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"Did Silverstein approach you about our clients?"
"Of course he did," Fletcher boasted. "He knew I was the best and wanted a partnership."
How had no one seen it before? She had honestly thought Fletcher was the mastermind and Silverstein was simply greedy.
Well, the man was still greedy. She just hadn't realized how much until this moment. This changed everything. This entire time, she thought it was Fletcher going after her, but if it was Silverstein, things were much worse. Samuel hated her for taking his place.
"Whose idea was it to approach me?"
Fletcher looked at her like he didn't understand what she was asking. And maybe he didn't. If he was Silverstein's puppet, then he might not understand what the true agenda was.
"It was mine, but Silverstein approved it."
Ah, Fletcher had been manipulated into it. She would never say that out loud but now that she thought it, her gut said she was right.
"So where are you taking me?"
"To see . . ." The pilot interrupted with a message that they were starting their descent. Fletcher smiled at her. "You will see soon enough."
Monica had a bad feeling she knew exactly who she was going to meet as soon as they landed. She had to stop herself from reaching for her earrings. It would do her no good to give away her ace in the hole. With any luck, Luke had been tracking her location and was already on the way to save her.
She just needed to stall until he got there. Five minutes ago she would've said no problem. She could've handled Fletcher, but if he wasn't going to be alone, things wouldn't be that easy.
Monica had to give the pilot credit, the landing was smooth despite the rickety airport they were landing at. One look out the window and it was clear they weren't at a commercial airport. Hell, it didn't even look like an airport that had been used in the past twenty years. All the buildings were run down or falling apart. Other than the fancy town car sitting outside one of the rusty barns, there was no sign of life.
"Looks like your surprise arrived before us."
Was it too late to tell Fletcher she didn't want a surprise? That maybe he could return it? Yes, it was too damn late because they were taxiing toward the town car and Fletcher had already unbuckled his seat belt, something she would normally chastise a person for if this was a normal flight.
As soon as the plane came to a stop, the same man whose face she had seen earlier when he shoved a rag over her mouth came out of the cockpit and opened the door. With each new development, Monica realized just how screwed she was.
Now that they had landed, Luke would be able to locate her, but how long would that be? She had no idea how long she had been knocked out, so there was no way to gauge how long she had been flying.
The sun was still high in the sky, so her first assumption was they were still on the West Coast. They would've lost time if they had gone east. Monica didn't get a chance to debate it more before Fletcher pushed her along.
"Let's go. We don't have all day and someone is excited to see you again."
Monica tried to drag her feet, but it was no use. Fletcher was pushing her forward and the one man who kidnapped her kept her within his line of sight. She didn't particularly care for his menacing look and he already proved once that he would drug her. Monica couldn't afford that to happen a second time.
Silverstein stepped out of the town car as soon as they were close. The smile on his face made her stomach swoosh more than it already was. The combination of the drugs and nerves was wreaking havoc on her system. Not to mention the pulsing in her head. She would've much preferred to be curled up in a ball. Perhaps in her bed where she could pull the covers over her head.
Since none of that was an option, she forced herself to snap her spine straight and present the powerful woman she now was.
"Monica." Silverstein's whiny voice went straight through her. "It's so nice to see you again."
"I wish I could say the same." The words fell out of her mouth before she could stop them.
Silverstein merely laughed. "You always did have a mouth on you. I knew you would go places one day. I just didn't think your goal was to take my job from me."
Again, her filter seemed to be lacking. Maybe it was the drugs, or the lack of food. Either way, she answered truthfully.
"The seat wouldn't have been available if you didn't go after Ashlynn. You had to know there was a flaw in your plan. Carmichael might not care enough about his daughter, but he very much loves his company and will do anything to make sure it never looks bad."
"Carmichael's a fool who never understood what it took to make things great. He could've been a much richer man if he just listened to me," Silverstein snapped.
Niles Carmichael was a millionaire who owned a billion-dollar company. How the hell was that not enough? Then Monica remembered something she learned when Samuel had been arrested.
"Maybe if you didn't have a gambling addiction and a fondness for living the high life, you wouldn't have needed all that extra money. Guys like Carmichael live well within their means. You never understood the meaning of that."
