Promise Not To Tell(86)

Anson turned away from the window. “The trick to running a con is to tell a good story, one that plays to the hopes or fears of the person you’re targeting. It has to be a story with just enough truth in it to make it feel real.”

“Sounds like an art form,” Virginia said.

Anson looked at Cabot. “Never thought about it like that, but, yeah, just another kind of art.”

CHAPTER 65

The following morning, Reed Stephens cranked back in his desk chair, propped his elbows on the armrests and put his fingertips together. “Young Xavier is right,” he said. “Someone or maybe several people in the Kennington family are trying to screw you.”

Cabot stopped prowling the office and turned to examine the view out the window. Stephens specialized in business law. His firm was not affiliated with any of the big national outfits. Instead, he catered to small local companies and start-ups.

“Anson and Xavier both warned me there was probably a catch,” Cabot said.

“This document you’re being asked to sign is full of legal fog, but there was enough here to make me suspicious.” Reed continued. “I talked to some people I know in San Francisco. Evidently your grandfather was what folks like to call a colorful figure in the business world. The result is that there is a lot of squabbling going on among the ex-wives and various offspring. That means there are also a lot of rumors and leaks about the terms of the estate. From what I can determine, you are entitled to your mother’s share of the company. The document you brought to me is an attempt to get you to sign away your rights to your inheritance.”

Cabot swung around, blindsided. “I was told that my grandfather disowned his daughter after she married my father.”

“Evidently he changed his mind at the end.” Reed sat forward and tapped the document. “It’s complicated and, I will say, rather cleverly done. The bottom line, however, is that if you sign this document and take the twenty-five thousand, you’ll be giving up a major interest in the Kennington business empire, which is worth a hell of a lot more than twenty-five grand. Potentially you’ll be walking away from millions.”

“What happens to my mother’s share of the company if I sign that document?”

“It will go to Xavier’s father – your uncle, Emerson Kennington.”

“Who is about to move on to Wife Number Three.”

“Emerson Kennington has a son and a daughter by his first marriage; and another son, Xavier, and a daughter, Anna, by his second marriage. The next Mrs. Kennington has no doubt been working behind the scenes to ensure that she and her future offspring secure a chunk of the company just in case she, too, gets dumped.”

“What about Xavier’s mother?”

“My contacts in San Francisco say it’s no secret down there that by the terms of the prenup she gets a nice condo, which she can live in as long as she can afford to pay the taxes and homeowner’s fees. Under the circumstances, that seems unlikely. She’ll make some money when she sells the condo, of course, but that’s it.”

“What about Xavier and his sister?”

“Hard to say. I’m sure that Kennington will be on the hook for his offspring’s college expenses, but aside from that there are no guarantees. I suspect young Xavier’s inheritance depends on how much influence the next Mrs. Kennington exerts over her husband. The fact that she is rumored to have avoided signing a prenup would seem to indicate that she’s got a talent for strategy. Whatever happens, she will do very nicely.”

“What are my options?”

“You’ve got two. You can accept your mother’s stake in Kennington International or ditch your claim to a share of the company in exchange for twenty-five thousand dollars.”

Cabot considered that briefly. “Maybe there’s a third option.”

“I’m listening.”

CHAPTER 66

“I don’t understand,” John Burleigh said. He seemed deeply offended and a little bewildered. “Why did you insist that Xavier and his parents be present for this meeting? They are not involved in this matter. And there was no need for all of these strangers, either. This was supposed to be a private business meeting between you and me.”

Cabot looked around at the crowd that had gathered in the reception area of Cutler, Sutter & Salinas. Virginia lounged against the edge of Anson’s desk, her arms folded. Anson was in his chair behind the desk.

Xavier’s mother, Melissa, was perched tensely on one of the two client chairs. Everyone else, including Burleigh, Reed Stephens, Xavier, Emerson Kennington and Cabot, was standing.

“To be clear,” Cabot said, “Virginia, Anson and my lawyer, Mr. Stephens, are present because I wanted lots of witnesses. As for Xavier and his parents, they’re involved in this thing, so I figured they should be present.”

“I thought you agreed to sign the documents that I sent to you,” Burleigh said firmly.

“No, I agreed to take a look at them,” Cabot said. “And naturally I showed them to my lawyer.”

Reed Stephens cleared his throat politely. “That would be me.”

“I see.” Burleigh’s jaw hardened. But he opened his briefcase and took out a folder. “We might as well get on with this meeting. I have four copies of the agreement for you to sign, Mr. Sutter. Two of the parties present can serve as witnesses. I have a cashier’s check for the agreed-upon amount already made out.”