by Marie Astor
It was Monday morning, and Jon Bostoff had already breached his irritation quota for the week. He tried to restrain himself from throwing irate glances at his father, who sat opposite from him with an absurdly cheerful expression on his face.
“Well, I think that it’s wonderful news about Paul and Lisa getting engaged.” Hank Bostoff smiled. “It was about time Paul settled down, and I for one am glad that he’s not marrying an actress.”
A clueless bimbo would be better than a money hungry schemer, Jon thought, but restrained his impulse to vent. Until Hank Bostoff retired, he was still the boss.
“Between you and me…” Hank leaned across the table, his face growing serious. “I was worried about Paul for a while – that whole acting shtick… The odds of making it in that business are so remote, I feared that Paul might become a perpetual drifter, a shirker… But the kid has turned out real good; you both have.” Hank patted Jon’s hand. “I am especially proud of you, Jon, for taking Paul under your wing. Paul’s got real potential, don’t you think?”
Jon just stared blankly at his father as he tried to come up with a diplomatic remark, but he need not have worried: Hank was on a roll.
“Paul really proved himself in marketing, and I think he’ll be really good in the COO role once he becomes better-rounded in his knowledge of the company operations. And that’s where I need your help, Jon. I need you to train Paul to become your right arm. I built this company to pass it on to my children. Once I know that I can leave the company safely in the hands of my two sons, I will finally be able to retire.”
Jon wondered if this was the beginning of Hank’s descent into senility. Paul had about as much business acumen as a monkey. He might have been great at fussing with press releases and advertisements, but when it came to running a business operation, Paul hadn’t a clue, and no amount of on-the-job training was going to change that.
“That’s something your mother would have wanted as well,” Hank added. “She always worried that you and your brother were not close enough. She blamed it on the age difference between you when you were growing up, but I always told her that in time it wouldn’t matter. Nine years seems like a lot when you’re a kid, but as you get older, the difference vanishes.”
Jon nodded. If he were to succeed in getting his father to agree with his point of view, candidness was not an option. He’d think of a way to open his father’s eyes to Paul’s faults as a businessman later, but right now there was another matter he wanted to address.
“Oh, Dad, I meant to ask you: did you know about Mother’s ring?” Before Jon finished the sentence Hank cut in.
“I wanted Paul to have it; I think your mother would have agreed.”
“But I thought she wanted the ring to remain in the family,” Jon retorted.
Hank frowned. “As your brother’s future wife, Lisa is now part of this family.”
Jon was too rattled up to hold back. “Yes, Dad. I only meant to say that family heirlooms should be passed on to children and grandchildren, but obviously you know best. Suppose Lisa calls off the engagement, then what?” The sapphire ring that now adorned Lisa’s ring finger had been a present from Hank to his wife on their twentieth wedding anniversary. It was a custom design, consisting of a flawless sapphire, framed by highest clarity diamonds in a platinum setting. The trouble was that Jon’s mother had passed away without a chance to leave a will. At the time, his father had been too overwrought by grief for Jon to approach the sensitive subject, and now it was obvious that he had waited too long.
“When Paul told me about his plans, I was too overjoyed to think about something like that… Look, son, I understand your concern, but I think that Lisa is a decent enough woman to return the engagement ring should she wish to call off the engagement, and I, for one, sincerely hope that it will not come to that. And as for my grandchildren, there will be plenty to go around for everyone. Right now I just want to bask in the joy of seeing my sons succeed – both personally and professionally.”
“You’re right, Dad; it was a heartfelt gesture. I’m sorry I over-reacted.” Jon shrugged. There was no way of convincing the old man, so he might as well make the best of it.
“I’m glad we’re in agreement, Jon. I wanted your mother’s memory, the memory of our marriage—” Hank broke off. “To be passed on while I was still around to see it. Who knows how many days I have left on this earth, and to tell you the truth, without your mother, I wish there wouldn’t be that many.”
“Dad…” Jon felt his throat tightening with guilt. He’d been so preoccupied with his own affairs that it never even crossed his mind to think about how his father was coping with his wife’s death. “Dad, you know that you are loved very much by your family; you are very important to us.” Jon stopped short; he was a pro when it came to peddling corporate speeches in boardrooms, but when it came to speaking from his heart, he choked.
“I know, son.” Hank patted Jon’s hand. “Well, I’d better get out of your way. You’ve got a company to run.”
“Okay, Dad. But you know that I’m always there for you, should you need to talk or anything…” Jon offered awkwardly.
“I know, son. I know.” Hank turned toward the door. “And Jon…”
“Yes?”
