CHAPTER 22
Aaron
Not long after the so-called meeting with Reed, which left a bad taste in my mouth I didn’t shake until hours afterward, I went into defense mode. How could I block him in time to prevent the offer? How could I keep him away from Kenzie?
It wouldn’t be hard to distract her. She was so young and innocent, for all her worldliness. She might have gone through a lot of hard knocks, thanks to Reed, but she could still be dazzled.
I liked that about her. There were already too many jaded people in the world.
How would I distract her, though? How could I do it long enough to keep Reed away from her?
He was a rich man, a powerful man. A conniving, thieving, backstabbing man. He would go to any lengths.
Just like I would.
I had underestimated how much she meant to him—then again, I reminded myself, it probably had nothing to do with her. It had to do with me and our rivalry. He couldn’t let me win, even if that victory only meant losing an employee. A single person.
Not the woman who’d been rocking my world in bed these last few nights.
It reminded me of hours-long games of Monopoly that I used to play when I was a kid and we were all sent away to live with our aunt after Mom died. There was always that one player who had to have everything, who wouldn’t accept another person forfeiting the game when it was clear they’d never win. No, the game had to be completely theirs. They had to bankrupt the losing player, take everything from them in order to feel satisfaction.
I imagined Reed would be that kind of player.
I had to out-think him. Out-maneuver him. That was one thing I was sure was possible. He was too obvious, too hell-bent. I didn’t know what he held against me—wasn’t it enough that he took what was supposed to be mine?
I should have been the one looking for revenge, not him.
Maybe he saw me as a bug, something to squash. He’d referred to my company as being a young one, hadn’t he?
He’d find out what a young company could do.
I knew who I needed to call: Stephanie Childs. It had been a long time, but I didn’t think she would have forgotten me. Not after what I did for her. Without my help, the girl would have been in serious trouble—maybe even in prison.
She owed me one.
“Hello?” It was clear from the sound of her voice that she was surprised to hear from me.
“Don’t say my name,” I told her. “I don’t want anyone knowing I’m calling.”
“Are you all right? Are you in trouble?”
Right, because I would call you if I was in trouble.
“There’s a little problem I hoped you could help me with. Are you alone?”
“No, but I can be. Give me a second.” I waited while she went somewhere I hoped was confidential. She was my only hope. I couldn’t have her screwing things up. “Okay, I’m alone. What’s up?”
“You still working for Reed Kingsley?”
“Yes, I’m at work now.”
“Good. I need you to do a little digging for me.”
“Uh-oh. On what? You know there’s a limit to what I can find out for you. It’s not like they leave files out in the open.” I hadn’t even asked yet, and already she had cold feet. I had to get her to come around.
“I leave it all in your capable hands,” I said. “I know you have your ways when there’s something you want badly enough. Like when you looked up all those financial records and got caught doing it. You found a way then, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, and I was almost thrown in prison for it,” she retorted. “You remember that? I’d rather that not happen again.”
“And who helped you out of it? Refresh my memory. Who gave you the money to hire the city’s top lawyers to get you off? I don’t remember the man’s name . . .”
A heavy sigh. “You did.”
“Exactly. I know an ex-hacker like you can find anything she wants.”
“That was a long time ago, and you know it. Besides, I’ve gone clean. I don’t do that anymore.”
“You can do it for me just this once, can’t you? I mean, I think I more than paid for your services. Those legal bills were no joke.” I kept my voice smooth, cool. I had no doubt she would fall in line.
Another sigh. “What do you want me to find out?”
I closed my eyes, pumping my fist in victory. “I need all the dirt you can find on Reed Kingsley.”
“Whoa, whoa. That’s asking a little much, even though I owe you a favor. I mean, the man is my boss. My top boss. I can’t pry into Madison Media Group. Especially not while I’m working here.”
“Why not? You’ve done worse.”
“I told you, I don’t do it anymore.”
“And I didn’t have to get you off the hook for something that would have gotten you a hefty prison sentence, not to mention the way I paid to have your record expunged. Without me, you never would have gotten your job at Madison to begin with. So who are you really loyal to? Who deserves it more?”
Silence. “What do you want me to find?”
“Anything you can, but specifically anything about Kenzie Olson. I have a feeling he’s got his eye on her and he wants to put together an offer to get her back in the company.”
