To Catch a Bad Guy (15 page)

“To the extent that the
legal system allows, yes.”

Blasted lawyers –
always with the caveats. Jon resisted the urge to snap at Wyman; after all, it
was not as though he were in a position to back out of the deal now.

“David, great to see
you again.” Jon shook Muller’s hand heartily, feigning affability as best as he
could. He detested the pompous prick, but now was not the time to show it, for
Muller’s scheme was bound to generate some serious cash.

Muller answered Jon’s
handshake with his lizard-like grip. “You’re looking well, Jon. Have you been
working out?”

Jon shook his head.
“Nothing more than usual: just good, clean living.”

Muller chuckled,
shaking his longish blond locks. “Whatever it is, it’s working. I’ve just
started a new diet myself: no glutens, no carbs, and no dairy, and I’ve upped
my gym time. I’m feeling super.”

“You look great.” Jon
smiled obligingly. Muller was obsessed with healthy living. At six two, he did
not have an extra ounce of fat on his bony frame. Did the guy want to become a
skeleton?

“But as much fun as it
is talking about fitness, that’s not what we’re here for,” Muller cut to the
chase, pulling out a chair at the head of the rectangular table and motioning
for everyone else to sit down.

The pompous prick. Jon
took his seat next to Muller, making a mental note to replace the rectangular
table with a round one.

“So, what are your
thoughts on my proposal, Jon?” Muller steepled his long fingers.

Jon exchanged a quick
glance with Wyman, and after receiving a discreet nod, went ahead. “Bostoff
Securities can commit to the volumes we discussed.”

“Quit the cryptic
speak, Jon. Are you in or what?”

“Yes, David, I’m in.”

“Good. So here’s what’s
going to happen. I’ve handpicked a number of stocks that are ripe for the
picking. They are overvalued and overpriced, and we’re going to bring them to
the levels where they belong and make a ton of money in the process.”

Jon adjusted his
cufflinks nervously. “You’re not going to do anything too obvious, are you? We
would not want to get spotted by Market Watch, would we?”

“Not to worry, Jonnie –
we’ve got everything covered. You don’t think I’d be going into this sort of thing
alone, do you? There are some very big names involved besides me, and the
targets we picked do not have the clout to retaliate. Take this one for
instance: Date Magic dot com - an online dating site going public! Their
offering price is thirty-five dollars, and analysts are predicting first-day
trading price of forty. That’s an overly optimistic prognosis for a site that
caters to fat, single people, don’t you think?”

“There’s a dating site
dedicated to fat, single people?”

“I was speaking metaphorically,
Jon. I don’t know whether they are fat or thin, but they are bound to be losers
to have to use the Internet to get dates. Anyway, I’d say the true price level
should be somewhere at ten, don’t you think? Bulls get rich, bears get rich, but
pigs get slaughtered. Well, the dumb hogs who invested in this crackpot of an
IPO belong in a slaughterhouse. And trust me, even if any of the investors or
so called ‘company management’ were to raise a peep, the stock price decline
would be attributed to another capricious market turn.”

“It certainly sounds
like you thought everything through,” Jon conceded, assuring himself that the
business structure that Tom Wyman had set up for him would provide iron-clad
cover.

“Gentlemen, I look
forward to doing even more business with you.” David Muller rose from his
chair. “You’ll be hearing from me soon, Jon.”

“That guy doesn’t beat
around the bush,” said Wyman once Muller had left the room.

“Are you sure we’re
covered on all fronts, Tom?” Jon locked Wyman’s glance, determined to get a
concrete answer this time. This would not be the first time for Bostoff
Securities to be accepting questionable orders from Muller and his posse of
shark hedge fund managers, but it would be the first time for doing it on such
a massive scale.

“You can sleep soundly
at night, Jon; you’re covered. Unless someone gets their hands on the formation
documents, there’s no way to tie Bostoff Securities to Impala Group. And to get
those, they’d have to break into my office: an undertaking that has about the
same probability of success as hacking into Fort Knox.”

“Thank you, Tom. I knew
there was a reason for footing those hefty bills of yours – it’s called peace
of mind. By the way, how’s that new girl in Legal doing?”

