“No.” She gave an exaggerated shake of her head as she reached for the bear. “I’m six.”
“That’s right. I keep thinking you’re eight or nine.”
Taylor smiled. “You’re funny, Joseph.” She glanced to the other side of the bed, where Candice and Ned were standing. “That’s my daddy and Candice.”
“Yes. I’ve met them.” Joseph didn’t move his gaze from Taylor.
“Isn’t Joseph tall, Daddy?” Taylor swung her gaze to Ned. “He’s very strong too. Grandpa wanted him to help him move a desk and Joseph did it all by himself.” When Ned didn’t comment, she brought her eyes back to Joseph. “Candice is having a baby, and it’s going to be my little sister.”
Joseph nodded. “You’ll be a great big sister.”
“Daddy says my little sister will want me to be with her all the time, but I said I could only be with her sometimes because I want to be with Mommy. Daddy said that will make her sad. I don’t want to make her sad.”
“I’m sure she’ll understand that you have a different mommy, so you can only see her sometimes.” Joseph’s eyes met Ned’s.
“That’s what I thought.” Taylor turned to Ned. “See, she’ll understand, Daddy.”
“I’ll be back,” Lia said softly before leaving the room.
Elaine moved to follow, but Joseph touched her arm. “I’ll go.” He quickly left the room, catching Lia outside the elevators. “Hey. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. He’s so awful. I couldn’t stand to be in the same room with him another minute.”
He followed her into the elevator. “How come you never mentioned the pregnancy?”
“I don’t know. It’s not something I like to think about.”
“Come here.” He leaned back against the wall as he pulled her towards him. “Don’t let them get to you.”
“It’s just been an awful couple of days.” She slipped her arms up around his neck and laid her head against his chest as he enfolded her in his arms.
“I know.” He kissed the top of her head. “But she’s going to be fine, and I promise the rest of this mess will go away too.”
“How come you never mentioned you knew Candice?”
“I didn’t know I did until I saw her.”
“Did you beat her?”
He smiled against her head. “Of course.”
They walked through the hospital lobby and then out into the cool October evening and over to a small courtyard across from the hospital entrance. “I should have brought our drinks,” Joseph said. He lowered himself down beside her on a wooden bench.
“It’s nice out here.” Lia closed her eyes and took a deep breath, taking comfort in the cool fall air.
“And a little cool.” Joseph shrugged out of his suit jacket. “Here, put this on.”
“No.” Lia shook her head, not bothering to open her eyes as she leaned back against the bench. “I’m not going to take your jacket.”
“Take it,” he insisted, pushing her gently forward so he could slip the jacket around her shoulders. “You don’t have any body fat to keep you warm.”
“Oh, and you do?” She glanced sideways at him. “You don’t have an ounce of fat on your entire body.”
“I’m sure I have at least an ounce.” He leaned sideways and playfully bumped his shoulder into hers. “And that’s probably an ounce more than you have.”
“Are you trying to tell me I’m too skinny?”
“No. I’m telling you, you need my jacket more than I do.”
“Fine, I’ll wear your jacket.”
“Thank you.”
Lia covered the hand he had resting on his thigh. “Thank you for coming out tonight. It would have been so much harder without you.”
“I wanted to be here. You’re important to me.”
“I like you too.” She leaned towards him and met his lips for a brief kiss. “A lot.”
Their eyes continued to meet, and Lia could feel her heart rate quicken at the unspoken words being so clearly communicated from his eyes. He loved her. He may not have said it, but she could feel it.
“What?” He smiled. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Because I—” She suddenly wanted to tell him she loved him, but she couldn’t. She was too afraid. Everything was so perfect between them, and she didn’t want to jinx it. “I want you.”
“You want me?”
She nodded, smiling at his surprise. “Yes.”
He opened his mouth and then closed it. “What about Taylor? Isn’t she expecting you to come back?”
Lia laughed at the obvious misunderstanding. “I didn’t mean right now. I meant in general.”
“Oh.”
“Well, don’t look so disappointed.” Lia laughed. “What kind of person would I be if I deserted my six-year-old daughter an hour after an operation to go have sex with you?”
“I wouldn’t judge you,” he teased.
“I bet. Did you reschedule our appointment with your lawyer friend?” She suddenly remembered the missed appointment.
“I cancelled and told him I’d call back to reschedule.”
“Next week will be better. Oh, I did remember my divorce papers.” She patted her purse.
“I’ll take them now. I’ll have them sent over tomorrow so he can get started.”
“Okay.” Lia removed a white envelope from her bag and held it out, pulling it back slightly when he attempted to take it. “One thing for the record. I know you’re paying for this, and I want you to know I’m going to pay you back every cent. It may take me a while, but I’m going to.” She continued to hold the envelope out of his reach. “And you have to agree to let me, okay?”
“No.” He shook his head. “I want to do this for you. It’s important to me.”
“It’s not your responsibility. I’m paying you back.”
“No.” He met her eyes. “You’re letting me do this for you.”
“Joseph?”
“Don’t be difficult.” He reached out and took the envelope.
“This isn’t over.”
