“Well, not necessarily. There could be necessary divestitures in the United States or other interests that require U.S. involvement. For example, there may be antitrust concerns if there’s potential anti-competitive impact in U.S. markets. Do you know if there are U.S. interests?” He sniffed and leaned back in his chair. “How do you know that a South American law firm is not acting as co-counsel or primary counsel?”
“Well, if I was running the deal, as Alan is leading people to believe I am, wouldn’t I know the answers to those questions? I don’t.”
“I’m not convinced that there’s anything sinister going on here. Evie, I have great respect for you, but you said that it was late at night when you overheard this conversation. And, it was being conducted in part in another language. It’s often difficult to accurately capture a conversation when the person speaking is in the same room and is speaking English. It sounds to me like Alan went out of his way to be very friendly to you when he saw that you were still in the office that night. You were both tired. Isn’t it possible that he would have chosen to speak to you about this assignment when each of you was more fresh?”
“Yes. That’s possible, but he didn’t. He hasn’t.”
“Okay, not yet, but were you ever involved with this client? Sitting in on a meeting or even just participating in discussions about a possible deal?”
“No, I had never heard of them before I got dragged into this correspondence.”
“I’m included in the correspondence on many deals on which I have no direct involvement.”
Evie felt it unnecessary to point out to Paul that as part of the executive group of partners, he would of course be receiving cc’s on most of the firm business. She decided to stick to the questions posed.
“The answer to your question is no.” She repeated her denial for emphasis. “I’ve never billed any time to this deal or any deal for this client. I don’t even think I had ever heard the client name before. Mmmm, Paul, what about that expense report receipt? Don’t you think it’s odd that two different hotels would have an Evelyn Sullivan registered for the same period of time? I’ve never stayed at the Colonial Court Hotel, by the way. Shouldn’t that raise some questions?”
“I’ll grant you that—that does seem strange. Get me a copy of that receipt and your verified time records for that period. I’ll need the receipt from the hotel where you say you did stay. We’ll get to the bottom of this. It will be easy enough to ask Alan about the origins of this transaction and any commissions involved.”
“Okay.”
“From now on, let’s keep this matter between us until I have an understanding of what we’re dealing with. In case there’s something that might subject the firm to, uhhh, criticism. I will definitely look into this.”
“Okay, but I do plan to talk to Hanover, too.”
“I will fill him in myself.”
“Thank you Paul.”
He nodded, watched her for a moment and stood to leave. He paused, studying her face for another moment. Then he turned abruptly and left.
This whole process was starting to feel to Evie like she was traveling across country on foot. She closed her office door, sat in her chair and tried to assimilate what had just transpired. She thought she had done the right thing, but the conversation with Paul had left her feeling exhausted, uneasy and more confused than comforted.
She dialed Joe’s office and his secretary put her right through.
“Eves,” he greeted her. “Everything okay?”
“I just had a conversation with Paul and it didn’t go very well.”
“I’m sorry. Tell me about it.”
“He came to me, I didn’t have to go to him. He came in here enumerating all the ways I’ve been screwing up. Alan’s responsible for every one of them in some way, except one, which I know has to be a mistake. But, I read it that I’m effectively on probation. Paul tried to make it sound as if he was giving me some inside information so that I could straighten up and still have a shot a partnership, but it really sounded like I’ve already been tried and convicted.”
“Did you tell him about Project Neon and everything you’ve discovered?”
“I tried, but since my name is all over it and I’ve got access to the files, he just concluded that I’m on the team of associates and somehow there’s been another miscommunication. Lots of miscommunication lately. He wasn’t disturbed at that $25 million commission because it is an interim document that hasn’t been fleshed out. And, of course, since he can’t see the contents of Schedule B7 right in front of him, he’s not overly concerned about that either. He did say he would check into the matter, ask Alan some questions and try to figure out how that faulty receipt got attached to my expense report, but he clearly didn’t seem to believe me. I should have waited until I found something more concrete—I let those allegations against me cloud my judgment.”
“It’s natural to want to defend yourself. I’m surprised he wasn’t suspicious of that commission. It could be a payoff of some kind, or a bribe.”
“Actually, I don’t think he believed that I wasn’t assigned to the deal. He seemed to suggest that it was just about my disinterest in working with Alan.”
“Did you tell him why you don’t want to work with Alan?”
“No, since the conversation was going so badly, I decided to wait for Hanover. He’s supposed to be in next Monday.”
“Do you think it’s possible that Paul was trying to minimize his reaction so as not to alarm you? Maybe he was shocked at what you were saying, but he’s saving his real reaction for his fellow partners.”
“I guess it’s possible, but there was a bit of sarcasm. Because so much of my story is speculation and I knew the closing date of the deal and I’m on the access list for the files; he seemed to be almost amused at my denials. That’s just what I was worried about. He apparently thinks I’m trying to throw mud at one of Alan’s deals because we argued. And, I think because he started our conversation with a longwinded reprimand, it was as if nothing I could say could be taken independently.”
