The View from Suite 2100 (8 page)

“Annette,” I said, trying to pretend I wasn’t the least bit upset. “I’m so glad you’re here. I called earlier and was told you were unavailable. I came on down in person because there is some type of misunderstanding that I need to get straightened out.”

Annette swallowed and looked towards Evelyn for support. “I can’t help you, Rowena. Sorry,” she turned towards me and threw out the palms of her hands. “This is way, way over my head.”

Evelyn nodded. “Mine too.”

I noticed a number of the people working at nearby desks had paused and their attention was now trained on us. I shook my head to clear it. This couldn’t be happening to me again, I thought. Wasn’t it just yesterday that I was in a public place with people staring at me like I was green or something? I fought desperately to keep my composure, but it was becoming a losing battle.

“Well I can appreciate that, Annette, and you too Evelyn, but I assure you I’d be able to appreciate it a hell of a lot better if I knew what in the hell was going on here!”

I hadn’t raised my voice. I’d spoken through clenched teeth, but I had not raised my voice.

Evelyn attempted to take charge. She stood up and came around to where I was. I saw her tilt her head slightly and something made me glance around. The tilt was a summons for the security guard to come to where we were. It was clear she intended for him to escort me from the bank.

Annette looked at me miserably. “Why don’t you just leave, Rowena. Don’t embarrass your self by having to be escorted out,” she whispered. “I am really very, very sorry about this. Believe me.”

Suddenly I knew I didn’t want them treating me like I was a common criminal, and I knew that anything was subject to happen if he actually put his hands on me.
This has got to be a nightmare
, I thought. I have obviously entered the Twilight Zone and I need to go!

With all eyes on me I turned around and slowly exited the bank.

Chapter Thirteen

I opened my door and was about to step into my car when I heard it.

“Psst! Psst! Ms.Wilkes!”

I couldn’t see her, but I knew who it was calling me. I finally spotted her sitting in a car parked three over from where mine was parked. A dark complexed, good looking Latino man was behind the wheel and Elsa was in the passenger’s seat beside him. She beckoned to me.

There was a slight smile on her face as I approached. “Ms. Wilkes, this is my boyfriend, Pedro.”

Pedro nodded but didn’t say anything.
What an odd time to be introducing me to your boyfriend,
I thought. My world is falling apart and you’ve played at least a small part in it. She quickly started to explain.

“I was just telling Pedro about what they was doing to you and he said it wasn’t fair. That I should let you know what was going on.” She looked down at her long, beautifully manicured red nails before looking back up at me. “I just told him I could lose my job, but he said right is right, he’s got a job if they do fire me.”

I glanced gratefully at the young man, but he kept his attention focused on Elsa.
You’ve got you something here, young lady
, I thought, but I didn’t want Elsa to risk her job for my sake.

“Thanks Elsa for being brave enough to be willing to tell me, but I don’t want you to get in trouble. I’ll get to the bottom of this,” I shook my head. “This is totally ridiculous.”

“I’ve gotta tell you. You’ve always been nice to me.” She glanced over and winked at Pedro. “Maybe if I don’t have no job, he’ll really marry me!”

He nodded.

“They said it has to do with a “morals” clause issue? I don’t know just what that means, but that’s what I heard Mr. Cade telling Annette. Mr. Cade don’t like it! He is very, very upset, but it came from someplace higher than him.”

“Morals?” The word fell out of my mouth. “They are going to call my loan because of a ‘morals issue’?”

She nodded fiercely. Her sudden accent surprised me. It was unnoticeable when she was at work, but now it was thick. “I don’t know no more I could tell you, but it don’t seem right. Nobody at the bank is supposed to talk to you.” She reached out and touched my arm. “I ain’t gonna work here no more.”

Chapter Fourteen

I thought about the line item, Sandra, the accountant, and the senseless hours I’d spent in front of the computer gambling away the frustrations I had allowed to mount in my life as I maneuvered carefully through traffic the short distance from the bank back to 2-of-A Kind. Could that be it? The ‘morals’ issue Elsa had alluded to? Had Sandra somehow contacted the bank and put a question in someone’s mind about my financial stability, implying I had a vice that might be compromising my judgment and their security?

That’s when it dawned on me that she probably did know what I was doing with the money. The firm prepared my personal taxes annually as well, and had done this year’s just a few weeks before! I’d provided them with copies of my personal bank statements and the transaction sums going back and forth to Nassau were definitely on those. Even though my personal taxes were handled in a different department at Sandra’s firm, it wouldn’t have taken much to put it all together if someone was looking! How stupid of me, I thought!

I needed to reach my lawyer immediately to find out what steps I should take to start protecting myself. Clearly whatever this was what it was not was a simple mistake. Whether it was Sandra or not, somebody somewhere was after my jugular and they were demanding it on Friday, before the close of business.

I reached for my cell phone to call Alexia but thought better of it. As nervous as I was when I’d pulled out of the bank’s parking lot, I needed to stay focused on the road even for such a short distance. I had a numbing thought, what would my girls think about me after Friday if I didn’t make that payment on time, and if the bank decided to try to smear my name all over town. My friends knew nothing of my gambling vice. No one did! What would that do to our friendship? What would they think of me? The thoughts terrified me.

Someone was in my reserved spot in the parking garage, but I found another stall quickly. I went into the stairwell, and took the steps up to nine two at a time. I’d call my lawyer from my office at 2-of-A Kind so I could at least get the ball rolling, and then I’d run back over to Suite 2100 to determine how to start pulling down the cash I needed if this didn’t go the way I wanted it to.

“Oh, Rowena! You just had a call!” Lila, the receptionist greeted me as I came through the door. She held out a pink message slip to me. “It was the guy from the DNA laboratory. I told him you didn’t come here everyday, but he left a message anyway.”