“Yes, it is.”
She was overwhelmed with gratitude. “You’re amazing,” she whispered. “No one has ever done so much for me.”
“It’s nothing you wouldn’t do for me.”
“I could never repay you for everything you’ve done for me. You’re like my personal guardian angel.”
“I’d settle for boyfriend. Okay?”
She nodded and, for the first time in years, felt very lucky. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“We better go back up. She’s going to wonder what happened to me.” She glanced towards the hospital. “Are you ready for another dose of Ned and Candice?”
“I’d like to read these papers.” He tapped the envelope on his knee. “I’ll be up in about fifteen minutes or so.”
“You know, you don’t have to hang around.” She was probably keeping him from a dozen other things he needed to do. “I’ve pulled you away from your work enough this week.”
“I’m staying. I’ll be up after I finish reading this.”
Joseph set the agreement on the bench beside him and breathed in deeply, the side of his jaw clenching and unclenching. His eyes narrowed several minutes later as Ned and Candice approached. “Did you write your divorce agreement yourself?”
“Excuse me?” Ned frowned as they slowed their steps.
“There is no way Lia had representation.” He held up the document. “No lawyer in their right mind would agree to these terms.”
“Lia agreed to them.” They came to a stop in front of him. “You’ll notice it’s signed.”
“You’re not even providing your daughter with health insurance?”
Ned shrugged. “So?”
“I’m guessing the child support is half of what it should be.” He brought his eyebrows together. “Was the judge a relative? Who came up with the child support amount?”
Ned met Joseph’s e
yes. “It’s based on my salary.”
“Your annual salary?”
“That’s right.”
Joseph watched him in silence for a long moment. “I don’t believe you.”
Ned shrugged. “I don’t know what to tell you. It’s signed by a judge.”
“What kind of man shortchanges the mother of his child to the point she can barely afford rent? Your daughter lives in a fucking dump.”
“I’m trying to get her out of that dump. That’s the whole point of the motion I filed.”
“I suggest you withdraw the motion.”
“What?” Ned laughed. “Are you serious?”
“I’m always serious.”
“I’m not withdrawing anything. I want Taylor—she’ll have a better life with us.” He glanced at Candice before returning his gaze to Joseph.
Joseph shifted his gaze to Candice. “I know from experience you are a lot smarter than your husband, so I suggest you talk some sense into him. If you continue down this path it isn’t going to turn out well for either of you.”
“Obviously you’re afraid it will. Otherwise you wouldn’t be trying to stop us,” Ned said.
“No.” Joseph’s gaze returned to Ned. “I want you to stop because you’re upsetting Lia. And I don’t like to see her upset.”
“Sorry.” Ned held up his hands. “I’m not changing my mind about raising my daughter because you don’t want Lia upset. That’s ridiculous.”
“Well, you better hope you’re squeaky clean, Counselor, because if you’re not, I’m going to prove it.”
“There’s nothing to prove.”
“My billable rate is probably five times yours. And when I uncover the fraud in this document.” He slapped the envelope against his leg. “You’re going to pay me for my time.”
“Is there anything else? It’s late and I want to get my wife home.”
“No.” Joseph continued to meet his eyes.
“Have a nice evening.” Ned slipped his arm around Candice and they began to walk away.
“You’ve become my new project, Merrick,” Joseph called after him. “Welcome to the major leagues.”
At 8:00 p.m. two days later, Joseph sat across from John Bianchi at the Prime Rib on K Street in DC going over the documents Joseph had couriered to John the day before. “It looks legitimate to me, Joe.” John Bianchi looked up from the pay stubs and tax forms. “I agree his pay is low for an associate, but then again, I’ve never even heard of this law firm.”
“I have,” Joseph said. “And I don’t believe for a second he’d leave the DA’s office for eighty thousand dollars a year.” He leaned back in his chair. “He’s falsified documents at a minimum.”
“Assistant DAs don’t make a hell of a lot,” John pointed out. “There’s also the possibility he was only working part time so she wouldn’t get much money. I see it all the time. But, just to be thorough, we’ll file a motion to increase child support and I’ll subpoena his time records—past and present.”
“And the custody motion?”
“It’s standard. I’m going to need to hire a detective to do some investigating, but given the fact she’s got a steady paycheck and he left her for another woman, I don’t think it’ll be much of a challenge. I’d like to meet with her and make sure she doesn’t have any skeletons.”
“Her daughter was released from the hospital today, so sometime next week would probably be okay.”
John nodded. “It’ll have to be in the evening. I’ll be in court all week.”
“I’ll check with her.” Joseph picked up his menu and opened it up. “Do you want to eat?”
“Sure. I read something about you in the business section of the Post last month. Some kids you invested in at the University of Maryland?”
“Yes, we have our IPO next month.”
“You’re serious.” John looked up from his menu. “You’re part of an IPO? An initial public offering? What percent of the company do you own?”
“Forty.”
“Forty percent? Jesus.”
“You know this is the third IPO I’ve been part of in the past three years.”
“I never heard about the first two.”
