Once Upon a Friendship

Something was bothering him about his father’s attorney. He just couldn’t find anything to give meat to his hunches. Or to give to Gabi to give to Gwen Menard.

Standing at the window, feeling like a prisoner, he remembered an episode of an old sitcom he’d seen with the girls a time or two. Frasier had been one of their favorites. He’d found it boring at best.

But there’d been a time when Martin, the ex-cop father of a couple of uppity psychiatrists, had been obsessing over a case he’d failed to solve while on the force. As Liam remembered it, everyone thought Martin was nuts. But he wouldn’t give up. Gradually others started to help him look for clues in the files he had spread all over the table, more to humor him than anything else.

His sons moved the files around on the table. And that’s how Martin finally found the clue he’d been missing. By looking at everything in a new light.

Seeing something that wasn’t in the mix before. Not a new item, just a new perspective.

Liam returned to his Connelly files. There was a pile for items that had to do solely with George. Another pile for those in which only George and his father had been involved. And another that involved George and anyone else on the top floor.

He rearranged. Keeping his father in one pile, George in another. But started to split up the files involving other top-floor executives. Separating out ones that both George and his father had been involved in.

His name came up pretty much never.

Until he came to an account he’d forgotten about—the Schlotsky family. A deal he’d handled years before, because he’d been the only executive on the top floor when the brother investors had shown up to close a deal with Donaldson. Only top-floor executives had the ability to close deals. And the Schlotsky brothers were an important one. It had been when Donaldson was out a lot, dealing with his house and trying to figure out a way to prevent the inevitable foreclosure that was going leave him and his family homeless. The other man had apparently completely spaced on the appointment. While Liam had never actually closed a deal before, he’d witnessed more than a hundred of them. So he’d done what he had to do for the good of the company. He’d found the file. Presented the papers that needed to be signed. And had signed his name as an official company representative.

A week or so later, it had turned out that some numbers had been changed on the form—presumably by one of the investor signers—and Liam hadn’t caught the mistake. Liam knew darn well nothing had been changed. He’d stood over the two men, watching like a hawk as they’d signed. And delivered the papers straight to George, who’d later caught the mistake.

His assumption—and he’d told George, who’d said he’d check into it—had been that Donaldson had made the mistake in drawing up the papers. He’d never heard what Donaldson had to say about the incident. George had contacted Liam a day or two later to tell him that the problem had been fixed and that they never had to speak of it again. The investors had re-signed papers with the correct figures. He’d told Liam that he was not going to tell Walter about the gaffe.

And to Liam’s knowledge, he never had. Walter, who would have ripped into him for making such a novice mistake, had never mentioned the deal to Liam.

So why was he looking at his father’s signature as the witnessing representative on the voucher that admitted that this was the second set of forms and that the first had been destroyed? A voucher that had been signed by both investors and their attorney, as well?

He called Gabrielle immediately.

* * *

MARIE HAD INVITED both Liam and Tanner to share dinner with them.

Tanner had had another engagement, escorting an out of town client, and Liam had declined. But Gabi had said she’d come up. And when he heard a knock at his door shortly thereafter, he pulled it open without checking to see who was there.

“Mr. Liam Connelly?” the jeans-clad woman asked. How had she gotten past security? Was everyone else okay? The thoughts flew through his brain.

“Yes,” he said, wishing he’d put Elliott Tanner’s number on speed dial.

“I’m Officer Warren from the Denver police,” she said, pulling her badge out of her jacket pocket. “I’m here to serve you with this order.” She held out an envelope.

An off-duty cop doubling as a process server?

He didn’t have to take the envelope. He wouldn’t be served with whatever it was until he took it...

Liam took the envelope. The cop was gone before he’d finished opening it.

Reading the officially stamped document with his door still open, he didn’t care that the cop had left. He had no business with her.

His business was with his father.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

“THIS IS A matter of public record.” Liam paced between the stove and the dining table in the girls’ large eat-in kitchen. Pointing at the restraining order he’d thrown on the table, courtesy of Walter Connelly.

Gabi, leaning against the counter, watched him. Marie was making tea while dinner warmed in the oven.

If ever there’d been a time when he needed to be alone with Gabi, right then was it. This crazy thing he had for her. It wasn’t getting better. It was getting worse.

“What’s he trying to do here?” he asked, taking his frustration out on the matter at hand. “He’s making us a laughingstock. Just think what the media will do with this. I just don’t get it. Why would he do this? I already agreed to stay away from him.”