“Yesterday. I feel a little safer with a big, noisy dog around.”
“Well, that thing is definitely noisy.” Nasser kept an eye onBinti. “She doesn’t seem very friendly.”
“She’s not a fan of strangers.”
“Do you know if she bites?”
“So far, she’s all bark and no bite.” I petted the dog vigorously. “It’s OK,Binti. Nasser is our friend.” I’d only hadBintifor twenty-four hours. She was very loving and followed me everywhere. The volunteer said she didn’t bite. I hoped she was right.
“Binti?” he asked. “As in ‘my girl’?”
“Believe it or not, that was already her name.” I pattedBintifor a couple more minutes until she calmed down, then led Nasser to the kitchen to pour us some iced tea.
“Here’s what they’re offering.” Nasser took a seat at the island. “They’ll agree to let you view the operating agreement provided you sign an NDA.”
“NDA?” I crossed my arms and leaned a hip against the counter. “NDA as in I can’t talk about anything that’s in the operating agreement?”
“Exactly. A nondisclosure agreement.”
“Fine,” I said immediately. “It’s not like I want to steal company secrets.”
“Signing a nondisclosure agreement means you can never speak about any names you learn as a result of what you see in the operating agreement,” he clarified. “That includes never telling anyone who owns the Durham house.”
“Who would I tell? It’s not like I want the world to know that my husband left a secret house to another woman.” I obviously didn’t want the kids to find out before I knew the whole story. If ever.
Ayla was already troubled enough. To learn that Ali had some sort of secret life would crush both her and Adam. Thank goodness the kids were away at school. If they were around full time, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to hide my doubts.
“What happens if I violate the terms of the NDA?” I asked Nasser.
“There’s a financial penalty. You’ll have to pay them fifty thousand dollars each time you violate the agreement.”
I whistled. “They really want to keep their secrets, don’t they?”
“What do you say?”
“I’ll do it.” I made an instant decision. “I’ll sign the NDA.”
“You’re sure?”
“Positive. I have to know who got the house and what’s up with the LLC.” Like was it created to hide the fact that Ali had a relationship with the woman who lived there? A woman who probably got the house. It burned me up that Ali had not only had a possible affair but that he’d alsousedourmoney to pay for her house. Especially considering how thrifty Ali was. A woman would really have to matter to my husband for him to spend that kind of money.
“OK,” Nasser said. “I’ll let Perkins know.”
“What about the cash?” I asked.
“What about it?”
“I still want it. Go ahead and ask for more, but I’ll settle for the hundred thousand dollars they originally offered.”
I registered the surprise in his voice. “I thought you didn’t care about the money.”
“It’s not what’s motivating me,” I explained, “but I’m not stupid enough to turn down a boatload of cash. Besides, I want it just in case.”
“In case of what?”
“You’ll see,” I answered. “But hopefully it won’t come to that.”
It took another couple of weeks to hammer out a deal with Fred Perkins. Fourteen days that seemed to last forever. I couldn’t stop wondering what else Ali might have bought for the woman in the secret house. Not knowing the whole truth gnawed at me. Everything felt like it was piling up.
