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Aaron.He had been the first person I confided in about All4One, and he'd been actively working remotely for me. I'd given him admin access to all the data and configurations. He was the only one, other than Beth, I could think of. None of my other staff had a personal vendetta against me.
“Fuck!” I scream because I know Aaron went a little too far. He has completely ruined our friendship by doing this.I briefly wonder if Beth has anything to do with it, but the thought goes as suddenly as it comes because I can't imagine Beth doing something so terrible. She isn't just cut out for that sort of thing.
I am momentarily tempted to get the hell out of here and go toe-to-toe with Aaron, but I tamp down the urge, knowing that it will lead to a bigger mess. When my phone rings, I press it against my ear without thinking. And as Roscoe's deep voice filters through, I tense up a little.
“Hello, dear brother.”
“Roscoe,” I say, getting up and moving toward the door. I don't give Sam a second glance as I pass. He might as well take the day off, seeing as I will not be needing him for much. I move toward the elevators because, even though I have just come in, I feel a little suffocated.
“Latimer isn't so far down the rabbit hole that you forget there are others in your life, is it?”
My hackles rise at his words, but I tamp down the urge to tell him to fuck off. Roscoe never calls without a reason, and with all that has happened, the last thing I want to do is piss him off.
“Was there a reason you called?”
“Must I always have a reason for wanting to hear from my dear brother?” He adds a light chuckle at the end, and I shake my head, realizing that I should never act like my family is always out for my throat all the time.
"I see," I say as the elevator doors open. I step inside with the phone still pressed against my ear, one hand inside my pocket, I rock back on my heels and wait as the doors slide closed.
“Last night, your first app made quite an impression,” Roscoe starts, and I get a sinking feeling in my stomach. Did he have something to do with the sabotage? Ever since Father changed, I can’t put it past my family to do something as horrendous as that. And I'd somehow known they'd been keeping tabs. I should have been more careful. And at that moment, I begin to question my mother's real reason for visiting.
“And you know that how?”
Roscoe chuckles. “Why are your claws out? Should you not be proud? That you did something well-thought-out. We both know the elites will embrace this app and gobble it up. It's the kind of stuff they like. You've mastered the removal of the low-class.”
“Except that the app has been sabotaged, and I cannot help but wonder why you've called me now when you've never been very interested in my personal affairs,” I ask, my voice sounding strangely syrupy. “Is there something you want to tell me?”
“Are you accusing me of having something to do with your failed app?”
“Not even surprised at the news, I see,” I note, feeling the beginnings of anger.
“I'd be careful who I point fingers at if I were you,” Roscoe says. “The All4One app is a genius idea, one I deeply admire. I would never hinder your life's work like that. We both know I'm not that much of a jerk.”
Roscoe is right. Even though we had a slight altercation due to my recent decisions, Roscoe is my brother and has always had my back right from when we were kids.
“Someone sabotaged the app last night. I do not know who,” I find myself telling someone for the first time since it had happened. And somehow, admitting that the All4One app failed causes me to nearly double over in pain because I feel like I own nothing. I failed at proving to myself that I can exist outside of my father's influence.
“I'm sorry to hear that,” Roscoe says quietly, sounding like he really means it.
I don't know how to feel about that. I expected Roscoe to gloat a little, to tell me how he had always known that nothing good could come out of living in Latimer. And the fact that he doesn't say all of those things, even though he could do it and get away with it, makes me respect Roscoe even more.
“I feel like I no longer have control over the affairs of my company. If I am still unsure of who the mole is, who's to say that this rogue will not do something even worse next?”
Roscoe is silent for so long that I think I've lost him.
“What would you do if I told you who the culprit was?”
Startled by my brother's words, I nearly miss my step. I manage to escape the closing doors at the last second and make my way to the car.
“You know the son of a bitch who's done this to me?”
“Actually, yes,” Roscoe replies, sounding relaxed, way too relaxed.
“Tell me.”
“Not unless we cut a deal.”
“Roscoe.” I grit, my left hand already balled into a fist, and my right squeezing the phone so tight that I'm surprised it does not burst into a tiny million pieces against my ear.
