Page 2 of Crude Heir

“Don’t tell me.” He lets out an exaggerated sigh. “You’re not going to make it tonight.” We used to be inseparable through boarding school and college. Wherever you found one of us, the other was never far behind. Now we’re in different parts of the state, if that. And the one occasion we have to hang out, I’m about to end up screwing it up.

“It’s not that.” I step into the elevator and press the button for the parking garage. “We need to talk, and I can’t wait.” He just dropped a few million for a division of Kelly Oil & Gas that may have been front and center in an embezzlement scheme. I glance over my shoulder to make sure nobody’s within earshot. This isn’t a conversation I want to have over the phone or in public, where someone might overhear.

“Sounds serious.”

“It is.” That’s an understatement of epic proportions. The loss was severe enough to nearly kill the old man when he discovered the extent of the damage to his precious company.

“Okay, I’ll wait for you here.” The distinct sound of a car alarm comes blaring through the line. “I’m parked on the fifth level.”

“I’m on the way.” I jam my thumb against the button that closes the doors. As the elevator descends, I brace myself for the inevitable shitstorm I’m about to bring down on our heads.

* * *

Derrick

Addler braces his hands firmly against the exterior reinforced concrete wall, his gaze fixed on the sprawling city below. “How much money are we talking about here? Thousands? Tens of thousands?” he asks, his brow furrowed in concern as he poses the question.

I exhale slowly, the weight of the truth settling on my conscience. “She said it was more along the lines of millions,” I correct him, my voice heavy with remorse. “The old man had a literal heart attack when he found out about the money being gone.”

He lets out a low whistle. “The company’s missing that much?” Clearly he’s as surprised at the amount as I was when she told me.

Be mindful of the information.The gravity of her warning echoes in the back of my mind. While I don’t expect anyone to be lurking in the shadows, I glance around the parking garage, hoping nobody’s close enough to hear us. It’s unsettling to think that someone could easily be directly below us, hidden from view, and we’d never know.

“Man, I’m sorry,” I offer the apology from the bottom of my heart. “I just got the phone call about it a few minutes ago.” Even then, she wasn’t supposed to tell anyone, but somehow, she felt it was necessary. I suppose I should be grateful she didn’t hold onto this for Keith’s benefit, also.

“Nah, I get it.” He shrugs nonchalantly. “Shit like this happens all the time,” he says with complete confidence.

“It does?” I’m genuinely surprised at the revelation. Though I’m still asking myself how something of this magnitude can even happen.

His serious expression revealing a side of the business world I don’t normally see. “Yeah. You just don’t hear about a lot of them,” he explains. “Usually, the company doesn’t want the bad press. Sometimes they don’t want to look weak, or it’ll damagetheir reputation. Imagine a money manager who doesn’t notice someone stealing money. They’d lose credibility. People would pull their investments, and the company would take a hit.”

Realization washes over me as the gravity of the situation sinks in. “Oh hell. I never considered that.” I’ve always known the business world could be cutthroat. But it turns out the intricacies of these deals have repercussions that are a lot more treacherous than I imagined. I didn’t expect my best friend to get caught in this mess, especially not because of me.

“You never know why it’s covered up. But I’m not worried about this.” He assures me, gesturing toward the building. “Per the wording in the contract, I’m only responsible for what happens from Monday forward. So, whatever this is stays with Kelly Oil.”

A sense of ease courses through me as the knot in the middle of my back loosens slightly. “That’s a relief,” I confess, grateful he won’t be directly implicated in what could be a huge embezzlement scandal.

He turns, leaning an elbow on top of the half wall. “I have to admit, I wondered why they were selling an entire division so cheap,” he muses aloud.

“Cheap? Only you would consider shelling out a few million dollars cheap,” I retort, sarcasm lacing my voice. Of course, to Addler de Marco, sole heir to a South Texas billionaire, it’s probably just a drop in the bucket. His family’s rumored to have ties to the criminal underworld, though whether or not that’s true remains to be seen. But Addler is determined to use the money he has to grow the business legitimately.

“Hey, are you forgetting your newfound fortune?” he shoots back with a playful grin.

I grimace, the weight of the situation pressing down on me. “I can’t seem to fucking get away from it.”

“How are you doing with that?” Addler shifts to a more serious tone, genuine concern shining through.

Addler, one of my few friends, and I have gone through thick and thin since college. I’ve never met someone more driven. Meanwhile, my entire professional career feels like a sham now, as if every accomplishment was orchestrated byhim, just looking out for the kid he didn’t acknowledge. Where the hell could I go right now without that following me?

“Ever since Keith Kelly had his heart attack, my world’s been upside down,” I confess. “He felt the need to make what he thought was a deathbed confession. So now, everyone knows he fathered a kid with his secretary.” The words tumble out with a mixture of anger and hurt, yet I can’t stop myself from spilling my guts to him. “People started doing the math and figured out I was born almost exactly nine months after Simon.” I pause, letting the implication sink in. “I can feel him hating me from the next floor.” I exhale.

“Shit,” Addler mutters, dropping his head back in exasperation.

“Well, he thought he was an only child, set to inherit the Kelly Dynasty. Now he’s finding out he’s only entitled to half,” I explain, bitterness creeping into my voice fueled by the memory of the hate in Simon’s eyes every time we’re face-to-face. “Not that I want a single dime of it.”

As we continue with our conversation, the sound of an engine catches my attention. A faded-red older-model compact car comes into view as it ascends the ramp. Nicole Fuentes sits behind the wheel. She’s likely coming back from running an errand for my newly found brother.

“You okay?” Addler asks, noticing my distraction as she drives past us and pulls into an empty space on the other side of the parking area.

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