A meeting that night

Matt got together with Tanya, Karen, and Cindi that evening, meeting at a Starbucks in the mall rather than in their department store. The three girls were subdued..., Tanya, in particular, still looking like she was suffering from shell-shock.

Matt quickly reviewed their situation. The threats from Mrs. Fellers and her contacts in the FBI and the pressure from Tanya's dad were the old news. The new danger was his own father... supposedly gone and out of the way but now back with his demands.

"There's nothing we can do," Tanya said. "They always get their way."

"That's five-year-old Tanya," he reminded her. "You're an adult now. You're strong. You can stand up for yourself."

"Sure doesn't seem that way to me. You saw the way I collapsed when Mrs. Fellers did her thing."

"She is a bitch. I suspect she triggered you on purpose."

Tanya shook her head. "So? I was still triggered. If I'd been the person I imagine, I would have gotten down on my knees and ate her out the way she told me. I mean, big deal, right. It's not like I haven't carpet-munched before."

"Right now," Matt said, "I would appreciate strong Tanya coming online. I get that you're frightened and if you can't help, I understand. But try."

She took a deep breath. "Fine. I'll try."

"Thanks. And let me know if this is too much. We can stop any time. Your mental health is more important than any of this bullshit."

"I'd say don't treat me like some damaged child but I guess that's what I am."

"You're not. You're injured but you're not a child. Now, let's talk about options."

The girls all looked at him. Well, shit. He was used to Karen, Cindi and Tanya coming up with the brilliant answers to all of his problems. If they had nothing, that wasn't encouraging.

Finally Tanya took a deep breath. "My fa--" her voice squeaked and she took a breath and restarted. "My father knows some bad people... mob-types. If we gave him more of the company, he would probably be willing to contact one of them and take out a hit on your dad."

No way was Matt going for that. He suspected that any deal with Tanya's dad would include more than just a share of the company... like Tanya and Natasha. Besides, the whole point of this exercise was to keep control of the company... have it be something for the kids rather than just another exploitative bunch of jerks. Finally, although he was pissed as hell at his dad, he wasn't going to give the order to have him executed.

Letting Tanya know how horrible he found her suggestion also didn't seem helpful.

"Okay, we'll call that option one," he said. "Any other ideas?"