Financial Matters

Max Skinner & Libby

by Beej & Layne

Libby was nervous as she walked toward the bank. She didn't have a lot of experience dealing with big sums of money. Her father had always done that and then later, his lawyer. Now that she was making plans to buy a house and do other things with her life, she might as well get used to it, she told herself.

She hadn't realized when she'd called to make an appointment that the president of the bank himself would be seeing her either. Libby had met Max Skinner briefly, at a few of the Glen social gatherings, but she hadn't actually talked to him. She had noticed that he had a beautiful British accent. Now, she was going to be counting on him to manage her financial affairs for her.

The bank certainly looked nice, she thought to herself, as she walked up the stairs. Mr. Skinner's secretary greeted her politely and showed her into his office.

Max was just finishing off a phone call as there was a discreet knock on his door. He looked at his watch and realised it was time for his appointment. He got up and reached for his jacket, putting it on as he called, "Enter."

He smiled as his new secretary entered; she was new and seemed ultra efficient, reminding him of a slightly younger version of Miss Peeg. Behind her stood a very nervous looking young lady; Max decided to mount a charm offensive to try and put her at ease.

"Libby, right on time. It's good to see you, would you like some tea?" He took her hand, shaking it gently and leading her to a comfortable leather chair, not letting go of her hand until she was settled. Looking across to his secretary, he asked her to arrange for some tea and pastries. She nodded primly and left the office.

Max walked round his desk and unbuttoned his jacket before sitting back down. "Now then, Libby, what can I do for you this fine day?"

He was a little too smooth and charming to suit Libby. She liked Richie's down-to-earth approach to things better. But she reminded herself that first impressions weren't always right.

She perched on the edge of the chair. "I'm hoping you can help me organize my finances," she started out.

"If I decide you're the right man for the job, that is."

Max studied Libby for a moment. It looked like his charm offensive was backfiring on him, Libby certainly wasn't impressed. Time to change tactics. "Would you mind if I take off my jacket, I still find myself getting overheated. I think my body yearns for London weather.

Please, sit back and relax, and tell me what I can do to assure you that I'm the right man to take care of your financial affairs."

Just then there was a knock on the door and the refreshments arrived. "Let's have a cuppa and one of Lucy's lovely bikkies while you start your assessment of me."

"Um, I hate to be a bother, but could I get a diet coke?" Libby asked. "I've just never managed to get used to hot tea, even though I've tried."

"Guess I'm just too American." Libby grinned, liking him better in casual mode, with his jacket off and sleeves rolled up.

"That's no bother at all, Libby. If you like, I can send out for some iced tea, if not, I'm sure we have plenty of diet coke in the fridge," Max smiled, relieved to see Libby thawing out a bit regarding her opinion of him. "While we're waiting for your drink, would you like to outline what kind of help you need, or shall we sit and gossip...but not like Mr. Jessup," Max winked.

"I guess we should get right down to business," Libby told him. She didn't even like the mention of the word 'gossip', not with all the talk that had gone around town about her and Richie.

"My father died five years ago and left a trust fund for me. It paid for my college and for me to move here from the states, but I haven't touched it otherwise, so there's still a sizeable amount of money left there." She paused, not liking discussing her father's death, or his money.

Seeing that Max was listening intently, she went on. "I've always worked and made my own living, and I'll continue to do that, but I've been making plans lately. Planning to buy a house and do a few other things. The money is still in a bank in the states, and I need to see about getting it here."

Max watched Libby as she spoke. She seemed uncomfortable and he wasn't sure if it was because speaking of her father upset her, or if she didn't like the financial gain her father's passing had afforded her. He decided that he was going to make things as easy for her as he could.

"That shouldn't be a problem at all. If you just want to transfer to a checking account, all I need are your banking details and a letter of intent from yourself, don't worry, we can type that up for you and you'll just have to check it over and sign it - I never allow any signature to take place without a thorough reading of the document - then all it takes is for us to open an account for you here and I'll fax all the details to your Stateside bank.

"If you want to invest any of the capital, we can discuss that once the funds have been transferred. You picked a good time to sort things out, Libby, the exchange rate to Aussie dollars is very favourable right now." Max leaned back in his chair waiting for her response.

"That's good, I guess," Libby said slowly. "I will want to invest some of it. As I said, I'm looking to buy a house, and I have something else planned that will take a hefty sum, according to the research I've done so far." She didn't elaborate.

"And I haven't thought about it before, but I guess I need to buy some life insurance and have a will drawn up. If anything happened to me, I'd want to make sure the money goes where I want it to go."