“Who is this person?” I remembered that Stephanie worked in the legal department. Irony never ceased.
“You wouldn’t know her. Don’t worry about it. Just keep an eye out for her name and anything else in his emails or anywhere that might be interesting. I mean anything. I’m looking to cut him off at the knees.”
“Okay. I’ll do what I can.” She let out a heavy breath. “What’s my time frame?”
“Five minutes ago.”
“Of course.” She snorted. “I’ll get back to you soon.”
I didn’t love blackmailing, though technically that wasn’t what I was doing. I hadn’t threatened the girl. I only reminded her of what she owed me. I didn’t think a little snooping around was too much to ask after everything I’d done for her.
And if she had any trouble, I would gladly help her again. It would be the least I could do.
It wasn’t easy, keeping myself occupied while waiting for Stephanie’s call. I couldn’t seem to focus on anything. Not even Kenzie, since every time she came to mind I thought about Reed taking her from me. And that had my blood red-hot.
I could imagine the smug look on his face when he won, and my fists clenched so hard my knuckles turned bright white.
No way I could let that happen.
Not that asshole.
When my phone rang, I nearly jumped on it. “Yeah? Find anything?”
“You’re not going to like it,” Stephanie said. She didn’t even have to tell me the details. The sound of her voice told me it was going to be worse than I’d expected.
“What is it? I can take it.” If he was already set to go with the offer, I would have to think of some way to get around him.
“It’s about you.”
“Me?” Well, he hated me. I could imagine my name being bandied about via email, especially if Reed had managed to put two and two together on who did the resigning.
“Yes. It’s not good, Aaron.” She took a deep breath, then whispered, “Do you have stock in MangaCorp? Or Triton Industries?”
“Sure. What’s that got to do with anything?”
“He has evidence of insider trading.”
I froze, shocked. I’d never seen it coming. Of all the ways he might have come at me, that was one I couldn’t have imagined in a million years.
“You still there?” Stephanie whispered.
“Yes. Go on.”
“According to the email chain I found, he’s ready to leak his evidence to the press. I found this email to a reporter at the Daily Tribute, where he gives this guy the go-ahead to print the story.”
“Daily Tribute. Owned by Madison Media Group.” I felt sick. How could he sink so low? Was he willing to destroy my life just because I’d stolen an employee? No, this was more than that. He hated me, flat-out, and wanted to make me disappear.
“Right. That was all I found, really. Nothing about that Kenzie person except for a bunch of emails about her resignation.”
“Right. I can imagine he would have lost his mind over it.” I could hardly think. All of my responses were knee-jerk, things I didn’t have to think about saying. I spoke just to make a sound, to convince Stephanie and myself that things were okay.
They most definitely were not. This was so beyond me just stealing Kenzie, and that had me worried for what other surprises he had up his sleeve.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t find more. But I’m glad I found what I did so you can, ya know, get ahead of whatever might be coming.”
“You really think I did it?” I asked, laughing sharply.
“I mean, can you blame me? He’s willing to go to print with it, Aaron.”
“Right. I can see how you would believe it. Thank you for your help. I know how much it took for you to do that.”
“Are you all right?”
“I will be.” As soon as that son of a bitch is wiped off the face of the Earth.
So that was it. He must have doctored up some so-called evidence on me ages before now, probably as soon as he stole Madison Media Group out from under me. Just in case I decided to call him out publicly for being a backstabber. He always had his bases covered. And that, right there, was how the two of us were similar.
If I didn’t want him dead, I might have given him credit for it.
The story could break at any time, and I couldn’t just sit back and let it happen. Not when I was innocent.
If there was one thing I’d never played games with, it was my portfolio. I wasn’t willing to screw up just for the sake of a little monetary gain. Anyone who knew me would have known that. And it certainly wasn’t how I made my billions, either. Cutting corners didn’t get anyone anywhere fast.
But who knew me? I mean, really knew me? Certainly not the public, or the district attorney.
I debated on calling my lawyer in advance. But that might make it look like I was guilty and trying to cover my tracks. Either way, I needed to formulate a plan and take action before this wildfire spread.
There I was, thinking the entire problem revolved around Kenzie.
I had no idea Reed was playing a much bigger game.
It would take a little more time and thought before I made my first move. But I had the advantage—I knew what he planned to do and how he aimed below the belt.
The key would be using that advantage wisely, and I had just the plan.