Facade

“Or they could be pulling these kinds of things on other clients, and we’re the first ones to really peg them at their game. Either way, I’ve got someone contacting some of their previous clients to see if anyone had been robbed, harassed, or otherwise threatened while they were under their employ.”

“And until then?” he asked.

“You haven’t given me Emma’s full name,” I said.

“You suspect my personal assistant might be doing this.”

“We’ve already had this discussion. I think she has all the markers of someone who could spin out of control, yes. And, I’ve figured out she has access to your premises. Thank you for filling me in on that, by the way.”

“You’re welcome,” he said dryly.

“You’re holding something back from me.”

“How do you figure?” he asked.

“Don’t make me explain it. Just tell me I’m right and then tell me what you’re hiding.”

“I’m not hiding anything.”

“I’ve got another phone in my hand ready to send a text message to John. Not a phone call you can screen, but a message.”

“Why are you so hell-bent on doing this your way?” he asked.

“Because doing it your way got someone in your bedroom.”

I heard him sigh on the other end of the line, and I knew I had him. If only he would stop fucking fighting me at every damn turn.

“When I fired Griggs, he was kind of annoyed. I gave them more money than was laid out in our original contracts so long as they signed a nondisclosure agreement. I have a hard time believing he would still betray me after all that.”

“What do you mean ‘annoyed’?” I asked.

“Agitated. You know, that he lost his job.”

“Did he say anything to you?” I asked.

I heard another sigh, and I shook my head.

“Tell me,” I said.

“Griggs isn’t the one doing this,” he said.

“The fact that you have to say that tells me whatever he said was damning. Now, what the fuck did he say?”

“He said I would regret firing him.”

I closed my eyes and drew a deep breath as I sent the message to John.

“Why is John picking up his phone?” Derek asked.

“Pay attention.”

“Miss Williams, you will tell me right now why this burly man in my office is picking up his phone.”

“Get me the information I need,” I said.

“This isn’t Griggs or my former security team, and this isn’t Emma. Trust me. I know them.”

“And that’s why your perception is tainted. Vegas will be a break from all of this for you, to get you away and get you in the right frame of mind for what’s going on. You’ve been blindsided, and you’re compromised in many ways.”

“What does that message say?” he asked.

His voice was low. Rumbling. Threatening if I was actually scared of someone like him. But I knew he was scared. Petrified, even. I knew he was acting this way because he was used to having control, and he didn’t anymore.

And that coupled with the letters and the charity event were beginning to unravel him.

“It says you’ve got fifteen minutes to put together the information I need. Otherwise, he has permission to go seeking it,” I said.

“Fucking—”

I sighed as I sat down on the edge of Derek’s kitchen table.

“If your enemy is someone with a bit more power, they’ll try something in Vegas. You haven’t really kept it secret that you’re going there for a couple of days. They’ll know you won’t have your usual security precautions, so they’ll think you’re vulnerable. But you won’t be because you’ll have me.”

“Right now, you seem to be the one hell-bent on destroying all this,” Derek said.

“You own your company. You can get information whenever you want it, and all you have to do is say you need it. If they question you, then remind them of who you are. You like doing that, don’t you?” I asked.

“Some things take a bit more tact. I can’t start stomping around here asking for information when I’ve always dealt with people fluidly and tactfully.”