Unconscionable, A Rich Coleman Novel Vol 3 Read online

  Chapter 6

  Selling Her Soul

  Shelly Simms, a trim brunette, was stunningly attractive and boys were always trying to flirt with her, but she was more interested in personal achievement than sexual gratification. Because she spurned these advances she had a reputation of being stuck-up and conceited. Her attitude can be explained by the competitive environment in which she was raised. Her father was a colonel in the United States Marines Corps stationed at Camp Pendleton, California, her mother a registered nurse working the ER at Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego, and her twin elder brothers had been accomplished athletes. Consequently, Shelly had to fight for attention and lived for any opportunity to outshine her brothers. Since they were two years older than her that opportunity didn’t come often, but when it did she was equal to the task. In practical terms, however, what this meant was she was always at the top of her class whether it be sports or academics.

  Although her father had pushed her toward a military career she resisted, having had enough of the migrant life of a military brat. Instead she opted for a business career and got her MBA from the University of Dallas. She liked San Diego, but by the time she graduated her parents had moved to Quantico, Virginia, and her brothers were in medical school in Chicago. So, she interviewed in Dallas and landed a job as a loan processor with North American Servicing in their Dallas offices.

  Being intelligent and quite competent, she climbed the ranks at NAS quickly and in less than five years found herself as loan acquisitions manager. It was in this position that she met and got to know the two partners of NAS, Lucius Jones and Walter Savage. The two partners were the exact opposite of each other. Walter was older, low-key, and conservative while Lucius was aggressive and ruthless and a compulsive gambler. Since Walter had put up the money for the venture he had a 51 percent majority in voting rights. This worked pretty well as Lucius was never happy and always looking for ways to improve the bottom line, but Walter was there to block the more outlandish schemes Lucius was constantly conjuring up.

  It was when the mortgage crisis came to a head that it became apparent that Lucius and Walter could no longer work together. It wasn’t unusual for the two of them to argue a lot, but the situation had become unbearable. Liberal lending practices had finally caught up with the industry and foreclosures were at an all-time high. If this wasn’t enough, many lenders woke up one day to discover that they had been trading their mortgage portfolios so quickly that their attorneys and document processors hadn’t been able to keep up. Consequently there were often serious gaps in titles and lien transfers, which caused problems when their mortgagors filed bankruptcy or it became necessary to foreclose.

  Lucius’s answer to the problem was to go back and create the missing documents out of thin air to cure the gaps and holes. This, of course, would have been illegal and fraudulent, so Walter would have nothing to do with it. Eventually, the pressure from the mortgage lenders to do something became so intense, it was too much for Lucius and he demanded Walter buy him out. Although it wasn’t a good time for Walter to be raising money for a buyout, he was sick of fighting with Lucius, so he sold everything he had and offered it to him. Lucius wasn’t happy with the offer since it was barely half what the company had been worth just a year earlier, but he knew in the current economic climate it was the best he could expect. They closed the deal and went their separate ways.

  Lucius hadn’t directly supervised Shelly’s department, so she hadn’t had to deal with him, but when their paths had crossed Lucius had often flirted with her and even asked her out once. He was married, and she could tell by the look on his face that his only interest in her was getting into her pants, the thought of which made her shudder in horror.

  When she was promoted to customer service manager she became aware of his aggressive and amoral approach to business and didn’t like it at all. Her staff was constantly barraged with complaints about billing errors, escrow issues, and slow modification processing, but they couldn’t get any straight answers from the departments involved so that the issues could be resolved. This was not only frustrating but she felt guilty giving people the runaround all the time. Finally, the situation became untenable and when the company split up and technically had to terminate all its employees, she opted to look for a job in another industry—an industry with a brighter future.

  Rich’s suggestion that she go to work for Lucius had intrigued her. She had no desire to get within a thousand yards of the man, but the idea of helping to bring the bastard down excited her. The fact that she’d get paid handsomely while she did it was the icing on the cake. She picked up the phone and called Rich.

