The Love Of Money - S02 E174

Story 2 months ago

The Love Of Money - S02 E174

Read Story: SEASON 2 EPISODE 174

Thanks to Ryo Tanaka shooting me out of the sky in Norway, Psalter had to divert his attention to organizing my rescue. Once that was behind him and he was getting back on Roger’s trail, we got the news about Rajesh’s death. Both of us agreed that finding out what actually happened, and making sure I wasn’t being set up for it, took precedence over tracking down a disgraced lawyer.

Psalter delegated the Roger investigation to someone else, but by then, Roger had vanished. No activity. No trail.

That made me nervous.

I had too many loose ends.

On top of Hiro and Roger, I still had Ashlee floating out there somewhere. She didn’t feel like an active threat, but something about her bothered me. She’d shown up at my house out of nowhere during my housewarming party, rambling about some guy, then was all but dragged out by her father. She’d looked awful—tired, agitated, and scared. The way she’d spoken to me... it was like she was looking for help.

So where was she now that Roger was gone? Did she even know her dad was on the lam?

At least there had been some progress on the Tyler front.

Psalter told me Tyler had been spotted visiting his aunt—my aunt. After the visit, he was followed back to a condo in Jersey. I briefly considered having Psalter’s team snatch him. Ryo’s setup had worked so well that I’d already had another apartment fitted with the same security features, so I had another prison ready in case I needed it.

But it felt... wrong.

Ryo had literally tried to kill me. His father was still gunning for me. I felt justified in holding him.

Tyler? He’d fucked with my life—studied me, toyed with me, and had broken Natalie’s heart once she found out she was just a pawn. I hated him for that.

But I didn’t think it warranted kidnapping.

I’m better than that. I’m not a monster.

I kept repeating that to myself like a mantra. Because the idea of becoming Hiro Tanaka, Roger VanCamp, Tyler Gerrard, or Rajesh Desai made me sick. I was already toeing enough moral lines. It’d be far too easy to slip into the abyss and become a literal fucking demon.

And speaking of demons...

In all my naval-gazing, I hadn’t realized that I’d reached my destination—a small conference room. Inside this room was my own personal Satan.

I’d started converting the other side of the floor where I was holding Ryo into a private office space for Gerrard Holdings—a headquarters for my own personal and business interests. Colin had used VistaVision as a primary space to do business. It was our flagship company, though, and it didn’t feel right to run the entire estate out of it. It was too essential to be burdened with my extracurricular bullshit.

I wanted something of my own. My way.

Keeping it in the same building I lived in made security easy… logistics too.

Staff for Gerrard Holdings had started to move in, as the converted space allowed, and that included conference rooms—like the one I’d just left full of veterans.

And the one I was stepping into.

Amber Bell was already seated, hands folded on the table, staring at the wall like it held one of those 3D images.

I shouldn’t have been surprised at her ability to wait like that. The woman was a fucking freak.

She turned to look at me as I closed the door and leaned against it. Jon stood in the far corner, hands clasped in front of him. Gave me the barest nod—everything was secure.

“Mr. Upton,” she said, in that halting, toneless way, “Thank you for agreeing to see me.”

She had to have some kind of social disorder. So why the hell did Carl insist she was fun?

“I was advised against it,” I said, moving to take a seat across from her. “But my curiosity got the better of me. What is it, Miss Bell?”

Amber started to open her mouth, hesitated, and then said, “I am here to… how was I told to say it?”

She looked like she was fishing for some information in the back of her mind, and then seemed to rehearse it once, her lips barely moving as she stared at the ceiling.

“Ah… make an offer you can’t refuse.”

I offered her nothing more than a blank stare.

“I believe it’s a quote from—”

“I know what the quote’s from,” I snapped.

Amber blinked rapidly and then said, “Ah. Yes. Well, my employer is familiar with the feud you have with the Tanakas. He’s aware of the attack on LumenVir and your counter-offensive on the Tokyo development firm. We are also aware that it may have been tied to certain illicit enterprises Hiro Tanaka was running.”

“Wait,” I said, “How did—”

“My employer is… well connected,” Amber said. “That being said, we have information on what Hiro will likely do next, and I’ve asked for a meeting today because I’m offering that information in exchange for a few concessions on your part.”

I arched an eyebrow at her. “Concessions?”

“Yes. We are asking that you convince Chandler Grayson to step down as CEO and that an emergency meeting be called to replace him with Kelly Maddox.”

“What!?”

“We would also like to purchase Rajesh Desai’s shares of VistaVision, which you so recently acquired.”

I shook my head. “I’m sorry, wait—”

“And Carla Tanaka.”

“What about her?” I asked.

“We would like her.”

“As in to have a meeting with her?”

“We would like custody of her.”

“Hell no,” I said, standing up.

“In exchange, we can tell you what Tanaka is planning next, and how to cripple him much more effectively in your counterattack.”

“Thanks for stopping by. I hope the door hits you on your way out.”

“I’m not sure I underst—”

“Why did you even bother with this? I just kicked Hiro in the nuts. Hard. I’m doing fine. Did you seriously think I’d go for this?” I turned toward the door.

Her eerily calm voice drifted from behind me. “I came here to make a deal with you because… I’m sure you are aware of the proverb ‘It’s easier to catch flies with honey than vinegar.”

A cold chill spread through my limbs as I stopped mid-step. I slowly turned around to look at her. Those words rang through my mind: It’s easier to catch flies with honey than vinegar.

I’d heard those words in exactly that tone and cadence before.

In Vegas…