“Can you take a percentage, instead of a fee?”
“Of course. If you’d prefer it I can do it on a contingency basis.” He certainly could! “I’d need a retainer, to apply against the contingency on the final settlement.”
“How do you think we’ll do in court?”
“Bernice, with a little luck, I don’t think we’ll ever see the inside of a courtroom. I would expect this to settle, and fairly quickly.”
“Stone,” she said, “are you telling me I’ve got Bernie by the balls?”
“Bernice,” he replied, “that’s a very good assessment of your position. And his.”
“Then let’s do it.”
Stone pressed a button on the phone. “Joan, will you please print out a copy of our standard contingency agreement and bring it in, please?”
“Yes, Mr. Barrington,” she replied meekly.
Bernice reached into her handbag, brought out a check and handed it over. “Will this do for a retainer?” she asked.
It was written on her and her husband’s joint checking account and was made out for a hundred thousand dollars. “That’s very generous, Bernice,” he replied, handing it to Joan as she walked in with the agreement. He explained the terms of the contingency agreement, while she nodded along, then she signed the document and Joan took it away to notarize.
Stone turned back to Bernice. “Have you thought about what you want in the way of a settlement?”
“I want the money I got in the sale of my business, the Fifth Avenue apartment, and the house in the Hamptons. He can have Telluride and the love nest on Park Avenue. And I want half of everything else.”
“I don’t think that’s unreasonable,” Stone said.
“And the everything else includes the bank account in the Cayman Islands.”
Stone’s eyebrows went up. “Do you have copies of the statements?”
“They’re in the bank file,” she said. “Oh, and you should know that Bernie didn’t pay taxes on what’s in that account.”
Stone’s heart leapt. “That’s good to know,” he said.
She rose to go, and he walked her to the front door. “I’ll call Bernie and arrange a settlement conference,” he said, shaking her hand and closing the door behind her. He walked back to Joan’s office. “You hotfoot it to the bank and get that check cleared before Bernie finds out she wrote it, and I’ll dictate a complaint as soon as you get back. I want him served first thing tomorrow morning.”
22
Stone walked into Elaine’s and sat down. Dino was already there with his usual Scotch, and Stone’s Knob Creek arrived immediately.
“You look like you had a good day,” Dino said.
“Why do you say that?” Stone asked, sipping the bourbon.
“Well, you have a smile plastered on your face, and you don’t seem to be able to make it go away.”
“Dino, nothing could make it go away.”
“All right, tell me.”
“Well, first of all, the lovely Celia and I had a very good evening together, which lasted until after breakfast.”
Dino sighed. “I don’t suppose you’ll give me details.”
“A gentleman doesn’t tell.”
“What else?”