Page 55 of Seducer

“I’m outta here,” Wilder stated as he started to get up.

“Not so fast.” Xander gave him a hard look.

“Let me guess,” I said, ready to walk out myself. While I wasn’t going to say anything, I had a very bad feeling that the warning was just the beginning of something. Our pasts were being researched. That’s something the three of us should have done years before. There were too many unanswered questions. “You want me to head to LA.”

“Absolutely. You brought the glitz and glamor to the games. You can speak their language.”

“I doubt that,” I told Xander. “I’m not interested. We don’t need a movie made about our games.”

“The production company can create a movie around the game without using the name. Yes, you could try and stop them, but the dollars spent would be astronomical. Why not work with them so our secrets are kept?” Christopher had always tried to be the voice of reason.

The table suddenly became very silent. “I’ll think about it.” What I was also thinking about was Brant’s insistence that the Obsidian Society was a part of our world. The article written about the dark society had stuck with the man. It hadn’t been the first time he’d asked me about it nor would it be the last.

And his interest had nothing to do with the goddamn haunted mansion he was running or wanting me to see how fabulous it was. I had a hunch.

“You’re keeping the names of the people vying for the board position, right?” I asked Christopher.

“Yeah, why?”

“Do you recognize the name Brant Abbott?”

Christopher narrowed his eyes. “I do. He’d be a top contender except for one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“In doing a deep dive of his background, I discovered his father owns several shares in various media firms, including several who own newspapers across the country.”

“TheSt. Louis Gazette?” I asked, regarding the article that was just written.

He took a deep breath. “Shit. Yeah. I hadn’t put two and two together. Why?”

“Because he’s been asking me about the Obsidian Society.” Given we were in a public place, I had to keep my voice low. The society was still on the downlow, the original fifteen minutes of fame dying off only weeks after the article had been printed.

“Asking?” Wilder pushed.

“Pushing me. Insisting that it exists. He wants his new warehouse club possibly included. I have an open invitation for opening night.”

“Someone has been talking. You need to find out who.” Xander’s suggestion was already on my mind.

“Maybe I’ll pay the man a visit and maybe check out the warehouse, but I doubt we’ll want to grant his wish. What about the game?”

Xander snorted. “You want to move forward now?”

“Why not?” I smiled and he shook his head.

“Hold on here. You already have a candidate in mind. Don’t you? The game is more personal to you this time.”

“Perhaps I do.” My thoughts drifted to Wild Kitty. Tonight I planned on following her home, beginning to learn every subtle nuance about her.

“Fine. Let’s move on with the game, but hold off on electing a new board member. I don’t think bringing in new blood at this point in time is a good idea.” Wilder looked at me first, finally glancing around the table.

Xander was unconvinced, I could tell. “We need to be careful.”

“We also can’t ignore something that provides us with fantastic talent and satisfies our cravings.”

“Agreed,” Christopher said. “I’ll check on Brant to see what else I can find. Be careful with whatever you say or do to him.” His words were directed at me. He knew how I could get, losing my temper at a moment’s notice.

“Stop worrying. I know how to handle the man. We’ve been friends for years.” I knew his father was involved in several business ventures. Brant was slowly taking over as vice president of his father’s firm. It would seem rational that he was digging into our background. However, I’d never seen his father as an enemy to our firm. He wasn’t involved in the gaming industry.

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