Vacancy on the board, p.1
Vacancy on the Board, page 1
Vacancy on the Board
A Condo Series Mystery
By
Kate Mack
This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.
VACANCY ON THE BOARD
First edition. June 1, 2023.
Copyright © 2023 Kate Mack.
Written by Kate Mack.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Epilogue
About the Author
Acknowledgements
Excerpt from the next condo mystery: What’s in Storage?
Introduction
The man sat in near darkness, his hands sweaty as he nervously tapped his foot on the floor. Cloud shadows flickered across the floor to ceiling windows of his condominium apartment. The only sound passing through the thick glass walls was the low hum of a distant highway.
He stood up suddenly and put his hands in his pockets. He walked to the window and looked down at the garden below where the trees lit up by the lights of the atrium at the centre cast long skeletal fingers of darkness stretching towards the surrounding buildings.
He wasn’t made for this. He didn’t have the stamina to handle the constant fear. He was skipping the meeting tonight. He felt too ill. He couldn’t eat and he had started to drink. He had to get out. He could go away. He could call in sick tomorrow and get a flight out of the country and go somewhere, anywhere, somewhere nobody knew him. He would be free. He went back to the sofa, slumped down into the cushions and pulled a cell phone out from his pocket. He wouldn’t wait. He would book a flight now.
Suddenly there was a tap at the door. He froze. The tap was repeated. Then a familiar voice called out. He relaxed.
“Coming,” he called. He slipped the phone under a cushion and went to open the door.
“Come in,” he said as he opened the door to his visitor.
“Hello, I just dropped by to see how you were.” His visitor came in and shut the door gently.
“How are you doing? I hadn’t heard from you for a week and was getting worried. And why are you in the dark?”
“Sorry, I was just resting. I’ll get the lights.”
The man turned and bent down to switch on the lamp beside the sofa when he felt a blow on the back of his head and a blinding flash of pain. Then, nothing.
His visitor bent over him as he lay slumped on the side of the sofa and felt the side of his neck with a gloved hand.
The visitor went quickly over to the windows and closed the curtains. The beam of a small flashlight pierced the darkness as the visitor quickly searched through the litter of papers on the dining room table, taking nothing, then moving to the desk in a hallway alcove. The visitor went meticulously through each desk drawer before finally settling on a file folder and slipping it carefully into a dark leather briefcase. After searching through each closet, kitchen cupboards, drawers, and even under the bed, the visitor unplugged the laptop computer sitting on the desk and put it into the briefcase together with a couple of hard drives that had been in the top desk drawer.
Finally, the visitor stood in the living room, looked around carefully, then picked up a cell phone and set of keys sitting on the table by the sofa and left, quietly locking the apartment door.
Chapter 1
“So, if you’d like me to go through the options again?”
Toni jolted upright. She had almost drifted off. If she wasn’t careful she’d lose this job. And she needed the money to eat! But the material wasn’t exactly designed to keep anyone wide awake.
The condominium board’s property manager finally finished her presentation and the board’s president moved on to the decision. Toni, who was doing the minute-taking, scrambled to keep up with the details and furiously typed away.
It appeared that the meeting was almost done.
Toni took a deep breath and noted the next scheduled meeting. She saved the document and closed her laptop and put it in her bag. Smiling at everyone, she left the room and ran to catch the bus on the corner.
Waiting for the bus, she wondered if maybe she had taken a wrong turn somewhere with her career. Probably it was deciding to pursue a higher degree in Medieval History. When Toni was twenty-one it had seemed romantic and adventurous. It made sense for someone who had played that beautiful medieval instrument, the lute, since she was twelve. She somehow imagined that she would be giving lectures on the history of the instrument and playing her own accompaniment. So, she devoted the next eight years to first acquiring a Master’s degree and then a Ph.D. in the history of medieval music.
Big miscalculation – there were exactly zero jobs in the field. All Toni had landed so far was a temporary position as a part-time instructor with the university’s Department of Medieval Studies. And she had an enormous loan for eight years of post-graduate education.
Therefore, this job – being a ‘professional’ minute-taker for condominium boards. For the most part, condo boards were made up of volunteers who didn’t have the time, inclination or experience to take minutes of their board meetings. As the minutes were the legal record of decisions taken, it was critical that the decisions were recorded accurately and it did not contain extraneous or even inappropriate commentary. Board directors didn’t want the risk of libel or other nuisance suits from some litigious condo owner.
