CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The following morning Draco found a message from Janice in his inbox.
It stated C.S. would see him at nine thirty. Draco hid it before Lara saw.
He had an hour.
He stared at his computer screen, not seeing anything but problems he couldn’t control. Or could he? He could try.
Whatever. He wouldn’t change it for the world. The time he’d spent with Lara was the best thing that’d ever happened to him.
Maybe Rory could help, but he was up to his eyes too. Maybe they could help each other out, like they used to. Why not, Draco thought. There was too much angst between them since Sean’s jail sentence. Angst over something they couldn’t change. Pulling together before Sean came out would help him more than being at odds with one another.
They’d exchanged text messages. Rory’s boss had been injured and died. Rory had to run the bike workshop single handled until he got help or Sean got out of jail. It wasn’t a good time to ask Rory for a favor, especially as Draco had come down on him hard about Sky.
Then there was Lara. He simply couldn’t let her down.
He’d long since given up the idea of setting a virus free in Compton Finances. It seemed an immature idea, ever since he’d admitted she meant something more to him than a conquest, a ticket to wreak revenge.
When the time drew closer he got up and left while Lara was making coffees. In the elevator he sent her a text saying he had something to take care of. She’d probably think it was family stuff.
Janice got up from behind her desk and sashayed down the corridor in front of him, leading the way. She knocked on the door and opened it.
Draco thanked her and entered the room.
Compton Senior stood by the window, staring out at the view.
Draco took a quick look around, his attention drawn again to those massive screens on the wall and the information they contained. C.S. liked to have his finger on the pulse, or so it seemed.
Compton gestured at the chair in front of his desk. “Take a seat.”
Draco undid the button on his jacket and sat down, ready to deliver his prepared speech.
“Who are you?” C. S. said. “Because you sure as hell aren’t Steven Smith. Steven Smith is some wet behind the ears geek from the midlands.”
He’d checked the university data. That was inevitable. It was only a matter of time. Draco wondered why Compton hadn’t confronted him about it before now. Had he been watching, waiting to see what would transpire?
“You’re some nobody who saw an opportunity to use Lara, to get inside this company.”
“You’re right about me being a nobody. But I’m not using Lara.”
Compton gestured with his hands. “What is it you want to say?”
“You have an in house funds leak, a case of fraud, or so it seems. Lara told me you had concerns about it, so I’m helping her look into it.”
Compton barely flinched, but Draco sensed he was surprised.
“I know what’s behind it.”
Compton gave a dry laugh. “If you’re so sure, give me the name.”
“I don’t have to, do I?”
The laugher faded on Compton’s lips. “You haven’t a clue. You’re trying to cash in.”
“Wrong again. I’m supporting Lara.”
Compton ignored that. “I saw you watching my sons, you’re jealous.”
“Wrong again.” Draco reached into his pocket and pulled out a notepad and pen. “I suppose I could write the name down on a piece of paper. If you think I’m wrong you can choose to tear it up. I’d never say the name aloud ever.”
Compton scowled. “What do you hope to gain from this?”
“Just one thing, something for Lara.” He paused, let that sink in. “I don’t need to write the name down though, do I?”
Compton’s eyes narrowed. “You’ll have to, to prove your point.”
Poker faced, Draco shook his head. “I don’t think so, because I can write down some numbers instead, that’ll be much more useful proof.”
Compton stared at him resentfully, and it was enough to show Draco he was on the right track. Quickly, he scribbled a string of code. He pushed the piece of paper across the desk. “It’s a clever little macro, made to look as if there’s fraud, but no money is really going out, is it? It’s just being transferred back and forth between two accounts.”
Compton Senior glanced down, studied it for a moment then pushed the paper away. He said nothing.
“My only query is why didn’t either of your sons spot it?”
Compton’s mouth pursed. He didn’t like that.
Draco knew he wouldn’t, but he couldn’t resist. “It’s a puzzle, one they should’ve worked out by now. I reckon you didn’t bank on Lara getting involved. Why didn’t you rate her enough to give her the clues too?”
