with her.
"I love you, I love you, I love you so much Alex, I won’t ever hurt you again I promise." Taylor exclaimed through the kisses.
"I love you Taylor Young." Alex managed to say between Taylor's kisses. Taylor actually was taken aback by the sincerity that she heard in it. Taylor stopped her show of affection at hearing the tone. She looked into Alex’s eyes, and all the emotions, stress, pain, and joy she had felt over the year, came out in her tears. She laid down on Alex gently and just cried as she hugged and bathe in Alex’s embracing arms. A deep sigh slid from Taylor’s throat, and Alex heard it and understood.
"Well...I think I will just leave the two of you alone. It seems there's a lot to be expressed, besides...I think I left my stove on." Yasmeia said, recognizing where things were heading, and knowing that the two had obviously forgotten about her.
"Yasmeia?"
"Yes?."
"Thank you." Alex said, with sincere appreciation in her voice.
"Thank you for not leaving."
Alex smiled and then said as she hugged the girl to her. "Thank you for believing in us."
"You're welcome." Yasmeia then turned and left the two alone.
Taylor continued to lay on Alex, only now they were more comfortably on the bed. Taylor continued to sob until she finally fell asleep. Alex had caressed Taylor's hair and back until Taylor had fallen asleep and then she too drifted off.