The minutes also needed to distinguish between decision-making records that were public, and material that legally was confidential, such as human resource issues and litigation. Therefore, most condo boards contracted with professional minute-taking organizations. Toni’s friend, Miranda, had been doing the work for almost a year and said it was an easy way to make money and mostly in the evenings. For most minute-takers, it was a well-paying part-time job. For Toni, it was a predictable income source, unlike her university contract work. It meant being able to pay the rent, whittle down her student loans and feed herself and her cat.
Toni had thus taken on lots of minute-taking work and was becoming good at it. It involved attending directors’ meetings and recording the decisions and actions taken by the board. She was familiar with many different types of issues, but was unprepared for what happened at the next meeting she attended.
She arrived as usual a few minutes before the scheduled start time and was unpacking her laptop when the property manager, Fatima, burst into the room. Fatima was an excitable woman who enjoyed the dramatic in the day-to-day happenings of her life. With a mass of black hair and a voluptuous body, she was a vibrant contrast to Toni’s slim five-foot, seven-inch frame and cool, quiet presence.
“Oh my gosh, have you heard?”
“What? I just got here.”
“Sarah just died. Like, just over the weekend. She was such an important part of the board. I don’t know what we’re going to do.”
“What do you mean?”
“We need to have a certain number of directors to function. And with Samir out of the country so much, he’s mostly not available, so we’ve had problems getting quorum as it is.”
Toni tried to remember her training. She was certain she hadn’t encountered this situation before, but recalled something about appointing a director to fill a vacancy.
She didn’t want to overstep her role as minute-taker, but the property manager seemed desperate.
“Umm .... Doesn’t the existing board have the right to appoint someone to fill in?”
“How do you know that?”
“Well, we get trained on contingencies. I’ve just finished my training, so it’s all sort of fresh in my mind.” Toni was new to the job. But the property manager seemed so out of her depth that Toni didn’t think it would matter to offer an opinion.
“Okay, that’s a good idea. I’ll check the by-laws and see what they say.”
Toni realized that Fatima was also relatively new to the job. Otherwise, she surely would have known how to deal with this situation. Toni wondered what her responsibility should be.
Or maybe Toni should have thought of another way, given what would result from becoming involved.
Chapter 2
Eric and Joan, two of the remaining four directors, entered the meeting room. Fatima rushed up to Eric, the board president, who was a tall and lean man in his late sixties.
“Eric, have you heard? Sarah passed away
Eric turned and looked down his nose at the excited property manager. “Yes, Fatima,” he said dryly. “I have been informed. It was a shock to hear from our concierge that Sarah had passed. Her death was unexpected.”
“Oh no, how awful!” cried Joan, a matronly woman who also looked to be in her late sixties or seventies. “Sarah was so full of life and such a great board member. We’ll miss her dreadfully.”
At this point, Gustavo, a third board member, came into the room. “What’s going on?” he asked.
“We just found out that Sarah died this past weekend! I’m just so upset,” Joan sighed, her eyes tearing up.
Gustavo, a stocky and paunchy man in his sixties, blanched. “How did that happen? She seemed fine the last time I saw her.”
Eric leaned over and patted Joan on the shoulder in an attempt at an avuncular manner. It didn’t work, thought Toni. He wasn’t the uncle type. He was more the lean and hungry Cassius type. “There, there now. We are all very upset at the loss of Sarah. However, we need to keep calm and, for the sake of the board and our owners, consider what needs to be done.”
“Do we know what the funeral arrangements are? Will we be able to pay our respects?” asked Joan.
“I understand that her family will be taking her back to her hometown where a celebration of her life will be held,” replied Eric. “Her family will let us know which funeral home will be managing the arrangements for anyone who wishes to send a message and make a donation in her name.”
“We should definitely make a donation on behalf of the board,” Gustavo choked. “I’m going to miss her.”
Toni could see tears welling up in his eyes. Joan put her arms around him. “There, there now. We all do, dear. We all will miss her.”
Eric cleared his throat. “Regretfully, we do need to begin the meeting. We can’t keep our board minute-taker,” he nodded to Toni, “and our property manager, Fatima, waiting indefinitely.”
Eric sat down at the head of the table and the others took their seats on either side, with Toni sitting at the end. As she opened her laptop, Eric noted that Samir, another board member, regretted not being able to join them as he was out of the country again.
Toni wondered who Samir was and why she had never met him. He was on the board, but had never been to a board meeting since Toni started taking minutes a couple of months ago. However, unlike the other board members that she had met, Samir was still young enough to be working. Toni vaguely remembered someone saying once that Samir was overseas on a protracted business deal. Or maybe family matters, she really couldn’t remember.
The meeting finally got underway. After recording attendance, Eric asked if anyone had any additional items for the agenda. Fatima, who was sitting on the edge of her seat, put up her hand.
“Yes, Fatima?” Said Eric.
