Читать книгу Lyza's Story: Book One of The Lane Trilogy - Vicki Inc. Andree - Страница 6

As Lyza’s jet descended into Nuremberg, she recalled enduring endless stories of how the grandparents she’d never known had died in a death camp in that godforsaken country. Now she planned to take advantage of some Germans. She rested in the thought that her deeds that day might result in a sweet surprise for Father. Her spirits lifted with the thought that neither her family nor the German government might ever discover her part in the deception that was about to take place. And if they learned about it later, after it was too late, it would be even sweeter.

She had four hours before her meeting. Her limo arrived to take her to the Sheraton Carlton. As they passed through the streets of Nuremberg, she pondered the significance of this city. The Nuremberg Trials and other war crimes trials had taken place in the Palace of Justice after World War II.

Nuremberg had symbolically provided the setting for the trials, and Lyza expected to get a little of her own justice today. Perhaps a little late, she would do her part to add to the collapse of the economy of the country that had allowed death camps.

In addition, the deal promised to be a one of her biggest. See Leesa top that! She pulled her mink coat around her. Father will be delighted. Her three-carat diamond ring caught a ray of sunshine and spread light across the limousine ceiling. Life is good. Her favorite ruby earrings matched her red designer miniskirt and black Dior blazer. They pulled up to the front of the hotel and the chauffeur jumped out to open her door. Lyza hurried past the doorman to the registration desk.

The uniformed man behind the desk greeted her. “Welcome to the Sheraton Carlton Hotel, Miss Lane. Your bags are in your room. My assistant, Max, will escort you to the penthouse. Have a nice visit in Germany. Please let us know if there is anything we can do for you.”

She turned toward the elevator. “Thank you. I will.”

Max punched the penthouse floor. “Did you have a good flight?”

She smiled. “Uneventful, and that’s always good.”

The elevator stopped outside the penthouse suite. Max held the door as she exited, then stepped in front of her to unlock the penthouse door. After he showed her around the suite, she handed him a tip and watched his eyes enlarge. Then she closed the door behind him, glad to be alone. After a short nap, a relaxing bath, and a light lunch, she changed for the meeting. The earrings with the fifteen-carat ruby pendant worked with the other red miniskirt she brought. The black Dior blazer would do. Her black stilettos with sparkling diamond chips finished the outfit. She opted for the shorter blond mink to show off her shapely legs. She was ready for battle. Bring it on!

***

Father patted Leesa’s shoulder. “I think the weekly meeting went well.”

She nodded. “Me, too.”

He flipped through several pages of notes, then looked up at her. “You did a great presentation. No one resisted the proposed reorganization. Let’s celebrate at the club.”

Leesa stood to leave, then sat back down. “I’d love to, but can we talk about the Norton deal?”

He tucked reports into his attaché case. “Is there a problem?”

Leesa avoided meeting his eyes. “Oh, no, nothing like that. I’m not sure how much the market will bear on this deal. With all the negative press on real estate these days, I’m afraid the asking price on this commercial property may be a deal-breaker. We meet for final negotiations tomorrow.”

He grinned and shook his head. “Leesa, Leesa, Leesa. I thought I taught you better. Don’t worry.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know as well as I do that price has little to do with this deal. Norton wants this property so bad he can taste it. Downtown ground is expensive, but he can afford it. Don’t let him sing you a sad song about the real-estate collapse. Prime real estate demands prime prices.” He leaned forward and patted her hand. “There’s no way you can mess up this deal, sweetie. Twenty million dollars is chump change to Norton. He needs a building as big as his ego.”

“I appreciate your confidence.” She smiled. “Since I can’t possibly mess it up, I guess I do have time for lunch.”

***

Lyza entered the glass-walled conference room. Surrounding the huge mahogany table were young attorneys, gray-haired consultants, and Mr. Klaus Müller of Müller and Sons.

Lyza extended her tiny hand. “Good afternoon, Mr. Müller.”

“Miss Lane.” Mr. Müller shook her hand. “I trust you had a good flight.”

“Oh, yes.” She took the chair next to him, placing her attaché case on the conference table in front of her. “Shall we begin?”

Mr. Müller introduced the others. “I’d like you to meet my attorney, Benjamin Schmidt. And this is Gretchen Marx, my personal secretary, and her assistant, Carol.” He pointed across the table. “Martin is the architect who will eventually head up the renovation of the property. This is his assistant, Jill, and her secretary, Jeff.”

