The Disciple of Las Vegas by Ian Hamilton

white hair, wearing a tailored navy-blue pinstriped suit and a blue Hermès tie loosened at the neck, he was walking down a staircase from the mezzanine, scanning the lobby.
    Ava stood so he could see her. He acknowledged her with a nod and walked towards her.
    â€œAre you Ava Lee?” he asked.
    â€œYes, I am,” she said, offering her hand.
    â€œYou aren’t what I expected. Not at all what I expected.” He slurred ever so slightly, and she knew there had been alcohol with dinner.
    â€œI don’t know what you mean.”
    â€œYou’re so young.”
    â€œI’m not as young as I look.”
    â€œDo you have a business card?” he asked.
    She opened her purse and handed one to him. She also pulled out her Moleskine notebook and the envelope that contained Jim Cousins’ contract. Sitting down, she placed the papers next to her on the couch. Ling sat down across from her. She could tell he was agitated, and wondered how much he knew.
    â€œAre you a daughter of Marcus Lee?” he asked.
    â€œYes,” Ava said, startled. “I am.”
    Ava was the second daughter of Marcus Lee and his second wife, Jennie. Jennie had become Marcus’s wife in the old style, which is to say he had never left or divorced the first. Ava and Marian had become his second family, acknowledged and cared for but with no hope of inheriting anything more than their names and whatever their mother could put aside for them from Marcus’s generous allowance. Their father had four children by his first wife, who lived in Hong Kong, and another two with wife number three, who lived in Australia. It was — at least to Westerners — a strange approach to family life. But in Chinese eyes it was traditional and therefore acceptable. It was also not a lifestyle for a man without wealth.
    â€œI met you when you were two years old.”
    â€œI beg your pardon?”
    â€œI met you in Hong Kong when your father was still living with your mother. You have an older sister, right?”
    â€œMarian.”
    â€œWhen I heard your name earlier today, I had a vague recollection. And then I called a friend in Hong Kong and he made the connection for me. I wasn’t sure until I saw how young you were.”
    â€œHow do you know my father?”
    â€œWe were schoolmates in Hong Kong, and then later we knew each other in Australia.”
    â€œWhat a coincidence.”
    Ling stared at her and she began to feel uncomfortable. “You look a lot like him,” he said. “Although looking like your mother wouldn’t be so bad. She was a real beauty.”
    â€œShe still is,” Ava said.
    â€œDo you stay in touch with your father?”
    It was a rude question, designed to humiliate her. “Yes, and I’ll be sure to tell him we met and that you inquired about our relationship.”
    Ling flinched. He realized he had gone too far. Marcus Lee wasn’t a close friend anymore, but he was a man who had too much wealth, power, and influence for Ling to dare offend him. “Well, anyway, it’s such a small world, isn’t it?”
    â€œI’m here about Philip Chew,” Ava said.
    â€œI thought as much when you mentioned Manila.”
    â€œYou incorporated a company called Kelowna Valley Developments for him. A man named Jim Cousins was designated president but the shares were held by Chew.”
    â€œAre you always so direct?” he asked with amusement.
    â€œIt saves time.”
    He shrugged. “As I remember, the shares in that business were held in trust by our law firm.”
    â€œYou incorporated the company for Philip Chew. It’s logical to assume that the shares are being held in trust for him.”
    â€œI haven’t actually admitted incorporating the company for Philip. That is your assertion.”
    He’s a bit tipsy but he’s not slow , she thought. “Do you deny it?”
    â€œMs. Lee, where is all this