by Marie Astor
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Janet. Lisa has told me so much about you. I’m sure you’ll be a wonderful addition to our team.” Paul’s voice brought Janet back to reality. Now was no time to reminisce about high school crushes.
“Thank you, Paul. I’m very excited to be here.” Janet lowered her eyes and made sure to add just the right amount of corporate pep to her voice, lest Lisa suspect flirtation in her demeanor.
Paul’s baby-blue eyes shone brightly as he smiled. He was about six two, athletically built, and his beach-blond hair was neatly trimmed. Janet thought that he looked like the spitting image of a Ken doll.
“Well, baby, I’ve got to run.” Paul leaned in and kissed Lisa on the cheek. “I’m meeting with Jon – he’s schooling me in the ways of being COO. We’re organizing our annual charity ball, and Jon wants me to plan the entire event.”
“Sounds wonderful,” Lisa gushed. “I’ll see you later, honey. Isn’t he just adorable?” Lisa beamed with self-satisfaction after Paul left.
“Yes,” Janet obliged. “Paul is very nice.”
“Now, do you see why I want you to give Tom a chance? He’s the perfect match for you – just like Paul is for me.”
That night, back in her apartment, Janet sank into the couch with a groan. Working for Lisa was mentally exhausting, and the worst part was that she could not even call her time at the office work. It was not as though Janet had a list of assigned tasks or responsibilities. It seemed that Lisa had hired her simply out of pity. No matter, Janet was determined to learn as much as she could. As much as she had loved her job at the DA’s office, Janet had to admit that her world had been one-sided. She had gotten used to thinking as an investigator, but now she had to learn to think as a defender of Bostoff’s interests. Sure, Bostoff Securities was not running a Boy Scout operation, but everyone knew that there were loops in the law, and as long as you used the loops to your advantage without breaking the actual law, you were okay. In fact, that was exactly what being an attorney entailed – enabling people to do things that were within the bounds of the law.
Dennis Walker turned off his computer and poured himself a scotch. It was eleven o’clock at night and he was dead tired. Irritated was more like it. His eyes were beginning to hurt from his having sifted through tons of meaningless information. Wiring the computers of Bostoff’s employees had seemed like a brilliant move in the beginning, but so far the reports that Dennis had received from the analysts at the Treasury had not produced any meaningful information. At first Dennis blamed the ineptness of the analysts and chose to bore through the data himself, but he too came up empty-handed. There were hundreds of emails, but none of them had any meat in them: it was as though employees of Bostoff Securities labored under the delusion that they were working for a truly legitimate business, which, of course, could very well be the truth when it came to the worker bees. Yet Dennis had specifically focused on senior executives, and he was convinced that the top brass had to know what was going on. But then again, he could have been mistaken. Bostoff’s trading operation had several units or desks, as Bostoff referred to them, and Dennis had wired the computers of all the desk heads, but every single one of them came up clean. The desk heads reported to Jon Bostoff, and Jon Bostoff reported to his father, Hank Bostoff. Dennis had expected the father’s and son’s emails to be goldmines, but both Bostoffs were surprisingly laconic in their conversations, which left Dennis with two possibilities: either both Bostoffs were extremely cautious, or they had begun to suspect that their computers had been wired. Dennis certainly hoped that the latter was not the case.
In all of his investigations, he had never blown his cover, and he certainly did not want to start now, especially given the fact that his candidacy had been a long shot for the case in the first place. Which reminded him: he needed to stop chatting up Bostoff’s female employees. This morning’s kitchen chat with that recently hired cute lawyer, Janet Maple, had been a glaring lapse in judgment, and yet Dennis could not help smiling at the memory. The girl definitely liked him. She nearly let her oatmeal run over while talking with him, and Dennis, ever the hero, saved Janet from embarrassment by popping the microwave open just in time – well, he saved her from further embarrassment, as the girl was already as red as a beet.
A grin of self-satisfaction glinted on Dennis’s face. Sure, he could be vain when it came to female attention, but it felt good to be admired, and, in his defense, one never knew when a casual acquaintance could turn into a useful ally. Given the results that Dennis had gotten from his surveillance of the Bostoffs so far, he just might need a friendly inside source.
Chapter 5
At ten o’clock the next morning, Janet was seated behind her desk, delving into the intricacies of special purpose vehicle creation when Lisa appeared on her doorstep.
“Hey,” Lisa panted, almost out of breath. “Got a sec? I need you to come with me.”
“What’s up?” Janet promptly rose from her chair and grabbed a notepad and a pen.
“An impromptu meeting request from Jon Bostoff.” Lisa grimaced. “Don’t know what that busybody wants now. You’d think he was the owner of the company.”
“Jon Bostoff is the president, right?”
“Right,” Lisa confirmed. “And Hank Bostoff’s elder son. Paul is his younger brother and COO. You met him yesterday.” Lisa grinned.
Janet nodded, suspecting that dating the company owner’s son was more complicated than Lisa let on. “Do you know what’s on the meeting agenda?”
