Once Alex hung up with Carrie, he returned to the table and apologized for taking the call. “It’s no problem, Alex,” said Sean. “It was related to your firing?”
Alex relayed Carrie’s story of what had happened in the office the day prior. The tale elicited a few chuckles from both Jesse and Sean.
“I kind of wish I was there to see that,” responded Sean.
“You and me both,” replied Alex.
“Before we continue,” Sean said, “I didn’t explicitly invite you for dinner, but you will stay, won’t you? I’ve got fixings for a Mediterranean salad that I can whip up. We can have it vegetarian, or I can also grill up a few chicken breasts to put on the salad.”
Jesse answered for the pair. “It sounds delicious. We’d love to stay.”
“Great,” Sean said, then added “Okay, here’s what I’ve come up with. I think we can attack this on two fronts. One, we can subpoena Mr. Scribner to sit for a deposition. That will get his attention if nothing else. Secondly, we need to get our hands on one, your computer, and two, the e-mail interchanges between Judy and Jenny for the period beginning when Jenny found out her daughter lost out on the internship to Josh and ending a couple days after you were fired.”
“Okay,” replied Alex, “but what is the purpose of seizing my computer and some e-mails?”
“I want Robbie or someone else with some serious computer expertise to examine your computer. Jenny alleged that you sent her two e-mails. Since the e-mail was sent from your work e-mail account, it had to be sent from either your work computer or your mobile phone. Those are the only two places you access your work e-mail, right? You don’t have it set up to access on your home computer or anywhere else, correct?”
“That’s correct.”
“So, the e-mail was sent from one of those two devices. We need to try to prove it was sent from your work computer, then demonstrate that you were in Kansas City when the second e-mail was sent.”
“Okay,” said Alex, “but I checked work e-mail more than once after Robbie and I discovered I still had access. Those two e-mails don’t show up in my sent items, or in the deleted e-mail files.”
“Jenny probably thought she’d covered her tracks well,” Sean mused. “But I’m pretty sure from what Robbie told me is that he may be able to recover the e-mail and do some computer forensics to determine if the e-mail was sent from your work computer.”
“Okay,” said Alex, “even if we do prove the e-mails came from my work computer, we still need to prove that I was out of town at the time the second e-mail was sent.”
“Alex,” interjected Jesse, “there should be plenty of ways to do that.”
“You are correct,” Sean said, before adding, “we can see about getting security footage from the hotel, for example. Or looking to see when and where you used your credit card.”
“What about traffic cameras?” suggested Alex.
“Alex, I think that would be looking for a needle in a haystack,” replied Jesse. “Plus, you weren’t driving, so it wouldn’t be your car. And even if you did get pictures of Rhys’s car, you probably wouldn’t be able to be recognized inside the vehicle.”
“I know,” said Alex excitedly as he pulled out his phone, “I’ve got auto insurance where they track my driving to see if I’m a good driver.” He opened the insurance company app, then showed Jesse and Sean the statistics, including a map of the route, for each vehicle trip he’d taken over the previous several weeks.
“Will that be good enough, though?” asked Jesse. “It may prove your phone was in Kansas City, but not necessarily you.”
“Every little bit helps,” replied Sean. “We need to build up a case so strong that anyone who looks at the evidence will see that the story we’re going to present is the truth.”
Alex nodded dejectedly.
“Alex,” said Sean, “don’t get down. We’re going to prove one way or another that you didn’t do what you’re accused of doing.”
“Well, let me ask you this,” Alex said. “Even if we can prove I was out of town when the second e-mail was sent, and we can prove that it wasn’t sent from my phone, that still doesn’t prove anything about the first e-mail, much less the handwritten note.”
“Both e-mails appeared to be sent during the evening, when the office was otherwise unoccupied, right?” asked Jesse. Alex nodded in reply. “Well, you’ve got key card access to your building, don’t you?” Alex nodded once again. “I think those key card swipes get registered somewhere, so you might be able to see what time someone entered the building. I think they might even be able to tell which key card was used to enter!”
“I think you’re right, Jesse,” replied Sean. “I’ll check with Robbie to see if he knows for sure. Even if he doesn’t, it shouldn’t be hard to determine if you’re right. Those are some other records we will need to subpoena if that’s the case.”
“Wow,” said Alex, “if we could prove that the key card used to enter the building right before those e-mails were sent belonged to Judy or Jenny, that would go a long way to proving my innocence.”
“And you didn’t lose your key card, or let someone borrow it recently, have you?” queried Jesse.
Alex shook his head in reply, then said, “Oh my God! I don’t know why I didn’t think of it earlier, but I still have my key card. Robbie commented that Scribner didn’t know how to fire people. They sure should’ve asked my key card back!”
“The events that surround your firing seem to get even weirder,” Jesse commented.
