Page 32 of A Lifetime in 30 Days
“So, wait? The police have been investigating me too?”
Jovani looked up at her and nodded. “Watching your accounts as well as his for any more big deposits. I’m guessing that’s why they didn’t immediately bring you in when his body was found. They waited to see what you’d do.”
“The only deposit into my account is my direct deposit every two weeks. Oh no, wait a minute, my name is on my grandmother’s checking and savings account. Please don’t tell me they’re watching that too.Don’t tell me she’s at any type of risk because of Caleb’s ass and my foolishness for not making a cleaner break from him.”
“No,” Jovani said, and held up a hand to stop the rant she was definitely about to go on. “No. They could only get subpoenas to monitor your accounts. Not accounts that you share with someone else who wasn’t also involved in this case. So your grandmother’s money is safe.”
It felt like afor nowwas lingering in the air, and Vanna began to feel sick. She brought her hands up to cover her face as she tried to take the next calming breath.
“So, here’s our position. To be successful on this conspiracy charge against you, they have to prove that one, you entered into an agreement with at least one person connected to this case to steal the money, and two, that at least one person in that agreement performed the act that furthered the agreement.” He was giving her that pointed glare again. “As long as they can’t prove you agreed to be a part of the robberies with Caleb and his crew, this case fails. We win, you go on with your life.”
“We win? So there has to be a trial? I have to sit in a courtroom while they accuse me of conspiring to steal money that I never even saw? This is bullshit!” First there’d been fear. Then worry had settled in. Now, with all the facts on the table, anger was quickly taking over.
“Not if I can help it,” he said. “Like I said, my team is already on this. With Caleb’s death, two of the key players in this scheme have disappeared. Their case is falling apart, which is why they finally decided to bring you in. They want you to give up the two who’re on the run; then they’ll offer you probation and probably a fine. But we’re not giving them a damn thing. They’re gonna have to prove this case to win, so we’re just going to build our own case that will ensure they lose.”
“If he wasn’t already dead, I promise you I’d kill Caleb Jeremiah Carlson. Then you’d get an even bigger fee to represent me.”
Jovani gave her a half smile. “While I totally understand where you’re coming from, let’s not say that anymore outside of this office.”Then, when she didn’t agree, he continued, “How ’bout we just don’t speak those words again. Ever.”
She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Fine.”
By noon, Vanna’s day had gone from bad to horrendous, when HC Jr. barged into her office. If he’d opened that door two minutes earlier, she would’ve been still eating the steak burrito bowl from Chipotle that Sanni had brought back for her. And that would’ve pissed her off. On the days she didn’t leave the office for lunch—which were few because she really did need to get away from this place for a short period during the middle of the day—she would hang a sign on her office door:Out to lunch. That’s what the sign said—nothing ambiguous, printed in bold block letters, in the English language, which everyone in this office spoke fluently.
And yet, HC Jr. had clearly decided to ignore that sign and walk in unannounced. It was a good thing she didn’t take after him when it came to office etiquette, otherwise he might have found her in a compromising position with the UPS delivery guy. He was currently the finest man to come in and out of this office, as noted by her, Sanni, and Neshawn.
“Why hasn’t this expert been paid?” he asked as he stalked up to her desk, then stood there glaring down at her, waiting for a response.
One that she was in no hurry to give because his rudeness was growing with every passing second, and she had to start counting down from five hundred to keep from going off on his annoying ass. HC Jr. was a few inches taller than his father. He was in his early fifties, and his thick hair was still chestnut brown, his eyes an eerie green. He had the slim and polished look of a legacy student at Yale and the arrogance that often came with it.
She continued wiping her hands with her napkin, then made a production out of leaning to the side and tossing that napkin into thetrash. Then she angled her chair so that she was facing the computer more than HC Jr.’s scowling face.
“Which experts are you referring to?” she asked, purposefully keeping her tone even, her gaze directed at the computer.
Vanna had an inkling of which expert in particular he was referring to, and the two cases she hadn’t been paid for yet. But he was going to have to ask for everything he wanted today. She wasn’t in a generous mood.
“Rayna Postmore, the registered nurse on the Forney and Hayes cases. She provided written reports, sat for depositions, and testified at trial in the Hayes case. Both those cases settled last month; she should’ve been paid by now,” he blustered.
Rayna Postmore was an attractive woman—if pixie-like, raven-haired nurses were your thing—with multiple degrees in the medical field. She was a great expert witness both on paper and on the witness stand. In addition to her job at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, she had a thriving consultant side business. She was also one of HC Jr.’s latest side chicks. Which, in Vanna’s estimation, had knocked her worth down tremendously.
“The Forney case settled on July second. Check was received on Friday and hasn’t cleared our account yet,” she said after pulling up a spreadsheet.
She’d lowered the font size on her computer while he’d been talking so that when the spreadsheet came up on the screen, he couldn’t easily see the numbers. He would’ve had to lean over her desk to get a good look, but she knew he wasn’t going to do that. HC Jr.’s and his father’s names might be on the door and the stationery in this office, but Vanna controlled the money, and both men knew it. She looked out for them and this firm in a way neither of them would’ve ever been able to do. She’d done it to an extent as their paralegal, when they’d both acted like their law degrees had been another one of those gifts passed down, but not earned in the least bit, and worked some of their highest-netting cases. Which was why they eventually promoted her to her currentposition. They knew she was capable of managing every aspect of this firm on her own, and they respected that. They respected her. To the extent that they could respect a Black woman who was younger than them.
“Hayes just settled last week. The defendant’s insurance company in this case is notorious for taking up to seven weeks to pay. I’ve already got it on my calendar to do a first follow-up on payment next week,” she told him. “So, you can tell Rayna her $4,200 from Forney should go out by the end of this week. When the Hayes payment comes in, it usually takes three to five business days for those checks to clear. So, the $5,875 she’s due from that case will come after that.”
His brow furrowed, and he pushed his hands into the front pockets of his khakis. “Can we cut her a check today?”
Vanna sat back in her chair. “We can, but are you prepared to do that for every expert who calls crying for money?”
The question was on the borderline of being insubordinate. No matter how good she was at her job, they were still her employers, and on most days Vanna respected that. Today was not the day for this man to be in her office, worrying her about his mistress. Not when Caleb was still wreaking havoc on her life from the grave.
“Nobody has to know what we’re doing here, Vanna. She needs that money now,” HC Jr. said.
Vanna gave a little nod. “Okay. So, you want me to cut a check for ten thousand to Rayna today. Because that’s the total amount she’s owed for both cases. What should I put in the memo portion?”
“What are you talking about? What do you normally put in the memo portion?” he asked, obviously irritated with Vanna’s questions.
“I normally add the case name and number, which will coordinate with the deposit and clearing of the settlement check. This is how we handle all cases and the settlement sheet that goes into each digital and paper file. Now, if I cut these checks before that happens, it messes up my recordkeeping. So I just need to know how you want me to adjustwhat will be a discrepancy in the event the accountants decide to audit our accounts.”
