“Don’t underestimate Derek, and since my father handled this payoff for the trucking division, I lean toward his involvement. And he is all about control. Which brings me back to my questions about Mike. But the highest priority right now is finding out if we’re already in bed with Martina.”
“Which, in turn, brings me back to the transportation division. Send me to Boulder, and I promise you, with the dirt I have on Riker, he’ll tell us exactly what’s going on up there and what that payoff is for as well.”
I lift the flash drive. “Spare me the reading time,” I say, placing it in my pocket. “What’s the dirt you’re referencing?”
“Riker’s gay,” he says. “Which wouldn’t be a problem except for a few important details. He’s not only in the closet, he’s married to a woman, has three kids with her, and a father who’s a conservative politician. And yes, I have proof. The man is in bed with so many men I wonder how his wife doesn’t know. And before you ask, I’m thorough. She doesn’t.”
I suck in a breath and let it out. “I don’t want to be the person that screws up this family’s life.”
“He’ll never let me tell her,” he assures me. “And I wouldn’t without your approval anyway. You know that. But for the record, this family’s life is already screwed up and it’s fucked up that they don’t know it.”
I hesitate all of two seconds. “Do it.” The truth is, my fleeting moment of guilt was wasted on a man who revels in breaking the law.
“I’ll leave tonight then,” Seth replies. “Right after I pay the ‘other woman’ a visit.” He motions to the desk. “Need me to do anything about Nina?”
“I have it handled.”
Still he doesn’t leave, an expectant few beats of silence passing before he asks, “Anything else?”
Translation: he wants to know about Emily, and while I have every reason to get him digging around about her, somewhere in the middle of this conversation, I’ve decided I’m not done with her myself quite yet. “Nothing,” I say.
He narrows his gaze a moment, clearly weighing my reply. “Very well,” he says, heading for the door.
“Don’t shut it,” I call after him, grabbing the envelope with the deal memo and staring down at it, clear on how to handle it, but Emily is another matter. Creating a distraction to keep me from finding the Martina connection would be smart. And yet, I’m foolish enough to want to believe Emily is telling me the truth. She’s either the only woman who’s ever rocked my world, or she’s a source of information I can, and will, use.
I round the desk and the instant I’m out the door, Jessica says, “Your father—”
“Handled,” I say, and I don’t stop walking, passing my brother’s closed door and dark office before cutting down the hallway and through the lobby, where Kelly is greeting a visitor I don’t know.
Continuing on, I enter the next hallway to my father’s office, not sure if I should expect to be requesting Emily’s phone number through human resources after visiting with my father or if I’ll find her still present and accounted for. I round the corner, bringing the empty desk in front of my father’s office into view, and the idea that Emily’s run again is actually a relief. If she was a game piece my father and/or brother placed in an attempt to distract me, or throw me off my game, she’d still be here.
I walk to my father’s open office door and enter, finding him behind his desk on the phone. I shut the door and he glances up. “I’ll call you back,” he says to whoever is on the line, clearly not waiting on a reply before hanging up to direct his, “About damn time,” at me.
Stopping in front of his desk, I toss the envelope down as I had the photo of Derek and the FDA inspector. “I know that’s a payoff.” I know I can’t cave too easily or he’ll suspect something is wrong. “Which is exactly why you asked me to bring it to you on a thumb drive or hard copy. You didn’t want it proof of our file transfer. What’s it for?”
He leans back in his seat. “Must you always try to prove why you earned that Harvard law degree?”
“You expected me to be the best and I am,” I reply. Pushing for any piece of information