Page 34 of Park Avenue Princess

“Lots of questions to which I’m determined to find answers.”

Addy snorts. “One minute you’re cussing out of character and the next you’re speaking with perfect grammar.”

I shrug and chuckle. “What can I say? I’m multi-faceted that way.”

We start to clean up and Addy suggests I stay while she begins to look into the wealth fund. “I could find something right away and you’ll have that much more ammunition. Besides, you can do some work from here, make some calls, whatever you need to do. That is, unless you had other plans.”

“No, I don’t need to be anywhere until it’s time to go see my dad. If you’re sure you don’t mind, I’d love to stay here and do a bit more research. I’m also curious to see what you can uncover.”

“I don’t mind at all.” She drops the containers in a bag, placing it in the garbage before making her way to her desk. “I’ll make one call then get to work and see what I can find.” She stops to look at me. “I have toiletries in the bathroom if you want to freshen up later before you go.”

“Thanks, Addy.” She smiles and nods before settling in her seat. I get comfy on the couch again and open my laptop, intent on analyzing those documents and digging into the finances of the involved departments.

Nearly two hours go by and I’m lost in a maze of shifting funds. Just as I’m about to remote into another program, I hear Addy muttering to herself but can’t quite make out what she’s saying. After several more minutes, I finally ask what’s troubling her.

“I can’t find diddly-squat on this wealth fund. Almost as if it doesn’t even exist. It’s not tied to the public market and after contacting a few investment firms, they can’t produce anything either.”

“Hmm, I thought it looked like it was simply a savings account designed under the guise of being an investment account.”

“While a savings account is a low-return investment, you don’t throw these kinds of figures into an account like that. You invest in something that’ll yield more, depending on your timeline.”

“And with these transactions seemingly originating two years ago, it’s hard to deduce their intended goal or timeline.”

“And whotheyare.”

I sigh. “Exactly. Well, thanks for trying, Addy. Guess I’ll see what my father decides to divulge.”

“Sorry I couldn’t get any more information for you on that. However, I think I found something on the retirement account.” She continues to type furiously at her keys.

“Yeah?” I sit up, focusing on her rather than the nonproductive activity on my laptop.

“Yeah. Seems there’ve been some changes to the plan, oh, about two years ago, and… oh, okay.” Her eyebrows practically rise off her face as she looks at me. “You’re not going to believe this.” Her gaze returns to her computer with click after click of her mouse.

“Well?” I prompt. “You’re gonna have to give me an idea so I can tell you whether or not I believe you.”

Addy goes still before her gaze returns to me. “Hamilton Resources.”

I feel my own brow scrunch. “What about Hamilton Resources?”

“Over half of the contributions in the retirement fund were shifted from various companies in order to invest in Hamilton Resources.”

Guy’s father?

Addison continues while still clicking away at her computer. “They’ve had a steady and very profitable increase in their worth and wealth over the past decade, with their best quarter being the end of last year.”

I let that information marinate while I try to decide the relevance to all that’s going on. Suddenly the harsh whispered words between my father and Hamilton flit through my mind.

“You cannot expect me to continue this practice… I could lose everything.”

“If you don’t, you could still lose everything. Don’t make me regret bringing you in on this.”

Is my father’s firm in charge of the retirement account, making the decisions on where to invest? Has there been something underhanded going on between these two for twenty years? Could Michael Hamilton’s recent emails to me somehow be connected?

“Well this puts a whole new spin on the dynamics,” I mutter, knowing I now have more questions than answers.

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