Side Bet Bluff Ch. 09

"Congratulations, Belinda," I said to her, seizing the moment to wish her well before Beck got going again.

"Thank you, William," smiled Belinda.

"So, what?" I asked Beck. "You're going to buy a vacation property down here?"

"William," he announced in a grand voice, "I am strongly considering relocating The Beck Fund down here."

I was floored.

"Here? Why?"

"A number of reasons. New York City is nowhere to raise a family."

"Family?" interrupted Karen, looking at Belinda. Belinda nodded affirmatively and Karen and Belinda were once again hugging.

"Belinda originally grew up not too far from here and has been singing the South's praises for as long as I've known her," continued Beck, trying to ignore the female sentimentality to his right. "So that's one. Also, this is the second biggest banking town in the country next to New York, and with the barriers between commercial banking and investment banking falling even further I don't see any problems being able to run my trades and get the necessary talent down here. And then there's another reason that I'm not quite ready to share with you just yet," and he looked significantly at Billy as he said that last part.

This was unbelievably great news. I could work for Beck and not have to move to New York. And if I wanted to stay independent I could do that and still keep Beck's business. I was ready to leap out of my skin in excitement.

I tried to reinforce Belinda's glowing reports of growing up in the South, especially in this area. This was something I was passionate about and I'm sure the sincerity rang out through my voice.

I did the sales job again, privately, with Billy and Siri once we had plowed through the buffet and sat back down with our plates.

An idea came to me and shortly thereafter I had my old college roommate and desperate for work realtor, Aaron, on the phone.

"Aaron, you have to tell me straight up if you think you can handle this. We're talking about the best homes in the city, and yet you have to be ready to fight for the best deal you can get. No holding back to maximize your commission. You need to wow this group with not just your knowledge of the homes but with your negotiating skills."

"Will, you know I can handle this. I can do it, just give me the chance," Aaron practically begged.

"Ok, though something I want to make top priority with the homes you show is security. Mister Beck has to feel completely secure in his new home," I insisted.

"William, what are you talking about?" an eavesdropping Beck asked.

I placed my hand over the phone. "Sir, I have a pretty good idea how much money you're now worth. That news will become very public down here. You may think of this as a city, but it still has a small town mentality with all of the gossip that goes along with it. And you have to look after your family now. Security has to be foremost on your mind," I counseled.

Beck didn't look too happy about that. Belinda looked downright fearful. Good. They were both smart people. So long as their arrogance didn't get in their way I could keep them safe.

"Sorry about that Aaron. So as I was saying, top of the line security system, maybe security walls, gated communities, twenty four – seven guards, things like that."

"Damn, Will, who are these people?" Aaron asked.

"The best clients you'll ever have," I answered. "So keep them safe."

"Aye-aye," Aaron answered. "Ok, I'll meet them at their hotel at eight tomorrow morning to take them around. Are you going to join us?"

"Yes," I replied. "I think that's an excellent idea."

After setting up Aaron as the Becks' new realtor, we settled back into the socializing of the lunch. Karen and Belinda were glued to the hip and lost in their own world. I mainly stuck to Billy, but I was happy to see how at ease Siri was with Billy's co-workers. They had obviously spent a lot of time together and the jokes and put-downs flew back and forth.

As plates were put away, a seriousness settled over the group. Beck waited patiently for everyone to settle down and then turned his attention to me.

"You know, Will, I try to hire people who see the world differently, who will challenge the establishment."

That was as true a statement as I've ever heard from him. Billy, Paula, and Alex were as unconventional and audacious as any people I'd ever met. They had bet their own fortunes and reputations against the largest and wealthiest industry in the world and won. It takes a very special type of person to do that.

"I've been waiting for you, Will," Beck continued. "Waiting for you to gain enough experience to be a force to be reckoned with, while not waiting too long before the establishment captures you with their outdated paradigms. I may be jumping the gun on you a little bit, as you're just a young pup."

"I'm thirty years old," I protested.

