Page 79 of Lilly

"No. Never. And he wouldn't because he's smart. He values his life."

Dean startles, spilling some of his tea as he goes to set it down.

Phillip offers him a napkin. "You have some on your chin."

Dean quickly wipes his mouth and chin and sets the napkin down. "Are you saying these people are—"

"Taken care of," Phillip says. "It's not what we want to do, but we don't have a choice. If someone tells our secrets, we're no longer a secret group, now are we?"

"No." Dean stares down at his tea. "I suppose not."

"We'd lose the power that we worked so hard to achieve. And with that loss of power comes the loss of benefits. Benefits I know are appealing to you."

Dean lifts his head. "But not if it means—"

"There's no backing out of this, Mr. Ashford. You're already part of it. And if you try to leave now, well...you know more about us than our freelancers do."

"Meaning you'll..." He doesn't finish the thought.

"Moving on," Phillip says. "In addition to freelancers, we also have women we employ for when we need to relax. We all have stressful lives and sometimes we need to unwind. But we can't choose just any woman so we have ones we can go to that we can trust."

"Escorts?" he asks. "Call girls?"

Phillip clears his throat. "We call them associates. As with freelancers, sometimes associates tell our secrets and must be dealt with. So you see there are times when we can't avoid what needs to be done."

"Do you warn them? Do they know what could happen if they tell someone?"

"Of course. They're told when they sign the contract and yet some of them still don't listen and we're forced to take action. But what's even more disturbing is when one of our own reveals our secrets. It's betrayal in its deepest form and cannot be tolerated." Phillip takes a sip of his tea, then sets his cup down. "Unfortunately, this exact issue is what we're dealing with now and we're counting on you to take care of it for us. It's a challenging assignment but not unlike ones you'll have in the future. I'm confident you can carry it out successfully, and when you do, you will be rewarded."

"With what?" he asks, eagerness in his voice at the mention of a reward.

Phillip smiles at him. "With a half million dollars."

Dean's jaw drops. "A half...a half million?" he sputters. "Five hundred thousand dollars?"

"That would equate to a half million, so yes. It will be deposited in your account when the assignment has been completed."

"Is that typical? I mean, that much money for doing an assignment?"

Phillip lets out a laugh. "It's usually far more than that, but we don't typically tie payments to assignments. Once you're a member it's expected that you do them. It's one of your responsibilities. The money you receive is simply a reward of membership. A perk. There are many other perks as well, which you'll find out about once you're officially a member."

"And my son will also have access to these benefits? These perks?"

"Absolutely. Your son will automatically be a member when you are, per your request when you signed the contract."

"So he'll receive money? Cars?"

"He'll have whatever money can buy. And we'll make sure that he makes a name for himself in the art world. His paintings will be displayed in the finest galleries, commanding top dollar. By doing this, you've given your son the world, Mr. Ashford."

He smiles, proud of himself. "Good. Very good. I hate to admit this, but I was a terrible father for most of his life. I wasn't around. I was always on tour. But even if I'd been here, I don't know if I would've done a good job. I'm not very good with kids, especially younger ones. It's better now that he's older. Do you have any kids?"

"Mr. Ashford, we need to continue. My time is short."

"Yes. Go ahead."

"As I mentioned, one of our own has betrayed us. Told our secrets. It's a woman. She lives close to here, which is why we've assigned you to this task. You won't be doing it yourself. You'll hire a freelancer. I'll give you his name but you'll be the one giving the instructions."

"And he's going to...kill her?" Dean takes a breath. "I don't know if I'm ready for this. I've never done something like this before. I know she betrayed the group, but isn't there another way? Maybe you could just punish her instead."

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