Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 65489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
He chuckled. “Asking you to share your feelings doesn’t mean I have to share mine.”
“Go.” I pointed toward the door.
“Before I do, I wanted to run an idea by you.”
I frowned, not sure I was going to like this.
“What if we deliberately give Ben some false information, something that’s just the sort of thing his father would want to get his hands on?”
“To test him?”
“Yes.”
I glanced toward the door, even though it was closed now, and I couldn’t see Ben. It was a good plan and the right one if I was focused on what was best for the business. I normally wouldn’t have hesitated to test an employee’s loyalty like that, but I didn’t like doing it to Ben.
“Miles?”
“Fine. We’ll do it.”
Carter met my gaze. “I know you want him to be innocent.”
“I want to protect this company.”
“You’d prefer both.”
I would, and I hoped this was a gamble I wouldn’t lose.
I glanced at the time as I slipped on my Rolex. I was definitely going to be late. I should never have let Worth keep me out so late, and I really should have left when he and the young men who’d clustered around him started doing shots.
I had a meeting today with my top executives, one that was going to be tedious as hell since they’d want to focus on our drop in profits. It was a terrible day to be late.
I’d planned to call Ben during my drive so we could go over some points before the meeting, but my phone started ringing before my driver opened the car door for me. I slid inside, set my briefcase down, and glanced at the screen. It was my mother. She was rarely awake at this hour, what the hell was she doing calling me?
I knew if I didn’t take the call, I would only have to listen to her berate me for ignoring her along with whatever else she wanted to tell me.
“Good morning, Mother.”
She launched into a seemingly unending rant about all the ways my sister’s wedding planner was ruining everything and apparently my father wasn’t even concerned. I tuned out after the first few seconds. My sister and I had hardly spoken in years, and while I’d attend the wedding, I didn’t care about the details any more than my father did. When I was finally able to get her off the phone, I realized we were stuck in a snarl of traffic a few blocks from the building, and I was already a few minutes late. “I’ll get out here.”
“Okay, sir. The usual time tonight?”
“No. It will probably be later. I’ll let you know when I’m ready.”
“Yes, sir.”
I slipped from the car and darted in front of a taxi, receiving a squawk from the driver as I reached the sidewalk.
I rushed along, trying to get around a group of tourists who were blocking the way. “People are trying to get to work here.” I grumbled as I pushed my way past.
A kid in roller skates darted in and out around people, and I slipped between him and a yet another slow walker, making him hop the curb and nearly fall into the street. At Montgomery Enterprises, everyone made way for me. I expected the same thing on the street, but I ended up with this bullshit. That was why I rarely walked. If things weren’t so dire now, I would be comfortably waiting in the car for traffic to clear. I liked the world to run on my directives, and the sooner I figured out what had gone wrong last quarter, the sooner I could get back to having exactly that.
When I reached my office, Ben wasn’t at his desk. Since Vivi had taken up my time during the drive, I’d rushed through to get here as fast as I could so we could talk through the meeting, and he would know what to focus on in his meeting notes.
He should have been in well before now. He always came in early and had coffee waiting for me and a report of my schedule for the day. I double checked my phone. I didn’t have any messages from him.
This day was quickly going to shit. I called Ben as I tossed my briefcase on my desk, but he didn’t answer. “Where the hell are you?” I asked his voicemail before hanging up in disgust.
For a moment, fear mixed with my annoyance. What if something had happened to him? I pushed that thought from my mind. He was fine. He’d probably overslept or something. I could bitch at him about it later, but I couldn’t wait for him any longer. I was already late for the meeting. I grabbed a file folder from my briefcase and left my office.
I took a deep breath and pushed open the boardroom door. “Good morning, everyone.”