by Nana Malone
“Is there more?”
It all sounded ridiculous when she said it out loud. “Um, yes. As it turns out, he’s my boss, Ben Covington.”
Telly’s head snapped back, and then she eased herself to the back of her chair. “Jesus fucking Christ, the billionaire?”
“Yeah, apparently. London Lords, it’s him and two friends.”
“I know that. They’re in the business papers all the time. And they go through women like they’re candy.”
“I suppose I need to catch up on my reading. How do you know this?”
“Look, I have no need for cock, but that doesn’t mean I can’t admire the gorgeousness it’s attached to. And game recognizes game.”
I shook my head and licked my lips. I sounded like an idiot. How could I not know? I’d been lucky to get this job. I’d said yes without knowing much about the company. And between the accident and loosing Mom, I’d been… well, complacent.
Telly, ever my bestie, was maybe a little too kind. “Well, you’ve had a lot to deal with lately. I could imagine you not paying attention to who your employers are.”
“Yeah, well anyway, there he was, wanting the flash drive back. And in exchange, he offered me a better job.”
“Ah jeez, this is a slippery slope. Do you want to take the job?”
Hell yes. “I think I do. Look, the job is right up my alley. I can stop being an executive assistant. But I can’t shake the feeling of being used. What if I’d been arrested getting that thing out of there? And what if it’s corporate espionage?”
Telly chewed her bottom lip. “Look, I’ll have a look at it and see if I can decipher what’s on it. But you be careful with a man like that. He’s a billionaire. What’s on that flash drive could be billionaire things.”
“Billionaire things?”
“Sure. You know what I mean. It could be about some corporate espionage, political intrigue, money, women, drugs, jewels.”
“Yeah, I know. He had it at the Van Linsted fundraiser, and he was doing something in that room. But I don’t know what.”
“I hear you. But be careful. I’m worried that he found you.”
“He said he checked CCTV. Maybe taking the job is a good idea. I can keep an eye on the situation.”
“Hon, I’m not sure that’s wise. Why run to danger?”
She had a point. Why was I pushing this? “I have to know, Telly. I just… I need to.”
She sighed. “Okay. So, this new job… Will you be working directly with him?”
“Yeah.”
Telly drained her glass. “Liv, you need to be careful. We don’t know what the hell we’re dealing with.”
“That sounds like you’re with me.”
“Honey, I’m always with you. Even if it means women’s prison. Who knows, I might meet the love of my life.”
7
Ben
“Where are we on the drive?”
I glowered at Bridge as I stared up at him from East’s couch. The sun had long set. And we could see St. James Park and Westminster lit like twinkle lights as cars and buses darted around and tourists cavorted and enjoyed London nightlife.
“Working on it.” I knew they weren’t going to be happy. Hell, I wasn’t happy. I still couldn’t believe she had said no to me. No one said no to me. I usually charmed them into compliance. But not her. What burned the most was how wrong I’d read her. Going by the closet, she’d felt that instant hum and buzz between us, like you could hear the electricity.
But in her office, she’d been much more reserved. Cool and distant. Like the woman who’d moaned and molded herself to me had never existed.
I’d been so out of sorts after striking out with Miss ass-so sweet-I-want-to-take-a-bite-out-of-it, that I’d asked for lunch with my father. Clearly, I hadn’t been in my right mind. But at least I wouldn’t be coming to the damn meeting completely empty handed. So finally, something the old man was good for. I only hoped what he had told me would bear fruit.
East lifted a brow. “Mate, working on it? Everything hinges on you getting that drive. Do I need to remind you that Van Linsted already has a head start with whatever is on that drive?”
“I know, and I’m working on it.”
Drew came in from the kitchen holding a bacon butty. “What he means is he struck out.”
I scowled at my mate. “With the best restaurants just downstairs that will deliver, you’re eating a bacon butty? And what it means is that there’s work to be done. I’ll make it happen.”
Drew took a bite of his sandwich as he flipped me off.
East ran a hand through his hair. “We’re not playing around here. You want me to do this?”
I dragged my feet off the coffee table and sat up, leaning forward on my elbows and pinning him with a direct glare. “Do you really think I’ll give up? Even if I have to steal it from her, I’ll do it. I was the one who walked into that fundraiser and made it happen. So, when I tell you I will get it back, what does that mean?” I wasn’t used to being questioned. They knew me. They knew how single minded and determined I could be. Not to mention if East went near Olivia, I might consider hurting him. But I kept that to myself.
Bridge, uncharacteristically, acted as peacemaker. “East, mate, he’ll get it. I know he will. No one wants to get payback for Toby more than Ben does.”
I ground my teeth. I knew East wanted revenge. So did Bridge, and so did Drew. There was no one-upmanship when it came to our pain. “Sorry. Things didn’t go well the first time. But I have this. Don’t worry. But even more pressing, I had lunch with my father today.”
Bridge and East exchanged glances. Ever since the Lila situation, my father and I hadn’t exactly been on speaking terms, so likely they were wondering if I was pretending he wasn’t still alive. I had been, but I needed information, so I’d swallowed my pride.