“It’s possible that they just de-activated your card, though,” mused Sean. “It does seem weird to not demand you return it when you were fired, but maybe that’s Scribner’s standard operating procedure.”
“But what about the handwritten note?” asked Alex. “There won’t be any record of when that was sent, and it did look quite similar to my printing. It was close enough that any untrained eye could easily conclude I wrote it. It fooled even me for a couple of seconds.”
“If push comes to shove, we find a handwriting expert to evaluate the note and compare it to your writing.”
“This is going to cost a pretty penny, isn’t it?” Alex questioned.
“Not over the top, Alex,” replied Sean. “Besides, the costs should be paid by the losing party. Plus, you’re a friend, Alex. A friend who was wronged. I’m not charging a penny. So, as for costs, they’ll be just for small things, Alex. Like paying for a handwriting expert, if necessary.”
“We just need to make sure you’re the winning party,” Jesse added.
“Thanks, Sean, but I’d be happy to pay for your time and expertise.”
“Nonsense, Alex. This is totally gratis.”
After a brief lull in the conversation, Sean spoke again. “Here’s something I should have asked before, Alex,” he said. “What is your end game here? How much money are you looking for? What, to you, would constitute a victory?”
“I’m not looking for a monetary payout, if that’s what you’re asking, Sean. I want my job back, I want Jenny gone, and I’d like both an explanation and an apology from Peter Scribner. That’s it.”
“Okay, but I think you could get quite a hefty settlement, Alex. At least think about it.”
“I have already, Sean. I just want my life back to the way it was. My life was pretty close to perfect, at least for me. I’ve got two wonderful children, a boyfriend who’s awesome in every way, a whole bunch of new friends, and I had a job that I loved. I’d be more than happy to have things back to the way they were, just so I receive an explanation and apology from Mr. Scribner. You know, Sean, that I’ve worked there for over thirty years, right? I’ve worked there nearly as long as my boyfriend has been alive. If I didn’t love my job, I’d have gotten a new one by now.”
“They must’ve done something right,” replied Sean. “I can’t imagine working at the same place for thirty years.”
“I’ve been thinking,” said Alex, “and I want to know if what I think I’d like to do is a good idea or not.”
“Okaaay,” Sean said, dragging out the ‘a’ sound.
“You’ve already made it sound like it’s a bad idea, and you don’t even know what it is,” replied Alex.
“C’mon, Alex. Just spit it out,” Jesse said.
“Okay. As I told you, I’m the only one who does work for Blue Mountain Group, and Phil Bowers, the head of Blue Mountain, called Friday afternoon, upset over the first of six reports he was supposed to receive. I was thinking maybe I should call Phil and let him know what’s up.”
“Let me think on that one, Alex,” replied Sean.
The three sat silently for a time before Sean commented, “I didn’t necessarily mean we should wait while I think on it immediately, guys.”
“I’m content to wait,” Alex replied.
Sean shook his head and rolled his eyes in response, as Jesse worked to suppress a giggle.
Two more minutes passed before Sean spoke again. “I guess it’s okay, Alex. I’m just not quite sure why you’re wanting to call him, though.”
“Well, I just feel like I owe him an explanation.”
“No,” Sean commented, “your former employer owes Blue Mountain an explanation.”
“I’m still hoping my current employer.”
“Alex, what does this Blue Mountain Group do, anyway?” asked Jesse.
“They’re a REIT,” Alex responded. Alex noticed Sean nod in understanding, but it was clear that Jesse had no idea what Alex was talking about.
“That’s shorthand for Real Estate Investment Trust, Jesse,” explained Alex. “In a nutshell, they buy up commercial real estate, then do a sale-leaseback.”
“Sorry, Alex, I still don’t understand.”
“No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed you’d understand lingo specific to my profession. I’ll try to do a better job of explaining. Let’s say you own a bunch of widget stores. You need some cash so you can expand your widget empire into more cities by opening even more widget stores. Well, you’re a widget expert, but not a real estate expert. Yet here you are, owning a bunch of stores. What a REIT does is buy your stores from you, then lease them back to you. You’re paying rent to the REIT now because you don’t own the stores anymore. I don’t know all the financial ins-and-outs, but apparently everybody makes money doing this. Some REITs have portfolios that are a general mix of different types of commercial properties, like Blue Mountain Group. Other REITs specialize in certain types of commercial real estate, say, hotels, or restaurants, or shopping centers.”
“Got it,” commented Jesse. “But why were they so impatient with the reports?”
“I’m not 100 percent sure, Jesse,” said Alex, “but most likely their due diligence period was up as of Friday and they’re supposed to close on the deal first thing Tuesday. I guess that’s one reason I’d like to talk to Phil. If they decide to go ahead with the acquisition, even though they don’t have a full picture because they don’t have our reports, they could be making a big mistake. One of the properties will cost them an arm and a leg if they acquire it…the building is in serious need of structural repair, the pavement is crap, the roof leaks, there’s both water and mold in the basement, and that’s not even mentioning the possible environmental problems. It looks like the property has a methane issue, too, because it’s sitting on fill material over an old wetland. Worst case scenario is the building could either collapse because of structural deficiencies, or it could blow up due to methane accumulation.”