“Not so easy to trust an authority who discounts your input.”
No, it’s not. Reaching out to Paul seemed like calling for help from a motionless elevator car stuck in an empty shaft. She had no control over what he would do next.
“You know, Joe, I just realized something. Since I didn’t tell him about Chicago, he must think that I’m the one who’s revenge hungry. Maybe, because I was blamed for Sangerson and because of all these new allegations against me, Paul sees me as someone trying to set up Alan.”
“Exactly what Alan wants.”
22
As she was talking to Joe, Helen walked in and handed her a copy of her latest billing records for review. Joe had to put her on hold for a minute so she quickly flipped through the printout.
After a few minutes, he was speaking to her again.
“Eves, I’m looking to see if our sniffer has turned up anything.”
“Joe, you’re not going to believe this, but I’m looking at my time records. I email my time to accounting every month and they produce a report tracked by client. Gerais Chevas is on here. It says I billed fourteen hours to them in July.”
“How could that be? Has Alan got control over the accounting records as well?”
“I’m starting to believe the whole firm is conspiring against me.”
“Have you reported the error?”
“Not yet, I just got the printout. Oh, this is great. I just told Paul I didn’t bill time to this client. He’s going to see this.”
“But it’s an erroneous report.”
“I know, but how do I prove it? Again, I’ll be on the defensive.”
“You can prove where you were and what you were doing during that time.”
“I’m sure I can come up with something, but unless I was meeting a client on that date, I won’t have absolute proof I wasn’t working on Gerais Chevas while I was in the office, especially with my na
me on the Hit History of those files. Electronic records can be challenged, but I think they’re presumed correct. That’s why Paul’s been so resistant to my claims.”
“So, Alan is fairly adept at computer hijackery. I’m going to send him another email. If he opens it, it will install a spyware package.”
“Joe, I don’t know if I’m comfortable with that.”
“The only way we may be able to prove his identity theft is to track his electronic movements. It just records keystrokes.”
“There are legions of attorneys ready to argue that it’s illegal to invade someone’s privacy like that.”
“Maybe for the government to do it, but not a private citizen, right counselor? At least not according to today’s Internet etiquette. Information gathering’s still fair game. We’re not stealing his identity or defrauding him in any way.”
“Well, let me exhaust my overt resources first. I still haven’t talked to Hanover.”
“Can you get in touch with Hanover before next Monday?”
“I’ll obviously have to try. Did you come up with anything in Alan’s email?”
Evie could hear him typing on his keyboard. “Here’s something. A confirmation in response to an email from an Adinaldo Rafael. Some sort of meeting is going to take place. This Adinaldo is apparently going to participate by conference phone. There’s a reference to a U.S. Senator.”
“A senator … Is it Senator Arbeson by any chance?”
“It doesn’t mention the Senator by name, just refers to him as ‘that U.S. Senator.’ It says that they need to address the ‘gov proj profile.’ It’s cryptic, but I get the feeling that some government contract work is part of the appeal of this business unit being sold by Gerais Chevas. If it’s just been awarded a government contract, that fact would certainly make it more marketable.” He paused and continued to type.
“How could I find that out?”
“Well, once a competitive bidding process had ended, the winner is announced publicly.”
“How would I—”
“I’ll do some checking.”
“Oh my God! I wonder if Senator Arbeson … I heard he was being investigated on a bribery charge.”
“Wouldn’t your firm—”
“No. Not something my firm is involved with. I heard a rumor from a friend. Anyway, the thought occurred to me that he could somehow be involved with this Gerais Chevas deal. He’s tight with Alan, he’s married to a South-American, he’s fluent in some Latin-sounding language and he has been notably active encouraging joint business ventures between New York and South American entities.”
“It does raise questions now, doesn’t it?”
“I would love to listen in on that conference call. Does it mention an AT&T conference call number or any other specifics?”
“No, not in this email, but there may be others to come.”
“Print that out for me, okay?”
“Absolutely. Do you want me to mail it or bring it with me?”
“Bring it when you come. Have you talked to your private investigator friend?”
“No, but I’ve left messages for him,” said Joe. “Should hear something soon.”
“I need to find out more about this woman who called me. Is there any way to track her down?”
“Not much to go on, but I’ll talk to him about it. She hasn’t called back?”
“No. Joe, oh Joe, I’m looking at the reps and warranty language again and something just hit me.”
“What?”
“It says that the main agreement won’t be binding on the purchaser until the signature of the seller’s lawyer is electronically affixed.”
“Ahhh. So an easy way for Alan to forge your signature.”
“I guess this means that an electronic signature will be sufficient to force the purchaser to go through with the deal,” she paused. “And force the attorney to do whatever has to be done to secure Project Neon.”
“Does it say what form the digital signature will take? Digitized handwritten signature or some kind of private key regime like was on that password-protected file?”
“No, it just says the signature will be electronically affixed.”
“So, Alan doesn’t need you to be physically present to close the deal. He can attach your electronic signature and presumably, you’d be committed to perform.”
