“Riley, right now Loren is still vulnerable, if she learns too much too quickly without the proof to back it up, it will do one of two things: break her completely and she won’t leave him because she’ll feel worthless, or it will make her so angry that she will jeopardize our job and blow the entire operation. So . . . as you can probably guess, we aren’t looking to withhold information just for the hell of it. We do it because neither of those options is one we want to navigate.”
Clearly, Riley didn’t like either option, but after a long moment, he sighed and leaned back in his seat. “What do you need from me?”
Adeline locked eyes with Melanie then Olivia and then Sunday, each giving her a nod. It was their silent permission to reveal their information and tactics. “Greg is having an affair. He meets with a woman, gets into her car, and they go off together.” Adeline turned to Sunday, who was busy typing while Melanie got up and moved to turn on the television they had in the boardroom and turned it on. Seconds later, the photo of Greg and Hillary Chatham appeared on the screen.
Riley cringed.
Sunday typed and the next photo from the restaurant appeared.
“My sister knows her? Who is the other guy?”
“That’s her husband, Councilman Chatham,” Adeline answered.
“Fuck.” Riley let out a long, exaggerated sigh, but Sunday continued clicking, and the photo zoomed in. “What’s Greg doing?”
“He’s putting a document of some sort into her purse, which is what has us curious. We’ve been looking into a few things, one of which is your sister’s property that your grandparents left her. We found some documents that suggest that Greg might be using the property in some kind of land deal with the city, but that’s just speculation right now.”
“Do I want to know how you got the documents?”
“Nope.” Adeline gave him a wink. “Anyway, we were just getting ready to find out more about our discovery when you walked in. Sunday . . .”
“Adeline found out that a quit claim was filed on the property a little over a year ago, but there isn’t a name for the current owner. I have been searching ever since. Anyway, I finally found out that it was owned by a company called LeAen Holdings and the quit claim was with Tertiary Development.”
“What the fuck?” Riley jumped from his seat.
“Hold on, Riley, let me finish.” Sunday held up one hand. “Greg has been working with Tertiary Development on the land deal.”
“Who owns LeAen Holdings?” Adeline looked puzzled.
“That was my grandparents’ company. They turned every penny they ever made into property, a lot of it. When they passed, the land went into a trust for Loren and me. My mom was their only child, her name was LeAnne, so they took the last syllables from Riley and Loren and mom’s name to come up with the name for the trust. But I’m not sure what Greg has to do with it, or how he could do a quit claim on it.”
“By forging Loren’s signature and getting a notary to falsify seeing her sign the documents.”
Riley’s face was slowly turning red as anger began to boil inside him.
“According to the documents we found, Tertiary is buying the property at just under forty dollars per acre–”
“No fucking way, the property is worth twenty times that, it is prime. The airport has offered to buy it for three million, but Loren wants to save it for Noelle, she actually had it set up into a trust under Noelle’s name so that if anything ever did happen between her and Greg it didn’t become part of a divorce settlement.”
“And once we get all the proof, we will be able to get the property back for her, but until then, we need to stay calm. Let me continue. The other company, Tertiary . . . you’ve never heard of them because . . .” Sunday once again tapped on her keyboard and a series of photographs popped up on the screen. One was a yearbook photo.
“That’s Greg,” Riley added.
“Yep,” Sunday agreed. “And the woman next to him is . . . are you ready for it? Hillary Trinity Reynolds.”
“Hillary?” Olivia and Melanie asked in unison.
“Trinity?” Adeline asked, and they all smiled, because leave it to Adeline to pick up on the insignificant thing.
“Yep, it seems that Hillary Trinity and Hillary Chatham are one and the same. When she got married, she took her maiden name as her middle name, which I guess is a thing. It also makes sense that the company that owns her house is Tertiary Development.”
“How exactly does that make sense?” Olivia asked.
“What does trinity mean?”
“The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost?”
