Alpha 1 (4 page)

“She’s still got it,” Jimmy said.

“That she does,” Holden said. He pulled up outside the diner. There was a black limo and a dump truck, steam coming out of the front of the dump truck. “Looks like there’s been an accident.”

Jimmy nodded.

“Probably shouldn’t park here,” Holden said. He pulled up behind the dump truck to see if they needed any help. The uniformed limo driver seemed stressed. He probably had some rich passenger who was giving him a hard time for screwing up his morning. The dump truck driver was a city worker and seemed a bit more relaxed.

“You fellas okay?” Holden said.

“We’re fine,” the limo driver said.

“I can pull you out of the traffic lane here,” Holden said.

“Might be a good idea,” the dump truck driver said.

“Come on, Jimmy. Let’s winch this limo.”

They brought the truck around to the front of the accident. By now a city police car was on the scene. “You guys moving that out of the traffic?” the police officer said.

“Just to the curb,” Jimmy said.

The officer nodded. He was directing traffic around the accident until another squad car could come and take details of the accident. Jimmy and Holden attached a cable to the front of the limo and pulled it out of the traffic lane. The dump truck was still blocking the traffic. It was a large vehicle. It must have weighed over twenty tons.

“What do you think?” Holden said.

“You want to try and pull that?” Jimmy said, surprised.

“Think she’ll do it?”

Jimmy shrugged. “One way to find out.” He went to the police officer and said they were going to pull the truck out of the lane too. The officer was skeptical but told them they were welcome to try.

They attached the cable to the front of the dump truck and got into the cab. “You ready for this?” Holden said. He turned on the engine and began revving it. The engine sounded good and he put it into gear.

“Go gentle,” Jimmy said.

Holden began pulling against the cable slowly until it was taut. “Okay,” he said. “Now it’s time to see how much power this old girl’s got in her.” The J10 rolled gently and then stopped when the cable was tight. Jimmy could feel the force of the pull, the sheer weight of the dump truck, tons and tons of steel. Holden slowly put his foot down, increasing the power to the engine. It wasn’t exactly wise to be testing the truck like this so soon after getting it back on the road but Holden was always one to shoot first and ask questions later.

Very gradually, as the engine revved louder and louder the dump truck began to give way and roll forward.

“I don’t believe it,” Jimmy said.

Holden was grinning. “Would you look at that,” he said. “Twenty tons of torque right there, out of a thirty year old machine.”

“She’s a beauty,” Jimmy said as they pulled the dump truck out of the traffic lane.

When they were done Holden slipped the J10 into park and cut the engine.

“Nice work,” the police officer said. The traffic on the street could continue unobstructed again. Holden shook his hand and nodded to the two drivers from the accident.

“Ready for some lunch?” Jimmy said.

Holden was hungry. He was ready for his bacon and eggs. Also, surprisingly to himself, he was eager to see Lucy. He’d thought after his wife died that he’d never feel that way about another woman again, his heart had been broken and he didn’t feel like it was something that was likely to ever heal. But now, seeing Lucy every day, the way she carried herself, the way she served her customers, the way she spoke to him and Jimmy, something about her had gotten his attention in a way he hadn’t thought would ever happen to him.

He looked in through the window as they approached the diner door and what he saw stopped him in his tracks. Lucy was standing with a man in an expensive suit. The man handed her something and then kissed her briefly. Holden was surprised at the reaction he had. He hadn’t even realized he cared about Lucy in that way. Now he saw that he cared about her a great deal. Something about seeing that guy kiss Lucy, the way he did it, it got to him. The guy was so arrogant. Holden knew the type only too well. It irked him.

The guy kissed Lucy and then left. Holden had stopped outside the door. Jimmy was behind him. The guy came out through the door and walked past Holden and Jimmy without looking at them.

Holden watched him get into the new limo that was waiting by the accident. The man got into the limo and it pulled away and disappeared into the traffic.

Holden turned and walked back toward the pickup.

“Where are you going?” Jimmy said. “What about lunch?”

“I’m not hungry, Jimmy.”

VIII

“W
HAT WAS THAT?”
Jimmy said as they climbed back into the pickup truck.

