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"My pleasure," he said, and I could tell David was truly pleased to be hosting the wedding. He was as excited as a kid at the Disney Store for the first time.
"The weather will be beautiful and so we can plan to hold an afternoon ceremony followed by a dinner on the patio. I'll volunteer to grill some seafood and steaks for us if you like."
"No, no, David," I said and shook my head. "We can cater the food so we can all just sit back and enjoy the night."
"If you want, but seriously, I don't mind. I love my grill."
"No. You should enjoy yourself. Seriously, brother. It's enough that you're hosting everything."
"Don't even mention it. It makes me happy."
It did make him happy. I imagined that after the death of Terry and his injuries, he was having a hard time and wanted family around him as much as possible.
Ella and I as well as Mr. and Mrs. Carlson would stay at the mansion, with a few other brothers. Anyone else would stay in a block of hotel rooms we reserved for out of town travelers.
Compared to both Ella's and my previous wedding plans, the whole business was very low key and that was the way we both wanted it. Not that we didn't trust that the wedding would come off, but we understood what really mattered wasn't how big and expensive the wedding was, but the emotions behind it.
Those were rock-solid.
* * *
On a Monday at the end of March, while Ella and I were visiting the penthouse renovation, watching as movers brought up our furniture so we could make sure they positioned it properly in the newly finished and polished interior, I got a text message from Trent Sullivan about the case.
TRENT: Can you meet me at my office tomorrow at ten thirty? I should have the final report in my hands and want to go over it with you.
I answered quickly, eager to get it all over with. Trent had assured me that if they were going to charge me or indict Keith, they would have by now, so hopefully, they'd found evidence that exculpated Keith and MBS of any wrongdoing.
JOSH: I'll be there. What is your expectation on what the report says?
TRENT: Based on the fact they didn't arrest Keith or call for you to turn yourself in, I'd say it's just a report on why they bothered with the warrant in the first place. Hopefully, the material and old servers and equipment you provided cleared things up.
JOSH: Let's hope. See you tomorrow.
I turned to Ella who was glancing out the window at the view. "I'm going to see Trent tomorrow with the final report from the DOJ on the case. He thinks it's been dropped, and this is just a review."
Ella came to me and slipped her arms around my neck. "Oh, thank God," she said and leaned up to kiss me. "It's nice to get some good news on that front."
We spent the rest of the morning ensuring that the furniture was all in its proper place and that meant that the penthouse was almost move-in ready. The only thing left was to unpack all the boxes of dishes and kitchenware, plus all of our personal possessions. They were being moved on Wednesday. We would officially take possession then and would gradually clean out the old apartment.
"It'll be nice to be in here," Ella said as we stood at the huge floor to ceiling window looking out over the western edge of Central Park. I stood behind her with my arms around her, my chin resting on her head.
"It's our own place," I said. "Picked out by us, furnished by us, designed by us. It's all ours. I hope we have many happy years here."
"Me, too," she said.
I kissed the back of her neck and watched the cars driving along the streets below.
* * *
I went to meet with Trent the next day, eager to hear what the report concluded about MBS and Keith's role in any illegal financial dealings. My gut was in a knot despite the faith I had in him that he had done no wrong. He could have hired someone who was unethical and not known it.
Whatever the case, I was hopeful that Trent was right, and it had been a set-up.
I arrived at the building where Trent worked and took the elevator to the boardroom where our meeting would be held. I said hello to the receptionist and after removing my coat and scarf, I went inside. There Trent was, seated at the head of the large conference table, a conference phone set up and a video screen pulled down across from him which showed an empty room. We were going to have a video conference with someone -- possibly the DOJ official in charge of the case.
"There you are," Trent said and stood up when I came over to his side. We shook hands and I took a seat beside him facing the screen. "We're just waiting for our counterparts at the DOJ to join us and go over the report."
"Good," I said and sat down, unbuttoning my suit jacket, trying to relax while we waited. Trent's admin person came into the office and bent down to me.
