The Last 24 Hours Ch. 14

I nodded. "I want to thank you for helping us with this. Please let me know what your time was and I'll see to it you are reimbursed for it." The look on her face said she was going to protest. I forestalled her argument. "I insist. You are doing me a great service and I would be paying anyone else to do this. You deserve to be compensated for your time and efforts on my behalf."

I leaned over and whispered in Beth's ear for a moment; she grinned at me and nodded. I looked back at Joyce and said, "Beth and I are going to take a short vacation after we finish our business today. We'd like it if you would accept this as a housewarming gift from us." I held out the second check. "We know that things are a bit hectic at the moment but when we get back we'd like you to help us plan our wedding."

She gaped at us for a minute and then said, "Wedding? Is this a joke?"

Beth wiggled her new ring at Joyce and said, "No joke. He asked me and I said yes. We are going to take a brief vacation and then we are going to plan our wedding. I'd like you to be one of my bridesmaids."

Joyce looked rather stunned. Josh took the check from me and quietly slipped it into Joyce's purse while she was staring at Beth. I looked at my watch, stood and said, "Let's go get some lunch at the Café and then we shall go forth and slay the dragon in his den!"

Every eye was on me until they all broke out laughing. The tension was broken and we picked up our things and headed for the door.

~~~~~

We sat at the table on the patio at the Café and waited for our server to make an appearance. Gayle came out and stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of Josh at her table again, a worried look on her face. Beth and Joyce were having a whispered conversation about the wedding and were oblivious to the anxious young woman. After a moment she composed herself and took our orders for food and drink.

As Joyce went to place our orders I took the time to talk to Betty and George. "When we speak to Mr. Davis the first thing he will do is attempt to bluster his way through and discount any claim we make. We, however, have a serious club with which to bludgeon him. The primary accounts for my trust are with this bank and if we don't get a satisfactory hearing they will be losing my business in a very public way."

George looked puzzled, "Why would he care about losing your business? One account isn't that big a deal."

Josh said, "It is when you are talking about an account in excess of one hundred million dollars by itself. Then they also have to wonder who else will leave them because they want to do business with Alex. Alex is a world-renowned architect and his company gives that bank preferred lender status on their projects. If they lose that, you are talking about a significant portion of their bankable business being sacrificed for one crooked banker's defense."

At that moment Gayle retuned with our drinks, "Can I get you anything else while you wait?" Her voice was clear and lovely. Josh looked at her and I exchanged a look with Beth. She smiled at me but remained silent. We all said "No, thank you." So she left to seat another customer who had just come in.

Josh took a drink of his juice and continued, "We won't want to bring these guns to bear on them if we don't have to but we wanted to be prepared in case Mr. Davis is not cooperative, so I felt you should know. Also try not to act surprised at anything you hear in his office. I may or may not have to elaborate on the fly and if he sees you're surprised, it makes my job harder. Remember, I am now your advocate, not just Alex's."

Betty took George's hand and said, "We know and thank you. Without Beth and Alex's help we could never have afforded you."

Josh gave an indulgent smile and said, "You didn't look over my contract very well before you signed it, did you?"

George got a scared look on his face but it fled when Josh went on, "I'm doing thispro bono. I won't see a dime from this work today. Maybe I should have mentioned that Mr. Davis is the senior legal counsel for the Board of Directors and Mr. Barsdale's boss will likely be called into the meeting as well. I think we will walk out of there with at least a tentative agreement for settlement and Barsdale's job on a platter."

Betty and George just gawped at him. Beth said, "I told you he was a great lawyer."

Joyce said, "All it took to get the appointment was to tell them that Josh wanted to talk to someone in their legal department about a litigation matter and he was scheduled with the senior man." Beth, Rudy, and the others chuckled.

Our food arrived and we ate. The table was abuzz with chit-chat as we got to know one another better. Gayle proved to be an attentive hostess and we left a tip commensurate with that fact. We gathered our things and prepared to leave. Josh went over to Gayle and spoke quietly with her for a few moments and she fairly glowed with pleasure at the fact.

We walked the two blocks to the bank and went to the twenty-second floor where the receptionist directed us to a small conference room. Brent Davis was sitting at the head of the conference table. He was a small, solidly built man in his early fifties. He wore a nicely tailored suit but Josh's Armani put it to shame.

He stood as we entered. As he looked at me, a questioning look crossed his features but was quickly suppressed. I wasn't sure what it meant but I was sure I was going to find out shortly. Rudy had seen it too and inclined his head at the man and raised an eyebrow at me. I shrugged and took a seat.

As we all settled in Mr. Davis spoke. "What seems to be the problem? When you called you mentioned litigation, but I can find no record of any such involving you, Mr. Taylor."

