I nodded. “We have to be calm and cool, okay?”
He took a breath. “Okay.”
“You said it yourself, there’s no rule for us being together. This might just have to be our coming-out party.” I smiled to hide the nausea. I still wasn’t comfortable with everyone knowing we were together, but now, that choice may have been taken away.
He read my concern and leaned towards me. “Farren, you can’t tell it’s you on the video. We don’t have to admit anything.”
I nodded but took an unsteady breath.
He pulled my chin towards him with his finger. “Hey, just follow my lead.” He leaned over and kissed me softly.
We walked to Nick’s office, finding the door open. This was a rarity and took me by surprise. It was as if he were expecting us, which made me even more uncomfortable.
David walked in, and I followed, closing the door behind me. Nick looked up and sat back in his shitty fake leather chair. A sly smirk appeared as he bounced slightly, and the springs creaked.
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the couple of the decade.” He exhaled and smiled. “I take it you got my video.”
David sauntered towards Nick’s desk. “I did. Pretty interesting.” David’s cool demeanor masked his fury well.
“Isn’t it?” Nick’s smile grew.
“I’m a little confused as to why you sent it to Farren, however.” I stood beside David and watched Nick. “Was there a reason you wanted her to know this information too?”
We wouldn’t give Nick all the power by confessing I was the woman in the video. We had to find out where his head was so we could come up with a strategy—a plan on how to handle this.
“Come on, Dave. You can’t really think I’m that naïve.” Nick played with the pen in his hand. He glanced at me, and I kept my face calm. “It’s clearly Farren that’s placed so suggestively on your lap.”
David put his hands in his pockets and looked at me. “Ah, yes, I see how you could mistake her for Farren. That’s Marta, the bartender from the hotel.”
Nick shook his head. “There’s no way. That’s Farren.”
“Nick, are you seriously telling me I don’t know who I made out with. I wasn’t that drunk.” He laughed and pulled out his phone, tapping on the screen. “This is Marta, that same night actually.” David walked to Nick’s desk and flashed his screen at him. “She’s who I…see when I’m in Puerto Vallarta.”
“Really?” Nick asked flatly.
“Yeah, for the last three years. Do you want to call her? You can. Here’s her number.” David tried to hand him his phone, but Nick wouldn’t take it.
Nick scoffed and looked at me. “So, you’re denying it too?”
I tilted my head. “It’s a woman with blonde hair, Nick. You never actually see her face. David is my boss, just like he’s yours,” I cautioned. “Our relationship is purely professional.” I hoped my lying was believable.
Nick leaned back in his chair and began rocking. “You two must think I’m a real idiot.”
David remained calm. “Well, it’s pretty much your word against mine and Marta’s, who I’m sure will be more than happy to come here and tell you all about that night herself. Please, do me the favor, let me fly her out here. She’s one of my favorites.”
Glancing at me, Nick rolled his eyes. “This is beneath you two. I’d have more respect if you’d just beg me to keep quiet.”
I laughed with no humor. “I don’t believe that for a moment.”
Nick leaned back in his leather chair again, rolling the ballpoint pen between his fingers. “So, if it’s not you, why did you run in here?” He looked at his watch. “I sent that video three minutes ago and here the two of you are standing in my office wanting to discuss it.”
I gave him an innocent smile and moved in front of David. “Because you’re threatening to out our boss. Maybe I’m thinking that’s not the best way to advance your career. Maybe you’re about to make the CEO of the company hate you for getting into his personal business. And maybe, just maybe, I think this is a monumental mistake and want you to understand the consequences of your actions.” The warning was clear.
The corner of Nick’s mouth pulled up. “Bravo. Did you come up with that right off the hip, or did you practice it on the way in here?”
I glowered at him and glanced at David, who was trying to hold it together. The anger coming off him was clear, even from where I stood. He wanted to fly over the desk and beat the shit out of Nick.
David cleared his throat. “Alright, Nick. I’ll play along. What is it you want?”
Nick stood. “It’s pretty simple.” He walked around his desk and leaned on the front of it. “Now that I know Farren’s fucking the boss, it’s clear how she got to be co-manager, and rumor has it, you’re going to make her marketing director over me. I guess your head is above average, huh, Farren?” He winked at me.
I immediately turned to David and placed my hand on his chest, stopping him from advancing. “David, the blinds are open,” I blurted. David looked to his right, confirming my warning. He met my eyes, and I gave him a look, begging him to calm down.
I turned back to Nick. The arrogance on Nick’s face grew. My heart was pounding out of my chest. David was two seconds away from throwing Nick out the window, and Nick was reveling in this new power over the CEO.
“What do you want, Nick?” I questioned.
“I want you to quit,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest.
I jerked my head back. “Why would I quit?”
“Because if you don’t, I’m going to release this video to the company.” He crossed his arms over his chest.
“So what?” If that’s all he was threatening, I would deal with the backlash. I worked too damn hard to quit because Nick was throwing a tantrum.
