“The LLC.”
“Really?” I swiveled my chair away from my desk. “Is that even a thing? How do you settle something like this?”
He chuckled. “With money, what else? They’re offering you a hundred thousand dollars to withdraw your lawsuit.”
“That property is worth a lot more than that.”
“I think it’s a reflection of how much equity is actually in the house. In any case, it’s a starting point for negotiation. I think we’re in a pretty good position. The fact that they responded with a proposed settlement is a positive sign.”
“How so?”
“It signals that they want this matter settled sooner rather than later,” Nasser said. “I could tell them to double the offer.”
“Double?” I shook my head even though he couldn’t see me. “This is not about the money. Does the LLC have a lot of assets?”
“Nope. Just the house, according to Perkins, the lawyer for the LLC.”
“Do you have the operating agreement yet?”
“Not exactly. The settlement is contingent on your taking the money and going away.” He paused. “They don’t want to show you the operating agreement.”
“No deal,” I said immediately. “The whole point of taking legal action was to see that document. Do you still think Ali had nothing to hide?”
“Does it really matter now?” he asked gently. “You could put two hundred K to good use. Invest it. Spoil yourself and take some fantastic vacations. Pay for Adam’s wedding.”
Itwasa lot of money. But the idea of never knowing the truth about Ali, Carol Darius, and that house would eat at me for the rest of mylife. “I need to know what they’re hiding. Why are they willing to pay a hundred thousand dollars for me to go away?”
“That’s a valid question.”
The doorbell rang. It was probably Jake with Ali’s things from the office. “I have to go.” I walked into the front hall. “There’s someone at the door.”
“OK. I’ll tell Perkins that any settlement has to include giving you access to the operating agreement.”
Jake smiled at me when I opened the front door, but behind the friendly expression, I sensed that same watchfulness as before.
“Here you go,” he said, stepping inside the foyer to set a single box down. I hadn’t invited him to come in, but he was obviously trying to be nice. He also carried one of Ali’s suits on a hanger covered in plastic. “This was on Ali’s office coatrack.”
I nodded and took it from him, trying to keep my emotions under control. “He wore it to work that last day. He spilled some coffee on the lapel and changed at the office. Ali always kept a fresh suit at work, just in case.” I folded the suit over my arm, resisting the urge to hug it to my chest and see if it still smelled of my husband.
Desperate for a distraction to avoid bursting into tears, I set the suit aside and focused on the box.
“It’s just the one box?” Ali had worked at the firm for a decade. I expected a little more junk. “Is that all there is?”
“That’s what they gave me,” he said half apologetically. “Were you expecting more?”
“Not really, I guess.” I thanked him. “Everyone has been so nice. Including people I’d never met who were friends of Ali’s. Some from way back.”
“I hope not too far back,” he said lightly. “Some people should stay in the past if you ask me.”
It was an odd thing to say. “What do you mean?”
“Nothing. I’m being silly.” He chuckled. “I’d hate for my old girlfriends to come out of the woodwork after I’m gone.”
I searched his face. Was he insinuating that he knew about Carol Darius? “Why?” I asked. “Did Ali mention an old girlfriend to you?”
“What?” The laughter died quickly in his eyes, and he looked away. “No. No, of course not. All the man ever talked about was you and the kids.”
Uneasiness shivered through me. There was an aura around Jake, that watchfulness, that sense that he was hiding something, that made me uncomfortable. So I backed away. “I shouldn’t have asked that. I’m sorry.”