  “I’ll do it,” she said, trying to hide her glee.

  “Really?” Rich replied. “That’s awesome. I actually didn’t think you would go through with it. Most people don’t have the guts for anything the least bit dangerous.”

  “Well, I need the job. The only reason I didn’t take it before was the fact that I hate Lucius and the way he does business. So, since I’m doing it to help take the asshole down, I can live with it.”

  “Good.”

  “So, how’s this going to work?”

  Rich thought a moment. “Actually, we can’t have any formal agreement or strategy. I can’t promise you anything for the information you provide. Nor can I influence your testimony if you are ever called to testify. You always have to tell the truth. But, since you are my client we can get together from time to time and talk. Everything we talk about will be privileged so you’ll never have to testify about our conversations. But we can’t talk by telephone. No emails or letters. Only face-to-face meetings in a secure location.”

  “Okay. So, I just go to work and do whatever they ask of me.”

  “Right. But if they ask you to do something illegal or unethical I would object and go on the record as being against it, for your own protection. But if they insist, follow their instructions.”

  “Okay.”

  “In other words, we don’t want them trying to blame any of these schemes on you.”

  “Right. But what if they do it anyway?”

  “Well, you are protected by the corporate veil. It would be unusual for anyone to go after you since you have no assets for them to seize if they got a judgment against you. Normally, only the company is at risk and the owners and principals. If there are any criminal prosecutions you should be able to cut a deal with the feds in exchange for your cooperation and testimony.”

  “You’re sure they’d cut me a deal?” Shelly asked.

  “Yes. It would make no sense to go after you. You’re just hired help.”

  “All right. I’ll call Lucius and see if he wants to hire me.” She laughed. “Although, I don’t think that will be a problem.”

  “Why do you say that?” Rich asked.

  “The guy’s got a hard-on for me. He can barely keep his hands to himself when we’re together.”

  “Really. How are you going to handle that?”

  “I’m a military brat and I’ve taken every self-defense training course the military offers, plus I have two older brothers.”

  “Still, be careful. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  “I’ll be careful. Don’t worry.”

  “Thanks, Shelly, for doing this. You’re doing the right thing. Keep me posted.”

  “I will.”

  Shelly hung up and took a long breath. She wondered if she was making a big mistake getting involved with Lucius Jones. But before she lost her nerve she picked up her phone and called him. After several minutes of being transferred through his various levels of screening, he answered.

  “Shelly? I didn’t expect to hear from you. What’s up?”

  “Well, I may have acted rashly in declining your job offer. I haven’t been able to find a job and I’m kind of desperate. Is your offer still open?”

  Lucius sighed. “Sorry, Shelly. I’ve filled the customer service manager’s job.”

  “Oh. Okay. I kne
w it was a long shot. I guess I didn’t appreciate what I had.”

  Lucius was silent for a moment. “You know. I may have another job for you, if your attitude has changed.”

  “It has. I promise you. I know now that sometimes you have to do drastic things to survive.”

  “Yes. It’s a cutthroat world out there and only the strong and bold survive. And I’m a survivor as you know.”

  “Yes. You are. So, what kind of job is it?”

  “It’s too complicated to discuss over the phone. Let’s get together next week and discuss it. I’ll buy you lunch.”

  “Sure,” Shelly agreed, stifling a gag.

  “I’ll have my secretary call you and arrange it.”

  “Okay.”

  “See you next week, then,” Lucius said and hung up.

  Shelly disconnected, suddenly feeling dirty. She got up, walked to the bathroom, and turned on the shower. She undressed, got in, and began washing herself vigorously. After a few minutes she felt a little better and started to wonder what project Lucius had in mind for her. She hated having to wait a week to find out. That was too much time to worry and imagine the worst. She wondered if she’d done the right thing. Oh God, what have I gotten myself into?

