“What about our final meeting for the merger? It starts in an hour.” His voice was agitated.
“Reschedule it, Roland. I have to go.”
I ended the call before he could say another word. The truth was, I drank too much last night as I read my father’s journal. Picking up my phone, I called the main number to the office and put it on speaker.
“Remington Property & Capital. How may I direct your call?”
“Diana Lafferty, please.”
“One moment and I’ll connect you.”
“Diana Lafferty speaking.”
“Diana, it’s Asher Remington.”
“Uh, hi, Mr.—”
“Don’t say my name. I don’t want anyone in the office to know that I’m calling you. As far as everyone is concerned, I’m home sick today. I need you to give me Everly’s phone number. I have to speak with her.”
“Sure.”
As she rattled off the number, I stored it in my phone.
“Thank you. This conversation stays between the two us. Understand?”
“Yes. Completely. Have a good day.”
“You too, Diana.”
I dialed Everly’s number and it went to voicemail. After leaving a message, I set my phone down, made a cup of coffee and took a shower.
Everly
“Thanks, Everly. I’m so happy we finally got to meet in person.”
“Me too, Regina.” I smiled. “Same time, same place, next week?”
“I already put it in my calendar. I’m going to go home and work on that list.”
“Excellent.” I grinned. “Enjoy the rest of your day.”
“You too, Everly,” Regina said as she got up from her chair and walked out of the coffee shop.
I still had some coffee left, so I picked up my phone and noticed I had a voice message. I never kept my phone ringer on during a session. My clients paid me for one-on-one attention and that was exactly what they got. Pressing the voicemail button, I brought the phone up to my ear.
“Everly, it’s Asher Remington. I need to speak with you. It’s urgent. Please call me as soon as you get this message. The number I’m calling from is my cell number and the best one to reach me at. I hope to hear from you soon.”
Dialing his number, he picked up on the second ring.
“Everly?”
“Mr. Remington.”
“I called you a half hour ago. What the hell took you so long to call me back?” he spoke in an angered tone.
“I’m working, and I was with a client. Do you answer your calls when you’re in meetings?”
“Don’t get smart with me. I don’t like that.” His authoritative tone irritated me.
“Mr. Remington.” I sighed. “Why are you calling me?”
“I need to see you as soon as possible. Are you available now?”
“You said you never wanted to see me again.”
“I know what I said, but it doesn’t matter right now. I need to speak to you. Give me your work address, and I can meet you at your office.”
I glanced around the coffee shop.
“Everly? Are you still there?”
“Yes. Sorry. The address is 155 East 52nd Street and 3rd Avenue.”
“I’m leaving now.”
“Okay. See you soon.”
I heard a click and let out a sigh. Grabbing my purse, I went up to the counter.
“Can I get you something else?” the barista asked.
“A large Nitro Cold Brew with coconut milk and one pump mocha, please. And I’ll have one of those delicious looking raspberry nut bars.”
“Coming right up.”
“You know what? I need to add one more thing.”
“Of course. What did you want to add?”
“A large dark roast with a splash of almond milk and one shot of espresso. And a slice of banana nut bread.”
“Sure thing.” She smiled.
When the coffees were ready, I took them over to the small round table I had been sitting at for the last hour and a half. Asher would be walking through that door in five minutes and he wasn’t going to be very happy.
8
Everly
The moment I saw him walk through the door, a look of bewilderment was plastered across his face. He looked around for a moment until he spotted me and my raised hand alerting him as to where I was sitting.
“A coffee shop? Really? I thought we were meeting at your office,” he scowled.
“Today, this is my office. Have a seat.” I smiled as I gestured to the chair across from me.
“What is this?” he asked as he picked up the large coffee cup.
“A large dark roast with a splash of almond milk and one shot of espresso. And in the bag is a slice of banana nut bread.”
He picked up the bag and looked inside.
“How—” he stuttered. “Never mind.” He put his hand up. “I want you to tell me how you knew my father.”
“I don’t.”
“Don’t lie to me,” he spoke in a low authoritative voice.”
“I’m not lying to you. I take it you found the journal?”
“Yes. It was exactly where you said it was.”
“And?”
“I’m not discussing that with you. I want to know what kind of relationship you and my father had. Was he paying you to find out information? When did he tell you about the journal? How long before he died?”
“He told me in my dream after he passed away.”
“And I don’t believe you! Now you tell me the fucking truth!” he voiced rather loudly which caused people to turn our way.
“Lower your voice. You’re making a scene. Take a drink of your coffee and calm down. I know you can’t or won’t accept what I’m telling you, but you don’t have a choice. Shouldn’t you be at work?” I cocked my head at him.
“Yes. I should be. But instead, I’m here trying to make sense of what role you played in all of this.”
“My role?” I pointed to myself. “I’m an innocent bystander here. The truth is your deceased father came to me and asked me to help you. He showed me what would happen if you went ahead with that merger.”
“God. This is crazy!” He leaned back in his chair. “You’re crazy!”
“How do you think I knew about the pot incident when you were fifteen or how I knew you would sit at his desk and pretend to draw up contacts when you were a little boy? How did I know your exact coffee order and that banana nut bread is your favorite?”
“Simple. You were working for him and he told you all about me.”
I got lost in his eyes as my mind went elsewhere.
“Hello?” He waved his hand in front of my face.
“Who is Brianna?” I asked.
His eyes widened as he inhaled a sharp breath.
“How do you know that name? My father would never have told you that,” he spoke through gritted teeth.
“Exactly, Mr. Remington.”
He looked out the window as the silence grew between us.
“You need to go to the police and show them the journal. In fact, my cousin is a detective with the NYPD. Why don’t you come over tonight and speak with him? He’ll help you.”