"You are? Damn, you're not nearly the wunderkind I thought you were then. Maybe I should re-think this. No, I'm teasing. William, the way you addressed our concerns with the Securities and Exchange Commission last July. Outstanding. Truly outstanding. I don't think I ever told you this, but I gave that bigger firm who did the bulk of my work the same task. They were very conciliatory with the SEC and the 'I-bank' that was trying to screw me. It was all, 'we see a potential problem,' and 'we don't want to ruffle any feathers,' and 'we'd like to propose an accommodation that will be satisfactory to all parties' bullcrap. Then I see your letters, and it's flamethrower language, which matched how I viewed the matter exactly. The SEC actually complained to the other lawyers about you. Did you know that?"

"No, I can't say that I did," I answered, pissed that the SEC thought a different firm should 'handle' me and my firm. It's not like I didn't run what I did past a couple of our partners first.

"I swear, if I hadn't brought you into the loop on that issue, I probably would have lost a hundred million dollars. Ha! At least! Because of that, I've considered you part of my inner circle for the past year. Now I couldn't reward you with end of year bonuses like I did the rest of my team here."

I suddenly wondered how much each of them had gotten from Beck? Twenty million dollars? Fifty million? A hundred?

"Maybe I can make it up to you now that I can hire you straight out instead of having to go through that firm. But regardless, even if you turn me down I wanted you to have some part of the Fund's successes. You know I gave all of the back office staff four shares in performance incentives when we first set up the fund. I may not have been able to give you as big a bonus as these pirates sitting here next to me earned, but I still feel good knowing I set aside those four shares for you in the original fund, which of course you know we closed out last month at just under a million dollars a share. We automatically rolled that over for you into the new fund, which is already up over 13.6%. So right now you're sitting on just over five million dollars."

"What the hell are you talking about?!?"

Beck seemed immensely pleased with himself. I, on the other hand, was seriously pissed.

"You gave me shares in your fund?" I pushed. Beck nodded, still smiling. "My God, do you know what you've done? I told you I couldn't invest with you!"

Beck finally stopped smiling, sensing the panic in my voice. "I know. That's why I did it for you."

"I wasn't a partner at the firm. I was only an associate," I explained. "Associates aren't allowed to enter into separate agreements like this with clients, only partners. The firm is going to claim that this is compensation for legal services, and they are going to take that money for themselves.".

"So we'll turn that money into your signing bonus," Beck said unperturbed. "Or go set up your own firm and charge me a thousand an hour for all I care. Actually, you're probably a value play at a thousand. So charge me five thousand an hour. That oughtta do it."

"No." I tried to keep control of my emotions. I despised people going behind my back. "The account has already been created with my name on it. You can't just pretend it doesn't exist. And how did you manage that, by the way? I know your forms. I updated most of them. Even a share being given as a gift has to be signed for, and I never ..."

Beck's smug smile was back on his face, only he pointed his finger at the person next to me.

"Surprise?" said a hesitant Karen.

My anger found a new target, directing itself towards my former secretary. "What did you do, Karen?"

"Mister Beck said that he wanted to set up an account for you, but you wouldn't do it," Karen started to explain.

"Karen. What did you do?" I repeated.

"She got you to sign the form," Beck explained.

Karen looked worried and stole a glance over at Beck, then back to me. I had a feeling I hadn't signed that form. Everything would be ok if she was unable to trick me into signing it.

"Karen?" I asked, danger dripping off my tongue.

"No, you're always careful with what you sign. I couldn't risk it. So I forged your signature."

I leapt to my feet, my chair crashing onto the floor and bouncing several times behind me.

"You what?!?" I all but screamed.

"It's five million dollars, Will," Karen implored. Tears were already starting to well up in her eyes as a response to the fury she must have seen in mine. "I thought you'd be pleased."

"Pleased? To find out that my secretary has been signing my name to legal documents without my knowledge?!? What else have you signed on my behalf? Huh?!?"

"Nuh-nuh-nothing!" she sputtered.

"Nothing? Are you sure?!? How can I believe that?"

I was at full volume now. Some part of me was still aware that this scene was being played out in front of Beck, Billy, and the rest. So my emotions didn't completely take over. But I couldn't recall ever being this mad at anyone in my life. My career was suddenly in jeopardy.

