Severe Clear (Stone Barrington 24)

“Not exactly,” she said. “I’m here representing the firm you still work for.”

“And who would that be?”

Harp opened her briefcase and held up a document. “High Cotton Ideas. I’ve got a copy of your signed contract right here.”

“How the hell did you find me?” Jimmy asked.

“Everybody always asks me that,” Harp replied. “It’s just what I do, that’s all.”

“You find people for a living?”

“I do a lot of things, finding people is just one of them. Now listen carefully. I have some advice for you.”

“I need advice from you?”

“Yes, and badly. You are in violation of the terms of your employment contract, stated very clearly in this document. I’m surprised your attorney didn’t explain that to you.”

“Yeah, well, contracts are made to be broken.”

“I can tell you’re a bright guy, Jimmy, but believe me, intelligence does not buy wisdom, and what you’ve done is very unwise. That little start-up you worked for back in New York is now a professionally run corporation, with all the legal safeguards in place to protect its property, which still includes you.”

“They don’t own me.”

“Of course they do, Jimmy, you just haven’t figured that out yet. Now, there’s a legal and proper way to separate yourself from High Cotton, but you haven’t followed that procedure. You need to come back to New York with me and talk with Mark Hayes and with Herb Fisher, his attorney.”

“Yeah, I know Fisher, the legal shark.”

“Finally you’ve said something smart, Jimmy. Herb is certainly a shark, and he patrols the waters that High Cotton operates in, and he can make your life miserable.”

“I’ve already got a new deal,” Jimmy said.

“Look around you, Jimmy. Does this look like the offices of a legitimate venture capital firm?”

“The new furniture arrives next week,” Jimmy said.

“No, it doesn’t,” Harp replied. “Mo Shazaz is scamming you. He wants something from you that you can’t legally give him—the trade secrets of your employer. If you take his money, then you will spend the next decade in the courts. How much money have you saved?”

“Enough.”

“Not enough. It will all go to your lawyers, and the wheels of justice grind exceedingly slowly. Are you beginning to get the picture?”

“I’ve already taken Mo’s money.”

“Have you cashed the check?”

“Not yet.”

“Tear it in half and leave it on the desk with a very brief note saying the deal’s off.”

“Does Mark really want me back that bad?”

“Bad enough to send me out here to bring you back,” Harp said.

“I’m not legally required to go with you.”

“I can have a court order by mid-afternoon,” she lied, “if that’s the way you want to go, but believe me, this will be a much more pleasant experience if you just come with me now. We have a two P.M. airplane back to New York, and we’ll have time for a nice lunch at the airport.”

Jimmy looked confused. “I’ve got to call . . .”