Chapter 6

Tuesday morning began the way I liked a new day to begin. Both girls easily got up and worked out with me. We stopped for coffee, orange juice, and a light breakfast before showering and getting ready for work. Brindle reminded me to take a different car than my Escape when I headed to the garage. I found the Porsche 911 keys, hoping the car would get me to work on time.

Brindle came with me to teach me the proper way to start a Porsche 911. A 911 should always be on level ground when you park it. This allows the fuel to be pumped easier. Some models require you to turn on the key twice when you turn the key on, but this one doesn't. Pause at least two seconds when you do turn the key, before turning it further to start the car. She advised me to let the vehicle warm and to not turn any accessories such as the air conditioner on for at least a minute. She showed me all the functions before telling me to enjoy.

I had not driven a manual transmission for a while, so I looked to find reverse and what the shift pattern would be. Oh my, this thing had seven forward gears. I wondered if I would ever get into seventh gear. I started the monster and let it warm up for a couple of minutes. The clutch felt firm but it was easy to depress when I tested it. I pulled the shift lever to the left and pushed up into reverse gear. I gradually let the clutch out and car rolled back smoothly without lurching as so many manual transmission cars do. I had turned the wheels to put the car into position to go out the brick driveway. I went to first gear and began moving forward. I was a little hesitant, but I smoothly rolled to the position where the gate would open. It did. I rolled out of the driveway and toward the development's gate. The attendant there opened the gate and saluted me as I drove through. I now had to turn left and merge into light traffic. I accelerated from the entrance to the thoroughfare that would lead me to streets to get to the office when I had an opening. Shifting to second, third, fourth, and fifth felt automatic. The engine revs didn't seem high enough to shift into sixth, and I was approaching my first red light and another left turn.

Stopping was easy and gentle, and I cycled the gear shift back into first. I followed the cars in front of me at a discreet distance when they began moving with the green arrow, keeping in mind that I was driving an almost hundred thousand dollar car. This was a faster street and I moved up to sixth gear and stayed there through almost all the lights. I had to make a right turn at a light, and this intersection didn't have a right turn lane like most LA intersections. No one was turning or coming from my left, so I turned and drove the last couple of miles to the office and yard. The Escalade was still in the manager's spot and the one next to it was unmarked, so I parked the Porsche there.

It was about seven twenty but there were cars already in the parking area. The Mexican beauty who is Julio's cousin came running over to me as I shut the door, exclaiming, "Oh, you have a Porsche! I love these cars. You are so lucky."

I smiled at the little girl who was getting my day off to a delicious start, "I hate to tell you the truth, Nita, but this is my roommate's car. I'm just driving it today because my car needed some attention."

She was still peering into the car and told me, "That's too bad. Who knows what I would offer for a ride in a car like this." She winked at me before running back toward the trailer. She hollered over her shoulder, "I start at 7:30 and I don't want to be late."

Nice view, but way too young.

Kelly was at the reception desk inside, and said 'good morning'. She handed me a printed sheet of paper and said, "I was able to get the new telephone extension numbers from the telephone guy. He's already putting phones out and has already had the system shutdown to put the additional card in. The system is up and working now. I'll make a new list when we add the people to the locations."

"Thank you, Kelly. It's a real help to have the various people's numbers. I see you have the department key people in bold. That's a good idea. I also see that my name isn't on here."

Kelly said, "It does have your name on the top along with your cell phone. See, it says LA Region Manager, then Boss."

I smiled at her way of teasing me. She said, "I'll put your name in front of 'LA Region Manager' next time."

I went toward my office and noticed a larger box of pastries on the small breakroom table. There was coffee in both coffeemakers, so I poured a mug. I climbed the stairs to see if Connie was in. She was and was eating a pastry and had a cup of coffee on her desk. She smiled at me and told me, "Nice touch to have goodies first thing in the morning. Did you look at the P&L I gave you yet?"

"I did, but the way it looks at first is that the company is making a profit here. It may be, but the volume is only about a fifth or sixth of what Tampa was. I know it's going to take at least two months for all the erroneous billing to shake out, but don't transmit any questionable invoices to be paid until they are investigated.

Two men and two women with briefcases came in and sat at desks at the end of the room. Connie said, "Those are the auditors. I'm having one temp do nothing but chase items for them. That you set up Wi-Fi up here is a real bonus because these people are using laptops and iPads to do research in each area. I know they've already found several irregularities. I'm hoping the company can get back some of funds that have been misdirected."

