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DITW 14-5: Departing Cranes
🕑 Added 2024-04-09 22:00:05 +0000 UTCThe show tonight at the Royal Ontario Museum started at seven, and it was quarter to five now. It would be a rush, but they could get to Future Bistro for dinner in time to make the Opera Atelier at the ROM’s Eaton Theatre for a special kids’ show. Sophie would love it. Dinner at the fun bistro—a place of fond memories for her Aunt Kimmy and Uncle Josh—and then professional Romantic ballet; mazurkas and tarantellas.
Her phone dinged with an incoming text, and she pushed herself back from her desk.
Hyun: We’re here now. Do you want us to come up?
Kimmy: I’m coming down
Hyun and Sophie had taken the GO Bus this afternoon, heading out of Ajax as soon as Sophie got out of school. They’d made good time.
Tami stopped her in the lobby, hanging up the phone and calling her name. Kimmy turned, and Tami said, “Mr. Stone wants to see you.”
“I’m on my way out. I have people waiting. I’ll call him later.”
“It’s Mr. Stone senior,” Tami said. “He’s here.”
Kimmy showed no expression, but her heart thudded double time and her back went to ice. A tingle began at her fingertips and crawled up her arms. “He’s here?”
“Yes, he’s waiting for you downstairs. He told me to send you down.”
“He’s not coming up?”
Tami looked helpless. “He just said for me to send you down. I think he’s in his car.”
While her pulse thundered in her ears, she considered what it might mean—then she smiled for Tami’s sake, headed to the washroom, lightheaded now. Once she was closed in the washroom, she ran cold water, wetted a paper towel and held it to her forehead. She regarded her pained eyes in the mirror, saying to herself, “This could be it.” This could be where it all came crashing down. “Friday, just before five.” The time when all good leaders dropped their hammers, a time where an unfortunate underling couldn’t make a scene and would go home to vent their frustrations to their families.
She dried her hands and face, tidied her clothes, then left the washroom and walked to the elevator.
*
A cold October afternoon, but sunny, and out in the daylight two things met Kimmy. On the left, standing on the interlock walkway out front of the P&G building, were Hyun and Sophie, oblivious to the second thing waiting to greet Kimmy. Hyun smiled with innocent joy and held Sophie at the shoulders, Sophie standing in front of her mother wearing comfortable dress-up clothes. They were going to have a fun night tonight.
But the second thing that greeted her was a long black car on the right, faceless, nameless, gleaming. The windows were tinted black, concealing its intent. It was Stone senior’s liveried saloon, a driver up front behind the black glass, a buttercream leather salon in the back. She’d seen it before at a meeting in Kingston. She’d never sat in it. As the rear door opened and an unknown man in a suit stepped out, Kimmy greeted Hyun and Sophie, conjuring every ounce of inscrutable calm while the seas roiled inside.
“Look at you, Sophie,” she said, eyeing the high shine on Sophie’s patent leather lace-ups. “I love your shoes.”
Sophie smiled ear to ear, wowed seeing her Aunt Kimmy all dressed up for work, in the city, going out for a fun evening just for her to see a real ballet.
She cupped Sophie’s cheeks and kissed her hairline, rising again to meet Hyun’s gaze. Hyun was filled with warm ardor, both of them restraining the desire to kiss. Not in front of Sophie. She mouthed, “You look good, too.”
Hyun went bashful, her tawny cheek looking exquisite against the camel taupe of the long wool coat Kimmy had bought her for the season.
“Hey,” Kimmy said, smiling, “I have to take care of one more thing before we get going,” nodding her head to the side where a man stood waiting for her beside Devlin’s father’s limo.
Hyun nodded, ebullient, and unsuspecting of the dire circumstance around them. The man waiting for her would be a lawyer, or worse, an RCMP officer.
But as she got closer, she knew he wasn’t the police. He was a man shorter than her, in his fifties, and not the kind of man who’d spent time on the rougher side of law enforcement. He was pampered, soft, well-nourished, his hair a curly salt and pepper. She knew his name from the company roster before he’d even said it.
“Kim Waters? I’m Aaron Berg, Stone’s counsel.” He gestured into the cool cabin. “Mr. Stone and I would like to speak with you.”
