“Hey, it can happen. Look at you.”
Tyler nodded. “True.”
“So I take it all is well with you and Dallas. I can’t help but notice you seem more...ah, what’s the word I’m looking for,” he snapped his fingers a few times. “Oh, I know, satiated, or maybe it’s happy.”
Tyler laughed. “You’re right about that. My girl definitely knows how to bring a smile to my face, but we still have some things to work out.”
Quinn nodded. “Well, while you’re working things out, you might want to sound proof your bedroom. You too were making enough noise to make me blush, and you know I don’t blush easy.”
Tyler choked on his beer and fell into a coughing fit, pounding his chest.
“Hey, I’m just sayin’”
“Uh, thanks. I’ll take that under advisement,” Tyler hurried to change the subject. He filled Quinn in on the day’s events, including his concern about Jerome’s possible involvement.
“So back up a minute. Let’s talk about you knocking Mark around? I can’t believe you, a grown man, fighting over a woman.”
“I wasn’t fighting over Dallas. I was getting dude off of her. The way he grabbed her, he’s lucky security stopped me when they did.”
“You think he has anything to do with this nonsense that’s been going on with her?”
“Dallas asked me the same thing, and my gut tells me he’s not out to physically hurt her. But I want us to dig a little deeper on him. I also want to see what we can find out about this Jerome dude.”
Quinn slouched down in his chair and rubbed his goatee. “Maybe Harmony and I can go for a little ride in the morning and pay her boyfriend a visit. It’ll also give me an opportunity to see how he likes being knocked around.”
Tyler shook his head. “I don’t know Q. Maybe we should let the cops handle the face to face stuff. I want you to find out about Jerome’s background, where he works, and any other information that might be helpful. Besides, I’ve seen the way you knock people around and I’m sure you wouldn’t want to scare Harmony with your dark side.”
He remembered a bar fight Quinn was involved in years ago. They’d always had each other’s back, but when Quinn returned from active duty, he was like a one man wrecking machine. He not only tore the place apart, but broke a man’s nose and his arm, as well as the knee cap of another man, putting them both in the hospital. His behavior that night got him a night’s stay in the county jail. It probably would’ve been longer, but Quinn knew people. He was out the next morning, with all charges dropped. Since then, he usually kept a low profile.
Quinn stood holding his beer, walked to the patio door and looked out. Several minutes passed and he said, “Yeah, you’re probably right.”
****
Sitting at her desk, Dallas released a wistful sigh when she touched one of the delicate petals of the gorgeous floral arrangement she’d received from Tyler earlier in the day. Last night had been amazing. She and Tyler never had a problem in the bedroom, and last night proved they still were in sync. The thought of them being a couple again made her warm inside. Maybe this time she’d get it right.
“Dallas,” Bianca said over the intercom.
“Yes.”
“Paige Logan is on line one for you.”
“Okay thanks.”
“Hey Paige, thanks for getting back to me so quickly.”
“All right, so let’s talk about these mysterious documents.”
Dallas recapped what she’d told Paige over the telephone the day before and her concerns about the things going on at the firm.
“I’ve been thinking about everything you’ve told me: the firm’s cutbacks, David’s strange behavior, your conversation with the client in Milwaukee, and now these notes. What if David is involved in something illegal - like a Ponzi scheme?”
“I don’t know Paige that seems a little out there.”
“I know it sounds far-fetched, but hear me out. Look at that guy in New York, Bernard Madoff. He turned his wealth management business into one of the largest Ponzi schemes in history. Defrauding thousands of clients of their money, fabricating gains, and even today, federal investigators don’t know if his business was even legit.”
Dallas sat speechless. She remembered when the story broke because many of their clients were concerned about their investments. Would David put the firm in jeopardy, and even worse, take money from innocent people? The thought made her skin crawl.
She shook her head. “I can’t see him doing something like that. He’d have too much to lose. Yes, I think he’s like the lowest form of human life, but this? I don’t think so.”
“I don’t think you should rule it out, but I hope you’re right. Maybe you can ask him a few questions and see if he gives any clues to it. I’m not sure if you’re privy to this type of information, but has there been any money missing from any client accounts? How much do you know about the firm? Is there another branch or arm of the company that he might be using to run money through?”
Dallas let her head fall back against her chair and closed her eyes. She hoped Paige was wrong, but the more she thought about it, the more things were becoming clearer.
A few months ago she’d returned to the office around ten o’clock in the evening for a file and was surprised to find David meeting with several men in his office. Whatever they were discussing was heated. The raised voices traveled down the hall to her office and she remembered hearing David talking about needing more investors. She had stuck around a little longer to check her voice messages and recalled how surprised he’d been to find her in the building when he was leaving. Since then he’d been acting stranger than usual toward her.
Dallas raised her head. “Oh my God, Paige, you might be on to something. I have to find out what he’s up to.”
“Uhh, I don’t know Dallas. If he is involved in some nonsense like a Ponzi scheme, he’s probably not someone you want to tangle with.”
