Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
I stared at the ringing phone on my desk, diverting my attention from the paperwork Joshua dropped off to me concerning liquor sales on the Mile.
I have slowly been relinquishing my hold on those day-to-day operations and giving the responsibility to Joshua the past month. He’d been doing a good job.
“Smith,” I answered.
“Mr. Smith, this is Martin Wright of Wright Development, and I need your help.”
“Awww, I heard of your company. But I’m not certain I can help you and how did you get my number?”
“I would like to set up a meeting with you.”
I leaned back in my chair, intrigued. I had no business with this man or his company, so I wasn’t sure exactly what we had to talk about.
“Come by my office,” I said, ending the call.
It didn’t take long for Wright to show up. Tisha opened my office door to the man. She looked exquisite today. Not giving the guy an inch, she was making it hard for him to get to me if he meant me harm.
“Tisha, back up and let the man in.” She took her job to the extreme sometimes. There was a slight hesitation before she finally backed away enough for him to squeeze his enormous frame by her without grazing her body.
“Thank you,” he muttered as he passed.
“Come in, Mr. Wright. Have a seat.”
Tisha closed the door and stood behind my desk over my shoulder. She often took up this position in the room when I had guests.
Leaning back in my chair, I folded my arms across my chest while studying the man. In his mid to late twenties, he wore black-rimmed glasses and was as tall as me, with wide shoulders.
“Thank you for seeing me on such short notice, but I need your expertise. Tony St. Clair gave me your number.”
Fucking Tony St. Clair. I sat up and rested my elbows on top of my desk. Tisha inched closer. Why in the fuck would Tony St. Clair point anyone in my direction? This was getting more and more interesting by the minute.
“Did he now?” I leaned back in my chair. “If Tony is offering up my services, there must be trouble.”
“It could be,” he said, leaning closer to my desk, resting his arms on his knees.
He looked frustrated. “I’m not entirely sure yet.
Mr. Smith, I don’t have to tell you how imperative it is for us to be discreet at times.
I am extremely careful about who I associate with and who I let into my circle.
But most importantly, who I let into my bed. ”
“I was the same way. If you had as much money as we did, then you had to be selective as to who you continued to let around you.”
“I agree.”
“I’ve noticed a man snooping around the woman I’m seeing. When I confronted him, he knew who I was.”
I chuckled, folding my hands behind my head. Was this guy for real?
“You do realize you are one of the richest bachelors in the world, right? Why wouldn’t he know about you?”
“You have a point, but my anonymity means everything to me, and when I attend conferences around the country, I pull out all the stops to maintain it. Just like I did for this one.” The kid sat back in his seat, meeting my frosty stare without flinching. I started to like him.
“You know as well as I do, Mr. Smith, when we don’t want to be recognized, we aren’t.”
An understanding passed between us, and I nodded. “What do you need me to do?”
He pulled his phone from the inside of his jacket and scrolled through it, then held it out to me.
“I need to know who he is.” I stared at the picture. He looked vaguely familiar, but I wasn’t sure.
“I need you to find whatever you can on him as soon as possible.”
I reached for the phone. “May I?”
“Yes.”
I tapped the screen, then held it over my shoulder to Tisha, who’d come closer to see the picture. She grunted, then walked out of the office. She’d know what to do.
“Send me the picture.” I handed him his phone back, my eyes studying this young mogul in front of me. “I’ll have my people on it immediately. What’s in it for me?”
Our gazes met, his never wavering from mine. “What did you have in mind?”
I steepled my hands, admiring this young man, and had no doubt he’d be a force to be reckoned with in a few years, if not now. Grinning, I stood with my hand outstretched.
“I like you, Mr. Wright.” He grasped my hand in a firm shake. “We’ll be in touch as soon as my men find something. As far as what I want…I’ll let you know.”
Mr. Wright made his way to the door. “I appreciate your time and help.” He opened the door and faced me. “I hope to hear from you soon.”
I nodded, and he left. I sat down in my chair. The nagging feeling of knowing the guy from the pictures stayed with me. Pushing the feeling down, I sat down, getting back to work.
Hours passed before I heard back from Tisha. She’d been working with Jeremiah Blackmon and Alex Rivera on the Mr. Wright situation. I listened as she went over the information.
“And that’s everything we could find on Wright’s mystery man. He really doesn’t want people to know who he is.”
As I closed the file, I glimpsed at the unexpected number flashing across my cell. Surprise and curiosity flitted across my face.
“Who is it?” Tisha asked, concern etched across her forehead.
“It’s Donavon.”
I hadn’t heard from Donavon since he resigned as my assistant. I didn’t blame him, and there were no hard feelings. The man had been impeccable at his job and didn’t deserve the hell my life brought on him.
“Donavon,” I answered, “Good to hear from you.”
I listened to his greeting and pleasantries.
“You work for Martin Wright? Ah, so that’s why you’re calling.”
Opening the folder I’d just read, I relayed all the information my team gathered.
“His name is Travis Connor. He’s from money.
His family owns multiple businesses and a few in the tech industry.
About three years ago, he was in a car accident which resulted in him having complete reconstructive surgery on his face.
Then he disappeared. No one has seen or heard from him since he left the hospital as far as I can tell. ”
The line was quiet, but I knew Donavon. He was working shit out in his head and how to best relay the information to his boss. I glimpsed the rest of the information to find out what else would be useful to them.
“Another thing, Donavon, this guy doesn’t have a record.”
I closed the file, not sure why the guy disappearing was weighing heavy on me. It was like he was a gotdamn ghost.
“I’ll keep digging, Donavon, but I don’t have to tell you something doesn’t sit right with this one. I’ll be in touch,” I stated, then ended the call.
“Are you okay?” Tisha’s voice broke through my thoughts. “You’ve got a look on your face.”
I nodded. “Just thinking. Let me call Bryan and put him on this. I’ll call you later.” I picked up the phone, tuning her out. “Joshua and I have business to take care of.”
When I looked up, my office door was closing.