Warming The Cold One - 39. The money stopped, or did it?

“Thank you for holding, this is Olav.” Olav waited for an answer. “Hello, I said this is Olav.”

The phone clicked and a woman’s voice came over the line. “I apologize for the delay. I am calling from American Collection Services about an unpaid financial services contract. Can you confirm that this is Olav Thorbjornsen?”

“Yes, my name is Olav,” he confirmed. “I assume this is in regard to the payment hold that was placed on our contract with Actuarial and Insurance Management Solutions.”

“That is correct, sir,” she replied. “I was hoping that we could assist you in setting up a payment plan to bring your account current and begin to pay the penalty fees.”

“I am so sorry,” Olav apologized. “I do not have the ability to make that decision alone. You see, this was based off an emergency resolution that froze all our accounts while we completed internal audits and investigations of alleged fraud by AIMS and PWC. Official notice was served to their offices already and litigation is pending.”

“Those are some serious allegations Mister Thorbjornsen,” she scolded. “However, your dispute with my client doesn’t change the fact that you have a debt to pay. Are you able to provide payment today?”

“Until our organization unfreezes the accounts, there is nothing to pay with. Good day.” Olav hung up the phone before she could answer.

“She called again? That’s the third time today,” Cooper exclaimed.

Dierdre smiled. “That means we are starting to get to them. Should we call them again and see if they are willing to chat yet?”

“Hello, this is Hans,” Hans answered.

“Hello Hans, this is Olav,” Olav began.

“I cannot talk to you! Your contract is in litigation for non-payment,” Hans barked.

“Tell me who the contact at AIMS is, and we can get this all taken care of,” Olav said calmly. “We want to handle this, but our hands are tied at the moment.”

“I am disconnecting this call,” Hans said flatly and then hung up.

“Well, that went well,” Dierdre laughed.

“It gives us a good idea of where we stand though,” Cooper said. “We only froze our payments to AIMS. We didn’t touch PWC because they shouldn’t have a bill due for another two months. I wonder if they aren’t being paid twice.”

Olav frowned. “I don’t like it. There is something going on that we aren’t seeing.”

“Sir, what are we going to do? We have lots of people on our backs for payment, but all the money is still frozen.” A young man stared at the phone hoping for an answer.

The older man on the other end growled. “Useless! You are all useless trash. Do something about it.”

“I...I don’t know what else we can do,” the man stammered.

“Figure something out or it’s your life that hangs in the balance. No one knows who I am, and I plan on keeping it that way.” The older man laughed and hung up the phone.

“Let me get this straight, you want to use the value of the land trust to keep the lands in Florida from being foreclosed on? Can you do that,” Duane asked.

“Lisbeth and Hawk seem to think so,” Karla replied. “Can you draw up the paperwork? Then, I can get to over to Lisbeth to file with the bank.”

“I will get the forms download and get them started,” Lyla chimed in. “I’ve been running out of things to do since our practice switched to working with the trust.”

“About that though, how are we going to be able to keep the practice open?” Duane looked sheepish as he saw the look that Karla gave him. “I mean, we can set up a contract with the trust, but the not so above-board business paid a lot more.”

Karla sighed. “I know. I have to keep faith in my son that he will be able to come up with a solution to make sure you don’t lose your practice.”

Tala and Jay rearranged the office a bit and made a bigger space on one side that could provide some cover. “There. Now that we have a better setup, we can address bringing Susan back to a more human state of being.” Tala turned to Susan still in the kennel. “Ready to change back?”

Susan barked and growled angerly at Tala and at Ruth.

“Now, now,” soothed Jay. “Tala only did what he felt he had to do. He puts up with a lot but when he decides to prove a point, his point comes across.”

Tala walked over to the cage and undid the door and made sure Susan’s clothes were within reach. “We will all turn away so that you can change back with some privacy.

Susan pushed the cage door open with her nose and walked slowly on shaky paws to the corner. She curtly yipped.

Tala used his ancient voice to grant permission. “You may change back.”