Only Stone didn’t speak with her, not even looking her way as she sat down on the comfortable back-facing leather bench, sitting so she faced both men. Devlin’s father didn’t look her way, eyes cast out the side window, looking at nothing but parked cars, elbow on the sill, groomed hand supporting the wide point of his chin. He looked like Devlin, only mean and cunning, and sporting none of that boyish emptiness filled with bravado. Stone senior was the real man of the show. Aaron Berg closed the car door, and the cabin was dimmer with the tint. She worried what Hyun and Sophie would be thinking now, but then realized they thought she was the real woman of the show. They’d be impressed. Look at your Aunt Kimmy at work, the level of business she deals at.
Aaron crossed his legs and held cupped hands over the point of one knee. “Something’s come to our attention, and I think you know why we’re here.”
“I don’t.”
Aaron smiled. “I’m quite sure you do, Mrs. Waters. You’ve been avoiding us.”
She said, “Tell me what it’s about.”
Aaron said, “It’s a matter of money, isn’t it?”
“You’re not telling me, you’re asking me.”
Aaron looked at Stone’s profile a moment, then returned his attention to Kimmy. “There’s a leak. Money pouring out of a hole in Mr. Stone’s boat. And it looks like you’re holding your cupped hands below the hole. Is that clearer?”
“You’re accusing me of stealing?”
Aaron smiled again. “Yes.”
Her pulse galloped faster. She showed no expression, no change of demeanor, only fixed her gaze on Aaron’s. She said, “Then arrest me.”
Aaron seemed gleed by her resistance, trying to show her he had all the best cards and she had none. “First things first. The money?”
She turned away from Aaron Berg, sighing, looking out the same window Stone senior looked out. “This isn’t about the money,” she said.
Aaron said, “It isn’t?” Curious and playful, like he toyed with her.
“No,” she said. “And you know it’s not. This is bigger than a little bit of missing money.”
“It’s seventy-five K, Mrs. Waters. If we took it from you, would you say the same?”
Though her heart pounded and her back went into agonizing spasms, she spoke to Devlin’s father’s profile. “Your son isn’t the man you are. He wants to be, but he hasn’t got anything more than a handsome face and a big set. You know that’s not enough. In fact, that’s the worst combination. At least the most dangerous. But you know that, too. I’ve proved it to you. You see it. And that’s why I’m here.”
Aaron looked to Stone senior and finally Stone turned to regard his lawyer, face stony and unreadable, other than its natural grave menace. They said nothing, but Stone moved two fingers of his left hand sitting in his lap.
Aaron returned his attention to her. “So you don’t think it’s about the money you stole?”
She said, “$75,000 got your attention. You would have paid a consultant $200,000 to come in for six months and find out why things weren’t adding up. If you ever even noticed they weren’t adding up at all.”
Now for the first time Devlin’s dad really considered her, turning his face to hers. He didn’t speak, only regarded her in a way that said he wanted to smash his fist through her face. She soaked it in, adrenalin replacing the fear. Devlin’s father was everything Devlin wanted to be. Everything he pretended to be. But Devlin’s dad didn’t go to a nice high school in the suburbs, didn’t have all the corrupting perks Devlin had. He was the one who’d done the work and built the business. He had large workman’s hands at the end of his fine French cuffs and platinum cuff links. It made her wonder if he also sported an equine appendage between his legs.
But Stone senior said nothing, only attempted to wither her in his radioactive gaze. Then he regarded Aaron and nodded once before resuming his parking lot reverie.
“We’re done,” Aaron said, leaning forward, uncrossing his legs so he could put his hand on the door’s handle. “Here’s what’s going to happen next. Expect a call from the Law Society, and if I were you, I would shop for a criminal lawyer.”
There were many possible retorts. She could have name dropped the lawyer in Cayman, Quinton Rathburn, a man who should not ever touch the books of a legitimate Canadian company. And how she’d been awarded a trip to meet with the man, and what that trip really meant. She could have mentioned how Devlin Stone followed her and her husband to Cayman and insinuated himself into their marriage. She could have opened her jacket and rested her hand on her belly as a silent indication of the result of Stone Junior’s very deep insinuation. And if she felt really nasty, she could show Devlin’s father the video of his son wearing her satin panties and loving every second of it.
