To Catch a Bad Guy (Book One of the Janet Maple Series)

by Marie Astor

At ten o’clock the next morning, Janet was seated behind her desk when Lisa swung open her office door.

  “Hey,” Lisa panted, almost out of breath. “Got a sec? I need you to come with me.”

  “What’s up?” Janet promptly rose from her chair and grabbed a notepad and a pen.

  “An impromptu meeting request from Jon Bostoff.” Lisa grimaced. “Don’t know what that busybody wants now. You’d think he was the owner of the company.”

  “Jon Bostoff is the president, right?”

  “Right,” Lisa confirmed. “And Hank Bostoff’s elder son. Paul is his younger brother and COO. You met him yesterday.” Lisa grinned.

  Janet nodded, suspecting that dating the company owner’s son was more complicated than Lisa let on. “Do you know what’s on the meeting agenda?”

  “No idea. I guess Mr. Know It All wants to meet you. Between you and me, Jon acts like he is the boss, and I think that’s partly because the old man is planning to retire. I think he’s going to choose his heir successor soon, and Jon is doing all he can to ensure that it will be him.”

  “I’m ready to go when you are.” Janet thought it best to steer clear of a discussion about the boss’s family politics.

  Lisa took a loud breath. “Follow me. We’ll have to go through the trading floor.”

  Janet’s second encounter with the trading floor of Bostoff’s Securities was not much different from her previous experience. It was like walking into the boys’ high school locker room: the atmosphere reeked of testosterone and horny jokes. She did her best to keep her walk in check as she kept close to Lisa, who had her lips firmly pressed together as she powered on, seemingly oblivious to frank stares and occasional whistles that were coming from men seated in endless lines of long, narrow desks.

  “We’re almost there,” Lisa muttered under her breath. “Jon’s office is at the other end of the floor.” Lisa motioned to an aquarium-like office that loomed smack in the middle of the far wall. Unlike the rest of the offices at Bostoff Securities, Jon Bostoff’s office had walls made of glass. “Jon had his office remodeled when his father made him president,” Lisa explained. “I suppose this way he feels that he’s got an eye on everybody.”

  Through the glass office walls, Janet could see that Jon Bostoff was not alone – or at least she assumed that the man behind the long, steel-framed desk was Jon Bostoff. The physical resemblance to his younger brother, Paul, was apparent, but so was the age difference. Jon’s blond hair was beginning to thin at the temples, and his eyes, although as blue as Paul’s, had a sharp and inquiring quality about them. Paul Bostoff was also in the office, standing irresolutely by his brother’s desk, and Janet could only assume that the older man seated in one of the angular modernistic chairs that surrounded the conference table was Hank Bostoff.

  “Here we are.” Lisa conjured up a smile.

  Before Lisa could say another word, Jon Bostoff motioned for them to come inside.

  “Lisa, come in, come in!” Jon Bostoff half-rose from his chair.

  “Good morning, Jon.” Lisa flashed her trademark smile. “Allow me to introduce Janet Maple. She recently joined our legal department as assistant general counsel.”

  “Hello, Janet, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Jon Bostoff, and this is my brother, Paul.” Jon motioned at his younger brother who was still lingering by his desk.

  “We have already met.” Paul smiled briefly at Janet.

  “And the distinguished-looking gentleman over there is my father and the founder of this company, Hank Bostoff,” Jon concluded.

  “Well, I don’t know about the first part, but the second part is certainly true.” Hank Bostoff replied from his chair. “You must forgive me, Janet. I’d stand up to shake your hand, but I seem to be having trouble getting up from this contraption.” Hank Bostoff motioned at the uncomfortable-looking chair he was sitting in. He had the same blue eyes as his sons, and his direct, frank gaze made him instantly likeable. His hair was mostly white, but its fullness more than made up for its loss in color. With his lean physique and expertly tailored clothes, Hank Bostoff looked dashing despite his age, which had to be somewhere in the vicinity of sixty, given the fact that he had two grown sons.

  “My father has a delightful sense of humor.” Jon Bostoff chuckled. “Please, have a seat.” Jon motioned at the empty chairs adjacent to the one occupied by Hank Bostoff. “It will be much more comfortable if we’re all gathered behind a table.”

  “Oh, I don’t know about the ‘comfortable’ part.” Hank Bostoff chuckled. “Where was it you ordered this furniture from, son, Italy?”

  “My father and I have our differences in taste.” Jon Bostoff smiled thinly. “Please,” he said curtly, as he motioned for Janet, Lisa, and Paul to take their seats.

  Janet perched at the edge of a chair. Hank Bostoff had been right: the rigid seat was far from comfortable.

  “Well,” said Jon Bostoff after everyone had taken their seat, “the reason I called this meeting today is to get better acquainted with the recent addition to our legal team.” Jon’s glance lingered on Janet. “Janet, I understand that you have already met some members of our executive management team…” Jon’s eyes shifted to his brother. “But neither my father nor I have had the pleasure of meeting you, so we thought it would be a good to have a quick introduction. Why don’t you tell us about yourself, Janet?”

  Lisa cut in before Janet could answer, “Well, Jon, I just would like to add that Janet has very impressive credentials: she’s a Columbia Law School graduate and she’d spent four years at the DA’s office.”

  Jon Bostoff’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Thank you, Lisa, but I’m sure that Janet is more than capable of introducing herself. So, Janet, you worked for the DA’s office?”

  Janet sensed Jon Bostoff’s intent glance. “Yes, I did. I spent four years there, the last three in the Investigations division, and as Lisa mentioned, I did graduate from Columbia Law.”

  “Wonderful. And what made you want to switch your career path?”

  “I was downsized,” Janet answered frankly. There was no other way to explain the gap on her resumé, and in any case, she had always been of the opinion that honesty was the best policy.

  “I see.” Jon Bostoff seemed to be pleased with the answer he received.

  “These government budget cuts are really most regrettable.” Hank Bostoff shook his head. “But it all works out for the best in the end, I suppose. Bostoff Securities could most certainly use a bright, remarkable lady like yourself.”

  “Thank you, sir.” Janet blushed in spite of herself.

  “Welcome aboard, Janet,” Paul said.

  “Yes, indeed, we’re most glad to have you here,” Jon Bostoff conceded.

  “Thank you.” Janet felt her face grow warm again. Jon Bostoff’s curt tone did not exactly match his words.

  “Well, Janet and Lisa, thank you for stopping by.”

  “The pleasure is all ours.” Lisa flashed one of her dazzling smiles and rose from her chair, motioning for Janet to follow suit.

  “Thank you, gentlemen.” Janet followed Lisa. To say that she was perplexed would have been an understatement. She had expected the meeting to at least have some substance, not a mere hello, how are you? But what was she to do – question Jon Bostoff? Lisa certainly did not find anything perplexing with the current set-up of things, and at least for now, Janet was not going to disagree.