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“He knew you weren’t ready. He was willing to give you plenty of time to come into your own,” Tommy reiterates, as if I hadn’t been part of the conversations.
“If I had known what I know now, I may have made different choices,” I admit. “At the time, I didn’t want to work with him.” I feel a sudden stabbing pain deep within my chest. I close my eyes and take a step back.
“What’s changed? The fact that he’s dead?” Tommy jokes insensitively. “He’s easier for you to get along with now?”
“I have no problem with you being our CEO or having the voting rights to my stock, but don’t ever talk about my relationship with my father again.” I step forward stabbing my finger into his chest. “That’s none of your fucking business!”
“Alright, I’ll drop it.” He backs up, rubbing his breastbone. “It’s just that your dad always talked so highly of you. You were his heir apparent… his golden child. I think he must have been slightly delusional.”
“I told you to stop,” I snap, fighting back a flood of emotions. “It’s been a very tough day, just let it go, Tommy.”
“I know things are rough right now,” he replies, softening a bit. “That Times article this morning certainly didn’t help anything. I think that’s why the board was so eager to announce that they had filled the CEO slot,” he adds apparently thinking I knew about it.
“What article?”
“Seriously? You can’t be that fucking out of touch!” He laughs and shakes his head.
“Hey, I got crazy bad news the moment I stepped off the plane this morning and haven’t looked at much of anything ever since.”
“I’m sorry to be the one to give you more bad news, but the FBI had a facial recognition match on the guy who left your plane with that briefcase full of money. They are confident that it gives them a strong enough case to press charges against you.“ The glimmer in his eyes reveals his thoughts on the matter.
“Charges for what? Murder?” I gasp.
“Well, the guy is a known mafia hit man. Two and two, its simple math, buddy,” he says, flipping his hand to the side.
“What’s this guy’s name?” I ask, not understanding how this could have possibly happened.
“I don’t remember his name, but they have been on his tail for awhile. They think he’s been responsible for more than a dozen high level hits over the past decade, but they’ve never been able to make one stick.”
“I had no idea,” I explain. Maybe that’s why Tyler called. I haven’t listened to his messages yet. “By the way, the guy I paid was an old college buddy. I bought some rare documents from him, so he’s far from a hit man!”
“I know. You delivered them to Jürgen the day you met with him in Geneva,” he says in a matter of fact style that leaves me completely flabbergasted.
“Is this what Liv told you?” I ask, instantly knowing the source of the leak.
“She remembered his name was Jürgen and that you are a big investor in his biotech company. I was planning on doing a little more digging to see if I can fill in the missing puzzle pieces.” A big smile crosses his face and the look in his eyes tells me that he hopes to gain some additional leverage over me. “You know about the felony clause in your father’s will, right?”
“It was mentioned in my meeting with the attorneys,” I recall with a grimace.
“I know you didn’t kill Victor, but in order to clear your name you will most likely have to disclose why you gave that briefcase of money to your buddy and who he is. Once that hits the press, it won’t take long for the SEC to connect the dots. Who does your buddy work for?” He gives me a smug look. “If it was fraud, your stock will remain tied up in the trust for perpetuity.”
“Okay, now I get it. I was wondering what the hell you were doing with Liv. I knew there had to be an angle somewhere.” Fuck, fuck, fuck…
Tommy laughs at my despair. “She might not be the brightest, but she was so irritated with you that she was eager to share everything she knew. Believe it or not, I am actually having fun with her.”
“I’m sure you are,” I mutter, knowing full well what kind of fun he is having with her. “Even so, I’m glad Dad chose you as CEO. I think you will do a good job,” I reply, realizing that I need to play nice until I can figure out how to unravel this snarled mess.
“You and I are going to get along just fine, Trey.” He laughs and slaps me across the back as we turn back toward the casino.
