Page 43 of Indecent Demands

Mr. Conners blinked, apparently in surprise. “He’s taking it public?”

“Yes, although—is this not common knowledge? I’ll thank you not to spread it then.”

“Of course, of course,” he said, nodding.

“You’re the person who gave Damien the money to get the company started,” I said confidently. “What made you so certain in the future of Smirtech?”

“I wasn’t,” Mr. Conners said bluntly. “But I knew my son believed in it, and he was going to go along with it whether or not he had my support. I figured it would be better, if he failed, he failed with my money rather than someone else’s, so I gave them what they needed to get started. Nobody gets anywhere in this world without a little help, and I’d rather my son turn to me for help then someone who’ll be a predatory investor and demand too much in return.”

I tipped my head to the side. “And it looks like that philosophy paid off.”

“Yes.”

“How much of that is due to your son and how much of that is due to Damien?”

“I’m sure Damien thinks it’s all due to him,” Mr. Conners replied with a laugh. This was definitely not a man who liked to mince words. “But my son had the connections he needed. Jackson understands how to operate among the wealthy since he lived with them all his life. The other one, Brian, was like Damien. Completely wet behind the ears. But he had a lot of enthusiasm. Damien knows how to get people to do what he wants, and sometimes in our industry that’s all you really need.”

I nodded along, pretending to take notes in my notepad. “You don’t sound particularly fond of him.”

Mr. Conners gave me a thin smile. “No, I’m sure I don’t. That’s because I know what type of person Damien is. He’s the kind that drops people once they’re no longer useful to him. He’s selfish and always has been. I don’t like my son associating with him. But if I tell Jackson how much Damien is bad for him, he’ll just cling tighter. That’s how kids are.”

“You’re very forthright.”

“I know you’ll have to edit so it’s not too damning. But you like your stories with a bit of scandal. Everyone does. I’m happy to be the person suggesting that Damien Harcourt is not to be trusted. And who knows? I do carry some weight in this town. Maybe people will read between the lines of whatever edited thing you publish, and they’ll decide to listen to me.”

“If Damien is the kind of person to abandon someone when they’re not useful to him anymore, why do you think that your son has lasted so long at the company?”

“Ah.” Mr. Conners looked pleased. “Because I made sure that when the whole company was founded, Jackson—and Brian, since I was feeling generous and the poor boy had no idea what he was getting into—owned enough of the company that Damien can’t just kick them out. They have enough power.”

He shrugged. “I’m not a loving father. Not in the usual affectionate way. But I look out for my son.”

Interesting.

I thanked him and left. Back in the car I’d… ‘borrowed’… I contemplated my next move.

Mr. Conners could be lying, but I didn’t see any reason why he would. So, there was no reason for either man to be blackmailing Damien.

But Damien couldn’t like having Jackson and Brian still around. They’d served their purpose. He’d want all the power for himself. What if…

What if the ten million… was to get rid of his two ‘friends’?

Right when the company was going public—it was the perfect time to oust them. My heart raced. I knew I wasn’t really in danger, or at least I didn’t think I was, but I still felt like I should look over my shoulder.

There was no way that Damien would actually know what I was up to. Right?

I decided to head into work. There had to be something there that I could find. Seth would be there, possibly, but that was a risk I was willing to take if it meant I could get answers.

When I arrived, I found Tony. “Hey, how’s it going?”

“Oh, all right. Boring.” He shrugged. “I thought you were taking more time off? The security guy isn’t finished yet.”

“I know. I was working on something and wanted to come in and get some information from our system directly instead of trying to log in remotely. It’s always a pain.”

Tony waved me in. “Yeah, of course, no problem.”

I appreciated his trust in me, but the man could afford to be a little more suspicious.

I didn’t go into the tech department, though. Instead, I went up to the executive break room.

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