by Dave Daren
Chapter 1
It took two days for me to learn that ten a.m. was a dangerous time to be in the office. The Mexican restaurant on the first floor would start the food prep for the lunchtime crowds at that hour, and the delicious scents of cumin, coriander, cilantro and a few other spices starting with ‘c’ would drift up to my little room just over the kitchen. My stomach rumbled with anticipation every day, a fact that delighted my paralegal and sometime paramour, Sofia Calderon. Today she had contributed to my fried food delinquency with a box of fresh buñuelos, which she placed in the middle of my desk with a small flourish and a gorgeous smile.
“From my mother,” she explained. “She’s worried you don’t eat enough.”
“So she sends me fried sugar?”
“For energy,” Sofia assured me with a grin. “My brothers all swear by them.”
I’d finally met one of Sofia’s brothers in person and I could believe it. The man was built like a semi on steroids.
“Then you’ll help me eat them,” I chuckled.
“And risk my girlish figure?” she laughed as she gave a quick twirl so I could admire her girlish figure. Girlish was not the word I would have used. Curvy, certainly. Long-legged, for sure. Tantalizing, most definitely.
I gave up and decided the best way to fight back against the burrito kitchen was to fill my stomach. I was on my third donut when I heard someone enter the outside office, and a few moments later I heard Sofia speaking to another woman. I shoved the box into a file drawer and hoped that I’d managed to remove all signs of powdered sugar from my face.
My 1980s-remnant intercom phone buzzed, and Sofia announced that a potential client wanted to meet with me. A woman, she added, named Anna Bernardi who needed help with an estate matter. Despite my success with the Lauren Fullerton case, I was still struggling to build up my business, so saying ‘no’ to a prospective client was not an option despite my lack of estate law credentials. I told Sofia to see her in and did a last minute check for powdered sugar.
It wasn’t enough to say that Anna Bernardi stepped into my office.
She arrived.
The rest of the world fell away, and the only thing left was just this amazing woman with lustrous dark chocolate hair that curled softy to her shoulders, eyes that could have belonged to a young Sophia Loren and a body that curved in all the right places.
“Mr. Creed?” she asked hesitantly.
I realized that several seconds had passed and I hadn’t said anything yet.
Sofia had followed her into the room, and she rolled her eyes at me. “Would you like something to drink? Some water perhaps?”
“Water would be nice,” Anna agreed.
“Uhhh yeah,” I cleared my throat. “Thanks, Sofia.”
“You got it.” Sofia disappeared with a wink.
“Ms. Bernardi, please, have a seat.” I gestured to the small table and chairs, and Anna gracefully sat down. I finally noticed that she was wearing a shift dress in navy blue, one of those little numbers that looks simple but costs a small fortune. Her purse and shoes sent the same message: sleek, fashionable, pricey. I couldn’t imagine why she was here. She looked like the type of client that would have her pick of high-priced lawyers and not show up to my hole-in-the-wall law firm.
“Here you go!” Sofia returned with a large glass of ice water, gave me one more knowing smile, and then softly closed the office door behind her.
“Sofia mentioned that you have an estate issue,” I said as I watched Anna reposition the glass of water. “I’m not sure if I can help you. I don’t really handle that type of law.”
“Yes, Sofia mentioned that.” Anna nodded. “But I’m desperate. I need help and I don’t know that I can trust any of the family attorneys. I know you’ve just started your firm and I read about you in the paper; how you helped that poor woman that had been accused of murder.”
“So I’m too new to have been corrupted yet but good enough to maybe win your case.” I grinned.
“Something like that,” she laughed, and it was an amazing bit of ear candy.
“All right. Tell me your story,” I replied.
Anna took a sip of water, and I could see that she was organizing her thoughts. “My father was Arturo Bernardi. He was a wonderful man and the perfect father, though he was a bit of a wild thing when he was younger. At least, that’s what my mother always said. Both she and my father would always laugh about that, about how she had tamed him.”
Anna paused, and I saw a deep sadness creep into her eyes. “They’re both gone now.”
“That’s the estate you’ve come to see me about?” I prodded when Anna went quiet.
She nodded. “My father was one of the founders of a shipping company, ArDex. The other partner was a man named Dexter Harding. When Dexter retired, he sold most of his shares to my father, making him the majority shareholder. The rest were sold back to the company.”
“What was your father’s share in the company?” I continued when Anna went quiet again.
“He had an eighty percent stake. He was the lord and master at ArDex for years. And then, about four years ago, he started to get sick. He went to dozens of doctors and specialists, and I lost count of how many treatments and drugs he tried. Nothing worked, and when he died last month, no one could really say why. The estate was split between me and my brother, Leo.”
“So no one has a majority share now unless you and Leo form a bloc.”
“Right. But Leo has no interest in the company. He’s been in Boston since his college days and hasn’t held a real job in all that time. I’ve talked to him a couple of times since dad died, but he always blows me off when I mention ArDex,” Anna explained.
“So who’s been running the company?” I asked as I raised my eyebrows.