“Apparently she didn’t need any.”
“You knew she was involved?”
“I only suspected when she requested to bring a friend on board. She had a hungry look in her eyes once she thought of bringing you in.”
Draco nodded, he’d seen that look too. “She does that.”
Compton studied him at length, resentment on his face. “Who are you?”
“Just some random guy with an obsession for mysteries and code.”
“A risky business.”
“Not necessarily. It’s really the code that interests me. Although I do notice things...” he added, dangling it like bait.
“Looking for a payoff?”
“You think I’m going to blackmail you about something in your personal life, but you’re wrong.”
Compton looked furious. “I can have security in here in sixty seconds. They’re on stand by.”
“Of course you can. But you’re wrong. I don’t want you to call security and I don’t want a police file. I’m ambitious, driven and eager, things you respect.”
“You think I haven’t had upstarts come in here before and try to impress me?
“I’m sure you have. But I’ve figured your puzzle and I could prove worthwhile in many other ways, if you let me see it through. Take a chance on me, Lara did.”
“You think you can come in here and tell me what to do?”
“Is it so hard to give a little trust, Sir?” Too much sarcasm, but he could feel it slipping away. “I was watching your sons because I’m frankly astonished two guys with so many opportunities are so lazy.”
Compton swore under his breath,
“Then again,” Draco added, pressing ahead before he got thrown out, “I believe I’m only saying aloud what you’ve been thinking. That’s why you wrote the macro, to see what they’re made of. They have things handed to them. You didn’t. I read all about you, Sir.”
“Of course you did, a good con man would.”
Draco’s gut tightened. Con man? Fuck.
“My security will have you out of here and out of Lara’s life so fast your feet won’t touch the ground. You latched onto my daughter, you realized who she was and you saw an opportunity. You wheedled crucial corporate information from her. That alone could have you locked up behind bars for a long time.”
“But you won’t, because you’re curious to see what I’m going to say,”
“Don’t try to second guess me! How much do you want to walk away from her? To keep quiet about the in-house breach?”
He really was worried about the fraud story coming out.
“I want one thing, respect for Lara. Give her an equal stake in your business, the same as her brothers.”
Eyes black with fury, Compton slammed his fist on the desk. “Lara chose to side with her mother!”
“So you’re taking it out on Lara?”
Compton glared at him, but he couldn’t deny it. “Lara is the best of my children, the sharpest and the most motivated. I want her to enjoy life a bit before getting stuck in here.”
Was that really the truth? “Lara’s doing a business degree for one reason, to impress you. She’s taking every option viable to arm herself for a career in finance, and she’s doing it for you, to get ahead in a field you might approve of. What’s coming from your direction?”
“What the hell do you mean, she’s nineteen and she’s already got a job here.”
“A temporary placement on a piffling task anyone could knock up in an afternoon, and you’re not even paying her entry level rate. She’s working for free while her brothers get executive roles and ludicrous salaries to fund their habits.”
Furious, Compton rose to his feet, hitting a red button on his phone cradle as he did so. Seconds later the door sprung open and two security guards marched in.
“A night in the cells will give you time to figure out where you went wrong.”
He’d intended to have Draco arrested all along. Draco’d gambled on it, figured it would pan out this way, and he was ready. “I’ve said my piece, Sir.” He rose to his feet. “I stand by every word.”
“Take him down the back stairs,” Compton instructed, “I don’t want my daughter to have to see this.”
Draco could only thank god for that. Lara wouldn’t be humiliated by the public scene involving her “boyfriend”, not unless her dad chose to do so.
While his arms were jerked behind his back, he stared at Compton, determined to face up to him.
He heard the clink of cuffs on his wrists.
His chest was tight, but for some reason all he could think of was Lara sitting there at their desks with two cups of coffee, looking out, waiting for him, and the image wouldn’t go away. Not during the slow walk down the stairs or when he was bundled into a police van, or even when he was locked up in the local constabulary holding cells.
Forget her, it’s over, he told himself. But it wouldn’t go away.
All he could see was Lara, waiting. Even when he closed his eyes.