“Nothing I can’t do,” I assured her. “And seriously, I’m happy to do it.”
“You and Slash are invited to the recital,” she said. “You know that, right?”
“I didn’t.”
My phone rang in my purse, and I dug through it. It was Diane from the bank.
“I have to take this,” I said to Darcy.
“Take your time, then come down for PB&J.”
Darcy left and I answered the phone. “Hello?”
“Hi, Brooklyn? Diane.”
“Hi, Diane.”
“Good news, we found the account where your loan payments were being diverted. We’ve gone ahead and applied the payments and adjusted the new balance on our end, and it’s already been reflected on your account.”
“Did you say the payments were diverted?” I repeated.
“Yes, into another account. We’re still not clear about how the funds got there, but it’s a bank matter and we will be investigating further.”
“Oh. Oh wow. Okay… Do I need to hire an attorney? I mean, that’s a pretty big deal…money just going somewhere it isn’t supposed to, isn’t it?”
There was a pause and then—“I don’t feel there’s a need for that. I’d greatly appreciate your discretion on the matter. We’ve been in business since nineteen thirty-four and we pride ourselves on our reputation. You can rest assured there is nothing wrong with your account, and all funds have found their way to the appropriate place.”
“I see,” I said. “So long as I don’t have any more issues, I won’t pursue this further.”
“Thank you.”
We hung up and I shoved my phone back in my purse. I was glad the issue was resolved, but there was still an air of mystery about it, and I didn’t like it.
I couldn’t outright prove Kurt Antol was involved, but I knew that he was. He wanted to buy my building, and I wouldn’t put it past him to use any means necessary to get what he wanted. Subterfuge, coercion, and outright manipulation. My instinct said to stay away from him, yet I still didn’t know how this was supposed to resolve.
Trying to figure out if Kurt was indeed responsible for all of this felt like a giant waiting game. I just hoped things didn’t come crashing down around me before I figured it out.
Chapter33
“Fizzy lemon or fizzy grapefruit?”Jazz asked, holding up both bottles.
“Grapefruit, please.”
She handed the bottle to me, and I popped off the top. We were in the bakery kitchen, about to get to work making dozens of cupcakes for Lily’s party.
“God, that’s good,” I said after I took a sip.
“Why is Duke still around if Slash is back in town?” she asked.
“Because Slash is still worried about me being here alone.” I sighed. “I wish I wanted to fight him more on it, but I actually see his point.”
“You agree with him?”
I nodded. “I heard from the bank. They found the money.”
“Well, that’s good, isn’t it?”
“It is,” I agreed. “But they’re still looking into how the money got diverted in the first place. I asked if I should’ve gotten an attorney, but the bank asked me to let it be since everything had been taken care of…”