He smiled and looked away. “I figured someone like you wouldn’t care about the entire office knowing you’re a whore.”
David moved forward again.
I came towards Nick, my finger in his face. “I’m going to make myself very clear—tread carefully.” My anger was becoming more prevalent than my fear.
He laughed. “If embarrassment and the possibility of being let go doesn’t faze you. How about embezzlement?”
That brought me out of my tense posture, and I straightened. I looked over my shoulder at David, whose mouth fell open.
“What the hell are you talking about?” David breathed.
Nick looked over my shoulder. “You’ve been a naughty boy, Dave. Moving money back and forth to cover your ass. Tsk, tsk, tsk.”
Nick tilted his head. “We found a tiny accounting error that could have been missed if you weren’t looking for it.”
David walked to the far wall without a word.
Nick moved from in front of me to talk directly to David. “As far as I can tell, and correct me if I’m wrong, Dave. Daddy knew the company was going down in flames financially and wanted to cover his bank account. There’s a significant amount of money moved from the company to offshore accounts.”
My heart fell through my feet at his lack of defense while Nick spewed out accusations.
“How significant?” I asked, barely audible.
Nick looked over his shoulder at me. “Give or take, ten million.”
I stared wide-eyed at him, then looked at David, who still hadn’t faced us. I waited for him to tell me this wasn’t true. A look, an objection, anger. But there was nothing.
“The money is steadily being moved back,” Nick said, grabbing my attention again. “It’s quite convenient that David sold the company plane, then not seventy-two hours later, 2.7 million was deposited back into the company’s account.”
Oh shit.
“I’m sure there’s an explanation,” I said. But even I couldn’t convince myself that statement was true.
Nick turned and loomed over me. “Don’t fool yourself. His father stole, and he tried to cover it up to save both their asses. It’s as simple as that.”
I couldn’t believe it. Was David in on the take? Was he benefitting from the stolen money? No, I wouldn’t believe that. If it were a smash-and-grab, David wouldn’t be trying to return the money lost.
“So, you see, my plan is simple.” Nick continued walking around to his faux leather chair. “You quit, or I release all this information, along with your video. I mean, it would ruin your reputation. Who would hire you? Sleeping with the guy who covered up daddy’s theft from his own company. They’d probably think you were in on it too.”
David finally turned around and stared Nick down. “You’re a sick fuck,” he spat.
“Be careful, David,” Nick warned. “You may not want to talk to your new boss in such a disrespectful manner.”
David walked forward and stood by my side. “The hell are you talking about?”
“I plan on helping Samuel Powers regain control. Being marketing director will just be my first step up the ladder. I can reveal the information I have on him too. The gift that keeps on giving.” He laughed.
I glanced at David, who vaguely rolled his eyes, knowing Mr. Powers could never return to run Imperium.
“The old man can’t have control forever. He obviously doesn’t want you to be CEO the way he’s fighting it in court. I could slip in and run the company myself,” he said with confidence.
David was going through so much with his father and building this company back up, he couldn’t deal with more. My shoulders tensed and my chest ached for him.
“But I’m a fair guy. I’ll give you both some time to think it over.” Nick pulled out his chair and sat.
“How do we know you won’t release it even if I do quit?” I asked, shaken.
“You’re just going to have to trust me,” he said with a grin. “Besides, being able to hold this information over David’s head for as long as he’s here will help me get to where I want to be. He’ll be my new best friend. Won’t you, Dave?”
I couldn’t look at Nick anymore—it was time to go. I turned David away and encouraged him to the door. He opened it and walked out. Before I could follow, Nick called my name. I stopped and turned.
“You have until end of day tomorrow.” He glanced at me, smiling. I gritted my teeth and walked out.
Twenty Two
David had gone to his office and left the door open for me. He stood by the window overlooking Santa Monica with his arms crossed. He remained there for a significant amount of time, his rage building from across the room.
“Fuck!”
I jumped at his volume.
He exhaled, then rested his hands on his hips.
I walked over to him. “David, what’s happening?”
He stayed by the window and put his hands in his pockets. “Everything he said in there was true. I was trying to move money back that my father stole.”
I hung my head, then brought my fingers to the inner corners of my eyes to try and rub away the headache bound to surface.
“I didn’t know how much it was until I took over,” he said towards the window. “The accountant I’ve been working with for years went over every line, every detail of the money, and found the discrepancies too.”
“Why didn’t you move the money back from the offshore accounts?” I asked, exhausted.
He turned to me. “I can’t. Not without my father doing it himself.”
I exhaled. “That’s why you need the conservatorship.”
“Allison will get control over his money, I’ll get the company, then we can move back all that he stole.” He turned back towards the window. “For now, we’re waiting for my father to drop this ridiculous lawsuit and move forward with turning Imperium over to me.”
I walked to the edge of his desk and leaned.