“Remember what I said about your brother: he’s got the potential to run the company as your partner. Help him realize it.”
Jon nodded. “I will, Dad.”
Once the door behind his father closed, Jon pressed his fists against his temples. He had enough worries keeping him up at night. Now, he also had to devise a way to involve his younger brother in the business while keeping him out of the loop on any matters of substance. God forbid Paul, with his Boy Scout mentality, should ever find out about the changes that Jon had implemented at the firm. His naïve, prudish brother would be the first in line to confess to the SEC and the Feds. Still, Jon had to admit that the old man did have a point. Rather than trying to keep Paul away, Jon should embrace his younger brother. This way, Paul would begin to trust him and consult with Jon on his decisions. In fact, if Jon had done just that, he could have anticipated Paul’s stupid move of hiring that DA lawyer…
Speak of the devil, Jon thought, looking through the glass wall of his office. There was a reason why he had remodeled his office with glass walls. He had his eye on the trading floor at all times, and now he saw the pesky new lawyer heading from the Operations area carrying a stack of folders under her arm. Jon recognized the folders as client files because he had personally made a visit to the Operations area a few months back. He had given that woman Rosemarie a nice raise, and in return, she was to apply relaxed paperwork standards for certain clients. When Jon had intuited the new process to Rosemarie, he saw understanding flash in her eyes: she had an unemployed husband and three children to feed. Jon knew how to pick his employees. Of course, there was always a risk of the regulators snooping around, but Tom Wyman would take care of that. His law firm had excellent rapport with the SEC and the Feds. Jon Bostoff had followed enough white collar crime cases to know that the only time the regulators ever caught on to anything was when things were leaked from inside, so he had made sure to pay the key people properly. And now, thanks to his brother, a former DA attorney was snooping around his firm. Jon picked up his phone and dialed Tom Wyman’s number.
“Hi there, Jon,” Wyman’s voice boomed in the receiver. “Business going well? But then after the last deal you got going with Emperial, that’s really a rhetorical question,” Wyman smirked.
“Hello, Tom.” Jon forced himself to ignore Wyman’s cockiness. The man was a genius when it came to setting up schemes, but that did not give him the right to be so damn arrogant. “Thing are going well indeed.”
“So, what can I do for you today, Jon?”
“You can help me keep an eye on that new hire my brother brought in. Have you met her yet?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact I gave her a brief orientation on Bostoff’s corporate structure. Between you an
d me, I’d like to give her a lot more than that, but she seemed pretty uptight.”
“You what?” Jon exploded.
“Hey, Jon, I was just kidding. Rest assured, Janet Maple’s honor is safe from me.”
“That’s not what I meant, Tom. What was that you said about the orientation?”
“Well, I ah… I showed her the entities owned by Bostoff Securities. Paul said he wanted me to train her. I thought you knew. I thought you wanted to start doing some of the work in-house to save on legal fees.”
“Tom, you know me better than that. I’m never cheap when it comes to matters like that. Do you know that Janet Maple used to work for the DA’s office?”
“I know, but she got laid off. I checked her out – they kicked her out in the middle of an investigation. Seems she meddled in affairs that were above her pay grade. She was unemployed for several months before she landed here. After an ordeal like that, I doubt she has any affinity to her previous occupation. But in any case, I don’t think she understood much of what I told her – she seemed completely overwhelmed.”
“Once a snitch, always a snitch.” Jon pressed his lips together grimly.
“And besides, the employment non-disclosure agreement she had to sign would prevent her from blabbing, anyway.”
Jon made a mental note to obtain a copy of Janet Maple’s signed employment agreement.
“That’s a good point. Do me a favor, Tom, keep close to her, okay? I just saw her poking around in client files. I don’t need a snitch in my house. And next time my brother comes to you with any new ideas, you be sure to let me know about it.”
“I will, Jon. And don’t you worry about Janet – it will be my pleasure to keep an eye on her.”
After hanging up the phone, Jon Bostoff leaned back in his chair. He was feeling calmer now. If Tom said that Janet did not have a clue what Tom was talking about when he trained her, he had to be right - unless Tom was covering his tracks for having blabbed about matters he was not supposed to blab about, but then Tom was not one to be blamed for that lapse. Jon’s brother was, which reminded Jon of his earlier resolution. If he wanted to keep Paul under control, he had to keep him close.
With a grunt, Jon rose from his chair. He could have his secretary schedule a meeting with Paul, but a personal visit would set the mood Jon was aiming for.
