Chapter 7

My internal clock woke me and I checked the alarm next to the bed. It was six and time to get up and get going. The two girls had a little trouble coming out of their fog, but they did and dressed in workout clothes.

The three of us did our half hour workout, then showered while I assisted the girls to make sure their fun parts were clean. They took a minute to make sure my pipes were also empty. Connie had to make an effort to get out of the warm bed, but Jules and Katie cajoled her into getting up and ready for work.

We had a quick breakfast and left the house to get to the office by seven-thirty. There was only one car in the parking area when I parked the sparkling Escape in the manager’s parking space. The concrete stop was now painted red with the word ‘Boss’ in white paint, cute.

The office alarm was off and the door unlocked. No one was in the reception area, but I saw a box of pastries and full coffee pots as I passed the little break room. Connie and I poured a mug and Connie went up the stairs while I walked down the hall to my office. Kelly was sitting at her desk banging her keyboard. She looked up and said, “I’ve found something really good that you’re going to have a fit over. This guy has been billing the company for a weekly real estate newsletter that is supposedly being sent to every Mooney office. If someone is printing this newsletter it isn’t anywhere it can be traced or found. There were no responses when I Googled the name of the company. The corporate name for the publisher can’t be found and the post office box for the payments is at the same post office as the other bogus companies. This is no small scam. They bill Mooney nearly two hundred thousand a year. It’s just one more expense that you assumed. I’ve e-mailed Connie to tell her about the company and not to transmit the bill to the home office. I think these people might be billing the home office as well as the local offices directly. That no one has caught this is very surprising.”

“You’re doing an amazing job, but you don’t have to come in so early. You’re not really due in until 8:30 and could come in around 8:15. An early start is good, but don’t overdo it.”

Kelly smiled and said, “I wanted to beat you in this morning. Rebecca told me to pick up about six dozen pastries, so I stopped at a bakery that was on my way. She is having all the girls take a turn bringing the goodies in. I’m going to have to do an extra five minute workout if I keep eating those rich things.”

People were passing my door on the way to offices and on the way to upstairs. Everyone had a happy greeting as they carried a mug of coffee and a Danish. Willy stopped at the door and was standing pretty close. Her fresh perfume was affecting my sanity as she invaded my personal space. She told me, “Two of the salesmen called me last night to tell me they had contracts. One is Four Leaf’s listing and the other is one of the existing new homes. I need to let you know that I now have two licensed appraisers who will be coming in to see us. Matt will work with them. He knows what you’re trying to achieve.”

Her fragrance was almost like a leash that wanted to pull me along after her when she left. Kelly laughed when I shook my head to clear it. “I could smell her from here and she did get close enough to you that I’d bet she felt your zipper bumping her.”

My mouth dropped open and I looked down to see me pushing out my suit pants. It was my turn to blush now. I went to my desk and sat down while turning my computer on. Kelly said, “I would know you were gay if you didn’t react to something like that. I’m sitting here all gushy after just looking at her.”

“We shouldn’t talk like this during business hours, Kelly.”

The gorgeous girl flippantly said, “It ain’t business hours yet, Boss. I guess I can make an observation before then.”

I didn’t open my mouth so that I didn’t step on my tongue. It’s a good thing the girls had given me some loving in the shower this morning, or I’d be leaking in my shorts.

Rebecca paged me to come to the lobby.

There were two men with fat briefcases waiting for me when I went to see what she wanted. I asked, “Legal?”

They both nodded. I told Rebecca, “They will be in the former sales office. They are here to set up our title and closing office. Okay, Guys, introduce yourselves to the receptionist and office manager, and I’ll take you back to the new title office.”

The older man stuck his hand out to me, and said, “I’m Brian Metterman, and this is Martin Ferguson, a first year intern. You’re Brad Johnson, right?” I nodded and motioned toward Rebecca, and they both took the hint and went to give her a handshake.

I led them back to the sales room, pointing out the small break room, then at my office to introduce them to Kelly on the way. You could tell both men were affected by Kelly’s beauty. I’m sure glad I’m becoming immune.

