Just Compensation and Measure of Damages
"Eminent domain has two stages," Jan said. "The first is to prove that it's legal to take property and, meeting that, the second is to determine a fair price for the property."
He nodded, then turned to page two of the document, a table of contents, and began reading: 26 Pa.C.S.A. # 701 Just compensation; other damages 26 Pa.C.S.A. # 702 Measure of damages 26 Pa.C.S.A. # 703 Fair market value
He felt his eyes start to glaze over, then scanned the rest, stopping at the last one: 26 Pa.C.S.A. # 716 Attempted avoidance of monetary just compensation
He tossed the papers back onto the table.
"Jesus, I'm glad I hired you to deal with this bullshit." He smiled at her, and when she smiled back, he added: "Hope we don't have any trouble with that last one. I mean, what's a fair price for abandoned buildings?"
"Condemned buildings," she corrected him. "The Supreme Court fixed that for us with the Kelo vs. City of New London decision. There won't be any Fifth Amendment problems with the properties."
Badde then motioned at a long cardboard tube on the table.
"Has the Russian seen the architect's drawings?"
"Yuri had his assistant personally messenger them over from the Diamond Development office in Center City."
She grinned slyly, then added, "You know, I think that messenger boy of his is really his concubine."
"His what?"
"His young lover, his concubine."
Rapp stared at her with an incredulous look. "You shitting me? What's a billionaire Russian businessman doing with something like that? I mean, I've seen him with some incredibly hot women."
She shrugged. "Female intuition."
"Maybe. Just don't say anything to him. He has a mean goddamn temper."
"Guess that's how you get to be a billionaire," Jan said as she pulled the large sheets of architectural drawings from the cardboard tube.
Badde got up from the chair and walked around the marble-topped table. As he stood behind Jan, looking over her shoulder at the architect's renderings for Volks Haus, his hands slipped down to her waist. He rested his chin on her shoulder as he squeezed her hips.
"Pay attention," she said.
"I am paying attention," he said as he buried his nose in her neck and inhaled her lightly scented perfume. "Attention to you. I'll pay even better attention with this fancy outfit of yours off…"
She giggled, then let her head drop back toward his. Just as she said, "I surrender," Badde's Go To Hell cell phone started ringing.
"Dammit!" Badde said, grabbing it and quickly checking the caller ID. It read UNKNOWN CALLER. "Dammit!"
He stepped back from Jan and started walking toward the sliding glass door to the balcony. "Yes?" he said into the phone.
The caller was yelling so loudly that Badde had to hold the phone away from his ear.
Jan could almost clearly hear what the caller was telling Badde: "Reggie's dead! They're coming after me!"