Page 21 of Deadly Legacy
“Indeed.” Wallace leaned closer, lowering his voice. “What’s more, this city’s financial circles talk. And I believe people might be very interested in knowing who’sreallybacking Matthew Capital.”
There it was. The threat, thinly veiled.
“Are you asking as a concerned father or fishing for information?” Reuben kept his breathing even, the way Stepan had taught him during training. “Because you haven’t been the former in years. And I don’t provide the latter to competitors.”
Wallace’s eyebrows rose slightly. “I’m simply suggesting we might find mutual benefit in cooperation rather than competition.”
“Cooperation?” Reuben cocked his head.
“Quantize Guard.” Wallace spread his hands on the table. “Their security software is game-changing. Matthew Capital is too new to win their trust alone, but they know and respect my company’s thirty years in the business.”
Reuben leaned back, feeling the firm press of the chair against his spine. “You’re suggesting we partner on the acquisition?”
“My firm would be the public face of the deal.” Wallace nodded, shoulders relaxing as if victory was already his. “And your team would handle the technical evaluation and integration planning.”
The translation was clear:Wallace takes the credit, Reuben does the work. Nothing had changed.
“You disowned me,” Reuben said, the calmness in his voice surprising even himself. “Used your connections to blacklist me professionally from every financial institution. And now you want to usemysuccess to saveyourcompany?”
Wallace’s mask slipped. “That’s not—”
“My analysts show Hoyt Investment Group has lost three major clients in the past quarter.” Reuben kept his voice steady. “Your cash reserves are depleted, and your debt payments have triggered warning flags with your creditors.”
Wallace’s face drained of color. His phone buzzed on the table, the screen lighting with a text. As he glanced down, Reuben noticed how his father’s throat worked convulsively—a nervous tic he’d never displayed before.
“Problem?” Reuben asked.
“Nothing urgent.” Wallace silenced the phone too quickly, his knuckles white around the device.
The reaction was so uncharacteristic that Reuben felt a shift in the dynamic. His father was answering to someone else. The Wallace Hoyt he knew would never show such naked anxiety.
Reuben tapped three fingers against his water glass—the signal.
In his peripheral vision, he saw Nikon leave his position at the bar, moving toward their table with the calm authority that made even powerful men step aside.
Wallace tracked Nikon’s approach, his gaze sharpening with recognition.
Impossible—they’d never met.Yet his father’s shoulders stiffened in a way Reuben knew wasn’t merely the wariness of a stranger approaching.
He knows who Nikon is. Someone’s shown him photos.
“We seem to have company,” Wallace murmured, straightening his already impeccable tie.
Nikon arrived at the table, his shadow falling across Wallace’s face. “I hope I’m not interrupting.”
“Wallace, this is Nikon Matvei.” Reuben watched his father’s face carefully. “My partner.”
The deliberate ambiguity hung in the air—business partner? Romantic partner? Both? Wallace’s gaze flickered between them, calculating the implications.
“Mr. Hoyt.” Nikon extended his hand. “I’ve heard much about you.”
Wallace hesitated a fraction too long before shaking it. “I wish I could say the same, Mr. Matvei.”
Another lie.The recognition in Wallace’s eyes had been immediate.
Nikon slid into the chair beside Reuben, his thigh pressing against Reuben’s under the table. The warm weight of his hand settled firmly on Reuben’s knee; a gesture invisible to Wallace but grounding for Reuben.
“Apparently, Wallace was just proposing a partnership on the Quantize Guard acquisition,” Reuben explained, the corners of his mouth lifting. “Using his company’s ‘established reputation’ as the public face.”