Lyza nodded to the familiar figure entering the room. Elizabeth’s thick brown hair matched her dark leather briefcase.

“This is the attorney for the Lane European headquarters, Elizabeth James.” Elizabeth took her place in the empty chair next to Lyza.

Lyza glanced at Mr. Müller. “I believe everyone is present.”

He nodded.

Lyza stood. “Let me open the meeting by making sure each of you has a copy of the drawings and statistics.” She reported to the group that the property consisted of one hundred acres with seven buildings on the Pegnitz River near the Rhine-Main-Danube canal. Concrete parking lots and loading docks surrounded the three four-story buildings. Four smaller buildings sat on a tarmac allowing air transport of goods and materials.

She wound up her initial presentation by stating the obvious. “The beauty of the property is that it will accommodate both local and international distribution.”

“Excuse me, Miss Lane.” Mr. Müller pointed to a memo in his hand. “Is there any reason for us to confer with governmental authorities regarding international air traffic control?”

“Herr Müller, I believe it would be prudent to do so. I have not looked into it because I’m not sure I know your purpose for the property.” Her heart raced at her outright untruth; she knew why they wanted it. “I’m speaking of the potential of the property.”

“Of course, Miss Lane.”

“Now, if I can continue.” Klaus Müller would use the property to manufacture veterinarian drugs. The property included buildings on the Pegnitz River near the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal. She knew Mr. Müller would divert some chemical waste to the waters surrounding the property as the former occupants, pharmaceutical manufacturers, had done. Part of her plan was to alert governmental agencies after the sale—but reporting Mr. Müller’s indiscretions was for the future. Right now she had to concentrate on the subject at hand and close the deal.

“The mantra of real estate is location, location, location. In addition to river access for barges, you can see this property sits north of connecting roadways, allowing easy access for trucks. Each building contains the utilities needed for manufacturing. The layout, the offices, and the open floor spacing offer many choices.”

Lyza continued for the next forty-five minutes with details of the property. Everyone at the table leaned forward in rapt attention.

Finally, she closed. “That concludes my presentation regarding the property. Does anyone have any questions?”

Silence.

“Is there anything anyone here would like to discuss further?”

All eyes were on Klaus Müller.

“Ja, ja, ja, it is all exactly as you say.” Mr. Müller tapped his papers. “I have done some research through my friends here.” He motioned to those around the table. “As you say, a property with much potential. We must close the deal.”

“As you say.”

Lyza smiled. Cash or charge?

***

Leesa readied herself for the meeting with Norton. Father is right. This deal is personal, totally emotional. The man wants the property and Frank gets what he wants. She chose the bright yellow spaghetti-strapped Vera Wang sundress with black Burberry Ottoman coat and black five-inch platform pumps. A champagne diamond ring with matching earrings and pendant completed her apparel for the meeting. She collected the keys to her yellow BMW.

A beautiful California day greeted her. Light traffic gave her time to reflect on the lovely weather and on Norton. The man was old enough to be her father—actually, grandfather. His son was older than Leesa. Still one of the good ol’ boys, Frank was usually good-tempered and ready to party. He and Father often went golfing or fishing, so she was used to running into him now and then.

Leesa looked forward to the meeting, expecting to celebrate the day’s deal. What could be better? He wants the property. I want the sale. Simple. She parked the car beneath the Lane building and walked to the elevator where she ran into her Father’s old friend.

She smiled up at his gray mustache. “Oh, hello, Frank.”

He removed his Stetson, his gaze frozen on her mouth. “Well, there you are, little missy. This is my attorney, Joyce Lander.”

She pushed the button, and they entered the elevator. “It’s nice to meet you, Joyce.”

Joyce smiled and nodded.

Leesa turned back to Frank. “Our meeting is in the fourteenth floor conference room.”

“Well, how nice. Perhaps we could get started here.” He moved uncomfortably close, towering over her.

Leesa glanced at Joyce. The tiny young woman shrunk in the corner, looking at the floor of the elevator. Leesa tensed, but kept her tone lighthearted. “Now, Frank, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

He chuckled and backed off.

Men. Will they ever get over themselves? I wonder how Father would react to having one of his daughters hit on by his old golfing buddy. Then she recognized it as one of her own favorite ploys. Nice try, Frank, trying to rattle me before the negotiations.

Even aware of his intention, she felt uncomfortable leading him down the long hallway to the conference room.

