Unnatural Acts (Stone Barrington 23)

Herbie gave her his office number and cell. “Have your attorney call me to set up the closing. I’ll get Mark to raise the money, and we can close in a few days.”

“All cash?”

“All cash.”

“You tell Mark he’s got a deal.”

“I’ll do that. Thanks, Mrs. Friedrich.” Herbie hung up and shouted across the room, “Mark, you’ve got the building!”

Mark gave him a thumbs-up without looking away from his monitor.

Herbie called Mike Freeman at Strategic Services.

“Good morning, Herb.”

“Good morning, Mike. I want to thank you for your advice and for your very kind offer. I was promoted to senior associate yesterday, and I got my first client this morning, a software start-up. I’ve just bought them a building, but it’s completely without any kind of security, physical or electronic. Can you get something done about that?”

“Give me the address and the name of the company.”

Herbie recited the information.

“I’ll have a team down there in two hours, maybe sooner.”

“I’ll be here to meet them.” Herbie thanked him, hung up, and called James Rutledge, an architect he’d met through Stone Barrington who had left Architectural Digest to start his own firm.

“How are you, Herbie?”

“I’m just great, Jim, and from now on, it’s Herb. I got promoted, so I need a grown-up name. How’s business?”

“I’ve got a couple of leads-nothing definite yet.”

“I’ve got something definite for you, Jim. Write down this information.”

“Got it. What’s the job?”

“A six-story industrial building to be transformed into the offices of a new software company, very promising, and very well financed by Marshall Brennan. Can you come over here right now?”

“Gee, let me check my schedule. I see that I’m free. I’ll try not to break my neck hurrying over there. Bye.” Rutledge hung up.

Herbie hung up, too.

“Wow,” Bobby Bentley said. “That’s moving! Does it bother you that a lot of this has nothing to do with practicing law?”

“It all has everything to do with helping a client,” Herbie said. “By the end of the day, Mark Hayes won’t ever make another move without consulting me. You get back to the office, find the best intellectual property lawyer in the firm, and start making a list of every document we have to generate, every permit we need, and every patent and copyright application we need. But first, ask Eggers’s secretary to generate a legal services contract for Mark to sign, and rush messenger it down here. Oh, and get a title search on this building started.”

“I’m on it,” Bobby said, running for the door.

James Rutledge was there with an assistant in twenty minutes, and the assistant had a laser tape measure. Herbie got them started measuring the space, then his cell rang.

“Herb Fisher.”

“This is David Schwartz. I represent Mrs. Friedrich, to whom you made an offer on her building.”

“Yes, Mr. Schwartz, and she accepted.”

“I can’t allow her to do that.”

“Why not?”