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A shadow crossed over the patch of grass she’d been sightlessly staring at, and cowboy boots appeared in her peripheral vision. Kelsey tilted her head up to find Grant eclipsing the sun. He lowered himself, sitting back on his haunches and tilting his hat upward. “They called you.”
She blinked, the statement stunning her. “You did this?”
His mouth lifted at the corner. “Nah, I wish I could take credit for the idea, but I just helped someone get in touch with a few old military buddies of mine. I knew they’d come through, though.”r: Roni Loren
“I’m not accepting his business,” Wyatt said flatly.
His father sat up straighter, deep lines digging into his forehead. “You sure as hell will. I’ve already confirmed with him.”
Wyatt took the manila folder from his lap and tossed it onto his father’s desk. “Tell me you’re not laundering money for your clients.”
His dad blinked, once, twice.
Wyatt leaned forward and opened the folder, pointing hard at the report on top, the red circles he’d made around certain transactions. His tone was lethal when he spoke again. “Fucking tell me that you are not putting this company, its employees, your family, and me at risk for goddamned prison.”
“Where’d you get these?”
Wyatt made a disgusted sound. “What the hell does that matter? You thought you could hide it forever? Get your minions to doctor reports before they got to me without me noticing the inconsistencies?”
His dad’s jaw twitched.
“Tell me it isn’t true, Dad. Look me in the fucking face and tell me.”
“Don’t make demands on me, son,” his father said coolly. “Especially when you already know the answer.”
Hearing him admit it was even worse than Wyatt thought. A part of him really had been hoping someone else was responsible. That he hadn’t been so blatantly betrayed by his own father. Wyatt’s temper burned through him, the need to punch something coursing through him. “You put everyone at risk, Dad. Me. I’m your goddamned son! This company is supposed to be mine one day, and you were going to hand me a fucking time bomb? All these years, I’ve been the one to stand by you even when you acted like an asshole. And this is how you were going to reward me? Do you know how much I’ve given up to be this guy for you?”
He scoffed. “How much you’ve give up? I’ve spent my life molding you into who you are, giving you everything you needed to be successful. Without me—”
“I’d probably have a fucking life,” Wyatt finished bitterly. “I wouldn’t be sitting in some office for fourteen hours a day and thinking I’m making some kind of difference, when all I’ve been doing is supporting a sham and criminal.”
His father’s face went full red now, his composure slipping. “Don’t give me some Pollyanna bullshit, Wyatt. This business is a good one and a smart one. You’re naive if you think the other companies aren’t doing the exact same thing. To land the big fish, you have to make some concessions, and helping them wash a little money is a minor one.”
“Launder a little money?” he bit out. “Do you even care where that dirty cash might be coming from? Drugs? Slave trade? Hey, it’s okay if some little girl gets sold into prostitution as long as you get your big client, right?”
“Don’t be dramatic.”
“Ha! Dramatic? You’re lucky I’m not fucking climbing across this desk and shaking you,” he seethed. “I want it stopped. Immediately. We need to drop the clients who don’t want to be completely above board.”
His dad sniffed. “That’d be half my list. Not a fucking chance.”
Wyatt was so disgusted at the off-handed reply and his father’s smugness, he could barely stand to be in the room anymore. All these years, he’d looked to this office like the brass ring, the ultimate sign he’d captured that goal, that his inertia hadn’t been thwarted. But now the idea of it made his skin go cold.
Wyatt rose. “You fix it. Or I’ll blow the whistle.”
His dad shot to his feet. “How can you be so stupid? You do that and we lose everything.”
Wyatt gave his own derisive sniff. “Lucky for me, you’ve taught me how to invest well. I don’t need family money anymore. I’ve got loads of my own.”
“Son—” There was honest fear in his voice now.
“Clean it up. Starting today.” Wyatt walked to the door, grabbing the handle and then looking over his shoulder. “And find another CEO replacement to groom. I’ve got better things to do.”
His father’s eyes went round. “What?”
“I quit.”
Wyatt walked out and didn’t look back.