“Nothing.”

“What do you mean, nothing? That guy came out of the diner and you just changed your mind?”

“I saw something.”

“What do you mean, you saw something?”

“I saw him kiss Lucy.”

“Oh,” Jimmy said. He understood instantly. Holden had never said he liked Lucy, in fact, whenever Jimmy brought it up Holden had shot him down, but Jimmy knew. He knew by the way Holden looked at Lucy, the way he spoke to her, the way he acted when she was around, that there was something between them. And he understood why he was upset to see her with another man. It was a blow.

Jimmy slapped Holden on the back. He’d taken the death of his wife very hard. Anyone would, but for Holden it had been two years and he still couldn’t seem to shake the sadness of it. She’d been dead almost as long as she and Holden had been married, but Holden showed very few signs of being ready to move forward with his life.

They were sitting in the J10 outside the diner. Lucy hadn’t seen them outside. Holden sighed.

His phone started ringing. He pulled it out of his pocked. “Damn it,” he said. “I’ve got to get this. Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Jimmy said.

Holden answered his phone.

“Mr. West. Am I disturbing you?”

“Not at all, Megan.” Megan was Holden’s executive assistant.

“The head of your legal team is on his way in. He called ahead and asked me to let you know.”

“Alright,” Holden said. “I’ll be right there.” He hung up and turned to Jimmy. “Would you mind coming into the office with me?”

“Hey, of course not.”

“It shouldn’t take long.”

“I don’t mind at all,” Jimmy said. “Maybe we can get some lunch there.”

“Thanks,” Holden said. He pulled out his phone again and called back his office. “Megan, it’s me. Would you mind sending someone out to pick up two takeout orders.”

“Sure, Mr. West.”

“It’s Angel’s Diner. Bacon, eggs easy over, toast, home fries, beans, black coffee, times two.”

“We’ve got great coffee here at the office,” Megan said.

“I like the diner coffee,” Holden said.

“I’ll have someone go right over and pick it up,” Megan said.

“Thank you,” Holden said.

They drove the J10 down Pearl and onto Wall Street. It was always a shock to Jimmy that Holden had his own building in this part of the city. Amidst all the modern glass and steel office buildings was a hundred year old edifice that looked more like a bank or an old European church than an office. Holden pulled the J10 up in front of the entrance and got out. The building was incredibly grand, it almost put the more modern buildings around it to shame. It was a fine piece of classical architecture, solid and elegant and incredibly expensive looking. A concierge wearing a uniform that looked more like a hotel uniform than anything else came down to the old pickup truck and held the door as Holden got out. Jimmy hopped out the other side and came around.

“Nice truck, fellas,” the concierge said.

Holden tossed him the key. “What’s your name?” he said to the man.

“Harry, but everyone calls me Hal.”

“Would you do me a big favor, Hal?”

“Of course, Mr. West.”

“Take that truck back to Jimmy’s Auto Service down under the bridge.”

“Sure thing, Mr. West.”

Jimmy was impressed. He was always amazed when he came to the office with Holden and saw firsthand just what a big shot Holden really was. No one ever would have guessed it. Holden went to great lengths to hide the fact that he was one of Wall Street’s most successful investors. He spent more time down at Jimmy’s mechanic shop wearing overalls and getting his hands dirty than he did at his own office building. Sometimes Jimmy himself even forgot that Holden had this entire other part of his life going on. Ever since his wife had died, Holden had stopped spending his time at the office. He’d started spending all of his time with Jimmy at the shop. He still ran the entire corporation, mostly at night, sending emails and checking stock market movements on his computer at his apartment, but every once in a while he had to show his face at the office. Jimmy would get used to seeing Holden in the garage, and it was surprising when something would happen to remind him that Holden was also part of a completely different world, a world that went far beyond most people’s wildest fantasies.

He followed Holden up the heavy, granite steps that led to the grand entrance of the building. On a shiny brass plaque by the door was inscribed in Roman letters, West Financial Group.

Inside the building the air was cool and still. The lobby always reminded Jimmy of Grand Central Station, the way the high stone columns and heavy lead-glass windows gave a feeling of loftiness and integrity.

