Colleen pulled out a pen and notepad she’d brought from Phoenix and wasn’t sure what to write down.
Also, ‘an offer he couldn’t refuse’ sounded like Mafia. Maybe that was the reason people were shooting at him that morning?
Toledano raised his ginger eyebrows. “If you’re in trouble, I have to tell you that there are limitations on how much money we can transfer and not draw the attention of certain regulatory agencies that you don’t want to provoke.”
“It doesn’t matter what I want. I’m making arrangements to put together a large business transaction, and I’m going to need most of my holdings in cash to complete it.”
Colleen scribbled some notes even though she was pretty sure Tristan didn’t need to know what he had said.
Toledano began to fidget with the office accessories on his desk, lining up the stapler and some pens at right angles to his green desk blotter. “How much do you think you’re going to need to withdraw?”
“All of it.”
Toledano’s squeak was pure panicked mouse. “I can’t let you do that.”
“Let me do it? I said I need to withdraw the money I deposited here. I don’t need advice about it.”
“No, no, I meant that the money isn’t accessible at this time.”
Tristan squinted at him while Colleen scribbled notes. “Our plan was that the money I placed with you would be kept in easily liquidated securities. Stocks, shares, vehicles like that. Stanley said you would do that for us. Why isn’t my money easily accessible?”
Killian Toledano slid his hands off his office supplies and placed them in his lap, straightening and plastering a toothy grin on his face.
Colleen was instantly suspicious.
Toledano spread his hands like he was welcoming them to the table. “Of course! Of course, everything is just how we discussed it. There’s just a time horizon on some of the vehicles where I placed some of your investments.”
Colleen wrote down, time limit on investment vehicles?
Tristan asked him, “What kind of time horizons? These funds were supposed to be able to be liquidated at any time. That’s what we discussed.”
Toledano didn’t change his grin. “You also said that you had a three-year financial plan and wouldn’t be withdrawing it until then. My cousin, she had a real good opportunity, so I got you a cut of the action. You are going to make twice as much money with her as you would have with those chickenshit bond funds that your money was invested in.”
Colleen wrote on her notepad, Cousin?
“So get it back from your cousin,” Tristan told him.
“I would love to, you know, but she’s in a delicate situation right now.”
“She’s pregnant? What does that have to do with anything?”
“I didn’t mean she’s with child. I just meant that her business is in a delicate situation. We put the money into it, but it’s not paying off yet. Many businesses have a period of time before they become profitable. It’s all very normal business practice.”
Colleen could not stand it a second longer. “Are you a fiduciary? Are you acting as a fiduciary for the benefit of Mr. King at all times?”
Toledano looked between the two of them and answered with his eyes on Tristan, “I can act as a fiduciary.”
Colleen straightened in her chair. “What the hell does that even mean, you can act? Were you acting as his fiduciary when you loaned Mr. King’s money to your own cousin in this matter or not?”
“Well, I was acting as everybody’s fiduciary because it was a good deal for everybody.”
“I want to see the contract,” Colleen said.
Toledano smirked at her. “Why, are you an attorney? You look kind of young to be an attorney, sweetheart.”
Colleen refrained from throwing her pen at Toledano because she actually wanted to hogtie and brand him. “I’m a financial analyst.”
Okay, she was overstating her education by about two years, a bachelor’s degree, and a master’s degree, if not an MBA, but she could scare this guy. Tristan King didn’t seem to be jumping in to stop her, so she went with it. “I’m here to act as a fiduciary on Mr. King’s behalf since no one else here is. Now cough up that contract.”
