The men that were following Rick on his way back to the hotel were associates of the former Head Of Sales at the jewerly shop where Rick purchased the diamond earrings for Debbie. The woman's name was Lolita Lamars, and she was angry about being fired. She blamed Rick for this, and was out to teach him a lesson. Over the past few years she had worked with her associates to target rich customers that came into the shop. After they would leave, she would tip off the men and they would follow the victims and eventually rob them. This was their plan for Rick. Once they knew where he was staying, they were going to watch his movements and decide when the best time was to attack. They were in for a big surprise. Rick was no push over! In addition to also having body guards around him, Rick was more than capable to take care of himself. The men watching Rick also had men watching them. But they were too arragant to notice. The men saw Rick enter the hotel, so they waited outside to plan
Lois was very frustrated. She had been trying to get the Personel Director of the firm to go ahead and hire her brother Howard for a few days now. But the Diretor refused to budge. Lois had gone in to see the Director to talk about her idea, but the Director flatly refused to even discuss the matter. Debbie had instructed her before leaving on the tour not to hire anyone without discussing it with her first. She had mentioned her Uncle Howard, and told the Director that under no circumstances was she to even think of hiring him. So no matter what Lois said or did, she got nowhere on this issue. Lois thought that as the Chairman's mother, she should have been given more respect. But the Director informed Lois that she was only a supervisor, and that even the other department heads and directors could not persaude her to go against the Chairman's instructions. So Lois decided to switch tactics. She had Howard accompany her to work one day. Her thinking was that if he was already
Debbie was fed up with her mother's antics. This was the last straw! "Director, put the call on speaker, please. I want my mother to hear this." The Director did as requested. "Mom! How dare you go against my instructions! I have told you numerous times before that Uncle Howard would never be hired. What do you think you are doing? You do not have any say so in this matter. It is between Rick and me and with Uncle Howard. If you want to loose your current position with the firm, then you can leave now. If you want to keep it, then follow the company policy like everybody else in the firm! Do I make myself clear?" Lois was fuming at being embarrassed like this in front of the Personel Director as well as her brother. Her first thought was to continue to scold Debbie, but then she suddenly realised that if she did, she would no longer have a job or money to spend. It was unlikely that she could get another position with some other company with her background and lack of experience.
Old Wilson was very busy these days with Rick's businesses and was trying really hard to have things sorted out and settled before Rick and Debbie returned from Europe. The buildings that Old Wilson had won at auction had to be renovated as they were a bit run down. Since Rick owned his own contruction and developement company, Old Wilson contacted the Head Foreman to discuss plans. The man was Ken Long. He had years of experience in the building trade, and had dealt with everything from workers to designers. He had also dealt with stand over gangs and roughnecks alike. Old Wilson had complete faith in Ken Long, and had worked with him before when Byron Green had run the company. As Byron's right hand man, and now Rick's, the partnership with Ken Long continued seamlessly. Ken Long was based in Tang. Since the apartment building was also in Tang, he felt it was a good place to start with the renovation projects. He suggested to Old Wilson to hire a designer that they had worked wi
At that time, Old Wilson's friend showed up. He had brought several dozen men with him as backup. The man's name was John Roberts. He was the leader of the most feared gang in Tang. The Golden Arm Gang was respected by every other gang in the province. The mere mention of John's name struck fear into the hearts of most everyone. The sight of him could make grown men wet their pants on the spot! The leader of the Red Fang Gang was not expecting John Roberts himself to show up at this time. As soon as he caught sight of John, he fell to his knees and bowed his head. The other members of his gang were stunned at first, until they too saw John get out of his car. Then they were on their knees as well. John had not uttered a single word yet. Old Wilson was impressed! He greeted John "Thank you for coming at such short notice! It had been so long since we last met, I wasn't sure if you would remember me. Good to see you again John." John was grinning ear to ear. "It is good to
Dinner that night with John Roberts was a good chance for Old Wilson to catch up on the happenings of Tang. John was a wealth of knowledge about all the local gossip and the back alley business dealings of the most influenial families. There were no real surprises. Typical back stabbing and double dealing that had been common in Tang for years. Old Wilson relayed the demise of the Green family to John who had known most of what happened. But he had not known about Rick's part in it all. John had seen Rick as the Young Master of the Green family years ago. But had not heard from him since Rick had been sent away by his Grandmother. From what Old Wilson had just told him, Rick sounded more capable than any of the previous Greens. John was more than happy to help Old Wilson in establishing Rick's interests in Tang, but he wanted something in return. "Old Wilson, you have always been above board with your dealings with me. I am going to help you all I can. However, I need your h
Rome was proving to be a trial for Debbie. While Rick was out in meetings all day, Debbie was resting in the hotel suite. Since arriving in Rome , she had not felt at all well. Nothing could dull her excitement about being in Rome, but she just did not have the energy to go out on her own. Most of her time was spent sleeping and watching the veiws out on the balcony. They were staying in the heart of the city not too far from the Vatican. Looking out across the city was a relaxing past time. When Rick would come in at night, it was all that Debbie could do to accompany him to dinner. On the third day she decided to visit a doctor's office to see if something was wrong. Being her first time pregnant, she was unsure of what to expect. She wasn't even sure how far along that she was. In addition to that, she had already started showing a small baby bump. Debbie had not expected that for a while yet. The hotel was a big help in finding her an OB/GYN in the city. She made an appoin
Old Wilson spent the next few days setting up the cooperation standards with John Roberts and finalizing the contracts with Larry Watters. After individually meeting with both parties, he decided to bring them together. Over a lunch session, the three came to an understanding. Old Wilson announced "I give you a toast! Here's to our joint success in both Tang and back in Fing City." He drank down his cup of wine in one gulp. He was pleased how things were going with the two men. John returned with "And to you, Old Wilson! Thank you for allowing me the honor of serving both you and your Young Master!" Larry echoed the sentiment as well. "Here here! To a profitable cooperation." "Now John, I would like you to come visit Fing City when you have time. I want to introduce you to our Head of Security for the RBG Group. He is a retired general that I have known since my time many years ago in the army. I believe that the two of you will have a lot in common. Also, we might thi