Page 42 of Rival for Rent

“Yes to both,” he said slowly, “but no, no crazies in their lives, as far as I know.”

“As far as you know? Have you even told them what’s going on?”

He shifted uncomfortably. “No. I don’t want to worry them.”

I just looked at him.

“What? You tell your parents everything that happens in your life?”

“I’m not currently being stalked,” I said, but I let it go. The truth was, I barely spoke to my folks outside of holidays and birthdays these days. Our home life had been unstable when I was in high school and it hadn’t gotten any better since then. Dana had more of a relationship with them than I did.

I moved on. “What about you? Any disgruntled coworkers? Former employees?”

“Again, not that I know of.” He spread his hands. “I really have been through all of this already with the police.”

“You really don’t think there’s anyone you’ve worked with who might hold a grudge?” I pressed. “You run a big company. I’m sure you’ve had to fire someone who didn’t take it well.”

“Not really,” he said. “The only person I can think of is my ex-partner, Brent Garrick. But he owes me for not taking him to court. He wouldn’t do this.”

“What did he do that you could’ve taken him to court for?”

“Embezzled company profits,” Kai said, tone flat. “I found out before he could do too much damage. But we were about to go public. I didn’t want a news story breaking about instability between the founders, so I replaced what he stole with my own funds.”

“Is that legal?”

“We were still private at the time. No shareholders to report to. It was the cleanest way to handle it. And Brent knows he got off easy. He wouldn’t push things like this.”

“Alright. How about your personal life? Any old friends you had a falling out with? Exes? Relationships that ended badly? Even if it was years ago, it could still be relevant.”

“You want my entire relationship history now?” Kai asked. “Should I throw in my social security number too?”

“Just answer the question.”

He sighed. “No. No ex-friends plotting revenge, no ex-boyfriends trying to make my life hell. I’m on decent terms with everyone I’ve dated. Except one guy, but trust me, he’s not behind this.”

“Why not? Who is he?”

“His name’s Kevin, and we dated junior year of college. Ten years ago.”

“Some people hold grudges a long time.”

“Yeah, but he went through ‘conversion therapy’ after school.” His tone dripped venom around those words. “Found God. Disavowed his former life. It’s not him.”

“That sounds exactly like someone who would have an axe to grind,” I said.

“It’s not him,” Kai snapped.

“How can you know that?”

“I just do, okay? God.” He leaned back, exasperated. “I’ve been through all of these questions already, and I have no more idea who might be behind this now than I did when it started. Why can’t you let it drop?”

“Because the answer has to be in your past,” I said firmly.

“Maybe it’s not.” His voice rose. “You’re the one who told the police they should be looking into hate groups and extremists. Maybe this whole thing isn’t my fault, actually.”

“I never said it was your fault—”

“Didn’t you?” he said, turning on the couch to face me. “God, you’re as arrogant as always. Either I brought this on myself by firing someone or being a shitty boyfriend, or I brought it on myself by being gay and existing.”

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