AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I thought fast. “Did you hear on the news? About Runstan’s accountant?”
“Of course. Why do you think I’m here? I came to pay my respectsto Stan.” My father turned to look at the entrance. “John’s insidealready?”
“I think so. He’s here to see Stan, too. That’s his car.” I pointed at the Range Rover, and my father’s ire shifted from me to John.
“What thehell? What time did he get here?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why didn’t he call me and tell me he was going?”
“Isn’t Stan his client?”
“No, Stan’smyclient,” my father shot back, knitting his brow. “I brought Runstan in when John was just a kid, for God’s sake.”
“But he’s doing their work now, isn’t he?” I asked, making trouble for a good cause. I needed to stall him so John could talk to Stan. I glanced at the Hyundai over my father’s padded shoulder.
“So? Runstan wouldn’tbea business but for me. I know Stan from day one.” My father pursed his lips. “You remember? I used to bring you here. You met Stan, with the birthmark? You used to call him Stain.”
“No,Johncalled him Stain.”
“The point is, that’s how long ago I represented him. He was an electrician in Philly back then. I even helped him name the company. He liked to run, so I said, ‘Why don’t you call it “Run, Stan,” ’ and that’s where he got the name.”
“I didn’t know that.” I still thought it was a dumb name.
“Your mother got him a terrific post-nup. He didn’t even know what that was.”
“I don’t, either.” I knew it would trigger a Dad-lecture, like flipping a switch.
“A post-nup? You need a post-nup when you didn’t get a prenup. It’s essentially a negotiation of a divorce that takes place when the marriage is on solid ground. Financial circumstances change, andhigh-wealth clients need to protect themselves. For example, when Runstan took off, it constituted a material change in Stan’s circumstances. I told him he needed a post-nup right away. Follow?”
“Yes.” I doubted I’d ever need a prenupora post-nup. I didn’t know if I’d ever nup. Meanwhile I checked the Hyundai, and the driver was still inside.
“You know what happened? We began to negotiate the post-nup, and Stan’s ex, Janine, starts asking for half of the business. Mind you, she hadn’t shown interest before, at all. So that tells you something, doesn’t it?”
I nodded, but all it told me was that she wanted a fair share.
“She even asked for a percentage of future revenues. It would have required audits, accounting, reporting out the wazoo. A slow-motion nightmare, right?”
“Yes.”No, a slow-motion nightmare is an accountant dead in a car.
“I saved Stan a fortune, and they got divorced a year later. IsavedRunstan for him.” My father returned his attention to the Range Rover. “John should have called me and told me he was coming.”
“It probably slipped his mind.” I knew if I criticized John, then my father would defend him, so I was employing Devlin-double-reverse-psychology.
“That’s the problem. He should have remembered. We could have gone together. Why didn’t he call me?”
“Did you call him?”
“No, he’s supposed to call me.”
“Maybe he didn’t get a chance. It happened so late.”
“So what? He knows your mother and I get up early. How long does it take to call? Or text? He’s always on that phone.”
“Did you know the accountant?”
“No, but what difference does that make? Stan’s in the lurch, withthe acquisition and all. Hell, I called him as soon as I saw it online this morning. I told him I’d stop by on my way in.” My father frowned, in thought. “I wonder if John didn’t call me on purpose. What if he got here early to beat me to the punch?”
