Page 42 of Gator

“Just remember, if you’re missing, we can locate you immediately,” said Doug. He lifted the necklace, depressing the button on the back. “Sly? Yep, this set is going to Dylan. Roger that.”

“You’re all set. He now knows exactly where you are, and so does Gator.”

“Wait. Do I get to track him?” she frowned. The women laughed, shaking their heads.

“Honey, you have a lot to learn.”

As they continued their tour, Sophia Ann stopped at the desk of her sister, and they spoke about something they were working on. Ajei and Kate moved along the second floor until they reached Montana’s office. It was large and cluttered, just the way she liked it.

Dylan scanned the room, seeing all the diplomas, certifications, and patents on the wall. She couldn’t believe how brilliant this woman was. Something on the wall caught her eye, and she stared.

“Dylan? Is everything okay?” asked Kate.

“I don’t know. What’s that?” she asked, pointing to the photo.

“Oh, that’s from the original defense contractor I worked for. It was how I met Luc. They had moved to New Orleans and bought the rights to my project. It was such a mess. My boss ended up being killed. I was kidnapped,” she said, shaking her head. “In fact, Grip was the man who gave his life so I could live.”

“That’s so sad,” said Dylan. “There’s something about that photo. Something that’s ringing bells for me.”

“I’m not sure how, sweetie. This was probably before you were born.”

Dylan nodded, listening to Montana talk about some of the projects that were happening at the moment. Walking out onto the catwalk, she explained all the features of G.R.I.P., including the retractable roof, the docks for large boats, and the security system that not even the government knew about.

Dylan looked back into the office, staring at the photo on the wall.

“Dylan, what’s wrong?” She turned to look at the other women, and her eyes got huge.

“The holdings!”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

“Okay, everyone is here, Dylan. What’s going on?” asked Cam.

“I have to thank Kate, Sophia Ann, and Ajei for taking me out to G.R.I.P. I would have never in a million years made this connection.”

“What connection?” asked Gator.

“It was in Montana’s office. I was looking at a patent on the wall for something and saw the name of the company. Carswell.”

“That’s right,” nodded Luc. “Carswell was the company she was working for when we met. Everything went to shit, and Doug and Montana ended up buying Carswell and creating G.R.I.P.”

“Right. But if you look into that mound of information, Hanz Metzger was a financial backer and board member for Carswell. If you are now the old Carswell, there might be something in his financial backing that says he owns part of G.R.I.P.”

“Holy fuck.”

The chorus of the same phrase echoed in the large room. Montana stared at Dylan, then back at the patent that had been hanging on her wall.

“Here,” said Pigsty, putting the original backer agreement on the screen. “She’s right. Metzger’s agreement with Carswell was that unless he was bought out of his investment, he would continue to be part of any subsequent companies.”

“Right,” smiled Dylan, “but he couldn’t make himself known to all of you because you knew who he was. You knew his history. There was no way for him to find you and force your hand. But if he is truly part of this organization and finds a way to fight it, finds a way to force you to let him in, think of what he now has at his fingertips.”

“This wasn’t about all the holdings,” said Gator. “This is only about that holding. The only one he cares about is staking his claim with the old Carswell. G.R.I.P.”

“How legal is this?” asked Cam, staring at Georgie and Kat.

“We’ll have to review the original terms in the agreement. Ideally, we would just pay him back the investment he made, but if he holds more than fifty-percent ownership of Carswell, and we weren’t aware, this could be an issue for us.”

“Are you fucking with me right now?” growled Eric. “Are you saying that we might have to let him become part of our company?”

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