“Castro even made her think the bomb was all just a game meant to scare us.” I left out the part about the photos and what they implied. I wanted to protect her from any unnecessary worry until we knew for sure it was something to be concerned about. I hoped like fuck that decision wouldn’t come back to bite me in the ass.
“Wow, that’s... a lot to take in,” Liza said softly, chewing on the inside of her cheek. “But I’m glad you guys are looking into it. We certainly don’t want anyone in the pack falling prey to Castro’s manipulation again. If he can influence the richest bachelorette in Presley Acres, who else could he twist around his little finger to do his bidding?”
“Exactly. Isaiah’s getting right back to it, seeing what more he can uncover,” I assured her, hoping she wouldn’t pick up on the fact that I was holding back information. My intention was to protect her from any unnecessary worry until we knew for sure whether there was something to be concerned about.
After Liza left the office, and before I lost myself in work, I pulled the file Isaiah had given me out of the drawer and sifted through the photos. The pictures took my breath away, not just because of how beautiful Liza appeared in the candid shots—and she was fucking gorgeous—but because of the fear. What if Castro actually attempted to sell Liza off? My stomach twisted into knots at the thought. Would he sell her, then kidnap her to take her to the highest bidder, or try to take her first? I would do everything in my power to ensure that didn’t happen.
Bryce returned and found me staring at the images. “Ty, you’ve got to stop obsessing till we know more.”
I looked up at him. He was right, I knew it, but he didn’t have the first clue of the fear that was coursing through my system. It wasn’t his fault. He’d know one day maybe, if he ever stopped bouncing from woman to woman, what it meant to love someone, but I hoped to fuck he never had to live through the torment Castro was putting me and my mate through.
“So, what exactly did you leave in the car?” I looked pointedly at his empty hands.
He stuttered, “Th-thought I left a file for this afternoon’s meeting, but I remembered it was in your drawer.”
I didn’t push him about his reaction to Sabrina’s infatuation with Isaiah. We had too much work to catch up on.
We worked until the late afternoon, making good progress. However, he was interrupted when he was called in to attend a meeting with a transport manager at one of the depots. The rest of the day seemed to drag on. I had a video conference with my team at Keller Enterprises about a drop-ship facility we were considering investing in. I completed the paperwork, then called in.
“Good afternoon, gentlemen. What’s the latest on the new facility?”
“Good afternoon, Mr. Keller.” Jason, one of my assistants, typically took control of the conference calls so we didn’t talk over one another. “Based on the correspondence that they sent to me before the meeting, it looks like we’re waiting for the information from the survey company.”
“What exactly do we need to know?” I tapped my pen on the desk and stared out the window. I couldn’t concentrate on anything other than those damn pictures of Liza.
“I’m going to refer that question to Randy, since he met with the surveying crew while they were on site. Randy, can you fill Mr. Keller in on the details they are looking for, please?”
Randy, one of the newest members of my team, nervously came into frame. “The survey crew assured me they’d have all the details by the end of the week. It’s not so much the size of the lot that’s holding us up, sir. We need to determine if there’s enough space between our potential building site and the warehouse on the property next door. City ordinances require a specific amount of space between commercial buildings to allow for things like parking spaces and to be up to fire code.”
“Thanks, Randy. I’m fully aware of the ordinances. Let me know when you get that information from the surveying company.” With one eye on the computer screen displaying the call, an alert to a new email on the other screen caught my attention.
Good afternoon, Mr. Keller.
After reviewing the sale package regarding your factory located at 223 Poplar Street, it is our company’s intention to move forward with the process of purchasing the building.
We look forward to hearing from you and hope to set up an informational meeting at your earliest convenience.
Regards
Russell and Sons, LLC
I interrupted the meeting. “Does anyone know anything about the old factory on Poplar Street being on the market?”
They all shook their heads. No one seemed to have a clue.
“I’ve just received a noted interest through from a company…” I read aloud, scanning through the email again. “Russell and Sons, LLC. Has anyone heard of them before?”
Silence met my question, giving me all the answers I needed. I would have to dig into this mysterious company myself. After bookmarking the email to revisit later, I finished discussing thenew drop facility and ended the call, then took some time to research Russell and Sons. Unfortunately, they didn’t seem very active online, which only made me more suspicious. Why would they want a small manufacturing plant?
A few minutes later, my phone rang. It was Tim, my financial analyst.
“Ty, I apologize for not mentioning the sale of the Poplar Street factory on the conference call,” he began, his voice filled with regret. “I meant to bring it up with you before, but you’ve been busy with the pack and your lovely new bride. I’d been reviewing the figures, and it wasn’t performing as well as we’d hoped, so I put it on the market a few weeks ago. There hasn’t been any interest in it at all, but now with this offer from Russell and Sons, as your financial advisor, it would be remiss of me not to tell you to take the offer seriously. You should set up a meeting and try like hell to offload it.”
“Thanks for telling me, Tim, but why am I just finding out about one of our businesses being on the market now? Once again, you’ve gone above my head and left me out of the loop, which is completely unacceptable.” I didn’t hide my ire. This guy was like the sound of fucking nails down a chalkboard. He should’ve said something earlier on the call, but he really should’ve included me in a decision to list an asset. “I’ll look into it more. In the meantime, as the CEO of Keller Enterprises,it would be remiss of me not to tell you to recognize your positionand keep me abreast of any and all business dealings.”
I ended the call before he could say anything.
I spent a few more hours researching Russell and Sons but didn’t find much of anything. Annoyed and feeling like I’d hit a dead end, I decided to call it a night. I looked at my watch and discovered I’d worked far later than I’d intended.