“Good morning Mr. West,” a young woman behind the reception desk said.

Holden nodded and proceeded through the lobby to a brass plated elevator. Jimmy smiled at the receptionist and hurried after Holden. It felt strange to be striding through the lobby of such a prestigious financial building in dirty mechanic’s overalls but every time he came here with Holden it had been like this. Once inside the elevator Holden had to put a security card into the elevator control to gain access to the secure levels of the building. He pressed the button for the top floor.

Jimmy shook his head as he watched Holden.

“What?” Holden said.

“What do you mean, what? Look at you.”

Holden winked. “It’s not a big deal,” he said.

“It’s a huge deal,” Jimmy said.

“Really,” Holden said. “It’s just the way the world works, and the world works ass backwards as far as I can tell.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, the work we did these last two days on the J10, that was just as difficult, just as skilled and just as important as anything we’re going to do in here right now.”

“I don’t know,” Jimmy said.

“It’s true,” Holden said, “trust me. And to be honest, I’ll get a hundred times more satisfaction from fixing that transmission than I will from closing a deal.”

“Yeah, but it’s not the same thing.”

“I know,” Holden said. “I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about it. I’ve seen how much money can be made signing a few pieces of paper in here compared to working my butt off at the shop with you.”

“Don’t remind me,” Jimmy said.

“You’re not envious of any of this,” Holden said. “I know you’re not. I’ve seen the look in your eyes when you get a car running.”

“Sometimes,” Jimmy said, “but sometimes I come in here with you and it’s like a different universe.”

“Hey,” Holden said. “If you ever want to put on a suit and spend a couple of hours in here making money, you let me know. I’ll show you the ropes anytime, brother.”

“I might take you up on that offer,” Jimmy said.

“It’s no different than what you do for me, letting me hang out at your shop and fix engines.”

“Well, maybe we’ll give that a shot sometime,” Jimmy said.

IX

T
HE ELEVATOR DINGED AS THEY
reached the top floor. Jimmy followed Holden out and he was even more amazed on this level than he had been back in the lobby. The lobby was built of solid, century old stonework but up here it was pure, twenty-first century glass and steel. This section of the building had been built above the original stone structure and was like a glass cube that floated above it. It was amazing.

Holden walked up to a long desk and spoke to his executive assistant, Megan, who was sitting behind it.

“Good morning, Megan.”

“Mr. West.”

“You remember Jimmy?”

“Jimmy,” Megan said.

Jimmy nodded at her. He never knew how to act in this place.

“There’s a suit in your office,” Megan said.

“Carter won’t mind,” Holden said, looking down at his overalls. “He knows me well enough by now, doesn’t he?”

Megan shrugged. “As you say,” she said. She handed Holden a printed meeting agenda.

“So, you let me and Jimmy know as soon as our lunch arrives, won’t you?” Holden said to her as he took the printout.

“Certainly, Mr. West,” Megan said.

Holden turned to Jimmy. “Come on, buddy,” he said. “If you want to know how business is done, you might as well sit in on this meeting.”

Jimmy followed Holden into a glass-walled board room. The view over the financial district was stunning. They could see right over the Stock Exchange and the surrounding buildings and down toward the site of the new World Trade Center, Battery Park and the Statue of Liberty.

Holden’s legal team was waiting at the board table, bundles of documents spread out in front of them.

“Mr. West,” they all said as Jimmy and Holden entered.

“Gentlemen,” Holden said. “This is my associate, Jimmy Fox. He’ll be sitting in on the meeting, observing.”

The lawyers, seven of them, all nodded at Jimmy as if he was the most important person they’d seen all day. Jimmy felt slightly silly in his grease covered overalls but Holden was dressed the same way so it mustn’t have mattered much.

Carter was the head of the legal team and the other six lawyers looked like they could be his brothers. They were all clean-cut, older gentlemen in their sixties. They had tanned, intelligent faces, double-breasted suits, and rimless glasses. They looked like they were used to arranging deals that were worth a lot of money.

“So what have you got for me, Carter?” Holden said.