“Okay,” said Sean, “I now understand why you feel the need to talk to Blue Mountain. You’ve got an ethical obligation to notify them of the serious problems. I get it, and yes, you should give them a call.”
“Thanks, Sean,” replied Alex. “I don’t know if Phil has plans for the holiday weekend. I’ll give him a call on Monday afternoon.”
-----
Saturday evening, after Jesse and Alex returned to his house, Alex told Jesse that he’d been thinking about having a rummage sale. “There’s lots of things here that I no longer use. Heck, there are quite a few things I have never used. Now, if you’re going to be moving in, I need to clear some of this stuff out. You won’t have room for your things otherwise. Plus, I don’t know how long I’m going to be unemployed. This might give me some much-needed cash for paying the bills.”
Though the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend had been a pleasant one, mother nature let Iowa know that summer was on its way. Both the temperature and the humidity soared on Sunday. The forecast for Memorial Day was more of the same.
On Sunday morning, Jesse, Alex, and his two children went to church, then to brunch. Both Cameron and Charlotte agreed that a rummage sale was a good idea, as they also had items that were no longer needed. When they returned to the Kimball house, all four began to sort through things. Items rapidly multiplied, and the four soon realized that the few boxes they’d planned to use for storing things were not nearly enough. Alex spread a tarpaulin on the floor in the garage, and they began to accumulate more items there once the boxes were filled.
“You know,” said Jesse, “I really have to go through my things, too. I’m sure there are plenty of things I don’t want to move here.”
“Well, move them here so you can include them in the rummage sale,” Alex replied.
“What do you think we should do with all the furniture in my apartment?” asked Jesse.
“Why don’t we go through your apartment and think about the furniture. You probably have some things that we could use and get rid of mine.”
“No matter if it’s my furniture or yours, Alex, there’s going to be extra.”
“Well, I guess we can first sell what we can at the rummage sale. I’m planning on sending most everything that doesn’t sell to St. Vincent de Paul, so we could do that with the extra furniture, too. Or we could use a corner of the garage or the basement for storage and keep those things that Charlotte or Cam might need when they move into their first apartment after college.”
By Sunday evening, both Cam and Charlotte had finished going through their things. Alex felt as if he’d barely started. In addition, Alex had ordered several yards of bark mulch for the landscaping beds back in April but had forgotten all about it until a load of mulch was dumped onto the driveway on Friday afternoon. Alex asked Cam if he could spread some of the mulch on Monday. Charlotte helped Alex and Jesse briefly in the morning but had to go to her summer job in the afternoon.
By mid-day Monday, Alex was happy with the amount of room he made in his closet for Jesse’s things. The linen closet had been purged, and all manner of things were thrown out. The coat closet in the living room had also been decluttered. While Cam continued to work outside, Alex and Jesse brought up all the Christmas decorations from the basement and began to sort them into ‘keep,’ ‘discard,’ and ‘sell’ piles in the living room.
A little past twelve, Alex told Jesse it was time to take a break. Jesse decided to wander outside and see how the mulch spreading was going. Alex used the time to give Phil Bowers a call.
“Hi Phil, this is Alex Kimball from Scribner. I’m sorry to bother you on Memorial Day. How are you?”
“Hello, Alex,” came the icy response. “I think I need to be asking you the questions. Just what the hell is going on?”
“Let me explain, Phil, at least as much as I can, because I don’t fully understand what’s going on, either.”
Phil patiently listened as Alex explained what had happened. He, too, was shocked by the allegations.
“That’s preposterous. What the hell is Peter thinking? I really think I’m going to call him up tomorrow morning and read him the riot act.”
“Please, Phil, don’t do that,” said Alex. He briefly explained what ‘his lawyer’ had said, and that they were still formulating a plan to proceed but wanted everything to be as much a surprise as possible. Phil understood and agreed not to contact Peter Scribner. Alex then told him about his concerns over one of the properties.
“Alex, thank you for warning me about the one property,” said Phil, “but we pulled the plug on the deal Friday afternoon, when it was clear your reports, well, the one report I did receive, was not exactly up to your usual standards.”
“Oh, God, I’m sorry that I’m the cause of your deal going south.”
“Don’t worry about it, Alex. I was getting cold feet on the deal, anyway. I don’t even know why we considered these properties to begin with, since they don’t fit well into our portfolio. The properties were pretty low-traffic, low-volume stores. Our ROI was going to be marginal at best. So, everything worked out fine on our end. The only problem now is on your end.”
