Chapter 53
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
Courtney almost laughed at Ian’s reaction. Always predictable, he’d fallen back on the philosophy that the best defense is a good offense. His umbrage and insistence that Courtney was the problem was a classic distraction technique. Little did he know that she’d gotten the information about his misdeeds from Dana’s own flash drive.
Too bad for him. He wasn’t going to be able to make this go away. Once the smoke was in the air, there was no pulling it back.
The ringing of the doorbell couldn’t have happened at a worse time, although it did stop all of the yelling for a second. When Dana asked her to answer it, she was relieved to get a break from the shouting voices. A throwback to her childhood, she hated conflict and the sound of angry voices.
Dana knew this.
When Courtney opened the front door, she saw two men standing on the other side of the threshold. The older, burlier one held a toolbox, while the other, a gangly youth, held a manila envelope in his hand. Neither of them spoke, so she asked, “Can I help you?”
The older gentleman said, “Dana Broderick arranged for me to come. Tom Goodman from Goodman’s Locksmith Service?”
“We’re not together,” the skinny young man said hurriedly. “We just got here at the same time.” He clutched the envelope to his chest. “Is Ian Broderick home? I need to give him something.”
Interesting. She had no idea what this was about. “He’s home.” Courtney opened the door a little wider and waved them inside. “Follow me.” She led them through the house and into the living room. No one had left, although the group now sat quietly, stone-faced. Dana, who was the only one smiling, turned to greet them.
The young man went straight to her brother. “Ian Broderick?”
“Yes?”
“You’ve been served.” He dropped the envelope onto Ian’s lap.
All of the blood drained from Ian’s face. “What the hell is this?”
Dana said, “Thank you, Gage. I can sign that, if you want.” She went over to the young man and put her signature on a form he held. Then she spoke to Ian, who was tearing open the envelope. “It’sa written notice to vacate the premises. You and Kristy have until the end of the month to move out.”
“Move out?” Kristy’s mouth dropped open.
“This is a joke, right?” Ian asked.
“It’s not a joke. Tomorrow morning, we’re going to meet with my accountant and attorney and you’re going to talk about the funds you stole from me. The properties you bought with my money will all be signed over to Dana Broderick LLC.”
“Our condo in Florida?” Kristy waved her manicured hand. “That was a bonus for Ian’s work on the new contracts.”
Ian said, “Shut up, Kristy.”
But Kristy couldn’t shut up. She just kept going, as if this could all be easily explained. “And the lake cottage is for everyone. We were going to let you use it whenever you wanted. Courtney too.” Kristy had never given her so much as a glance if she could help it, and now she was inviting her to her stolen lake house? Courtney could only imagine how much the idea killed her.
“And what about the motel?” Dana said. “That was for me too?”
“No, that was for—”
“Quiet, Kristy!” Ian roared. “Let me handle this.” He turned to his sister. “Look, Dana, tomorrow let’s go over the books, just the two of us. I’ll show you that the transactions you mentioned were just to compensate for all the times I could have taken a higher percentage but didn’t.” His eyes widened. “The numbers will work. You’ll see. It’s all aboveboard.”
He sounded so convincing that Courtney almost fell for it. Dana, however, wasn’t quite so gullible.
“There’s no need to start spinning. It won’t work,” Dana said. “I’ve gone over everything and am well aware of what you did. I’m not eager for this to make the news, and I really don’t want to file criminal charges, but I haven’t ruled it out—yet. I think I have a very strong case against you.”
The locksmith and the process server stood enthralled as they watched this whole drama unfold before them. The locksmith didn’t set his toolbox down. He may have even forgotten he was holding it.
Hands clasped together, Ian began pleading. “Let’s start fresh. How about this? Going forward you can sign off on all the financials. I promise I won’t make any other unauthorized transactions in the future.”
“I know you won’t, because you’re no longer my manager and agent. I’ve frozen all my accounts, and you won’t have access to them ever again.” Dana folded her arms. “And, Ronald and Martha?”
Ronald leaned forward. “Yes, ma’am?”
“You and Martha have until the end of the month to move out as well. You’ve gotten more than your share of my money, and it wasn’t authorized by me.”
Ronald looked shaken. “Yes, ma’am.”
“They get to keep their money?” Kristy said with a screech.
“I didn’t say they could keep it,” Dana responded. “The discrepancy will be addressed, and soon.”
Kristy continued her rant. “I think you should give us a pass on this. Ian and I are the ones who kept this entire household afloat. Ian’s been there for you right from the start, helping build your business from the ground up. You’re being very unfair.”
“You want fair, Kristy?” Dana smiled. “I’m glad you used that word because I have a little proposition for all four of you. An opportunity, if you will. I’m too tired to get into it tonight, but I have it in writing for your consideration. We’ll discuss it tomorrow.”
All four of them looked uneasy. Martha’s gaze was on the floor, Ian looked sullen, Ronald appeared guilty, and Kristy’s face showed indignation. No one was happy.
Courtney had to give Dana credit. In novel-writing speak, this was one heck of a denouement. Dana must have sensed her smile, because she turned to her and said, “Courtney, would you mind showing Gage to the front door and Mr. Goodman to Ian’s office?”
“Certainly.” She was fine with leaving the room this time because she knew that tonight she and Dana would have an incredible talk and she’d hear every detail. Late into the night, there would be snacks and wine and plans for the future. She was already trying to figure out how they’d find another couple to manage the house. Their best bet was to go through an agency. Of course, there would be an interview process, which would almost certainly fall to her. Whatever was needed, she’d get it done.
As for replacing Ian, Dana would have her pick of representatives. Easy money for whoever took the job. Finding candidates wouldn’t be a problem, but hiring someone who meshed well with Dana’s personality could be an issue. That person was out there somewhere. Finding them would just take some doing.
As Courtney and the two men passed through the doorway, they met up with Brayden coming down the hall. Seeing him approach, Courtney was suddenly aware that he was man-sized. She’d always thought of him as a kid. Somehow he’d grown up without her even noticing. She met his eyes and thought about how he was the only other person who’d been invested in finding Dana. With any luck, this new house-cleaning would spare him.
“I hope I didn’t miss anything.” Brayden spoke like someone who had no idea how much his world was about to change.
“Just a little bit,” Courtney said, patting his arm as she walked by. “Your aunt Dana will fill you in.”