Page 19 of Catching a Con Man

“When youwhat?” asked Michael.

“When I…looked Holden up before coming here,” I said, trying not to make it sound like I’d done weeks of romance on the reclusive billionaire. I had, but that was beside the point.

“Well, with a little money and some suggestive officials, many things can be kept quiet. Money opens doors for us, but it also closes them behind us.”

“And you’re still not open about your relationship?” I asked.

“No, dear. Those who know, know. But I don’t see any need to be included in Holden’s Forbes articles. I’d hate to watch myself age through the medium of paper.” Michael touched his crows’ feet self-consciously before taking a sip of his coffee.

I took my chance to have a sip too. It was bitter, but felt like a jolt to the system. The real expensive stuff.

“So how did you two fall in love?” I asked.

Michael chuckled. “Oh dear. I was…shall we say, not enamoured with Holden’s business practices. So I snuck myself in to undo him from the inside.”

A low laugh came from behind us. “You definitely like to understate this story, my love.” We both turned to face Holden, who stood at the bottom of the stairs in an identical dressing gown to his husband.

“Well you always do tell this story better, darling,” said Michael. Despite their age and long relationship, they seemed to light up on seeing one another. Holden fixed himself a cup of coffee and sat down on a smaller seat opposite us, his back to the windows.

He took a sip of his coffee before speaking. “See, my father’s billions were made in gas and oil. Russia, Saudi Arabia, Scotland. The Quinn Empire spanned the world, and he had trained me up to be his successor. I was a cut-throat businessman with killer instincts. Once my father died, I inherited the company, and I was unstoppable. I was ready to excavate the world, trample communities for that precious black gold.” For just a second, he looked wistful and then caught his husband’s eye. “And then some scrappy little fellow applied to be my secretary.

“I was enamoured by his looks from the very start. It was tradition, almost expected, that a CEO screwed his secretary. I’d known my own inclinations for years, though never openly acted on them. To be a gay CEO of a billion-pound company in the eighties? It was unheard of. So I kept my distance, even as that little man did his best to bend over the photocopier in front of me at every opportunity. He was the perfect secretary, always diligent and proactive with what I needed. It was almost a year into our working relationship that I finally succumbed to my…desires.”

The heat of the glance the two shared for a second made me want to look away. Age, it seemed, was not a barrier to their passion.

“So, we screwed around the office after dark like most people I know did. I had almost confessed my love for him a couple of times, but I knew that wasn’t the done thing. We were just a bit of fun. And then I realised…something off. Some of the accounts were showing investment in companies I’d never heard of, our charity initiative had become intrinsically entangled with environmental charities. And apparently, I had personally signed off on all of this. So I confronted the only person who ever brought me anything to sign.”

Michael laughed and took over. “I must have been Greenpeace’s most successful plant ever. I managed a whole year of infiltration and penetration.”

“Hey, the penetration is private,” Holden joked.

“Hush you. So there I was, in the office with Holden towering over me. I thought he was about to throw me out of the window. And then…he just asked me one question.”

There was silence for a second, and then Holden spoke. “Why?I just wanted to know…why. And that young man gently, quietly and effectively put me in my place. My own secretary made me confront the reality of what my company had become. He forced me to acknowledge all the people I’d hurt, and the profit I’d prioritised over people’s lives. He almost broke me that day.”

“Well, you deserved it,” Michael muttered with a grin. “So, long story short, Holden divested himself from the business. Leaned into investments in the environment and we secluded ourselves away for a while. Once we realised we liked the quiet, Holden had this place built. Our little fortress.”

“I feel like there was a hell of a lot skipped over there,” I half-joked.

“Well you’ll only get the whole story out of me after a good bottle of red wine,” smiled Holden. “Now, I must ask. What’s the purpose of you and Addison’s visit? Much as I love to see my godson, it has come as rather a surprise.”

“Well…” I didn’t know what to say. How much to admit. Not that Holden seemed entirely unfamiliar with young men conning billionaires.

“Well, Holden, I just wanted to show Tyler an example of stunning architecture in the Swiss Alps,” Ade’s big hands came down onto my shoulders and gave them a gentle squeeze. “He’s always been fascinated with retro-futurism and I knew you wouldn’t mind having us as visitors.”

“If you wanted architecture I’d have got you a magazine subscription,” Holden grumbled. “No need to fly all the way out here.”

Ade came to sit by me, and I couldn’t help but notice the way his dressing gown fell open lazily over his chest. I forced my eyes upward, and he was looking straight at me.Damn. Guilty.

“You were overdue some company. And by the way you were spilling a story you always keep so close to your chest, I think you needed it.”

“Hush, now.” Holden took a sip of his coffee. “I suppose you’ll be wanting to use the copter today?”

“I…yes. Sounds good.” Ade’s hands squeezed my shoulders. “Tyler, have you ever been on a helicopter ride?”

“You know the answer to that,” I said.

“Right. Yes. Of course. Well, no time like the present.”

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