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A collection of short stories inspired by the Marianas Trench album of the same name. |
Looking up from the file in her hands, Maya Chen couldn’t help but smile at the way her clients’ attention kept drifting to the sprawling view of the Pacific Ocean. They were probably trying to see if they could spot their overpriced sailboat docked over at the Balboa Yacht Club. The lease on this Newport high-rise was ridiculously expensive, but it was important to project success for her clients. She knew nobody would trust her with their money if they thought she couldn’t make a lot of your own. Hence the office, the Porsche Macan EV that she drove around in, and the Elie Tahari wardrobe she wore most days. She was financially well-off, but knew better than to try and compete with the kind of wealth that her clients had. She just needed to do enough to convince them that she had taste, class, and understood their world. “Take a look,” she said as she handed over the file. “As discussed, we’ve taken an aggressive approach to reducing your tax burden. We’ve optimized your business expenses and deductions, of course. That’s the baseline. On top of that we’ve taken a look at the depreciation schedule for your real estate assets and recommend accelerating the depreciation for certain components to increase your deductions this year. We’ll roll that cost savings into a brand new Donor-Advised Fund that we’ll create, and then will use that nonprofit entity to ‘redistribute’ the funds as charitable contributions to your other businesses over a period of time.” The husband thumbed through the file, an impressed look on his face. Especially as he got toward the end of the prospectus and saw the total amount he’d avoid paying in taxes. “Trey said you were the best,” he murmured. “Trey and I go way back,” Maya replied. “And I’ve saved him a lot of money over the years. But that’s nothing compared to what I’m going to be able to save you. I can work magic with a real estate empire as large and diverse as yours.” The husband looked to his wife, who gave everything an appraising look. The folder, the office, Maya herself. His wife gave him a slight nod, which he returned and then turned back to Maya. “You’ve got yourself a new client,” he said, standing and offering his hand. Maya rose from her chair and took it, shaking firmly. “And you’ve made the right decision,” she said confidently. I’ll have my assistant send over the signatory paperwork this afternoon and then we’ll get started.” After she had shown them out, Maya decided to celebrate by taking the rest of the afternoon off. She had another potential new client meeting tomorrow, but she’d study up for that at home after she’d enjoyed a treatment at BioSpa and enjoyed dinner for one at Gulfstream. The following day, Maya found herself uncharacteristically nervous as she waited for Sarah Martinez to arrive. While she had no doubts about her analysis or the numbers (she never did), she did have doubts about the story that she had been told. Well, that wasn’t entirely true either. She didn’t have doubts; she was certain that Sarah Martinez was lying to her. The appointment was at eleven o’clock and the chime on the door announced the arrival of Maya’s guest precisely on the hour. A few moments later, Maya’s assistant ushered the prospective client into the corner office, and Maya got her first look at Sarah Martinez. At first glance, Sarah wasn’t what she expected. Wearing a discount-brand business suit and sporting a shoulder-length practical haircut, she looked more like a social worker than an heiress worth hundreds of millions. Then again, Maya knew better than anyone that appearances could be deceiving. Half of her clients spent their entire lives trying to seem like they were worth more money than they actually were; it was a little refreshing to find someone who bucked the trend and actually tried to play down their wealth. After introductions and pleasantries, Maya got right down to business. There was no sense belaboring the point when she wasn’t going to be taking on this woman as a client. “I had a chance to look everything over,” Maya began as Sarah settled back into the guest chair. “And, at the risk of being too blunt, I don’t think I can represent you. I have several concerns about the financials you’ve provided.” “Oh?” Sarah asked, arching an eyebrow. “Shell companies, offshore accounts in countries with lax regulations, large cash transactions... let’s not pretend like we don’t both know what that means.” Sarah crossed her arms across her chest and gave Maya an expectant look. “You said you were an heiress,” Maya replied. “From where I’m sitting, I’m assuming you inherited daddy’s drug empire, or something along those lines.” “Would it be a problem if I did?” “I don’t launder money.” “You mean you won’t launder money for me. You just do it for all the CEOs and trust fund kids that have houses along the Newport Coast.” “Everything I do is legal,” Maya shot back. “I exploit loopholes, I don’t break laws.” Sarah sighed and uncrossed her arms. “It’s probably for the best,” she said, getting to her feet. “You don’t even have any idea about the scope of the assets I need help with.” “$1.2 billion,” Maya blurted out before she could stop herself. Sarah stopped in her tracks and looked at her. “I only gave you financials related to $100 million in funds.” “Yeah, you forgot to mention the Cayman account with another $250 million ... plus the import/export business in Manila with estimated holdings of $850 million. Add ‘em all up and you get $1.2 billion in total assets.” Sarah looked genuinely surprised. “And that’s another reason I won’t take you on as a client,” Maya said. “Even