His Rules

Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21

“ C hess is ruthless: you’ve got to be prepared to kill people.”

—Nigel Short

Sebastian

I’d been born and raised to become a ruthless man in both business and in pleasure. Somewhere along the line, I’d softened. Not significantly, but enough to allow someone I trusted to slither through the single crack. It had been reckless of me.

This life was all about the game of chess, every strategic move mattering. I’d all but forgotten that during the successful years. However, I wasn’t about to be outplayed. Yes, I was a ruthless bastard and it was time to return to the man who refused to take no for an answer.

Just like I had with Kacey.

Dawn had barely made its way across the horizon when I strode in through the main office doors. I’d slept very little, spending a couple of hours returning to the figures I’d laid out in a new business plan. Whether Steven wanted to admit it or not, my brother also had an affinity for numbers as well as a flair for the creative.

I’d send both the plan and a scan of the drawings Kacey had provided. They were damn good. It almost seemed as if she’d studied aspects of architecture at some point in her life. Or perhaps she’d studied blueprints of high end, first class international travel cabins.

It felt good to be going in a slightly different direction. In the process of telling my father in no uncertain terms if he gambled ever again, Steven and I would disown him, I’d also made him happy. And proud. He’d never showered either one of us with praise. That hadn’t been his method of parenting.

There were times I’d believed if he dared offer a compliment, he was showing his weakness. I’d hated him for that and so many other things. I’d resented him to this day. Seeing tears in his eyes had floored me. I’d faltered on my words, uncertain what to say to him. I’d been an impetuous kid when I’d gleefully told him I wanted nothing to do with his world.

Either I hadn’t realized or hadn’t cared that I’d hurt him.

And right now, he was secretly purchasing as many shares on the open market as possible of World Hospitality’s stock. Things were falling together.

I didn’t see a light on in Drake’s office and was glad to have the place to myself even for a couple of hours. I had a meeting with yet another investor that late afternoon I needed to prepare for. I’d also left a message for the auditor my father had used. Thankfully, the man had yet to retire. I trusted him, especially since Drake had hired the previous firm who’d been handling the audits every year since we’d opened the doors. Nothing irregular had been found. Not once.

Now I was beginning to wonder if they’d been covering up for the man since I’d also trusted Drake implicitly. The whole thing was ridiculous since I’d been taught never to trust anyone inside the dog-eat-dog world of business.

I found my door ajar and tried to remember if I’d left it that way the night before. Other than the janitors who’d arrived at nine to clean the offices, no one else had popped in while Kacey and I remained, both leaving a little after ten.

I approached slowly, using a single finger to push open the door. I hadn’t seen Drake’s car in the parking lot, which meant the man had been going for the element of surprise. There he was, standing in front of my window staring out at the bank of trees lining the rear of the property. The sun was just peeking through the window. Soon the glare would be harsh, yet he’d opened every blind in my office.

Those had definitely been closed when we’d left.

I gave my desk a quick glimpse. From what I could tell, nothing had been disturbed. He wouldn’t find anything I was working on either. I’d pulled my files onto a jump drive, grabbed a stack of financials, and had taken both home with me. Until I was ready to play my hand, I wasn’t about to tip him off to my plans.

“You have the better view,” Drake said, letting me know he was aware of my presence.

“Yes, well, you had your choice of offices.”

“I have additional square footage. I like that.”

I walked into the center of the room, pulling my travel mug to my lips. I was already on my third cup of coffee, which had done little but make me wired. I wasn’t in the mood to get into the situation with him today, but it would seem he had other plans in mind.

This should prove to be very interesting. Perhaps even informative. One way or the other, I had a feeling this was both of us drawing lines in the sand.

“Yes, you always enjoyed bragging rights.” I took the opportunity to sit down on the chair on the outside of my desk, even putting my feet up crossed on the surface. I could do what I wanted. This was my office.

He laughed softly and shook his head. “I deserved it after all the hard work I put into making this company something special.”

