26. Byron
26
BYRON
T he first order of business was to dig up everything I could about Elio Ricks, and for that, I tapped the best man I knew—Steven O'Conner, head of Roman’s security detail.
Less than thirty minutes later, Steven walked into my office, flanked by a mountain of a man who I’d rather have in my corner when a fight broke out.
“This is Kevin Malone,” Steven introduced him. “The man who’ll lead your security detail when you officially step into the role of CEO.”
I rose to shake Kevin’s hand. Beneath his intimidating frame, there was a gracious presence that put me at ease. It was clear he’d take his job seriously, but without crowding my personal space.
“Kevin, good to meet you,” I said.
“Mr. Belmont,” he replied.
“Call me Byron, please.”
I directed my gaze at Steven, who knew what I was asking before I even had a chance to open my mouth. He handed me a flash drive.
“Here’s all the info you wanted on Elio Ricks. Interesting little guy with a rap sheet longer than a giraffe’s neck, and that at only twenty-two. What’s your business with him?”
“Just a creepy idiot threatening Meg with a fake video of her he wants to post online,” I told him.
Steven’s expression hardened. “Well, that’s stupid of him. Does he even know who he’s fucking with?”
“He’s about to find out,” I replied.
Kevin added his two cents. “Wait, that’s the guy Meg went to see this morning.”
“You made an unscheduled stop?” Steven asked, eyebrows raised.
“We did,” Kevin answered without an explanation, and Steven seemed to let it go. Maybe it had something to do with Kevin’s demeanor just reinforcing that anyone in his vicinity was safe at all times.
But now I was curious. “Kevin, so you know the story.”
“I do. I considered paying Ricks a little visit myself later,” he said. “But if you have other plans...”
I laughed. “It seems you and I are going on a little trip together, what do you say.”
“No, there will be no going on trips to pick fights,” Steven warned. “I’m sure you can take care of business from the safety of your office here.”
It was my turn to rebel. “What I can do from here has already been taken care of, but some things are better handled face to face.”
“Byron, the last thing we need is for the second in line to be harmed. Not a risk I’m willing to take.”
"The business has survived without me so far," I replied with a confident grin. “It’ll be fine without me for the next fifty years.”
Steven fixed me with a steady gaze. "Not if Roman ever decides to step down. Then, it’s all on you."
I almost choked. “Okay, slow down. No way that will ever happen…right?”
It was clear from Steven’s blank expression that speculation was futile. “No use worrying about it now, I was just making my case,” he said.
The idea was shoved to the back of my mind since I had more important business to take care of. “The only way to keep that video from going online is to catch Ricks off guard and make sure we get every copy there is,” I told him.
Steven sighed, and he packed a lot into that sigh. “Fine. But please don’t get into any physical altercations. You’re banged up enough as it is, although you look much better, I must say.
“I’ll have Kevin with me should the Ricks jerk get any smart ideas.”
Kevin gave me a slight nod to confirm. He was himself itching to teach Ricks a lesson or five.
We agreed on meeting at the south wing entrance in twenty minutes, which gave me enough time to shoot Roman a quick text.
Me: Purchasing a building. Can I borrow the down payment from the Trust’s private business account? Will pay the balance in full with personal funds.
Roman: Not sure why you’re telling me. You have full access to all the accounts. It’s fine.
This was a first. Roman, not batting an eye at me using one of the business accounts for a personal loan. It felt surprisingly good to have his trust.
Ten minutes later, the building that housed Meg’s family’s restaurant was now under the name of a private holding, owned by yours truly. It was not a property big enough to be of any significance to the Belmont Trust, but it was important to me.
Next, I turned my attention to Elio Ricks’ rap sheet.
He had been a busy cretin, mostly drug-related, but there were enough violent incidents sprinkled in to keep him perpetually on probation. In fact, it was a miracle he’d been able to stay out of jail so far.
My biggest concern now was the video of Meg seeing the light of day. Once it hit the internet, it would be next to impossible to erase, even if it was proven to be fake.
My goal was to make sure that the video was wiped from existence.
What I didn’t think out loud was that the sure way to win someone’s favor was to swoop in as the white knight, saving the day. Since this opportunity had fallen into my lap, who was I to ignore the chance to win Meg’s grace?
That, and the fact that someone like Elio Ricks had the balls to mess with her family’s life.
Kevin insisted we take the Navigator because the Range Rover apparently didn’t inspire awe. News to me, but okay. Was I going to argue, no .
I had two inches on him, but he had at least forty pounds on me. I decided it would be nicer anyway to sit back and let him take the wheel.
During the ride, we spent most of the time plotting our ambush of Elio Ricks. And for the gentle soul Kevin initially appeared to be, he had some interesting thoughts on how to handle scum like Ricks.
At some point, Kevin casually mentioned that he thought Meg was something else, as in really awesome. I threw him a sideways glance. As long as he wasn’t trying to make a move on Meg.
Apparently, his special talent was also that he could read minds. “Since we’re going to spend some time together in the future,” he explained. “Let’s get something straight. I bat for the other team, so I’m not going to make a play for Meg. And don’t worry about me making a play for you either. I don’t shit where I eat, and besides you’re too rich for my blood.”
I stared at him, momentarily caught off guard, but then I couldn’t help but laugh. “You know what, Kevin, I think we’re going to get along just fine.”
And then he had to ask. “Does Meg know you have a thing for her?”
“Oh please, I don’t have a thing for Meg. Where do you get that idea? She’s a coworker only. And just because I care about her well-being doesn’t mean I have a thing for her.”
Kevin snorted a grunt. “Don’t know who you’re trying to convince, but okay.”
The sun made a quick cameo, breaking through the grey sky and throwing a warm beam across my lap before being eclipsed by the clouds again. And I couldn’t help but wonder what Meg was doing right then.
I sighed, resigned to my secret being out. “No, she doesn’t know. And I want to keep it that way for now. Also, my brother can never find out.”
“No worries, man, I’ll take it to my grave.”
That made me chuckle. “I appreciate it, but hopefully, it doesn’t take that long to get her interested in me.”