Chapter 5
Back home, Sophie was cooking in the kitchen.
"You look a bit off today," she said.
"The client brought in a new liaison, and she's a real pain," I replied.
Sophie came out of the kitchen with a pot in hand.
She said, "Come on, it's not like you haven't dealt with tough people before. Remember that state competition?
"The judge said your design was way too bold to ever get built, and you just pulled out the construction plans and made him eat his words right there. Did you forget?"
I smiled.
"I was younger back then, not afraid to ruffle feathers," I said.
"Don't be afraid now," she said.
She set the food on the table.
"Oh, by the way, Alex called. He said there's some progress about David," Sophie said.
"What kind of progress?" I asked.
"Alex dug up something. That house David claimed was rented out? Turns out, it's not rented at all. It's actually registered in his ex-girlfriend's name."
I froze.
"His ex-girlfriend?" I asked.
"Yeah. He bought the house before the wedding, and it's in his ex's name. Turns out, they never even split," Sophie said.
I slowly set my fork down.
"Do you know her name?" I asked.
"Nope. Alex wants you to come by the law firm next week. He'll show you the documents," she said.
*****
A week later, I was sitting in Alex's law office.
He pushed a stack of documents across the desk.
He said, "Property records, bank statements, and utility bills. The house is under a woman named Linda Quinn.
"David's been sending money for the property fees and utilities every month. Not a lot, but he's been doing it for two years."
"Two years. We only dated for a year and a half," I said.
"Yeah, so he had that place and that woman way before you came into the picture."
I skimmed through the bank statements.
"When was the last payment?" I asked.
"Last month. Right after your wedding," he replied.
I snapped the folder shut.
"That's enough," I said.
"Ms. Warren, I suggest we submit all this as evidence for the lawsuit. He hid his assets before marriage and kept up a relationship on the side. This gives us a big edge," Alex said.
"Did you find anything else?"
Alex hesitated for a moment.
"There's one more thing," he said.
He slid another file across the desk.
He went on, "David also owns a small company in the building materials business. The legal rep is his mom, Margaret Shaw, but David's really the one in charge.
"Last year, the company got a government supply contract. He pulled some strings, and there's suspicion of bid rigging."
"How did you find out about that?" I asked.
"As luck would have it, Brightstone Group has a bunch of projects in Maplewood. A friend of mine who does due diligence happened to check their supplier list, and David's company was on it."
Brightstone again.
Suddenly, something connected in my mind.
"Mr. Morgan, did you just say David's building materials company supplied Brightstone?" I asked.
"Yeah. But it was just a small batch," he replied.
I didn't press further.
But that name made me dig deeper.
*****
On my way out of the law firm, three things were on my mind.
First, David wasn't just some small-town guy who made it big. His family ran a business and had some shady income.
Second, there was a business connection between Brightstone and David.
Third, did Brightstone send Jessica to target me?
I called Olivia.
"Mr. Morgan, I need to confirm something. Does Brightstone know about my personal background?" I asked.
"What do you mean?" she replied.
"My ex-husband's building materials company once supplied Brightstone."
There was a brief silence on the other end.
"What are you getting at?" she asked.
"I'm not sure yet. But the way Jessica's targeting me doesn't feel like normal client nitpicking. It feels like someone's pulling the strings," I said.
Olivia paused, thinking it over.
"Do you have any proof?" she asked.
"Not yet," I replied.
"Then let's not tip our hand. The sales office project wraps up in two weeks. Just get the job done. I'll keep an eye on the rest."
"Okay."
I hung up the phone.
I stood at the street corner, and the evening breeze in Riverdale swept over me.
I came here to get away from David, but his shadow had crept into my work life.
Well, then I wouldn't run anymore.
*****
For the next two weeks, I was at the construction site during the day and tweaking the plans at night.
Jessica kept nitpicking. One day it was the color temperature of the lights, the next it was the furniture dimensions. Every time, I'd counter her with the original approval documents.
She was getting more and more impatient.
One day, she snapped right in front of the workers. "Ms. Warren, you're only this tough because you've got someone backing you up, right?"
The workers all stopped what they were doing.
I set the blueprints down.
"Ms. Lee, you think doing things by the book is being tough?" I asked.
"I think you're not cooperating," she said.
"Which part am I not cooperating with? List them out, and I'll answer them one by one."
Jessica was left speechless.
She bit her lip.
"Fine, Wendy. We'll see about it at the inspection," she said.
She walked away.
Sam came running over.
"Wendy, you know she's going to pull something during the inspection," he said.
"I know," I replied.
*****
On inspection day, a whole crew from Brightstone showed up.
Jessica brought along two supposed "third-party assessment experts."
One of them walked in and immediately pointed at the floor in the front hall. "The color's off on this stone."
I walked over and crouched down to take a look.
"That's just the natural texture variation in the stone. It's within industry standards. Feel free to check the inspection standards," I said.
The other "expert" chimed in, "Standards are standards, but it doesn't look good."
I stood up.
"Can I see your credentials?" I asked.
The two of them exchanged a glance.
"What?" one of them said.
"If you don't have the right credentials, your assessment doesn't mean anything for the inspection," I said.
Jessica's face changed.
"Wendy, what are you getting at?" she asked.
"Nothing. Just show me your credentials," I said.
The two "experts" couldn't give me any.
Just then, a black car pulled up at the entrance.
Richard walked in.
Everyone straightened up.
Richard paused at the doorway, taking in the whole scene.
"The construction looks pretty solid," he said. He walked along the curved pathway in the front hall, following the lighting, and then stopped at the lounge area. "The lighting's just right."
He turned to Jessica.
"How's the inspection going?" he asked.
Jessica opened her mouth.
"There are a few minor issues," she said.
"What issues?" he asked.
Jessica pointed at the floor.
"The stone's got some color variation," she said.
Richard glanced down.
"If natural stone didn't have color variation, that would be a miracle. Anything else?" he said.
Jessica was at a loss for words.
Richard looked at me.
"Ms. Warren, you did a great job on this project," he said.
"Thank you, Mr. Evans," I replied.
"About that invitation I mentioned before, we can talk about it for real now," he said.