“I’ve sunk every goddamn dime I have into replacing this money. That son of a bitch doesn’t even appreciate what I’m trying to do. Every person in this building would be out of a job if this came out.” He ran his hand through his hair, then pounded the window once with his fist. “Not to mention, I’m trying to make sure he doesn’t spend what remaining time he has left in jail.” His voice rose and echoed against the glass.
A gaping hole in me grew. There was no way we would resolve this by the next day. Nick outing what Mr. Powers did and David trying to cover it up would devastate the company and David. It didn’t matter if Nick didn’t know Mr. Powers was sick, the information he had on him and David would be enough. I couldn’t let that happen.
I looked down at my hands. “I have to quit,” I whispered.
David hesitated, then turned and started towards me. “What are you talking about? No, you don’t.”
The tears welled. “Yes, I do.”
David reached me, then placed one hand in mine, the other resting on the side of my face. “Farren, look at me.”
I swallowed and looked into those gorgeous eyes that at first blazed with fury, but then retreated.
“You’re not going anywhere,” he breathed.
“David, I have to,” I spoke in a rush. “If I don’t leave, all of this will come out. People will be let go, you’ll get ousted from the company by the board, then Nick wins. I can’t—”
He pulled me to him and kissed me. His full lips moved with intention, letting me know to stop this train of thought. When he thought he’d convinced me enough, he broke our connection and leaned back.
“You’re not going anywhere,” he repeated.
I looked down and shook my head. “What are we going to do?”
His thumb ran along my jaw. “We’re going to figure this out, and we will definitely not kowtow to Nick and his delusions. If that dickhead thinks he can blackmail you into quitting while I stand by and do nothing, he’s fucking insane.” He looked into the distance. “I won’t lose you.”
I exhaled and placed my hands on his neck, leaning my forehead against his. We had to come up with a plan. I didn’t care about the video. You couldn’t see it was me, but even if everyone figured it out, those who knew me wouldn’t get offended or think I was a “whore” who slept her way to the top. That was all that mattered. It was David’s problem we needed to fix.
I took a deep breath. “Okay.” I walked away from him and slowly paced. “There’s no way Nick found this information on his own. He’s not very resourceful or, frankly, intelligent enough to dig that deep into accounting unless he was deliberately looking for something.” I stopped. Accounting.
I looked at David. “Gwen.”
David closed his eyes. “Shit,” he whispered.
I walked over to him. “She would be the only way he’d know about something like that. I saw them chummy together last week. I thought she’d just decided you were a lost cause and started after him again.”
“Again?” he questioned.
I rolled my eyes. “Before you got here, Gwen had a thing for Nick. We all knew about it. I figured she went back to trying to make a play for him after you rejected her.” I paced the room again. “It has to be her. But why?”
“Could just be because I didn’t take things any farther with her.”
I stopped moving. “Or it could be because she’s figured us out.” He looked at me, and I shrugged. “Remember, she hates me.”
He paused. “Either way, we need to know. If we can convince her to let it go, Nick will back down and I can fire the fucker.”
“Okay,” I whispered while exhaling. “What’s the first move?”
DAVID TEXTED GWEN TO meet her at the office later, making it appear he wanted to see her for personal reasons rather than business.
I paced the conference room while David sat patiently at the table.
“She’s late,” I said after looking at my watch for the millionth time.
“It’s just seven now, Farren. Relax.”
“How are you so calm?” I asked while making a visible trail across the industrial carpet under my feet.
“I don’t know what we’re dealing with. No need to get nervous yet.”
The elevator binged. I took a deep breath and walked around to the other side of David and sat.
Gwen appeared at the mouth of the conference room. She found David, then me. She didn’t look like her usual self, dressed in jeans, a T-shirt, and a thigh-length sweater wrapped around her. Not flashy at all. She was sheepish and stood with her hands fidgeting in front of her. She looked…scared.
“What is she doing here?” Gwen asked in a small voice. It wasn’t harsh, just curious.
“Come sit down, Gwen,” David directed.
She hesitated, then walked to a chair across from us, pulled it out, and sat. Her eyes never met David’s or mine, choosing instead to focus on the table in front of her. She took a deep, uneven breath.
David continued to watch her, his brows pulled together. “Gwen, what’s going on?”
“What do you mean?” she said, just above a whisper.
“What do you know about the offshore accounts?” David leaned forward, his tone concerned rather than angry.
He was taking a big chance asking Gwen about this, giving me full trust about a hunch. What if she wasn’t the one Nick was working with? What if I was wrong?
Gwen immediately cried, putting her head in her hands. Watching Gwen fall apart before us, not only was I right, but something else was also very wrong.
“Gwen,” I whispered. “Why would you give Nick this information? Why not just bring it to David?”
She dropped her hands but didn’t talk. She just shook her head. David stood and walked over to her. He kneeled by her chair and took her hand in his. She looked at him as she apologized through tears.
“It’s okay, just tell me what’s going on,” David said.
She calmed down and took a few breaths. David sat on the table in front of her, waiting.
The One of Many Page 18