“The board of directors appointed a temporary chairman, a man named Tucker Watts. Watts joined the board after my father fell ill, but I gather he was able to seize control of the board pretty quickly.”
“Who brought him into the company?” I asked as my own imagination conjured up images of Mr. Burns from The Simpsons.
“I’m not sure. I wasn’t paying much attention to the company then. I was still living in Seattle but flying back to help dad as often as I could. To be honest, I don’t trust any of them. There are four other members besides Watts and only one of them was there while my father was in charge. I’ve asked to see the ledgers but I keep getting the runaround. Watts keeps telling me not to worry, that the company is making money and I should just leave it to the professionals. As if I’m not a professional.”
“As a shareholder, you have the right to inspect the books,” I pointed out.
“Yes, I know. Business School 101. I may have spent the last year nursing my father, but I can still remember the basics,” Anna huffed.
“Forgive me,” I said as I held up my hands as a peace offering. “I didn’t mean to imply otherwise. I take it your college degree is in business.”
Anna let out a long sigh as she nodded in agreement. “Stanford. And top of my class, too. Not that it matters to Watts. I’m just daddy’s little girl trying to play with the big boys in his mind.”
“What if your brother asked to see the accounts?” I wondered aloud.
Anna’s first reaction to that question was a harsh laugh that degenerated into a cough. She swatted at the air like she was clearing away a swarm of gnats and finally took another drink of water.
“That bad, huh?” I chuckled.
“Yep,” she sighed. “Leo would never think to ask. Watts would know the request was really from me, and he’d just give Leo the same answers. Leo wouldn’t challenge him on it. He’d just go back to drinking his beer and playing his video games.”
I’d never met Leo, b
ut I was pretty sure that I wouldn’t be impressed. It was bizarre to imagine that Anna’s sibling could be so different from the beautiful and intelligent woman sitting across from me.
“Let’s talk about your goals here. Do you want to take back control of the company?”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I want to do,” Anna insisted. “But I need Leo’s shares. I can’t count on his support every time there’s a vote so I’ll have to buy him out. I’m just not sure how. The bulk of the estate was tied up in the company. I have some cash, but not enough.”
“What else do you own that might have enough cash value to cover the trade? House, car?”
“I don’t have any real estate. I sold my condo when I moved back to LA to help my father. There’s my father’s house, but Leo owns half of that as well,” Anna replied as a mournful tone seeped into her voice.
“Would he be willing to buy some or all of your share of the house in exchange for the stock?” I asked as I tried to work out a solution on the fly.
“He might,” Anna replied, “but I’d rather not go that way unless there aren’t any more options. That house means the world to me. I’d rather keep it in the family, and Leo would just sell it.”
I could understand her desire to hold on to the house. My parents and sister were killed by a drunk driver, but I still owned our house. The first real estate agent had called before there was even a funeral. I’d considered renting it out as a way to keep some sort of steady income, but the most I had managed to accomplish so far was to donate my parents’ clothing to a local charity.
It was hard to work through grief.
“All right,” I replied as I shook off that moment of reflection. “I’ll take a look at the options we have for raising cash and then call you. For now, let me get some more information about the company. Do you know the names of the other board members?”
Anna recited the list of names, starting with the old-timer who kept calling her Julia and concluding with the newest member, a guy named Genji.
“I’m not even sure he speaks English,” was all she had to offer about the latest addition to the board,
“Okay,” I said as I made a note to check on Genji’s English skills, “What about other employees? Is there anyone at the company you still trust?”
Anna pondered the question for several moments. I could practically see her brain running through a list of people at the company, giving a thumbs up to some and discarding others.
“Huh,” she said after a few moments. “I really hadn’t realized how much turnover there’s been over the last year or so. There’s a lot of new people working in the office now. But there’s a few of the old-timers still left, including Fatima Batista. She was my father’s Girl Friday when they started the company and now she’s the office manager.”
“Anyone else?”
“Maybe one or two of the secretaries,” Anna sighed.
“Do you think they’d be willing to talk to me?”
“Yes, I think so. They already know I want to take back the company,” she said as a wicked gleam briefly lit up her eyes.
I had guessed as much. Anna didn’t seem like the type to just sit around and wait for someone else to solve her problems. Watts had lucked out when Anna had decided to care for her father and left him with a full year to finish his machinations.
“I’ll guess that you had it out with Watts,” I said. I’m pretty sure I had a large grin on my face when I said this. I could just picture her, Wonder Woman style, striding into ArDex headquarters and challenging Watts to a battle to the death.
Anna grinned back. “Watts had the nerve to call me two days after the funeral to offer to buy my shares of the stock for a ridiculously low price. I told him I would think about it. Then I called Leo and threatened to pull his beating heart from his chest if he gave in to Watts. The next day I drove down to the office and gave Watts my answer in person.”
Yup, definitely Wonder Woman.
“I’m definitely willing to take on Watts and his cronies,” I admitted.
“That sounds like there’s a ‘but’ coming…” Anna was instantly somber again.