But those were emotional reactions, theatrical, hysterical, not the reaction of Kimmy Chang Waters. So she said nothing, showed no reaction, left them wondering as Aaron Berg, Esquire, levered open the luxury car’s door for her and she stepped back onto the interlock walkway.
Hyun and Sophie waited for her. Had stood there the whole time imagining great things for her career were happening behind those blacked-out windows. They couldn’t imagine that she’d been caught stealing a lot of money. Couldn’t imagine that her career would end here and she would be disbarred and would soon be in court and could see the inside of a prison, too, if convicted. They didn’t know any of that. They only knew what they saw and what she told them.
Her legs quivered and shook, and her heart raced. The urge to crumple before them came over her with infernal weight and it took courage and strength to remain standing. She admired them for a moment, knowing this might be one of the last moments anyone she knew would see her with any measure of respect.
What would happen next was clear. Someone from building security would emerge from the lobby with her belongings in a box, maybe the painting of cranes her father had gifted her wheeled out by a second guard, they would put them on the ground and leave her in bottomless shame for Hyun and Sophie to see.
She stood, not knowing if she should smile, if she should appear stoic, or if she should do the easiest thing and fall to her knees and lure their comfort.
But nothing happened.
Hyun’s smile screwed to one side and her brow wriggled as she tried to comprehend why Kimmy stood there saying nothing and doing nothing. Behind her, Stone’s limo left the curb and drove away, out onto Yonge Street and to who knew where. No one came out from the lobby with her belongings.
She worked her jaw around, trying to reduce the whooshing pulse deafening her. Then she smiled, produced her car key and said to Sophie, “Are you ready for the ballet?”
Comments
Pete
I do wonder where Josh's fantasy life now sits. His own cuckold fantasies have arguably been a central fuel for much of DITW. So, what is Josh jerking off to NOW? He's now seen, in real life, Kimmy and Devlin together. Has his sex drive died completely? Or has it just gone into hibernation as his brain re-calibrates, only to perhaps erupt shortly in a frenzy of even more vigorous fantasy? He's a young, healthy guy, with a rich, kinky imagination, and a healthy libido. He's not getting any, as he's separated from his wife. He's gotta be jerking off to something, right? What is it?
Andrew Mellein
This may be controversial but I don’t like Keely that much either. I prefer my fictional heroines to be innocent in the ways of loving. Not ones that been around the block multiple times. So I much prefer Charlie! I like my heroines to be seduced to be bad. Also for all the talk of Keely scratching her itch and settling with Max I think she secretly got’s it bad for Cole!
Andrew Mellein
I wish the parentage of Kimmys baby was resolved. But I have a feeling KT is saving it for the end.
John
This chapter revived my interest in the series - both to see Kim in jeopardy and the possibility of a senior moment. Further Jr is marginalized, Josh absent. The only killjoy for me is the pregnancy which is for me decidedly unsexy no matter the paternity.
Andrew Mellein
Whatever happened with the PI? Josh doesn't need him anymore since he found out Kimmy cheated. Unless Josh is going to use the PI to go after Devlin without Kimmy's knowledge. Maybe take care of Devlin in his own way!
Andrew Mellein
This seemed like a short chapter. It was probably highlighting how Kimmy's plan is going to work. I'm interested to see where Josh is at? And what happened with Kimmy at Devlin's apartment?
Donkatsu
We seem to have forgotten Chekhov's other firearm, the PI. Has he played a role in these events?
Bill F Protagoras
On second thoughts, perhaps Kimmy's Dad was more perspicacious than I have given him credit for... it would further explain her avoidance of family. They often have an uncanny nose for trouble... I expect time will tell... although time tends to have a very busy schedule.
Glaucon
Might be she's angling to run the corruption for them. Seems to me like a big theme for Kimmy has been not so much wanting Devlin as wanting to be Devlin, wanting to prove how much better she is at being the type of person Devlin pretends to be.