  That night, in her empty apartment, Shelly sat and worried. She lived alone in northeast Dallas having been divorced a year earlier. They’d wanted children, but one of them wasn’t fertile, apparently, since she hadn’t gotten pregnant during their three-year marriage (notwithstanding considerable effort to do so). Whether or not this was the root cause of their drifting apart she didn’t know, but it clearly was a contributing factor. Her current marital status was another reason she opted to go back to work. If she did end up in trouble, nobody would get hurt except her. The final factor was the sheer boredom she felt sitting at home. At least if she went back to work she’d be kept busy and wouldn’t have so much free time to lament her miserable existence.

  On Tuesday she got a call from Lucius’s secretary. She was to meet him the following afternoon at the Canyon Creek Country Club. She breathed a sigh of relief when she got the call because she had been concerned that Lucius wasn’t serious about the job or had already filled it. She arrived about fifteen minutes early the next day and was shown to a table. Right on time Lucius showed up and took a seat across from her.

  “This isn’t the most exclusive country club in town but I like it. It’s small and intimate.”

  “It’s very nice,” Shelly said.

  The waiter brought them a menu and some bread. Shelly ordered a lunch salad; Lucius got a turkey sandwich and ordered some wine.

  “So, have you talked to Walter lately?” Lucius asked.

  Shelly shook her head. “No. Not since I was laid off.”

  “Me either. The poor bastard’s going to run NAS in the ground within a year. Take my word for it.”

  “You think so?”

  “Yes, we were losing thirty grand a month when I split and the situation has to be ten times worse now. What an idiot he was to buy me out.”

  “It was your lucky day, I guess,” Shelly said evenly.

  “Anyway. Let me tell you what I need and you can let me know if it something you’re willing to do.”

  “Okay.”

  “As you know, NAS had some serious problems with loan documentation if a property is involved in litigation, foreclosure, or bankruptcy. We got some bad advice from our attorneys and the people over at MERS. They assured us their electronic registration system was sufficient for documentation of lien transfers and foreclosure sales. Unfortunately some of the courts don’t agree. For instance, when a loan goes in default and we have to foreclose we have to prove we own the note and deed of trust to go forward. This can’t always be done so as the note may have been transferred a number of times since its origination.”

  “I’m familiar with that problem,” Shelly said.

  “So, something has to be done. We lose money if we can’t foreclose right away or file a proof of claim in bankruptcy court.”

  “So, what do you want me to do?”

  “I would like to hire you as vice president in charge of loan documentation. Your job is to produce whatever paperwork is necessary to show a clean chain of title. You’d have to provide assignments, deeds, affidavits, or whatever documents are necessary to prove in court that we own the note and the deed of trust.”

  “So, I do research, track down the proper paperwork, and gather it together quickly?”

  “That may work sometimes, but a lot of time the paperwork doesn’t exist. We know we own the note and the deed of trust, we just can’t prove it. So, you do whatever it takes to properly document quickly, no more than thirty days. Can you handle that?”

  Shelly just looked at Lucius. He was asking her to prepare fraudulent documents to be filed in court proceedings and as official public records in counties all over the country. She knew Lucius did this kind of thing, but she didn’t expect to be put in charge of it.

  “If it insults your sense of morality, then forget it. I thought—”

  “No, no. I’ll do it. I’m just not sure how to go about it.”

  “Oh, don’t worry about that. There are companies out there who will actually prepare the documents for you. All you have to do is provide them the specifications for each document. That way you or your staff won’t have to do any of the forgery yourself.”

  Shelly swallowed hard. “Well, that’s a relief.”

  “So, are you on board?”

  “What’s the salary?”

  “A hundred and twenty grand plus bonuses.”

  Shelly stifled a gasp at the number. She had been making $80,000 when she was laid off.

  She nodded. “Of course. When do I start?”

  “Eight o’clock a.m. tomorrow. I’ll show you around and introduce you to your staff.”

