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KATE’S REPORT ABOUT her meeting with the movie producers couldn’t have been more positive. Of course, there was still a lot to be worked out, but she asked if Milt could recommend an entertainment attorney. There was no way she would enter into an option without having the agreement checked and then rechecked by someone who knew the movie business inside out. A friend of hers in San Francisco had recently learned a costly lesson when buying a travel agency for his wife. The man was a doctor and had his own accountant evaluate all the financials. It was a total disaster.
While everything looked fine to an accountant who specialized in the medical field, there were so many questionable transactions on the books that an accountant with travel agency experience would have picked them up immediately. What looked like a very lucrative business on the surface turned out to be a business hanging on for dear life. Bookings for the past year were in the millions, that was true. But commissions weren’t what they used to be years before and many agencies were now charging a fee to plan elaborate trips. Not this one.
What looked like large bookings to an average accountant, were actually ones that paid a pittance to the agency. Not only that, but some of them were from big clients who either were no longer clients, belonged to freelance travel agents and would follow their agent to another home in a heartbeat, or represented open billings that were way past due. When he finally had an auditor who knew the business look at the books, professional scrutiny uncovered why the business was barely covering bills, but by then it was too late. His investment disappeared into thin air.
“Of course I’ll have Milt recommend some attorneys and then you can choose the one you want to represent you. Anyone he turns you onto will be one of the best.”
“Thank goodness I know someone with connections,” she teased. “But then, it’s to your advantage for me to get a good deal. Like I said earlier, I will definitely cut you and Kim in for a percentage on whatever it comes to. The production company is interested in my whole story, though, not just our one caper. They’re fascinated with how that one experience allowed me to build such a successful business and become a well-respected Fraud Buster. In fact, that’s the working title they want to use for the project. Fraud Buster. One possibility is to do it as fiction and create a mystery based upon some of the dangerous situations I’ve gotten into and solved.”
She stopped and ran a hand through her auburn hair, tossing it in a sexy way. “Hmm. Maybe I need to get myself a superhero outfit with a big FB on the chest.”
Kim joined in. “Well, don’t let it go to your head Fraud Buster Woman. There’s no ink on the paper yet, and even when there is, it has to go from option to actually being produced. Although if it makes it that far, it sure will be fun for people to see how three amateurs brought down some master embezzlers. Thanks for keeping us in the deal.”
As soon as we finished getting pumped up over a possible movie deal, I laid out what had gone down when I burst into Tyler Cunningham’s office that afternoon. The more I told them, the more expressions of anxiety colored their faces. They couldn’t hide feeling afraid for me. Deep down I had a nagging feeling that Cunningham had someone with access to my office ready to pull another stunt.