Chapter 10

We arrived at my shop, and I brought Clarice into the conference room. Debbie my bookkeeper, a representative from the CPA firm we used, and Sam Phelps, my attorney were waiting for us.

“Thanks for coming everyone. I’d like to introduce Miss Clarice Jones. She has appeared in several very successful films. Through fraud and mismanagement, Miss Jones’ once considerable assets are all but gone. I believe there is studio collusion preventing Miss Jones from finding new roles.

“Miss Jones and I have become very close friends, and I’d like to see what we can do to help her recover as much of the stolen assets as possible and seek legal avenues to either provide acting opportunities, or compensate her for the loss of income the studio black list has caused,” I said.

Sam looked me in the eye for several seconds before he said, “That’s a tall order Paul. Are we to assume that your interest in Miss Jones financial situation arises from a recently undertaken romantic relationship?” Sam asked.

“Yes, Mr. Phelps. I met Paul when he did an estimate for work on my home. He was so kind to me, he just swept me off my feet.” Clarice said.

Sam kept looking bothered. Now Clarice was conservatively dressed in a Channel suit, but my darling has the kind of body that’s impossible to hide.

“Sam, is there legal relevance to your concern? Miss Jones is of legal age, and is not married. I had neglected to resolve my own relationship status because, truthfully, I never anticipated meeting someone and having mutual attraction. I will be taking care of that oversight as soon as our full meeting is over,” I said.

“Well Paul, entertainment law is a special field. Big money is involved, and these guys don’t like to lose. They play hardball, and if you have any inconvenient secrets, they will drag them out in public via their friends at the tabloids.”

“Sam, do you think your contacts could find out why the studios don’t want to employ Miss Jones? I got the impression that all her films were commercially successful. If there is some other issue or some performance deficiency on her part, she was never made aware of the problem or problems.”

“The PI firm we use can find that out. Standard rates, of course.”

“Debbie, who is representing the CPA firm?”

“This is Ellen Childress. She is a forensic accountant. She has a proposal for you as to what her services would cost to discover the methods used to misappropriate Miss Jones cash and investments, determine the responsible party or parties, and present evidence to a district attorney to bring criminal charges against the person or persons responsible.”

“Ms. Childers, in the event you determine the guilty party, charges are filed, and the perpetrator is convicted, can Miss Jones expect to recover any of her money?” I asked.

“It all depends on whether the thief spent the money. In the event the money was used to buy physical assets such as houses or cars, and they are not mortgaged, we can gain ownership of those things. Miss Jones could assume ownership and keep or dispose of the items as she pleases, or we could organize an auction to convert as much of the physical property as she wishes into cash. Money that was deposited or invested can be seized and returned to Miss Jones. If he spent it all, she probably can’t recover her assets. However, we may be able to put liens on any property he does own and have it seized to repay Miss Jones. There are a lot of uncertainties, Mr. Gallo,” The CPA said.

“Clarice, do you have any financial records Ms. Childers can work with?” I asked

“Yes, I have boxes of them including all the phony books, and the overdraft notices,” Clarice said.

“Miss Jones, may I bring my assistant over to your house so we can get started assuming custody, documenting the change in custody, and then moving the records to our office?” Ellen asked.

“Debbie, this isn’t a company expense, so please make sure all the payments for services come from my personal account. Let’s setup proper accounting records for this project, so we have documentation if we do have opportunity to recover some of our costs.”

“Does anyone have any additional items to discuss? OK then, this meeting is adjourned. Again, thank you for coming,” I said.

“Paul, did you get bonked in the head or something?” Sam said.

“Mr. Phelps, exactly what is your problem with me?” Clarice asked.

“Well gee Clarice,” Sam started.

“Stop right there Sam. You don’t know Miss Jones. Generalities about actresses are not accurate. Tabloids lie when paid enough or if it will boost sales. I’m telling you that taking a hostile tone with Miss Jones is ill advised because your opinion is based on hearsay and unreliable sources.

“We’ve known each other a long time Sam. You need to know that Clarice is a good person, and she’s been treated badly by several people. I’d like to help her. Anyone I hire to work on that project needs to treat her politely.

“You know if Clarice was able to work and her assets hadn’t been stolen, she would have significantly more cash and investments than I do, so let’s not have any gold digger talk.

