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58
Pierre Hotel
Evelyn Buchanan arrived at the Pierre at half past twelve. Upstairs in Magdalena’s suite, she informed Gabriel that her editors had signed off on an outline of her story. It would appear onVanity Fair’s website immediately upon completion and would be included in the next print edition as well. The magazine’s publicity department was putting in place a plan for a social media blitz. TheNew York Times,Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Bloomberg News, and CNBC had been alerted that a major story with far-reaching financial implications was forthcoming.
“Which means it will go viral within minutes of appearing on our site. There’s no way Phillip will be able to contain the damage. He’ll be dead before he knows what hit him.”
“How soon can you publish?”
“If today goes as promised, I can have it ready by tonight.”
“At the rate Phillip is going, he might not survive that long.”
“Redemptions?”
“A hundred and thirty-five million and counting.”
“He must be reeling.”
“See for yourself.”
Gabriel played a recording of Phillip’s video call with Kenny Vaughan.
“How much cash do we have on hand?”
“Fiftyish. Maybe.”
“I could dump the Pollock.”
“You owe JPMorgan sixty-five against the Pollock. Selling it isn’t an option.”
Gabriel paused the recording.
“Do you realize what you have?” asked Evelyn.
“It gets better.”
Gabriel clickedplay.
“How much do you need to make it work, Kenny?”
“Eighty-five would be nice.”
“Be reasonable.”
“Is there any chance you can lay your hands on forty?”
“Yeah, Kenny. I think I might.”
Gabriel clickedpause.
“Where is he going to get the money?”
“Unclear. But the timing would suggest he’s thinking about putting my Gentileschi into play.”
“If he does that—”
“We’ll have irrefutable evidence that Phillip is engaged in bank fraud.”
