Fallen Elements by Heather McVea

too.
    “Are you sure you wouldn’t like a coffee, or
some tea?” Lisa asked as she took Ryan down a long hall, and into a
sprawling office that afforded Ryan a view of Baltimore’s Inner
Harbor.
    “Some water?” Ryan asked as she entered
Ronald Perkis’ office and sat down in a Trevi style brown leather
chair.
    “Certainly. Mr. Perkis will be in shortly.”
Lisa closed the mahogany wood door as she left.
    Ryan looked around the office. It reminded
her of her mother’s study - ornate and altogether too much. The
door opened, and instead of Lisa, a man in his sixties walked in.
He was dressed in what looked like an expensive black suit with a
conservative maroon tie. As men went, particularly older men, Ryan
imagined Ronald Perkis would be a catch.
    “Ms. Myers, it’s nice to meet you. I was
sorry to hear about your mother.” He crossed the office with his
hand extended toward Ryan.
    Standing, Ryan shook the man’s hand. “Thank
you.” Sitting down, she crossed her legs and rested her bag on her
lap. “You can call me Ryan.”
    Sitting down on the other side of a large,
rectangular mahogany desk, the man nodded as he opened a thick
manila folder, and typed into a laptop that sat to his left. “I
appreciate that.” Ryan took note that the man did not extend her
the same informality.
    The door opened again, and Lisa walked in
with a bottle of water and a glass of ice. “Here you are, Ms.
Myers.”
    “Lisa, can you push the partner meeting back
fifteen minutes?” Ronald asked without looking up from his
laptop.
    “Yes.” Lisa didn’t look at her boss, but
rather put the water and glass on the edge of his desk, smiling
briefly at Ryan.
    Lisa left, and Ryan poured half the water
into the glass, and took a long drink. She wasn’t prone to
nervousness normally, but had to remind herself she was the
client regardless of how pretentious the man across from her was
behaving.
    Leaning back in his chair, the attorney
smiled at Ryan. “I’ve had Lisa prepare a reckoning of the assets
your mother left you. The man scanned a sheet of paper. “It looks
like in total - twenty two million, three hundred thousand.” He
glanced up at Ryan. “Plus or minus a few thousand.”
    Ryan put her water down. “May I see the
portfolio statement, please?”
    Mr. Perkis slid a thinner manila folder
across the desk to Ryan. “That is simply the cash assets. Your
mother owned three private residences and two commercial
properties. All included in the summary.” The man thumbed through
the thicker folder, and then slid several pieces of paper toward
Ryan along with a black Mont Blanc pin. “Please review, and sign
where I’ve marked. That will complete the transfer.”
    Ryan pulled the documents toward her, and
began reading. The documents consisted of several transfer deeds
for the various properties, ownership updates to the brokerage and
annuity accounts. Ryan signed, and slid the papers back to the
attorney.
    Glancing at the papers, Mr. Perkis nodded.
“Very good. If I could get your driver’s license, we will get these
notarized.”
    Ryan took her ID from her wallet. “Out of
curiosity, what’s the portfolio’s rate of return?”
    Mr. Perkis’ brow arched, and he held up his
index finger before pressing a green button on his desk phone.
“Lisa, can you please come in with your notary pack?” Turning his
attention back to Ryan, Mr. Perkis smiled. “The average is a little
over nine percent. I’m happy to report that held, even during the
downturn. Overall the portfolio grew. It helped, of course, that
Karen wasn’t taking any income from the accounts.”
    Ryan nodded. “Neither will I.”
    Mr. Perkis frowned. “I was told -”
    Ryan closed the folder. “I have a job and
don’t see the point.” She slid the folder into her bag. “I will be
taking a distribution of sixty thousand dollars, however.” Her
student loan deferment was coming to an end, and she had decided
after accepting the liaison position for