Page 99 of Wayward
“What else do you know about him?”
“This is feeling like an inquiry, Benson. Is this an inquiry? Because I think I want my lawyer present if it is. Is Abigail around?”
“Ms. Stewart will no longer be able to represent you due to a conflict of interest in the firm,” Benson says.
“We’ll see about that.” Susan smiles like she’s not batshit crazy. “Is there anything else you’ll be needing?” She slaps her hands on her legs and stands. “Because you’ll not be getting it from me. If you’re worried about Ed, you can ask him yourself. I’m sure you’ll find him more than willing to cooperate. He loves lawyers.” She giggles. Honest to goodness giggles.
Haley drops her hand from Calvin’s shoulder, and he steps closer to the sofa.
“Really, Winston, it’s not like you to result to brute force. You must be slipping, dear.” Susan turns, and I don’t know who wants to kill her more: Calvin, myself, or my dad. No one pulls out Dad’s given name. I’m not sure I’ve heard anyone use it in years.
She stumbles next to the sofa but quickly rights herself. “I’ll be checking out of the hotel. No worries. I’ll find my own way home.”
Dad stands. “Obviously, you’re fired.”
She smirks back at my dad. “You can’t fire an owner of the company, darling.” Her designer suit pants swish when she walks out the door. The guard looks at Rocky.
That’s not true. Her seat on the board will be gone as soon as we can call a meeting.
“Make sure she leaves the suite without stealing the bedsheets and the whole mini bar,” my dad growls.
We’re all standing staring at the door when Mike circles around the room with five members of Legal on the video call.
“We’ll sign off now, Rocky,” Benson says. “We’ve got a full team on it. Our lead investigator will be calling you first thing in the morning. Mike sent a prospectus with the information he’s gathered. Obviously, we’ll want to interview each of you as soon as you get back to the States. That being said, get back here as soon as possible. I want this to go through our courts. Not that I don’t think the London team could handle it. But the Zambranos have a home field advantage if we leave it in the UK. I’ll talk with you soon.”
“Thank you, Benson, I hope we didn’t wake you.” Rocky nods at the computer screen.
“I’ll sleep when I’m dead.” Benson ends the meeting.
Mike closes the computer. He nods at Dad. “That went better than I expected. The interview with Hank was a little rough, but you guys did a good job.” Mike puts the computer down on the dining room table. “What do you want to do for lunch, Rocky? Do you want me to order in?”
Dad nods, and the two of them leave the room for the side room where Mike and another member of his team have an office set up. When the door clicks shut, I feel the collective sigh of relief from everyone that it’s the six of us alone again.
“Dante, you did an especially good job handling Goodstone.” Sam nods at Dante. “Nice recovery when he went on the prowl about how we spent our nights.”
Haley paces on one side of the room, and I cross the room to be with her. “Hey.” I pull her in for a hug.
“Well, old Hank needed to mind his damn business, and well, lying to people full of shit comes easy to me. Don’t forget I went to an all-boys Catholic high school. And then there’s my uncle. I got lots of practice lying to that piece of shit.” Dante plops onto the sofa and pats the cushion next to him. When Haley doesn’tsit down, he jumps up and pulls her to him—and I follow. “I hope you didn’t mind my little white lie, Sassy. You know how I feel. And the world is full of assholes who won’t understand how things work for us.”
Haley loops her arms around Dante’s neck. “No, I get it. I was tired of him putting me on the spot. I thought he might come right out and ask me about my sex life.”
“The media here is a different beast.” Zane sits on the coffee table. “Wait, what the bugger? Did you take the diamond?” Zane’s eyes go wide, and he stands. The table’s empty. “Fucking twat took it.” Zane rushes for the door. But I beat him to it. The guard that followed Susan into the room is gone.
“You’re telling me that a sixty-eight-year-old woman gave seasoned security agents the slip?” I’m holding Dad’s phone because he’s too angry to speak. “Find her. She didn’t have this planned. Follow her finances; you’ll find her. And make sure you coordinate with Benson Walsh’s teams, both in London and New York.” I turn the phone off and hand it back to my dad. He’s pinching the side of his head.
“We’ll find her,” Mike says.
“Mike, do you mind giving me some time with my dad alone?”
“Not at all, Easton.” Mike and his assistant step out into the main part of the suite.
“I don’t care about the diamond. I have you back. If she wants the diamond, she can have it. She can have Rockwell Tire as far as I’m concerned.” Dad tilts his head up to mine. His eyesare full of tears. “I’ve made some horrible choices. And you and your sister have paid for my faults.”
“No, Dad. You were set on a course by a sociopath. She manipulated you.”
“Susan?”
“Hell yes, Dad, Susan.”