“I asked for a little background and got more than I bargained for. He didn’t really tell me anything we didn’t already know about the Van Linsteds, but what he did bring to light is how much of an uphill battle we have. For starters we’ll need to make friends and influence people. With two hundred members of the Elite, it will take too much time to talk to them all. We need the Five to assist and sway opinion in the preliminary member votes for Director Prime.”
The Five were the most influential members of the Elite. They were hand selected by the senior council. Terms were for life once selected. The Five each had ten votes, so physically, they could change the outcome of a Director Prime vote. But also, their job was to sway and influence within the Elite. They were never supposed to reveal their identities, and if they were compromised, they were to step down and allow the senior council to select another. Each member of the Five was an expert in politics and negotiation, and in their early days, each would have excelled at all aspects of Elite training.
There were procedures for stepping down because of being compromised and in the case of death. But since the terms were for life and there was such secrecy, members of senior council having to select a new member was a rarity. And as members of senior council served ten-year terms, it was rare for any member to know the identity of more than two members of the Five at a time.
Rumor was that there were provisions in case all five members died in a freak accident. But as that had never happened, there was no one who could know who they all were.
“Not news, I know. Here’s something that is. We need to put forth a candidate to run against Bram. It’s not enough to make sure he’s not elected. We must suggest a suitable replacement. That’s how the Elite works. The Five need someone to point the membership to. Bram’s running unopposed at the moment.”
East said, “So we’re fucked.”
“I wouldn’t say that exactly. Dear old Dad might have finally done one thing for me after all these years. He let it slip that Rowan Downs is one of the Five.”
Bridge’s mouth fell open. “Holy shit.”
East just gave me a satisfied nod and then
pressed a button so that a massive screen descended from the ceiling, covering the TV. Another couple of taps on his keyboard, and our plan projected on screen so we could all see it. “Okay, so Benny boy has just given us all some hope. As you know, the name of the game is vengeance. Phase one, Ben getting the download from Bram’s hard drive and phone is in progress. The next step is to identify the Five. Thanks to Ben, we have one name. But likely, so does Bram. If not more.”
The drive Olivia was holding hostage had everything, the history of council votes, meeting notes, and travel schedules. Vital information that would at least help us narrow down who the other members of the Five might be. The Five were supposed to be a method of checks and balances on the Elite, just in case power was corrupted. If we could find out who the rest were before Bram did, we could find leverage to get them to block a vote for Bram as Director Prime and loosen the Van Linsted stranglehold on power.
Easy now, who is your viable candidate?
One problem at a time. We’d figure something out.
Blocking Bram was just the first step. I intended to destroy the family.
East continued. “We have to assume that since his father is currently Director Prime and the senior council has inducted a new member into the Five in recent years, Bram Van Linsted already has at least one of the names. So we’re starting on our back feet.”
Bridge nodded. “Yeah, but Marcus is an old-timer, and as much as he wants Bram in power, wouldn’t he just work the back channels for him? I find it hard to believe he’d give up the name. You remember Marcus’s training exercises. A gentleman above all, private matters stay private, and secrets whispered are never revealed. He’s a bloody true believer. No way he’d give Bram a name.”
Drew took a sip of his scotch as he rattled the keys in his pocket with his hand. “He might not have given him a name, but I’ll bet Bram still has it. Remember, Bram’s specialty is politics. He had the same clandestine training as us, and he knows how to play the game. As much as we would like him to be, he’s not a complete idiot. So he might have found another way to get the other names.”
East nodded and turned back to the monitor. “Okay, so assume we get the drive and the names. We’re going to need leverage. As much as possible. The Five should be above reproach, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t buried some secrets and skeletons somewhere. No one’s going to do something for nothing.”
I rolled my shoulders. “It’s entirely possible that no one else wants another twenty-year reign of the Van Linsteds. Let’s not forget Bram’s got a brother, Miles. He’s younger, but I imagine he’s around to take up a term right after his brother. Then we’ll never be free. And there are others who see the writing on the wall. We’re not entirely alone.”
East nodded. “No, but let’s not assume that the Van Linsteds don’t have something to offer. Because they do.”
He was right. At the core of it, most people were greedy and would do anything to have their names associated with the most powerful families in the world, including sell their souls. “All right, so we get the drive back and get the names. What next?”
East nodded. “We also need to assume we’re being watched. I checked surveillance. We’ve got Ilya Tosca outside the Soho Branch. Bridge, Drew, I’ve spotted Joseph Link and Terrence Randolph, both known fixers, outside your homes. Maybe the Elite is always watching. Maybe they are paying attention because of the anniversary of Toby’s death. They are in fact watching our every move, so we need to be aware of the moves we make and how they’ll be perceived. We don’t want to clue anyone in on what we’re doing.”
Bridge had started to pace as he tried to walk through the issue. “Downs is going to be a problem too. He’s notoriously reclusive. Only turns up for the major votes. If any of us take a trip to Oz to speak to him, they’ll know.”
East nodded. “Let me work on that. He’s an art lover. We might be able to lure him to us.”
“Okay, in the meantime, one of us needs to run interference with Bram now. If we can get any insight into what he’s doing next, that’ll help,” I said.