Sunday shot Olivia an exasperated look and corrected her. “No, it means three. What else means three? Tertiary.”
"But that could be a coincidence, right?” Riley didn’t look at all convinced.
“It could be, if it weren’t for the other thing I just found.”
Melanie was all but vibrating in her seat as we waited for Sunday to lay it all out for us.
“Good god woman, can you tell us already and stop dragging it on?”
Sunday waved off her outburst. “Hold your horses Mel, I’m getting there. I just want to get the proof up on my screen so that I can show all of you. It took some digging, but I eventually found out that Tertiary Development was started by two students at Stetson University as part of their senior thesis. You following me?”
Everyone, including Riley, nodded.
“Those two students were…” Sunday pulled a photo up. “Greg and Hillary.”
“Well, shit.”
“Exactly,” Sunday answered.
“So, Greg sold Loren’s property to the company for pennies on the dollar and now the company is selling it to the city for fair market value? Why? Is he hiding the money from Loren and planning on leaving her?” Riley was dumbfounded over this revelation.
“We don’t know yet, but we do know the city has made a bid to buy the property from Tertiary, believing that they are the rightful owner, for eight hundred and seventy-five dollars per acre, or just over four million dollars.”
“So, I dug into Hillary a little more and found out that the house that she and Greg were going to was owned by—”
“Tertiary Development,” Adeline answered, since she had already learned that from Belle.
Sunday smiled brightly, clearly loving when things fell into place.
“First, do Greg and Hillary still own Tertiary?” Adeline asked.
“Yes,” Sunday answered.
Adeline jotted a note down in her notebook before looking up and adding in her two cents. “Then we need to find out what Greg’s plans are for the money from Loren’s property. Problem is, he doesn’t want Loren to know that the property has been sold, nor where he’s stashing the money. He was planning on keeping the money from his own fucking daughter.”
“Motherfucker,” Melanie hissed.
“Douchebag,” Olivia groaned out.
“Typical male scum.” Adeline wasn’t that surprised. Sure, men were fun for a little bit, but they always ended up showing their true colors.
Riley didn’t say anything about the derogatory comments on his own gender. “So what’s the plan? How can we help my sister, save my niece’s inheritance, and screw the motherfucking, douchebag, typical-male scum?”
All four ladies took in Riley’s question, then realized how he took their words and let out a laugh. He returned Adeline’s wink and damn it, she blushed.
“Okay, here’s the plan.” Adeline leaned forward and opened her notebook.
Chapter Twelve
Riley
Riley sat in the lobby of the mayor’s office. He was shocked that Greg had been able to make time for him on such short notice. But, as he sat there staring down at his watch, he was quickly wondering if Greg was playing some game, it was almost an hour past his appointment time. Riley shifted in the uncomfortable plastic chair and stared at the large portrait of Greg that hung on the wall.
Riley tapped his fing
ers on the arm of the chair as he checked the time again. He had no idea how this whole plan was going to work, after all, he and Adeline were going to be working closely, she was going to be pretending to be his girlfriend, which was clearly something she found distasteful.
So exactly why was he doing this again? Oh yeah, his sister. Even he knew that was a lie. It hadn’t been only about helping his sister out since the moment he walked into that meeting at the country club and found Adeline hiding under the table.
The woman was sharp and snarky and sexy as hell, and maybe him doing this would help soften her a little. Riley inwardly groaned and reminded himself that this was the twenty-first century and not the eighteen-hundreds. As much as he’d like to be able to be the hero and help Adeline solve the case, the woman was incredibly talented and on a mission to prove that she didn’t need a man. Maybe that’s why she gave him a part in the plan that wasn’t all that complicated. He only needed to talk to Greg about an upcoming proposal. Appeal to his need for more charitable and community work that would reflect well on him in advance of his upcoming election. Well, if Adeline didn’t need him, then he needed to figure out how to make her want him.
Riley looked up, pulled from his thoughts of a fictional Adeline that was docile and needy, when a young, impeccably dressed man opened the inner chamber door.
