Strategic Moves (Stone Barrington 19)

“Yes, just a few minutes ago.”

“We’re having a board meeting in half an hour. I’d like for you to be here.”

“I’m on my way. What’s the agenda?”

“Strategic Services has got more than ten million dollars invested with Gunn. That’s the agenda.”

Stone was in a cab when his cell phone vibrated. “Hello?”

“It’s Bill Eggers.”

“Good morning, Bill.”

“I assume you’ve seen the papers, about Jack Gunn.”

“Yes. I met him last night at his daughter’s wedding reception.”

“I just had a call from his corporate counsel, Leighton Craft. He wants us to represent Gunn, and I’d like you to help me handle it.”

“We’ve got a conflict, Bill. Strategic Services has a big investment with him; I’m on the way to a board meeting there right now.”

“It may not be a conflict. Leighton says that Gunn has done nothing wrong and is cooperating with the U.S. Attorney. I’m meeting with them this afternoon, and I’d like you to be there.”

“All right, but I’ll have to tell Mike Freeman about it.”

“Go ahead and do that. I’ll see you at three o’clock here.”

Stone hung up. Yesterday he had never heard of Jack Gunn, and now he was up to his ass in the man’s problems.

FIVE

Stone arrived at Strategic Services, and the receptionist sent him in to Mike Freeman straightaway. Mike had moved into Jim Hackett’s old office.

“Sit down, Stone,” Freeman said. “I’m going to place a conference call to London, Tel Aviv, and Hong Kong in just a minute, but I wanted to talk to you first. What do you know about the Jack Gunn arrest?”

“Just what I’ve read in the papers,” Stone said. “I attended his daughter’s wedding last night—his new son-in-law is a client of mine. I’d never met Gunn before.”

“Jim Hackett was a good friend of Gunn’s; it was Jim who invested the firm’s money with him.”

“You said ten million. What part of your cash reserves does that represent?”

“Only a small part; we’re sitting on over half a billion in cash.”

“Well, that’s good. Have you checked your insurance policies?”

“What insurance policies?”

“In your corporate portfolio you may have something that protects corporate funds from theft.”

Freeman pressed a button on his phone. “Get me the legal department, an insurance specialist.”

“I’ll get right back to you,” his secretary said.

“It would certainly make things simpler if we’re covered for that,” Freeman said.

“Mike, I have to tell you that I had a call from Bill Eggers on the way over. He’s meeting with Gunn’s corporate counsel, a man named Leighton Craft, this afternoon to discuss the firm’s representing Gunn, and he wants me to help handle that.”

“Wouldn’t that be a conflict of interest, since you represent us?”