“I haven’t seen much of
her lately, but I can’t imagine anything to worry about.”

“Do me a favor, Tom.
Stick close to her at the party this Thursday. I want you to make sure she’s
not suspecting anything.”

“There’s a party this
Thursday?”

“Didn’t you get the
invite? It’s my brother’s engagement party.”

“I’ll be there, Jon.”

“And do me a favor.
From now on, don’t say a word about company business to my brother unless you
discuss it with me first.”

“Sure thing, Jon. We’ve
already been over this. I thought that you wanted Janet Maple to lighten the
bill load, so I’ve given her a very basic overview of the structure; she
couldn’t have possibly made much sense out of it, but I’ll be sure to keep an
eye on her.”

While on his way to
Janet Maple’s office, Dennis Walker was thinking of a pretext for stopping by.
He would start on a light note – something along the lines of Monday blues, and
from there he would progress to having a drink after work. Ordinarily, he would
have waited until the office party that was to take place on Thursday, but with
the new condensed timeframe given to him by his boss, time was a luxury Dennis
did not have.

He was just about to
stroll into Janet’s office when he heard her voice coming through the doorway.
She was on the phone. A little eavesdropping never hurt anybody. He pressed his
back against the wall and strained his ear to hear Janet’s conversation. It
would not do to get caught red-handed, so in case anyone were to pass by, he
had a manila folder filled with important-looking office papers loosely
positioned in his hand, ready to drop to the floor at any moment.

“Hey, Katie. Yes, it
was pretty awful. Yes, Andrew was there – Lisa’s horny, geeky cousin. Yes, I’d
love to have a drink after work – six o’clock sounds great.”

Where?
Dennis thought desperately.
Six o’clock where?

“Perfect. I’ll see you
at the Blue Orchard at six.”

Dennis heard the sound
of the telephone receiver being replaced and tiptoed down the hall. When it
came to establishing contact, accidental encounters were so much better than
arranged dates.

Dennis Walker arrived
at the Blue Orchard at five-thirty. He figured that would give him enough time
to get a spot by the bar and find a pretty girl to chat up. If his plan were to
work, he had to look like he actually had a reason to be there other than
stalking Janet. He loosened his tie and hung his shabby suit jacket over the
back of his chair. This Dean Snider routine was getting tiresome. Well, at
least he was wearing a decent shirt, and his natural charm would just have to
compensate for the rest of his appearance. However, the fake glasses went into
Dennis’s jacket pocket. Dean Snider’s drab persona had not gotten him very far,
and since his boss had just upped the stakes, Dennis Walker was going to change
the rules and infuse some much-needed swagger into Dean Snider.

Dennis eyed the bar
crowd, skimming past the usual suit types and eagerly smiling career women who
accompanied them. He soon found what he was looking for – a pretty blonde by
the other side of the bar. She was typing on her Blackberry intently, no doubt
simply keying in gibberish while she waited for her friends to arrive so as not
to appear unoccupied. Dennis slunk off his chair and made his way to where the
girl was sitting. As he approached her chair, Dennis got a quick glimpse of her
Blackberry screen. His hunch had been correct; the screen was filled with
meaningless lines of letters and numbers. He pulled the chair next to the girl,
but she was too intent on trying to look busy to notice him.

“Apple martini,” Dennis
said.

“Excuse me?” the girl’s
tone was chilly.

“Your favorite drink –
it’s apple martini, isn’t it?”

The blonde’s eyes
widened. “How did you guess?”

“I have a gift.” Dennis
grinned. This was ridiculously easy. He signaled to the bartender. “Two apple
martinis, please.”

The girl put her Blackberry
away and eyed him appraisingly. Dennis watched her eyes linger undecidedly over
his jacket, grow warmer on his shirt, and finally flash with approval upon
reaching his face. He was a handsome-looking fella, even if he did say so
himself.

“To unexpected
encounters.” Dennis raised his drink.

“To pleasant unexpected
encounters.” The girl ingested the majority of her drink in one gulp.

