Read Online The Death of an Ambitious Woman by Barbara Ross - Free Book Online
Authors: Barbara Ross
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dull.”
“Was she good at it?” Ruth asked.
“She was great at it.” Jane answered without hesitation.
“What made Mrs. Kendall so good?”
Kevin Chun answered. “Tracey could look at a business, meet with its management, and decide quickly if it could be a winner. I read all the plans and reports and did the research and Jane crunched the numbers. Tracey would pore over our analyses, but what she really had was the ability to understand who was telling the truth, who was lying, and who was fooling themselves. She never fooled herself. She never hung onto an investment in a company out of affection for its product, its management, or its history.”
Jane Parker continued. “Tracey said that all these companies were like stories and she was getting paid, very well paid, to read them. Every one has a plot and characters and we look at them and wonder, ‘How will it turn out?’ ”
“With the market in the state it’s in, I would think it’s been more difficult lately,” Ruth observed.
“For sure,” Kevin answered, “for everybody. We’ve taken some hits, but given everything, we’ve done better than most. Our clients are pretty satisfied.”
“What will happen now?” Moscone asked Kevin.
“Jack’s trying to reassure the clients and convince them not to leave the fund.We’ll lose some, for sure. Once things stabilize, I don’t know what will happen. He’ll look for another partner, I suppose. The clients have the right to pull out if the management of the firm changes, but they’d be crazy to in this market. Hopefully, Jack can persuade them to stay.”
“Do you two also work for Mr. Holden?”
“Technically, but Tracey researched and picked the investments. Jack focused more on bringing in the clients. He doesn’t involve us much.”
Moscone shifted the subject. “Did either of you use Screw Loose?”
Jane shook her head, but Kevin answered, “Yes.”
“Did you ever have any trouble with Al Pace?”
“No. As a matter of fact, he’s quite competent.”
“Did you ever have the feeling,” Moscone asked, “that there was more to Mrs. Kendall’s relationship with Al Pace than customer–mechanic?”
“Certainly not!” Jane Parker’s face flushed. “When I said Tracey Kendall was the person I most admired, I didn’t mean just from a business perspective. I meant as a mother and a wife, as well.”
“You and Mrs. Kendall were close then, on a personal level?” Ruth asked.
Jane’s chin quivered. Her voice broke. “There are just things you know about a person.” Jane could hold back her tears no longer. She put her hands to her face. Kevin Chun looked on, concerned.
Ruth waited until Jane’s crying subsided. “We’d like to see Tracey’s schedule. Mrs. Berger said you could show us.”
Jane pulled her head up and wiped her nose. “Sure.” She scooted her chair to the computer and pressed a button on the keyboard. The screen transformed itself. Jane typed a few letters and Tracey Kendall’s schedule for the previous Monday came up. “She had a conference call at 9:30, then she’s all X’d out from 11:00 on.” Jane pointed to the grid on the screen.
Moscone asked, “What does that mean?”
“Some people keep their appointments on this schedule, but most of us just use it for internal communication. Our coworkers call this up to find out if we’re available for meetings, conference calls, and so on. If you have a time period when you don’t want anything to be scheduled, you just “X” it.
“She told the nanny she was busy all afternoon,” Moscone said.
“You can’t tell from this. You’d have to check her personal appointment book. She carried it with her all the time.” Jane pressed another key and the monitor repainted itself to reflect a longer view of Tracey’s schedule. Ruth scanned the screen, looking for indications of a regular appointment that might be covering an affair, but the notations were too cryptic to understand. There were
“Was she good at it?” Ruth asked.
“She was great at it.” Jane answered without hesitation.
“What made Mrs. Kendall so good?”
Kevin Chun answered. “Tracey could look at a business, meet with its management, and decide quickly if it could be a winner. I read all the plans and reports and did the research and Jane crunched the numbers. Tracey would pore over our analyses, but what she really had was the ability to understand who was telling the truth, who was lying, and who was fooling themselves. She never fooled herself. She never hung onto an investment in a company out of affection for its product, its management, or its history.”
Jane Parker continued. “Tracey said that all these companies were like stories and she was getting paid, very well paid, to read them. Every one has a plot and characters and we look at them and wonder, ‘How will it turn out?’ ”
“With the market in the state it’s in, I would think it’s been more difficult lately,” Ruth observed.
“For sure,” Kevin answered, “for everybody. We’ve taken some hits, but given everything, we’ve done better than most. Our clients are pretty satisfied.”
“What will happen now?” Moscone asked Kevin.
“Jack’s trying to reassure the clients and convince them not to leave the fund.We’ll lose some, for sure. Once things stabilize, I don’t know what will happen. He’ll look for another partner, I suppose. The clients have the right to pull out if the management of the firm changes, but they’d be crazy to in this market. Hopefully, Jack can persuade them to stay.”
“Do you two also work for Mr. Holden?”
“Technically, but Tracey researched and picked the investments. Jack focused more on bringing in the clients. He doesn’t involve us much.”
Moscone shifted the subject. “Did either of you use Screw Loose?”
Jane shook her head, but Kevin answered, “Yes.”
“Did you ever have any trouble with Al Pace?”
“No. As a matter of fact, he’s quite competent.”
“Did you ever have the feeling,” Moscone asked, “that there was more to Mrs. Kendall’s relationship with Al Pace than customer–mechanic?”
“Certainly not!” Jane Parker’s face flushed. “When I said Tracey Kendall was the person I most admired, I didn’t mean just from a business perspective. I meant as a mother and a wife, as well.”
“You and Mrs. Kendall were close then, on a personal level?” Ruth asked.
Jane’s chin quivered. Her voice broke. “There are just things you know about a person.” Jane could hold back her tears no longer. She put her hands to her face. Kevin Chun looked on, concerned.
Ruth waited until Jane’s crying subsided. “We’d like to see Tracey’s schedule. Mrs. Berger said you could show us.”
Jane pulled her head up and wiped her nose. “Sure.” She scooted her chair to the computer and pressed a button on the keyboard. The screen transformed itself. Jane typed a few letters and Tracey Kendall’s schedule for the previous Monday came up. “She had a conference call at 9:30, then she’s all X’d out from 11:00 on.” Jane pointed to the grid on the screen.
Moscone asked, “What does that mean?”
“Some people keep their appointments on this schedule, but most of us just use it for internal communication. Our coworkers call this up to find out if we’re available for meetings, conference calls, and so on. If you have a time period when you don’t want anything to be scheduled, you just “X” it.
“She told the nanny she was busy all afternoon,” Moscone said.
“You can’t tell from this. You’d have to check her personal appointment book. She carried it with her all the time.” Jane pressed another key and the monitor repainted itself to reflect a longer view of Tracey’s schedule. Ruth scanned the screen, looking for indications of a regular appointment that might be covering an affair, but the notations were too cryptic to understand. There were
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