Josh spoke up and said, "First let me introduce my clients: This is Betty Wilcox and her brother, George." He pointed the brother and sister out. "And this is their partner, Mr. Alex Palmer, and his fiancée, my sister, Beth. The others are his security detail from Dantzinger Security Services, and my executive assistant Joyce Franklin. We are here in an attempt to avoid litigation. Betty and George are currently borrowers on a loan being administered by one Harold Barsdale."

Mr. Davis held up his hand and hit a button on the intercom. "Lydia, could you get me the files pertaining to Betty and George Wilcox and tell Mark Lester I need him here right now. If he is in a meeting, tell him I said unless God himself is attending, to get here pronto. Be sure that Harold Barsdale is left out of the information chain as well."

A crisp, "Yes Mr. Davis." was her reply.

"If you don't mind waiting I want Mr. Lester to hear this." Davis spoke with authority.

Josh nodded and relaxed back into his chair. The receptionist came in and handed Davis a thick folder. As she was leaving, another man entered the room, his navy suit showing that he was fighting the onset of middle age and starting to lose.

"Let me introduce Mark Lester. Now what seems to be the problem, Mr. Taylor?" Davis was back to business which I appreciated.

"First, let me say that my clients would like this matter taken care of quickly. They are hard working people and run a very nice fitness center." He handed them copies of their annual reports and loan payment records. "As you can see from these records, my clients have never missed a payment or been late with one.

"As to their business practices my clients utilize the most stringent background checks and interview procedures in selecting their employees. They hire only the most qualified people for the positions. However, Mr. Barsdale has informed them that their criterion for employment was insufficient in that it did not take sexual orientation into consideration. He has given them until his meeting with them at three today to fire eleven staff members who are openly either gay or lesbian. If they refuse he has assured them that the bank's records will show non-payment and the bank will foreclose on their business."

Both Davis and Lester frowned and Davis said, "I hope you can back up this claim. These are serious accusations." Lester put a hand on his arm and shook his head. Josh just smiled. Joyce began passing copies of the witness accounts to the bankers.

"Not only can we back it up, we have more than twenty witnesses who have agreed to testify in open court as to the nature of the blackmail. He made his threats at Body Dreams in front of an aerobics class as they were leaving after their workouts. Many of the involved employees were also in the vicinity when he made his demands." Josh spoke calmly and concisely.

I spoke up. "I wasn't present when the threats were made, but I am a member in good standing. When I discovered what your bank was doing I was outraged and have agreed to buy out the loans being held by this institution." Joyce handed Lester the check. "This should cover all outstanding loans toour company. You'll note the check is drawn on an account with this bank."

Josh continued, "We would like to hear what you plan to do to redress this matter. It will determine our course of action."

Davis was looking through the file but Lester hadn't even opened the folder. "Would you excuse us one moment?" Lester pulled Davis from the room.

I looked at Josh. "What do you think that is all about?"

Josh smiled, "I think Lester is telling him that he has just been given the evidence he needs to do something about Barsdale and that he knew something like this was going on but lacked proof to act. In any event we should be ready to bring out the big guns." I nodded as the two men re-entered the conference room.

"Mr. Lester here informs me that he has had similar complaints from a couple of other clients. I assure you this is not the way this institution conducts business. You came in here with an attorney. Obviously you have an agenda. What is it you want from us, Mr. and Ms. Wilcox?"

Betty cleared her throat, anger choking her voice and said, "I want to feel that I amsafe doing business with you. My brother and I built our business out of nothing. We researched many banks and decided on yoursbecause of your reputation. Yet here we are. In order to save our employees their jobs we've taken on a partner. We had to hide behind the shieldhe provided us. We thank him for his generosity but George and I still have little or no faith that you will do anything. We have tried forweeks to get an appointment withany of you or one of your staff and we never even received so much as a returned phone call." Tears of frustration were evident in her eyes.

George took over. "Alex has given us the freedomyou promised us when we did business with you. We wanted a nice place and now that we have it you have threatened to take it from us unless we commit civil rights violations on eleven of our friends. I am now more than ready to go to court over this at this point."

I looked at my watch and said, "We must be going, we have to be in Barsdale's office in ten minutes. If I were you, gentlemen, I would be considering what terms of settlement you want to offer Betty and George. I will be paying their legal fees as their new partner and Josh will be handling that side of things." I stood to leave and the others followed suit. Davis left the room in a hurry.

Lester handed Joyce a receipt for the check we had given him and the loan file stamped 'paid in full' across the front with his signature underneath the stamp. He said "After you speak to Barsdale please come back to this office. Brent is going to apprise several people and get parameters for a settlement offer. Please give us a chance."

At Betty's nod we turned and left.