“Look, everyone, with respect, we have to decide what to do about Sarah’s board seat. Without her, and with Samir away so much, if any of you three board members can’t make it, we won’t have quorum and can’t make any decisions. It’s too risky not to replace her, especially with the AGM being months away. There are some important financial decisions coming up that can’t be put off.” Fatima turned to Toni. “Toni says that we can appoint someone in her place until the next AGM.”
Toni cringed inwardly at being quoted as if she was an expert and wished she hadn’t said anything. She knew medieval music, not condominium law. Fatima, it was clear, was a bit of a loose cannon. Toni would have to watch what she said around her.
Eric responded, “Thank you, Fatima. I have noted that already as a first item for our agenda.”
Once the preliminary business was finished, Eric cleared his throat. “Regarding Sarah’s replacement, Toni is correct.” He nodded gravely to Toni. “Since we still have quorum even without Samir, the by-laws say we can appoint someone to the board in Sarah’s place until the next AGM. Or we can decide to take the risk of waiting, counting on everyone here to be present at every board meeting.”
Joan jumped in. “No, Eric, I’m not comfortable with that. Look, anyone of us could get sick or leave town unexpectedly or have an emergency. Then if Samir is not here, the board wouldn’t be able to make any decisions. What if there’s an emergency that can’t wait!”
Fatima nodded her head vigorously. “I agree with Joan. What if the boiler breaks down in the middle of the winter and we need an immediate replacement? I couldn’t deal with it without the board authorizing the funds.”
Gustavo agreed excitedly. “Yes, yes...as you all know, my daughter is expecting her first child and she is having a very difficult time and my wife and I are spending a lot of time with her. Her husband is out of the country, so I might have to miss a meeting.”
“All right then,” Eric interrupted. “So, we are all in agreement then, we need to appoint a new board member.”
Everyone around the table put up their hands in agreement. Toni noted the decision for the minutes.
“The next decision point is how to identify a potential candidate,” Eric said. “Sarah had a financial background. Without her, we miss that expertise. I propose that we look for a candidate with a similar background, agreed?” Everyone nodded agreement, but no one could think of a condo owner who fit that requirement.
“Neither can I,” Eric continued. “However, our by-laws allow us to have up to two directors who are neither residents nor owners. That gives us the flexibility to look for someone who has the expertise we need, regardless of whether they own a condo in the building. Does anyone know of anyone like that?” The board members shook their heads.
Toni listened, puzzled. A non-owner director? Why would someone who wasn’t an owner want to sit on a condo board? It didn’t pay anything and the directors’ job was to oversee the management of the condo in the interests of the owners, so what would a non-owner get out of it?
Eric continued. “I happen to have been speaking earlier today to an old colleague about our situation. He’s president of his condo board and knows someone with a background in accounting and financial management who was looking for some additional board experience and might be willing to help us.”
Joan perked up. “That sounds perfect, Eric. Maybe we could invite him to sit in on part of our next board meeting. It would be a chance for us to meet him and him to meet us.”
“I don’t know,” said Gustavo. “I’m not sure about an outsider coming on the board. Could he send us a resume?”
Eric nodded. “I’ll ask him for one. I’m sure once you see it, you’ll agree he’s what we need to get us through to the AGM.”
With the exception of Gustavo, Toni watched the others jump on the potential solution to their problem. Little did she and they imagine that it was the beginning of a whole new kettle full of troubles, as her grandmother would have said.
Chapter 3
After the meeting, Toni headed home tired and looking forward to collapsing in her armchair. Home was a small, one-bedroom apartment on the first floor of an old, three-storey brick house built more than a hundred years ago, in a neighbourhood of once stately homes, near the university. A lot of the houses had been turned into rooming houses during one of the economic downturns, but were now getting their second wind as apartment conversions for graduate students and workers in the near-by tech industries.
Toni loved her house and her apartment. It was the first apartment that she had all to herself and she valued the sense of freedom it gave her. No unexpected parties to come home to. No weekend guests she didn’t know. Nobody else’s mess to clean up. It was lonely sometimes, but it was worth it. And she had Luna, her large, twelve-year-old tabby cat, for company.
The front room, her sitting room and study, looked out onto an overgrown front lawn and a leafy, treelined street. It was furnished with comfortable, hand-me-down furniture from an elderly cousin who had favoured an English country home style. Bookshelves lined two of the walls and her viol was propped up in a corner by the window beside a music stand and chair. Beside it a lute lay in an open case on the floor.
A lamp sitting on the corner of the desk lit the wooden surface casting a soft glow over the framed photos propped against the wall. One was of her Highland grandmother.