“No idea. I guess Mr. Know It All wants to meet you. Between you and me, Jon acts like he is the boss, and I think that’s partly because the old man is planning to retire. I think he’s going to choose his heir successor soon, and Jon is doing all he can to ensure that it will be him.”
“I’m ready to go when you are.” Janet thought it best to steer clear of a discussion about the boss’s family politics.
Lisa took a loud breath. “Follow me. We’ll have to go through the trading floor.”
Janet’s second encounter with the trading floor of Bostoff’s Securities was not much different from her previous experience. It was like walking into the boys’ high school locker room: the atmosphere reeked of testosterone and horny jokes. She did her best to keep her walk in check as she kept close to Lisa, who had her lips firmly pressed together as she powered on, seemingly oblivious to frank stares and occasional whistles that were coming from men seated in endless lines of long, narrow desks.
“We’re almost there,” Lisa muttered under her breath. “Jon’s office is at the other end of the floor.” Lisa motioned to an aquarium-like office that loomed smack in the middle of the far wall. Unlike the rest of the offices at Bostoff Securities, Jon Bostoff’s office had walls made of glass. “Jon had his office remodeled when his father made him president,” Lisa explained. “I suppose this way he feels that he’s got an eye on everybody.”
Through the glass office walls, Janet could see that Jon Bostoff was not alone – or at least she assumed that the man behind the long, steel-framed desk was Jon Bostoff. The physical resemblance to his younger brother, Paul, was apparent, but so was the age difference. Jon’s blond hair was beginning to thin at the temples, and his eyes, although as blue as Paul’s, had a sharp and inquiring quality about them. Paul Bostoff was also in the office, standing irresolutely by his brother’s desk, and Janet could only assume that the older man seated in one of the angular modernistic chairs that surrounded the conference table was Hank Bostoff.
“Here we are.” Lisa conjured up a smile.
Before Lisa could say another word, Jon Bostoff motioned for them to come inside.
“Lisa, come in, come in!” Jon Bostoff half-rose from his chair.
“Good morning, Jon.” Lisa flashed her trademark smile. “Allow me to introduce Janet Maple. She recently joined our legal department as assistant general counsel.”
“Hello, Janet, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Jon Bostoff, and this is
my brother, Paul.” Jon motioned at his younger brother who was still lingering by his desk.
“We have already met.” Paul smiled briefly at Janet.
“And the distinguished-looking gentleman over there is my father and the founder of this company, Hank Bostoff,” Jon concluded.
“Well, I don’t know about the first part, but the second part is certainly true.” Hank Bostoff replied from his chair. “You must forgive me, Janet. I’d stand up to shake your hand, but I seem to be having trouble getting up from this contraption.” Hank Bostoff motioned at the uncomfortable-looking chair he was sitting in. He had the same blue eyes as his sons, and his direct, frank gaze made him instantly likeable. His hair was mostly white, but its fullness more than made up for its loss in color. With his lean physique and expertly tailored clothes, Hank Bostoff looked dashing despite his age, which had to be somewhere in the vicinity of sixty, given the fact that he had two grown sons.
“My father has a delightful sense of humor.” Jon Bostoff chuckled. “Please, have a seat.” Jon motioned at the empty chairs adjacent to the one occupied by Hank Bostoff. “It will be much more comfortable if we’re all gathered behind a table.”
“Oh, I don’t know about the ‘comfortable’ part.” Hank Bostoff chuckled. “Where was it you ordered this furniture from, son, Italy?”
“My father and I have our differences in taste.” Jon Bostoff smiled thinly. “Please,” he said curtly, as he motioned for Janet, Lisa, and Paul to take their seats.
Janet perched at the edge of a chair. Hank Bostoff had been right: the rigid seat was far from comfortable.
“Well,” said Jon Bostoff after everyone had taken their seat, “the reason I called this meeting today is to get better acquainted with the recent addition to our legal team.” Jon’s glance lingered on Janet. “Janet, I understand that you have already met some members of our executive management team…” Jon’s eyes shifted to his brother. “But neither my father nor I have had the pleasure of meeting you, so we thought it would be a good to have a quick introduction. Why don’t you tell us about yourself, Janet?”
Lisa cut in before Janet could answer, “Well, Jon, I just would like to add that Janet has very impressive credentials: she’s a Columbia Law School graduate and she’d spent four years at the DA’s office.”
Jon Bostoff’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Thank you, Lisa, but I’m sure that Janet is more than capable of introducing herself. So, Janet, you worked for the DA’s office?”
Janet sensed Jon Bostoff’s intent glance. “Yes, I did. I spent four years there, the last three in the Investigations division, and as Lisa mentioned, I did graduate from Columbia Law.”
“Wonderful. And what made you want to switch your career path?”
“I was downsized,” Janet answered frankly. There was no other way to explain the gap on her resume, and in any case, she had always been of the opinion that honesty was the best policy.
“I see.” Jon Bostoff seemed to be pleased with the answer he received.
“These government budget cuts are really most regrettable.” Hank Bostoff shook his head. “But it all works out for the best in the end, I suppose. Bostoff Securities could most certainly use a bright, remarkable lady like yourself.”
“Thank you, sir.” Janet blushed in spite of herself.