“Mr. Thomas?”
Riley stood. “Yes?”
“Mayor Delaney will see you now.”
“Thanks.” Riley offered a tight smile to Greg’s secretary and dipped into his brother-in-law’s office.
“Riley how good to see you.” Greg didn’t stand, but he did plaster on his fake, wide smile. “Lance, can you fix us some scotch? Riley is Loren’s brother.”
Riley held up his hand, silently declining the drink, and Lance left without another word.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. You know how it is, always so busy. Seems like someone is always demanding my attention.”
“No problem, but it did cut into my schedule, so I’ll make it brief. Then, if you’re interested, you can call me and we can try to set something else back up.”
Greg raised his eyebrow, his curiosity clearly piqued. “Sounds interesting . . .go on.”
“Okay, well, I’m not sure if you know this or not, but my grandparents left me some property, and I need a tax write-off. Business is going great, but with it comes exorbitant tax bills. I have two choices: pay the government or help those in need in our community. I figured that I’d like to help those in need.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“Affordable housing.”
“That sounds reasonable, but I don’t understand how I can help with that.”
“The city is holding me up on re-zoning, and when I was talking to Loren, she thought you might be able to help. Your involvement in the project would get you the kind of positive press you would be hard pressed to pass up, especially right before an election.”
“Can you explain a little bit more?”
“My property is slated as agricultural and not commercial or residential. I know that the city has to acquire a certain number of government-sanctioned housing units per year. I was thinking I would build those homes, divide my land into residential parcels, and sell it to the city. Of course, I would agree to a lower sale price, since it’s for the city, and I can always use it as a deduction.” Riley made a mental note to call Loren and mention that if Greg asks, yes she and he had discussed this idea. “It would help me at the same time since I keep getting offers from Medical City, their offers are fair market value, but it would destroy me on taxes. This land is an inheritance. It’s locked in a trust, so I haven’t paid taxes on the value yet as an inheritance. But once I sell it—”
“You’re screwed,” Greg finished the sentence for him.
“Yep. I need to show a substantial loss, but as long as it is zoned agricultural, the value is low. If I can get it rezoned into a different class then the market value will skyrocket, which will make my donation of the land an even larger tax write-off.”
“I’m glad that Loren said to talk with me, the woman really does know me. I have an idea of exactly what we can do. Let me clear the rest of my schedule for the day.”
The man looked about ready to piss his pants with excitement and thrash himself for keeping Riley waiting.
“Sorry, but I can’t stay today. I have a meeting, and I hate keeping clients waiting.” Riley knew that it was petty, but he loved getting the upper hand. “Why don’t you call me when your schedule is a bit more controllable?”
“Can’t you reschedule whatever it is that you have?"
“Nope, call me crazy, but I still refuse to hire a secretary. It’s a little more difficult for me to reschedule things. Thank you again for meeting me on such short notice, though.”
“Absolutely, Riley, you’re family. Hey, we’re having a cocktail party this weekend, why don’t you come? There will be several councilmen and other members of city committees present. It would be the perfect time for you to convince them we need the plot of land rezoned.”
Riley wanted to roll his eyes. “Sounds good. Is this something I can bring a date to?”
“Absolutely.” Greg’s grin slipped for only a second before it was firmly back in place. “Loren hasn’t mentioned you seeing someone.”
“It’s still new.” They both stood and Riley reached out a hand, which Greg shook with the perfect, political grip. “Well, I’ll see you at the party, if not before.”
Riley left and gave himself a pat on the back because he knew he was leaving Greg salivating and wanting more. It wasn’t exactly what Adeline had told him to do, but he’d improvised, and in the end, he believed that Adeline would be pleased. Feeling confident that Greg was probably calling that Hillary woman first, Riley dialed Loren as soon as he got into his truck.
“Hey, Ri.”
“Only got a second but wanted to give you a heads-up. I met with Greg today.”
