..::.. Chapter 49 - The Catch ..::..

Before Edward gets a chance to pick me up the following day, I'm out the door. I sent for a car. This phone in my hand Jasper sent can do miracles. The same guard who picked me up once stands at the lobby and waits. I smile at him, and when we're in the car I ask for his name.

"Garret, nice to meet you," I say. He nods. "If you stick with me, Garret, we'll make a good team. Is that alright with you?"

"Ma'am." He nods from the driver's seat.

"Not ma'am, but Bella," I correct, grinning. "You insult me." We're silent. I want more out of him. "So, Garret," I try. "Tell me. How does he treat you?" I ask about Edward.

He's quiet.

"So, that's so-so." I answer for him, smiling. "I've known him a long time, many years. I knew him when he wore band T-shirts, inside out, to school, barely a coat in winter. He was … simple then." I think back on the bit I do remember. "I guess he's anything but simple these days. Things rile him up quickly, I notice."

Garret just listens.

"What are his favorite places to eat? Preferably dinner?" I ask.

"He has his places. The ones he owns," he answers. Good. I budge more.

"I'd … like to surprise him at his place. With dinner," I say. "Maybe sometime. Are you able to help me with … surprise tasks like those?" I ask, setting my eyes to the rear view mirror when he looks. He knows I'm not really talking about dinner, but any task unbeknownst to Edward.

He looks away to take a turn. He won't answer quickly so I try more.

"I'd like to do a good job, you know? I want to impress him," I say. "I have to be proactive, give him what he asks and anticipate his needs." I look up at the back of Garret's head. "I'm sure you understand."

"You'll do a fine job, Ms. Swan." Back to last names, not Bella. I smile.

"Please, take me to Stephen Biers. I must square out finances for my new project. I have to present Edward with a plan and I want to … catch up."

Garret really does listen when he takes the correct turn.

….

"What the hell was Riley thinking?" I ask Stephen. He's in his desk chair this time. No Edward to bully.

Stephen is watching me, no response from him, which makes me impatient.

"I guess the question could be aimed at you, also."

He sighs. "What do you want from me?"

"I want the truth; what else? I'm not here to chat."

He stares.

"You profited from the exchange, like your son. Is that how you paid for your yacht, the house, Jane's pearls?" I speak of Riley's mother.

"It's not that simple."

"Then tell me the long-winded story. I've got all day." I cross my arms over my chest, comfortably over the armchair.

His eyes glance over at the files to his right on his desk. He looks away. I reach over and grab from the top.

"That is confidential!" he shouts, slapping a hand over the pile, but it's too late. I've got the summary.

"Potential bankruptcy," I say aloud. The negative seven-digit numbers are all listed. I look up. "You needed the money for the company, so you jumped in."

My brows bounce. "I guess I never knew Riley would be so generous as to help. He's not the type."

"He isn't. He didn't know," he says.

I look at him, not surprised. "All right." I flick the folder back on his desk. "So, we're all at fault here," I state, watching him. He's red, the flush over his receding hairline. "Was it worth it?"

"Of course not!" he explodes. His hands grip the air. I see the tremble in them where I sit.

I lift mine. "Fine. You don't have to yell. I'll help you. Worry not." I lean in. "We'll figure this out." I grin with a nod.

He sighs hard. He gives me a look. "But …"

"But … What?" I blink, feigning innocence.

"There's a catch." He narrows his eyes. "There's always a catch with you people."

I smile this time. "A smart man."

I lean back on the chair and get comfortable. I explain to him all the ways he must revert the paperwork Sue signed to expand her shop.

"Every copy," I make clear. "I want you to get your lawyers to undo all records of the Cullens' ownership to Sue Clearwater's LLC. And it must be legitimate, and it must be done quickly and without a trace of Cullen ever acquiring her signatures." He's about to protest. I smile. "Mr. Biers, you are a very powerful man. I know you've done this plenty of times. You sit over an army of … help. I'll help you, and you help me."

"The hell I will," he spits.

I raise a finger. "I wouldn't object if I were you … seeing as you raised a son to be manipulative, abusive to women who loved him, and a menace to this society. You owe me that much, you owe businesses, you owe innocent people." I pause for effect. "Do you understand that at all?"

He looks away like he's letting it sink in.

"I'm willing to help you. We can undo this." I say this genuinely. "But we have to work together. That includes getting a hold of all the Cullen accountants—even the foreign ones.

"And since you're all on the same team and benefiting from the money taken from innocent people, you'll have no problem with the comradery. You need to find money from some place and fast. There must be ways to move the dollars around accounts that are absorbing pennies from these jobs. Laundering the laundry, right?"

His head lifts, like the idea came to him and not me.

"Get me all the accountant names and we'll start from there," I order him.

Jess is on my mind, and Jess is my key. She was a former Cullen employee by way of her father. All the years she learned what her father did for the Cullens' and how she managed to free herself and her father from the binds of the mob, is exactly what I need. She'll help me find all accounts through their names.

I stand to leave, and at the door he stops me as he clears his throat. "I'll … make a call to my lawyer tonight," he says.

"Thank you, Mr. Biers. And please, send my love to Jane."

….