JL23
It could also be this was her way of letting Senior know she was aware of his own corruption, and that she did this to show Devlin was screwing up the cover up, so to speak. The more I thought about it, the more that makes sense to me. She mentioned the Cayman lawyer, and I first took that to be her saying Devlin started shady dealings, but maybe he's just running shady dealings that his father started. And doing it badly. In any reputable company, if they find out (or suspect) you're stealing...they would escort you from the building immediately. Here, it's clear they've known for at least a few days (Kimmy is first notified Senior wants to meet on Tuesday), she blows it off and they do nothing until Friday, when they have a cryptic conversation with her in a limo. And still, she leaves that conversation not fired and not in handcuffs. So maybe they don't want to go to the cops, and maybe she knows that.
Bill F Protagoras
L_S, I beg to disagree with a popular 'moral instance' but history is full of examples were two wrongs did make a right... in fact it would be hard to imagine anything ever being made right if that particular proverb were true... As you are so suspicious of the Manipulative Kimmy, what makes you so sure she wants to fix her marriage, when all the evidence points to the contrary... Also I believe Josh has every right and cause to loathe Devlin and Kimmy doesn't enter into it...
Bill F Protagoras
"There was sure to already be a vast anthology of rumors, anecdotes, and salacious stories surrounding Devlin Stone around Stone Custom Brokerage. It would take effort to be distant from them." Another ironic blast from Kimmy's blissful past!
Bill F Protagoras
"taking up the end of a framed print depicting a traditional Chinese painted landscape, a pine branch and two stylized long-necked cranes in the foreground." Yes... the unsuspecting father, Kimmy is so sedulously avoiding at present, gave her a propitious symbol of harmonious marriage to hang in the office her new boss and bull appointed her... Here's hoping she has more luck than Mel Wilson! Superstition... Pah! Though once upon a time a tufty black haired kitty did cross unwary Josh's path! Has Devlin ever fucked her in her office yet? Maybe she gave him a surreptitious handy into a desk drawer while Tami fake worked oblivious to what would have been prime gossip!
Andrew Mellein
I reread Maggie. I find Max to be probably KT’s most Cucky of Cuckolds out of all her boyfriend/husband characters! He literally pushed Maggie to Cole his best friend just because he liked to watch🤣🤣 That’s probably why it’s not my favorite KT series. He never got really angry or confronted Maggie till it was too late! That’s why I like DITW. Josh is no pushover and his kink doesn’t consume him. He really confronts Kimmy and I love how KT writes their dialogue when they are together.
Bill F Protagoras
'Departing Cranes', is this a final nail in the marital harmony of the Waters? Or is Kimmy's paternal blessing on her new office still a promise of "longevity, immortality and wisdom"? Unfortunately, cynicism is a hard lesson to unlearn, but skepticism is oft a reliable fall back position.
Bill F Protagoras
How long can she keep it in her pregnant pants?
Bill F Protagoras
She still has her occult not so secret weapon...
Bill F Protagoras
I know it's only temporary, but it's such a relief to have Kimmy in jeopardy from the true worldly villains of the mundane corrupt heartless rulers 'Sub Principatu Diaboli. She's still her own worst enemy in the figurative battle for her symbolic soul, but she plays it cool as shit in her face off with the powers that be (really really bad). A stony faced unscrupulous leader of the earthly powers of the far reaching terrenal supralegal privileged status quo makes his appearance and is certainly not the buffoon his satin clad scion is... Has Kimmy finally met her match?
L_S87
Hard to say where this goes. It was a dumb move in my opinion, but if she catches seniors eye... Well, mission accomplished, I guess. Though I don't know that any amount of Devlin humiliation at work or in panties is going to fix her marriage. Josh's problems aren't with Devlin, they're with Kimmy and her decisions. Sure, he loathes Devlin, but that's easy. He expects Devlin to be an asshole. He expected Kimmy to have his back. And she didn't. Two wrongs don't make a right. Yet that is what Kimmy is trying to do with this.
Pete
No idea how long a paternity test takes, but there's been no evidence one was initiated. For starters a paternity test isn't something Kimmy can do on her own. She would need DNA from at least one of the potential fathers. Devlin or Josh would have to agree to that, and then submit a proper sample to a lab, to even initiate that process. Also, if done too early in the pregnancy, then the test's reliability is reduced.
Andrew Mellein
I want to be wrong but I think the baby is going to turn out to be Devlins! That’s why KT cut away in the chapter! I think she got a paternity test after she found out she was pregnant. And she was lying to Josh the whole time. I also think for him to wear the panties she probably screwed him! Remember she’s wicked now!