When I showed the two men the freshly painted room with desks already in place and then the closing room complete with blinds, I knew the men were surprised we were that ready. I told the two, “Use the rear desks because the key people in the office that you hire will be in the front near the closing room. We may not need all six desks right away but we do have some deals that are within a week of closing if we can get it all done.”

Brian said, “The home office has contacted a law firm out here to assist us. They will have a local attorney come by to check on how we’re doing later today. The home office also placed an ad for experienced title clerks in the employment section of the local newspaper that also appears online. We thought it would be easier to get started if we could bring some experience in. I see you have phones and computers for all the desks, as well as one in the closing room. I notice something missing though. You’re going to need some file cabinets, because if there is one thing you have a lot of in a title office, it’s paper, lots of paper, and it has to be kept. You will probably want to have a separate file room. You can keep some of your loan information as well as completed real estate transactions there.”

“Good idea, Gentlemen. The new building is going to come faster than I thought it would. What can I do to get us started?”

Brian told me, “It’s already begun. We thank you for reserving the nice hotel rooms, as well as the vehicle. It made our arrival here last night enjoyable. We can begin to check on the people who have responded to our employee search as soon as we log on to the company website. If you have other responsibilities, go do them. You’ve shown us the break room, but we’ll need to know where the restrooms are.”

I said “Down the hall on your right, and in the same location next to the new large break room upstairs. Would you like a tour?”

They looked at each other and nodded. Brian said, “That’s probably a good idea because we will be interacting with the other departments.”

I led them into the event room where the real estate office was very busy. Matt came up and slapped my back and said, “Two more sales last night, so we had a hell of day yesterday. I already have men at the models. Alec came by and introduced herself and her assistant. She’s on her way out to the models to see what should be done. She also has a list of the customer sales so that she can contact them. She’s another looker, isn’t she?”

Matt was really wound up. I took the time to introduce the two legal men to Matt, Ginger, and Willy.

When we left, Brian commented, “Jesus, you have some awesome women in this place. How do you get anything done?”

“Focus, Guys. Keep your focus. They will be all over you if you ignore their beauty and focus on what you’re here for. Enjoy your visit here, but keep it out of the office.”

Martin commented, “We heard that about you. We were told that you were a fun guy, but all business in the office,” he said as we climbed the stairs.

I stopped at the loan office and introduced them to Jimmy Sheridan, the manager, as well as the delectable Dolores, his assistant. There were now three girls at desks behind her. Everyone was busy. Jimmy said, “Get that place up and running. I already have approvals and sales are doing what they are supposed to do and selling. Brad’s making this place hum.”

We went to where construction was taking place. Connie and her people were tolerating the paint fumes as the room and new construction were being painted. When I introduced her to the two men, Connie said, “This guy is already really making this office into something. I think accounting will be busier than it has ever been. We will have a fresh starting line when those guys in the back get done with their audit.”

Brian asked, “Was there a reason for an audit?”

I replied, “I thought so, and it was authorized. We’ll let the bean counters find the mistakes.”

As we went back downstairs, Brian said, “We checked and saw a just completed P&L for last quarter and there was a profit, not much, but a profit. The sales here have been way off and declining over the last five years. Was it you who had the latest P&L transmitted? There hasn’t been any posted for here in the last two years. Unusual, but it happens.”

“I had Connie go back to full time and to hire some temps so we could get our books up to date. I needed the numbers, so it was her first priority.”

I told the two men, “Get a mug of coffee, and there may still be pastries. You know where my office is or have the receptionist page me if you need me.”

I checked my e-mail when I got back to my office and answered a bunch of questions from home office people regarding inquiries about the Hollywood office. I also had an e-mail from Daryl Bennington, the former manager. He was asking if we had changed cleaning services since the former cleaning company said their invoice hadn’t been paid. I answered that I would check into it. I printed the e-mail out for my file, and forwarded it to Connie because I knew she would get a kick out of it.