Susan slowly changed back and got dressed before staring daggers at the others. “I cannot believe you would disrespect me like that. I am the wife of the Alpha of this pack. I will be filing a grievance about this.”

Tala smiled. “Good, I look forward to seeing who you think would take that seriously. However, for the time being, I think it’s a good idea if you help me to help your pack.”

“Help you? Are you out of your mind? You have done nothing but obstruct the alpha of this pack.” Susan turned towards Ruth. “And you! I have never seen such disloyalty to your family and your pack.”

“I beg your pardon,” Jay interrupted. “What about all the lies to your own pack and shady business you have been pulling?”

“We have never lied to our pack,” Susan countered.

“I beg to differ,” Tala said flatly. “You told them they were doing legitimate business but instead you had them trying to break into the American Clan computer systems.”

“You cannot prove that,” Susan huffed. “They will all side with the pack that they did nothing wrong. The authorities will never believe you.”

Both Tala and Jay shook their heads. Jay was the first to find words. “Tala is the authority. There isn’t anyone higher than him in this clan.”

Susan threw her hands up in the air. “We’ll sue you then!”

Ruth answered that one. “You have no money for a lawyer. It is only because of Tala that we might be able to keep our pack’s land at all.”

Tony barked his two cents worth.

Tala turned to Tony. “That is the most sensible thing you have said this year!”

Jay laughed. “You have known him for how many days?”

Tala smiled. “I am not wrong though.” He turned to Susan. “In case you didn’t catch the meaning, Tony said you should probably sit down and shut up before I turn you into a poodle.”

Susan turned a vivid shade of red.

Ruth laughed. “Mother, he can’t make you a poodle! Chill out.”

Tala turned back to Tony. “Are you ready to help me to help your pack?”

Tony lowered his head and whined. He then huffed and lifted his head and left out a single bark.

Tala walked over to Tony and unlocked the door. He made sure Tony’s clothes were within reach and stepped back. “You may exit the cage and change back Tony.”

Tony pushed the door open and changed back while the others looked away. Once he was dressed, Susan ran over to him.

“Are you alright,” Susan asked. “Do you hurt anywhere?”

Tony brushed her off. “No, I don’t hurt. The only thing bruised is my pride.”

“I am serious, we need to sue these people for assault. The things they did to us can’t be legal,” Susan prattled on.

“Stop,” Tony said flatly. “Just stop. We are not suing our clan.”

“But...” Susan started before being interrupted.

“No buts,” Tony said. “The last few hours have shown me I underestimated Tala and overestimated myself.” Tony turned to Tala. “I’m sorry for lying to you. I really thought I could have the best of both worlds.”

Tala nodded. “I know. I forgive you because I know you were in survival mode. While I cannot understand why you would suppress your wolf and the wolves of your pack, I do believe you thought you were doing the right thing in the moment. I, however, will not force anyone else to forgive you and leave making amends your task going forward.”

Tony suddenly sat down. He laid his head on the desk. Trying not to sob, he took a few long breaths before looking up with a damp and red speckled face. “Ruth, I am so sorry for what I did to you. It wasn’t fair to block your wolf to suit my own purposes.”

“I understand some of it,” Ruth began. “But I don’t understand all of it.”

“I didn’t know what to do. I was so angry and then someone called me and gave me an offer I couldn’t refuse.” Everyone in the room started staring at Tony as he continued to ramble on while sobbing. “I wasn’t going to be a very strong alpha, but it gave me a way to lead without opposition. I could know that everything would stay as it was supposed to be.”

“This was before or after you found out about Ruth,” Tala asked.

“Just after,” Tony admitted. “I wasn’t in a good place. I took it out on everyone else.”

Susan tilted her head to look at Tony. “You knew?”

“Yeah, I knew. I’m not stupid,” he snapped. “We hadn’t even gotten married yet and we had only been together a few times. I took precautions.”

“Wait a minute!” Ruth looked back and forth between all the other in the room. “Is everyone in on this little secret except me?”

Jay put his hand up. “Before you get mad, and I’m not saying you shouldn’t get mad because you should, I think everyone covered it up for the greater good.”

