Stolen: The Billionaire Deception (19 page)

He took a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped the sweat from his brow. He looked like he was trying to figure out if I really knew something or if I was just trying to find out what he knew. Finally he said, “I’m not exactly certain I’m following you.”

“
I appreciate your loyalty, Phillip. Erin… Adele told me that she ran into you at the ball and you recognized her. She said that you told her she looked just like her mother and that her father would be proud. She said you committed to helping her and she knew you despised my father. Does that help you believe I know and I’m not just trying to trick you?”

He chuckled nervously and said, “It all helped except that part about me despising James. Everyone knows that.”

It was my turn to laugh. Then turning serious I said, “What do you think we should be looking for, Phillip?”

“
Anything related to the purchase of the business… anything with the Morgan’s name on it…”

“
Let me ask you this, do you remember a lawsuit between Adele’s father and mine? Something about a breach of confidentiality?”

Phillip was nodding slowly but he looked like he was trying to reach back into his memory as he did. Finally he said, “Yeah, I remember. Adele’s father was livid. He found out that your father was using confidential information that he discovered while working for him as his attorney to set up his own investing firm on the side. Morgan probably could have gotten him disbarred for it, and he may have had he not been killed before it ultimately went to court.”

“
So what happened when it went to court?”

“
The documents that Morgan had on him had disappeared from his attorney’s office and Morgan wasn’t there to testify, so the judge threw it out. James had filed a counter suit at the same time for slander. Because again, Morgan wasn’t there to dispute it, James won that one. The estate was ordered to pay him damages. The records were sealed however as far as the settlement. I’m not sure how much he ended up with.”

“
Hmm, maybe he ended up with this company because of it. Do you think if he was devious enough to steal the evidence Morgan had against him… or buy it even that he would still have it? Wouldn’t that be awfully risky?”

“
Yes, it would be…. Can I speak freely to you about your father, Seth?”

I smiled, sadly and said, “Go ahead, Phillip. You can’t say anything that will rival the way I’m feeling about him myself.”

“
The biggest reason I dislike your father is his extreme narcissism. He had the most wonderful wife. Your mother was an angel. He didn’t treat her the way she deserved to be treated, because he was so in love with himself. I was a very good friend of your mother’s and one day I confronted him about his philandering and told him that someday he would get caught and get what was coming to him. I couldn’t bring myself to tell her, she loved him so much that she was blind to his ways. James laughed when I told him that. He said that he was “smarter” than the rest of us and that he would always win. I believe that he truly believes that and I wouldn’t doubt that as with any true narcissist… he kept “trophies” from his victories. You are the only one who has that kind of access to his private life. He’s beat you down emotionally for years. He doesn’t believe for a second that you would turn against him.”

I took a moment to process all that he was saying. My father, the narcissist. My mother, his victim and me… I guess I’d have to be called a victim too. It was a word that I didn’t care to be associated with and the thought of it gave me that last little bit of determination I needed to do what I knew I had to do.

“
Phillip, is the lawyer who was handling this “evidence” for the Morgan’s still around?”

“
He’s retired, but yes, he lives with his wife over on 7
th
Avenue. I still run into him frequently at charity events.”

“
Can I enlist you to do me a very large favor?”

“
Whatever,” he said. “As long as it ends with James Hunter finally losing.”

I told Phillip what I needed him to do and then I headed out for the day. My father golfed all day on Fridays. I knew he wouldn’t be at the estate. I took my own car out. I didn’t want any witnesses. When I confronted my father I wanted to take him completely by surprise.

~

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

~

ADELE

“
Wow, don’t you look gorgeous!” Grant had just gotten home from work and I was on my way out that Friday night. We hadn’t had much of a chance to talk since Seth had shown up the day before.

“
Thank you,” I told him. Then I opened my arms and said, “I need to hug you.”

Grant accepted the hug and after holding onto me for several minutes he said, “So what was that for?”

“
To thank you for putting up with me. Or, I should say to thank you for putting up with Erin. I know that she wasn’t always the easiest person to live with.”

He laughed and said, “No, she wasn’t. But, it turned me on a little to know her dirty secrets… like the fact that she was a corporate spy and I was the only one who knew her real name.”

“
I will always tell you my secrets,” I said. “Hopefully, I won’t have so many to tell in the future.”

“
Will that future be with the young Mr. Hunter?”

“
I sure do hope so. I love him so much, Grant.”

He smiled and touched my face. “He’s a lucky man.”

“
I’m the lucky one,” I said. “I have two of the best looking, sweetest, kindest, smartest men in New York in my corner.”

He laughed again and said, “Which one of us is better looking?”

I looked at my watch and said, “Look at that, it got so late so soon. I really have to go now.”

He threw his head back then and laughed hard. “Okay, I’ll let you plead the fifth on that one. Just promise me two things and I’ll leave it alone.”

“
What’s that?”

“
First, that you won’t ever stop being my friend…”

“
Never,” I said.

“
And second… When you get that company back finally, you’ll hire me. I hate my job.”

“
Aw, of course I will. Working with you and Seth would be a blast.”

“
You’re going to let him stay in his position when you get it back, aren’t you?”

“
Look, it’s another minute later. I really do have to go.” I winked at him and kissed his cheek. “Thank you for being the best friend ever. I love you.”

“
I love you more,” he said, as I went out the door.

