Page 40 of Collin: Episodes 7-9
“A direct descendant.”
“Name?”
“Dana Reevesworth, daughter of your great uncle. Everything he owns goes to his most direct blood descendant.”
“He didn’t have children.”
Barker’s face cracked in a nasty grin. “He does now. Sign.”
Mr. Reevesworth looked over the front-facing paper. “Collin, do you have a pen?”
Collin fished one out of his pocket and handed it over.
Mr. Reevesworth signed. “My lawyers will make the appropriate contacts. Your five minutes is up.”
Barker snorted and snatched back the signature sheet. “See you in court, Reevesworth, if you make it that far. We’ve requested a complete freeze of your assets, you know, seeing as they aren’t yours. As of now, you have nothing. You are nothing.”
Collin’s blood ran cold.
Episode 9
Mr. Reevesworth handed Collin the file he had just received from Barker and put one hand in his pocket. Around them, city hall was still eerily quiet. The lunch crowd was frozen in place. Mr. Reevesworth did not appear to notice. He merely nodded to Collin as if they were discussing the weather. “Well, now that this man is finished, Collin, I do believe we have more business to attend to.”
“Yes, sir.” Collin opened his briefcase and stowed the file. If Mr. Reevesworth could pretend that the Reevesworth empire was not under threat, then he would do the same. He studiously kept his eyes away from Barker even though the man was practically sending out radio signals demanding fear and attention. “Where to now, sir?”
“This way.” Mr. Reevesworth turned back the way they came, leaving Barker behind. Security was already making their way toward Barker.
Mayor Kapoor fell in step beside Mr. Reevesworth. “Is that what I think it was, someone trying to take all your companies away?”
“Exactly what you think it was. Unfortunately for them, my sister and I have been sued no less than three times concerning ownership. This attack is merely a distraction.”
“From what?”
“This city, I’m pretty sure. If you hear anything, Ananya, I would dearly appreciate it. I do try to stay ahead of annoyances.”
“Of course, Richard.” She put a hand on his arm. “I won’t believe anything until I hear it from you.”
Mr. Reevesworth gave her a short bow. “Thank you. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to take the opposite exit and make some phone calls.”
Outside on the sidewalk, Mr. Reevesworth dialed and put his phone to his ear. Someone picked up on the other end. “Can you be in my office in thirty minutes?”
There were some sounds, and then Mr. Reevesworth nodded, satisfied. He turned to Collin. “Call my sister and ask if she’s been served.”
Linda had not been served. She had been delivering Halloween cookies all morning to her various interests and investments and promised to be at her brother’s office within the hour. She had been bringing cookies there anyway.
Try as he might, Collin couldn’t quite get his heart rate down to a normal speed. The fact that Mr. Reevesworth and Linda seemed so blasé about the entire thing only contributed to the feeling of having fallen into the twilight zone.
“Does this change my plans for the afternoon, sir?” Collin asked as they rode the elevator up to the office.
Mr. Reevesworth shook his head. “The last thing we need is for this to become a distraction. Court cases do not move quickly. The meeting I just called is to stay ahead of the media coverage and make sure everyone knows who’s monitoring what. What Barker and his group want is for us to become distracted, so we will do the exact opposite. This is why I hire the best and let them do their jobs.”
They had barely taken off their coats and hung them up in the inner office when Damian sauntered in, hands in his pockets. “I heard.”
“You’re certain you’re not blowing anything off?” Mr. Reevesworth opened his arms, and Damian grabbed him in a tight hug.
“Consider this my mental health break after telling my client from Saturday exactly what he could do with his long-winded calls. I also sent him the full bill. It may have included service charges for catering.” He sent Collin a wink.
Collin flushed but smiled and glanced at his dom.
