Chapter 9 #2
Before he stepped out the main door, the client added, for Trent’s benefit, “Bugatti’s a good lawyer, so you could have made a worse choice.”
Trent just smiled, nodded, and walked into Bugatti’s office, shutting the door behind him.
The lawyer turned around and glared at him. “Shit like that can get you barred from here,” he snapped. “What the hell are you up to?”
“Getting some clarification on several things,” Trent began, a knowing smile on his face. “Now, we can do it here, or I can get you down to the local police station, your choice.”
Bugatti snorted. “Like that’ll do anything.” He raised an eyebrow. “I do have my own lawyers on tap, so you go ahead and try that shit.”
“Absolutely, and, in the meantime, I’ll make sure that I have your name out there and that the media knows you’ve been hauled in for lack of cooperation in answering standard questions about a substandard contract.
But, hey, that’s all right. If you’ve got something to hide, let’s fly at it.
” Trent pulled out his phone and started dialing.
“I’ll bring a black-and-white down here right now. ”
“No need for that,” Bugatti yelled, “but, Jesus, what the hell’s going on?”
Trent hesitated for a long moment, before ending his call. “For one thing, I want to know exactly when you last spoke to Ricky’s parents, and when you last saw them, … face-to-face.”
Bugatti’s complexion went stone pale, then he flushed hard. “I certainly don’t have those records on me at the moment,” he stated, his tone cautious. “I told you that I spoke to them not all that long ago.”
“Okay, I need to know when you last saw them face-to-face.”
“Why’s that?” he asked.
“I need to establish proof of life.”
The lawyer stared at him in shock and asked, “What are you talking about?”
“You heard me. And the other thing is, have you even looked at Naomi’s employment contract?”
“No, of course not,” he bellowed, still reeling from the previous blow. “Why would I? That contract was written up and signed a long time ago.”
“And yet you guys are not keeping up your side of the deal.”
“What deal?” he asked.
“She was supposed to get multiple raises over these last few years. She’s gotten none of them.
She was supposed to get a free hand with a clothing and entertainment allowance, which she doesn’t have.
She’s still asking you to fund any payment she has to make on Ricky’s behalf—which is ridiculous, considering the unusual arrangement.
So, pardon me if I’m a little suspicious about what’s exactly going on here. ”
The lawyer stared at him in shock, then turned to his computer, clicking away like crazy. “This is something my father set up. I wasn’t aware that there were updating conditions on that contract that needed to be delivered.”
“There are, as I just shared with you. Plus I’ve seen you here in action, giving her a hard time about replacing items from an unpleasant scenario that was, for all intents and purposes, caused by the family,” he added, shaking his head.
“So believe me that I’m trying to figure out why nobody is ensuring the best interests of both Naomi and Ricky are being seen to here. ”
“The family takes care of everything she needs.”
“And yet she’s worked for them for years.
In all those years, she never received a raise, a holiday, holiday pay, nor a break of any kind.
She has looked after that little boy with no help and has gone the extra mile, with as much care and consideration as if he were her own, without even the slightest acknowledgment from the family of the stellar job she’s doing. Nothing.”
“Well, they’re not exactly cozy kind of people,” he spat, a snarl in his tone.
“Maybe not,” Trent noted, “but they sure as hell better be legal and compliant with their contract. Otherwise, government people are now very interested in making sure Naomi’s being treated in accordance with the laws of this country.”
“I will look into it,” Bugatti muttered, a slight tremor in his tone. “If any money is owed to her, of course, it will be put into her account automatically. As I told you already, my father set this up. He retired several years ago, and unfortunately should have retired earlier.”
“Why is that?” Trent asked curiously.
“He’s got dementia,” Bugatti admitted. “So we’re still finding some … loopholes, things to be dealt with on an urgent basis.”
“Naomi’s one of them,” he declared. “So, find a way to fix this and fast. She’s already got years of raises owing, and you need to make it right.”
Bugatti nodded. “If that’s the case, I will get final numbers today, and we’ll contact the accountant and get that fixed.”
“I would hope so. I still need to know when you last saw Ricky’s parents in person.”
“I’ve never, uh, actually seen them in person,” he finally shared.
Trent took several steps closer to Bugatti’s desk. “Not once?”
He shook his head. “I have done online meetings with them,” he explained.
“My father used to see them in person all the time. They would share drinks when they were in town. They went out for dinners and did most of their business in that environment. They do not like to be limited by the constraints of an office. They hated to come in here and did all their documentation online,” he stated.
“Don’t you find that odd?” Trent asked.
“That is not in any way unusual for my clients,” he declared.
“However, since we obviously have an issue here, I’ll see if I can come up with the last time my father had dinner with them.
But I repeat, my father has dementia and has taken a very heavy slide downward.
I can assure you that these errors were not deliberate.
They are oversights because of the transition of control in the midst of my father’s declining condition.
So, now that I am aware of this, obviously we will be on this as fast as we can. ”
With that, Trent had to be satisfied. As he walked back out, he stated, “The next time I have trouble coming in to see you, I will be a whole lot more disruptive. So, you might want to tell your receptionist out there that, unless you’re actively in a meeting and she can’t give me an exact time to return to the office on the same day to meet with you, I will just be sitting in your waiting area, making lots of noise, until I can get in to see you. ”
And without giving Bugatti a moment to object, Trent turned and walked out.