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"Tell me about the vandalism and fire."
Monica's spine straightened. She had almost forgotten that she snapped at Carmichael the morning after the vandalism. Had he gone straight to the board behind her back? No one mentioned it during the meeting.
"I can see I've startled you. I didn't mean to do that. I play golf with the chief of police. He knows of my involvement with the company and he mentioned they believe someone is targeting you. I don't want you to think I'm checking up on you. I'm just genuinely concerned."
Her posture softened the more he spoke. She should've known that since it was Walter asking her, it hadn't been done maliciously.
For the next twenty minutes, Monica explained everything. Starting with her trip to Rome to meet Fletcher and ending with Luke's thoughts that the fire was a targeted attack on her despite its nature. By the time she was done talking, she wondered if she sounded a bit paranoid. She hadn't thought so when talking to Luke but what did someone from the outside think?
"I never did like Samuel." Walter shook his head. "From the first time I met him, I knew there was something wrong with the man, but Carmichael wouldn't hear of it."
Monica couldn’t hide the shocked look on her face.
"Don't look so surprised, dear. A hard-working man doesn't need to glam himself up."
She snorted. "Sorry." She covered her nose. "It just reminded me of conversations I used to have with Ash. I thought everyone on the board liked Samuel. Everyone seemed so shocked when he was arrested."
"That's because it would do me no good to tell Niles I told you so. He's not the kind of man who would take kindly to that, so I kept my thoughts to myself, but I was glad when you convinced Niles to let you buy in as a partner. Your hard work speaks for itself."
It was the first time anyone at the company had recognized how hard she worked. It felt good to know it wasn't going unnoticed.
"Thank you."
"No need to thank me, dear." Walter patted her knee once as he stood up. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to reach out. I hate bullies and the ones that hide are even worse. I'm glad you're not letting this Fletcher intimidate you."
Walter reminded her of a sweet grandfather who snuck his grandchildren candies when they came to visit. She was glad to know she had him on her side.
Amelia waited until the elevator doors closed behind Walter before she slipped into the office.
"What did Mr. Stull want?"
Monica smiled. "I've got one board member rooting for me to succeed."
Amelia mimicked her expression. "And you'll win over more of them. I have faith in you."
She was glad someone did because if the last few days had done anything, it had shaken her confidence. Not through intimidation, but because others would see her as a weak link and that was the opposite of what she tried to convey to those within the company.
Walter gave her hope, and that would get her through this mess.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Luke was seated at the conference table with Caden, discussing the extensive list the office still needed when Nash came in with a courier that was at least a foot shorter than Nash, and maybe a hundred pounds soaking wet. The courier’s eyes darted from Nash to Luke to Caden, then back to the open conference room door.
"I have a package for a Mr. Caden Ford?" the courier announced, holding up a small box, as if to prove he had every right to be in this room.
"That's me." Caden pushed his chair back with a bit too much force and stood up, causing the courier to flinch. He met the courier halfway and snagged the box.
"If you could please sign here."
After signing the paperwork, his friend brought the package back to the table, and used the pocketknife he was never without, to slowly and dramatically open the box. Luke was one step away from losing his shit and snatching the box to do it himself.
"Is that the tracker?" Luke asked excitedly.
He sure as hell hoped so. He would feel better knowing that he had a way to locate Monica if anything happened. Right now, he was seconds away from begging her to move her office to his building so that he had eyes on her at all times. Since that wasn't an option she would consider, this was the next best thing.
"It is. Tex sent me instructions this morning. Once you get Monica to agree, I can get it set up and make sure Tex has the information he needs. He'll be able to track her movements immediately if needed."
Oh, he would get Monica to agree. There was no doubt about that. He caved when it came to Ryker because he understood she needed to look strong in front of her employees, and honestly, he wasn't a huge fan of her spending all that time with his friend. But this was different. He needed this in order to feel better. He would go crazy with worry otherwise.
