First look: Forces of Nature, coming May, 2013
Crystal Hughes was mad as hell
and the person behind this madness would feel her wrath, she decided as she
ripped the notice she’d received in the mail to shreds. “Welco!” she muttered.
Crossing the vast living room, Crystal grabbed her purse and keys from the
coffee table. Dashing out of her plantation styled house, Crystal nearly bowled
over two teenagers planting rose bushes near her steps.
“Miss
Crystal is everything OK?” asked Renda Johnson as Crystal placed her hands on
her shoulder.
“Yes,
I’m just in a hurry. What are you and MJ doing?” Crystal smiled at Monique and
Renda, two sisters who lived in the Starlight Group Home that sat less than two
miles from Crystal’s house. No one else in Reeseville, North Carolina wanted a
home for wayward girls anywhere near them. But Crystal, who owned more than 100
acres of land in West Duval County, subscribed to the notion that one good turn
deserved another. “To whom much is given, much is required,” Grandmother Hughes
would always say. Crystal told the board of county commissioners that Starlight
could have as much space as they needed. She treated the girls in Starlight
just like the sisters she never had and in return, they treated her to
surprises like planting rose bushes in her yard, raking her lawn and working in
her community garden without any complaints.
Placing
her hands on her hips and smacking a wad of gum, Monique stood up and looked
Crystal in the eyes. “Well, it was supposed to be a surprise. But we found
those orange rose bushes you were talking about. Why are you up so early?”
Nervously,
Crystal twisted the green jade ring on her index finger. There was no way she
could tell these girls about Welco’s plans, plans that would level everything
on her property. In their short lives, they’d seen so much disappointment and
despair and Crystal wasn’t going to let evil Welco Industries add to it. She’d
grown tired of watching this company buy up Reeseville as if they were playing
Monopoly.
“Just
some business in town, sweeties,” replied Crystal. “Thank you so much for my
surprise, though.”
Mrs.
Brooke Fey, the director and on-sight operator of the house, walked over to
Crystal and the girls. “Ms. Hughes, I hope MJ and Renda aren’t bothering you
this morning,” she said, surveying the scene in front of her.
“Oh,
no. These girls have given me something that I’ve wanted for a long time. Now,
I really have to go.” Crystal ran to her car, nearly tripping over her
Birkenstock clogs and ankle-length rainbow skirt. She started the car and
peeled out of the driveway, leaving two black marks on the pavement. This isn’t
going to happen. Welco isn’t going to buy me!
It
wasn’t nine a.m. yet and Douglas Wellington III, president and CEO of Welco
Industries, was popping aspirin. His head throbbed like heartbeat, because the
board was on his back, his assistant couldn’t find the documents he needed for
his ten-thirty presentation -- and did she just say a woman was threatening to
chain herself to the front door if he didn’t meet with her immediately?
“Amy!
Amy! I don’t have time to meet with some kook. Call security or something. But
what you need to do more than anything else is find my proposal!” he barked
into the phone. From his desk, Douglas scrutinized Amy’s small frame as she slumped
over her desk. He knew he was too hard on her, but today wasn’t a day for
anyone to expect kindness from him. Twirling a silver ink pen between his
fingers, Douglas picked up the phone and dialed Waylon Terrell’s number. Waylon
was his father’s best friend and Douglas’s godfather. In business, the only
person Douglas trusted other than himself was Waylon. Waylon had mentored him
and guided him though some of his toughest business decisions.
“Hello,
godson,” the older man said when he answered.
“Waylon,
the board is driving me crazy,” Douglas admitted. “I know they want me gone and
I’m beginning to think Amy is working against me, too.”
“Calm
down, son. These guys want you out of Welco, but your father groomed you your
whole life for this. Don’t let these old bastards push you around. Take a deep
breath and show them who Doug Trey is.”
Hearing
his nickname brought a smile to Douglas’s face. “All right, Doc,” he replied.
“Did you take a look at my business park plans?”
“Uh,
I haven’t really looked over them. I’m retired, remember. I’ll get back to you
in a few days, but isn’t this decision already made?”
Sighing,
Douglas wished he’d gone to Waylon before presenting this business park idea to
the board. What if he was going about building this place the wrong way?
I
can’t second guess myself, that’s what they expect.
“You’re
still here?” Waylon asked, breaking into Douglas’s thoughts.
“Yeah,
yeah. I’m going to go. We’ll have to have dinner sometime this week,” said
Douglas. He hung up when he noticed Amy standing at his door. “What?”
“Sir,”
she said nervously. “That woman won’t leave. She’s handcuffed herself to my
desk, sir. With her free hand, she keeps knocking papers off my desk.”
