Shake the Trees by Rod Helmers Read Free Book Online Page A

holding their drivers licenses up to the light at several different angles to establish that they weren’t fake.
    Marc had met Elizabeth Hayes here.  She was a waitress too.  He was general counsel then, but on the short list for the top spot.  She was his most challenging and time-consuming conquest by far.  But she was worth it.  And she was different.  Very different.
     
    James had kissed Elizabeth good-bye when she left his chambers early that afternoon to spend a few days in Tampa Bay.  He’d told her to enjoy herself.  That he had several charity events to attend, and didn’t want her to sit alone in the condo all weekend.  Even if the view was incredible.  Elizabeth suspected that any reluctance to see her go was tempered by relief.  He needed to recharge his batteries.
    The rusted tin roof of The Crab Shack was off the tip of the wing as the 737 banked on its final approach to Tampa International Airport.  Elizabeth could even see the throng of people on the huge wooden deck that jutted out into the bay.  She had come here almost three years before.  For a break and for the money.  Two full years as an actress in several of the huge Broadway quality stage productions on the Disney Cruise Lines had left her burned out.  The professional experience was coveted and she had met interesting people from all over the world, but ultimately the confines of shipboard life became claustrophobic and isolating.  A friend told her about The Crab Shack.
    During her very first day on the job, he’d left a twenty-dollar bill for a five-dollar beer.  The skintight pink polyester shorts she was required to wear left little to the imagination.  Elizabeth figured that after an hour of leering at her ass, he’d probably gotten the better end of the deal.  When the scenario continued to repeat itself, Elizabeth decided to ask around.  It turned out that all the girls knew about Marc Mason.
    Elizabeth had grown up in her father’s office - first on his knee, then under his desk, later on the big Oriental rug with her homework spread all about, and finally in the big leather chair in the corner.  She knew more about the actuarial underpinnings of the insurance industry than most of the executives in the corner offices.  She decided to find out if Marc Mason knew what he was doing.  It turned out that he didn’t.  She thought it all started then and there.  She thought it was her idea.
       
    The taxi ride from the airport was over too soon as far as Elizabeth was concerned.  As she joined a group moving toward the door, she felt her stomach rise up into her chest and could taste the acid that was burning her throat.  She knew that Marc Mason would end up on top of her that night, grunting like a pig, and it made her sick.
    Upon entering the familiar surroundings, she immediately spotted him across the bar leering at a waitress.  She paused to breathe deeply and then went to him.
    “Hey baby, how have you been?”
    Marc jumped and then composed himself and kissed her.  “I’m good, babe.  How was your flight?”
    “Too long,” Elizabeth almost purred.
    Marc waived a waitress over and ordered another beer and a lime tequila martini.  “So, has the old man started playing grab-ass with you yet?”
    “As much as I like it when you get jealous, baby, you know you’ve got nothing to worry about.  Especially when it comes to your father.”
    “Tell me if he tries anything.  I know he’s not gettin’ any at home.”
    “Marc!  You know better.  You’re father is a saint.”
    “Yeah, I know.  Believe me, I know.”
    Marc had talked about his father from almost the first moment she met him.  He seemed to both admire and hate the man.  Elizabeth had sensed opportunity when she found out that the old man’s clerk was retiring.  She’d sensed the opportunity to funnel more cash into American Senior Security.  Marc resisted at first, but eventually conceded that it was a good idea, and not