Page 84 of Her Boss

“If you refuse, the deal is off the table. Full prosecution. Do you want to actually hear the conditions?”

Rick’s jaw clenched. “All right. What else.”

“You won’t be selling it off to just anybody. The DOD has expressed… interest in retaining your staff as, uh… contractors. Especially the ex-special operators you’ve got on your payroll.”

“I don’t have any?—”

Stanton held up a hand. “Save it. We know whom you employ.”

“How?”

“Ask her yourself.” Ellison looked down the hall beyond Rick, beckoning a woman in a long pencil skirt and stylish blue knit blouse toward them.

“And who is that?”

“The person who’s going to be running your company once it’s sold off.”

“Holy shit…” Rick muttered as he turned to see who it was. “Vi?”

The woman, normally as cool as ice, looked tormented, her eyes big and reddened, splotches of color high at her cheeks as if she might have been crying recently. Her normally perfectly coiffed fair hair was piled atop her head in a messy bun. “Rick… I’m so sorry I couldn’t tell you. He made me swear to it. It was the only way he’d help.”

“Tell me what? And who’s helping?” Rick’s voice rose. “What the fuck did you do, Vi? You sell me out to the goddamned Feds?”

“No! Never.” She wiped a fresh tear from her cheek with the back of her hand. “Will.”

“What the fuck…”

“Like I said.” Stanton pointed at Rick. “Without my brother, you and I would be having a much different conversation right about now.”

Viola sniffled, then straightened her shoulders. “It made me sick to do it, but when you told me what Chester was forcing you to do… I had to make the call.”

“Chester told me you wanted to take over once he bought me out.”

“He’s a lying prick. I never said a word to him. I never would have said a word to him. You know that.”

“Except you did with Will…”

“It wasn’t like that.” Viola took a breath. “I asked him for help. If there was anything we could do to stop Chester from… he was going to fucking ruin your life, Rick.”

Stanton broke in. “Will called me. And we came up with something halfway workable. It wasn’t a sure thing, and there was no telling how you might fuck it up anyway in the meantime, but it was something.”

I was utterly speechless.

“None of that matters now,” Ellison continued. “What does matter is that, later this morning, if the DOD procurement guy is doing his stupid job, I’ll have the sales paperwork in hand. Once you sign it, you’ll have your money within forty-eight hours.”

“And if I don’t sell?”

“Rick,” I whispered. “Please…”

Stanton shrugged. “Well…”

He didn’t need to say it.

Rick sat down on the bench, head in his hands. Then he looked up at the ceiling, the veins at his neck standing out, pure torment on his face. “Fuck, this is…”

“…a whole lot better than prison,” Stanton said laconically. “There’s one more condition.”

“Great,” Rick snarled. “What else do you want? My left nut? Firstborn son?”

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