Page 6 of All In

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Memphis walked into the conference room at the Pink Sapphire and dropped into a chair. Andrew was ten minutes away, so that’s how long he had to calm himself down enough not to punch the bastard in the face. He’d trusted Andrew as his right hand in the business for years, and he’d almost ruined everything.

Of course, had things gone the way Andrew wanted them to, Memphis would be on the fast track to prison while Andrew took his place at the head of the company.

While he waited, he looked at his phone and saw a message from Rylee. He sent a note to his assistant asking him to look into the news coverage surrounding him and Rylee and make sure they didn’t need to do damage control. He didn’t respond to Rylee because he needed to focus on his anger right now and she softened him. It was a good thing, and he intended to spend the rest of his life availing himself of her softness, but today he needed to focus on fixing the problems he clearly had in his company.

There was a knock on the door, and he called for Andrew and Jeremy to enter.

Andrew looked disheveled, his shirt was wrinkled and unbuttoned at the top. A tie was stuffed haphazardly in his jacket pocket instead of being knotted around his neck. His hair looked like it hadn’t seen a comb yet today and he sported a five o’clock shadow where he usually looked clean shaved.

Memphis waved a hand at the empty chairs around the table.

“Have a seat.”

Andrew cleared his throat and shook his head. “I’m good with standing.”

Memphis steepled his fingers together. “And I’m not. You nearly sent me to prison with a straight face. You’ll sit your ass down and listen to me.”

Andrew’s shoulders slumped, and he pulled a chair away from the table. Jeremy plopped his briefcase on the table and sat.

“You have ten minutes to tell me everything I need to know before I start ripping into every corner of your life to find out what else you’ve been hiding from me. If I’m satisfied with what you tell me, we’ll cut all ties and I’ll never think of you again. You fuck with me and I’ll spend the rest of my life making yours a living hell.”

Jeremy leaned toward Memphis. “Maybe you should go a little easy on the threats there, Memphis. We still have to go to court and the potential Arizona charges haven’t been taken off the table yet.”

Memphis held up a hand to silence him. “No. I won’t stay quiet. He either tells me everything I need to know, or we go scorched earth and find what we need the hard way.”

Jeremy shook his head but leaned back in the chair and faced Andrew.

“Mr. Foster would like to know if there are any other nasty surprises waiting for us when we do a full audit of company records.”

Andrew dropped his head. “No. The Miller group was the only deal I went behind your back on. I swear.”

“You didn’t just go behind my back. You fucking forged my signature. Are there any other employees I need to fire? Who helped you? I want names. All of them.”

He eyed his former best friend, looking for signs that he was holding back or lying. It occurred to him he should have let Rylee sit in on this meeting. He was good at reading people, but she was better.

Something shifted in Andrew’s face and he sat up a little straighter. “You know what? I think I should wait until my attorney gets here to talk to you anymore.”

Memphis sighed. “I really hoped you wouldn’t be this way, Andrew. We were friends. The very best. And you fucked me over. I think you at least owe me an explanation.”

Andrew shook his head. “I wasn’t trying to fuck you over. I was trying to help you get out of your own way. If you had gotten on board instead of letting your conscience get in the way, neither of us would be facing jail time.”

Memphis narrowed his eyes and scowled. “Seriously? My conscience is what’s keeping me out of prison. Do you understand how many people you hurt? You and I, we’re the one percent. We have a responsibility to not fucking screw people just because we can. There are too many bastards at the top of the food chain, and you know I’m not one of them. I never thought you were.”

“The only way to stay at the top is to be a bastard. You’ve even said that yourself.”

“Yeah, to other people in the industry, when it’s warranted, not to innocent middle-class citizens who rely on the people who manage their money to not fuck them.”

He stood, unable to face the man anymore. “I need to leave. This was a mistake.”

Andrew jumped up. “Wait. Can you check on Kimberly for me? She isn’t answering my calls.”

Memphis shook his head in disgust. “I wouldn’t either if I were her. But I’ll check on her.”

“Come on, Jeremy. Let’s go.”

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