How are you going to be telling anyone about my movements
? I thought as I took the message. Just putting all my business in the street. I glanced at Martin Charleston’s name and number and wondered briefly why he was calling back so soon, but I stuffed the message in my pocket.

“Lila,” she looked up at me and smiled. She was clearly on her best behavior. “I’m going to be on an important call for a bit, so don’t put through any other calls.”

“Of course, Rowena.”

I sat at my desk a moment trying to gather my thoughts. My attorney, Lincoln Collier, was profound when it came to business and tax matters, but I didn’t know how he’d feel or fare dealing with an issue like this. My integrity was at stake! The full impact of that statement hit me with a ton of bricks. Even now, even as I contemplated contacting my own attorney I was worried about how he was going to perceive me now that my ‘morals’ were being called into question.

“Who did this to me?” I cried out softly. I tried to ignore the little voice that was saying:
Maybe you did it to yourself
.

I reached for the leather bound calendar I kept on my desk to flip to the back where I maintained a private directory of phone numbers. My calendar wasn’t there.

That’s odd, I thought. I haven’t moved it, at least I didn’t remember moving it. I glanced over the rest of my desktop. It wasn’t there. I checked the credenza behind me and it wasn’t on it either.

A chill raced up my spine. I’m a creature of habit, putting things in the same place all the time, and that particular calendar stayed in this office on this desk in this spot. It was gone. My mind raced. I tried to remember what all I’d recorded in it? Not much. Just appointments, contact names, phone numbers, a few notes, but nothing of any real significance. But it was mine and it was gone.

Oh my goodness! Am I losing it? My mind started racing and I didn’t want to be there anymore. Someone had been in my space, had taken my calendar. I thought about Lila.

I tried to calm myself as I approached the reception area. There would be no percentage in antagonizing Lila if she knew nothing about my missing calendar, but something in my gut was telling me she did.

It appeared to dawn on her that maybe all wasn’t well. Her expression sobered. She paused, thinking, calculating. “I went in there last night to get your calendar. My sister called and said you wanted me to drop it off to her when I got off of work.”

“Your sister?” I couldn’t believe my ears, but even before it came out of her mouth I knew who here sister was, I recognized it now as I looked at her gray eyes.

“Yes, Sandra Durante. Didn’t you know she was my sister? She’s the one who told me about this job?”

My heart was pounding and although it wasn’t yet clear, the clouds were starting to part. Sandra Durante had it in for me. But why? I thought about her reaction when I had mentioned Drew. What had she said when I asked her if she knew him? Something about ‘not well, but she knew the family.’ Wasn’t that what she’d said?

“Thanks, Lila. I didn’t realize you were related to Sandra. You have different last names.” I needed to be cool. The next question was important. “So, you know Drew Ardmore?”

Lila smirked. “We have different fathers. Drew? Not really. He used to date my sister a few years ago, but I was so young then he doesn’t remember me. I started to remind him when he was here yesterday, but he didn’t look like he was in such a good mood.”

I closed my eyes slightly and nodded. “Okay. I just wondered.”

Chapter Fifteen

I took the elevator down to the garage. Walked to my car and slid in. I’d spoken to Lincoln briefly, just to get a feel for my position. I didn’t mention the morals issue, instead I just inquired if the bank could in fact call the loan. He told me that within the language of the contract there was no doubt a clause that gave them that arbitrary right. If they insisted I would be required to meet their demand. He’d been furiously curious, but I’d stalled, promising him I’d get back with him in a few hours.

I picked up the phone and called Drew. It was time we had a long talk. He picked up immediately.

“Rowena. I was trying to give you the space you asked for, but I’m going nuts over here. We need to work this out, baby.”

Yeah, right
, I thought.
We really do need to work this out
!

“Drew, I was calling you for a reason. Something crazy is happening. Out of the blue my bank called my loan. I think something fishy might be going on. Do you know…”

“Mother was just elected to their board of directors last month. Let me let her know what’s going on so she can get it straightened out. This will be the perfect opportunity for her to make up to you for behaving so badly. I talked to her this morning and she was telling me that she really, really wanted to make up for what happened.”

Oh my God! As the words rolled from his mouth it locked together like a Chinese puzzle. It was Gabrilla Ardmore who had done this to me, and she’d gotten help from the one person who could possibly give her a little ammunition, my accountant Sandra. And it was me, when I stopped by and told Sandra yesterday that I was on my way to lunch with Drew and Gabrilla, who had set this all in motion. No doubt Sandra had called Gabrilla to check the validity of what I’d told her; that Drew and I were engaged, and Gabrilla had expressed her deep disapproval, especially after the episode in the restaurant, and they had hatched their plan from there.

“Drew, do you know Sandra Durante?”

He grew quiet before he answered. “Steer clear of her, Rowena. She’s bad news. I used to go out with her. It wasn’t a good breakup,” he hesitated before continuing. “Why are you asking?”

Chapter Sixteen

By Friday evening my attorney, Lincoln, wanted me to file criminal charges against both Gabrilla and Sandra; something about collusion and conspiracy as he described it. I’m human. I thought about it. I spent Thursday night going through all my files and papers, tracking back all my interaction with Sandra so that I could provide a paper trail to build a case, but, I decided that I’m not going there. I am not going to drag them into court, drag all of my business or theirs out in the open. It is not worth that to me.

Friday was not the horrible event I had thought it would be. Carolyn buzzed into my office about 4:30, just before the close of the business day, and told me that Delmar Cade at Connect One Bank was calling to let me know the loan had been reinstated. He wanted to speak to me, but I declined. I’m going to take my time returning his call. The next time I speak to him it will probably be to let him know I’m paying off the loan and moving my business elsewhere.