I don't know how we missed them coming into the dining room, but somehow, by the time Ginny and I had finished drinking at the bar, everyone was seated at the table. As we walked over I spied the older gentleman, dressed to the nines, sitting with a woman who must have been his wife, also dressed expensively. This must have been the derivatives guy who Eric was talking about.
When we arrived at the table, everyone stood. Imogen and I walked over to Eric and Shannon to say hello. I gave Shannon two air kisses and Eric a good handshake. Imogen provided air kisses to both.
"Max, I want to introduce you to Lee Endicott, Principal of Endicott Financial."
Mr. Lee Endicott extended his hand, which housed a solid gold Rolex on his wrist and a gold class ring with a maroon stone. I rarely, if ever, wear a watch. But when I do, I wear it on my left wrist. I'm left-handed. I never really thought about it before. Something just struck me as odd about his wrist selection. Regardless, I shook his hand.
"Mr. Endicott," I said. "Pleasure."
"Please, Lee. And it is nice to meet you as well, Max," he said.
"Let me introduce my wife, Imogen," I said.
Imogen, standing next to me, shook his hand. We were also introduced to his wife, Tori, whom we greeted, expressed our pleasure at meeting her as well, and then we all sat down.
Imogen immediately started talking to Shannon. The men were seated in a semi-circle on one side of the table, the women on the other. I was next to Lee. So I could get the full court press. As if I would write this man a two million dollar check by the end of the meal.
"Max, you need a drink," Eric said. "Wine?"
There was a bottle of red on the table. Eric had a full glass in front of him. Lee had a glass of white. This wasn't going to be a scotch dinner.
"I'll take a glass of red," I said, noticing the white off to the side of the table in a silver cooler.
Eric poured, I watched, and Lee sat. The ladies were chatting, engrossed in their own conversation. Imogen, the ringleader.
"So, Eric tells me you're retired," Lee said.
"You can't believe everything you hear," I said. "I'm, well, taking some time to explore some new opportunities."
Nice and vague. Word hadn't gotten out yet that Imogen and I had started our own private investigation firm. It would soon enough, but I was in no rush to leak the word around here yet. There'd come a time for that, but it would be after we had solved Carl's murder.
"Don't let him fool you, Lee, he's loaded," Eric said.
Nothing like subtlety. I took a sip of my wine. Lee just played it cool, pretending to ignore Eric's comment. But he looked like the kind of man who was drooling inside at the news.
"Doesn't look like either one of you are doing too poorly yourselves," I said.
Lee took a sip of his wine. His grey, straight hair was perfectly combed. He had it styled going straight back, like an aged 1980's stereotype of a Wall Street stockbroker. I half expected him to pull out a giant brick of a cell phone. If he had on suspenders, I might have called off the dinner.
His light blue-eyed gaze turned toward me. "So, Max, you worked in finance?"
"I owned a venture capital firm. It was all about investing in start-up technology companies. I never worked on Wall Street. I couldn't tell you a stock from an option from a derivative if you put a gun to my head."
Lee laughed. Eric just sipped his wine and listened. He must have been promised some sort of cut if he reeled me in. He seemed too intent on what Lee and I had to say.
"Funny, Max. You and I are sort of in the same business. But instead of companies, I look for financial vehicles to invest in. Same risk, I suppose. But my returns have been stellar. So I guess you could say that I've managed to find a way to minimize the risk and maximize the upside return."
I sipped my wine then smiled. I loved when people tried to make me feel comfortable by drawing parallels to my own life. It never worked. In fact, it kind of put me off a bit.
If you've got something to sell me, sell it. Don't pussyfoot around and try to endear yourself to me by giving me the crap that we're all cut from the same cloth. That we share something in common. That we're buddies. We're not. You're just a guy trying to sell me something, and if I like what I hear, then I'll buy. If I don't, I'll pass. It's that simple. Cut-and-dry.
"That makes sense," I said, trying to move this conversation along. No point in having him give me an alternate explanation.
"And those vehicles, those financial products, are derivatives. They're just fancy trades of various sorts."
"And you've figured out how to make those work in your and your investor's favor every trade," I said, interrupting.
Lee laughed again. "I wouldn't say every time, Max. But a good deal of the time. We tend to beat the Street, every quarter."
"That must make you a very popular guy. Why do you need me?"
I was going to jump right to the point of this dinner. I wanted to get it over with early. The food here was very good, and I wanted to enjoy my dinner. Not play small talk through appetizers and the main course, only to get to this point while I'm enjoying my crème brûlée.
He chuckled. "I don't need you Max. I'm simply offering you an opportunity. I like to choose who I work with. Whose money I take. Whom I make money for. I've learned over the years that this approach has worked for me and Endicott Investments. It has served us well, and I don't intend on changing anytime soon."
"Fair enough," I said.
"I'm glad you approve," Lee said.
Eric was busy chatting with the ladies. I hadn't even noticed the moment when he had decided to check out of Lee's and my conversation. It was just the two of us now. The shark and what he must have thought was the minnow. He had used the soft sell. The we don't really care if you work with us, but it sure as hell would be a smart move on your part if you did. I use it all the time, but I mean it when I use it. In my prior life, I'd offer up money based on the terms that I wanted. If you wanted it too, then great. If not, no problem. We'd live. There'd be other deals down the road. But I wasn't getting the same sense from Lee. Despite his custom suit, his gaudy watch, and his pretentious airs, he needed my money. I just wasn't sure why.
"I've read over the materials that Eric had passed along. It is very impressive."
"I would tend to agree with you, Max," he said.
"But," I said.
"There's always a but," he said.
I laughed. "Always. I used to be the one who waited for that word to pop up in a conversation."
He laughed. "Hey, it's normal. Sorry to interrupt, go on."
"But I just need a little time to think it through and discuss it with my better half," I said.
Using Imogen as the scapegoat worked. It was a nice perk of marriage.
"But of course, Max. I wouldn't expect anything less. Take your time," he said. "Let me give you my card with my cell number so you can reach me anytime."
I thanked him for the card, which he handed to me with a big, bright smile showing off his perfectly straight, whitened teeth. Perhaps they were veneers. Wouldn't have surprised me. I put the card in my back pocket without even looking at it, as was my custom, and returned to sipping my wine.
Eric, perhaps sensing that the chat between Lee and myself was over, reentered the conversation. The ladies were still gabbing amongst themselves, and I sipped my wine. The waiter eventually came over, and we all ordered. It looked like I would be able to enjoy this meal after all.