Illusion (Billionaire in Disguise 2)

“No. My bodyguard took the bullet for me.”

“Have you always had a personal bodyguard?”

“No. I hired an elite bodyguard and personal security team when things became serious, when the threat started following me home and finding its way into my office instead of merely my mailbox. But of all the suspects we pinned down and were researching, never once did Jacob’s name cross anyone’s radar.”

“Not even your personal security team’s?” she asked.

“In their defense, my feelings and my relationship wit

h Mr. Carl swayed their eyes away from him. It’s not their fault that none of them saw this coming. It was a shock for all of us, but one that has brought on new threats.”

“Is your company still in trouble, Mr. Steele?”

“My company was never in trouble to begin with. It was always me and the threats to my life. The only thing Mr. Carl sought was my position. He felt it was a debt owed to him because he was not born to an affluent family. But he was born to a hard-working family. His mother was a call-center clerk, and his father was a janitor. They sacrificed everything so he could have what he needed to climb to the position he held. I don’t want this reflecting badly on them. This was the decision of a man who idolized the position I’m currently in with my company and thought he could kill me to get it. This is not the result of some twisted sort of parenting tactic.”

“You sound like you care about his family,” she said.

“I’ve known Mr. Carl for many years. I’ve met his parents on several occasions. They’re beautiful people who make companies like mine the successes they are. I don’t have a company without people like his parents.”

“You mentioned other threats. What other threats has this incident exposed?”

“There are some thoughts and theories as to why Mr. Carl has not been caught yet. The most prevalent is that he had a way to escape should he have been caught. Right now, my team is researching the idea that he might have fled the country to a place with no extradition laws.”

“If that’s the case, what happens then?”

“The FBI and Interpol are on the lookout for him. If he surfaces, we’ll know. If he has fled to a country that has no laws in place to turn him over to us, then I hope they’ll come to the table for peaceful negotiations on how we can all get what we want.”

“And what is it you want, Mr. Steele?”

“What I want is for Jacob to surrender peacefully to the authorities. I don’t want anyone else getting hurt in this debacle. I want him to be tried fairly and honestly, and I want to see his parents left alone. The media is hounding them, and they have no right to terrorize their lives any longer. Mr. Carl has done that enough for them,” I said.

“Let’s turn the conversation over to your company. Your stocks have been volleying in the market. Does that worry you?” Gretchen asked.

“No, it doesn’t. I rarely pay attention to what the stock market does in terms of my company anyway. I’m here to help failing companies get back up on their feet and stay running. I’m not here to have the superior stock or even to have the superior holding company. I’m here to help. That’s the premise my business was built on, and it’ll stay that way. Even through this.”

“You expect things to return to normal soon?”

“This is a highly unusual situation, and I think we can all agree on that. So yes, things will return to normal soon. My company is comprised of strong, independent men and women all working together toward one common goal. With that strength, we will pull through this just like we will anything else that comes our way.”

“I have to ask because everyone is wondering who’s up to become your next COO?”

“I guess you’ll have to stay tuned and find out,” I said with a grin.

“Off the record?”

I furrowed my brow as I drew in a deep breath.

“I didn’t know the reporter could go off the record,” I said.

“Those were all the questions I wanted to ask. I merely wanted to let you know that I was done recording you,” Gretchen said.

“Okay then. Well, if you need anythi—”

“How are you doing?” she asked.

“Excuse me?”

“Personally. How are you doing, Derek?”