“Yes, it seems like that’s the plan.”
“Do you have a digitized version of your handwritten signature stored on your computer or on the firm’s system anywhere?”
“Not that I can remember, but then I’ve signed hundreds of documents by hand while I’ve been at the firm.”
“Yes, a written signature could easily be digitized without your knowledge. Listen, Eves, are you okay? I’ve got to go to a meeting, but we’ll stay on his trail, okay?”
“Yes, yes. Joe, I’m fine. Thanks for everything.”
“I’ll be there in a couple of days. Not sure exactly when yet.”
“Okay, until then.”
She hung up and weighed her options. She dialed Liza’s extension and was given Hanover’s cell phone number. Evie had always been able to adequately communicate with Hanover using his regular extension and voice mail, but this situation would require immediate contact.
Hanover answered on the second ring.
“Jack, may I speak with you for a few minutes? It’s very important.”
“Evie, absolutely. What’s up?”
“I didn’t really want to go into this over the telephone, but I don’t think this can wait.”
She relayed the details of her conversation with Paul. Hanover listened without interrupting, then he spoke.
“Evie, I have been informed of these petty allegations that’ve been tossed around about you. In offer of apology, I didn’t intend for you to be troubled with any of this. I’m not at all convinced they happened as reported.”
“Thank you, Jack. I was hoping you’d give me the benefit of the doubt.”
“Due consideration will be afforded.”
“I can’t understand how that happened with Sangerson, unless someone specifically hijacked my email account and sent out that document in its raw form. I specifically emailed my revised version to Alan that evening before I left the office, as he had requested. Short of some sort of virus in my email, I can’t imagine how that document mix-up occurred. As for Roma Sori, I’ve got a call into Adam. I want to find out how his SerosaSoft deal was leaked to the New York Technologist—”
“You can stop there. I didn’t find anything in those complaints to work up a sweat over. And, I’m sure there’s some explanation for that leak. I don’t have the details on that, but I’m going to find out.”
“Thank you, Jack.”
“Okay, now let’s talk about this Gerais Chevas deal.”
“Yes, I’m completely baffled by the inclusion of my name in the file access lists, the correspondence. I’ve—”
“I can’t imagine you denying involvement in something untruthfully. You’ve laid out very clearly your concerns about the details of this deal. I appreciate you bringing this matter to my attention. I will speak to Paul and Alan and we’ll get to the bottom of this. Should be easy enough.”
“Okay, Jack. Here’s the part I didn’t tell Paul. I haven’t told any partner.”
“Evie, hang on a minute, I’m going to have to call you back on a land line.”
The connection was lost, but within minutes, Hanover was put through to her desk.
“Sorry, Evie, my cell went dead.”
“No problem. Jack, again, I know the telephone is not the best way to communicate this, but I can see this thing escalating rapidly now and I’ve got to get everything out on the table.”
Hanover remained silent, but she could hear a formidable white noise in the background, as if he was standing in a train station or other large, echo-filled enclosure.
“Jack, Alan made a pass at me on a client trip last year and I failed to report
it. It was that Simmons pitch we did together in Chicago—”
“Evie, you’ll have to speak up. There’s an enthusiastic salesman on the next phone.”
“Okay, Jack.” Evie spoke louder and despite her closed office door she looked around as she spoke as if she was shouting her most embarrassing moment to everyone she’d ever known.
“That Simmons pitch in Chicago, do you remember that? Alan and I did a joint presentation. It included my overview of our IP practice.”
“Yes, yes, I remember.”
“Alan followed me back to my hotel room afterward, kissed me and tried to push his way into my room.”
“Mmmm, I see.”
“And, after I threatened to call you, he made a good case at the time for why I shouldn’t report it. He apologized and said he’d gotten wrapped up in the excitement of our success with the client. I wanted to be a team player and not overreact so I agreed not to report it, but I know now that was a mistake. And, I feel like that promise has been overridden by these recent events and what I believe is Alan’s current agenda.”
“Yes, I can understand that. Well, this does thicken the plot, so to speak.”
“I hope I can be completely honest with you, Jack.”
“Yes, please do.”
“I really feel that Alan decided then and there that I would be a convenient scapegoat. I don’t know what this Gerais Chevas transaction is all about, but to the extent that it does turn out to be controversial, I feel that Alan is arranging to be able to point the finger at me.”
“It is a deal of some size, I understand. I will definitely become more familiar with the specifics. Evie, an ethics committee meeting will be convened as soon as possible. The partnership has duly noted your sexual harassment complaint and will initiate a discrete investigation into the matter immediately.”
“Thank you, Jack. I assume you will have to question Alan about it directly.”
“Yes, of course.”
“I’m not sure what series of events that will put in motion.”
“He will be instructed not to have any contact with you while this investigation is ongoing. Any matters you are currently assigned under Alan will be redirected, including Gerais Chevas.”
Wearing the Spider (A Suspense Novel) (Legal Thriller) (Thriller) Page 22