“Ruth,” Susan began. “I was an outsider to this pack, and I did some things that might not have been wonderful.”

“Not Wonderful,” Ruth screamed. “My mother was a tramp!” She took a breath and tried to speak again more calmly. “Do you know who my father is?”

“Yes,” Susan answered. “I know exactly who your father is. He is still part of the pack.”

Ruth turned to Clifford. “I forgot you were here. How awkward this must be for you. You can go, I am going to discuss who my father is and hopefully we can call him in here.”

Susan and Clifford both cringed at that. Susan walked over and put her hand on Ruth’s shoulder. “Can we deal with this later? I think it best we tackle the transition first and then we can discuss your father.”

Ruth pushed her hand off her shoulder. “Fine, I guess you’re right.”

Tala spoke up to try to ease the tension. “Okay then. Here is how I want to split up the work. Tony and Susan, since you are the most involved with the land deals, I want you to work on finding all the things we need to get the paperwork going. Ruth, I want you to work with the heads of the school to get that back in order. We’ll have some changes we will need to make to the overall program, but the important thing is getting a better idea of the support that we can provide to the clan office back in Ohio. What your teams were doing, how to fix the holes they found and how to track down the other elements trying to do the clan harm. Clifford, I still want you to be the face of the transition. You are seen as the one people can come to and so I want you to go to them. Timelines, what the changes are going look like, and the baseline expectations of being in the American Clan. Any questions?”

Tony spoke up. “That’s it? No more punishments?”

Jay smiled and answered before Tala could. “Nobody wants to punish anyone if we can help it. Our goal is to make an integrated clan of packs that work to help each other.

“I just don’t know how to break this to you, but I just don’t see a way to prevent the auction so close to the event,” the man said with a pompous tone. “We have already received three confirmed pre-bids.”

“Pre-bids,” Lisbeth asked. “The auction isn’t for another week, and you are already taking bids?”

“I’m sure it is hard for a secretary to understand,” the man continued. “With properties like this, it can be hard to recoup our money lost so we shop them out early.”

A fire burned in Lisbeth’s eyes. She just couldn’t understand how no one realized it was not the 1960’s anymore. She decided to try a different tactic than yelling. “Oh, I see. Then what does my group need to bid to be in the running?”

“We only allow pre-bids from our established partners,” the man said confidently.

“I see,” Lisbeth said coolly. “So let me get this straight. I cannot refinance on the owner's behalf, I cannot buy the property outright, and I cannot pre-bid on the auction. Tell me where this is legal.”

Lisbeth could hear him smile even over the phone. “That sounds like you are starting to understand where you stand. Now if your boss were to call me, that would be different.”

Lisbeth was fuming now but had an idea. “He is super busy, but he is in Florida right now. Is there a way he can meet with you in person?”

“What? You are kidding me. Ten miles from here,” Tala sputtered when Lisbeth called him with the news. “Okay, I can go there if you think it will help. Send me a copy of the information I need, and I will work some magic.”

Jay looked over at Tala after he put his phone away. “Field trip?”

Tala laughed, “I guess we are going on a field trip.”

Tony frowned. “I’ve met that guy before. He is as slimy as they come.”

Tala smiled brightly. “Perfect! I love slimy executives. I never have to guess if they are lying to me. Makes it go faster if I can just shut them down and get to business rather than wondering if there is a dagger aimed at my back.”

“Wait,” Ruth said. “I thought you didn’t like liars.”

Jay laughed. “He doesn’t. However, he knows how to deal with executives because of his life previous to the American Clan.”

“Exactly,” Tala confirmed. “I dealt with my share of sleezy people in the film industry.”

About an hour later, Tala and Jay walked into the lobby of a small office building. Clifford had driven them over and said he would wait in the car. The receptionist smiled at them after they told him who they were there to meet. He had them take a seat and they sat there looking through the prehistoric issues of waiting room magazines. They waited about twenty minutes and were escorted back to the well-appointed office.

“Please have a seat,” the man said as he pointed to the chairs in front of him but not looking directly at either Tala or Jay. “Let’s keep this quick. Your girl Friday said you want to try to save some land down here.”

