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It turned out Hunter was a genius in software engineering. Apart from achieving cum laude, every project he worked on after that was lapped up without him having to look for buyers. Rocco, on the other hand, continued his life of leisure, riding on his stepdad’s dollars, doing the odd job for him, shady jobs, which set the stage for the kind of man he became—excelling at achieving what he wanted, legal or not.
Except, Rocco overplayed his hand and angered a cartel he had made promises to and didn’t deliver. Vincent Butler had to cough up, which turned him against Rocco and his money pit dried up. Vincent cut him off, kicked him out, and left him with no money and no job. Forced to make his own way, he approached Hunter. The humiliation of that visit became the seed of hatred that blossomed into the untethered need to destroy his once friend.
“This is a surprise.” Hunter shook his proffered hand. “I’m sorry you had to wait, but my calendar is back-to-back. It’s good to see you, though. I believe you’re working for your stepdad.”
“Yeah, well, you know the saying. Live well, and you die well.” He shrugged at the bitterness lacing the words. “He doesn’t do the first well, so I imagine the second won’t end well for him, either.”
Hunter looked surprised. “I didn’t realize the two of you didn’t have a good relationship.” He glanced at his watch. “I’m sorry, I have to leave for an appointment. Was there something specific you wanted to see me about?”
“Remember the pact we made at college just before graduating?”
“Pact?” A surprised frown dragged Hunter’s eyebrows together. “No, I’m afraid I don’t recall a pact.”
“Come now, Hunter. Cast your mind back. I said, you do the programming, and I do the selling? So, here I am. Your new sales director and soon to be partner with shares who is going to put your name on the map.”
Hunter stared at him with open astonishment. “You’re not serious.”
“I never say anything I don’t mean. Come on, you know there’s no better man than me for the job.”
“For one thing, in my company, hard work gets rewarded, and that includes rising to a position as a director. I suppose you haven’t really followed my life over the past two years,” Hunter said, dragging out the words as though he was giving himself time to put his thoughts together. “I don’t need anyone to put my name on the map, Mark. You do know you’re standing in an office of a building owned by the company Ground Zero Software Engineering Solutions?”
“Yes. Quite impressive that you have an office in their building. Isn’t Ground Zero the firm that just achieved Blue-Chip status?”
“It is, and Ground Zero is my company. My name is already on the map, Mark. If you had shown interest at the time, when I worked my ass off and offered assistance, when I begged you to, perhaps you could’ve been part of all of this.”
Mark was taken aback as he scrambled for details on the articles he had read. Ground Zero was regarded as the top software engineering solutions company in the United States. