Illusion (Billionaire in Disguise 2)

Our plan was simple. We were going to tell everyone that an emergency meeting was taking place at my home office. The security team would gather, and we would see who didn’t show up. If everyone showed up, then Sam would slip in after a well-placed phone call to her, and she would start her own interrogation. She was confident she would be able to flush out the perpetrator if she could look every single of them in the eyes.

And the gun? Well, that was for self-defense. If the team gathered and someone decided to lash out at me, or worse, try to use it as a way to take me out, I had something to defend myself with.

Like she had provided for me on the yacht.

The plan was simple almost too simple, in my opinion. But it was all we had left. She had called some guy named Lance at her company, but it was going to take him a while to run background checks and pull the bank account information of the team I had hired. There was a lot of red tape this guy had to hack around in order to not get flagged doing what he was doing.

And the fewer people we could tip off, the better.

My phone rang on my hip, and I answered it. I knew who was calling. Sam had all of this planned down to the minute, and I had been expecting the call from her. I gazed out my window as I watched the afternoon sun rise high in the sky. It was ten minutes before the shift change, which meant there was a brief moment where the entire team was on my property.

That was when she had called the meeting. It was convenient for everyone, which meant no one had an excuse to bail out for any reason.

“You still breathing?” Sam asked.

“Deep, just like you said.”

“This is going to go just fine. I’ve alerted everyone that there’s a team meeting in your office. Your office can fit fifteen men, right?” she asked.

“Easily and with room to sprawl out.”

“Good. I’ve told them John’s the one up there, so they really have no reason to flake. When they get up there and see you, stay as calm as you can. There should be fifteen men in your presence. You count every single one of their heads, and you call me if you don’t have fifteen.”

“Where’s John? Are we not investigating him?” I asked.

“We are, but I’ve got some special tactics I’m using with him. John’s smart. On my level. The guys you’re going to be encountering are strong, but they aren’t always smart. Investigating John is as much psychological as it is physical, but I’m no

t leaving him out of the loop. Don’t worry.”

“Not worried. Just curious,” I said.

“Plus, I need John. I need someone to be here to provide an alibi and double-check my movements. Not having someone there is what’s gotten me into hot water with the feds in the first place. He isn’t expected at the meeting, so don’t look for him.”

“Does he know why we’re having this meeting?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Do you think it’s smart to be filling John in on things when we’re also investigating him?”

“If I don’t fill him in, he’ll know something’s up. But if I keep him at my side, I can watch him. Keep my eye on him. He can provide me with an alibi if something goes horribly wrong, and I can watch his face while I ask the guys those questions. If they all make it up to you for the meeting.”

“So he knows the guys are expecting him?” I asked.

“They do.”

“And he knows we’re trying to flush out a traitor?’

“He does, and he’s very angry. But I posed the argument, and he was quick to see our side. John cares for the men we hire, but he’s logical. He sees what we’re facing, and he knows that we’ve ruled out every other avenue. The only thing that explains all the strings we can’t tie up is someone on the inside, someone who has access to you in a professional and personal way.”

“Which is the hired security team, as of now,” I said.

“Exactly. Now, I’m sending pictures to your phone of all the men who should show up. Fifteen pictures with their names. If someone comes in with their mask on, order them to take it off. If they don’t, call me. If all fifteen don’t show up, call me. If all fifteen do show up, and you identify all of them, call me. I’ll come up and start my interrogation then.”

“So, there’s really no scenario in which I’m not calling you,” I said.

“Someone might drop to their knees in fear and confess everything,” she said.

“Highly doubtful,” I said with a grin.