if I were willing to break the law and launder your money, I can’t help someone who isn’t honest with me about their whole financial situation.” A genuine smile spread across Sarah’s lips and she settled back into the guest chair, making herself comfortable. “I think we’re done here,” Maya said. “Oh, we’re just getting started,” Sarah replied, real excitement shining in her eyes. “You’re the first candidate I’ve met who's found their Cayman account. To say nothing of their Manila operation. Combined with a strong moral compass, you’re the whole package.” “Their Cayman account? Their Manila operation? These aren’t your financials?” “No,” Sarah said, shaking her head. “But you were right; they are the financials for a cartel.” “Then how do you have them?” Sarah reached into her pocket and pulled out a badge. She slid it across the desk toward Maya so she could clearly read the “Special Agent” designation at the bottom, and “Department of the Treasury” at the top. “My name really is Sarah Martinez, and I work for FinCEN... the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network working under the Treasury's Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. And I’m actually here to talk to you about a job.” Maya just sat there, dumbstruck. Sarah leaned forward. “Look, I know you’ve got a good thing going on here. Successful business, great office, enough money to live comfortably in one of the most expensive ZIP codes in the country... sounds like a pretty sweet life.” “Are you making a competitive offer?” “Oh God no,” Sarah laughed out loud. “The hours and the pay are terrible, and you get virtually no recognition for what you do outside the walls of our office.” “So why would I want to do that?” “Because I’m willing to bet that for the first time in a long time, maybe ever, you were excited when you looked into these financials. This wasn’t just about exploiting tax loopholes so some business bro can leave his nepo-babies a few extra million dollars rather than paying the money they actually owe to Uncle Sam. You followed a trail of breadcrumbs and uncovered a vast criminal financial network. If this were a real assignment, you would have taken a billion dollars out of a cartel’s pocket and found two assets that they might have used undetected for years to further their business interests. With this job, you get a chance to use your analytical gifts to do some good in the world.” Maya looked down at her hands folded on the desk. As soon as Sarah said it, she knew it was true. She had been comfortable for so long, she hadn’t realized that she was just going through the motions. She had built a life for herself that almost anyone in the world would envy from a materialist perspective, but she wasn’t challenged by the work. Her life’s work was helping rich people stay rich. What would it be like if she put her skills to use for something greater? “You don’t have to give me an answer now,” Sarah said as she stood up once again. “I’m just here to make an introduction to the possibility of a different life choice.” She moved for the door. “By the way,” Sarah said almost offhandedly before she opened it. “It was actually $1.3 billion in total assets parked by that cartel... which we seized, by the way. But don’t feel too bad. You only had a week to look over everything. It took me two weeks to figure out the full picture.” Maya’s mind raced as her incredible mind cycled through all the numbers and accounts and balance sheets and invoices she looked over in preparation for this meeting. “Where?” she asked Sarah. “I’ll tell you what,” Sarah replied. “I’ll leave my card with your assistant. I’m staying at the VEA Newport Beach just down the road until Friday morning, then I head back to D.C. If you want to grab a cup of coffee before then and talk more about the opportunity, let’s meet up and I’ll tell you where you missed $100 million. Maybe I’ll even tell you about the network of arms dealers we’re looking at now and which country they’re using to store their inventory. Here’s a hint... it starts with a ‘B’.” And with that, Sarah opened the door and left Maya alone in her office to contemplate everything. It was several minutes before Maya even moved. When her assistant came to remind her that her next appointment would be arriving at noon, Maya snapped out of it and pulled herself together. She pulled up the requisite files and then gave her calendar a quick once over. As she looked at her appointments for the next several weeks, she started to see the patterns in her own life for the first time. Client meetings during the week, where she helped rich people get richer. They paid her well so she could enjoy the luxuries that came with a safe, comfortable life. But she couldn’t find anything on her calendar that represented adventure. Or excitement. Or purpose. Just a never-ending cycle of wealth reinforcing wealth, money changing hands but ultimately just circulating around the same closed ecosystem of one-percenters. Was she really willing to give up the life she had built from the ground up, and leave it all behind for the chance to do something more noble? Maya already knew what she was going to do. She’d wrestle with it, but at the end of the day she’d always felt like she was meant for something more than this. Plus, how else was she going to get an answer to where the missing $100 million was hiding in those accounts? She was already planning on reviewing all the financials again when she got home. If she couldn’t figure it out on her own, she was at least going to go into her next meeting with Sarah knowing that she had turned over every stone and chased down every lead. —————————— 1,992 words Lyrics ▼ |
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