Bel-Air Dead (Stone Barrington 20)
Page 37
“That’s a thought.”
Manolo brought them breakfast. “Will you be wanting lunch, Mr. Stone?”
“Probably so, Manolo; I have no plans until six, when a friend is coming for drinks. We’ll be out for dinner. How about you, Dino?”
“I may wander the town for a while,” Dino replied. “No lunch for me, Manolo.”
The man returned to the house.
Stone spent the morning reading the newspapers and doing the crossword; then he swam for a while. He had just finished lunch when his cell rang. “Hello?”
“It’s Eggers.”
“Good afternoon, Bill.”
“I’ve obtained a one-hundred-million-dollar line of credit for Arrington,” he said. “At prime.”
“Well done.”
“I’m faxing you the paperwork to look over. If you think it’s okay, I’ll messenger it to Arrington for her signature.”
“Thanks, Bill.”
“I have other news,” Eggers said. “The board of management met this morning and unanimously elected you partner.”
“That’s very good news indeed, Bill,” Stone said with feeling. “Thank you for your support with the board.”
“I’ll fax you the partnership agreement in a few minutes. Everybody signs the basic agreement; then we can talk about compensation and other things.”
“All right.”
“I’ll find you some decent office space on our floors in the building.”
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Stone thought fast; for some reason it hadn’t occurred to him that he would be expected to move into the Seagram Building offices of the firm. “Bill, if it’s all the same to you, I’d prefer to continue working out of my office in Turtle Bay.”
“I guess that would be all right. What about your secretary?”
“I’ll stick with Joan. If I need more help, I’ll let you know.”
“We’ll give you an allowance for office space and staff, then, just to even things out with the other partners. I’ll base it on the square foot cost for the average partner’s space.”
“That will be fine.”
“There’ll be a generous expense account, of course, and I propose a draw against earnings of a hundred thousand a month, adjusted annually.”
“That will be satisfactory.”
“You can use your own airplane for travel whenever you wish. Let me know what the hourly operating costs are. For other travel, we have an in-house department that will make any necessary arrangements for you.”
“What other perks should I be asking for?” Stone asked.
Eggers chuckled. “Well, you already have a car.”
“Not really,” Stone replied. “I totaled it a month ago, remember?”
“I had forgotten. What would you like to drive?”