Once settled, with the title company personnel in the room, Leesa relaxed. “Mr. Norton, I’ll get right to the point. Our price is nonnegotiable. The price of the property you asked us to investigate is twenty million dollars.”

Frank Norton triumphantly slammed his hand on the table. “I never intended to pay less than that for the property. Let’s get this deal done. Where are your lawyers?”

“Coming right up, Mr. Norton.”

As she leaned over to push the call button, Norton slapped her on the derrière and boomed, “Good job, Leesa.”

How dare he! She spun around to face him. “Who do you think you are?” She held up her hand. “Stop right now. As far as I’m concerned, this deal is over.” She stormed out of the room.

***

Back home after salvaging Frank Norton’s deal, Leesa could hardly wait for Lyza’s return. She texted Lyza to learn whether the Nuremberg deal closed and got a “+” reply.

She lingered in the library near the front entrance reading her ebook and bounced to the door when she heard it open.

“You’re home!” Leesa hugged her sister.

“I am.” Lyza sank into a nearby chair. “As real estate goes, it was a fabulous deal. You wouldn’t believe how stupid they were. We made a huge profit on this one.”

Leesa sat on the sofa across from her. “You must be exhausted.”

She sighed. “I am. They call them first-class seats, but I can never sleep on those long flights.” Then Lyza brightened. “But we need to celebrate. I’ll grab a nap and we can go out.”

“My thoughts exactly.” Leesa jumped up and grabbed her sister’s bag, and they headed for the staircase. “My deal went through with flying colors, but we can talk about all that later.”

Lyza yawned. “What time do you want to go?”

“Take at least three hours. Let’s leave about eight o’clock.”

After helping carry Lyza’s luggage upstairs, Leesa returned to her afternoon of reading, checking e-mails, and shopping on the Internet. She sought an unusual piece of jewelry to indulge in, her usual celebration after closing an important deal, but she couldn’t find anything captivating. Perhaps her usual jeweler could help her find something new. After all, something glitzy seemed an appropriate reward, particularly after putting up with Norton.

Leesa preferred diamonds. Yes, those sparkly, bright stones are a girl’s best friend. She pulled up the jeweler’s website. Immediately she disregarded the small grouped-type settings and browsed the jewelry with larger stones. Humming the tune to “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend,” she moved to rubies, then emeralds.

She looked at the tanzanite stones, and then jewelry with sapphires. Looking for more “fire,” she turned to opals. The red ones in particular especially reminded her of herself—soft, rare, precious, and beautiful. Before she knew it, it was time to get ready for an evening of fun and celebration. Already? Time flies when you’re shopping.

She strolled into her spacious closet, enjoying the luxury of leisurely preparation for a fun night out on the town. Dresses arranged by length and color lined one wall of the closet. Another wall displayed blazers, jackets, and business clothing. Jeans, casual tops, and sports attire occupied the third wall. In one corner, a stand held every kind of belt and boa imaginable. The island, completely covered with shoes, made matching outfits easy. Choosing a purple miniskirt with a sequined crop-top and matching heels, she entered the small room at the side.

Leesa changed and studied her outfit in the vaulted room’s floor-to-ceiling mirrors. Not perfect yet. She turned to the island of thick glass drawers that contained her collection of fine jewelry—even better than Lyza’s, in her opinion. Finding the perfect earrings, pendant, watch, ankle bracelet, arm bracelets, and rings would take some time.

***

In her own room, Lyza woke refreshed, and she glanced at the nightstand clock. She’d slept deeply for the past two hours and felt ready to party. Lyza quickly showered, then whipped through her closet, choosing the pink shift, matching shoes, and jewelry. Feeling festive, she added a light pink boa for fun.

At eight o’clock, Lyza watched her sister descend the stairs looking like something out of a fashion magazine. Lyza teased her sister by imitating Frank Norton. “You look fantastic, Miss Lane.”

“Ja, ja, so do you, my little missy,” Leesa echoed, imitating Klaus Müller.

Lyza giggled. “Oh, yes, Klaus Müller sounds exactly like that. And the ‘little missy’ stuff was so hilarious, trying to sound like an American from Texas.”

Through the laughter, Leesa gasped for air. “You should have been at my closing with Norton. You wouldn’t believe it. Let’s talk about it at dinner. Is the Willow River Grille in the Roosevelt Hotel all right?”

Lyza licked her lips. “I love their fish. Let’s do it.”

They hopped in their shared red Mercedes convertible, top down. Leesa drove while Lyza picked a CD, and they cruised into LA, music blaring as the twins sang along like teenage girls out after curfew.

