He sighed. “You don’t know what you’re playing at, boy.”
“I think I have an idea.”
He frowned. “I can’t give you blanket approval on a candidate.”
“Yes, you can. You just know that it’s not going to be Van Linsted. Adam, this is what we need. Either you’re with us or you’re not. And if you’re not, well, I’m sure you can guess what will happen.”
He stared at me and then back at the envelope.
“It’s not what it looks like.”
I placed my hand on my chest. “I swear I’m not judging. I’m sure there’s a very good reason you shagged a sixteen-year-old girl and knocked her up. I’m sure there’s a reason her family doesn’t seem to know that you’re already married. I’m sure there are reasons for all of this, but I don’t care about any them. I just want your support. Do I have it?”
He swallowed, glowering at me. “Fine.”
I nodded. “One more question. When Van Linsted came asking for your support, what did you tell him?”
“He hasn’t asked yet. He called for an appointment.”
“Excellent. So what will you tell him?”
“I’ll tell him that I can’t be bribed. I’ll tell him what I’ve already told him, and you, that I’m not one of the Five.”
“Excellent. It’s a pleasure doing business with you, Hilton.”
“And I have your word? The word of a gentleman, that you won’t expose me?”
The man made me ill. Those poor women, both his wives… I didn’t know them personally, but they didn’t deserve his deception.
“On my honor as a gentleman, I will not be the one to share these details. But if my team found it, it’s entirely possible someone else will.”
He drained his glass. “It’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
I didn’t bother looking at him as I left. I was pretty sure I would never wash the taste out of my mouth. But at least we had won his support, and that was all that mattered.
Ben
Knowing what had to happen and actually making it happen were two very different things. Bridge had finally managed to secure a Van Linsted meeting. I didn’t particularly think he was one for an Academy Award, but we were all counting on him to sell it.
East was in my office as we listened. Bridge’s comm device was loud and clear.
He’d greeted Van Linsted in the lobby, buttered him up, and said it was great that they were really talking after all these years.
Van Linsted wasted no time with a personal jibe at me. “Well, I figure we would have forged a stronger relationship a lot sooner if you had chosen your friends more wisely.”
Bridge’s response was immediate. “I hope you don’t hold Ben’s actions against me. Ben and I aren’t as close as we used to be. His recklessness has become a problem, as has his lack of foresight.” His lies rolled off his tongue smoothly, and I could only be proud of him. He was good, better than I had given him credit for.
He managed to pull off that cool air of disdain and indifference, which was exactly what we wanted. We wanted it to seem like he gave two fucks and that he was willing to do whatever was called for.
Bram’s voice was smooth as they rode in the elevator. “You know, I will admit, I was unsure of you for the Elite. But you have proved yourself more than capable of being the right kind of man.”
“Well, I certainly worked to get here.”
My gut churned. Once a wanker always a wanker. I forced myself to listen as Van Linsted both stroked Bridge’s ego and simultaneously put him down.
Ten minutes in, even East had grown weary of the bullshit as Van Linsted made his pitch for why he was a fit for Director Prime. “Do you feel sick too?”
I slid him a glance. “Yeah, it doesn’t feel brilliant.”
Finally, when their phones had been in close proximity a few minutes, East hit Compile to see if the program he’d put on Bridge’s phone had done its job. We’d hopefully be able to get more valuable information from Bram’s phone.
“It’s going to take a minute. After it’s copied, I’ll still need to decrypt it. Don’t you have to get ready for the Blake Boynton meeting?”
“I’m meeting him a few blocks from here at six.”
“I can’t believe he took a meeting.”
“I was surprised too. I have a feeling he’s not one of the Five, but we need to be sure.”
“We do. You’re caught up on the file?”
“Yeah. Basic embezzlement from the family trust. But leverage is leverage.”
He nodded, and I stared back. Finally, he just kicked me out. “Mate, get off my tits. I’ll call you if I get anything.”
I took a left out of East’s office and was surprised to find Olivia barreling down the hall toward me. “Good, there you are. I have been looking for you.”
My brows lifted. I had to make a visible effort to calm the erratic uptick in my heart rate and kill any interest from my dick. “You have? Is there a problem?”
“I wanted to talk more about Peterman, you know, the meeting and how it went.”
I frowned. “Okay, why?” I planted my feet and it seemed like she was trying to back me up. “What’s going on? Do you want to discuss it in your office?”
Her eyes went wide. “Um, my office?”
Her body language said she wanted me to back up, like she was trying to herd me in the direction she wanted. “Yes, your office. Or is there somewhere else you’d rather talk? Does my office work better?”
She glanced behind her. “Yep, why don’t we do that.” She physically tried to turn me, and I had to laugh because she wasn’t getting very far.
I lifted a brow. “What’s going on?”
She gesticulated as she spoke. “You know, just... let’s go this way. There’s something I wanted to show you. It’s at the other end of the hallway.”
It took another moment before I realized she was trying to steer me away from Bridge’s office. She knew who was in there and didn’t want me to blow up.
“But I wanted to go this way. I wanted to ask Bridge something.” I was a prick. I knew I was, but I couldn’t help having a laugh with her.
“No. Honestly, you’re the smartest of the London Lords. I’m sure you don’t need his input.”
Now I knew she was shitting with me. “Oh, yeah?”
“Oh, absolutely have always said so.”
I finally allowed her to turn me around so that we were walking toward my office.
I couldn’t help laughing at her antics. She was a badass in the board room and a complete spaz out of it. Also, I wanted to kiss her.
What? No. No kissing. The fuck was wrong with me? We were in a mountain of shit. I should be focused on keeping her away from this mess.
Yeah, there was that. Also, she worked for me, and likely, the Elite knew about her, so kissing her was a big fat no-no. It would just set the target on her directly, and I wasn’t going to be responsible for that.
I leaned close, letting her tease of perfume dull my rational senses. “Hey, Olivia?”