A little stunned that the guy knew who he was, Ivo nodded back. “Thank you. You, too.” He frowned as he looked toward the tall building. “Do you know where I’m going?”
Ivo didn’t have a clue.
“Mr. Berkshire is expecting you. His office is on the tenth floor. Just check in with the receptionist in the lobby, and she can give you directions to his office.”
“Thank you.” Drawing in a deep breath, Ivo started toward the building. Once he stepped inside, he realized he was a bit more intimidated by the place than he’d originally thought. The place had high-vaulted ceilings and marble flooring, and everything seemed to be trimmed in gold. There were even security guards sitting behind a desk, their gazes following Ivo as he headed toward the elevators.
Ivo tried to look as if he knew where he was going and what he was doing. He didn’t have a clue, but decided not to ask the receptionist. How hard was it to find the tenth floor?
Ivo hit the button to take him to the waiting lawyer, then stepped to the back of the elevator when more people climbed on.
The heat of so many bodies pressed together had him sweating by the time they reached the tenth floor—stopping several times along the way. It took a large majority of Ivo’s courage to step past the last man in the elevator onto the tenth floor.
Ivo was anxious, his stomach whirling, worried that this meeting would change the whole course of his life. Logically, he knew he was being ridiculous, but he couldn’t make the feeling go away. He was headed to see a lawyer, after all. That thought alone kept the knot twisted tight in his stomach.
He smiled at the pretty brunette behind the receptionist’s desk. “Hello. My name is Ivo Koubek. I have a two o’clock appointment with Mr. Berkshire.”
“Yes, of course, Mr. Koubek. Mr. Berkshire is expecting you.” She smiled widely as she waved her hand toward the seats by the door. “Please, have a seat and I’ll inform him that you’ve arrived.”
Wow, she was perky.
“Thank you.” Ivo sent her a friendly smile before sitting down. He tried not to let his nervousness show as he waited. He didn’t sit there long. He barely got comfortable before he heard his name being called out.
“Mr. Koubek?” an older man dressed in a dark, expensive-looking suit asked as he walked out of the corridor to the left of the receptionist’s desk. Even his shoes looked expensive, and they were as polished as the marble flooring.
“Yes.” Ivo stood, then casually wiped his hand on his pants before shaking the extended hand. “Can you tell me why you wanted to meet with me?”
“Why don’t we talk in my office?” Mr. Berkshire stepped aside, extending an arm, indicating which way he wanted Ivo to go.
The guy seemed friendly enough, but Ivo was still worried.
Once they reached the man’s very posh corner office, Mr. Berkshire waved to one of the leather chairs in front of his glass-and-chrome desk. “Can I offer you something to drink? Some coffee maybe?”
“Do you have any water?” Ivo’s nervousness had dried out his throat. He was surprised dust wasn’t coming out of his mouth as he spoke.
“Yes, of course.” The man hit a button on his phone. “Darcy, please bring Mr. Koubek a bottle of water.”
“Right away, sir.”
“Now.” The man seemed even more imposing when he sat behind his large desk than he did when Ivo shook his hand. “Thank you for meeting with me so quickly. The matter I need to discuss with you is time sensitive.”
Ivo’s throat grew even drier. His heart thumped wildly in his chest at the many possibilities of why he was there. “Is someone suing me? Because I don’t have a lot of money, and—”
Mr. Berkshire held up his hand. “No, no, not at all. I apologize if I gave that impression.”
Ivo’s confusion grew as he frowned at the lawyer. “Then why am I here?”
“Do you know a Mr.MaxmiliánVítkovský?”
“Max? Yeah. He’s my next-door neighbor.”
Mr. Berkshire clasped his hands together and let them rest on the desk in front of him. “I’m sorry to say that Mr. Vítkovský passed two days ago.”
“Mr. Vítkovský passed away?” Ivo felt a pang in his chest from the loss of the older man who seemed to always be there. He played chess with Max almost every Sunday and had helped his neighbor with getting groceries and stuff. Max had been a nice old man. “How did he die?”
“Natural causes.”
Made sense. Max had been older than dirt. He had moved into the apartment down the hall from Ivo when Ivo was a child. Ivo had grown up listening to the stories Max told of his homeland, wishing he could visit the places Max described to him.
