46. Rei
Immediately after my appointment with Conrad, I asked George to drive me to Darla’s law offices. On the way, I called Jada to get the emergency contact number so I could talk to Quentin. If I was going to blow things up, there wasn’t time to wait for him to get home so I could tell him the truth.
Unfortunately, Aaric wouldn’t let me get a word in edgewise after confirming I wasn’t puking or bleeding to death. My heart rate picked up even more as I opened the folder, looking inside and scanning the documents.
It looked like a regular transaction log to me, but there must be more to it based on Conrad’s demands. Taking a picture, I uploaded it to an AI chatbot and asked if it could interpret anything more.
It said the log looked consistent with regular business records. Without more context, it wouldn’t be able to help me.
My hands felt like they were vibrating as I put the sheet down.
“Everything okay?” George asked. “Maybe I should be taking you to the police department.”
“My lawyer will know what to do,” I said with a false confidence. Noting the worry on George’s face, I added, “If she wants me to go to the police, I will. And I’m safe. Steve’s been tailing us all morning, remember.”
George glanced in his rearview mirror again, probably looking to see Steve’s armored SUV behind us. “I’m not worried about that coward attacking you physically.”
He was right. Conrad wouldn’t come at me violently; he’d just destroy the business I’d worked so hard to build. I still couldn’t understand why he’d give up his job and amazing salary to do all of this. My brain kept trying to puzzle it together, but I just couldn’t make it make sense.
The car slowed outside the law offices, and George said, “I’ll wait here for you with Steve.”
I nodded, getting out of the car to walk inside, folder in hand. There was a receptionist up front at a tall standing desk, and I said, “I have to see Darla immediately.”
She arched her brows. “Do you have an appointment?”
“No, but it’s urgent.”
“I’ll check with her....” She picked up her phone at the same time I got mine out. “Yes, I’ll send her back.”
The receptionist looked annoyed that I'd gotten in without an appointment—she clearly didn’t know how much I spent here on my retainer alone.
I hurried back to Darla’s office, finding her getting up from her desk and walking toward me on sky-high heels. “Hi, sugar,” she said with a bright smile. “What can I do for you, darling?”
Once she shut the door to her office so we’d have some privacy, I rushed out, “I need to find a way to get Conrad out of my company, like yesterday.”
Unfazed, she said, “I’ll create the termination paperwork now and have it ready for you tomorrow morning. Would you like to offer a severance package?”
“Absolutely not.” Just the thought of giving him any more money made me want to puke. “He’s threatening to tell the press about my past if I don’t plant this in Quentin’s office tomorrow.” I slapped the manila folder on her desk.
Her blue eyes flared wide. “What?” She picked up the folder, flipping through the pages inside.
“I’ll also prepare a civil complaint to remind him what he’s risking if he goes public.
That will take a little longer, but since I’m guessing he doesn’t have deep pockets, just the threat of a legal battle could be enough to call his bluff. ”
My heart jumped to my throat at the thought of a legal battle.
After all, that’s what led my mentor’s company to bankruptcy.
But I couldn’t just let myself or my husband continue to be attacked this way.
“Where are my other liabilities?” I asked.
“Can my clients try to get out of their contracts if the news does leak? Now that I’m married to Quentin, there are a lot of eyes on me. ”
She frowned. “I’ll have to review your contracts to be sure, but off the top of my head, those contracts are written to protect you. You should be solid. Let’s focus on getting him out first.”
I dropped into one of her chairs and rubbed my temples to ward off the pressure there. “This is such a mess.”
“Rei, we’ll get through this,” she said. “It might not be pretty, but you can’t be a shark without expecting a little blood in the water.”
I huffed out a bitter laugh. “You’re the shark. I’m just a bucket of chum.”
“Trust me, babe. Anyone who can mastermind a business without being discovered, like you have for years, is most definitely a shark.”
I tried to believe her. “Thanks, Darla.”
“I’ll prepare the paperwork ASAP to get Conrad out and have it in your email tomorrow evening. You want to resume business as usual as much as possible, so we don’t tip off Conrad before we have this complaint ready to go.”
Nausea threatened. “Tomorrow evening?”
Sympathy filled her eyes. “I know this is hard, but it takes time to do this type of work, even though it is my top priority. You’re strong, Rei. We’ll get Conrad out of your business and protect Quentin’s name, I promise.”
I nodded, hearing what she hadn’t said loud and clear.
We could fire Conrad.
I could shred the documents meant to incriminate Quentin for a crime he didn’t commit.
But my name was going to come out, one way or another.
I just hoped I was able to tell my husband first.