My former assistant in Tampa, Fred Turfing, sent me a note that asked about why the new man was immediately cutting services for the various departments and had advised he would probably close the title office. He asked if this was good or not. Instead of sending an e-mail that could be intercepted, I used my cell phone to call his. I asked, “Are you where you can talk?” when he answered.

“Oh yeah, Brad, I’m home. I was going to give you a call to see if you needed an assistant. I was terminated when the asshole you sent here came in about ten this morning. He said my salary wasn’t justified. I have a wife and I need a job, Brad.”

“Don’t worry, Fred; I guarantee you will have a job and I will call the home office to continue your pay regardless of what they hear or are notified. I’ll put you on my payroll. You have vacation time coming, so go on a long vacation and enjoy your new wife. Maybe it’s time you two work on making another little Fred.”

“Do you mean that, Brad? I don’t have to worry about going broke?”

“I do, Fred. Don’t get too comfortable because you’ll be running that office again very shortly. That man will be out of there quickly.”

Now I was upset. The clown was already destroying a good working office to line his pockets. Something had to be done quickly. I knew the senior partner would be here Friday, but I needed him now.

Kelly noticed that I had been using my cell phone to call someone in Florida and that it had upset me. She asked, “Is what you were talking about more of what I’m working on, and it’s now happening in Florida?”

“Yes, Ma’am, it is. Now I have to lean on my ‘Boss’ for some help.”

I called the home office and was connected right away. The man said, “My goodness that office of yours is really tearing ‘em up out there; a total of seven more sales yesterday. Did legal get their people out there? I was told they had a plan to get the title office up and running in a couple of days if you were ready for them.”

“All true, Sir, but I really need to have you or someone see some information now. The situation is that we transferred the problem to Tampa and he’s tearing that office down the way he did here. The key man, my former assistant, was let go this morning because he was taking up too much of the budget. I was also informed the new manager was going to close that title office. If you look at the P&L for last quarter, that title office made about two hundred thousand in profit. They were almost on track to make over a half million for the year. You said you were coming Friday. I need you here now, or at least in the morning, so that you can look at this information.”

I heard the man groan and he said, “Damn, I didn’t want to have to deal with this so fast. Listen to what I’m going to tell you and then go do what’s necessary. The two men from legal are real attorneys, but they are both trained to handle business theft. They will set up the title office and will have some local attorneys help do it. Like I said, they have a plan to get the office open fast. Go get them and tell them I told you about what they are there for. Show them what you have, and they will take it from there. Tell your man in Tampa to not worry. I’ll advise payroll to keep him on the books. You’ve probably already told him that and told him to take some vacation time if I know you. I’ll begin here and plan to be there Friday anyway. I don’t want to be around here when all the shit hits the fan. This will not be fun. Go do what’s necessary.”

I sat back in my chair with my eyes closed and wished this could go away. I couldn’t make the problem disappear, so I told Kelly, “Get what information Rebecca has and put it together with your findings. I’m going to light the fuse.”

I got up and went back to the title office and confronted the two legal men. “The boss just advised me you two are here to not only get my title office up, but to help with the past problem. Come with me to visit with the auditors, and then we’ll go to my office to review what I’ve found out.”

Brian said, “You talked to the senior partner, didn’t you? He’s the only one outside our group who knows why we’re here.” I nodded.

We went up to accounting and Connie could tell I wasn’t in a good mood by the frown on my face. I went to the leader of the auditing group and told him, “These two men are from the company’s legal department. They are here partly to help investigate the problems you’re coming up with. Tell them what information you have and I’ll give you more information I have discovered later.”

The lead auditor began showing spreadsheets and supporting documents for even more than I had thought. It took two hours to show us everything they had. I was ready to puke after only an hour. Connie kept me calm by sitting with me and rubbing my back. That someone would rob the company they worked for in the manner they had been was unbelievable.

