Page 23 of The Money Man
“We’re going to have to throw the cloak of KRG firmly around your shoulders,” Derek said. “And then we have to find out who these people are.”
“How will cloaking me in KRG help?” Alice asked, although she loved the mental image of Derek swirling his cape around her shoulders and then sweeping her up onto his horse. “And how do you do that anyway?”
“We are a well-established firm with both clout and resources,” Derek said. “If we make it known that you’re working for us, your reputation will be protected.”
“How are you going to let BalanceTrakR know that?” she asked.
“We are going to visit their headquarters in Texas,” Derek explained.
“Because KRG is interested in investing in BalanceTrakR,” Leland said, his patrician face lit with interest in creating a plausible story. “You were doing some research into the software for us.”
Derek frowned and drummed his fingers on the shiny wood of the table. “We need to create a reason KRG would hire you to look into software we were interested in.”
She felt the implication like a blow. Because they had far more qualified people already on staff to do that. “You didn’t want BalanceTrakR to know you were interested so you went outside the firm.”
“That’s a given but we need a connection to you. My understanding is that you don’t regularly consult for other companies.”
“Oh, right.” She felt a little better. “Maybe a school connection with one of your employees?” Cofferwood itself was small, but it spilled its students into a regional high school.
“That could work. Send me an email with every school you attended. Might as well add summer camps, sports, hobbies, anything with an organized group, and the dates. I’ll have HR try to find a match.”
Alice nodded. “What about my question on the help forum?”
“A test,” Derek said decisively. “To see if anyone responded with issues.”
“And the fact that it got deleted?” Alice was enjoying their construction of the fictional scenario. Myron Barsky and his criminal compatriots wouldn’t know what hit them.
“Puzzling ... and one of the questions we want to ask them about on our visit,” Derek said with an arrogant smile that showed he was envisioning how he would play it at the meeting.
“It would be interesting to hear how they get around that,” Alice said, wishing she could be a fly on the wall when Derek and Leland called on the software company.
“You’ll hear it,” Derek said. “You’re coming with me.”
A swirl of exhilaration and nerves shot through her. She would be traveling to Texas with Derek, whose touch she now craved. She pulled herself together. “I thought you meant Leland,” she said.
“Leland isn’t the person in the crosshairs,” Derek said, shooting his partner a reproving glance.
Would they go just for the day or spend a night? The possibility of sleeping in a hotel room next to Derek’s lit up all the wrong parts of her body.
Leland folded his laptops shut before he stood up, tucking them under his surprisingly well-muscled arms. She’d expected a computer wizard to be less fit. “I’ll start digging into the guts of BalanceTrakR. You’ll need to know who and what we’re dealing with before you beard the lion in his den.”
“When will we be going?” Alice asked, trying to keep her mind on the business side of this.
Derek turned to Leland.
“Give me a couple of days,” the computer expert said. “I have a few other projects I’m in the middle of.”
“We also need to get Tully up to speed,” Derek said. “He’ll have ideas about how to handle the legal side of this.”
Alice recalled that Tully Gibson was theGin KRG. “He’s a lawyer?” she asked.
“He’s former FBI,” Leland said. “He’ll know what kind of proof is needed to take these people down. Once I figure out who they are.” He stopped in the doorway briefly, his casual attire contrasting with the polished wood and etched glass of the expensively appointed conference room. “We may need him for other reasons as well.”
A look passed between the two men that Alice couldn’t quite read, but it was not a happy one.
As Leland exited, Derek pushed his chair back and swiveled to face Alice. “I’m sorry to drag you to Texas on short notice, but I want to get you protected as soon as possible. Then we can let Leland and Tully handle the rest of the problem.”
Disappointment hollowed out her chest at the reminder that Derek would be jetting off to Asia sometime soon, leaving her to finish the project with his partners.