Muttering
a string of curses and profanities that would make a sailor blush, Douglas
snatched his phone off the hook and dialed security. “There is a woman that
needs to be removed from the building. You’ll notice that she’s wearing
handcuffs,” Douglas growled at the guard. Slamming the phone down, he walked
over to the window and peered at the woman cuffed to Amy’s desk as she dug in a
huge brown sack. Thinking she may have a gun, Douglas pulled Amy into his
office and slammed the door. They ducked behind his desk, waiting for the woman
to make her next move.
The
artificial beauty of the Welco lobby grated on Crystal’s nerves; from the
potted silk plants to the shiny marble floors and the huge windows allowing
bright sunlight to saturate the building. But there’s no life force here, she
thought as she looked around. Crystal spotted a menacing security officer
walking toward her, his massive hand at his side, gripping his flashlight.
Dropping her bag to the floor, Crystal sat down on the floor crossing her legs
Indian style. This wasn’t her first time standing up—rather sitting down--to
corporate security. She and some of the girls from the Starlight House
protested the local mall because security officers had harassed a number of
young people for no reason. The Reeseville Mall ended up donating $100,000 to
the Starlight House to stop the weekly protests and the security guards were
trained how to deal with diverse youth. Crystal’s reputation as a community
activist was born the day the settlement was announced.
The
Welco security officer, who reminded her of an ogre from Greek mythology,
snarled at her before saying, “Ma’am, unlock these handcuffs and leave.”
Rolling
her eyes, Crystal stood up to the towering guard. “If you want me to leave, get
Wellington out here, otherwise, I’m camping out. What’s right is right. I don’t
want to make a scene, but I will and the whole town will see it.”
Crystal threw her hand up
illustrating how close they are to the big bay window. Slowly, she returned to
her seat on the floor.
The
security officer ripped his radio from his hip holster as Crystal pulled a
bottle of water from her bag. “All right,” the officer said. “Promise me that
you don’t have a gun in that sack and I’ll see about getting Wellington out
here.”
Crystal
looked at him quizzically. “Why the change of heart?”
Placing
his hand on her shoulder, he smiled. “He ain’t my favorite person, either. Hold
tight.” The officer waddled down the hall and disappeared behind two glass
doors.
Crystal
drank her water slowly, waiting for something to happen. When is old Wellington
going to appear? She’d already built an image of this monster in her
mind—pencil thin, receding gray hair, a potbelly and crooked teeth. Only a
monster like that would want to displace people for the almighty dollar. Only a
monster like that would view people as a commodity to be bought and sold. Not
Crystal, she wasn’t for sale.
Moments
later, a tall man, moving with the grace of a panther and the body of a Greek
god, crossed the lobby and planted himself in front of her. Crystal stared up
at him, momentarily speechless as he stared at her with slate grey eyes. His
full lips seemingly beckoned her to kiss them and those hands-big and wide with
long fingers. She wanted them on her body, caressing her breasts, thighs and
everything in between. Rapidly, she blinked and swallowed hard.
His
face told a story of annoyance, with the scowl darkening his handsome features
and his wide nostrils flaring with anger. “Are you going to just stare at me or
do you have something to say?” His voice reminded her of a sensual sax,
hypnotic and melodic. Her body was electrified at the thought of him whispering
sweet words of passion in her ear.
“I’m
not talking to anyone but Douglas Wellington.” Crystal’s voice wavered, but not
from fear, carnal desire described what she’s feeling as she stared into his
eyes.
“I
am Douglas Wellington, the third,” he announced proudly.
Now
on her feet, Crystal was dumbfounded. There was no way a man this beautiful
could be as cold and callous as the man she’d dreamed up in her head. Where were
his fangs, protruding belly and horns? The scent of burning sulfur and
brimstone?
“What? You’re Douglas Wellington?”
He
folded his arms across his chest and shot her a look of irritation. “This is
fascinating and all, listening to you repeat my name. But what the hell do you
want, lady?”
Narrowing
her dark eyes into slits, Crystal exclaimed, “My land is not for sale, you
pompous ass. If you think for one second that I will allow you to come on to my
property and just take over because you want to, you can forget it.”
Douglas
laughed and turned to walk away. “I’m calling the police.”
“And
I’m calling the press, jerk! Do you realize what you’re planning to destroy all
in the name of corporate greed? People need this land and I will fight you
tooth and nail to make sure it stays in my possession.”
Douglas
waved her off as if she was a gnat buzzing around his ear. “If you don’t
unshackle yourself by the time I get in my office and get out of this building,
I will press charges when the police arrive.”
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