12. Code Word
CODE WORD
Alejandro
“Sign here.”
I sign my name along the dotted line. The man across from me, Sasha’s lawyer Timothy Blanchard, turns another page.
“Here. Initials here.”
I follow wherever his finger leads. Blue ink bleeds across the pristine white paper and before the first letter of my name has dried, he’s already flipping through the documents once more. Sasha sits beside me and signs whatever I push in his direction.
“One more time here. Twice here. Date.”
I grit my teeth.
“I can hear your molars cracking, Narvaez.” Sasha murmurs from beside me.
I release my jaw.
Hours spent reviewing paperwork and listening to legal jargon has worn on my patience.
Exhaustion creeps up on me but it’s only early afternoon and I still have so much to get done today.
At least I can cross the sale of my shares to Sasha Antonov off my list. Rian was right when he said I had initially entertained this business deal as a way to spite him but I’m glad to see it worked out in the end.
At the end of the day he and Sasha are still brothers and last month’s incident triggered a fundamental shift in their relationship.
Where there was once barely concealed animosity there is now practiced civility. Perhaps respect.
They’re a long way from being as close as Diego and me but it’s a start. I hope for their sake that they’re able to build something solid from here on out. Having a brother has been my life’s greatest blessing.
When he isn’t overcomplicating my life, that is.
“Anything else?” I ask.
Blanchard shakes his head. “That’s it for the paperwork at least. All that’s left is for the bank to complete a transfer of funds.”
Sasha doesn’t look up from the last document he’s signing. “Offshore?”
“Swiss.” I remove my glasses and return them to their case. I should be better about wearing them, especially when reading for long periods of time, because I’m starting to get a tension headache. “We can still negotiate the price. I can’t help but feel as though I got over on you.”
He responds with a curt shake of the head. “Don’t. The shares are valuable and you had a substantial number of them. Current market is in your favor and I’m more than willing to pay what they’re worth. Not to mention capable.”
He leaves little room to argue and I decide it’s for the best. We’ve already signed across the dotted line. No use in trying to change anything now. I only hope he won’t interpret this as my owing him a favor down the line.
Blanchard is on his way out when the door opens. Lyss steps into the meeting room and casts a quick glance around the room. When she spots us, her shoulders deflate with relief.
“Good. I was hoping you’d be here.” She drops her bag on a chair at the head of the table. “You just saved me another train ride.”
I open my mouth to respond but Sasha beats me to it. Almost immediately he rises from his seat and says, “Did you need me for something?”
She blinks up at him and takes in his presence for the first time. “Oh! No, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean—” She points. “I’m here for him. Do you mind?”
An entire ten seconds pass before Sasha pushes in his chair and excuses himself with a simple bow of the head.
Lyss pays him little mind but before he leaves, he stops at the door to look at her one last time.
I open my mouth to ask Lyss about it but remember I don’t actually care. Not my monkeys, not my circus.
She pulls out a chair and sits at the head of the table. “Can we talk?”
“Of course. You don’t need to ask.” I take the seat adjacent to hers and turn the chair so we’re facing each other. “What’s going on?”
I can’t help but notice how exhausted she looks.
Lyss, a beacon of warmth and stability, is dull around the edges.
Her under eyes look sallow and her deep auburn hair has lost its copper luster.
She wears it in a braid and I only notice because I’ve never seen it like this before.
Her baggy green sweater and worn-out jeans make her stand out like a sore thumb amid the opulence of The Empress.
The decadence around us—hardwood floors, jewel-toned décor, low hanging chandeliers, and sumptuous velvet wallpaper—draw attention to her weathered appearance.
Warm golden light from the wall sconces draw all the color from her face.
“I just got back from the precinct. Detectives Wilson and Carson made me haul ass all the way to 67th Street if you can believe it.”
“They called you in again for questioning?” I ask. “Did you go alone?”
She shakes her head. “No, I was with Rian.”
“What happened?”
“They asked a million questions and I answered as best as I could. They kept trying to poke holes in my story but I could tell they were frustrated when they realized they couldn’t. Overall, it went fine but that’s not what I wanted to talk about.” Her tone turns serious. “I saw Karina there.”
My back straightens. “Karina?”
“She’s an adjunct at Hunter and their campus is around the corner.
I think she was filing a police report. Or at least, that’s what it looked like from where I was.
We didn’t cross paths and she was gone by the time I finished with the detectives.
” Her brows draw together. “I thought Dahlia was going over to her house today?”
I reach into the inner pocket of my suit jacket and pull out my phone. “So did I.”
“Do you think it has something to do with Brent?” she asks. “Maybe he’s been harassing her at work.”
“I’m about to find out.” I dial my brother’s number but before I’m able to place a call, Beni’s name appears on the screen. I answer before it’s able to ring once. “Beni, I have to call you back—”
“Diego is in New York.”
I sit upright. “New York? That’s impossible.”
“The jet has been in New York for over a month. It never came back to Barcelona and it never went anywhere else.” He explains. “We just spent hours combing through his financials and he hasn’t flown commercially.”
“Any suspicious transactions?”
“No. You know him, he’s sneaky with his money. He’s made cash withdrawals at a bank in Midtown but other than that, no hotel records. At least as far as we can tell. He could be paying through a wire transfer but the problem is—”
“Figuring out which one of his million offshore accounts he’s transferring from.” I pinch the bridge of my nose. “My God, this kid…”
Far be it from me to think my grown adult brother had finally grown out of his teenage antics. At this point, I’m starting to get concerned. If he’s in New York, why hasn’t he come to see me? And why is he going to such extraordinary lengths to keep his presence here a secret?
“All right, keep digging. In the meantime I’m going to give my brother a call and see what I can find out.”
“Should we tell your grandfather?”
“No, not yet.”
I hang up and immediately dial my brother.
“What’s wrong?” Lyss asks.
I press a finger against my lips and she nods, remaining silent. After a few rings, my brother answers.
“Hey, I was just about to—”
“Where are you?”
Diego pauses for a beat. “I’m driving. On my way to see Abuelo—”
“I’m leaving. Bring the jet over, I want to fly out of Teterboro tonight.”
“Okay…is Dahlia coming with you?”
“No,” I answer harshly. “She’s not.”
“I don’t understand. I thought the two of you had finally worked things out?”
“Diego, just fucking do what I asked you to. It’s going to take at least nine hours to get here so stop wasting time.”
He stays silent on the other end. “All right. I’ll call you before takeoff.”
I end the call and Lyss looks at me expectantly. “What was that all about?”
“My pain in the ass brother.” I type a message to Dahlia. “When did you see Karina at the precinct?
Me: Still need me to pick you up from Kay’s later?
“This morning. I was on my way in and she seemed to be on her way out. The detectives kept Rian and me there for a while.” She laments. “Probably over an hour.”
So Karina would’ve had enough time to commute back home to New Jersey after filing a report with the precinct. Why would she file one so close to her job though? Wouldn’t it have made more sense to do it where she lives?
Dahlia: yes pleaseeee! I hate New Jersey transit.
Dahlia: Just got to Kay’s. Sending the address.
Dahlia: Is around 3 o’clock okay? Don’t want to be here too long.
Dahlia: Could get awkward.
Dahlia: Should we have a code word?
“Is that Dee?”
I nod. “She wants a code word for when she’s ready to flee Karina’s.”
Me: no code word
Me: Just talk
Me: It’ll be worth it. I promise.