Page 43 of Park Avenue Princess

“First, let me go back.” Succinctly, she talks about her family life, the strict routine her parents had in place, the rare showing of affection; practically a sterile environment devoid of any form of emotion. I can hear the sorrow in her voice, knowing it hurt her not to have the fun and love many experience while growing up. I can only imagine the impact it had on her psyche to have joy inside you, to want to give love as well as receive, but have neither.

She then goes on to detail the night my father came over for dinner and the hushed words she overheard between him and her father.

“What? You heard nothing else? And my father never came to your home again? You never saw or knew of any interaction between them after that night?”

“No. Dad confessed to never inviting your father over again. They conducted business elsewhere, he said.”

“What do you think that was all about? After all these years, does it have to do with the discrepancies in city funds?”

“I’ll get to that, but yes, it most definitely has to do with city funds. And it goes far beyond the four hundred thousand we spoke about.”

“Excuse me?” Hollis interrupts. “Far beyond four hundred Gs? Like, how far beyond?”

“Getting to it,” Lynne says. “In the short amount of time I’ve been with Management and Budget, these are the first discrepancies I’ve uncovered; admittedly, in part due to the heads-up from Dennis at my father’s firm.”

Lynne goes on to talk about the emails and spreadsheets; about her father trying to sweep it under the rug.

Those words get my attention and it’s my turn to interrupt. “Would this be a good time to tell you about a comment from Jimmy?”

“Who’s Jimmy?” Addison asks.

“A freaking asshat from Dept. of Finance,” Lynne offers. She turns to me. “What else did he have to say?”

“When he said you wouldn’t overlook the one hundred grand error from Dept. of Buildings, he happened to say, and I quote, your fatherwoulda just swept it under the rug and let it be.”

Lynne closes her eyes and releases a long exhale. “As I suspected.”

Hollis starts waving his arm about. “Wait, wait, wait. Are you telling me your father, the prestigious accounting firm of DuVall and Associates has been embezzling New York City government funds for over twenty years?”

“He had a part in it,” Lynne answers. She then turns to me with regret written all over her face. “And Hamilton Resources, your father, Michael Hamilton, started it all.”

At first, I don’t think I heard correctly, but as she continues to stare at me with sorrow, the reality of her words hit me. My stomach pitches and my ears ring with static. I barely hear the shocked retort from Hollis. It takes great effort to calmly place my tumbler of brandy on the table versus shattering it against the nearest wall. When everything quiets and all eyes are on me, I face Lynne. “Tell me.”

“Vince Carmichael at Dept. of City Planning is the link between our fathers. He’s been a lifer with the city government, planning to retire early at sixty-five in two years. Or, so he hopes. He’s been a friend and client of Dad’s from the start of both their careers. He also became a—”

“Friend of my father’s that started as a result of business dealings,” I fill in.

“Yes.” Lynne picks up the story while Hollis and Addison listen intently. “When your father began making the transition from property manager to developer, he needed connections, favors even. He got those from Vince.”

“Favors such as?” Hollis asks.

“Early bids on jobs or the inside scoop on others interested so that Hamilton Resources could underbid and be guaranteed the contract. Your father approached Carmichael, convincing him that he’d pad his retirement, both their retirements. He set his sights on becoming one of the wealthiest companies in the state. And much more.”

“He wanted not only wealth, but prestige,” I say. “He wanted control. He always said he would become the Rockefeller of Real Estate Development.”

“Yeah, by nefarious means,” Addison adds. She then looks at me. “Sorry, but damn.”

“I knew my father turned into a snob, an elitist, but I never would have imagined this. I never would have imagined him a thief, a cheat.” I sigh as I rub my forehead. “Mom told me just earlier today that he’d been acting off but wouldn’t talk to her. Maybe he’s realizing his scheme is beginning to crash around him. And to think he wanted me following in his footsteps. As I told you, I chose my own path—one he was less than pleased with—rather than have him dictate my future. After hearing this, I’m damn sure glad I did.”

Lynne whips her head in my direction. “But you’ve made a great impact in such a short time with city government. You’ve been one of the most productive leaders of a division with the ability to stretch funds or find alternatives, as well as condense entities for more streamlined operations. You’ve been responsible for the expansion of programs like STEAM and HSSIP. You’ve—”

“Yeah, yeah, we get it,” Hollis begins. “He’s a saint with no black marks on his record.” He looks at me. “Suck up.”

“Up yours.” I smirk. Turning to Lynne, I take her hand in mine, grateful, and more than a little surprised at her praise for me. I kiss her knuckles. “Thank you for that.” Her smile begins to soothe me, but I know there’s more to come.

“Gentlemen, you’re getting off-topic,” Addison says. “Now we know Guy is, well, a stand-up guy.” She smirks and I notice Lynne rolling her eyes. “Unlike his father. Again, sorry,” she says to me. I just shake my head. “Moving on,” Addison continues.

Lynne takes a deep breath and continues. “Okay, so in order to not only pad their retirement but also others they pulled into their scheme, they devised a system to make it appear fees were being paid by Hamilton Resources, when in fact that money was going into a wealth fund account that Addison says has no ties to the financial market. This is where my father comes in. They needed someone to direct and control the funds. Carmichael suggested my father all those years ago because not only was he a friend, but dad did some questionable practices when he first started his career. Unethical practices like charging higher fees for a bigger cut, or suggesting investments in companies known to perform poorly in a particular quarter, thereby losing the client money. However, those companies would give dad a sort of kick-back for getting more clients to invest. It was a vicious circle.”

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