I thought of how these facts would look to an outsider. An outsider such as an investigator with the state bar association. Here was my name signed to an agreement with a client, kept secret from the law firm, and worth millions of dollars. Billing records would show that the firm was charging, and being paid, good money for my legal services. So what was this extra payment for? What could I have provided to this hedge fund manager that would be worth so much money? What trades had the hedge fund done recently, and was there any connection to positions taken by other clients of the firm, such as banks or other financial institutions? What potential inside information did I have access to that Beck could profit on by its acquisition?

I'd be lucky if I was only disbarred. I could end up in prison.

"Do you realize the betrayal this represents?" I coldly asked Karen. "All I am is my good name. My reputation. And now you tell me that you've gone behind my back and done something that was against my principles. There's not just a level of trust here that you shattered, there are all kinds of legal issues involved that you didn't ... couldn't consider."

"But it's ok because you didn't know about it," Karen rationalized. "That's what you said. If you didn't know about it then you're in the clear."

"That argument was about your shares, not mine. It doesn't work for me. But you can't know those distinctions because you didn't go to law school, did you??? And that's not even what I'm pissed about, Karen. I TOLD YOU I wouldn't invest in the fund."

"Why? Why wouldn't you take the money?" she tearfully cried back at me. "Everyone else does it!"

"No, not everyone else does it. But even if they did, that would just mean that EVERYONE ELSE IS WRONG!" I screamed at her.

We stared at each other, both of us breathing hard. She strained her neck to look up at my towering figure.

Beck tried to mollify me. "Don't blame her, Will. I told her she had to do it before she bought her share."

"What?" I said, my head snapping back to look at him. The blood drained from my face and a cold, hard rock formed in my stomach.

"I said, I made it a con..."

"I understand," I interrupted him. I really needed him to stop talking before I could get him alone.

"I would have done it anyway," Karen pleaded. "I did it for you."

The lie was so blatant I recoiled from it. I returned my glare to her. "No, you did it for yourself. You wanted a share of that money and you forged my name in order to get it. You betrayed my trust to feed your own greed."

My face contorted as I viewed her with contempt. "You disgust me."

Karen started bawling. She got up out of her chair and turned away from me, searching for an exit. Belinda caught up to her before she got to the door and Karen immediately wrapped her arms around the younger woman, her crying increasing in volume.

When they exited the room I turned my attention back to the rest of the group. They all stared at me in stunned silence. I began pacing back and forth, calming down while also thinking things through.

"Will," Billy started, but I held out my hand palm up towards him to stop him. I then caught sight of Siri.

"How're you doing, Siri? You ok?" I asked, concerned for her delicate condition.

Siri's expression changed from worry to warmth. "I'm fine, Will, don't you worry about me."

I broadened my view to all four of Beck's guests. "If you'll excuse us," I addressed the group, "I really need to talk to Mister Beck alone."

Billy, Siri, Alex, and Paula shared glances with Mr. Beck, who gave them a gesture to stay put. Beck got up and he and I walked out the door. I overheard one of the remaining team quietly mutter to the others "Holy Shit."

"Will," Beck started once we were alone out in the hotel hallway, "you really shouldn't be so hard on Karen."

I held up my hand, stopping him from going further.

"First off," I began. "How did you set up Karen's investment in the fund. Not directly I hope?"

"Of course not," Beck replied indignantly. "I know she's not an accredited investor. I put her money in the feeder fund."

"So I assumed, which leads to my next question. Did I hear you correctly in that you made her investment conditioned on the exercise of a personal service to be performed on your behalf?"

"I," Beck began. "Oh. Is that bad?"

"Investment in the feeder fund is supposed to be free and open. Whoever can afford to can buy in, so long as there are open shares in the master fund. Have you made any other conditions to potential investors?" I pressed.

"No, no, definitely not," Beck replied.

"Are you sure?" I insisted. Beck gave me a look like he was insulted by the question. "You do understand why I have to press you on this," I said. "Think hard."

"No, I'm sure Will. No other conditions."

"Good," I sighed. "At least that's something."

"So what's the potential liability for what I did with Karen?" Beck asked.