“Miss Jones is an American Citizen by birth, so there are no hidden issues here. We met, we liked each other, and we started falling in love. We plan to keep getting to know each other for a while. We anticipate we will fall more deeply in love as this process of learning about each other continues.

“When I am legally divorced, we may choose to live together for a while, and if cohabitation is successful, then we might get married.

“I would expect my legal advisor to prepare documents to safeguard my assets and refer Clarice to a firm to prepare documents to protect her assets.”

Clarice said, “Mr. Phelps, please correct me if I’m wrong, but since I have no income and no assets except my house and car, there isn’t much that needs protecting. Any income I earn would most likely come after we are married.”

“Clarice, dear, there is a possibility you might recover some of the money. It was actually earned before we met. It should be protected too, so you have secure assets of your own to rely on in case we run into a marital problem we can’t solve.”

“OK Paul. I can see that you are rational. I apologize for my tone earlier. We’ll be able to work on this together, with no problems. I’ll have the PI firm start trying to find out what the studios have against Miss Jones.

“Miss Jones, did any studio executive, producer, or director demand any kind of casting couch favors from you in order to be hired for subsequent projects?” Sam asked.

“I may be too inexperienced to understand a demand or proposition that’s not in plain English. However, I never was aware of anyone making that kind of demand,” Clarice said.

We made arrangements to meet the accountants at Clarice’s house. I drove her there, and she kept looking at me and smiling.

“You really are my Knight in Shining Armor. First you slay my emotional dragons and turn me into a sexier girl than I’ve ever been, and now you are going after my financial big bad wolf,” Clarice said.

“Every man wants to be a hero to his woman,” I said.

“Am I your woman?” Clarice asked.

“What do you think?” I said.

“I’m addicted to you Paulie, and I can’t imagine life without your touch or having you make love to me, so in my heart I belong to you,” Clarice said.

“Can you live with being one of my wives instead of the only one?” I asked.

“The alternatives aren’t attractive. Just like you had to learn to think in a new way, I’m going to have to learn that the model held up as the ideal isn’t ideal for everyone. The kind of complete love you give me is something I can’t live without, and having a one-fifth share of love that’s perfect for me is much better than having all of an illusion.”

We pulled up to the gate of her estate, and Clarice told me the code to punch in. The gate swung open, and I drove up the lane.

Jarvis was waiting outside the door. I parked the car, got out and went around the car to open the door for Clarice. I pulled her into my arms as she got out of the car, and kissed her thoroughly.

“I knew there was a reason I fell in love with you Paulie,” Clarice said.

We walked up to the door, and Jarvis said, “I’m happy to see you made it home alive Miss.”

“JarJar, you need to get used to seeing me hanging all over Paulie. Besides my being crazy in love with the guy, he is my Knight in Shining Armor. He’s going to help me get out of my current FINANCIAL mess. If you insist on being snarky with him, I’ll give you TMI and tell you all about his magic touch that makes my knees weak and how many times he makes the earth move for me every night,” Clarice threatened.

“One will have to reevaluate one’s judgments Miss,” Jarvis said.

“See that you do JarJar. I truly love you for being on my side all the time. You need to know that Paulie is on my side too, and he is my champion, who is willing to take action and put his money on the line to take care of me,” Clarice said.

“I shall have to flog myself soundly for misjudging the gentleman Miss,” Jarvis said.

“Jarvis, a couple of forensic accountants are dropping by to take custody of my financial records. Please get them all the paperwork and give them any help they need,” Clarice said.

“Certainly Miss,” Jarvis said.

The squawk box announced the arrival of Ms. Childers and her assistant. Jarvis told the guard to open the gate for them. Following the accountant’s car was a small box truck with a burly driver and a hefty helper. Jarvis opened the door and ushered them into the foyer. He greeted Ms. Childers, and led the two uniformed men to the storage room full of document boxes. Ms. Childers took inventory of all the boxes and catalogued them. The driver and his helper began loading the boxes on hand trucks and taking them out to the box truck.

When all the files had been moved, Ms. Childers gave Clarice a receipt, and had her sign a form showing that the CPA firm had taken custody of the records.

Jarvis brought us lunch in Clarice’s office. She asked him to take the food out by the pool. She had me change into swimming trunks, and she took off her business suit and put on a bikini. She looked much more natural, and comfortable in minimal clothing.