Page 40 of Hers to Hold
“Well, at least we know the source of those campaign rumors.”
Drew lifted his head. “You think they’ve been feeding the media?”
“Why not? Anyone who knows you would attest to your integrity. Campaign finance fraud? It’s outrageous!”
“Did you know he had a sister?”
Wes returned to his seat and flipped through the paperwork Rankin left. “Never asked and it never came up in conversation.”
“I’ve got to talk to my campaign manager.” He ran his hands through his hair. “We need to do damage control.”
“You think so? Maybe there’s a way you can get out in front of it?”
Drew sputtered and stood. He finished slugging his second bottle of water. “I have no idea.”
“Other than this, how is the campaign going?”
“Slight dip in the polls, but I’m not worried.” He gestured toward the door where they last saw Carl. “Thatworries me. If Rankin makes good on his threat, the scrutiny could kill my campaign.”
Wes crossed his arms and sucked on his lips. Drew had a point. Some scandals were too great to overcome. How could they stop Carl? “I can’t believe his sister is willing to go tojail.”
“Rankin would never survive,” Drew muttered.
“Right. They are risking everything telling us.”
Drew’s eyes narrowed on Wes. “He thinks we won’t call their bluff.”
Wes rocked his head back and forth. “Maybe. Look at these timecards.” He tossed the pile across the table, a few of the papers sliding off the top. Drew rifled through them.
“I still can’t believe they use paper. What a waste.”
“He wouldn’t use our online system for most of the contracts. Says a digital fingerprint is worse than a paper trail. Those numbers are nearlytwicewhat’s normally submitted. I don’t even have to check the history to know that.”
“Oh, so he wasplanningon threatening us today. You think he heard we were talking about his company?”
“It’s probable. Or he’s a mind reader.”
Drew dropped the papers on the table. “We can’t pay these. It’s blackmail.”
Wes nodded. “Agreed.” His mind conjured the image of an indignant Kady asking him what career he thought she should pursue. Wes stood abruptly, his rolling chair slamming into the wall behind him. “The media!”
Drew’s brows came together. “Come again?”
“We need to get ahead of this, right? Weshouldout them. How about speaking with a reporter? Control the narrative.”
Drew’s expression pained. “That’ll damage my campaign. Make me look like a terrible manager. Wes, I want people to believe I’m a good leader. That I can at least hire the right people.”
Wes sympathized with his friend. Knowing that Carl Rankin had fooled him after all this time was eating away at his confidence. “Talk to your campaign manager. We can always call in anonymously. At least get someone on the outside to look at this.”
“What about the FBI? They investigate blackmail.”
“If they can keep it quiet, sure. We don’t want to spook Carl and have him tell the media before we’re able to take him down.”
Drew nodded. His eyes went to the stack of timecards. “In the meantime, what are we going to do about those? The workers are innocent…and they’re expecting to get paid.”
Wes also stared at the paperwork. The overinflated numbers meant Carl Rankin would take a hefty percentage off the top. How could Drew honor the workers and save himself at the same time?
“Drew, the longest we can hold pay without a formal audit is forty-eight hours, per contract guidelines.”
