I was standing beside a vehicle with its hood raised when she entered.
For several seconds, we simply stared at each other.
Then she spoke.
“I'm sorry.”
I shook my head.
“You didn't send the letter.”
“No.”
She swallowed.
“But a company I lead has become part of this.”
I folded my arms.
“That's a strange thing to discover the morning after a first date.”
She gave a sad little smile.
“Yes.”
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then I led her into the office.
I showed her the demand.
The insurance certificate.
The payment records I'd managed to obtain.
And the notices from Union Trust.
Vanessa examined them carefully.
She didn't pretend to understand everything immediately.
Instead, she made notes.
Asked questions.
And compared the dates.
After several minutes, her expression hardened.
“This alleged insurance deficiency makes no sense.”
I leaned forward.
“Why?”
“The certificate appears to identify the insured property and lender correctly.”
I nodded.
“Exactly.”
She looked toward another page.
“And these servicing fees…”
Her voice trailed off.
I watched her.
“What?”
She shook her head slowly.
“I'm not comfortable with the way they're presented.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Neither am I.”
Vanessa looked up.
“Marcus, you need an independent lawyer. Someone whose duty is to you, not to me or Northstar.”
I nodded.
“Danielle's arranging it.”
“Good.”
She placed the papers down.
Then took a breath.
“I'm also going to request an independent review of how this account was acquired and serviced.”
I studied her.
“Will Bell know?”
“Probably.”
“Will he stop you?”
She smiled without warmth.
“He'll try.”
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then I asked the question that had been bothering me since breakfast.
“Can you just make the problem disappear?”
Vanessa looked surprised.
I continued.
“You're a billionaire. You're the CEO. Surely you could tell somebody to stop sending letters.”
She considered that.
Then answered carefully.
“I can require an examination of the process and take appropriate action if something improper occurred. But I shouldn't use my position to give one borrower special treatment because I'm personally interested in him.”
The last words hung between us.
Personally interested.
I looked toward her.
She didn't look away.
Vanessa continued.
“If this loan was handled improperly, it needs to be corrected because it was improper. Not because you had dinner with me.”
I stared.
Then nodded slowly.
“That matters to you.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
She looked toward the garage.