Free The Queen of Cool by Claudia Hall Christian Page A

in
it.”
    “ Is that a part of the
estate?” Lo asked.
    “ That’s why I was late,”
Jaden said. “I went to the bank and added Lisa’s name to the
account.”
    “ Why Lisa’s?” Lo
asked.
    “ Because she’s not
connected with Don’s estate,” Jaden said.
    “ We have access to sixty
thousand dollars?” Lisa asked. “That’s wonderful!”
    “ Hold on,” Jaden said.
“You’re going to need that money to get the business going. If
that’s what you want to do?”
    The lawyer let the question hang. Lo and
Lisa looked at each other and nodded.
    “ Great. It’s going to take
a lot to get it up and running again. You’ll need at least fifty
thousand dollars to do that. But you have ten thousand to buy
necessities.”
    Proud of his accomplishment, Jaden beamed at
Lo and Lisa.
    “ Thank you,” Lo said. She
got up to go.
    “ We’re not done,” Jaden
said. “A Detective Manuel Rodriguez of FWPD has asked for the
suicide death of the General Manager of HDAC, Tony Bright, to be
reopened by the Arlington PD. He thinks that Mr. Bright’s death is
somehow connected to what’s happening to you, Lo.”
    “ How will that affect us?”
Lo asked.
    “ Only in good ways,” Jaden
said. “If Mr. Bright was murdered, then we are a big step closer to
clearing up some of HDAC’s problems. But…”
    “ Yes?” Lisa
asked.
    “ My recommendation is that
we change HDAC’s name,” Jaden said. “We have a shell of a company
right now. Starting over is better than carrying the stain of the
federal investigation into the smuggling charges. What we need to
do is clean up the books, sort out the business and start over. We
need a new name.”
    “ What did you have in
mind?” Lo asked.
    “ I didn’t have anything in
mind,” Jaden said. “So I called a friend of mine who makes a living
naming things – television shows, businesses, stuff like that. He
took down the details and…”
    “ Wait,” Lo said. “Why are
you involved here?”
    “ I’m going to be your first
investor,” Jaden said. “If you’re going to get this business going,
you’ll need every penny you have. That doesn’t leave money for
living expenses. My secretary has a check for a hundred thousand
dollars as an investment into the reinvigoration of your air
conditioning business.”
    “ It’s a loan?” Lisa
asked.
    “ No, it’s an investment,”
Jaden said. “Don did that for me when I wanted to start my own
practice, and then again when I started taking on partners. I think
it’s only fair.”
    “ So I own some of your
practice?” Lo looked around.
    “ The…”
    “ Estate does,” Lo and the
attorney said together.
    “ Oh,” Lo said. “Are you
okay with him investing in our company, Lisa?”
    “ Sure,” Lisa said. “We can
always buy him out later.”
    Lo nodded.
    “ If it’s all right with you
ladies, I’d like to put together a board of directors,” Jaden said.
“I have a few friends who know more about running businesses than
any business college in the country. They were friends of Don’s,
and I bet all of them would love to be involved. What do you
think?”
    “ Why are you doing this?”
Lo asked.
    “ I have my own reasons,”
Jaden said.
    Lo and Jaden stared at each other for a
moment before he broke eye contact. Desperate for help, Lo let the
matter drop.
    “ What if your buddies don’t
like me either?” Lo asked.
    “ You’ll prove them wrong,”
Jaden said.
    “ I’m all right with you
putting together a board,” Lo turned to Lisa. “You?”
    “ As long as we can get rid
of them if they suck,” Lisa said. “I’m not going to be stuck with
some old fogeys who hate my sister.”
    “ Fair enough,” Jaden
said.
    “ You were talking about a
name?” Lo asked.
    “ Yes,” Jaden said. “I told
my friend about the business. He wanted to know who was involved.
It turns out he knows you from a television show you guest starred
on.”
    “ I’ve been on a lot.” Lo
shrugged her shoulders.
    “