Page 6 of Inflame

Good, any talk of my genitalia usually sets him straight. He needs to stick to his own lane when it comes to his love life and quit trying to persuade me out of the darkness that surrounds mine.

“Your security is very lax,” I comment.

Graham removes his feet from his desk and sits up straight in his chair, obviously interested in my opinion. “How so?”

I smirk. “I was just able to walk in without a fuss.”

He sighs in frustration. “You are impossible. Just like Mom always said.”

“She always liked you better,” I tease. It is a crock of shit. That woman is a saint and loves all three of her children. I just like to play that card whenever I need to deflect.

“Not even going to address that with a comment,” Graham mumbles to himself. “Have you heard from Penny?”

“I went up and visited her last weekend. Seems to be doing remarkably well and moving toward a discussion on being released from the program.”

“That’s what Dad was saying too. I’m glad the therapy is working, but I wish Seattle was closer so I could keep a better eye on her. Maybe everything is looking up though.”

“Just in time for your nuptials too.”

“Are we all set for Vegas?” he asks, his tone serious. “You know how I hate relinquishing control on these types of plans. Makes me feel edgy, like I’m walking with a blindfold on.”

I nod. “Yeah, I get it. I think everything is set. You sure you don’t want me to charter a private jet? It’s not too late. There is a risk of a delay flying commercial.”

“Angie is obsessed with the whole airport and flight experience. You should have seen her when I took her to Florida for her Christmas gift. Couldn’t tell what she was the most excited about. Kept talking about how cute the snacks were with the little airplane emblems. Walked on the moveable platforms just to ‘experience it.’ Was very excited when her carry-on was flagged and had to get a separate search with the ‘cute metal wand.’ Those are her words not mine.”

“Joined the Mile High Club,” I interject.

Graham shakes his head. “Too cliché.”

I nod. “Anyway, you aren’t supposed to be part of the planning of this trip. I have it all handled. Just relax.”

“Security?”

“I set up the monitoring. To be clear, you’re not wanting to be intrusive, correct?”

“Correct.”

“Then I did what I could do without violating every law in this state—and the state of Nevada. But if your fiancée finds out—”

“She knows I have some form of eyes on her. She also requested that she doesn’t know any further information about how I keep tabs and wants to live her life as if she is oblivious. So, in my defense, I’m not going behind her back.”

I nod. That does make me feel better. I had liked Angie as soon as Claire brought her into my office for an interview to join the escort agency. I knew both girls were trouble, each in their own way. With time, they have proven me right on my initial analysis. It’s a mystery as to how my brother is not completely gray. They both test my patience, even on a good day.

“Another favor,” Graham starts. “I need you to stop the hacking of my meeting slides and editing them to insert inappropriate emoji. I cannot review every document an hour before a scheduled conference.”

I throw my head back and burst out laughing. “You really need to add more firewalls and three forms of authorization on your access points. You make it so easy to infiltrate your network.”

“Dude, get a hobby,” he chuckles.

“Fine. But I need a favor too.”

Graham clears his throat. I rarely ask him for anything, so he knows this is going to be worth hearing.

“I need Collins to dig around and retrieve information for me.” He’s been Graham’s bodyguard for years and essentially the backbone to his entire business. If anyone can find the information, it’ll be Collins. “I can only see so much virtually and need more concrete documents and information that I cannot easily gather on Ethan Maxwell.”

“Should I be worried?”

“Not yet.”

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