When I reached the ground floor, Seth’s car was waiting for me. The driver was standing at the curb with the back door open for me. “Good evening Miss,” he said. “Mr. Seth asked me to let you know he’ll be meeting us at the restaurant.”

“
Thank you, Sam.” I got in and rode across town in anticipation. It had only been a matter of hours since Seth left my bed to go to work. I missed him like crazy from the very second he was gone.

Sam took me to an upscale restaurant in SoHo. They served eclectic food in a classy, serene atmosphere. It had always been one of my favorite places. When I got inside the hostess took me straight back to where Seth was waiting for me. I was surprised to see that Phillip Granger was with him as well.

“
Hi,” I said. “Hello, Phillip. This is a surprise.”

Seth kissed my cheek and Phillip said, “Hello again, Adele. I hope you don’t mind me crashing your intimate dinner party. Seth and I have had our heads together today and we think we have some exciting news for you. I won’t be staying long but I wanted to be here when he told you.”

Excited, I sat down and they did too. “I don’t mind at all, Phillip. I am so grateful for the help.”

Seth smiled and laid a packet of paperwork on the table in front of me. It was the legal papers I had got a glimpse of that night at the house. “Oh my goodness! You work fast.”

He grinned and said, “You told me exactly where to find them. It seems my father was running his own business based on information he gained confidentially from yours. When your father found out, he filed a lawsuit against him. He wanted my father disbarred so that he wouldn’t be able to do the same to someone else. The civil suit had been filed and if your father would have won the case, an investigation by the FTC may have been opened against my father as well as the Law Review Board getting involved.”

“
But since my father died, none of that happened, right?”

“
It gets better,” Phillip said. “James filed a countersuit claiming slander. When the first case went to court, your father had already passed. Miraculously, witness statements and supporting documents had gone missing from his attorney’s office.”

“
Was that attorney a friend of James Hunter’s by any chance?”

“
Better yet,” Seth said. “He was a gambler and a cheat and Father knew all of his deep, dark secrets because they had worked together for years.”

“
Oh no!”

“
Oh yes,” Phillip said. “I spoke with the other attorney today. His name is Paul Goddard and he has been retired for five years. He told me the truth about what happened back then. He has gone through alcoholics anonymous and gamblers anonymous over the past few years. He was going to come to you eventually. He has been trying to “make amends” for his past sins. I told him that I wouldn’t promise whatever he told me wouldn’t be used against him. I’m not sure how far you plan to take this. He said that he didn’t care anymore; he was tired of living with things on his conscience. It seems he’s admitted a lot of his wrongs against a lot of people.”

“
He got rid of the evidence?” I asked.

“
Worse,” Seth said. “My father blackmailed him and threatened to ruin his career. Paul gave him the original witness statements and original documents… financial documents that your father had collected to use against mine in court.”

“
Wow… I didn’t realize how far his reach was.”

“
Neither did I,” Seth said. “The good news is that Phillip told me something very interesting about my father today. He told me that James Hunter is a narcissist. I guess I’ve had to always know that, but I never wanted to admit it. It’s hard to think of one of your parents as incapable of loving anyone other than themselves. “He also told me that a narcissist would “keep trophies” of his wins because he thinks he is way too smart to get caught.” Seth laid down some more paperwork in front of me. It was copies of the witness statements, all of the evidence my father had compiled against James.

“
Oh my God. Seth, you’re amazing.” Phillip cleared his throat and I looked up at him and smiled. “You too, Phillip of course. You’re both incredible. I’m so lucky to have you in my corner.”

“
At the risk of sounding like an infomercial I have to say, “But wait!” That’s not all.”

I couldn’t help but smile at my beautiful man as I said, “Please tell me what else there is.”

“
Well, as you can see there, my father countersued for slander. Because this evidence never came to light, and your father was dead he won that case. That’s how he obtained your company. He was awarded a lot of money from your father’s estate. There wasn’t enough cash so he took the other assets… the house, the furnishings, the business…”

“
So he was granted all of that in court. Does that mean I don’t have a legal right to any of it any longer?”

“
It would, if we couldn’t prove he hid evidence and that was the only way he won.”

“
So we’re going to do what with that evidence?”

“
We are going to use it to persuade my old man to walk away from Hunter Corp… after signing the deed over to you, of course.”

“
Oh wow. Do you think that he will agree to that?”

“
We will make sure he doesn’t have a choice,” Seth told me.

I got up and hugged them both. I don’t think I could ever put into words how much their help meant to me. “Thank you both so much!” I saw the top of Phillip’s head flush as I kissed him on it. Seth looked amused.

“
You’re welcome,” Phillip said. “I can’t wait to hear what his reaction was when you two confront him. I’m going to go home now and get some rest. It’s late for this old man to be out.” I thanked him profusely again. I was so happy.

Once Phillip left, I looked at Seth with the adoration I was feeling. He grinned at me again. I could tell that he was feeling pretty proud of himself. That was okay by me, he deserved to be.

“
Are you hungry?” he asked me.

“
I am starving,” I told him. “I’m also highly aroused. It’s like all of my senses are heightened all of a sudden. This spy stuff is kind of fun.”

He laughed, “Yeah, it is. But you know what is going to be more fun? Walking into YOUR company that first day knowing that no one can ever take it away from you again. You came a long ways from that little girl who was all alone in the world. You have so much to be proud of yourself for.”