  Shelly forced a smile. The waiter brought their food and poured them a glass of wine. While they ate, Lucius filled her in on his new company, Reliable Mortgage Servicing.

  “I got the bulk of the servicing business when we broke up. You know how I did it?”

  “No.”

  “I promised the lenders I’d clean up their messes. It will cost them, of course. But when you screw up you have to pay. Walter wouldn’t promise shit. He just told them he’d help them in any way he could to straighten things out. No guarantees.”

  “Walter is a straight arrow.”

  Lucius laughed. “Right. That’s why he’s going straight out of business.”

  Shelly forced a smile and took a drink of her wine.

  “You know, I almost went to law school. It’s a good thing I didn’t. I’ve talked to our lawyers. If they make two hundred grand a year they’re lucky. You know how much I made last year?”

  “No,” Shelly replied. “How much?”

  “One point two million. This is a very lucrative business.”

  “I can see that.”

  “You have to work all the angles. There are a dozen ways to make money in this business.”

  They talked for another half hour, and then Lucius left to go to a meeting. By the time Shelly got to her car she had a splitting headache. The pain began in her left shoulder and radiated up the left side of her neck, through her mouth and gums, all the way to her temples. She massaged her neck and shoulders trying to relieve pain but with little effect. How am I going to do this? She was already a wreck and she hadn’t even started. On the way home she emailed Rich from her mobile phone to set up a meeting. They’d set up anonymous email addresses and a simple code so there would be no discernible record of their contact. When Rich got the message he would know where to meet her. They met at the Starbucks near his office several hours later.

  “I thought I’d get the customer service job again but I didn’t expect this,” Shelly said.

  “I’ve heard of this type of thing, but it’s hard to believe it actually happens,” Rich replied. “The bankruptcy judges will be very angry when they
find out there have been fraudulent documents filed in their courts.”

  “I don’t know the name of the company that actually produces the paperwork, but I’ll let you know as soon as I find out.”

  “Don’t write anything down. Just memorize it and tell me about it when you can. I don’t want anything left around that could arouse suspicion.”

  “Okay.”

  “Lucius wasn’t suspicious at all given your previous objections to his tactics?” Rich asked.

  “No. He bought my story that I was desperate. Plus I wore a cocktail dress so he’d have trouble concentrating on anything but my breasts.”

  Rich laughed. “Well, you do need the job, so if he checks that out there won’t be any surprises.”

  “To be honest, though, I am a little scared. Not of Lucius but of getting in trouble for what I’ll be doing for him.”

  “There’s still time to back out. You don’t have to do this.”

  “Yes I do. I need the job. It’s pretty pathetic when you have to sell your soul to get a job.”

  “You’re not selling your soul,” Rich argued. “You’re helping me attain some justice for one of Lucius Jones’s victims.”

  “Right.”

  “Like I told you. Just do whatever he tells you. You don’t need to gather evidence or anything. I’ll do a production request for anything you tell me is out there. So there shouldn’t be any risk to you. When the time comes to take RMS down I’ll subpoena you and all you have to do then is tell the truth.”

  “Okay.”

  “We’ll meet every couple of weeks but only if it is safe. If anyone sees us together you just tell them I’m your chapter 13 attorney and you just ran into me.”

  Shelly nodded.

  “Thanks again for doing this.”

  “Well, at least I won’t starve now.”

  Rich laughed. On the way home Shelly went shopping and picked up a couple of new outfits so she’d look decent on her first day on the job. Although she was still a little nervous, she was starting to feel better about what she was doing and, like Rich said, she didn’t have to do anything other than her job, so there really wasn’t any risk at this stage of the game. When it became time to testify, however, things might change. Lucius Jones wasn’t the type of man to let betrayal go unpunished. Oh, he might be in Club Fed for a few years and she’d be safe. But when he got out he would be looking for vengeance.