Dirty Playboy - Alex Wolf Page 0,14

clients, and we brief him on everything he needs to know. Dexter and Paisley are the finance wizards.

“Thank you, sir. So you want to know all the companies Mr. Covington owns? That changes almost daily. He runs a hedge fund. There are—”

Decker holds up a hand. “I have a list of companies, the main one being Pacific Imports, but I think there are a dozen shells around it. I want you to see what you can find out about them. A deep dive. Find out who any other partners are, or who owns the capital. I want a list compiled of anyone with ties to these companies, and trace it through any parent companies, subsidiaries, all that shit. You know what to do. Then we’ll hand it off to Abigail and Rick to do more online and in the field.”

“Okay.” I nod. Sounds easy enough and it’s fantastic busy work that requires little thinking. It’ll help me take my mind off this whole Rick situation.

When he first said working with Rick, I pictured us having to go on a stakeout or something ridiculous. I’m sure Rick would’ve just loved that. I exhale a quick breath and relax a little. I may even be able to pass the stuff from Decker to Rick, and not even have to deal with him directly.

“Any other questions?” Decker stands up as if the meeting is over.

I stand up but at the same time say, “Why’d you ask me to close the door? Is this need-to-know?”

Decker nods. “Good catch, I was about to tell you, don’t talk to anyone else about this but me. You can discuss with Rick or Abigail if they have questions.” He stops in his tracks. “Actually, scratch Abigail, I’ll hand it to someone else.”

I freeze. “She’s great at this stuff.”

Decker stares for a long few seconds. He looks unsure about whether he can trust me or not. He has no reason not to. I’ve always done exactly what they ask of me, and I don’t go running to other partners or associates and tell them what I’m doing. It’s what they pay me for.

“I don’t want Dexter finding out. Any of my brothers for that matter.”

I nod. “Okay.”

Decker grins. “Really? That’s all it takes? Just say it, no questions asked?”

“Of course, it’s not my job to question you.”

Decker nods. “I like you, Patrick. And I’m going to tell you because I just realized I may trust you more than anyone else around here, and because the answer is boring. There’s nothing nefarious or backhanded about it, it’s simply to make my life easier. Dexter and Covington are good friends, and I think that clouds Dexter’s judgment on these matters. Covington is not a black and white client when it comes to skirting laws. He’s a very complex individual, and I like to keep tabs on him to try and protect the firm from liability. If Dexter finds out, it’ll just be another headache I don’t need, because he can’t remain objective. I have enough going on right now.”

“Yes, sir. Is that all?”

Decker nods again. “Yep.” He hands me an accordion file.

I don’t even remember seeing him pick it up, but I take it from him.

“Should all be in there.”

“Time frame?”

“No rush, but don’t put it on the backburner either. If you have pressing assignments, knock those out, and use this as filler in between. That work?”

“Yes. I’ll get it taken care of.”

“Thanks, Mary.” His eyes dart to something behind me and he shoulders past like the conversation just ended on his terms.

When I turn around, I realize he’s heading after Tate, his wife. They’re such a power couple. They remind me of something out of a movie.

I really like Tate. She might be the only woman on the planet who can drop Decker to his knees with one cold stare. Plus, we worked together in Dallas for years, so I’m probably closer to her and Abigail than anyone else.

I don’t know if I buy Decker’s excuse that Dexter would just be a headache if he found out, but it’s not impossible. There may be more to this than I know, but looking up who owns companies is perfectly legal. If I’ve noticed one thing since I transferred here, it’s that the Collins brothers get emotional about business. It makes sense too. They’re all best friends and they’re brothers. I don’t think I could ever go into business with family. It’d be too weird, and there’s too much potential for a