As Jon walked down the hall to Paul’s office, he tried to conjure up a cordial and brotherly demeanor. Getting close to Paul was a matter of business importance, and when it came to money, Jon was willing to put his personal feelings aside.
Through the open door of Paul’s office, Jon could see his brother peering at the computer screen with intense concentration.
Jon rapped his fingers on the office door, forcing hearty cheer into his voice.
“Hi there, Paul.”
Paul lifted his eyes away from the monitor. “Hi, Jon.” Paul’s voice sounded unusually prim as he folded his hands neatly on his desk. “What can I do for you?”
With each day that prick gets more and more arrogant. Jon took a seat in one of the chairs facing Paul’s desk. “Well, I just wanted to say congratulations again. This is such an exciting time for you and Lisa - an exciting time for all of us,” Jon added hastily.
“Thank you, Jon. Lisa is a great girl, and I’m so happy that she’s going to be my wife.” Paul sounded a bit warmer now. “She’s really bright, Jon, and I think she could take on so much more in the company. I was looking through our legal bills – Tom Wyman is charging us a fortune. If we got back to keeping more of the work in-house, the savings would be significant.”
“Good thinking, Paul. But there are reasons why I employ Tom. Why don’t we get together and go through them? In fact, I think we should have a standing meeting – every two weeks or so, to update each other on company developments and plans in our respective areas.”
“Sounds great. I’ve got a lot of ideas I’d like to share with you, Jon,” Paul was bursting with enthusiasm now.
“I’m glad to hear that, Paul. You know that Dad wants us to be partners in running this firm, and I, for one, do not intend to disappoint him.”
“Me neither, Jon. I’m so glad we had this talk.” Paul smiled.
“Me too, brother. How does every other Thursday sound for our meetings? I’m thinking we’ll schedule them during lunch. This way we can grab a bite to eat and catch up.”
“Sounds good.”
“I’ll have my secretary send you a planner. By the way, how is that new girl working out?”
“I think she’s doing well. Lisa told me Janet was helping her with an audit.”
“I like it – getting right to work.” Jon rose from his chair. “By the way, I wanted to have a party to announce your and Lisa’s engagement to the company. Nothing formal, just drinks and hors d'oeuvres at BLT?”
“Thank you, Jon.” Paul blushed. “That’s very generous of you…”
“It’s settled then. Shall we say next Thursday?”
“Yes, well, I’d like to run it by Lisa first.”
It took Jon all his will not to smack Paul on the head. What a sniveling blob his brother was! “Just take charge, Paul. I’m sure Lisa will appreciate the surprise.”
“Oh, well, all right then. Thank you, Jon.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll see you soon, brother.”
Before heading back to his office, Jon decided to swing by the legal department – he remembered the directions well from his previous altercations with the firm’s previous general counsel, Rossingram. Jon was sure glad to have gotten rid of the old goat, but now he was experiencing a déjà vu with a young female version of Rossingram.
On his way to Lisa Foley’s office – the office that old Rossingram used to occupy - Jon passed by Janet Maple’s office. He saw the girl hunched over the client folders, which were strewn all over her desk.
“Hello, Lisa.” Jon knocked lightly on the door of Lisa’s office.
Lisa perked up behind her desk. “Hello, Jon. What a pleasant surprise. What brings you to this neck of the woods?”
“Oh, I just wanted to say hello to my future sister-in-law.” Jon swooped over to Lisa’s desk and planted a kiss on her cheek. While performing this familial gesture, Jon shot a quick glance at Lisa’s computer screen, which had Saks Fifth Avenue’s website on it. Jon smiled. At least he did not have to worry about Lisa Foley’s zeal – only when it came to her spurring Paul to become a business mogul.
“Thank you, Jon. That is so sweet of you!” Lisa flashed an embarrassed glance at her computer screen.
“And I wanted to tell you that we’ll be having a company party for you and Paul next Thursday at BLT.”
“That sounds great, Jon. I’ll be looking forward to it.”
“Great. That’s all I had to say. And by the way, how’s Janet Maple working out?”
“Wonderful, just wonderful. I asked her to look at the client forms for the upcoming SEC audit. I only wanted her to check the general wording, but she’s actually gone further to check the forms we have on file to make sure all the documentation is complete.”
“Ah, personal initiative – I like it. And by the way, did she sign all the new employment paperwork?”
“I’m sure she did. I’ll double check with HR.”
“Great. Thank you, Lisa.”
As Jon turned his back to Lisa to exit her office, the smile left his face. If there was one thing he detested, it was employees who poked their noses into matters they had no business in.
Chapter 11