Wife's Bitter Revenge Against Neglectful CEO Husband-Chapter 107: Mrs. H

"Hello, Mrs. H. My name is Tee. I’m a friend of Ash DuPaul. He gave me your card and said you might be able to help."

"Ah, Ash, yes. He said you might call."

Not Maylean. After my research, I was pretty sure Maylean was a dead end, at least as the point of contact. First, she was fully immersed in a peace and tranquility retreat and had been for a while now.

The retreat was cut off from the outside world and emulated a cross between a Quaker lifestyle and that of a Buddhist cleansing. The retreat butted up against the Yellowstone National Park and was so isolated that even if Maylean sneaked in a cell phone, she wouldn’t likely have service.

"How can I help?"

"I live with my boyfriend, but we are fighting a lot. It’s all words now, but it’s getting more intense. I’d like to move out before it turns physical, but my savings won’t spread far enough to find a decent place in the city, not when I’d have to pay a deposit and first and last month’s rent. Then there’s moving costs, furniture, well you get the picture.

"I’ve got a good job. I can afford to make payments on a loan. Maybe with a year or two to pay it back. Three if I can roll my credit card debt into the loan as well."

"You sound like a smart lady, trying to leave a volatile relationship, but honey, I don’t run a bank. I help people with short-term loans. A couple of months at most."

"Oh, dear. I’d need longer than that. Could you stretch it to six months?"

"Do you have anything I could hold as collateral? Like a car or jewelry? Designer handbags, if they are high quality. What about a whole life insurance policy or securities?"

"Oh, you mean like stock? My company has a stock option program. I own a few shares, and I have some jewelry and bags, I guess. Although, I’d dearly hate to part with the Hermes bag my mom bought me for graduation."

"Honey, it’s only temporary. I have a vault where I keep such items. It’s safe, temperature-controlled controlled, and temporary. As soon as you pay me back, with interest, I return your bag. So why don’t you bring in what you have? If the value is there, I’ll hold your possessions as collateral for a six-month loan. Oh, and bring in your last three pay stubs. I’ve got to make sure you have the means to pay me back. You understand, right?"

"I do. When can I come in?"

I looked up to see Alec leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest. He waited until I’d finalized the details before coming in.

"You are not going alone."

Taking Bea was my first choice, but she was still in the hospital. Two women would appear less threatening than a man and a woman, especially the men I hung out with. One glare from Min was enough to make small children cry. Jake was solid muscle, the kind of muscle that clothes couldn’t hide. Stiff would come across as a rich boy, even dressed in a burlap sack, and Alec was a tiger. Enough said there.

"Do you think Angie would mind playing my sidekick?"

Angie was so petite and young-looking. There was no way anyone would see her as a threat, and yet she had the skills to defend herself and me.

Alec thought about it before nodding. "We can ask her when we go in for training."

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Stiff pinned the cam to Angie’s collar. "Remember, I’ve got you wired for sound and video. Anything, and I do mean anything, comes up, let us know. We’ll pull you out before you can sneeze.

"Now, what is your safe word?"

I glanced at Alec over Stiff’s shoulder. "Kitty, kitty."

Angie got the joke right away and giggled. Alec walked away.

Angie hid a whisper behind a hand, "He’ll make us pay for that later, probably on the practice mat."

All I could do was smile.

"Hey, hey, knock it off, you two," Stiff said. "Undercover work is supposed to be serious business."

"Oops, sorry." I suppressed my smile.

"Jake and Sampson will be waiting in the stairwell right outside Mrs. H’s office. Play it smart. Get in and get out.

"Frankly, I’m not sure why you are going in. You’ve already cleared the Heavenly connection."

"Easy," I said. "I want to know why Bea was targeted. I have to find the connection between Mrs. H and Bea. So far, a background check hasn’t turned up anything."

Angie said, "What does Bea say?"

"Not a clue yet. Maybe that will change with photos."

"Alright, then let’s do this," Angie said.

Alec stopped me before we left. "I don’t like this."

"Duly noted."

I left anyway.

I respected how Alec felt, but this was my life. It had taken a lot out of me to leave the Heavenly household and the oppression I experienced there. If anything, every time Alec told me he didn’t like me doing something, the more determined I became to do it.

Mrs. H’s office was on the second floor of a five-story building in a moderate neighborhood. The brass placard at the door was simple—H Financial Services. The office itself was well-appointed, with rich colors and polished woodwork.

Mrs. H was a lot like her office. She was elegant. Her suit was one of those timeless designs that could have been purchased twenty years ago or last week. She wore her hair in a bun high on her head. Her tortoiseshell cat-eye glasses were perched on her nose just low enough that she could look over them with green eyes highlighted by fake eyelashes. Her fingernails were long and as sharp as spear points.

After the introductions, she offered us a seat and got to business. No fuss. No muss.

"What did you bring me?"

I handed her the two large shopping bags with the handbags and jewelry we’d secured from consignment shops. Mrs. H took her time examining the stitching and identifying the characteristics of each bag, but the Hermes bag held her interest the longest.

"My mother gave me that bag. It is precious to me. If for no other reason than to get my bag back, I will repay any loan you give me."

"You’ve taken very good care of it. Have you considered selling it outright? The resell on this particular item is enough to take care of your moving expenses. You could leave your boyfriend with no debt. I could see paying you this amount for it."

Mrs. H slid a slip of paper with a number written on it. She was generous. The amount was almost twice what I’d paid for it. She must either have a buyer in mind or need it to complete a personal collection.

"My mother is deceased. I couldn’t possibly let go of it permanently. I’m having enough doubts about putting it up for collateral."

"Very well, with what you’ve brought, I can lend you this amount for six months. The interest is steep, though." She slid a contract with the terms spelled out across to me and set a pen down next to the contract.

The terms were steep. I’d pay more in interest for six months than I would pay for a bank loan in three years. The penalty for a late payment penalty was equal to the amount of the payment due, and the interest rate increased by two percent for late payment. If I needed an extension to the loan terms, additional penalties and interest would be applied, provided Mrs. H approved the extension. If the extension was not granted, failure to pay the balance in full resulted in a forfeiture of the collateral items in total, no matter if the remaining balance was a million dollars or one dollar.

Someone would have to be desperate to sign an agreement like this.

"Wow, this is serious business. Do you think I can think about it and get back to you in a couple of days?"

"No. This is a one-time offer. You either take it as is, or you walk away."

I wasn’t really concerned about signing the document. I could pay the debt today. Stiff could delete all record of the contract as soon as it was uploaded. We could eliminate the paper contract later. Worst case, we let her keep the collateral items and at the loss between the cost of the items and the cash received. Then again, we could build a case against Mrs. H and report her to the police for usury. More if I could prove she instigated Bea’s accident.

On the other hand, anyone in their right mind would hesitate before signing such a contract.

"If I were a different kind of person, I’d take out a second contract and pay someone to put some hurt on the ex. Do you know what happened today? His girlfriend, or I guess I should say his other girlfriend, called me and told me she is pregnant with his baby.

"She did her very best to guilt trip me into giving him up, and the whole time, all I could think about was how I’d like to remove his testicles and send them to her as a gift from me."