I used Connie’s phone and called Kelly. I asked her to make a couple of printouts of what she had and to bring it up to accounting. Kelly arrived with several copies of a dozen pages of her investigation a few minutes later. She gave the auditor a copy and one to each of the legal people, as well as to Connie. After they looked at everything on the report, the auditor joked, “Want a job with us, Lady? This is good work. It’s obvious we have more work to do.”

Brian asked, “Can we go to your office?”

Kelly led us downstairs to my office with us three men behind her transfixed by her swaying backside. I wondered if she was putting a show on for us. Brian looked for doors to shut and questioningly looked at me.

“No doors, Brian. I wouldn’t be able to defend myself from my secretary if I had doors.” She threw a wadded up piece of paper at me. “Sit, sound doesn’t travel outside the room anyway.”

Brian asked, “Can we go somewhere to talk? I don’t want to take a chance the office could be bugged. It’s lunch time, so we could go to lunch.”

I smiled at Kelly and she picked her phone up and called Johnny’s for a reservation. I told the men, “We’ll go to a special place near here that is exactly what we need. I’d like to take Kelly with me as she needs to keep up with this.”

Brian nodded and the four of us left. I told Rebecca that we should be back within the allotted lunch hour. She laughed at me and waved goodbye. I took them to my Escape and they got in while I held the door for Kelly. On the way to the restaurant, she said, “You must really like this place. They will probably assign you a permanent table.”

“It’s convenient, good food, and very private; perfect for business.”

The hostess greeted me with, “Good afternoon Mr. Johnson. So glad to have you today,” when we walked in. We were led to the back for the privacy we wanted again.

Brian said, “They know you and you haven’t been here but a couple of weeks?”

“I came here the first time to talk to our real estate guy. I came yesterday to talk to our new decorator, and now today. I do like the place. Check the menu. The prices are right and service is excellent.” We all ordered iced tea. I advised them that the portions are not huge, and to tell the waitress if you are big eaters. She’ll know what to order.

Brian got down to business. “What you’ve discovered is much worse than anyone could have imagined. We need to have this guy arrested and transported back here today just with what has been discovered so far. The problem is that he will be given the opportunity for bail and that could endanger you and possibly the company. He will probably be a flight risk and disappear. We may not be able to ever recover what he’s stolen, but we’ll try. His father will probably resign from the company, but that doesn’t help. You had said that two partners could be in trouble, who is the second?”

I took a sheet of paper from my pocket and handed it to Brian. He read it, shook his head, and then showed it Martin. Brian said, “That’s pretty damning. So this second partner has been sharing in all the illegal skimming? How did you figure this out?”

“The second partner has a kid who is in cahoots with Bennington, and has been covering for some of their scams. Mooney is a very successful company and operates the way it does to maximize revenue and profit. Bennington recognized how to take advantage of the system and did. The second partner thought it would be a great way to pad his retirement portfolio. My job is to make an office profitable, so I look at each department to find ways to make the business flow through them easier. I can create many profit centers, and everything runs as slick as grease if I can get all the parts to work together.”

The two attorneys said, “I’ll report to the key partner and let him begin to do what he wants to do. You should consider some additional security for your operation, meanwhile. This guy could be a problem when he gets let out of jail on bond. He could be transported by tomorrow if we have him arrested today, and could be arraigned and bailed out by the weekend. I’m just saying that you could have a problem.”

Okay, I thought, Hideki, I need you. I need Dai or a couple like him.

I told the attorneys, “I’ll have extra security on site and change the locks and security alarm code. I can’t protect everyone personally, but I do want to protect Connie in accounting since she has to be recognized as being the person who brought this to the surface. I started it all, and I think I can handle what’s happening. I would prefer that my close friends not be in danger.”

Martin said, “You know this is for several million, maybe over twenty million, and people are murdered for a few hundred dollars. Make sure you’re covered.”

We finished lunch and went back to the office. I called Jules as soon as I was in my office. I asked her, “I need to speak to your grandfather. Will you ask him to call me?”

“What’s wrong, Brad. You sound worried. You don’t sound like my guy.”