“Welcome aboard, Janet,” Paul said.
“Yes, indeed, we’re most glad to have you here,” Jon Bostoff conceded.
“Thank you.” Janet felt her face grow warm again. Jon Bostoff’s curt tone did not exactly match his words.
“Well, Janet and Lisa, thank you for stopping by.”
“The pleasure is all ours.” Lisa flashed one of her dazzling smiles and rose from her chair, motioning for Janet to follow suit.
“Thank you, gentlemen.” Janet followed Lisa. To say that she was perplexed would have been an understatement. She had expected the meeting to at least have some substance, not a mere hello, how are you? But what was she to do – question Jon Bostoff? Lisa certainly did not find anything perplexing with the current set-up of things, and at least for now, Janet was not going to disagree.
After the door closed behind Lisa and Janet, Jon Bostoff threw an irate glance at his brother. “Paul, do you mind explaining why no one bothered to consult with me before hiring that broad?”
“Now, Jon.” Hank Bostoff interjected. “There’s no need for this kind of language. I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation.”
“I’m sorry, Dad.” Jon Bostoff shook his head. “Paul, do you mind telling me why was I not consulted about the decision to hire that remarkable young lady?”
“I didn’t think it would be an issue, Jon,” Paul replied with an obnoxiousness that made Jon seethe. “As the COO of this company, Dad has given me the authority to hire staff within certain salary limits. Janet Maple’s hire was within that bracket. Furthermore, the hire is within the legal department, which falls under the COO’s office, so I did not see how it would concern you.”
Dad has given me the authority. Jon fumed. How many times had he told his brother not to use the word “Dad” at the office? Hank Bostoff was the owner of the company, and even if he was losing his grip on reality, Hank was still their boss, and at work he was to be addressed as such. “Would you listen to this, Hank! Why do we need two people in Legal when Tom Wyman is doing a perfectly good job? First, Paul hires his girlfriend, so I let that one slide, but then she brings over her friend. What are we – a charity factory?”
“Now, Jon, you can call me ‘Dad’ when it’s just the three of us, and I do think that Paul’s idea is a pretty good one. Fred Rossingram and the junior fella who worked for him used to do all the work for us for a fraction of what Wyman is charging us. Perhaps we should reconsider our approach.”
Reconsider our approach. Jon Bostoff loved his father, but he could not help wishing that the old man would retire already. Fred Rossingram had been Bostoff’s general counsel before Jon became president. Old Rossingram had the risk tolerance of a turtle, and Jon Bostoff did not need a lawyer telling him what he could not do; he needed a lawyer who would tell him what he could do within the bounds of the law. If he just so happened to tread on the border now and then, occasionally stepping over, that was no biggie either, as long as matters were kept under wraps, and Tom Wyman was just the man for the job.
“Rossingram was too conservative,” Jon chose his words carefully. “His views put Bostoff at a disadvantage compared to our more aggressive competitors.”
“I hope you’re right, son, but sometimes, the turtle wins the race,” Hank Bostoff chuckled.
Jon restrained himself from sighing at his father’s penchant for Aesop’s fables. This time he had a comeback that would be a real kicker. “Personally, I prefer Lord Dunsany’s take on the famous fable: after the tortoise had been hailed the victor, a fire took place in the forest, but very few of the animals survived.” Jon paused for impact. “It turned out that several of the animals, including the tortoise, saw the fire starting while standing atop of a hill. They called a meeting to decide whom to select as the messenger to alert the other animals and they chose to send the turtle.”
Hank Bostoff shook his head. For a moment, Jon Bostoff worried that he might have overdone it, but when he heard his father’s laughter, he knew he was all right.
“Well done, son, well done. I sure hope you’re right.”
“I am right, Dad. Tom Wyman is a partner at Ridley Simpson, which is a leading law firm that handles affairs for New York’s top financial institutions and has excellent contacts with regulators and politicians. Tom knows which way is up, and if he costs a bit more than Rossingram did, well, that’s the price of doing business. And besides, Rossingram had been with the company for years, which brought his salary below market levels. If we were to hire someone of Tom Wyman’s caliber in-house, we’d have to pay a pretty high salary.”
“But do we really need someone of Tom Wyman’s caliber, Jon?” In uncharac
teristic defiance of Jon’s authority, Paul interrupted his brother. “Lisa is a Harvard Law graduate. Surely, she could handle our affairs, and now she has Janet to help her…”
“That’s exactly my point, Paul,” Jon Bostoff snapped. “You should have talked to me first before hiring that Janet Maple character. I can understand hiring your girlfriend, but what do we know about her friend? She used to work for the DA, for Christ’s sake! For all we know, she could turn out to be a whistleblower.”
“Now, son, we’ve got nothing to hide,” Hank cut in, “Bostoff is an honest name.”
Honesty never filled anyone’s bank account, Jon thought, but out loud he said, “Yes, Dad, but as you know, in the hands of a malicious person even the most innocent circumstances could be twisted. And in today’s environment, where regulators are paying people for snitching on their employers, you can’t be too careful. Do you know that most of the cases brought by the SEC resulted from whistleblowing?”