“Shall we sit?” I ask. Such a lame thing to say, given the pain etched on Sonia’s face. Pain I’ve caused. But business is business and business is a bitch.
Saying nothing, she only waves in the direction of the seating arrangement where we had spent a pleasant evening such a short time ago.
Before sitting, I ask, “Can I get you anything?” Even more lame.
“No thank you,” she replies. As I settle into the chair, she keeps her back to me and, her voice clear, her demeanor composed despite the redness in her eyes, she says, “How much will be lost if the Idaho deal falls through?”
Hoping to sound as together as she, I say, “Millions.”
“I know you’re on the hook for millions, Chase. That goes without saying. I’m talking about the money people like me who have invested with you. How much do we stand to lose?”
“If I can just narrow it down to you,” I say, “it would make things simpler.”
She dabs at the corner of an eye and, with her voice still steady, says “As you wish.”
“Millions,” I say.
She stiffens. Taking her time, I see her make little head movements as if looking for the pieces she will need to complete a puzzle. She then raises her eyes to look at the wall over the mantle and says with exaggerated patience, “Let me get this right. Ten years ago, I gave you fifty thousand dollars to help you get that first big deal. I’ve left my money with you ever since. Are you telling me that, before this Idaho project, my investment had grown to be worth millions?”
“Yes.” I reply.
Turning to face me, her face flushed and twisting the tissue in her hand, she says, “And when were you going to tell me this?” Throwing her arms up, she then says, “I was a millionaire and didn’t know it?”
“Right,” I say.
Her voice a note or two higher, she says, “And now I’m not?”
“Wrong.”
Fists clenched at her side, she says, “Chase, you can be the most infuriating pain in the ass.”
“I’m answering your questions as you ask them, counselor,” I say. “What more can I do?”
“Sometimes,” she says, “I think you have circuitry for a brain. Tell me how it is that you’ve invested my money.”
“I always invest the same percentage for all my friends,” I say, “but never more than half their funds. So why haven’t I told any of you how much you had? Because I was saving it up for the big reveal at the party where we were going to celebrate. And, frankly, I made sure everyone was taken care of so well, that no one seemed to care about the details. Then NIERE came along. This was the granddaddy of all deals, Sonia. You, as well as everyone else who has supported me, would learn you have far bigger stakes in the project and were going to be far richer than you ever imagined. As the project played itself out for years into the future, you were all going to make piles to add to the millions I already have in offshore accounts for you.
“Did I hear you correctly?” she says. “Did you just say you never invested more than half our money?”
“Yes,” I reply.
Her eyebrows knit themselves together. “But you said in the playroom that you risked everything.”
“Correct,” I say. “All of my resources. Not all of yours or anyone else’s.”
She sighs, shakes her head and closes her eyes. “Okay. Fine. Then please tell me how much of my money is left?”
“Around nine million two hundred thousand. That’s pretty close, give or take ten thousand or so. Like I told you, I never risked any more than half of anyone else’s money. That made it more fun. Look, Sonia, if you’re on board with being my close and most confidential counselor, we really need to get moving on this. We need to find out for sure if the project is in danger and, if so, what we can do to set it right.”
“Are you crazy, Chase? You just told me I have nearly ten million dollars that I had no clue about. I think I’m going to need a few more details.”
“And you’ll have them. But it would save a lot of time if I could explain all this to you and some of the other principles at the same time. So, what’s it to be, Sonia? You with me?”
“I’ve always been with you, Chase,” Sonia says as she throws the tissue into the fireplace. I resist the urge to tell her it’s an unlit gas fire. Turning to me, she looks at me with eyes that break my heart and says with a soft voice that still packs a burning intensity. “And I always will. What do you need me to do?”
“Good,” I say. “Go find Ai-Ling, she is probably still down in the security bay. Tell her that Gordon is coming in and there is to be a meeting in The War Room in ten minutes. She needs to make sure that all senior staff still here at The Fort are there.”
“The War Room?” she asks.
Forcing myself to look past her still red nose and red rimmed eyes and keep things business like, I say, “You’ll see.”
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