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“Would you excuse me for a moment,” Woolich said.
“Of course; as long as you leave the check with me. I wouldn’t want it out of my sight.”
“Of course,” Woolich said, handing back the check. “I just want to be sure that the account holder has sufficient funds to pay the check.” He chuckled at his own joke, then left the room.
Stone saw a light go on on Woolich’s phone, and after a moment, the light began to blink.
Woolich returned. “Mr. Prince would like to speak with you,” he said. He indicated that Stone should come around the desk. “Just press the flashing button,” he said.
Stone pressed the button. “Good morning, Terry,” he said.
“Good morning, Stone. May I take this request for a wire transfer as an indication that your client has accepted my offer?”
“You may.”
“Do you have the signed contract with you?”
“I do.”
“I’ll send someone down for it immediately, then I’ll speak with Mr. Woolich again.” He hung up.
Stone resumed his seat, and Woolich resumed his.
“Lovely day,” the banker said.
“Every day out here seems to be a lovely day.”
“Ah, well, sunny California,” Woolich replied.
There was a knock at the door, and Carolyn Blaine walked in. “Good morning, Stone,” she said.
“Good morning,” Stone replied, handing her one copy of the sales agreement. “Duly witnessed by a member of the New York Police Department.”
She looked at it, checked the signatures, and smiled broadly. “Congratulations!” she said.
“And to you. I’m sure that running the project will be a lot of fun for you.”
“Oh, yes.” She produced a cell phone and pressed a speed dial number. “All is in order,” she said. She listened, then handed the phone to Woolich.
“Yes, Mr. Prince? As you wish.” He handed the phone back to Carolyn. “Thank you, Ms. Blaine.” He sat down again, and Carolyn left the room.
“Please send the wire to the attention of William Eggers, Managing Partner.”
“Of course.” Woolich turned to his computer, pulled up a form and began to type, entering the numbers Stone had given him. “Here goes,” he said, pressing the send key with a flourish. “Done.” He pressed a couple more keys and the printer beside his desk spat out a sheet of paper. Woolich signed it, then handed it to Stone. “The transfer is confirmed; the funds are in your trust account.”
Stone read the confirmation, then stood up. “Mr. Woolich, it has been a pleasure doing business with you,” he said. The two men shook hands, and Stone left the bank, whistling a merry tune.
Stone arrived at the house and found Arrington, in a bathing suit now, lying on a chaise beside the pool. He walked over, kissed her, and handed her the wire transfer receipt. “You are officially twenty-five million dollars richer,” he said.
“How nice,” she replied. She patted the chaise next to her. “Sit for a moment.”
Stone did so.
“Rick Barron called ten minutes ago. He said that Jack Schmeltzer called him this morning and told him that he would be voting with Prince this afternoon.”
That knocked the wind out of Stone. “That’s bad news,” he said. “What with Mrs. Grosvenor buying the Jennifer Harris shares and taking charge of Jim Long’s, we are, to put it as gracefully as I can manage, fucked.”
“That seems so,” Arrington said, “but Rick, bless his heart, seems to remain just slightly optimistic.”
