Page 105 of Lesson In Honesty

“Let me know what I owe you.” He’d pay any amount to have Sierra on his wall.

Waving him away, Levi’s attention flashed back to his screen as a buzzing noise blasted from the speakers. “Having the chance to slide inside her is payment enough. She may be Liam’s, Mack, but she’s just as much yours.” He answered the incoming call; Evander’s face filled the screen. “Morning, boss. Did I wake you?”

Yawning, Evander shook his head. “Been awake for hours. Hard to sleep when Callie wakes at six a.m. with all the energy of a freaking toddler.” Smirking, he ran his tongue over his bottom lip as though savoring a very particular taste. “She’s taking a nap with Eli, so I have some time to hear your proposal.”

“Not mine. Evander, have you met Maverick Morehead, one of our guests? He’s Liam and Sierra’s new beau.”

“Of course. Finally let you out of the Nursery, has she?”

Mack chuckled. “You made a magical place for Littles, Evander. I blame you for the countless hours over the last couple weeks that I’ve spent in there, listening to Littles sing nursery rhymes while they beat each other with foam bats.”

Evander grinned sheepishly, rubbing his neck. “Ah, the bats were Callie’s idea. She has quite the violent streak when she’s Little, and we discovered a few other potential members alsohave a short temper when they’re playing. Foam bats seemed preferable to fists and building blocks.”

“I really need to take a camera over there,” Levi muttered to himself.

“Yes, you should. You’d create a lot of excitement.” Evander snorted in amusement. “Anyway, Littles aside, I’m curious as to how I can help, Mack. I don’t think we’ve discussed what business you’re in.”

“Computer and security technology mainly. I have a subdivision dabbling with AI but… quite frankly, the results are frightening. It’s not a direction I really want the company to expand in.”

“Well, at least it’s not chocolate,” Evander said, making Levi laugh.

“Boss over here made himself a multi-millionaire through construction and property development,” he explained. “He’s also heir to one of the biggest chocolate manufacturing legacies in the world. How much is it worth now, Van? Just under a billion, or just over?”

Mack’s jaw dropped. “Billion?”

Evander flushed slightly and waved it off. “I’m not keeping track. It doesn’t interest me. When anything happens to the old bastard, that money is being redistributed to the communities and people who need help simply to live on a daily basis.”

“He’s a real philanthropist,” Levi quipped.

Thinking of the charity Evander and Elias were starting in Sierra’s name, the money they were putting into it, Mack nodded slowly. He didn’t know what it felt like to comefrommoney, only the sensation of suddenly not having to worry whether his card would decline a week before the end of the month. “Then you should know that I’m not in this for money, Evander. My company designs products for people. Security systems for homes and businesses that actually work, fencing systems forthe agriculture industries. We were approached by a sanctuary in Kenya, asking for help in creating a security system to battle poachers.”

“Have you been approached by the government?”

“Luckily, not yet. We can’t prevent them from taking patented tech.” It was a constant thorn in his side, especially with the projects on Level Twelve approaching completion. However, given the circumstances with Sonja, he was wondering whether shutting the whole fucking level down was the saner, safer option.

That technology was murder at the push of a button in the wrong hands and, as much as he loved his country, he didn’t trust the people running it were the right hands.

Doubts suddenly erupted. Was finding an investor the right step here? The company’s agenda was always going to be at odds with the government; the technology his teams were producing was getting better and better.

Did he really want his name associating with something that one day might wipe out a city or start a war?

“I… I’m sorry, Evander,” he said slowly. “I think this might be a waste of time. Maybe the company is ready for an overhaul, a change in direction. When employees are selling data from under my nose and others are getting hurt in the process, maybe that’s a sign.”

Evander frowned. “Your people are getting hurt?”

They were both businessmen, Mack reminded himself when he hesitated. Evander, obviously, was on a much grander scale, but they both understood the elations and pitfalls of running a company.

He explained the situation in detail, watching Evander’s face. The guy didn’t give much away, just leaning back in his chair and rubbing his thumb over his lip thoughtfully. By the time Mackfinished, everything was silent aside from the quiet hum of Levi’s computers.

“Obviously,” Evander mused, “you can’t expand on the classified projects without a shit ton of paperwork and NDAs, but they’re the crux of your issue. The other stuff your teams are working on still have the potential to be snapped up by the government, leading to more paperwork, legal fees, court dates in order for you to claim financial compensation.”

“That about sums it up.”

“Let’s say you decide to stop everything tomorrow. Monday morning phone call to the board, your employees, everyone—shut it all down, don’t come into the building, destroy the projects currently in development.” Brown eyes bore into Mack’s with serious contemplation. “What are you going to do instead?”

That was the question.

Shutting the company down lock, stock, and barrel was all well and good, but he had exceptional staff who had families to look after. They’d given him the best years of their lives, everything their uniquely coded brains offered, and to just leave them in the lurch went against every grain of his being.

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