“I’ll be fine, but I should talk to your grandfather.”

“No problem, Honey; I’ll call him right away.”

A call was transferred to me within a few minutes. I heard, “This is Hideki. Jules asked me to call you,” when I answered.

“I have discovered some irregularities at this office that amount to several million dollars being improperly taken from the company. The man was very intelligent, but greed always leaves a trail. I’m told to be apprehensive of what he could do and was advised to obtain some personal protection. There is a chance the man can be in this area by late tomorrow, so what I’m asking is if you can recommend someone or a company to keep me and those I enjoy being with protected.”

Hideki said, “You are wise to plan ahead. I will send you one of Dai’s men who will accompany you. Dai will also assign someone to watch your home. If you will tell me who this person is, I want to investigate him meanwhile. This is the person you replaced, correct?”

“Yes it is, Hideki. It’s possible he is being arrested at this moment and will be transported back here right away. He could be bailed out by late Friday if he arrives here while court is in session. The man you are going to be looking for is Daryl Bennington. He lived here in LA, but was transferred last week. He may still have a residence here.”

“Not a problem, Brad. I’m sure my people will catch up to him.”

“Thank you, Hideki. I don’t need this type of aggravation. The office is progressing and we should be moving at capacity within a couple of weeks.”

I was nervous the rest of the day. I was worried about everyone in the building because everyone wanted the man to go away, but we knew he would be around and probably come back to harass us until he went to jail. He wouldn’t get but five to ten years for a business theft. He wouldn’t be subject to a long jail term since he had no violent encounters.

I called Fred. “I think your nemesis is being jailed as we speak. Get to the office in the morning and put whatever he pulled apart back together. Find out if he’s terminated anyone else yet. If so, bring them back unless you don’t think they mesh with what we do. Make sure he didn’t replace the janitorial service or any other services. You’ll have to keep an eye on billing for a couple of months. Have accounting double check every invoice. That’s how the guy gets away with what he does.”

Fred said, “That wasn’t a very long vacation. How did you get everything working so fast?”

“Easy, I asked the boss for a favor. We’re selling as fast as we can show properties and you know how they love sales.”

“Smart man,” Fred chuckled. “Pair a bunch of sales with asking for a favor and it gets done fast. I’ll take care of things in the morning. Should I report to you or who?”

“Talk to me tomorrow and I’ll find out if you should report to the guy in the mirror. I’ve already told them you could handle the position.”

“Holy smokes, Brad. That was nice of you. I’ll owe you dinner and a drink if I get the job.”

“Just do a good job and stay honest, Fred.”

“Not a problem, Amigo.”

Tampa was okay but probably wounded now. I was okay and would be protected. I should probably move out of the house until this is over, but I didn’t want to do that. I was enjoying my life with these women.

I sat back fairly stunned at everything that had been going on. I was almost drifting off when Matt came rushing in the door, “Holy shit, Brad. The men have sold four inventory houses today. One is a cash deal and others have credit apps that look good. It is so unbelievable that we are moving homes as fast as we are. The customers are saying they heard of our company over the radio during their drives to or from work and that’s why they came to see what we have. We’ll be building on demand the way the ads say we do at the rate we’re selling inventory homes.”

I was grinning, thinking of how the little effort I’ve made so far is bringing results. I stood and Matt raised his hand for a high five. I wouldn’t deny him that and slapped his hand. He said, “Two of the salesmen have appointments for later, and I’ll bet we get at least one more. The new lady salesperson has an appointment to show one of my listings that’s in cherry condition, so we have a chance at a big day.”

We did another high five, and then Matt told me what he considered was another big win, “We have a total of three experienced, licensed appraisers setting up shop with a temp secretary as we speak. I already have work for all three and they will be busy. I can direct them so I’ll get some exercise running up and down the stairs. This is so much fun that I can’t even tell you, Brad. The energy developing here is unbelievable. It’s getting late so I need to check with all my people.”