“But it sounds like we could be in for a battle. Watts doesn’t sound like the type to give up easily, especially since he now has full control of the company.”
“I don’t care. I can’t let Watts and the rest of them destroy everything my father built.”
“Good. Remember that. Because I’m pretty sure Watts will do everything he can to keep you from buying those shares.”
“Well…”
I waited for the rest of the sentence but Anna’s gaze was locked on her water glass.
“Has Watts done something else besides offer to buy the shares?” I asked.
“No.” Anna shook her head, and the motion sent a ripple through her luxurious curls. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
“Tell me,” I demanded.
“Last week, when Watts put me off again, I threatened to hire a lawyer. It must have been a day or two later, but I began to get the creepy feeling that I was being watched.”
“Like when?” I asked.
“When I’m driving,” she answered. “I keep checking the mirrors but there’s never anything suspicious, like the same car that was there yesterday. I stopped going to my favorite lunch spot because it felt like someone was staring at me the whole time I was there. Yesterday when I got home, I’d swear someone had moved things around. Nothing big, like moving the sofa. But the phone charger wasn’t where I usually leave it and a vase of flowers was sitting on the wrong end of the counter.”
“Did you call the police?” I asked.
“No. I wasn’t sure what to tell them. Nothing was stolen or broken or anything. And I couldn’t swear that I hadn’t moved the vase or charger myself.”
I was already shaking my head. “Just entering your house is a crime whether or not they did anything else.”
“I know,” she sighed. “I just... I don’t want them to think I’m some lonely woman living on her own who’s afraid of every little thing.”
“Call them when you get home tonight,” I advised. “Especially if it looks like someone broke in again. Tell them you want to file a report. We can use that report if it turns out Watts is trying to harass you. After that, call me and let me know how it went.”
“All right. I guess this means you’re taking my case.”
“That would be a definite yes.”
Anna’s beautiful smile was back, and I felt my own smile forming in response. I managed to take down her phone number and address and a few other factoids before my brain completely shut down.
It was Anna who ended the meeting. She stood up, thanked me for taking her case, and promised to call me as soon as she had talked to the police.
I was sure I still had the smile plastered on my face as I ushered Anna into Sofia’s domain. There was another round of hand-shaking between my beautiful Hispanic paralegal and the beautiful brunette, and then I found myself out on the walkway with a spectacular view of Anna as she made her way down the stairs.
Or I should say sashayed down the stairs. I’d never really understood what the word sashay meant until I saw Anna’s easy, enticing gait as she made her way to the parking lot.
There was a spotlessly clean silver Lexus RC F just below me, and two of the burrito joint’s busboys were admiring it. They stepped back politely when Anna approached the car and watched as she got in. I saw one boy nudge the other in the ribs as Anna backed her car out of its spot. The boys turned to look up at me with large grins on their faces, and the shorter one gave me a thumbs up.
That’s when I noticed the other car. It was an old Chevy hatchback in a color that could best be described as beige or maybe just bland. I realized the driver had turned the engine on as Anna had started towards the stairs, but he hadn’t moved until the Lexus had backed out of its spot and pulled up to the exit. The Chevy pulled up behind her.
I checked for the plate number but
all I saw was 4LK. The rest was covered in what looked like paint splatter, and I had to wonder how the car hadn’t been pulled over by Highway Patrol yet. Or it had been, and the owner didn’t care. I leaned over the railing but all I could make out was black hair cut short and a distinctly male set of shoulders.
The Lexus pulled into traffic, and the Chevy followed. As the driver turned to check for cars, I caught a glimpse of his profile. A youngish, Asian male with an angry glare. I watched as both cars made a right turn at the next block and then they were gone.
Maybe my client’s paranoia was justified.
Chapter 2
I stepped back into the office with a scowl on my face.
“Trouble already?” Sofia asked.
“Maybe,” I admitted. “Beige Chevy that pulled out of the lot when Anna left. Asian man at the wheel. The car followed her down to the corner, but then I lost sight of them.”
“Did you get a plate?” Sofia asked, concern in her voice.
“Only a partial,” I said, frustration evident in my voice. “4LK. The rest was covered with what looked like paint.”
“I’ll take a look through DMV records and see if anything matches,” Sofia replied. “But first, before you ask, you should know that digging up information on privately held companies isn’t always easy. They’re not required to make the same filings as publicly held companies.”
“Yeah, I do seem to remember my corporations law teacher mentioning that,” I said and tried to keep a serious look on my face.
Sofia called my bluff by waiting stoically until I started laughing.
“You win,” I conceded. “Whatever you can find will be helpful. Even if there’s not a lot of public information, there’s always rumors flying around about small, private companies, especially when the majority shareholder suddenly takes ill. Start with the time period around Arturo Bernardi’s initial illness and work from there. I’d also like to see anything you can dig up about the new board members and why the old board members left. And if you can find contact information for any of the old board members, that would be great. They may have some interesting ideas about Watts and the current state of the company.”
