The Billionaire and His Driver

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

On Ronny’s private Dassault Falcon jet, he and Brina, along with Sully, Tex, and Reynolds McNabb, settled down for the four-and-a-half-hour flight to Detroit. Ronny had gone to bed, but Brina was playing cards with the guys: She and Sully were partners, and Reynolds and Tex were partners. She and Sully lost every game, but she still enjoyed herself.

A half-hour outside of their Detroit and Ronny finally woke up and came back up front. He stretched and sat beside Brina at the small conference table. They were just starting another game. “Who’s winning?” he asked as he yawned.

“The hunks always win,” said Reynolds laughingly. “Who else?”

Brina, Sully and Tex laughed too, but Ronny didn’t know if he wanted his woman hanging out with “hunks.” But he constantly had to remind himself that she wasn’t like all those women he knew before. Good looking men might be interested in Brina, but Brina’s moral core wasn’t going to let her return the attraction. “Sully’s the reason you’re losing,” he said to her.

They all laughed at that, too, as Reynolds received a phone call. “Okay thanks,” he said and ended the call. “A report is coming up on CNN about an SUV in Eugene found in the river.”

Ronny quickly pressed the button on the side that pulled down a television. He then grabbed the remote and tuned into CNN. They were on commercial, but then they came back from break.

“The occupants of the black Suburban that authorities dragged out of the river in Eugene, Oregon have been identified,” the anchorman said.

Photos of Oscar Grisham and his daughter Fallon were suddenly splattered on the TV screen. “According to authorities,” the anchorman continued, “former Oregon Governor Oscar Grisham and his daughter Fallon Grisham, along with their driver and bodyguard, were the occupants of the Suburban. The preliminary reports are that there was a blown out tire that caused the SUV to lose control. None of the victims survived.”

Everybody was stunned. Ronny sat back when he heard the report. “It was Grisham ? That bastard tried to kill me?”

“You wrestled control of his company from him,” said Reynolds. “That move left him in ruins.”

“Just like he left our old man in ruins,” Sully shot back. “Cry me a river over that asshole!”

But Brina could see Ronny was affected by the turn of events. “You’re okay?” she asked him.

He exhaled.“Damn.”

“Is it because his daughter was killed too?”

Ronny frowned. “Hell no. She was as bad as he was. But still,” he said. “To pull something that crazy. What did he think was going to happen? He knew he cheated our father out of millions. Just because it happened decades ago doesn’t mean shit to me. I wasn’t going to let him get away with what he did to my old man.”

“And here we were thinking it was related to the Drez Wilburn situation,” said Reynolds. “It had nothing to do with that.”

“That’s the part that’s getting to me,” said Ronny. “First Jockey wanted revenge. Now Grisham. And we still haven’t solved Sabrina’s problem.” He nodded his head. “It’s a lot.”

They all knew it too.

“We’ve got to get this resolved,” Ronny said, “and I mean tonight. We don’t have time for this shit. We’ve got a wedding to plan.”

Sully was shuffling cards, but stopped mid-shuffle. He looked at his brother. “A wedding ?” Then he looked at Brina. “Since when?”

Brina was as shocked as everybody else. She looked at Ronny.

Then Sully couldn’t believe it. “Wait a minute,” he said to Brina. “He hasn’t even mentioned it to you yet, has he?”

“Not a word,” said Brina, still in shock.

Ronny smiled. “Oh right,” he said. “I meant to mention it.”

Brina grinned and pushed him aside, and they all laughed. But Brina still found it odd for him to make a public announcement without bothering to ask her first, as if her thoughts on their marriage didn’t matter. That concerned her.

Sully was smiling too, but he was concerned as well. His brother still behaved as if he could say jump and every woman in America would ask how high , without realizing Brina was not that kind of girl. But it all seemed so premature. They hadn’t even established if she was involved in all of this yet, and he was still planning to marry her? He’d never seen this side of his brother. Not ever.

It was refreshing, but more so alarming.