"Hm? Oh. Sorry, so far I've been worried about the likelihood of my being disbarred and sent to prison. Give me a second and I'll shift my focus to your problems."

"Prison?" Beck gasped. "How? You didn't do anything wrong."

I explained my concerns to him.

"My God," Beck exclaimed. "I never thought ..."

"Precisely," I interrupted. "It's these types of situations, Steven, for which, in the future, you may want to consider seeking legal counsel," I said sarcastically. This attempted arrangement is exactly why he needed a lawyer, and yet because I was the intended beneficiary it probably never crossed his mind to ask me how it should have been handled.

That brought Steven up short. "Yes. Point taken," he murmured. "Ok, what about me? The liability for making Karen's investment conditional?"

"Oh, the SEC can come in and seize all of your profits," I answered. I wanted Beck's entire fortune to flash before his eyes. If I could impress on him the risks associated with not having legal advice readily available, I'd take the opportunity.

"Really?" a shocked Steven Beck answered.

I gave him a look. "No. Well, probably not."

In actuality, because The Beck Fund was a hedge fund there weren't nearly as many regulations they had to comply with as other investment firms.

"The worst way to look at it is that you induced Karen to commit the fraudulent act of forging my signature in order to fulfill the illegal condition you placed on the issuance of that share."

Steven's eyes widened further. "Oh, shit."

"Yeah, that doesn't sound too good, does it?" I reinforced.

"But I would have allowed her to invest anyway, even if she hadn't gotten your signature."

"You think that matters? You think Karen is supposed to read your mind and know that your condition on her investment isn't real?" I asked.

Steven sighed, looking deeply worried. I groaned in frustration. This whole thing was a clusterfuck.

"I really need to see the form with my signature on it," I told Steven.

"I can call up the office, have it scanned into a PDF and emailed to you," Beck replied.

"No, no. No email," I urged, afraid of the electronic trail, just to be on the safe side. "I guess I'll take a look in person."

"I don't see why you need to make the trip up. You know the form. It's the performance option form you made up for us," Steven explained.

I was about to explain that I needed to see how well Karen had mimicked my handwriting when I realized his answer wasn't what I expected. "What? Not the gift form?"

"Gift form? We have such a thing?" Steven asked, bewildered.

"The performance option form is for employees," I said exasperated. Steven just looked at me questioningly. "I wasn't your employee," I said, stating the obvious. I pinched my nose in frustration. "If you'll excuse me," I implored. "I need a few minutes alone, and maybe splash some water on my face." And I turned and walked down the hallway in search of a restroom.

I needed to think of all the legal ramifications of what I'd just learned. I ended up in the rest room, pacing. I did splash some water on my face, and dodged looks from a hotel employee who came in and left.

As far as I could tell, the attempt to give me those shares was an invalid transaction. The form was void on its face. I wasn't an employee of the Beck Fund, and I didn't sign it. So the shares were never transferred to me and they still belonged to Steven. And that was all to the good. I never would have been able to keep that money in the first place; the firm would have been all over it. Plus, the objective appearance of wrongdoing would have been so blatant that it likely would have sparked an investigation. Even accepting a higher than usual billing rate from Steven after the fact could look wonky. I'd have to think on that some more. But later.

I really needed to find out if there was either a legal or ethical duty to report this to anyone – either the SEC or the state bar. If there wasn't, then Steven and I were both in the clear. Karen wasn't going to report him for making the condition since she got her money anyway. But the issue was going to take some research.

I made my way back to the suite. The figurative pot of boiling water I found myself hanging over soured my mood. That's underselling it. I was terrified and still royally pissed. But I had to suppress it for the time being, and put on a brave and confident face. I still intended to have these people as my clients. So it was time to do a little damage control.

The rest of the group, sans Belinda, looked at me expectantly when I returned to the room.

"Steven used the wrong form to give me my shares, and since I never signed it, the transaction is void. So, congratulations Steven. Those shares stay under your ownership and you're even richer than you thought."

"You don't want five million dollars?" Alex asked.

"Want? Sure. But that money's not mine. Besides, I don't need it," I said.