~~~~~

I was surprised when Mark Lester followed us out. He took in my expression, "I want to hear what he has to say. I'll be in the office next door. It's empty because you can hear everything that goes on in his office and the clients need confidentiality."

We walked over to the elevator and took it down the third floor. We were all quietly contemplating our own thoughts when Beth, who was standing in front of me, reached back and rubbed my fly. I was shocked at her brazenness but also pleased. "If you get to play with you favorite toys, darling, so do I." With that I reached around her and began to gently rub her nipples. Beth moaned softly.

Josh heard her and said, "EEEEWWW! Guys, get a room!"

We all erupted in laughter as the elevator doors opened. The poor man standing there waiting for the elevator must have thought we were all nuts judging by his expression. We exited the elevator and followed Betty and George to the weasel's office. The weasel was sitting behind his desk and at first his face showed an enormous amount of arrogance. Then he saw Josh and I enter the room and he tried to cover it up. He failed miserably.

"What' going on here?" Barksdale demanded. "Who are these people, Betty?"

My voice cut through the room like a thunderclap, "You will address her as Ms. Wilcox, you slimy piece of filth!"

He gawped for a moment and then flushed with anger shouted, "Who the hell are you? Get out of my office!Ms. Wilcox can consider herself in default on her loan! I can't wait to see the faces of those queer bastards when they find they areall out of jobs!"

I leaned back as I said loudly, "Have you heard enough, Mr. Lester?"

At that moment Mark walked into the room. "Quite enough, Mr. Palmer." With that he faced Barsdale who looked like he was trying to have an apoplectic fit. "Mr. Barsdale, you are hereby suspended without pay pending a disciplinary board. It is my intention to recommend that you be terminated with prejudice and for cause, the cause being ethics violations, abuse of authority, and criminal behavior. You disgust me."

With that he took out his cell phone and spoke briefly. Before we could leave the office two uniformed security guards were standing there. "Let him clear his desk of any personal items. Follow procedure. He doesn't touch the computer. He takes no CDs, no floppies, and no media whatsoever. Be sure to collect his keys, keycards and any other company assets he may have been issued; you should have a list on file. Then escort him out. Notify the IT desk to revoke his network privileges when he is out of the building."

"Yes sir, Mr. Lester."

Mr. Lester turned and ushered us back to the elevator and into his conference room. He removed a tape recorder from is pocket and said, "I'll have a copy of this made for you if a settlement cannot be reached. You should know it exists and I don't want in the middle of your suit against the bank. Brent Davis is a fair man but he is looking out for the bank, not you." He laid the tape on the table.

Before we were all seated Brent Davis came in and he and Josh spent the next hour dickering over whether or not the bank should consider settlement with Betty and George. After an hour of Mr. Davis refusing to admit that there was even a problem to be discussed, I felt it was time for the big guns.