Andrew Mellein
Yes I was just going to write that. She had to have given him something? I think she might be thinking that Josh would have found Devlin in panties funny. But the other bits with what she did with Devlin not so much. Also mentioning the baby to Devlin and then cutting away! I wouldn’t be surprised if she already got a paternity test and it came back as Devlins and that’s why it cut away!
Bill F Protagoras
Possibly the least twisted events in some time... apparently! I'm hoping Kimmy spending time with Hyun and Sophie will do her some good.
Bill F Protagoras
So the cliff hanger is now how did she get Devlin to wear her satin undies and why would it be so embarrassingly humorous for Josh?
Chris K
Yeah, Sr. might say thanks for showing me the leaks, but you still stole from me. It could end very bad for her.
Andrew Mellein
Maybe Josh and Meyer are going double dating! Or Meyer is trying to find someone for Josh? Josh has got to expand his horizons and stop worrying about crazy Kimmy.
Bill F Protagoras
"They only knew what they saw and what she told them." This is Kimmy all over.
Bill F Protagoras
At no moment did Kimmy admit to embezzlement...
JL23
I don’t think it’s realistic to get a paternity test back in 2 days, so I don’t think she knows for sure. In thinking about it, I really think it’s her acknowledging that the baby is another way Devlin got in between her and Josh. A couple months ago this would have been a joyous moment for her and Josh; but Devlin’s presence makes that impossible right now. Of course, that’s not all Devlin’s fault…
L_S87
Wow KT. Just when I think I have a clue... Well done. Again. Did not see this coming. I makes sense as a high risk play by someone who thinks they can't, or at least won't, lose, but damn. Embezzlement? As a lure? Crazy. The other tidbits are interesting, including the fact that this clearly happened at least a day later, she's spending more time with Hyun and Josh is basically non-existent. Hopefully we get something from Josh's side in the next chapter.
L_S87
I took her various options of things to tell senior as a shock and awe sort of thought, to show just how untrustworthy Devlin is. Not an admission of parentage. She already told Devlin it's his, then told Josh she was lying to hurt him. So lying to senior about the same thing isn't much of a step. Of course, you could also be right, that this is her admitting the possibility in her moment of fear, or even admitting the truth, because she's had a test, and is lying to Josh because she knows the consequences. If she went straight to the Devlin and baby thing, it would hold more weight for me, but because it's lumped in with a number of other shocking options, I don't give it as much credence to being the actual truth. Although, everything else she says there IS the truth, or a partial telling of it, so maybe that is too. We certainly got an answer to the video question, though the way she talked about it to Josh made me think it was a likelyhood.
L_S87
I agree with Donkatsu. She's playing high stakes poker. This is a gamble to get seniors attention and potentially oust Devlin by pointing out that she did something SO obvious it was easy for them to find. If she had been sneaky they'd have spent over double and six months to find it. And Devlin found none of it because he's incompetent.
JL23
I don’t think Kimmy is confessing the baby is Devlin’s here. She wouldn’t know that for sure (unless she got that paternity test done and the results back in a few days). It’s definitely an acknowledgment she knows it might be, which is more than she’s allowed recently. But I think it’s just Kimmy saying that what should be a happy moment in her marriage has been clouded by Devlin’s presence and the uncertainty of the parentage.
Bill F Protagoras
She took it as a sign of appreciation and affection... quite rightly so. And once our relationship was cemented we had other experiences to explore. Honestly, it was important as a demonstrative intimate act no more. Originally, for me and then for us both. With time only one of the thrills of the passionate beginnings of a relationship.
Donkatsu
Agree, this was a 'test' embezzlement. It was just to show that Devlin did not have his eyes on the business.
Donkatsu
Well, Kimmy's not the only one who can keep a secret. Looks as if KT's not so bad in that realm, either. Nice offhanded way to tell us about the panties and the baby. We, the faithful, are not alone in receiving the mushroom treatment; Josh will also need to be kept in the dark. Is it reasonable to presume that this matter will never see the light of day in the Law Society? She obviously has a proposal for Equis, one that she will need to present personally and in strictest secrecy.
JL23
My own speculation is she still has it somewhere. I doubt she’s spent it if the ultimate point of this is something other than embezzlement.
