Page 28 of Catching a Con Man

“How’s working with Dad going?” I asked him.

“Oh, y’know. Pretty…good, yeah, good.”

“You know Electro is looking for a head of programming. And I need someone committed to the company’s more charitable goals,” I said. I had been dangling the carrot for him for months, and every time I thought I might have him, my father would guilt him into staying with Crane.

“I’ll think about it,” Cam replied. The same canned answer I’d gotten every time I asked.

“You know, Electro is a much more forward thinking company, with fantastic opportunities in the…” Beckett nudged me, and I quietened down. Perhaps I was a hypocrite.

Even more so, as my phone pinged and I reached straight into my pocket to check it. Though it wasn’t business. Well, not strictly.

I grinned as I saw the notification. Tyler had emailed my personal email address, labelledbusiness plan draft 1.

“Oh, who’s Tyler?” Beckett asked slyly. I put my phone in my pocket before he could do any more reading over my shoulder.

“A business associate,” I said, keeping my face as straight as I could. “Working on something for the non-profit side of the corporation.”

“Oh, is he now?” My father had entered the room almost silently. The second our eyes caught, I was looking down and away. Somehow, despite years of running my own very successful company, my father could still make me feel shame.

“Yes, father. I’ll talk to you about it later.”

“I’m sure you will.” His presence had made the room immediately frosty, likely coloured by our interaction.

“Right, let’s get to eating,” my mother said. She reached for the knife to slice the beef, and everyone reached to start piling up their own plates.

Dinner went smoothly, with Beckett and my father talking about the recent trouble with the Taiwanese business, Cam excitedly chatted to me about a computer game he’d gotten early access to, and my mother gently admonishing Dylan about how little food he had on his plate as he queasily picked at it. As dinner wound down and we’d collectively finished off a couple of bottles of my mother’s latest red wine, my father stood and jerked his head toward the door.

“Seems I’m needed,” I muttered. I kissed my mother on the cheek as I passed. “Your best dinner yet, Mum.”

“You say that every time.”

“And it’s true every time.”

I followed my father out of the room, up the stairs to his study. It was only when I was at the attic door that I became conscious of footsteps behind me. I held the door open and Cam stepped through. He gave me a small smile as he passed me, and wobbled slightly on his feet. Perhaps he’d had a little more wine than the rest of us. Or perhaps he just couldn’t handle it.

“Surely this ruse with this…Tyler Bevan has gone on long enough,” my father said. He spat Tyler’s name like it was poison.

“‘Fraid not, Dad,” I said. “He seems to be…a really genuine person. I’ve asked him to present his ideas to the board of the foundation.”

My father’s expression darkened. “You’ve got to be joking. You come to me out of fear of being conned, and now you’re telling me you’re working with him? How little integrity do you have? How little business acumen did I teach you?”

“Dad…” I started, but to my surprise, it was Cam who spoke up.

“Ade is about two years away from passing you on the Forbes Rich List,” he whispered, turning his phone so we could both see the article confirming it. “I think you taught him plenty.”

“I…I can’t have you be made a fool of by some gold-digging…” my father tailed off. “Fine. Do whatever you want. I don’t own you. But remember, you made the choice to take an investment rather than a job with me. When this conniving little bastard takes everything from you, don’t expect me to be there to save you.”

“Noted,” I replied. My father turned away, and I knew I’d been dismissed. I left the attic and walked down the stairs, heading straight for the front door. I could spend time with the family, but Addison Crane Senior had ruined the thought for me. That and Beckett’s undying loyalty to him meant that if he brought it up again, I’d be outnumbered.

“Wait!” Cam called as I walked down the gravel driveway towards the gates; I wished I hadn’t had the wine, but I wasn’t stupid enough to drink and drive. “A thank you would be nice.”

“I can hold my own in arguments with Dad, I have for years.” I carried on walking, and Cam picked up the pace to draw level with me.

“No, a thank you for me stopping him from doing something stupid, anyway.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

Cam grinned. “I deleted all the research I’d done into your little protégé. I know Dad. He’d just use that against him because he always thinks he’s right. There was enough in that file to have Tyler convicted for commercial espionage and identity fraud.”

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