Chapter Fifteen #2
“Why do I get the feeling that you have something to say?”
She paused, considering her words. “Just be careful.”
“Could you be more cryptic?”
“I know Ali loved Nasser like a brother,” she said haltingly. “But I always got the sense that Nasser was jealous of Ali.”
“Really?” This was news to me. “In what way?”
She shrugged. “Just be careful.”
“That was quick,” Nasser said over the phone a few days later. “They want to settle.”
“Who does?” It took me a minute to focus. I was immersed in finalizing the draft for an exhibit that needed to go to the museum’s curators by the end of the day.
“The LLC.”
“Really?” I swiveled my chair away from my desk. “Is that even a thing? How do you settle something like this?”
He chuckled. “With money, what else? They’re offering you a hundred thousand dollars to withdraw your lawsuit.”
“That property is worth a lot more than that.”
“I think it’s a reflection of how much equity is actually in the house. In any case, it’s a starting point for negotiation. I think we’re in a pretty good position. The fact that they responded with a proposed settlement is a positive sign.”
“How so?”
“It signals that they want this matter settled sooner rather than later,” Nasser said. “I could tell them to double the offer.”
“Double?” I shook my head even though he couldn’t see me. “This is not about the money. Does the LLC have a lot of assets?”
“Nope. Just the house, according to Perkins, the lawyer for the LLC.”
“Do you have the operating agreement yet?”
“Not exactly. The settlement is contingent on your taking the money and going away.” He paused. “They don’t want to show you the operating agreement.”
“No deal,” I said immediately. “The whole point of taking legal action was to see that document. Do you still think Ali had nothing to hide?”
“Does it really matter now?” he asked gently. “You could put two hundred K to good use. Invest it. Spoil yourself and take some fantastic vacations. Pay for Adam’s wedding.”
It was a lot of money. But the idea of never knowing the truth about Ali, Carol Darius, and that house would eat at me for the rest of my life. “I need to know what they’re hiding. Why are they willing to pay a hundred thousand dollars for me to go away?”
“That’s a valid question.”
The doorbell rang. It was probably Jake with Ali’s things from the office. “I have to go.” I walked into the front hall. “There’s someone at the door.”
“OK. I’ll tell Perkins that any settlement has to include giving you access to the operating agreement.”
Jake smiled at me when I opened the front door, but behind the friendly expression, I sensed that same watchfulness as before.
“Here you go,” he said, stepping inside the foyer to set a single box down. I hadn’t invited him to come in, but he was obviously trying to be nice. He also carried one of Ali’s suits on a hanger covered in plastic. “This was on Ali’s office coatrack.”
I nodded and took it from him, trying to keep my emotions under control.
“He wore it to work that last day. He spilled some coffee on the lapel and changed at the office. Ali always kept a fresh suit at work, just in case.” I folded the suit over my arm, resisting the urge to hug it to my chest and see if it still smelled of my husband.
Desperate for a distraction to avoid bursting into tears, I set the suit aside and focused on the box.
“It’s just the one box?” Ali had worked at the firm for a decade. I expected a little more junk. “Is that all there is?”
“That’s what they gave me,” he said half apologetically. “Were you expecting more?”
“Not really, I guess.” I thanked him. “Everyone has been so nice. Including people I’d never met who were friends of Ali’s. Some from way back.”
“I hope not too far back,” he said lightly. “Some people should stay in the past if you ask me.”
It was an odd thing to say. “What do you mean?”
“Nothing. I’m being silly.” He chuckled. “I’d hate for my old girlfriends to come out of the woodwork after I’m gone.”
I searched his face. Was he insinuating that he knew about Carol Darius? “Why?” I asked. “Did Ali mention an old girlfriend to you?”
“What?” The laughter died quickly in his eyes, and he looked away. “No. No, of course not. All the man ever talked about was you and the kids.”
Uneasiness shivered through me. There was an aura around Jake, that watchfulness, that sense that he was hiding something, that made me uncomfortable. So I backed away. “I shouldn’t have asked that. I’m sorry.”
“Did that happen?” he asked with a frown. “Did an old girlfriend reach out to you?”
He asked in a casual manner, so much so that it seemed calculated.
I shook my head. “No.”
He hesitated and then said, “If someone is bothering you, I’d be happy to have a word with them. It’s the last thing you need to worry about.”
“Honestly, it’s not serious.” I wanted nothing more than for this awkward exchange to be over.
“No deranged fans who watched Ali on TV?”
I forced a smile. “He did get some strange fan emails.”
“How did Ali land that gig anyway? I realize I never asked him. He was already a contributor to Channel Three when I started working at the firm.”
“They interviewed him once for a story they were doing about the April fifteenth tax deadline. They said he was a natural.”
“And he had a column on the station’s website.”
“Yes, people could ask questions there. He’d answer some of them on his semimonthly appearances on the five o’clock news.”
“Like I said before, he was a good guy,” Jake said. “It’s a real loss.”
“Thanks again for coming.” I was eager to end the conversation. I also wanted to be alone to look through Ali’s things.
“My pleasure. One more thing.”
“Yes?” I said, masking my impatience.
“I know Ali occasionally worked from home. His manager asked me to pick up any documents Ali might have left here.” He smiled apologetically. “I hate to bother you but—”
“It’s fine.” I cut him off. “I’ll look around and give you a call if I find any work-related papers.”
“Great. Thank you. And if you need anything, anything at all, please don’t hesitate to call me.”
I made sure to lock the door after Jake left. Then I contemplated the box as I would an adversary. Going through Ali’s personal effects promised to be an emotional minefield. Who knew what I’d find that could set me off? But the answers I was looking for could be in that box.
What a lousy situation Ali left me in. Why had he hidden his purchase of Cozy Glenn Lane? My husband wasn’t an idiot. He was a careful, deliberate guy. If he really had something to hide, he wouldn’t have left a paper trail.
I took a breath and sat on the bottom step of the staircase.
Pulling the box toward me, I tore the top open.
Inside I found the detritus of a work life.
Mundane yet completely personal. I pulled out certificates of completion for various professional development courses.
Awards for successful projects. A small red stress ball with his company logo on it.
There was no day planner or diary. No smoking gun.
No references to Carol Darius or Cozy Glenn Lane.
But there were two pictures. One of Ayla and Adam at the pool many summers ago.
Eyes squinting, cheeks red. They were about seven and five in the image.
The other picture was of Ali and me on our honeymoon, tanned and relaxed, smiling and happy.
Luminous in the way all young people are. The ache in my ribs intensified.
I longed to go back to that time.