Kelly was sitting at her desk grinning when he left. She said, “Everyone is so excited that we’re doing so much business. This is an exciting time in this office. I’ve talked to Rebecca, Ginger, and Connie and heard the horror stories. You are their savior, Boss. Keep it up.”

My cell phone rang and I answered as always, “Johnson.”

Fred was calling and told me, “I’ve just heard from Bennington’s attorney that Daryl has been arrested and he requested me to come back to work. The County Sheriff’s office said Daryl had been found with over a kilo of coke, a large supply of meth, plus several thousand pills when I called them. The guy is going to go down for being a dealer, a big dealer, Brad. It will be a long time before he can be tried for his misdeeds in California. There was a big drug war here a couple nights ago, and a known supplier was killed in a rip-off. They are looking at Daryl as being a part of that. The product he had was apparently known to be from the deceased dealer.”

“Holy smokes, Fred. That’s terrible, but also good in that I don’t have to worry about the guy coming back here to cause trouble. Go take care of the office and I’ll make sure you are promoted into my position there.”

Fred said, “No sweat, Brad, I’m already here and calming everyone as I see them. I’ve called the folks who were let go back and also called our janitorial service to tell them they weren’t to even think about leaving us. Accounting is sorting all the new invoices that have been flooding in and are separating what they think is bogus stuff. Bennington has some guy who acts like a heavy for him come in to make sure what was directed is happening. I’ll demonstrate why I have been going to a dojo for the last fifteen years if he shows up.”

“Don’t run afoul of the law, Fred. The company needs you, just like your gorgeous hunk of a wife needs you. Be cool and let the law work for you.”

Fred was laughing as he said, “Are you kidding; if I tell her you called her gorgeous she would be on the next airplane to LA. I think she used to spend half her day playing with herself while fantasizing that you were doing her. Darn, she was so enamored with you that I’m surprised I don’t hate you. She would get herself so worked up that, she would attack me as soon as I came home. That sounds fucked up, but I know she loves me.”

“Sorry, Fred. You know I’m not that good looking to take some woman from a guy like you. Anyway, go home and make her a believer in you. I’m really proud of you and the way you’ve handled yourself during this crisis.

“Thanks, Brad, your praise means a lot. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

I was thinking that Daryl will be a guest of Florida for a long time unless something really strange happens.

My cell phone rang and the incoming call was from the home office area code. I answered “Johnson.”

The voice on the other end said, “I have a very big favor to ask you, Brad.”

“Okay, but you’ll have to tell me who this is.”

“Ha, ha, yeah, that would be good idea, wouldn’t it? This is Sherman Thoroughgood.”

“Wow! A partner calling a lowly office manager”, the partner that I had just turned in to the legal guys.

“Not so lowly, Brad. What I need to ask you is not to let anyone analyze your accounting files.”

“Hang on, Mr. Thoroughgood, someone needs a quick answer, I’ll be right back with you.”

I had done this several times to record business conversations that I needed to have on record. I conferenced my cellphone call to my office phone and punched in the code to record the call on the voicemail system. I beckoned Kelly to come to listen. I pushed the listen button on the office phone, and then the resume button on my cell. “I’m back, Mr. Thoroughgood. What do you want me to do?”’

“I want you to restrict access to your accounting files and to deny anyone from getting to them. It would be even better if they were all to disappear. I will reward you richly should you be able to do this, Brad. I’m sure you would enjoy an extra five hundred or a thousand dollars to do with what you want.”

“All right, Sir, I will accomplish what you want. Do we need to follow this up with any kind of contact?”

“Not really, Brad. Your word is as good as gold. Thank you for taking care of this matter.”

The guy was clueless and didn’t know how deep he was already in. I keyed the phone to stop the recording and hung up. I sent the voicemail to the key senior partner and then put it in the save mode so the guys upstairs could hear it. Kelly was sitting there with her mouth open in shock that someone with as much going for them as that man did would request that I destroy evidence of his thievery. I knew how she felt because it made my stomach turn the same way.