“Oh, you mean my head of land and building management,” Tala asked.

“It was just a secretary. You know, it is not very professional to have a woman do a man’s job.” The man finally turned and gasped.

Tala and Jay could smell the fear coming from across the desk. Jay spoke first. “Which of us did you recognize first?”

“Sir Jason, I didn’t know you were in Florida as well,” the man stammered.

“Yes, I am here with my mate,” answered Jay.

The man tried to recover and put on a fake smile. “I’d love to meet her sometime. What can I do for you?”

“You can stop acting like an asshole,” Tala said candidly. “You disrespected my pack mate, you disrespected me, but most of all you disrespected my mate. That will not stand.”

The man missed the seriousness in Tala’s voice. “You mean your mate is a secretary?”

“No,” Jay said forcefully. “He means you disrespected me.”

“What,” the man stammered. “You?”

“Master Tala is my mate,” Jay replied. “He also happens to be the head of the American Clan.”

The color drained from his eyes as he looked over at Tala. “I don’t understand.”

Tala huffed. “I didn’t come here for you to understand. I came here to save the land of my clan. Now, what do I have to do to accomplish that?”

“There is nothing I can do,” the man finally said after trying to catch his breath and getting his wits about him. “The land is already sold.”

“How is that,” Tala asked.

“We started accepting bids already. A developer has signed a contract to buy,” the man answered.

“The foreclosure isn’t complete,” Jay said. “The land still belongs to the American Clan.”

“But there is a contract already,” the man argued.

Tala sat back in his chair and thought for a second. He pulled out his phone and made a call. “Hi, yeah long time no hear. I need a weird favor. I know that is all I ever need. I’m going to text you some information and I need you to put a lien on the property. Non-payment for services rendered and false representation. Ten million dollars. I know I owe you like fifty favors now.”

Jay smiled and looked back at the now scared man in front of them. “Problem solved. Why didn’t we do that in the first place?”

“What did you just do,” the man begged. “The value of the land isn’t worth much over four million dollars.”

“I know,” Tala said. “At least I can make some money off of my losses.” He turned to Jay. “Let’s go, I think he needs to make a few calls after he changes his pants.”

“Oh no, no, no, no! This cannot be happening now.” A young man looked up from his screen and over to his boss. “Um, we have another problem in Florida.”

“What now,” the well-dressed woman said. “We already bought the land.”

“He went to the office. It didn’t go well,” the young man stated.

“So what? Like I said, we already signed a contract to buy the land at 10% over the value of the original loans. Win-win for both sides. What could go wrong,” she asked.

“I guess they argued, and he called someone to put a lien on the property before the foreclosure was completed. I looked and it was just posted.” He shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “For 10 million dollars.”

The woman stopped. “WHAT?”

The young man’s expression turned a bit fearful. “Ten million dollars for non-payment for services rendered and false representation. With the 5 million we agreed to pay, that would total 15 million for land worth 3.5 million.”

She seethed with anger. “Cancel the bid! Say that because of the last-minute lien, we think they were bargaining in bad faith.”

“I can’t,” the young man said. “The contract says we will pay any costs calculated at the time of final foreclosure. We’d have to pay about a million dollars to get out from under it.”

The woman turned on him. “Get the law firm on the phone and get that lien removed then.”

As they were driving back to the main pack building, Tala’s phone rang. Tala was driving so Jay put it on speakerphone. “You’ve reached Tala’s phone. How can we help you,” Jay asked.

Karla laughed. “I’d like two deluxe, two fry, and a special.”

“I don’t think I can pull that off as I’m in Florida and you are in North Dakota,” Tala replied while trying not to bust out laughing as well. “So, what is the real reason you are calling?”

“We were talking up here and Duane and Lyla are worried about how they are going to keep their practice open. I told them I trust you to be able to find a solution, but can you,” she asked.

“We can try but I don’t know how we can,” Tala replied.

Tala and Jay could hear Karla sigh. “I know. I just hope there is something.”