“I hope you won’t mind if I get some sleep,” Stone said, rolling over and pulling up the covers.

“Not at all,” Tiffany said. “I’ll let you know when you’re needed.”

And she did.

THE FOLLOWING MORNING, suffering from soreness, Stone called Herbie Fisher.

“Herbert Fisher’s office,” a female voice said.

“Good morning. It’s Stone Barrington.”

“Mr. Barrington, this is the receptionist. Mr. Fisher and his secretary are in a real estate closing at the moment. I’ll tell him you called.”

“Thank you.” Stone hung up, wondering what real estate sale Herbie was closing.

AN HOUR LATER, Herbie called. “Sorry about not taking your call, Stone.”

“Not at all, Herbie. What were you closing?”

“A new client of mine, High Cotton Ideas, bought an old building in SoHo for its headquarters.”

“Oh, this is Marshall Brennan’s software start-up?”

“One and the same. I’ve already got a construction crew in the building, making it habitable for a shiny new corporation.”

“Then you’re a full-service attorney.”

“You betcha.”

“I have good news, Herbie.”

“By the way, it’s Herb, remember?”

“Of course, negligent of me.”

“What’s the good news?”

“Mike Freeman called his friend, the attorney general, on your behalf and yesterday the U.S. attorney released your ex’s brokerage account. You may now do what you will with the money.”

“That’s great news, Stone. After what I’ve seen and heard downtown, I’m going to put it all into High Cotton Ideas. My client is so happy with my services that he has offered me an investment opportunity.”

“I won’t ask you for details, to avoid having to explain myself to the SEC after the IPO takes place.”

“You give yourself good legal advice, Stone.”

“I do, thank you. And you owe me a very good dinner for what I had to do last night on your behalf.”

“I think I know exactly what that means,” Herbie said, “and I take the position that your lack of virtue was its own reward.”

Stone hung up, laughing.

21

HERBIE OVERSAW the signing of the last of the closing documents, then invited Mark Hayes back to his office for a cup of coffee.

“How does it feel to own commercial real estate?” Herbie asked.

“It feels just great,” Mark said, “and I want to thank you for suggesting that I buy the building personally and lease it back to the company.”

“And I want to thank you for your invitation to invest with you,” Herbie said.

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Mark said. He took a notebook from his pocket and did some scribbling, then ripped out the page and handed it to Herbie. “That’s the number of my shares you’ll get for investments of one, two, or three million dollars.”

Herbie took a quick look at the numbers and made a quick decision. “I’ll do the three million. I’ll draw up the documents, move the money today, and have a cashier’s check for you tomorrow.”

Mark nodded. “I’m impressed that someone your age can come up with that kind of cash on short notice.”