JL23
Right, it does seem to answer the question as to why she didn’t rush to meet with the father. But just created about a dozen more questions.
Tracey52
I didn’t expect this at all. Most likely not what we think it is. Also why she tried to delay the meeting for a week. Another curved ball KT. Well done.
Chris K
Wow Bill! Wow.
Bill F Protagoras
Once I wore the panties my latest flame left next to my bed after the first time we fucked in my flat... she was delighted as if it were a seal of approval... though it was more a token of impatience on my part. Ha Ha!... I was a dedicated follower of fashion, but as I recall it the pants were cotton. A (nearly) unique experience doth not a fetish make... If Devlin hadn't made a big deal of it, no-one would have ever realized that despite his big dick he was so insecure... I certainly don't think it's a big deal...
JL23
Ok, so equivalent to the NY State Bar Association or any other state here. Figured that, just wanted to be sure. Yeah, it doesn’t seem like she framed Devlin, she pretty clearly did it in a way it would trace back to her. And also seems like she wasn’t trying to steal the money and not get caught, she knew they’d figure it out eventually and really feels like she wanted them to. Even as she’s scared in her head, this feels like a confrontation she wanted to initiate. I can only assume there’s more to this we’ll find out, because on its face it seems reckless and honestly, crazy. But maybe this is Kimmy in her IDGAF, burn it all down mode. Not sure how either being disbarred or even going to jail for embezzlement helps her get Josh all these things she promised. So again, there’s obviously more to learn about.
Andrew Mellein
What did she use it on? A chapter ago she was begging Devlin for a new car.
Andrew Mellein
I wonder if it's being set up that Kimmy bangs Devlin Sr.? It makes sense because all Kimmy cares about is power now! And the mention of the baby sounds like Kimmy is sure it's Devlin's. Maybe all the things she said to Josh were lies about the baby just to humiliate him and be wicked!
Kat
Yeah, I’m kind of feeling the same way. Nothing seems to stick to her.
Kat
The Law Society of Ontario regulates lawyers’ law licenses. They have the power to disbar a lawyer and end their career in law. I’m really surprised that Kimmy stole anything from Stone. I would have thought that anything she did would be traced back to Devlin, so she could entrap him. It doesn’t sound that way, though. What’s going on with her? Stealing from Stone, dating Hyun? She’s really acting reckless.
Pete
I'm completely blindsided by Kimmy stealing. Why would she destroy her own career like that? For 75k???
Bill F Protagoras
"or worse, an RCMP officer." As usual I am making notes, though the last couple of times I had abandoned my new habit of reading an instalment all the way through before truly commenting, but my mental giggles forced a pregnant pause. I had just been playing with the idea that The Devil in the Waters is as iconoclastic as Like a Rolling Stone or Ballad of a Thin Man at the Manchester Free Trade Hall... when Dylan was branded as a 'Judas' to some Ur betrayer of socialist redemption, when KT has invented her own imagist prosody in defiance of expectation... and there is the Dylanesque, too long to fit in the middle of a Robert Johnson crossroad sinister limousine thwarting a presumptuously treat enthralled Aunty Kimmy... with red coated paranoia... my brain bubbled laughter into my unprotected mind...
Chris K
Devlin wore the panties. What happened to the guy that fucked her so hard she needed an IV? And Kimmy stealing money, and openly dating Hyun now. Can anything hurt her just slightly?
JL23
Yeah so…stealing money was not the plan I thought she had. Not at all. But I assume she’s gambling that whatever she did exactly will prove herself to Stone Sr in some way, and show him that his son needs to get taken out of the company. It’s an incredibly reckless thing to do, without knowing the outcome, but in a lot of ways I think Kimmy thinks she’s bulletproof. And maybe she is, at least with the business end. She mentioned the Cayman lawyer, so I have to assume she’s also been collecting receipts on the things Devlin has been doing that will bring the company into disrepute. Couple other observations: 1) Do we have Checkhov’s horse cock now with the father? Probably not a coincidence Kimmy’s mind went there right? 2) She mentioned her unborn child in a way that makes it seem like she thinks it actually is Devlin’s. Or was she thinking of doing that only to mess further with a different Stone? 3) As an ignorant American, can I assume the Law Society is the Canadian version of a State Bar Association in the US?
