Jon Bostoff stared at the lawsuit summons on his desk. The plaintiff was Date Magic dot com, Inc., and the defendant, Bostoff Securities. The bad news did not end there. Next to the lawsuit summons was a subpoena from the SEC, requesting details on all trading activity in Date Magic dot com, Inc. conducted by Bostoff Securities since the IPO listing. A copy of the New York Post added insult to injury: the article covering the lawsuit against Bostoff Securities was prominently displayed on the front page.
Already Jon’s cell phone was overcome with voice messages from newspaper reporters, asking him to comment on the lawsuit. This could not have happened at a worse time. The charity sports tournament Jon had asked Paul to put together to raise Bostoff Securities’ corporate profile was to take place next week, but now, the negative publicity would make it look like a sham.
It was twelve o’clock in the afternoon on Friday. Leave it to the lawyers and regulator snoops to ruin the weekend. Jon had received the summons and the subpoena in the morning and left the office immediately. He needed to consider the bad news calmly in the privacy of his home. The reality of the situation was still sinking in. At first, Jon had thought that this was some kind of joke. What reason could a company ridiculously named Date Magic have to sue Bostoff Securities? Slowly, the name began to ring a bell, but he still could not quite place it. Then David Muller’s words from Jon’s last meeting with Emperial’s honcho surfaced in his mind: “An online dating site going public! Their offering price is thirty-five dollars! I’d say the true price level should be somewhere at ten, don’t you think? Bulls get rich, bears get rich, but pigs get slaughtered. Well, the dumb hogs who invested in this crackpot of an IPO belong in a slaughterhouse.”
Jon Bostoff buried his face in his hands. Now, he felt like he was the one being dragged to a slaughterhouse. David Muller and his hedge fund cronies had orchestrated the trading schemes, but Bostoff Securities was being sued, while Muller continued wreaking havoc on the markets. Granted, Bostoff Securities had received handsome fees for handling Muller’s trades. Just yesterday, the hefty revenue stream had been a source of tremendous pride to Jon, but now, it caused him immense worry. The worst part was that this could be only the tip of the iceberg, with more lawsuits waiting in the wings. Date Magic was just one of the many stocks that Muller had manipulated.
Jon lifted the phone receiver. He needed to talk to Wyman. Wyman would find a way to get him out of this mess. Jon cursed under his breath: Wyman’s fees were steep. Most likely, Wyman would end up siphoning all of the extra dough Jon had made on Emperial’s transactions. Jon frowned. The legal complications were not the only difficulties he was facing. He had already committed most of the funds received from Emperial’s trading to a ski chalet in Vail, Colorado: he had put in a deposit and signed the contract last week, with a tentative closing date a month away. The chalet was meant to be a Christmas present for Candace. If he pulled out now, he would forfeit his deposit and be out two hundred grand. Jon clenched his teeth. He felt like a cornered animal.
Whatever happens, Candace must now know, he thought frantically. The possibility of his wife discovering his machinations made Jon red with shame. All he had ever wanted was to give Candace the life she deserved. How did it all go so wrong? Panic prickled his skin; this could be the end of everything he had ever dreamed of. No, he would not let it happen. He would fight until the very end, and most importantly, he would make sure that Candace would be spared his shame.
“Jon, are you there?” Candace’s voice rang downstairs. “Jon?”
Damn it, Jon cursed under his breath. Candace had said that she had a school trustee committee meeting. She was not supposed to be home so soon.
Jon took a deep breath in an attempt to regain composure. Candace must not suspect anything.
“Jon?” Candace’s footsteps were outside the door of his office. “Are you in there?” The door opened, and Candace stood in the doorway.
For a moment, Jon forgot all of his troubles, pausing to admire his wife. As always, Candace looked radiant: her blond hair was tied in a ponytail, she was dressed in jeans and a knit top, but even clad in this simple attire, she looked spellbindingly beautiful.
“I didn’t know you were going to be home early today.” Candace smiled. “You should have called me. I wouldn’t have gone out.” Her eyes fell on the papers on Jon’s desk, and her face clouded. “Trouble at the office?”
“Nothing of the kind.” Jon smiled confidently, his hand reaching across the legal papers in an attempt to sweep them into the bottom drawer of his desk, but he had been too slow – Candace was already standing by him, her eyes fixed on the lawsuit summons and subpoena.
“What’s going on, Jon?” Candace’s eyes widened. “You know that you can tell me anything, Jon.”
“It’s nothing, honey, just some legal nonsense. My lawyer will straighten everything out.” Jon felt the firm pressure of Candace’s hand on his hand and almost burst into tears under her knowing gaze. His wife was not only beautiful, she was incredibly intelligent. Did he really think he could fool her?