Part 23 (2/2)
”Would you come in here, please?”
A moment later, Gina sashayed in, steno pad in hand, zebra-print stilettos on. The stilettos matched the belt that turned a plain black wraparound into a dress worthy of a s.e.x G.o.ddess-which explained why the computer tech had been in Gina's office for at least three hours. Not that Rosalie cared, since Premier was paying the guy by the job, not by the hour, and Gina wasn't one to let work slide. Still, it was painful to watch her toy with a man like a cat with a mouse before making the kill.
”So, did you put the poor guy out of his misery and agree to go out with him?”
Gina sat, kicked off her left stiletto, and curled her leg beneath her. ”What? Oh, Gary. We're meeting for drinks after work tomorrow night.” She examined her manicure. ”But I don't know. He's really not my type.”
”He's breathing, isn't he?”
”Ha, very funny. What's put you in attack mode today?”
”I'm sorry. You're right. I'm in a bad mood, and I'm taking it out on you. The meeting didn't go well. All I got were more questions I couldn't answer. I keep hitting brick walls. Missing files, incomplete accounting information, and huge holes in the information I've been getting from Mr. Jack La.s.siter Jr. Not to mention the rumor that Premier is in worse shape that it actually is. Maybe I'm paranoid, but I can't help feeling as if I've stepped into the middle of a dastardly plan.”
”So what role do you play? Dudley Do-Right, or maybe you're the love interest, Nell?”
”Gina, be serious. We've got a real problem here.”
”I am being serious. Think about it. Who would make the best Snidley Whiplash?” She tapped the side of her head. ”Think, think, think. I'd say Jack Jr., but really, I doubt he's smart enough, and why would he want to hurt the company his family started? He'd be cutting off his nose to spite his face. Now, if we were looking for the source of the rumors, you'd have to look for a high roller, someone who has firsthand knowledge of the financial workings of car dealers.h.i.+ps. Someone who'd be hot to take over this dealers.h.i.+p, if Premier should fold. Hmm... maybe you could ask Nick, just Nick. Oh! Or... maybe it is Nick, just Nick. Say, does he have a mustache and a funny yet evil laugh?”
”Come on, Gina. Talk about grasping for straws. Nick knows how much this job means to me. He'd never hurt me like that.
”Rosalie, you're thinking like a girlfriend, not a busines's woman.”
Rosalie shook her head no, but Gina was right. d.a.m.n, how embarra.s.sing.
”A man would never look at this situation and think of the CFO's feelings. He'd see it as business-which would give him free rein to destroy anything and anyone in his way.”
Well, yeah. But that doesn't mean he'd target the business his girlfriend is supposed to be saving-even if it is the most prestigious car dealers.h.i.+p in Manhattan. d.a.m.n, this was so not looking good. What car guy wouldn't want to own the Ferrari dealers.h.i.+p?
”You can be sure Nick the d.i.c.k would see you as his lover in the bedroom, his adversary in the boardroom, and never the twain shall meet. How do you think he got to be so successful? By being a nice guy and making sure he didn't hurt anyone's feelings? Wake up and smell the exhaust fumes.”
”Drop it, Gina. It's not Nick.” Oh, man, it better not be Nick, because if it was, she'd kill him.
”Fine. But you have to admit, it makes sense. Who else would have that kind of clout? Nick Romeo deals with every automobile financing company known to man, and every bank either has a piece of his business or would do anything to get it. One well-placed word from a player like Nick Romeo, and a schmuck like Junior would be persona non grata. h.e.l.l, some would deny La.s.siter credit, just to score points with Nick Romeo.”
”Okay, Gina. Let's just say you're right. How could Nick control what goes on inside Premier?
”Maybe he can't. Maybe there's more than one culprit. Maybe they're working together. Stranger things have happened.”
”Then it's definitely not Nick. He's not much of a team player.” Well, at least, not in his personal life.
”The only employee who has a grudge against Premier that I know of is Jack Jr., which is a given. You take over a man's job, and he's going to get his feelings hurt. Junior couldn't have been happy to be demoted. If he wasn't the son of the founder, he'd be out of a job.”
Rosalie fought off a sudden chill as she pictured Jack La.s.siter, Jr. ”The guy creeps me out. He gives off really bad vibes.”
Gina nodded. ”Yeah, he's your typical past-his-prime playboy who hasn't come to grips with his thinning hair, his expanding waistline, and his several chins. He's still a legend in his own mind. He's got a wife, a mistress, and he's looking to cheat on both.”
”He hasn't made a play for you, has he?”
”Of course, he has. And he did it less than an hour after we got here. But you know me; I handled it.
”Oh, I have no doubt of that.”
”So far, all I've learned about Jack Jr. is that compared to him, a pet rock would look like a member of Mensa. I copied all the files I could off his secretary Randi's computer our first day here, before he had time to tell her to clean the hard drive. After he left that first day, it took me all of fifteen minutes to pull up every deleted memo, letter, and financial record on his computer.”
”Gina-”
”You don't think I need need those computer geeks we hire, do you?” those computer geeks we hire, do you?”
”Geez, Gina.” Rosalie didn't know whether to be angry or impressed.
”What can I say? I have a thing for men with pocket protectors. Bad hair and gla.s.ses turn me on. I have X-rated dreams starring Bill Gates. It's a sickness.”
”What did you find?”
”Oh, you know, the usual. There were a ton of poor management decisions, but that's not news. If not for idiots like him, we'd be looking for work. Junior was robbing Peter to pay Paul when it came to making the minimum inventory and parts purchases to keep from losing the several dealers.h.i.+ps they still have. But that's typical of any company with a poor debt-to-income ratio. There's hanky-panky with the s.e.xatary-expensive lunch dates, which, upon closer inspection, turned out to be room service meals. The room rates were expensed as parking costs, which, when you think about it, makes a sick kind of sense.”
”There was nothing else?”
”I'm not sure. There's a steady stream of cash flowing to one particular body shop, without much of a paper trail. I'm looking into it.”
”Talk to his secretary. She can't be all that happy her married boyfriend/boss has been demoted, especially if you let it slip that he's been chasing you around the desk for the last three months. All the perks she's gotten from dating him have been taken away. After seeing Jack Jr., why else would anyone sleep with him, especially someone who looks like Randi? Let me know what you find out.”
Gina nodded and made a note on her steno pad. ”What about Mr. La.s.siter Sr.? Where does he fit in?”
”I'm not exactly sure. I would think he has a good picture of where the company stands, since he's one of the Board members who hired us. Premier's precarious financial position couldn't have come as a shock. My guess is, the old man hired us to pick up the pieces of a failing company and get it moving in the right direction before he goes for a quick sale.”
”If La.s.siter's looking for a quick sale, why wouldn't the saboteur simply buy the company? Why take the time and trouble to put them out of business?”
”Good question. Maybe it's personal.” Rosalie made notes. Missing/incomplete information; rumors-* Nick? ”Okay, so who's the source of the rumors, or is it two individuals we're up against?”
Gina sat back down. ”I don't know, Rosalie.” She snapped her fingers. ”d.a.m.n, I left my crystal ball at home today. Perhaps we can look in it tomorrow, and it will give us all the answers. Or, maybe you can get information from Nick, just Nick.”
”I can't. He doesn't know I know who he is.”
”What? You've been sleeping with the man for the last three months, and neither of you have come clean yet?”
Rosalie put her elbows on the desk and dropped her head in her hands. ”No.”
”That's one more strike against him. He may be keeping his ident.i.ty from you so that you won't suspect him.”
”Yeah, I thought of that, too.”
”Well, are you going to finally confront him?”
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