I told Connie, "Well, I didn't tell you, but I think I've got some of it. I sold my condo and all my furniture and kitchen stuff to the former manager. He was higher than ever when he wrote me the check. He had to be on coke or meth the way he was looking."

Connie said, "Good, I'm glad you were able to get rid of your place so fast. I'm sure that's a relief."

"I'm going to have to run some errands this morning. Julio is going to be sending men up here to do the construction for the rooms. Just direct them to what you need. Look over the plans Julio has drawn up and change anything that doesn't work for you. Make the conference room smaller, or eliminate it altogether if necessary."

I paused a second before asking, "Where is the nearest place to register my car? I also have to change my driver's license. I'll call my insurance agency in Tampa to have them change the policy for out here before I go."

Connie told me, "You have to have your car smog tested. That's twenty bucks. Then you will have to go to a DMV office which is close by and show your title, some ID, insurance card, and pay them some money. You'll also have to go to the DMV office for a short written and eyesight test to get your driver's license. You can make an appointment for that. Make it in the morning so that you don't get hung up with someone in front of you. You can do it all the same day if you're prepared. I'll get the number for the DMV office so you can make an appointment. I don't think you'll have a problem as long as you don't go over ninety days. Look it up on line."

I called Jules. "Hey, Girl, are you home?"

She replied, "Still here, but I'll be leaving soon to go to the Rack for my lesson. What's happening?"

"Ask Brindle if she has time to have my car smog tested so that I can change my registration. The other thing is, may I use the house address for my registration and driver's license?"

Jules laughed and said, "You are such a straight shooter. You haven't even lived out here two weeks and you're trying to be the legal guy on the block."

I told Jules, "Hey, it's a lot easier if you have local registration and license rather than out of state. It's one less excuse to get stopped."

Jules voice was softer, "Of course it's okay to use this address. It makes me happy that you are committing to me here. I can keep you this way."

"You guys have me. I don't think you need to worry. I'm actually looking forward to a lot of years with you two."

"That makes me shiver, Brad. I hope we can make it a lot of years."

"Okay, Jules, I should get back to work. Ask Brindle for me, okay?"

"Will do, Honey. Bye!"

I was in my office and called my insurance agent in Tampa. I explained to the clerk what I was doing and she took the big house address and told me that they could handle everything. I asked if I could get a local agent so it would be easier and she looked up an agent who was near the office. I told her to make the changes and to call me so I could give her a card number for the premium difference.

I looked up DMV offices and one was fairly close to the girls' apartment. I called and made an appointment for Thursday morning. I decided I could do the smog test the next day if Brindle didn't have time for it sooner. I printed out the questions on the California exam to find they were almost exactly the same as Florida. A difference was if there was a marked right turn lane, you had to make the turn on red into the lane closest to the curb, and then merge with traffic. The one-way street left turn on red was the same as in Florida too. It shouldn't be a problem. I would have to dig out my title, passport, and make sure I had everything there ready.

When I saw Connie again, she told me, "There are services the stars use to do all the waiting around stuff at the DMV, but your roommate might help you out from what I hear."

"No need to waste money. Moving from state to state requires you to get legal for whatever state you're in. I don't mind. It's one more part of being an employee of a major company."

I asked Kelly, "I have a bunch of documents that I consider sensitive. I want you to research every corporate entity we have paid on these invoices. I want the names of all the corporate board members, and as much information as you can find on each one. The hard part is remaining quiet about what you're doing. Please don't discuss this with anyone. Can you do this?"

Kelly broadly smiled and told me, "Thank you, Boss, I'll be happy to do that job. Give me what you have and we'll go from there."

I handed Kelly the big package Connie had given me. I wanted as much documentation as possible when the time came.

The one group I had not visited yet today was sales. Their new area looked more than half full when I entered. Matt was on the phone at his desk. Willy, his former secretary from Four Leaf Realty, was also on the phone. Ginger was just hanging up the phone and typed something in on her keyboard. The sales people at their desks all had laptops and most were on the phone. Wow, this was activity.

Ginger crooked her finger at me to come to her. She said, "Three more sales after the two that you already know about yesterday. This is so wonderful. Matt, Willy, me, and two of the salesman went over the print and TV ads for this coming weekend. The salespeople are very excited about the ads.

