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Stone took his hand and shook it warmly. “Thank you, Jack. That means that Centurion is going to be the studio you’ve always known, both for your next picture and the one after that, and for a long time to come.”
Schmeltzer smiled. “Let’s go get some dinner.”
They walked back into the living room where a line was forming for a huge buffet at one end. Stone found Charlene. “Hungry?” he asked.
“Always. How did you and Jack get along?”
“Famously,” Stone replied.
“Is he on board?”
“I believe he is.” Stone looked at her. “Did you have anything to do with his change of heart?”
“Well,” she said, “this afternoon I fucked his brains out.”
Stone burst out laughing.
Dino and Hetty joined them in the buffet line. “What’s so funny?” he asked.
“Tell you later,” Stone replied.
“You look awfully relaxed,” Dino said.
“I think I’m more relaxed than at any time since we arrived in this town,” Stone replied.
Dino looked at Hetty. “I’m planning to get more relaxed myself.”
The four of them sat at Charlene’s breakfast table the following morning.
“Feeling relaxed, Dino?” Stone asked.
“You bet your ass,” Dino replied, and the women laughed.
Stone’s cell phone buzzed, and he stepped out of the room to take the call. “Hello?”
“Stone, it’s Harvey Stein; Jim Long is conscious, and his doctor says he’s going to make a complete recovery.”
“That’s s good news, Harvey. Thanks for letting me know.”
“I’m going to wait a day or two before asking him to sign the documents and transfer the shares. I want to be sure that he’s right on top of things before such a big move.”
“That’s fine with me, Harvey; we’re not so much under the gun now.”
“Why is that?”
“We’ve rounded up another fifteen thousand shares to vote with us.”
“Do you still want to buy Jim’s shares?”
“Yes, we do.”
“Well, that’s a relief; he certainly needs the money.”
“Has anything developed on the case against him?”
“I’m going to use his condition to try and get him bail, so he can recuperate at home. And once the prosecutor hears he’s in the money again and can fight back, I think I can get the case dropped. They’re really after Barbara Eagle.”
“I understand, and I wish you luck. Let me know when Jim has completed the sale, and I’ll get the funds wired.”
