THE TAINTED TRUST (Volume 2 of The King Trilogy)

CHAPTER 5

        Mike's return to his office in North Toronto was a defining moment in his unique career. At last he was free to resume his duties as the president and owner of an extremely successful company. His staff stood and gave him a long, standing and loud ovation when he hobbled into the reception area on crutches. After spending more than an hour drinking champagne and telling them the details of his life-threatening excursion to Caracas, he proceeded to his office and immediately placed a call to Paul Conrad, the president of Golden National Oil Inc. Conrad liked Mike from the day they met. He saw a lot of himself in Mike. He had taken a chance on Mike years earlier by giving him a sweetheart gasoline contract. The generous credit terms gave him the financial horsepoer to launch his business. The price escalation clause had later rewarded him beyond his wildest immagination. He waited patiently for Conrad's secretary to connect them.

"Congratulations, Mike," Conrad said. "I'm delighted to have you back in the saddle."

"How did you know?"

"Dan Turner called me this morning and told me the whole story. He's maintained close contact with me ever since you left the country...So what are you going to do for excitement now?"

Mike chuckled. "Watch the grass grow. I've had all the excitement I need for a long time."

"You might have that opportunity. You might even enjoy the luxury of boredom now that the business has settled down to a dull roar."

"In that connection, I want to thank you and Golden National for supplying my company in my absence. I appreciate that more than you could possibly know."

"It was nothing. We had the extra gasoline available. More importantly, we need people like you in the business."

"Thanks to you I'm still in it, and thanks to a fortunate break, I'm about to get married."

"Congratulations. Who's the lucky girl?"

"Her name is Karen. You don't know her but her former husband stole a hell of a lot of your company's gasoline."

"Well I'll be damned! Where did you meet her?"

"Long story. Karen and I go back a lot further than her husband and the gasoline business. For one reason and another it took us a lot longer to get together than it should have."

"Put me on the list. I wouldn't miss it. Will it be in Toronto?"

"I'm not sure, but we'll send you an invitation as soon as we pick a time and a place."

"I'll be there, wherever and whenever...By the way, did you ever find out what Servito did with all his money?"

Mike privately scolded himself for being unprepared for Conrad's question. Again he had cause to question his motives for keeping the fruit of Servito's crimes. Until now, his worst transgressions had been nothing more than white lies. Now he was a co-conspirator in a three hundred million dollar scam. The excitement of it intoxicated him. His compulsion to continue it worried him. He adjusted with a measured and oblique statement. "Sure we did. We also discovered the streets of Caracas are paved with gold."

"Please let me know if you hear anything. A chunk of that money belongs to Golden National."

"I will and I'll talk to you again soon," Mike said, then hung up. He lowered his head and pushed his fingers through his wavy blond hair. "I can't believe I'm doing this," he said aloud.