At the restaurant, the valet took the car, and the women strolled into a packed house. The host seated them immediately. Lyza looked around to see familiar faces. These were her people. Not that she knew everybody in the room, but she recognized faces of people frequenting this and her other haunts. Most patrons were friends of her parents. Edith Hudson, host of the The Talk of the Town talk show, looked as if she’d come in off the beach, her blonde hair wind-tossed. Film producer Ted McKee and his family sat directly across the room. The distinguished mayor of Los Angeles sat at a round table on the patio with seven other men dressed in business suits; it looked like a working dinner.

Lyza ordered the best champagne on the menu. After the wine steward poured, she lifted her glass to toast her sister. “To success.”

Their glassed clinked and Leesa returned to the conversation of her closing with Norton. “You wouldn’t believe what that good ol’ boy did after we closed our deal. Norton had the nerve to…” She laughed. “It’s not funny, but now that I look back on it, maybe the guy has a sense of humor. More likely he’s just an old letch. Lyza, he slapped me on the rear! Can you believe it?”

“You have to be kidding.” Lyza couldn’t help grinning. “I mean, does the guy not know that cavemen are out of style?”

Leesa grimaced. “Evidently he didn’t care.”

Lyza set her drink on the napkin in front of her. “Well, what are you going to do about it?”

“I reprimanded him in front of his attorney, then our attorneys came in. I made them wait ten minutes before I went back into the room. He apologized right there in front of his attorney, our attorneys, and the secretary. His face was bright red, and he actually stammered his apology.”

Lyza’s eyebrows shot up. “Old man Norton stammering? That must have been a sight to see.”

Leesa wiped at a drop of champagne on her chin. “Then he said it wouldn’t happen again. I had to wonder what his woman attorney puts up with.”

“He has a woman attorney?”

Leesa nodded and looked around for their waiter. “Oh, yes. I e-mailed her this afternoon. I told her she didn’t have to work for a letch like Norton; after all, she’s an attorney, for heaven’s sake. Turns out, he’s her uncle. She told me she had to work for him for three more years because he paid for her schooling and that was part of their agreement. One day he’s going to mess up and she’ll get the courage to leave. Anyway, I think she enjoyed watching him grovel as much as I did. I let him stew a few minutes before I told him it had better never happen again.”

Lyza frowned. “You forgave him? You are such a softie.”

Leesa held her hands up. “You should have seen him. He held up both his hands, like it was a stick up, and begged me. He kept saying, ‘It won’t, it won’t—I promise. It will never happen again.’ I finally accepted his apology, signed off on the deal, and left.”

“So you completed the contract, that’s good.” Their waiter appeared, and Lyza stopped talking. She chose the fish of the day with house salad, and Leesa duplicated the order.

Leesa leaned forward. “Your turn. What happened in Nuremberg?”

As the waiter served them, Lyza down played the drama of the negotiations in Germany. “Smooth sailing. In fact, it turned out easier than I thought it would. The attorneys had already worked everything out, and it was a matter of the presentation and signing the papers.”

Leesa picked up her salad fork. “You mean you had no objections, no walls thrown up at the last minute?”

Lyza winked. “Not at all. Piece of cake. In fact, I enjoyed it. We are lucky, just incredibly lucky, aren’t we?”

Lyza put up her hand for a high five.

Leesa grinned. “We are the luckiest people in the world.”

Their hands slapped together over their salads.

Lyza sipped her champagne as her eyes stared into the space between them. “I’d love to do about a hundred more deals like that one in Germany.”

Leesa tilted her head. “What do you mean by that?”

Lyza took a bite of her fish. “Oh, never mind. Let’s talk about your deal.”

Their conversation went on all evening. They talked about their deals, the office, and shopping. Finally, the restaurant emptied, and the twins prepared to leave. After their two bottles of champagne, Lyza decided they should take a taxi back. Cook could send the butler to pick up the car in the morning. Once in the taxi, they leaned back on the seat and closed their eyes.

“We should do a shopping trip,” Leesa suggested sleepily. “Let’s take the week off and go to Paris or New York and find something to wear to the benefit. I’ll cancel the Monday morning meeting. What do you think?”

Lyza looked over at Leesa. “What a great idea. I’m all for it.”

Then Lyza watched Leesa’s eyes reluctantly close again. Her rhythmic breathing deepened.

“Okay, then—Paris,” Lyza whispered to herself.