Page 79 of His Rules

Now that did surprise him. He did his best to hide his reaction, but I noticed the flash of anger in his eyes. “You talked with him.”

“Yes, extensively. With some changes, the contract will stand.”

“That’s not what he told me.”

I took my time rising to my full height. One advantage I’d never used on him was that I was a solid six inches taller. Today, I felt like owning up to every single inch. “How interesting you’ve been going behind my back.”

“As you’ve been with me.”

“I was only making contact in hopes of changing his mind. It worked. And you?”

“Much the same.” Drake scratched his head and purposely moved away from my looming presence. “Francis doesn’t like dealing with you. Most people don’t.”

“Mmm… So I understand. I guess you can’t teach old dogs new tricks. Eh?”

He laughed as if I was making a joke. Perhaps I was. I’d changed quite a bit in a little over a week. Maybe I was finally seeing the light in what living life truly meant.

“Maybe. Maybe not. Why don’t we consider getting together for a round of golf this weekend. You know, like we did before things started going south.”

“Sure. Why not.”

I could tell neither one of us were the least bit interested in trying to salvage our friendship.

He headed for the door.

“Was there something else you wanted to say to me, Drake?”

His entire body language changed and he turned slightly, which allowed me to see his profile only. “I only wanted to catch up. Nothing more. Although the board confirmed a meeting for Friday afternoon.”

As the CEO, he would receive the email first, but it was always followed up by one to my computer. That meant he’d been in direct contact with them. The fact we’d gone public with our shares had initiated a need for an outside board. While we owned the company in equal parts, they now had a say in certain decisions, namely projects that cost over two million dollars. Anything less and the items weren’t brought to the table.

Kane’s contact had been worth significantly more, spread out over four years. With the two lengthy conversations I’d had with Francis, we’d both agreed to continue on the current path until I was ready to make the final changes. That would take some time if an audit was initiated.

At least I was aware Waterhouse Industries had approached him. That in and of itself wasn’t unusual, but the designs had raised a red flag in the man like it had with Kacey. However, that wasn’t the most damning piece of evidence. It was that with Francis’ confidence shared, Drake’s betrayal had been confirmed. How my partner believed he was going to pull this off was still beyond me. It would be no easy task.

“Not a problem. I’ll be here as always.”

He turned even more, staring me in the eyes. My former friend was attempting to see if I was anxious in any way. Not at all. I knew exactly how to handle myself in a boardroom. Certainly with more success than him.

“Good.” He took another step closer to the door. “Oh, I’ll offer one piece of advice. Be careful who you trust, Sebastian. It’s amazing how many people want to stab you in the back.”

“Yes, I suppose you’re right. However, it’s quite interesting what you can learn from them.”

I wasn’t giving the man an inch. That’s exactly what he wanted. Fuck him.

He was perplexed as he left. Right where I wanted him to be.

I didn’t bother closing the door. Very slowly, a smile curled across my face.

“Game on.”

“What the fuck is going on?” Drake stormed into my office at eleven sharp.

“I’ll need to call you back.” I ended my call with Steven and looked at him quizzically. “What are you talking about?”

“You know damn good and well what I’m talking about. There are five auditors in our conference room and that protégé of yours is asking for files, my private files.”

“We missed having an audit last year for reasons I can’t quite frankly remember.” I did remember. He’d insisted we go one year without doing so and I’d gone along with it. Up to that point, there’s been no real concern. “Ms. Taylor’s recommendation was a good one. We’re having a full forensics audit.”

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