Bridge stepped forward. “I’ll do it.”
The pit fell out of my stomach. No way I could ask Bridge to do that. “You hate him. He knows you hate him.”
He shrugged. “Maybe, but we need to keep an eye on him.”
Drew agreed with him. “I hate to say it, but we do need someone watching him. I could, but any of my dealings with him jeopardizes my father, which I don’t think we want to do because it would upset the balance of the voting seats before we have time to establish who the Five are.”
I threw up my hands. “Bridge is my best mate. How is anyone going to believe we’ve fractured now?”
Everyone was silent for a moment. Then East shrugged. “Well, that’s not hard to do. We just make sure that footage of you two arguing outside of the nick is circulated. A few strategic placements where we lay some breadcrumbs of discontent and a fracturing of your relationship. We make them think that he is on their side.”
Bridge had clearly given this some thought. “If it gets us close enough to provide you some shield and cover, then I’ll do it. We need as much time as possible before the Van Linsteds figure out what the fuck we’re doing.” Bridge said.
I shook my head. “Bridge, mate, this isn’t you. You’re going to hate every moment of it.”
He met my gaze darkly. “I’ve hated every moment without Toby. For him, I can do this.”
“But you’re going to be in the viper’s nest. You’re going to have to pretend you want to be there.”
“Let me do it.” His silvery gray eyes were intense, focused. He wanted to do this. It was how he was going to make the Van Linsteds pay. I couldn’t begrudge him that, so I nodded. “Yeah, all right. But we’ll have to come up with a plan to make sure everyone believes that there’s a rift between us.”
East nodded. “Like I said, easy peasy. We’ll also have Bridge feed some strategic information to them about Ben’s movements, what he’s doing. We’ll set the narrative instead of them setting it.”
I glanced around at my friends. “So we’re for real doing this?”
East nodded. “Looks that way. We just have to make sure to get that drive back.”
“All right, as soon as we have it back, we’ll hit the ground running. Let’s start getting justice for Toby.”
Livy
“Kennedy Bright’s office, how may I assist you?”
I didn’t know what in the world had happened, but everyone was on a tear and had questions for Kennedy this morning. She was the Global Head of New Business and Corporate Affairs. It seemed that there were new client issues left and right.
When she called me into her office, I smiled and gave her a stack of messages, my notebook up and ready. “Hey, Kennedy, what do you need?”
“It’s wild today, isn’t it? It’s like they can sense when I’m off the phone then the next person calls.”
I puffed out a breath as I took a seat, tucking one of my wayward curls behind my ear, but all it did was spring free again. “I was just going to say it’s like Mercury in retrograde or something.”
She chuckled then got straight to business. I’d always admired her. When I’d started at London Lords six months ago, she was very clear with me that I was overqualified to be her executive assistant, but that if I stuck with her for a year, she’d help me get hired in Operations, which is what I’d been doing before.
“I got a call from one of our CEOs, Ben Covington.”
I groaned then pursed my lips. Unfortunately, my body also clenched, remembering the timbre of his voice. “I wondered when he’d reach out to you.”
She smiled. “He seems to think that you would make a fantastic operations director.”
What was I supposed to say? I wanted to move up, but I wanted it to be on my merit. “Would I now?”
“Oh, but I think you would. Why didn’t you tell me you applied for a position on his team? Jessa Ainsley is t
errific. You’ll learn a lot from her.”
My mouth fell open as I tried to process her words. “What? I didn’t apply.”
She blinked in surprise. “Well, that’s the impression he gave.” She narrowed her eyes, her gaze more shrewdly assessing now. “Do you know him personally?”
I saw where she was going with this. “No, I do not.” Sniffing me and having his hand on my ass notwithstanding.
“Oh God, he’s good. He made it seem like you’d gone looking, knowing full well I’d be more inclined to give you up that way than if he just poached you.”
“I always keep the resume fresh like you suggested, and it is on the company server, but I did not go looking for another opportunity. I promised you a year.”
“Oh, you’re not in any trouble. I know how he works. He’ll get what he wants by any means necessary.”
“Determined, isn’t he?”
“That he is, but I think this is great. Honestly, in the last few months you’ve shown exemplary organizational skills. I gave you the same spiel I give everyone at the beginning. You know how it is… some twenty-year-old intern walks in here and thinks that she should be wearing her power suits and be in charge within a month. Meanwhile, she knows nothing about the business except ‘Oh my God. My socials.’” Somehow, despite being British, she pulled off a perfect Kardashians impression.
I couldn’t help but snort a laugh. “I know. That’s not me, though.”
“And I see that. I think it’s a great opportunity for you.”
I ground my teeth at that. “I appreciate that, but I’m not sure what I want to do yet.”
“Well, give it sincere thought. Working on Ben’s team is a huge coup. Jessa is fantastic. I think you’ll report directly to her.”
He was trying to force my hand, the jackass. Fine, if he wanted to play hardball, then so could I. “Well, it’s nice to have your support. Thank you.”
“Of course. You are far too smart to be sitting in my front office for any length of time.”