I watched as Willy got up from her desk and went to show something to Matt. My goodness, she was a walking hard-on. She had an amazing backside, but still not as nice as Kelly's. Ginger saw my stare and said, "Down boy. I understand you have some outstanding talent at home."

"I can still look. Shoot, I'm starin' at you all the time, and now you have more to look at in here."

I took a deep breath and said, "It's really exciting to have three more sales. Have the salespeople commented on how they got them?"

Ginger told me, "It has to do with the short radio ads that continued about once an hour on one of the main sports stations. The general thought is to change the ads as often as possible, and continue to run them hourly from noon to six. We might add another station like the one that has Rush Limbaugh on in the afternoons. We can cover the mature market that way as well. Even people who hate the guy listen, so they'll hear our ads too."

I told Ginger, "One sale covers all our radio, TV, and newspaper advertising costs for a month. We'll increase our advertising, but in small steps to make sure they are bringing a return."

I shook hands with Matt while he was still on the phone, and welcomed Willy. She blushed when I talked to her, and I wondered why. I know my fly was zipped and I thought I was appropriately dressed.

I hadn't seen Rebecca yet today, so I went downstairs to see her. She was busy making some arrangements with the woman we wanted as a decorator. The woman didn't want to come to an office full of men wanting to be aggressive toward her. She kept saying how salespeople were often the most offensive. Rebecca had put the call on her speaker, and was still off hook while she talked. You could hear the genuine concern, so I ran my finger across my throat to cut the call. Rebecca told her to really reconsider and we would call her again."

Rebecca said, "That woman was the decorator here when the last manager came. He damn near raped her in his office, and the man threated her physical harm when she became angry and threatened to report him to the home office. I tried to tell her you were different, but she's still apprehensive. I'll try the other lady."

I told Rebecca, "Make a lunch appointment with the one you want. I'll meet her at Johnny's so she knows that I'm sincere."

Rebecca told me, "Take Kelly and Willy with you if you do that. They can both tell her there aren't any problems like that here. Shoot, you could take all the women in this office and they would tell the same story."

"Okay, I'll take one person. Should it be you or Kelly?"

"Take Kelly, she is so stunning."

I told Rebecca, "Use my company card for sandwiches again because the guys sold five yesterday. You can just tell everyone to thank sales. Call that lady and ask her if she'll meet us at Johnny's. Let me know so that I can ask Kelly."

Some men were hauling the big new conference table up the stairs. They would have to install the legs but it was a nice one. I was sure they had a lot of chairs to go with it.

Kelly was working on what I had given her. She was busy looking up information on the California Secretary of State's website. Then she would follow-up every name on a corporate listing and research the individual. I was sure this was a very tangled web.

I called the main partner in the home office. When he answered, I told him, "This is the big spender you sent to California."

The man said, "Yeah, I've heard you've been spending money left and right. I've also heard you brought in eleven sales over the weekend."

I told him, "And five more yesterday. Like I said, I'm spending money, but we are having some immediate results."

"What do you need, Brad? You don't ever call me unless you really need something."

"I've discovered some rather large irregularities here, Sir. That's why I asked for the audit. We hired a forensic accounting firm to do our audit and I'm told they are coming up with some very damning material. I'm calling to find out how I should report this to the partners. It is going to affect at least two of them."

The man said, "I have to meet with some people about some property out there this weekend. I'll come a day early and you can show me what you have. I'll figure out a way to handle the fallout. I'm sure I know some of it, and have felt it was happening for a while. That's why you're there, Brad. You're so straight that we can use you to snap a line. Keep making that office hum. You'll give us another winner."

Got that out of the way. I was a little premature, but Connie already had the goods on the guy, just not exactly how much the guy had screwed the company out of. I won't feel sorry for the man as he had a chance to make some exorbitant money by just doing his job. He has probably lost the company somewhere between thirty to fifty million, maybe more, by trashing the office.

Brindle called my cell phone to tell me she had my car smog tested. She also told me she had an in at DMV and she could go by and finish it for me if I had the appropriate documentation. I told her about the appointment and she told me that it would be faster if she did it. She did say for me to keep the appointment for the driver's license as she couldn't do anything about that, but would alert her friend so that she could make it faster for me.

I'd get all the documents out of my little lockbox for her that night.

