Page 88 of Played
“And you have evidence of this?” Elijah asks. I’m certain he trusts King’s research and his judgment, but I also knowhe’s envisioning the potential for some negative publicity in our future, if not a lawsuit for wrongful termination.
“Evidence of their meetings, yes,” King answers. “Security footage of them leaving a restaurant. Credit card receipts for parking, as well as the emails confirming their meetings, which aren’t admissible in court, but I assume you’re not looking to go down that route.”
“We’d rather not,” Elijah replies.
King nods his understanding. “While the emails don’t come signed from Astyn, I traced the IP to one of his company computers.”
“And all in less than three months,” I say with a smile, unable to hide my pride in him.
He winks at me. “Told you I was good.”
Elijah hums. “We should get HR in here and get Drake to look over her contract. We need to be fully satisfied that we handle this properly. No scandal and no grounds for her to accuse us of anything untoward.”
King smirks. “Or we could get her in here and make her crack,” he suggests.
Elijah leans forward, intrigued. “Crack?”
“My research on her suggests she’s only in this for the money. She’s weak. Lacks initiative.”
“Her personnel file confirms that,” I add.
“All you have to do is confront her with the evidence, and I would bet my Kawasaki Ninja that she’ll crack like an eggshell,” King says.
A range of emotions flicker over my brother’s face before he nods. “Then let’s get her in here.”
Olivia’s lower lip wobbles.Elijah confronted her with the evidence King found, and she denied it initially, which wasn’tunexpected. Then King detailed every meeting she had with Astyn Bartley—dates, times, locations. I provided the dates of the suspected leaks from Jamestech.
We’re all staring at her, waiting for her to crumble.
“I-I… It wasn’t— He said that… He was so insistent… My cat needed an operation, and I didn’t have the money.” She sobs loudly.
I feel a twinge of sympathy, but Elijah rolls back his shoulders. “Collect your things, Miss Green. Leave without a fuss, and we won’t prosecute you for industrial espionage.”
And that’s why he’s the CEO. My brother’s a good guy, so he’s definitely sympathetic to her situation. But she sold our company secrets, several times, and he isn’t going to risk the company our father built from the ground up on sentiment. She’s lucky she’s not going to jail.
She dabs at her eyes. “What will I tell people?”
Elijah’s eyes narrow. “Tell them you were fired for gross negligence, or tell them you left because you couldn’t handle the pace—I really don’t care. But if I ever hear that one bad word left your mouth regarding this company and your treatment here, I will come after you with the full extent of the law. Do you understand me?”
She nods.
“Now, get the hell out of our building,” he says.
Olivia leaves in a mess of tears.
“You sure about not prosecuting?” King asks as soon as she’s out the door.
“It would be a long, drawn-out case,” Elijah answers. “Spartan would have their own legal team, and there’s no way they’d readily admit to stealing our tech. I’ll pass the information along to their board, and Bartley will be out by the end of the week. Even with Olivia as a witness, prosecution would be messyand complicated, and I can think of a whole boatload of better things to do with my time.”
“Same,” I add, thinking about the impromptu trip King and I took to Atlantic City. I could use a hell of a lot more of that in my life. “And I don’t need the extra work all the negative press would bring either.”
Elijah stands and shakes King’s hand. “But you did a great job, man. Thank you.”
King smiles, and that dimple pops. “You’re welcome.”
“I’ll recommend you to everyone I know. And if you’re ever short of work, we can always find you something here at Jamestech.” Elijah looks at me. “So long as that’s okay with you?”
I nod. “All good with me.”
