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days, my company has run into a bit of financial trouble.
The Price of Pleasure 57
Gavin s eyebrows rose. Oh? I m sorry to hear that.
Jesse wanted to roll his eyes. Instead, he shook his head as if
saddened. We ve lost a great deal of money. Enough to seriously
jeopardize our future.
A gleam appeared in Gavin s eyes. He leaned toward Jesse, the
methodical slowness of his movement making it seem as if he wasn t
eager. But Jesse saw right through him. The man positively vibrated
with enthusiasm.
That doesn t exactly explain why we re here, Jesse, he said.
Every business has its ups and downs&
I m seeing your sister. Did she tell you? he interjected.
Gavin stiffened, but nodded. He sat back in his chair, once again
putting distance between himself and Jesse.
I like her, man, Jesse continued. Besides being beautiful as all
hell, she s smart and funny. Real genuine, you know?
Jesse watched him process the conversation s flow. He knew what
Gavin should be thinking if he were in his shoes. First, Jesse comes to
him with tales of business woe. Then he brings up the fact he s dating
his sister. As his fiercest competitor, and a CEO of a company in
excellent standing, Gavin would be in a position to offer a charitable
handout. Jesse, not to mention Eden as his current love interest, would
have no choice but to be grateful. Grateful enough for a little tit for
tat, as it were. Maybe shareholder or profit sharing grateful.
Oh yeah. He knew exactly what Gavin would be thinking.
My sister s good people. But I m still not quite getting why I m
here.
Not just genuine, either. Jesse kept the ball rolling. His attention
unfocused, as if he searched for just the right words. I mean, I think
she must like me too, because she s honest&
Jes
He flashed the other man a look of disdain. Honest enough to tell
me about her part in my company s potential demise.
Gavin stilled. What do you mean?
The waiter arrived at that moment to drop off the amber liquid
Gavin ordered. Jesse picked up his own glass, and took a long
swallow of the contents. Warmth spread down his throat and into his
belly. The same sensation that flowed over his extremities had
nothing to do with the drink, though. Gavin Kingsley looked like he
would pass out at any moment.
58 Dee Carney
Jesse waited until they were alone to answer him. She told me
about stealing two and a half million dollars from me. Money she did
eventually return.
It took him a moment to reply. If Jesse didn t know better, he
would have thought Gavin wasn t aware of that last part.
I don t know what to say. Her behavior is inexcusable.
She also told me that someone s loaded a virus into my computer
system. One bad ass enough to send our finances scurrying. They
locked stares. Fortunately, she s so damned good at what she does,
she s working like a demon to scrub it out of our system.
I still don t know&
The thing that got me, Jesse continued as if Gavin hadn t
spoken, is that the virus had been loaded long before Eden came into
the picture. So, I did a little investigative work of my own. Why don t
you take a guess at what I found?
Gavin s mouth tightened into a thin line. After a moment, he
ground out, I wouldn t know.
I ll give you a hint. Not only did I find out how the virus was
uploaded, but I also found out who paid to have it done.
Jesse had no sympathy for his former employees. The trail they
left behind had been confusing because of the use of multiple log-in
IDs and computer terminals. As Eden told Lawrence: They were
good. Fortunately for Jesse, not quite good enough.
When he visited them at their home, the husband and wife team
broke down almost immediately after he accused them of uploading
the virus. Their employment termination inevitable, only their
transcribed and notarized confessions that implicated Gavin saved
them from being handed over to the FBI.
The look in Gavin s eyes was murderous. What do you want?
First, drop the attitude. Mister, my relationship with Eden is the
only thing saving your ass right now. He lowered his voice, the
venom dripping from every word. For her, you and I are putting this
whole thing to bed. The entire thing& the espionage& Eden s
blackmail& everything. It goes no further. You never come near my
company again, got it?
That s it? Derision danced on the short question.
That and the fact Eden never hears of this arrangement. Ever.
You tell her you ve had a change of heart. That you ve seen the light.
The Price of Pleasure 59
Whatever you have to say, but I don t want her to know what a
fuckup the brother she still looks up to really is.
Gavin blinked in surprise.
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