Alex thanked Phil for his understanding and patience, and they traded a few niceties before hanging up. Alex hadn’t been off the phone much more than a minute when it rang again. “Hi, Phil,” he answered, “what’s up?”
“You know, Alex, this thought occurred to me just as we disconnected, so obviously I haven’t thought through how everything would work, but would you be interested in coming to work with me?”
“Uh, oh, my gosh, Phil. I…I don’t know what to say.”
“Well, think about it and let me know if you’re interested. If you are, I could see if I could carve out a spot here for you at Blue Mountain.”
“Do you have enough work to keep me busy full time, though?”
“I’d probably do some rearranging to give you a few more hats to wear, Alex.” Alex then heard Phil chuckle. “I’m sure you’d end up with some new responsibilities. But I really don’t think we need to farm your services out to a consultant as we have been doing. I think we could keep more of the due diligence work in-house.”
“But would you want me to relocate to California?”
“I’d definitely prefer it, Alex. Aren’t you tired of Iowa winters? The weather is much nicer in Santa Monica than in Des Moines, come wintertime. I guess, though, that we could work something out. You know what I’m fond of saying, right?”
“Yes, Phil. Everything’s negotiable.”
“You got it.”
Alex, Jesse, and Cameron went out to grab a bite to eat, where a rather excited Alex summarized his telephone conversation, including the job offer, though he didn’t know the true scope of the job he’d been offered. The more he talked about the job, though, he realized that, unless a clearer picture of his duties emerged, that he would be just too uncomfortable to accept. By the end of the meal, Alex was again in a bit of a sullen mood.
The three then returned to their tasks, with Cam headed to the mulch pile and Jesse and Alex to the Christmas decorations that were spread across the living room floor, end tables, and couch.
Jesse had just gotten up to go to the kitchen when Jesse’s phone, which was sitting on an end table in the living room, began to ring.
“Hey, Jesse, your phone’s ringing,” Alex called. “Should I answer?”
“Could you see who it is?”
Alex glanced at the phone. The caller display said, simply, “Ry-Ry.”
Alex swallowed hard, then replied, “Umm, it’s ‘Ry-Ry’.”
All manner of thoughts were suddenly flying through Alex’s mind. ‘Ry-Ry? Is that the nickname of Jesse’s ex? No, it couldn’t be! But who else would ‘Ry-Ry’ be?’
Jesse hesitated before responding, “No, let it go to voicemail.”
Alex did as Jesse asked, but disturbing thoughts, one after the other, began to consume him. ‘Oh, God, no. No! Jesse’s going to leave me, isn’t he?’ He remembered that cold, damp, December day in Pratt when Jesse had told Alex how Ryan had such a spell over him that he wasn’t sure he could ever resist him, should Ryan come back into his life. ‘C’mon, Alex, you’re overreacting. ‘Ry-Ry’ might not be Ryan. ‘Ry-Ry’ might not even be a man at all.’
Alex glanced back at Jesse’s phone before Jesse returned from the kitchen. ‘Ry-Ry’ had left a voicemail.
Alex willed himself not to overreact, but it was becoming harder and harder to do. Jesse, too, felt a need to compose himself before heading back into the living room. ‘Why is Ry-Ry calling me after all this time?’ he thought. After willing himself to settle down, he returned to the sea of Christmas decorations. He noticed that Alex suddenly seemed preoccupied. Fortunately, Alex was so distracted that he didn’t notice Jesse’s own sudden state of discomfort and distraction. “Are you doing alright, Alex?” Jesse asked.
“Uh, yeah, I guess I’m just getting tired.”
“Panicked is more like it,’ Alex thought to himself.
“Well,” replied Jesse, “why don’t we finish up these boxes, put them away either in the basement or the garage, and call it a day. It’s starting to get late.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
They packed the boxes in silence, with the ‘keep’ decorations going back to the basement, the ‘sell’ decorations to the garage, and the ‘discard’ decorations into a trash bag. It was a good thing that garbage pickup would be in the morning. Alex’s rubbish cart was already full.
Once the living room had been cleared of decorations, Alex and Jesse sat down to relax. Moments later, Cam entered the house, announced he was done for the day, and headed upstairs to shower.
“So, are you going to stay tonight?” Alex asked Jesse.
“You know, I think I’m going to pass tonight, Alex. It’s work for me tomorrow, and I know there are a few things that I need to take care of at home, too.”
Dejectedly, Alex nodded. The two stood, hugged, and gave one another a quick goodbye kiss. Jesse picked up his phone from the end table as the two said their final farewells. Alex closed the door behind Jesse, then watched through the window as Jesse walked to his car, looking at his phone as he did so. He then unlocked his car and sat in the driver’s seat. Before he even started the car, Alex saw Jesse put the phone to his ear. No doubt listening to the voicemail left by ‘Ry-Ry.’
Posted 1 March 2025