Dennis took a tentative
sip. He sincerely hoped that he had not been mistaken in his mark. A loud
drunken scene would ruin his plan. “And may I ask what a pretty girl like
yourself is doing all by herself in a bar?”

“Who said I was by
myself? I could be waiting for my boyfriend,” the girl added playfully.

Dennis relaxed. He had
not been mistaken after all. His plan was to flirt with the blonde long enough
for Janet to notice him. Once the blonde’s date would arrive, Dennis would
safely excuse himself and exhibit great surprise at running into Janet, saying
something to the effect of this being a small world. “Secretive, huh? Well, may
I at least know your name?”

“Summer.”

“That’s a beautiful
name. I’m Dean.”

“No, it isn’t. My mom
was a rock star groupie and I think she was high when she named me.” Summer
finished the rest of her drink. “Do you believe that people’s names determine
their destinies?”

“I can’t say that I
do,” Dennis replied distractedly. His attention was occupied by the sight of
Janet Maple walking into the bar. Her usual no-nonsense business suit and
put-up hair made her stand apart from the rest of the women with their
décolletage and tangled manes.

“Well, I think it does.
Take me for example. My name is Summer. What does Summer stand for? Crazy, fun
time, which is exactly what men want from me, and once they get it, they just
keep on moving along. Do you know that I’ve never been in a relationship that
lasted longer than a month? That is if you can even call a one-month affair a
relationship.”

“I’m sure you could
call it that,” Dennis conceded.

“And you were right,”
Summer burst out. “I am here alone because my date bailed.”

Dennis blinked, unsure
of how to react to Summer’s candidness. Truth be told, he didn’t really care.
By now, Janet Maple had been joined by a friend – a tall, lanky redhead. What
Dennis really wanted to do was to eavesdrop on their conversation, which was
impossible due to yet another flaw in what was now turning out to be a hastily
and poorly designed plan: he had expected Janet and her friend to sit by the
bar, but the two women chose to sit at a table instead. The only solution was
to quickly disengage himself from Summer and think of a way to join Janet and
her friend.

Summer kept droning on,
and Dennis was starting to lose his patience.

“Take my mother for
example, she has been married three times, and each time she changed her last
name. No wonder she has no direction in life. I mean, how could she possibly
become her own person? She’s had so many last names, it’s dizzying!” Summer’s
voice grew dangerously acrimonious. “You’re not really listening to me, are
you?”

“Yes, I am listening,”
Dennis replied distractedly. He really could not care less about what Summer
thought. He had noticed Janet and her redheaded friend glance at him
surreptitiously and whisper excitedly afterwards, and he wanted to know what
they were saying about him.

“What did I just say
then?” Summer demanded.

“Excuse me?” Dennis
nearly snorted his drink through his nostrils. This was getting perilously
ridiculous.

“You heard me. What did
I just say?” Summer placed her hands on her hips.

Dennis tried to bring
Summer’s exact words to memory, but failed – she had been babbling something
about her mother… “Your mother has been married three times,” Dennis finally
remembered.

“Is that fella
bothering you, sweetheart?” A middle-aged playboy squeezed his trim body next
to Summer’s chair.

“He’s doing quite the
opposite; he’s ignoring me.”

“A beautiful girl like
you? How’s that possible?”

“Yes, he is.” Summer
pouted, no doubt hoping to elicit jealousy from Dennis, a ploy that under
normal circumstances might have worked, but now it only provided a much-needed
means of escape.

“I’m afraid I was,”
Dennis admitted. “But I’m sure a gentleman such as yourself will appreciate
Summer for the entertaining conversationalist that she is. Summer, it was a
pleasure meeting you.” Dennis tossed two twenties on the bar stand, and,
without waiting for a response from Summer, he started to make his way to
Janet’s table. His face had already assumed an expression of surprise at
running into a coworker so unexpectedly: it was a small world indeed.

***

Janet took a long
swallow of her martini. After the traumatizing weekend, she needed a drink.

“So, let me get this
straight,” Katie said after she had downed some of her whiskey sour. “You got
pawed by Andrew Foley – Lisa’s sex-obsessed cousin who used to ogle you when
you were teenagers?”