I picked at my tie, enjoying another sip of the steaming brew as I contemplated what to say or if I was going to bother playing tabletop tennis vocally with him. We’d done a lot of that in our youth, bantering like we were brothers. I’d grown weary of the childish behavior.

He wore an annoyed expression as he finally turned around, like since I hadn’t grabbed onto the dangling carrot.

That’s because I wasn’t hungry.

Not for what he had to offer anyway.

I quickly thought about the night before with Kacey. She continued to surprise me, both personally and professionally. She certainly wasn’t the introvert I’d known as a young child or the one clutching two romance novels before heading off to college. Now she’d turned into quite the vixen.

“If I seem to remember correctly, we both put in a lot of work and long hours. At this point in our careers, we should be enjoying our success instead of worrying when the layoffs begin.” Maybe I was just in a pissy mood, showing it by tossing the crumb in his direction.

His jaw clenched and he almost snorted. I could tell he had no idea what I was getting at or where I was going with the cryptic answers.

I was on a fact-finding mission at this point. I didn’t have anything else to say to the man.

“True. At least in the early days. You’ve been preoccupied, more so lately.”

“Things change. At this point, I’m trying to ensure we keep our fingers in the dike.”

He smiled and I had the urge to wipe it off his face. “Since when did we grow apart?”

“I think that happened years ago. You couldn’t understand why I was interested in attempting to keep my marriage going.”

“That was a waste of time.”

“Yes, it was.” Where was he going with this?

“I’m glad you got away from Ashley. She’s a manipulative person.”

“And you say this why?”

“Because she managed to grab more of your attention. If she hadn’t, we wouldn’t be in this place.”

“Ah, so you’re blaming me.” I did what I could to keep my voice calm. I even smiled in return.

“There’s no one to blame really. We lost our edge. It’s time to get it back.”

“I couldn’t agree more. Which is why I had a heart to heart with Francis Kane.”

Now that did surprise him. He did his best to hide his reaction, but I noticed the flash of anger in his eyes. “You talked with him.”

“Yes, extensively. With some changes, the contract will stand.”

“That’s not what he told me.”

I took my time rising to my full height. One advantage I’d never used on him was that I was a solid six inches taller. Today, I felt like owning up to every single inch. “How interesting you’ve been going behind my back.”

“As you’ve been with me.”

“I was only making contact in hopes of changing his mind. It worked. And you?”

“Much the same.” Drake scratched his head and purposely moved away from my looming presence. “Francis doesn’t like dealing with you. Most people don’t.”

“Mmm… So I understand. I guess you can’t teach old dogs new tricks. Eh?”

He laughed as if I was making a joke. Perhaps I was. I’d changed quite a bit in a little over a week. Maybe I was finally seeing the light in what living life truly meant.

“Maybe. Maybe not. Why don’t we consider getting together for a round of golf this weekend. You know, like we did before things started going south.”

“Sure. Why not.”

I could tell neither one of us were the least bit interested in trying to salvage our friendship.

He headed for the door.

“Was there something else you wanted to say to me, Drake?”

His entire body language changed and he turned slightly, which allowed me to see his profile only. “I only wanted to catch up. Nothing more. Although the board confirmed a meeting for Friday afternoon.”

As the CEO, he would receive the email first, but it was always followed up by one to my computer. That meant he’d been in direct contact with them. The fact we’d gone public with our shares had initiated a need for an outside board. While we owned the company in equal parts, they now had a say in certain decisions, namely projects that cost over two million dollars. Anything less and the items weren’t brought to the table.

Kane’s contact had been worth significantly more, spread out over four years. With the two lengthy conversations I’d had with Francis, we’d both agreed to continue on the current path until I was ready to make the final changes. That would take some time if an audit was initiated.

