Free Underwater by Julia McDermott Page B

correct.”
    “Of course.”
    “Then send me a list of everything. Can you do it today?”
    “Not a problem. Anything else?”
    “Not now.” Candace’s phone signaled a call from Rob. “I’ve got to take another call. Talk to you later.”
    David hung up, placed his BlackBerry on his desk, and pulled up Candace’s accounts on his computer. Like everyone else’s, her stocks had taken a beating, but he was confident that they would recover and perform well over the long term. Her investments in three hedge funds that he had recommended were doing very well. Her overall financial position wasn’t bad at all. Even if she had to write off all the funds she had put into her brother’s house, her other real estate investments were sound, as long as she chose to hold on to them for a while.
    David had managed all of her personal investments since before she had taken her apparel company public five years ago, and his advisory role had gradually morphed into a counselor about private matters. That was what often happened with his array of very wealthy clients: their money and their relationships became interconnected and complicated, especially for those who struggled to define and enforce boundaries. Guilt was usually the cause, and each of them had his or her own unique circumstances. David found satisfaction making his clients’ money and investments perform, but he had to admit that he didn’t mind the more intimate facets of the job.
    Candace’s situation puzzled him somewhat, though. Most of his clients who faced similar predicaments were dealing with an adult child, or even an elderly parent—someone they felt a responsibility toward and with whom they had established a pattern of enabling over a period of many years. But Candace had enabled Monty and tolerated his irresponsible behavior even though he was just two years her junior. David wondered what their relationship had been like over the years. He knew she felt guilty about the car wreck that killed her mother, but that was over twenty years ago.
    According to Candace, after the tragedy, Monty had briefly enrolled at the University of Georgia. When he flunked out, he had been expected to work construction, but he had shown little interest. He moved in with his girlfriend and found a job as a waiter. A succession of restaurant jobs—and girlfriends—followed. Apparently, the guy had charmed and bedded more women than most men had ever dated. Then Candace’s father died of a heart attack. She had been filled with grief and had faulted herself for not being aware of his condition.
    Reportedly, Monty had the opposite reaction and focused only on what he had to gain: money. Jack Carawan was a saver with no debt to his name, and left most of his money to his son. However, Monty had been furious that he hadn’t received everything. The friction that previously existed between brother and sister turned into extreme animosity. Candace said Monty had developed a permanent sense of entitlement, and David had seen the evidence of it. He felt sorry for his client having such a brother and losing her parents the way she had. The rich had their problems, too, and Candace had had more than her share.
    What bewildered David was what Monty had done with all the funds Candace had supplied to him over the last few years. The two invoices from vendors that he had scanned and emailed to David documented only a tiny fraction of the total amount he’d received. Was the man using the money for something else—like gambling? That was possible; his personality seemed indicative of a risk-taker. He was too much of a fitness buff to have a drug problem. Was it women? But paying for sex didn’t fit his pattern—he had always had women support him, rather than the reverse.
    David wrote a concise email to Monty with bullet points outlining Candace’s requirements and saved it as a draft; he’d put together the list of her fund outlays next. He’d call Whitney at Memorial Bank