“You what?” Loren half-squeaked, half-shouted into the phone.
“Listen to me, it’s part of the plan. Anyway, Greg thinks I’m looking for some charitable tax deductions and considering selling my land that Gram and Gramps left me.”
“You aren’t, are you?”
“No, but he thinks I am. He also thinks that you and I discussed it and you advised me to talk with him about it since I might want to build affordable housing and it could help his campaign at the same time. He was very pleased with you by the way.”
Loren let out a groan.
“Oh, and before I forget, he thinks that I have a girlfriend and will be bringing her to some dinner party this weekend.”
“You have a girlfriend? What cocktail party?”
“Yes, Adeline is going to pretend that she is my girlfriend, and how did you not know about a cocktail party that you supposedly are throwing?”
“Great. I didn’t know because obviously this is another of Greg’s last-minute ideas that he thinks are no big deal because he is clueless about what all is involved. He thinks of no one but himself. I don’t have time for this nonsense!”
“Sorry.”
“Not your fault, Ri. By the way Adeline is the perfect girlfriend for you.”
“You mean perfect fake girlfriend, this is just to help you.”
“Okay, whatever you say. I’ll let you know the details as soon as Greg tells me the details. Oh, and, Ri?”
“Yes?”
“You seem awful edgy when it comes to discussing Adeline.”
“Shut up.”
“Shutting up. Just saying. Okay, really, I’m shutting up now.”
Riley disconnected and headed home because he didn’t really have a meeting to get to.
When he walked in, he dropped his keys onto the counter, grabbed a Yuengling from the fridge and moved to the sliding glass doors that opened to the sprawling backyard. He didn’t have to shout because as soon as he’d pulled up, Gerda, his German Shepherd, had recognized the
sound of his truck and was already at the door waiting.
“Hey, girl, did you catch any criminals? Get some bite work in?” Gerda tilted her head and listened to him talk. For some reason, every German Shepherd Riley had owned since he was a kid had done that. Grinning, he headed back inside and collapsed onto the couch before flipping on the television. Gerda jumped up with him, taking up the two cushions to his left, and cut her eyes up to the episode of Law and Order he’d stopped on. Halfway through the episode, Riley’s phone buzzed, and he shifted just enough to pull it from his pocket.
Loren: Saturday evening. Grand Bohemian Hotel. Seven sharp. Black tie. Dinner is included. Cash bar. Greg said that he asked Lance to put you and Adeline at our table.
Riley: See you then.
He had just moved to set his phone down when it rang with an unfamiliar number.
“Yesss?”
“Well, don’t you sound like Suzie Sunshine?”
“Adeline?”
“Yep, the one and only, I was calling to talk about how your meeting went.”
Riley let out a chuckle. “Hello, Adeline. Loren was getting ready to text you, did you get it?”
“Yes, she did. Awesome work, by the way. I was figuring we probably should meet and get our stories straight. Even if he doesn’t suspect anything, Hillary will. Women tend to be more suspicious by nature.”
“Sure, just tell me when.”
“We only have three days, so is tomorrow good for you? I can meet any time.”
“I can do early if you want to meet for coffee.”
“I can do coffee just tell me where.”
“Let’s meet at Keke’s downtown. How does seven sound?”
“In the morning?”
Okay at that Riley did laugh. “Yes, in the morning, is that too early?”
“But that means I have to get up at five thirty to get ready and be there on time. I’m not sure that I’ve ever been up at five thirty.”
“Hold on.” Riley tried to move Gerda, but she wasn’t having it. “Gerda, I need to get up.”
“Hey, Riley, no problem. Seven o’clock it is. See you then.” Adeline hung up before Riley could say another word. He looked at the black screen, confusion pulling his brow together. All he wanted to do was go get his iPad so he could check his schedule for the morning and see if he could move their time to eight instead of seven. Sometimes, Adeline was too confusing.
Roadster (Iron Ladies Book 1) Page 9