Rebecca called and said, "Meet Alec at Johnny's at one. I've already made a reservation. I told her that you were bringing your personal secretary so that she could question her. Kelly is outstanding enough for Alec to take note. You'll get her now."

I was wondering how outstanding Alec was to attract that kind of attention. It didn't make a difference. I needed a decorator, not some part time fun.

I looked over at Kelly and asked her, "How about lunch with me and a possible decorator. She's apprehensive about men harassing her here. It'll give her a feeling of safety if you come along, and she can question you about how I sexually harass you."

Kelly looked at me funny and said, "You don't do that, do you? I've been around a couple of days and you haven't said one thing out of line, much less done anything. You even had the doors removed so people wouldn't think you were having fun with me in here. Shoot, I can't even get away with some heavy flirting, much less some hanky-panky. Rebecca told me she knows from Connie that you already have two fine looking ladies."

"That doesn't answer my question, Kelly. Will you go to Johnny's for lunch with me and this person named Alec?"

"Of course I will, Boss. What time are we supposed to meet her? It's getting near noon."

"One o'clock, Kelly. We'll leave at twelve thirty, so if you need to powder your nose or anything like that, do it now."

Ginger was standing in the doorway panting. I was worried that there was something wrong. "She caught her breath and told me, "You won't believe this, but the guys have sold three homes this morning. One is one of Matt's listings. The loan people just called down to tell us they had Matt's sale that he had before we acquired Four Leaf approved. The customer is telling everyone how great Mooney financial is. Another real estate broker has already called about possibly running some of his business through us. I'm so excited that I can't stand it."

"That's wonderful, Ginger. Is Matt in to enjoy the news?"

"No, he's out at the developments showing the salesmen how to show homes. He's going to go ballistic when he finds out that one of his listings has sold and his pending sale is now financed. Willy is so happy that she's almost crying. She won't call him because he's always said not to call him when he's in the field unless it's an emergency."

"Have Willy give me his cell phone number, and I'll call him." Ginger disappeared.

Kelly said, "This is so exciting. Everyone is dancing in the hallways to celebrate that the company is doing business. Is it like this in Florida when your people there have a good day?"

"It's a big deal, Kelly. The loan people can get to work once a sale is made, and then the title company gets involved when the loan is approved. A decorator is usually right there to offer suggestions and their services. The construction people can look forward to longer employment if the home isn't built yet. Everything begins with a sale."

Kelly said, "Let's leave so that we'll be there to greet this Alec person."

We went out and I opened the passenger door to the 911. Kelly looked at the sports car, then at me, and asked, "Are you now going to be all hands in a little car like this?"

"Nope, it takes all my concentration to drive this thing. It actually belongs to the lady I rent from as my car is being serviced. She has a thing for sports cars, so she wanted me to drive this since it hasn't been driven much."

Although the Porsche doesn't have wood trim on the dash and the doors, it does give off the smell of quality from the leather interior. I think women get wet just feeling the rumble once you hear the car start and warm up. Kelly was grinning before I even backed out of the parking space.

We drove down the street, never reaching fifth gear, and pulled into Johnny's parking lot. There was a place near the door, so I parked there and set the brake. Kelly was lady enough to wait for me to run around and open the door for her. I locked the car and we walked into the reception area. I gave my name to the hostess and she said, "Thank you for returning so soon, Mr. Johnson. Your luncheon guest is already here. Come this way."

Kelly said, "We're ten minutes early. We should have beaten her."

We were taken to the same area we had been in when I had lunch with Matt. Sitting at the table was a stunning blonde. She was smiling at us as we approached, but something was wrong. This person wasn't anything like who had been described to me. I greeted her and introduced Kelly as my personal secretary. I had Kelly scoot around the curved booth to sit near the lady.

I may be making a mistake, but I didn't think so. I asked the lady who hadn't really identified herself, "So when will the real Alec show up?"

The lady's face flushed, and she was trying to make her mind up whether to act like she was mad, or admit that she was a fake. The woman pulled a cell phone clipped on her purse, dialed, and softly said, "The guy is already on to you, Alec. Will you come in or do I get a free lunch?"

Kelly was pissed and told the blonde, "Maybe you should just leave. Whoever this Alec is doesn't trust us, so we don't trust her in return. Take off; my boss and I will enjoy lunch."