Karen Booth - A Christmas Rendezvous

Per her brother Sam’s directions, Isabel took the elevator up to the top floor where the Eden’s executive offices were. Sam was sitting in reception when she got there.

“Hey, handsome,” she said as Sam got up out of his seat.

He was dressed in all black—suit, shirt and tie, just as most days. He placed a kiss on her forehead. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

Isabel wasn’t quite so happy about it, but she was hopelessly devoted to her brother and that meant she was going to take one last dubious legal assignment before turning her sights to less messy work. “I’m still not sure I’m the right person for this job.”

“Are you kidding me? You’re the exact right person for this job. You’re an expert at making problems like this go away.”

The subtext of Sam’s words made Isabel’s stomach sour. This wasn’t the sort of case that got wrapped up by legal wrangling and negotiation. Whenever you had very wealthy, powerful people fighting over something valuable, it inevitably turned into a race to the bottom. Who could dig up the most dirt? Who could make the other side cry for mercy first? “Sam, you know I don’t want to tackle this like a fix. I just don’t want to work like that anymore.”

Sam put his arm around Isabel and snugged her close. “You worry too much. It’s just a wealthy guy trying to get his hands on the store. You can handle this in your sleep.”

First, I’d have to get some sleep. “But your girlfriend’s family legacy is on the line. We can’t afford to be cavalier about it.”

“You mean fiancée.” Mindy Eden appeared on the far side of the reception area and approached them, a big smile on her face.

Isabel knew full well that Sam and Mindy had gotten engaged. She’d merely slipped. Perhaps it was her subconscious reminding her how bothered she was that her younger brother had found the sort of happiness she desperately wanted for herself. “I’m sorry. Fiancée.”

Mindy gave Isabel a hug, then wagged her fingers, showing off the square-cut diamond-and-platinum engagement ring Sam had given her. The thing was so big it looked like Mindy was walking around with an ice cube on her hand. “I honestly never thought this would happen.”

Isabel didn’t believe that for a minute. Mindy was lovely, but she seemed like the sort of woman who was accustomed to nothing less than getting exactly what she wanted out of life. “Why’s that? You had to know my brother was over the moon for you.”

Mindy elbowed Sam in the ribs. “I was oblivious to that for a while. I spent so much time focused on my career that I forgot to open my eyes.”

Isabel took a shred of comfort in that. She and Mindy might have butted heads when they first met, but that was only because of Isabel’s protectiveness of Sam. Mindy had hurt him and Isabel wasn’t going to be the one to forgive her for it. Now that Sam and Mindy had reconciled, and the two women had gotten to know each other a little better, Isabel knew that she and Mindy had some things in common. They were both driven, determined and not willing to take crap from anyone. “I’ll try to remember that when I jump back into the dating pool.”

“Any prospects?” Mindy asked.

“I’m out of here if you’re going to talk about guys,” Sam said, turning away. “I don’t do well with this subject when it comes to my sister.”

Isabel grabbed his arm. “Oh, stop. We’re not going to talk about that because there’s nothing to say. I need to get an apartment. There are a million other things for me to accomplish before I can seriously think about dating. I have to find an office and get my new practice up and running.”

“Don’t put it off too long,” Mindy said. She then cast her sights at Sam. “Are there any cute, eligible guys working for you right now? Maybe you can set her up.”

Sam shook his head. “Something tells me she doesn’t want that.”

In truth, Isabel might not mind it. If Sam picked out a man for her, she’d not only know that he had been fully vetted, she’d have the knowledge that Sam approved. That was no small matter. “We’ll see how I do. For now, let’s sit down and talk about the case.” Isabel was resigned to moving forward with this, and the sooner she started, the sooner she’d be done. So she’d delay her fresh start a few weeks. It wasn’t the end of the world.

“Come on,” Mindy said. “We’re going to meet in Emma’s office. It’s the biggest. It used to belong to my gram.”

Gram, or Victoria Eden, was the founder of Eden’s Department Store, which at its height had more than fifty stores worldwide. Unfortunately, the chain was now down to a single location, the original Manhattan store. Mrs. Eden had passed away unexpectedly a little more than a year ago, and left the business to Mindy, her sister, Sophie, and their half sister, Emma. It was a bit of a tawdry story—all three women had the same father, and their two mothers were also sisters. Victoria Eden had brought the affair to light via her will, where she told everyone of her son’s dalliance in an attempt to give Emma some justice.

Inside the office, Emma and Sophie were waiting. Isabel had met them both at a fund-raiser a month and a half ago, which was also when Sam and Mindy had finally figured out that they were desperately in love. Mindy made reintroductions and they all sat in the seating area—Isabel and Sophie on the couch, Sam in one chair with Mindy perched on the arm, and Emma opposite them.

“I guess we need to walk you through as much of this as we know,” Mindy said. “I wish we had more information, but until a few weeks ago, we had no idea who Benjamin Summers was.”

“He claims that our grandmother had an affair with his father, which is utterly preposterous,” Sophie said. “Gram was devoted to our grandfather for as long as he was alive.”

“Please, Soph. Can you not do this right now? Let me finish,” Mindy said, returning her sights to Isabel. “This would have been nearly forty years ago if it really happened. Early days for the store, but our grandmother was doing well and by all accounts, very eager to expand. That’s when Mr. Summers, the father, comes into play. Supposedly he lent our grandmother a quarter of a million dollars so she could open additional locations.”

“That was a lot of money at that time,” Isabel said. “And this is a handwritten promissory note?”

“Yes,” Mindy said. “We’ve been going back through the store’s old financials and bank records, but we can’t find any record of an influx of money. There are large chunks of cash flowing into the store at that time, but it could have just been sales. Unfortunately, the accounting from that time is nowhere near as exact as it is now. Most of it is on paper.”

Isabel’s gears were starting to turn. As much as she’d said she didn’t want to do this sort of work anymore—untangling the pasts of wealthy people—she had to admit that she had a real knack for it, and that made her feel as though she was ready to tackle it. “The first thing we’re going to need to do is get the promissory note authenticated. There’s a good chance it’s not real.”

“Do you think it could be a fake?” Emma asked.

“You’d be surprised the lengths people will go to in order to cash in.”

“But Mr. Summers is so wealthy,” Mindy said. “Why would he do that?”

Isabel sat back and crossed her legs. “It might not be the cash. It might be the store he’s after.”

“No. We can’t let that happen,” Sophie blurted.

Isabel didn’t want to be the bearer of bad tidings. Losing the store was a real possibility. For now, Isabel needed to get up to speed on the materials in the case and see where the Eden sisters stood. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Give me some time to look over everything. I have several different financial detectives I’ve worked with in the past. They’re going to need access to your records to see if we can figure out if the money ever flowed into the store at all.”