A Christmas Rendezvous. Karen Booth

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СКАЧАТЬ 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.”

      “How long is all of that going to take?” Mindy asked.

      “A few days to a few weeks. It just depends.”

      Mindy cleared her throat and Isabel sensed something bad was about to come to light. “Yeah. About that. We don’t have that kind of time. Mr. Summers’s lawyer sent a letter to the Eden’s in-house counsel today. He’s threatening a lawsuit right away if we don’t come to the negotiating table tomorrow.”

      Isabel blinked several times while trying to absorb what Mindy had just said. “Mr. Summers not only wants us to start negotiating tomorrow, his lawyer isn’t even aware the store is employing outside counsel?”

      “We thought a sneak attack was the best approach. They’re expecting someone else. Not Isabel Blackwell, Washington, DC, fixer.”

      Isabel cringed at the words. She didn’t want to be that person anymore.

      Sam sat forward and placed his hand on his sister’s knee. “I have to agree. The store is too important to the Eden family for us to be anything less than completely strategic about this. They’ll prepare for a corporate negotiation, not having any idea who they’re dealing with.”

      Isabel took a deep breath, trying to ignore the way her already soured stomach grew even more uneasy. “Can I see the letter they sent?”

      “Yes. Of course.” Mindy hopped up from her seat and grabbed a thin folder from Emma’s desk, handing it to Isabel.

      Inside was a single page—the letter inviting Eden’s Department Store’s legal representation to the negotiating table. All looked in order until Isabel saw the name on the signature line. Then the blood drained from her face.

       Jeremy Sharp. Oh my God.

      Her big meeting tomorrow with the lawyer representing the man who wanted to take down Eden’s Department Store? It would be the second run-in with her one-night stand. And apparently, they were about to go from the bedroom to the war room.

       Four

      “I don’t want you to worry,” Jeremy said as he escorted Benjamin Summers into one of the meeting rooms at Sharp and Sharp. “We have everything well in hand.”

      Mr. Summers turned to Jeremy and narrowed his eyes until they were only small slits. “Why aren’t we meeting in the main conference room? The one with the big windows. The one you can see from the waiting room.”

      Jeremy pulled back a chair and offered Mr. Summers a seat. “Because this is more discreet.” In truth, Jeremy preferred it because it meant his father couldn’t interfere unless he walked right in on them. Jeremy had been in many client meetings where his dad paced back and forth outside that main conference room. It was unnerving as hell.

      Mr. Summers sat in a huff. Jeremy hadn’t spent a lot of time with him, but he’d always been like this—gruff and impatient. “I’m not worried about discretion. If anything, I’d prefer not to have it. I’d like the whole world to know that I’m going after Eden’s. Victoria Eden destroyed my parents’ marriage and this is the only way I can seek retribution on behalf of my mother.”

      Jeremy poured Mr. Summers a glass of water, hoping that might help to cool his temper. “I don’t think it’s a great idea to bring that up in this meeting. I know it’s difficult to curb your personal feelings about the matter, but we need to focus on the bottom line, which is a very large unpaid debt.”

      Mr. Summers cleared his throat and tapped his fingers on the table. “Fine. I’ll take your advice.”

      “Thank you. I appreciate that.”

      “For now.”

      One of the admins in the office poked his head into the conference room. “Mr. Sharp, the Eden’s representatives and legal team have arrived. Shall I show them in?”

      Jeremy turned to Mr. Summers, hoping he could get him to remain calm and collected. “Are you ready, Mr. Summers?”

      “More than I’ve ever been.”

      Jeremy stood and straightened his jacket, then made his way to the door. The in-house counsel for Eden’s was a crew of white-haired older men, much like his dad and Mr. Summers. He knew he could handle this easily as long as everyone could set aside their egos. But when he glanced down the hall, a stunning vision came into view—a woman who was not easy to handle. Isabel.

      What the hell? For an instant, Jeremy shrank back from the door, his mind whirring with thoughts, even when there was no time to think. Before he knew what was happening, Isabel, along СКАЧАТЬ