****
From the patio of one of the condos in his building, Tyler looked down at the busy street below. He’d been lucky to get the building in such a prime location, right near the Magnificent Mile. Some days he couldn’t believe how their company had grown. He and Quinn had made some good investment decisions and were now reaping the rewards.
Upon hearing a door slam, he turned to see Quinn walking into the empty unit.
“Hey man, how long you been here?” Quinn asked and placed the large box that he was carrying on the kitchen counter.
Tyler stepped back into the apartment and closed the patio door behind him. “Not too long.”
“What do you think of the place so far?”
“It’s coming along, although I expected the last three units to be done this week.”
“Yeah, about that, looks like it’ll be another two weeks. But don’t worry we’re still coming in under budget.”
“Good. Best news I’ve heard all day.”
Quinn leaned against the counter. “Well, now for the not so good news. I got some information on Jerome. The guy is bad news. He’s been in and out of trouble since he was fifteen, even spent a bout in jail last year after beating a guy so bad, the man ended up in the hospital for weeks.”
“So why isn’t he behind bars?”
“He was. Dude did a few months until his hearing, and should’ve done more time due to some other accusations and warrants, but somehow the case was dropped and all of his fines paid.”
Tyler swore under his breath. He knew Jerome was trouble the day he came by the house with Harmony. He had walked in as if he was casing the joint.
“I know you said not to, but Harmony and I did go by his apartment this morning.”
“Q…”
“Don’t worry, nothing happened. He wasn’t there. I talked to a couple of his neighbors and no one has seen him in the last few days. The cops have been there, but no Jerome. I have someone watching the place, but, Ty, there’s something else.”
“What?”
&
nbsp; “The Securities and Exchange Commission is definitely investigating Dallas’s firm. The shit is about to hit the fan. Rumor has it they suspect one of the partners is involved in securities fraud.”
“You gotta be kiddin’ me.” Tyler stood in front of him with his arms crossed. “Are you sure?”
“Positive. And if Dallas were my woman, I’d want her to know what’s going on. I’ll let you decide if you want to tell her, but if ever it gets back that I told you anything, I’ll deny it.”
He knew his friend was serious. Being ex-special ops for the government, Quinn had a way of finding out things, but he’d never betray a source – not even for him.
Tyler had a bigger problem. How was he going to tell Dallas that all of her hard work to make partner may be in vain? Once the SEC was done with them, the firm may no longer exist. “Are we talking a Ponzi scheme?”
“Most likely.”
“If that’s really what’s going on, that low life David Weisman is probably the mastermind behind it.”
“I don’t know, but if you tell Dallas any of this, make sure she keeps her mouth shut. If it’s a Ponzi scheme, someone’s going to jail. And since they don’t know who all the players are you definitely don’t want her sharing information with the wrong person.”
Chapter Seventeen
Dallas covered her face with her hands and groaned. If she had to be a part of one more meeting today she would scream. The day had been crazy from the moment she’d stepped into the office. Her only excitement had been when she signed a millionaire client, who requested her personally.
“Hey there.”
Dallas dropped her hands when Bianca knocked and walked in. “I’m heading out, but just so you know, David just called to see if you were still here. He says he wants to talk to you before you leave for the day.”
“Did he say what it was about?” She opened her desk drawer and put away some personal stuff she’d been working on.
“Nope. Do you want me to stick around?”
“Oh, no. Go on home. I appreciate you staying this late.”
“Are you sure? I can stay a little longer.”
“I’m positive.” She glanced at her watch. “Besides, Tyler should be here any minute. So go on, leave.” She waved her hand in a brushing motion. “Have a good night, and I’ll see you in the morning.”
“All right, if you insist. But remember, security is a phone call away if David gets out of hand.”
Dallas smirked. “I’ll keep that in mind, though I’m sure he has more sense than to get crazy with me.” Or at least she hoped he did. Last night when she told Tyler about Paige’s theory and showed him the documents she thought were linked to it, he told her he had recently found out the SEC was investigating her firm.
“I’m glad I caught you before you left.”
Startled, Dallas looked up to find David walking toward her. She scanned his appearance. His hair looked as if he’d run his fingers through it one too many times, causing several unruly strands to stick straight out. His brown and tan striped tie hung loose around his neck with the top button of his wrinkled white shirt unbuttoned and the tail of it sneaking out of his pants. He looked as ragged as she felt.
“What’s up, David?” She stood and walked around him to get to her file cabinet. By the looks of his disheveled appearance, she wondered if the SEC had made contact. Tyler told her she couldn’t say anything about the investigation to anyone, not even William.
“Not much. I’m trying to finish up a few things before heading out,” he said. He first stood with his hands in his pocket, but when she looked back, he had taken a seat in one of the chairs in front of her desk. “I wanted to congratulate you on the Miller account. That’s some portfolio you’ll be managing. We were all surprised when Mrs. Miller requested you by name.”
“I wasn’t surprised. I’ve been in contact with her for months.”
David glanced over his shoulder and shot her a “whatever look” but said, “At this rate, you’ll make partner in no time.”
