Chapter 4

A great New York businessman deceived thousands of users by dragging Jose into the famous pyramid scam. He sold insurance policies for houses, land, business, and property to naive victims, to whom he later did not pay a single cent. If his memory serves Josephine well, Theo recalled that the feds tried to bring Josephine to justice, but they failed to convict Josephine of fraud and bribery, but only of tax evasion. Harris' accounts and assets were frozen, and his family fell apart. "His wife, Martha, couldn't stand the downfall and the humiliation, so she drank a full bottle of sleeping pills and a pint of gin, after which she didn't wake up."

"According to the press, Josephine's younger sister Ana tried to commit suicide like her mother, but she did not succeed, but ended up with brain damage. I'm still working to determine where the girl is located. Josephine survived all that hell, but she had to leave her studies and start life from the beginning. She probably managed to hide some money from the state authorities in order to place her sister in an institution. "Mitch paused to catch his breath and handed Theo a list.

 "What is this?"

 "List of names of people with whom Miss Miller managed to maintain contact. Growing up among the rich, she apparently made many friendships. After the collapse of her father, all his business associates and friends abandoned Josephine, but Josephine apparently managed to preserve some of her friendships. On the list of her acquaintances was the daughter of a senator and two extremely powerful lawyers. I still don't know how she found out about your case, but I'm still waiting for some calls. "Theo flipped through the papers and found a photo of the Miller family from happy times. They were standing on the deck of an expensive yacht. Martha, thin as a branch, stood in front, her two smiling daughters, in one-piece bathing suits, to her right. Despite the fact that Josephine's hair was raised in a ponytail, at the moment when the photo was taken, her wild curls fell over her eye. Ana is obviously much younger than Josephine and is just as skinny as her mother. Their father Harris, at least twenty pounds overweight, stood next to his wife with his arm slung over her shoulder. Photos can be deceiving, Theo thought, remembering a similar picture from his family album. His father stood next to his wife with his hand on her shoulder, while she sat in the armchair, tense and nervous but still smiling. Theo remembered exactly the day that photo was taken. He quarreled with his father because he told Josephine that he wanted to volunteer over the summer. Edmund didn't even want to hear that his son was working for someone, especially not without financial compensation. He believed that education was necessary only for Theo to have something to brag about in front of his friends. However, that hateful three-letter word, work, was something that was not allowed to be uttered, at least as long as he was leading the main word in the family.

"And I thought my family was weird," Theo whispered.

"Miss Miller has obviously outdone you in this." There was nothing good about the two of Jose competing.

"Where does she live now?"

"In a rented house in Tarzana."

"Does she have a roommate?"

"I didn't find out."

"And is there a boyfriend?" Mitch looked at Josephine in surprise.

"I didn't even ask for that information, but if you're so interested, I'll try to find it." At that moment, Mitch's phone rang. He took it out of his pocket and looked at the number printed on the screen.

"They're telling me something about her sister," he explained before calling. As Mitch talked on the phone, Theo studied the list of names on the paper he held in his hand. Josephine obviously had a lot of friends. He wondered if some of Jose had helped her financially after her father's collapse. He was startled by a loud whistle that Mitch dropped into the phone.

"Okay, thanks," he said and hung up.

"What is it?"

"Miss Miller is really burning under her feet. That's why she desperately needs a job with you. ”

“ Is it? Why? ”

“ Her sister is in the moonlight. It is a luxury institution for handicapped patients, which means that Josephine has to pay Jose a hefty sum every year. If my source is to be believed, that amount is six digits. ”Theo frowned spontaneously. "And no one is helping Miss Miller with that payment?" Mitch shook his head. "I did not find any information about that. Her friends may be hiring her, but there is no evidence that she gets money from any source other than her own business. ”A job that Theo has already studied in detail and knows all about. "Interesting."

"So, what's Josephine like?" This was Mitch's first personal question. Theo imagined her alabaster skin and determined expression. Her seductive, velvety voice rang in his ears. Hell, it was enough just to remember Josephine and want to hear Josephine again.

"She's all focused on work," Theo told his assistant.

"You'd like it. Keeping things under control was Josephine's basic motto. As soon as Theo Smith invited her and suggested that they meet for dinner during which he would discuss the candidates she had sent Josephine, Josephine immediately began to work out all possible scenarios. It is possible that he recognized one of the women she proposed to Josephine, or he may have managed to find out their last names. She deliberately left Jose out so that her clients would evaluate the candidates according to their education and qualities, and not according to the families they come from. She herself felt on her own skin what it is like when others evaluate you according to your parents' actions. After the collapse of her family, she even thought about changing her last name and hair color. She didn't do that, but that's why she moved to the West Coast and stayed away from the media for a long time. Fortunately, the tabloid's attention to her fate was short-lived; as soon as a new scandal surfaced, the breakdown of her family was forgotten. By settling next to Hollywood, someone else has always been the focus of interest. The last time the paparazzi photographed her was at her mother's funeral, and since then they have stopped being interested in her. If she was an enchanting beauty prone to scandals and wild parties, journalists would probably continue to follow her. However, she hid and started dressing like an old settler, which completely repelled tJose. So what did Theo Smith want to talk about? He may have already consulted with his lawyer, so he needed some more information about the candidates, which she did not provide. Ever since she started doing this job, she has taken care of every, even the smallest detail. She paid her taxes regularly - Thank you, Dad! - she did not owe a single cent to anyone and always kept her contacts in strict secrecy. Everything she did was transparent. All the checks she conducted, either alone or with the help of private detectives, were completely legal. By the way, she always turned to only females for information. Far from thinking that women were operated on from illegal activities, she simply did not trust men. Many have let her down. In fact, she couldn't remember anyone who hadn't stabbed her in the back.

The sun was still shining brightly as she drove to a luxury restaurant. She left the engine running and got out of her sedan so he could park it. She thanked Josephine and watched Josephine take the wheel and move the car just a few steps away. Her old GMC protruded in the parking lot where the gleaming bodies of Mercedes, Cadillacs, and Lexus shone. Josephine stepped into the cool interior of the restaurant and inhaled the pleasant smell of garlic and herbs. Two years ago, she last date at a five-star restaurant, when her two newly married clients treated her to dinner. By the way, she stopped going to luxury places a long time ago, but she still missed some of Jose. In fact, she missed that sometimes she ate something more delicious than a dish preheated in a microwave oven or Chinese food bought along the way. Before she could address the hostess of the restaurant, a man approached her.

"Miss Miller?" Strangely, he didn't wear a uniform like the rest of the staff. Maybe he was the director.

"Yes?"

"Mr. Smith is expecting you." He must be the manager, Josephine thought and followed the elegantly dressed man who led her to a completely separate booth overlooking the ocean. Seeing her, Theo Smith got up and went to meet her. Like the first time, Theo was immaculately dressed. An expensive, dark suit and a snow-white shirt fit his sculpted, tanned body perfectly. That man simply dominated his appearance. As he measured her, a barely visible smile flickered on his lips. Josephine chose a simple but elegant dress, not too ordinary, but not one in which she could appear at the Oscars. Judging by the expression on his face, he obviously liked it. She didn't wear it to flatter Josephine, but not to stray from this luxurious place.