“Affirmative.” Janet
took another long swallow of her dirty martini and popped one of the blue
cheese-stuffed olives into her mouth. “These are delicious.”

“And then what did you
do?”

“I told him that he was
a jerk and walked to my parents’ house.”

“I meant did you tell
Lisa that she’s an idiot for setting you up with him?”

“I did tell her to stop
setting me up on dates.” Janet reflected on that morning’s conversation with
her boss. In all the years she had known Lisa, it was the firmest stand Janet
had ever taken with her.

“And what did she say?
Did she at least apologize?”

“In her own way,” Janet
answered evasively. As annoyed as she was with Lisa, she was not in the mood
for bashing her. After all, the two of them were bound by many ties. Lisa was
still her boss, and Janet was going to be the maid of honor in Lisa’s wedding
to Paul Bostoff.

“And how are the
wedding plans progressing?” Katie asked, as though reading Janet’s thoughts.
“Has she got you running around on a twenty-four-hour itinerary, catering to
her every whim?”

“Look, Lisa can be
unreasonable at times, but I’m not going to complain about the wedding. She has
asked me to be her maid of honor and I agreed. Let’s leave it at that.” To
indicate that this topic of conversation had been closed, Janet bit into
another olive, but the sight of the dark-blond man by the bar made her choke.

“You okay?” Katie
pushed a glass of water toward Janet.

Janet thankfully gulped
the soothing liquid. “Don’t look now, but there’s a guy from work by the bar.”

“Is he cute?” Katie
whispered conspiratorially, her eyes darting to the very place where Janet told
her not to look.

“Don’t stare at him!”

“Geez, relax, will ya?
There’s a huge crowd – I don’t even know which one he is.”

“The tall one, in a
blue shirt.”

“The James Dean
look-alike with the slutty blonde?”

“Yeah, that’s him.”

“He’s cute,” Katie
pronounced her verdict after a momentary deliberation. “What does he do?”

“He is in IT.”

Katie nodded
approvingly. “A solid and practical profession. I’m getting sick and tired of
dating lawyers. They are the most self-absorbed and narcissistic bunch of men
on the planet. Litigation lawyers are the worst – so pompous. Don’t ever date a
lawyer.”

“Oh, I think I’ve
learned my lesson on that one,” Janet replied, wondering if Katie had forgotten
about Alex.

“I’m sorry, Janet. I
wasn’t thinking,” Katie instantly caught on. “But back to the present. What’s
the story with the cute IT guy?”

“No story.” Janet
finished the last of her drink. “We chat at work sometimes.”

“We chat at work
sometimes? Come on, Janet, it’s me you’re talking to. Do you like him or what?”

Janet nodded. “He is
kind of cute, but….”

“But what?”

“Dating at work could
be complicated, and I don’t want to complicate things too much now,” Janet
added quickly. She certainly had plenty of things to be anxious about at work
without having to worry about Dean Snider.

“Things are always
complicated—that’s the nature of life. Sounds to me like someone is being a
chicken.”

“Sounds to me like
someone is being overly nosy,” Janet shot back, already regretting having
mentioned Dean. “Besides, he’s clearly not interested in me: as you can see,
he’s got a date.”

“A date, please! I’m
sure it’s some girl he just met at the bar. Speaking of which, there’s an
interesting development.” Katie’s eyes darted toward the bar again.

Even though she knew
she should not, Janet let her eyes follow the direction of Katie’s glance.

“Looks like our Romeo
has a rival.” Katie grinned.

Janet could not resist a
smile. It was amusing to watch Dean Snider being forced out by a middle-aged
Burt Reynolds look-alike. Apparently Dean’s date preferred older men, and even
though Janet did not have any plans for herself and Dean, she was glad to know
that at least for tonight he too was single. Unless, of course, he managed to
pick up another girl, which given Dean’s good looks and the fact that the night
was still young was quite a viable possibility. Oh well… Janet stole one last
glance at Dean to wish him a mental good night, but she had not been quick
enough. Their eyes locked, and Dean’s hand rose in a wave of recognition, as he
started to advance in the direction of their table.

“Quick! Look the other
way,” Janet whispered. “He is walking over here.”