Dallas leaned against the file cabinet. Making partner had been her number one goal for the past few years, and it suddenly wasn’t important anymore. Building a relationship with Tyler took precedence now. “Thanks, David,” was all she said.
“Uh, Dallas, seeing you do some of your filing just reminded me. I was wondering if you’ve run across those documents I’ve been looking for. I was hoping maybe they had turned up in some of your other files by now, since they weren’t in the files I looked through.”
Dallas slammed the file drawer closed and walked back to her seat. With her elbows resting on the desk and her fingers interlocked under her chin, she looked at him. “No, sorry I haven’t seen them. Maybe if you tell me what they pertained to, I’ll know them if I see them.”
David pounded his fist on her desk and leaped from his chair. “Don’t screw with me little girl. You know damn well what I’m talking about!”
Dallas pushed back from her desk, her heart thumping erratically against her chest. She knew David didn’t like her, but he had never disrespected or verbally attacked her before.
“I…I don’t have your papers,” she managed to get out. “Let’s calm down and maybe we can figure out where—”
With one clean swipe of his hand across her desk, everything went flying across the room. A high pitched scream that sounded like she was blowing her lungs out flew through her lips, when David lunged at her.
“I’m not sure what type of game you’re playing.” He growled, grabbed hold of the arms of her chair, and pulled her and the chair toward him. His face inches from hers. “But those papers are very important, and I plan to get them back. Either you can hand them over, or find out the hard way how I handle people who cross me.” Without another word he released the arms of her chair, turned and walked out of the office.
The breath she didn’t realize she was holding escaped her in a burst moments after David left the room. Her body was shaking so badly she could barely push herself up to her desk. What have I done? I should’ve just given him the papers. She had already handed over a copy of the documents to Tyler, to give to his SEC contact. What harm would it do to give David back his originals?
With her hands covering her face, she took several cleansing breaths. She’d hand over David’s papers, but not before he confessed to what he was doing. Fear knotted inside her. If David was bold enough to come after her in the office, she knew he was serious about getting his information back.
On shaky legs, she moved from her desk and began picking up the items David had thrown on the floor. The glass pencil holder was in tiny pieces and papers were strewn everywhere. As for the broken glass, she picked up the big pieces, but would leave a note for the cleaning service to pay extra attention to the area.
David had knocked things off the desk with such force, that there was now a small dent in the wall from where the paper weight made contact. Thankfully it wasn’t broken.
It was only a matter of time before he got what was coming to him. When the SEC made a move, she’d be ready to help them in any way she could.
“Hey, baby, you….”
Dallas jumped and dropped the paperweight she held in her hands. When she looked up and saw Tyler, tears welled up in her eyes. She had never been so happy to see anyone in her life. And had it not been for her awkward position on the floor, she would’ve run into his arms.
“What happened in here?” He reached out his hand to help her off the floor.
“David.” His name hitched in her throat.
“David what?” He held her at arm’s length and she felt his body tense, and watched his eyes turned flat and hard.
“He … Tyler it doesn’t matter. It’s over and–”
“What happened, Dallas?” His voice was low and demanding as he looked her over. “Are you hurt?”
“He wants his papers back. I said I didn’t have them, and he told me not to play with him.” She wiped at her tears. “Then he got a
ngry, shoved everything off of my desk and came at me.”
“What?” he yelled. “Did he touch you?”
Dallas rested her hands on his chest. “Tyler, nothing happened. See. I’m fine.” She wrapped her arms around his waist. “Everything’s fine.”
He grabbed her shoulders and held her back, forcing her to look at him. “Dammit, Dallas, everything is not fine! When your boss comes at you over some stupid papers, there’s something very wrong.” He dropped his arms and turned to leave.
“Please. Don’t leave me,” she cried. It was the only thing she could say to keep him from charging out of the office, in search of David. The last thing she wanted was for him to take matters into his own hands. Yes, she wanted David to pay, but if he was doing something illegal she wanted him caught and put behind bars.
Tyler walked back and pulled her into his arms. “Then I’m calling the police.”
“No, don’t. Technically he hasn’t done anything. Maybe scared me a little, but that’s it. I believe David is the one the SEC is after and when they finish their investigation they’ll put him away for life.”
Still holding her, he rested his chin on top of her head. Dallas could feel the rapid beat of his heart when his arms tightened around her.
“Come on let’s get this stuff cleaned up and get out of here,” he said.
He picked up the items on the floor while she straightened her desk and locked her file drawers. After one last look around, Dallas walked over to Tyler. She could feel his anger when he put his arm around her waist and led her to the door.
“I’m okay. He didn’t hurt me,” she said.
“Maybe not this time, but what about next time?”
“There won’t be a next time.”
He kissed her lips. “Damn right there won’t be.”
****
Mark walked into his favorite downtown bar, a place that was quickly becoming his second home. Since he worked and lived in downtown Chicago he had his choice of great restaurants, but this place offered it all. Good food, sports, and a comfortable atmosphere. It was the perfect spot to unwind after a busy day. He took a seat at the bar and looked around the quaint space.
Blue Roses (Reunited Series) Page 18