“I don’t know what to tell you.” Joseph closed his menu and set it on the table. “I offered the opportunity to you and Prossi early on. You should have taken me up on it.”
“Jesus, Joe.” He shook his head. “How much money are we talking? Do you have forty percent share in these companies?”
“Not quite. I have partners.” He looked up as the waiter approached. “I’d like another scotch and a filet medium rare, a Caesar salad and some asparagus if you have it.”
“Do you want—”
“No, nothing else,” Joseph interrupted, holding out his menu. “Oh, and a glass of merlot with the filet. Your best sold by the glass.”
The waiter nodded, took John Bianchi’s order and then disappeared.
“So, are we talking hundreds of thousands or millions?”
“Do you mean how much I’m investing?”
“No.” John shook his head. “How much are you making?”
Joseph met his friend’s eyes. “I’ll put it to you this way: I made more in one IPO last year than I’ll make in my entire career as a partner in the firm.”
John’s eyes widened. “You’re fucking serious.”
“I’m always serious when it comes to money.”
“Then why are you still working as an attorney?”
“Because it’s what I like to do.”
“Are you still dabbling in the stock market?”
“Of course.”
“Did you take a bath last quarter?”
“No.” Joseph brought his drink to his mouth. “I take it you did.”
“Nasdaq has dropped five hundred points since the first of the year. Everyone’s taken a bath.”
“Just sit tight. It’ll come back.” Joseph took a swallow of the amber liquid in his glass before setting it back on the table. “You’ve only lost money if you sell the stock.”
“So you did take a bath.’
“No. I made more in the last quarter than all of last year.”
John frowned. “How?”
“I’ve been selling short. When the market’s on a downturn, it’s the only way you can really make money.”
“Isn’t that risky? I mean, my understanding of the process is you’re selling stocks you don’t own in the hopes the price will go down, but if the price goes up you have to pay up.”
“If? Hopefully I’m smart enough to pick a stock that’s going to go down.”
“So you sell a stock you don’t even own, and when it goes down, the brokerage house has to pay you the difference between what it’s going for and what you sold it for?”
Joseph nodded. “Say a stock’s price is ten dollars a share, and I know it’s going to take a dive. If I have enough equity in the market or liquid money in my account, I can tell my broker to sell, say, a hundred shares of the stock.”
“Right.” John nodded. “You sell a hundred shares of stock you don’t even own.”
“Correct.” Joseph took a sip of his drink before continuing. “Now if the stock goes up to, say, fifty dollars a share, I’m in trouble, because my broker can tell me I owe him forty dollars a share for each of those stocks. So I’d be out a hundred times forty, or four thousand dollars.”
“But that would never happen to you.” John leaned back in his chair.
“That’s right. Not often anyway.” Joseph paused while the waitress set a salad before him. “What happens to me is this: I sell a hundred shares at ten dollars a share, hoping the price will fall. And say it does. Say later that day, the price falls to two dollars a share. Eight dollars less than I sold it for. That’s my money now. I pick up the phone and call my broker and I make eight dollars times a hundred, or eight hundred dollars, and I never have to spend a dime.”
“I must have a block in my head,” John said, picking up hi
s salad fork, “because that sounds counterintuitive to me. Is someone actually buying the stock you’re selling?”
“Of course.”
“How can you sell stock you don’t own?”
“They’re borrowing someone else’s stock. But they’re covered because, if it goes up and the original owner wants to sell, I owe the difference. If it goes down, the original owner is losing money, so either way, everyone gets their money.”
“Sorry I asked. I’ll leave my investing to my broker.”
Joseph laughed. “It’s really not that complicated. Think of it this way. If you know a bad earnings report is going to come out or some scandal is about to break, like this huge recall of cellphones in the news, you sell short. Takita had to recall six million cellphones because they were catching fire. Does it surprise you their stock price dropped fifty percent over the past week?”
“I never really thought about it, but it doesn’t surprise me.”
“I thought about it,” Joseph said. “And I sold the stock short the first time I heard any mention of it. I didn’t know how much further it would go down, but I didn’t have any fear it would go back up.”
“When was this?”
“I heard about it over the weekend, so I sold it first thing Monday morning.”
“How much did you make?”
“I cashed in as the market closed. It had gone down thirty-five percent since Monday morning.” He picked up his fork and speared a crouton.
“So how much did you make?” John repeated.
“Thirty-five percent,” Joseph answered.
“In dollars,” John continued, pointing at him with his fork. “How much did you make in US currency?”
“A lot.” Joseph put the crouton in his mouth and began to crunch down on it. “A whole lot.”
“That’ll be your daddy,” Lia said in response to the knock on her apartment door Friday evening just after 7:00. Taylor was recovering quickly and didn’t seem to be in any pain, but the doctor said she needed to take it easy for at least two weeks.
“Come in.” Lia stepped back from the door. She was dressed in a form-fitting black sleeveless dress, a single diamond pendant hanging from her neck.
Ned, wearing a suit and tie, stepped into the foyer. “How is she?” His eyes swept over her outfit and, for the first time in two years, she could see the male appreciation in his eyes.
When I Saw You Page 19