“Roberto Martina is well known to be a brutal killer.”
“Exactly,” I say, having read up on the man the moment I’d heard of their involvement with Derek. “That’s my point. Roberto bragged about killing Adrian’s brother for costing him money.”
“Because he betrayed him.”
“Failure to a man like Roberto is betrayal. We need to convince Adrian we’re the kind of fire he can’t put out. I planted the seed. I told him there is a reason cartels stay away from legit operations. We are watched like hawks. That’s where you get Nick and his men, to make that seem like reality.”
He studies me for several drawn-out moments. “It’s a long shot.”
“That we’re going to make work.”
“I’ll talk to Nick. We’ll come up with a way to spook him.”
“Do nothing until I approve it. Moving on.” I tap the paperwork in front of me. “Have you studied these documents?”
“I made copies. I haven’t had time to analyze them.”
“I’ve been comparing the transactions for Mike Rogers in this folder to the company database. One in four don’t match up. He’s too smart, and too involved with my father, to be a victim.”
“We’ve always thought your father was helping him hide money.”
“We also thought he had too much to lose to ultimately stand with Derek, but the man owns a professional basketball team and Martina is marketing to professional athletes. I can’t ignore where that’s leading me.”
“While I agree,” Seth says. “He’s also filthy rich and well insulated. We have nothing to prove he’s dirty.”
“We don’t have time for ‘well insulated’ to be the only answer you give me. He’s a twenty percent stock holder, the vote that hands the company to Derek.” My lips thin. “My father called a board meeting for Wednesday, after requesting a family dinner meeting on Sunday.”
“Where do you think that’s headed?”
“He may not have a choice,” I say, the words acid on my tongue. “Not if he wants to be around for it. The bylaws require the board have sixty days’ notice. He told me last night he’s not going to be around long.”
“He has to be afraid you’ll cause trouble at the meeting.”
“I assume that is why Sunday night is happening.” I tap the folder again. “The hedge fund. And our transportation division, which I assume is a placeholder for someone else he’s hiding. I don’t believe for a minute that this is legit. It’s my father’s last hurrah, and he has nothing to lose.”
“And Mike’s involved. We find out what it’s about and we have our leverage on him we can use for the vote.”
“And clean up this damn company once and for all.” My cell phone beeps with a text and I glance down to read a message from Jessica: Stop blowing me off. I glance at Seth. “Jessica is trying to reach Brody’s people. Any news on him?”
“Still missing. Nick’s folks are nosing around. I’ll come back here, once I have a full update.” I nod and he stares at me. “Say what it is you want to say,” I press, “but if it involves the Feds—”
“The best way to find out what’s happening with that hedge fund is to squeeze those involved. Are you prepared to do that?”
A month ago, I would have asked him to define squeeze, but a month ago Adrian Martina wasn’t inviting me for a morning chat, with Emily living in my home. “Get me what I need on Mike.”
He gives me a sharp incline of his chin and turns for the door. I hit auto-dial on my phone and call Jessica. “It’s about time,” she greets me. “I’m in the lobby about to come up.”
In other words, there are things she doesn’t feel she can say on the phone. It’s an epidemic today. “You know the code and the door is open,” I say, ending the call, standing and walking to the refrigerator and grabbing a protein shake, which I pop open and guzzle.
The door opens and Jessica’s heels click on the floor before she appears in the kitchen, sans coat, and eyes the paperwork I have spread all over the island. “You really should tell your secretary when you plan a work-from-home day,” she says, setting her purse and a file on the counter.
“I didn’t plan to work from home.”
“Considering you gave Emily the Bentley, I figured as much, but I didn’t know. I thought maybe it was a ploy for breathing room.”
“From my family, not Emily. What was urgent enough to bring you here?”
She slides the folder toward me. “Your father’s having a meeting with six bankers at four o’clock in the conference room.”
“Is he requesting my presence?”
“No,” she says. “We only know about it because of Emily.”
I indicate the folder. “And this is?”
“Emily snuck me the handouts for the meeting.”
“Let me guess,” I say dryly, “the documents are generalized and tell us nothing about what this meeting is about.”
“Correct. They give a company overview, including a nonspecific financial picture. I figured this was just some of his normal hedge fund activity, but I also know you have concerns about the transactions he hides and don’t want him bringing on debt and problems you have to handle.”
“If there was anything he didn’t want me to see or hear, he wouldn’t have given the documents to Emily, who he now knows I’m seeing.”
“Yes, about that. I heard he saw you together last night.”
It’s a prompt for details I don’t offer. “And as a response to that encounter, this meeting materializes. This is his way of testing Emily, to see if he can trust her.”
She narrows her eyes on me. “Aren’t you worried he’s going to make a habit of this?”
“Emily handles my father better than I do. And speaking of Emily. She moved here for a job that fell through and brought very little with her. Order her anything and everything you think she needs and have it delivered here. And whatever you do, don’t tell her. She’ll move out before I get her fully moved in.”
Her lips part and she starts to speak and then stops, then starts again. “She’s moving in?”
“She already did.”
“Oh,” she says, and she looks like she might turn blue from holding back whatever she isn’t saying.
I arch a brow. “Since when do you bite your tongue with me?”
“I have whiplash. You were going to make her quit her job to protect her from your family. You even pushed her away and broke off contact. Now, she’s sitting at your father’s door with your blessing and living in your house. What changed?”
“My mind,” I say, not about to tell her the details of Emily’s past. “Buy her what she needs. Have it delivered here and work with Tai to ensure it’s not all sitting out in the open when she gets home.”
“In other words,” she says. “Bite my tongue again.”
“Nailed my thoughts exactly.”
Her lips purse. “Fine. Can I look at what she has already?”
“Nothing. Start from scratch. Buy her everything she might need.”
“Everything? As in clothes, shoes, makeup, and purses? Purses are expensive.”
“Whatever she needs.”