Page 76 of Besties
“This is amazing,” I said. Because it was. Richie’s softwarewasincredible. “How stable is it?”
At this, James smirked. “Try and crash it,” he taunted me.
I knew it was unlikely. This was the software that I’d sent to Dennis Kramer, who had provided it to them. It was as solid as it could possibly be. Even Josh had vouched for that.
“Challenge accepted,” I said confidently.
This time it was my fingers that flew over the keys, pressing the combination that we’d set up. On the display behind me familiar dancing shapes—squares, triangles, and circles—moved around the screen. I glanced out of the corner of my eye and found James scowling.
“What are you doing?” he demanded.
“Oh, I thought we’d give these investors a show,” I replied, tapping the last key and hitting Return. The boxes coalesced into a design, and everyone in the crowd started speaking at once. For on the screen was the Teaching Time logo, plus the overlay of “Protected by CrossBow Services.”
I stood up. It was past time to end this farce.
“Ladies and gentlemen, please allow me a few moments of your time.”
It took a bit, but the people in the auditorium went silent.
“What you’re seeing here is a stolen copy of the Teaching Time software. Yes, the colors are different, but that was an easy change. Yes, the logo they used was one of their own making. However, as I just demonstrated, this is Teaching Time’s proprietary product.”
“That’s a lie!” James snarled.
“Is it?” I asked. “Several weeks ago we implanted tiny chunks of information into the newest editions code. By itself it was innocuous. Even if someone went over it, they’d only see a bit of useless information that wouldn’t affect the software, so why bother stressing about it? That was the software that Dennis Kramer gave you. You remember Dennis, right? The man whose son you threatened to make kill himself if he didn’t help you ruin Teaching Time? However, CrossBow Protection and Dr. Josh Malone modified that file so that with a certain set of keystrokes, the bits would activate and come together to prove this is stolen material.”
James’s eyes bugged and his face was beet red. I thought he’d come after me, and I was ready to lay that son of a bitch out. Then, in a flash, another man jumped onto the stage and got in his way.
“Dixon, I can handle this,” I assured him. I hadn’t been in a fight for many years, but I was sure I could take care of this myself.
Maybe.
“I know,” Dix drawled, his accent making my legs feel like melted butter. Josh was a lucky man. “But my bosses, Gary Cross and Michael Kennedy, said you were to getallof the services we offer, and that’s including keeping y’all safe.” He stomped toward James, who wisely backed away. A moment later, Josh was there too, pressing him into the corner.
“Dix, don’t do anything you’ll regret,” he said, his voice soothing.
That got a wicked grin. “Trust me, Doc. I won’t regret laying this son of a bitch out. In fact, nothing would make me happier.” He towered over James, whose eyes were wild as they darted toward the exits. Dixon held up a fist. Like the man, it was huge. When he spoke, his voice deep and snarly, it sent a shiver down my spine. I was grateful I wasn’t the one who had his attention. Though the perverted part of me made me wonder if that was his bedroom voice too, and whether Josh dropped to his knees when he heard it. “Don’t worry, you take one step and I’ll bring you down hard. Now, I’ma give you one chance to tell the truth. After that, I’m going to take steps to remind you that bodyguards can doanythingthey think necessary to protect their clients.”
And with that obvious threat, a small puddle appeared around James’s feet.
Chapter20
“Tell the story again,”Richie begged.
Around us were the sounds of celebration as the staff of Teaching Time, plus our guests, Josh and Dixon, drank fruit punch and ate mounds of food. It had been hastily thrown together by Allyssa, but she knocked it out of the park.
“After Dixon gave his persuasive argument, James spit out the truth. They’d been trashing Teaching Time in order to force you to sell at pennies on the dollar. When you still didn’t, they blackmailed Dennis to steal copies of the software. He gave them what they demanded, but then they wanted more from him. It’s why he went into hiding, because he felt like crap for betraying your trust in him.”
Richie turned to Dennis, who stood in the corner of the room with Jeff and Nico, who had put himself between them and the rest of us. Jeff and Dennis were clearly uncomfortable, judging by the way they kept shifting from one foot to the other. Nico was rock-solid in his stance.
“Dennis!” Richie shouted, and Dennis flinched. “Come here.”
He said something to Jeff and Nico, and then the three of them shuffled toward Richie, looking a lot like they were all headed for the gallows. I felt for them, I really did. Dennis had been caught in the shittiest of situations, and it had cost him his integrity and the trust of the company.
Hadn’t it?
“Yes, Mr. Ryland?”
“You have questions, so spit them out.”
