Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 99607 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 498(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99607 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 498(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
“Don’t set off any alarm bells. Don’t try to question her.”
“I’m not an idiot.” That wasn’t conclusive right now. And if Anita was the source of the leak, I was pretty sure I’d be up for Idiot of the Year. “Did you say something about my finance director?”
“Actually it’s not the director. It’s his reports. The controller and the treasurer.”
“What’s the deal there?” Jesus, it sounded like Landon was investigating the entire company. Perhaps Cannon had more than one person on their payroll. It was clear they were coming for me, just like they’d come for my dad all those years ago.
“I’m not sure. A couple of calls to unregistered mobiles. An account in the Cayman Islands that one of them holds.”
“An offshore account? Why would anyone working for me need an account in the Cayman Islands?”
“It’s actually not that unusual for finance professionals. I see it all the time, especially if they’ve spent part of their career abroad. But it makes my job harder.”
I swallowed. Landon never admitted he found things difficult. It wasn’t his style.
“Also, I don’t think I asked you, but who’s the newest member of your team?”
I’d poached all five of my executive team from positions in other companies—I’d handpicked them—none of them had applied for the job. “My strategy director was the last person I recruited.” Sally’d been on the other side of a negotiation and she’d done her best to kick my arse. I’d decided I’d rather have her inside my tent pissing out than the other way around. “But that was over two years ago.”
“What about other women?”
“There’s Jean and Helen.”
“I don’t mean other people on your executive team. I mean women.”
Was he five? “You mean girls I’ve fucked? Well, you know the score there.”
“Are you still as prolific as you’ve always been?”
I chuckled and amusement sliced through my anxiety. It seemed so odd that my brother was asking me personal questions in a way that was clearly meant to be professional. I was used to a different side of him. “Prolific? Jesus, I bet locker room talk was boring when you were in the SAS. I fuck a lot of women, but they never come back to my place. I don’t take them to dinner or talk about my day with them.”
“So it’s just shagging. No pillow talk?”
“You want details? Okay, well if you must know, generally I like to start with getting my dick sucked. I like women to take their bra off for that but leave their knickers—”
“Shut the fuck up. I don’t want to hear about how bad in bed you are.”
Given how differently our lives had turned out, it always surprised me how quickly we reverted to our teenage selves around each other. There were lots of upsides to being successful, but there were downsides too. I didn’t get to kick back with the guys much. I didn’t have many friends. They’d been abandoned along the route to the success. And at work I was the boss—a leader. I was deadly serious and laser focused. Landon was really the only person in my life I could joke with.
“Think about it. Is there anyone you’ve shagged over the last couple of years you changed your MO for? Maybe she turned up to your place, naked, wearing just a fur or maybe you’ve fucked some office junior—”
“Hey, that’s enough. I’ve never taken advantage of a junior member of my staff. Like I said, there’s no one. I’m not saying there aren’t girls, but I never bring them back to my place and I never discuss work with them.” I fucked to forget about work. It was my release, the way I disappeared from the stress of the day.
“Calm down.” Landon paused. “If you’re sure then we’ll put all our efforts into the office. I just want to make sure we’re not missing anything. I expected it to be easier. Whoever it is has covered their tracks.”
“When I call Anita, I could ask her to arrange for me to be sent a couple of IMs and have her send them to me on USB.”
“IM?” Landon asked.
“Information Memorandum—the sale particulars of a company.”
“Sounds good. It could help flush someone out. That way if Cannon swoop in and buy any of the companies whose sale particulars you’ve requested, we’ll know Anita is the source.”
“Right, Einstein.” I hated to consider the possibility that Anita was the leak but if she was, I needed to know sooner rather than later. She had too much access to too much information. More than anyone, she had the ability to destroy me and I wasn’t going to let that happen.
Fifteen
Avery
There was no end of lobster, steak and chocolate on a yacht, which meant I craved the most basic things. It might not be everyone’s idea of a perfect meal but as far as I was concerned, carbs and cheese were as close to heaven as it was possible to be while still breathing, and combining them was just the best invention outside of tampons, the internet and lipstick.