"Mr. Davis, you and everyone in this room knows that your company has degraded, humiliated and attempted to blackmail the Wilcoxs. Granted the bank is probably going to fire the man who was doing it, but he still used your backing to do it. However, if proper oversight had been in place it never could have happened. Barsdale has altered bank records and made fraudulent claims against my partner's credit in order to force them to comply with his demands." I was heating up but my voice was cold and decisive.

I went on. "In case you don't know it I do a fair bit of business with your bank and if you are not prepared to operate fairly, ethically and morally then I see no reason to let you continue handling my business." I stood.

Davis sneered and said, "You want to take your ball and go home, feel free. One account isn't worth so much to us that we will be coerced." Mark Lester cringed at that when he saw my eyes narrow.

I looked at Lester, then to Josh and Beth. They both nodded and I said, "Point of fact, Mr. Davis: It will not be one account, it will be several large capital trust fund accounts that you're losing today. Mine alone is in excess of one hundred million dollars." Davis flinched at the revelation but remained silent. "The order to change institutions will be given when I leave here today. The other two trusts that I know of are worth several tens of millions apiece." He blanched again.

"You will also be losing favored banking status with RHA Builders." He visibly paled, "I'm the A in Richard, Harry, and Alex Builders by the way. RHA won't be doing business with you or anyone who does business with you in the future. Rest assured wewill be happy to cite your'flexible morals and questionable ethics' when asked why. I hope your board of directors is lenient when they find you have cost them over a hundred and twenty million in solid assets and more than half a billion in revenues over the next two years." I once more turned and left the room with Beth on my arm.

Everyone followed us out to the elevator banks and as we waited Mark came down the hall and panting said, "W... Wait... Please!" I looked at him and waited for him to catch his breath.

"Mr. Prescott and the board are in a meeting upstairs right now. They would like to speak to you." he gasped.

I looked at Josh and said, "What do you think?"

"It can't hurt to hear what they have to say. We can always leave if we don't like what we hear." I looked at Beth.

"Josh is right. We lose nothing in hearing them out." Beth said.

I caressed Beth's face and gave her a peck on the nose. "Lead on Macduff." I said with a wave of my hand. I still had a dreamy expression on my face when we took the elevator up two floors and went to the boardroom.

Five men sat at the table and stared at us as we entered the room. They were all middle-aged; the youngest in his late forties to early fifties was my guess. They all bore hardened expressions designed to hide their thoughts and appear confident. He indicated for us to be seated and we quickly sorted ourselves out.

Lester spoke. "Alex Palmer I'd like to introduce Mr. Michaels, Mr. Johnston, Mr. Laughlin, and Mr. Wright. They comprise the board of directors." As he spoke he indicated each man. Turning to us he introduced us, "Gentlemen, this is Betty Wilcox, her brother George, their partner Alex Palmer and fiancée Beth Taylor, and their legal counsel, Josh Taylor."

Mr. Wright spoke up, "Just what is so all-fired important that you interrupted our board meeting, Lester. We have important matters to discuss and I..." He stalled when I stood and held out my hand to Beth.

"Let's go, love. These men are no more intelligent than Davis. We'll let Josh handle the Barsdale situation." I was not in the mood to play with these men.

"Barsdale?" Mr. Wright asked.

I looked at him and said, "Your bank has been caught red-handed trying to blackmail clients into illegal activities and civil rights violations, as well as engaging in both credit and bank fraud. Mr. Lester was present and a witness when Barsdale tried to complete his actions, only to be unmasked. I was under the impression that once this was brought to the attention of his superiors the problems would be rectified. However, all Mr. Davis wants to do is deny that anything untoward happened at all even though he himself is a witness in part."

My voice was cold as I continued, "Mr. Lester convinced me to come here and speak to you and that you would be reasonable. I see he was mistaken. As I said before, Mr. Lester, I appreciate your willingness to try to do the right thing. You seem to be the only one working here that feels that way, however." Turning to Josh I asked, "How long to arrange to move the trusts? I want shut of this place."