At least I was aware Waterhouse Industries had approached him. That in and of itself wasn’t unusual, but the designs had raised a red flag in the man like it had with Kacey. However, that wasn’t the most damning piece of evidence. It was that with Francis’ confidence shared, Drake’s betrayal had been confirmed. How my partner believed he was going to pull this off was still beyond me. It would be no easy task.

“Not a problem. I’ll be here as always.”

He turned even more, staring me in the eyes. My former friend was attempting to see if I was anxious in any way. Not at all. I knew exactly how to handle myself in a boardroom. Certainly with more success than him.

“Good.” He took another step closer to the door. “Oh, I’ll offer one piece of advice. Be careful who you trust, Sebastian. It’s amazing how many people want to stab you in the back.”

“Yes, I suppose you’re right. However, it’s quite interesting what you can learn from them.”

I wasn’t giving the man an inch. That’s exactly what he wanted. Fuck him.

He was perplexed as he left. Right where I wanted him to be.

I didn’t bother closing the door. Very slowly, a smile curled across my face.

“Game on.”

“What the fuck is going on?” Drake stormed into my office at eleven sharp.

“I’ll need to call you back.” I ended my call with Steven and looked at him quizzically. “What are you talking about?”

“You know damn good and well what I’m talking about. There are five auditors in our conference room and that protégé of yours is asking for files, my private files.”

“We missed having an audit last year for reasons I can’t quite frankly remember.” I did remember. He’d insisted we go one year without doing so and I’d gone along with it. Up to that point, there’s been no real concern. “Ms. Taylor’s recommendation was a good one. We’re having a full forensics audit.”

He knew exactly what that meant even if he wasn’t a numbers person.

My father had been a very powerful friend, and extremely influential with clients, business associates, and those who would dare attempt to harm his reputation. He’d been successful keeping a circle of friends who would rally around him in a moment’s notice. He’d used that to his advantage time and time again.

I used his method of surprise so that Drake wouldn’t easily be able to hide his unorthodox dealings that he’d certainly prefer never see the light. This was only part one. There were other surprises to come.

“My God. You think someone is stealing from us.”

“I do.” There was no reason to lie at this point.

He was more befuddled than I’d seen him to date.

“That’s crazy.” At least he had the good sense to seem perplexed as well as concerned.

“It’s criminal.”

“They aren’t our normal people,” he insisted.

“No, they aren’t. Atkins and Thompson were booked given the quick notice. This is my father’s old firm, the people completely trustworthy. And they have the time to fill in. Shouldn’t take more than a couple weeks. They’ll try not to be too much of an inconvenience.”

They’d told me with the number of people they’d brought, the audit wouldn’t take more than a few days. That should buy some time to get all my ducks in a row.

He took a few seconds before nodding. “I’m glad you’re doing this,” he said with confidence, although his fake smile told me otherwise. His wheels were turning. He would immediately head to his office and attempt to destroy or move whatever evidence he’d been stupid enough to leave on his computer.

I’d planned for that as well.

“Yes, overdue. So you know, Ms. Taylor will be the point of contact for them. I believe she’s waiting for you in your office. They’re going to start from the top down.”

If I noticed correctly, his face had paled. “Fine. Are you certain she’s qualified?”

“Oh, I assure you, Kacey Taylor can run circles around everyone else in the accounting department. She knows her stuff.”

“Well, good then.”

Point one went to me. The element of surprise was always useful in business, especially in matters of possible corporate espionage. There was a small part of me that didn’t want to believe he could be behind the subterfuge, but given his reactions, he was attempting to acquire the company out from under me to his benefit.

It was entirely possible and would be highly intelligent of him to find a way to steal the money, holding it in a secure offshore bank account while laying down the pieces of the puzzle, as I was doing with him. As the CFO, they would all lead back to me. I’d be ruined, jailed, and he would take over. Suddenly, there would be an influx of fresh cash making him the hero.

A damn good plan.

I sensed he was nervous.

Good. He should be very nervous, as his life was about to be shoved under a microscope.