Chapter 5 #3
He hesitated and then pulled up his phone, searched for it, and read it off.
“That’s the one that I use as well,” she said, glancing at Trent with a nod. She turned to Bugatti and added, “If they’re not answering that phone, then I don’t know what to say.”
“They’ll answer it,” the lawyer stated, “but they’ll do it at their convenience, as always.”
She flushed. “Agreed.” She looked over at Ricky, who was staring at the lawyer with an intense dislike.
“Ricky,” she whispered. He shifted his gaze to her, as if he wanted to say something that would be uncomfortable for all of them.
She immediately shook her head. His gaze narrowed with an adult-like intensity that revealed how he felt.
Trent was glad to see it. Ricky was definitely more than just a tiny agreeable human, and he loved to see that the boy had a sense of justice.
Ricky stared at her and slowly nodded, then turned and walked out of the office without saying a word. The lawyer looked at Ricky in disgust, and Naomi followed the boy out of Bugatti’s office, leaving Trent alone with the lawyer.
“How long have you worked for them?” he asked, as soon as the pair was out of earshot.
“Years,” he replied.
“Can you be more specific? If not a beginning date, a number of years would do.”
“I took over from my father six, maybe seven years ago,” Bugatti clarified. “There’s never been an issue between us.”
“Obviously that’s working out well for you, but we cannot ignore this issue, so we need to be in contact with them.”
“I’ve told you that I contacted them. They will get back to me. … I just can’t tell you when.”
“And is that normal?”
“Yes, it is very normal, and, if Naomi told you anything different, she wouldn’t know because she doesn’t deal with them. She is just a nanny.”
Trent snorted. “She’s a nanny who was beaten terribly—as was the little boy—all because the family wasn’t there to pick them up.”
Bugatti shook his head. “Or the family was there but was too fearful to get involved. We don’t know how many men could have been involved.”
“Not according to the marina,” Trent countered, something he had not yet mentioned to Naomi. “So, I would like some explanation in terms of why and how this was allowed to happen, particularly with a family supposedly so big on security.”
He stiffened and glared at Trent. “I already have contacted them. I will let them know that you need to speak with them soon,” he repeated, adding that smarmy smile of his.
Trent added, “Or else we will be back here.”
“You’re welcome to come back anytime. I charge the company for the hours,” he replied, with that same smirk on his face. “So, that’s no issue at all. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do with clients.”
“She’s also a client.”
“True, but I meant the clients who actually come into my office with real cases, not just ones that phone a few times a year,” he snapped.
“Is that how often you’re in touch with Ricky’s parents?”
“Generally, yes, and only if need be. Otherwise it’s a text.”
“Always?”
“Yes. I respond, and then I don’t hear from them again for another six months or a month or whenever,” he shared, with a snort.
“That is not unusual, and I have many clients who are the same. I don’t know what Naomi may have told you or what that little boy may have said, but do keep in mind that they are not necessarily the most rational, logical thinking people who you can trust.”
“Meaning that I can’t trust them?”
“Of course not. One is a child, a sickly child at that, and the other is hardly more than a child,” Bugatti snapped. “She was hired to look after Ricky. She’s a nanny, for God’s sake.”
“She’s also a teacher and a person in her own right who has been treated extremely badly at this point,” Trent added, “so you might want to remember that.”
“It didn’t have anything to do with it.”
“The incident happened while in their employ, and it involved their son, so I, for one, am looking for an explanation as to how all of that just becomes a nonissue. Unless—” He turned back toward the outside waiting room.
“Unless what?” the attorney barked.
Trent replied over his shoulder, “Unless they had something to do with it.”
Bugatti’s eyes widened, and he bolted from his chair. “No, no, no, you can’t even begin to think something like that.”
“I don’t know what to think, but I can tell you that we already know the family was not at the dock when they were supposed to be, and then something terrible happened to their son—who I imagine they have a pretty massive life insurance policy on.
A son they have obviously completely ignored.
It makes me wonder if they have run into some difficulty, so pulled this stunt to bring in a wad of cash and to get rid of another problem all at the same time.
And then there’s the issue of compensation for the nanny, who was badly injured and traumatized while on the job. ”
And, with that, he again headed to the door.
The lawyer was already reaching for his phone.
“Yeah, you might want to contact them.”