"That's very sensible, on both counts. A lot of young people think that insurance and wills are for older people, but this day and age, it's always better to be up to date with all those things. We can arrange for a will to be drawn up for you, and I can advise you on the different kinds of life insurances there are on offer You have a very adult head on your young shoulders, Libby," Max stopped talking to grab a cookie from the selection of goodies on the plate in the centre of his desk, nodding for Libby to do the same.

"Yes, well-" Libby was remembering her childhood, what little there'd been of it. "I kinda always had to have an adult head."

She took one of the cookies, munching thoughtfully. "What was your childhood like, Mr. Skinner?" Not very businesslike she knew, but she was curious.

Max stopped eating and looked thoughtful for a moment before speaking. "I was a studious child, Libby. I lost my parents when I was quite young, car crash, and was packed off to boarding school. My fondest memories are of the summer holidays when I would be put on a plane and sent to Provence. My uncle Henry owned a chateau there, with a vineyard. He was an old reprobate really, but he was my only family...and I loved him dearly..." Max stopped talking, staring into space and smiling at a distant memory.

She could tell he was off in some other world right now, in his memories. It made Libby like him much more. "Very difficult to lose your parents," she said softly. "I know."

"But a chateau and a vineyard- Sounds like a lovely place to be a child. Hope I can give a child a place like that one day." She smiled at him.

Max mentally shook himself and returned Libby's smile. "Well, if you're going to stay at The Glen, which I hope is a stupid question to ask, I think a vineyard wouldn't be an option, that's more down around the Hunter Valley, and then further up in Queensland on this side of the country. We're in banana country up here, hundreds of years ago all this was rain forest. You're right about the chateau, it was a glorious place. Henry left it to me, but I met Ceri before making the decision whether or not to relocate from London...then she, Bron and their cousins found out they'd inherited The Glen, and I realised that I could only be happy where she was."

"Yes, I'll be staying in the Glen, so I guess a vineyard's out." Libby grinned. "But a good home with a pretty yard and a swingset would be nice."

"So, you really think you can only be happy where Ceri is? Shouldn't she be happy where you are too? Anywhere you are?" The mention of a relationship brought up how she felt about Richie.

Clearing his throat and taking a sip of tea, Max answered. "I think that came out wrong. What I mean is that as long as I have Ceri by my side I'm happy to live on a rock in the desert. She's my world, Libby; she's made me a better man. We still have the chateau, and she's determined to go over there one day soon so that she can take pictures of the different seasons in the vineyard.

"As for pretty gardens and a swingset...that sounds like a good start. If you don't find anything ready built, I'm sure the cousins would let you buy a plot of your choice to build from scratch, or take a leaf out of Jeff's book. He fell in love with a property in Nana Glen, bought it and paid for it to be transported here, even the front garden. We can look into that once we get your account all set up."

"Okay." Libby had made up her mind about him. "What do I need to do to get started?"

"Right you are then. I'll get the letter of intent printed up for you to sign, then we'll open an account for you with us, we'll just deposit $1 in there to get it live. Then all I need are your present bank details. I'll fax everything to your US bank, and I'll let you know as soon as the funds have been wired across. Is there anything else I can help you with today?"

"Nothing I can think of, Mr. Skinner. Oh, do you have any idea how long it will take to get the money here?"

"Please, call me Max; we're quite an informal little bank here. I'll send the fax today, and making allowances for the time difference, I would think that it should be here within the next three days. I'll give you a ring as soon as I get word, then we can arrange another appointment to sort out your will and insurance. When you decide what you want to do about property, I can give you financial advice, but I would recommend that you go and see Richie Roberts, he'll be able to sort out all your legal paperwork. As you're his tenant, he may even give you a discount." Max smiled once again as he stood up, ready to escort her downstairs.

Richie. Libby frowned a little. She wasn't sure he would approve of what she planned to do with the insurance and the will she had been thinking about, and he would most definitely let her know. She liked the way he let her know what he thought, but she had her mind made up about this and she didn't intend to change anything.

Aloud, she said to Max, "I don't think I'll be needing any discount, but I'm sure he can sort things out." She grinned. "Richie doesn't usually have any problems doing that."

Checking the time, Libby remarked, "That didn't take very long. I have a list of houses I was going to go check out today, since it's Saturday."

Max held the door open and stepped back to allow Libby to pass, they chatted as they went down the stairs, and Max accompanied her to the door. They shook hands on the step and Max reached into his back pocket, taking out a card holder and handing one to Libby. "Here's my card, Libby. If you ever need anything out of banking hours, my cell and landline numbers are both on it." He watched her walk down towards her flat and waved as she turned and smiled before going down the alley, then walked back into the bank.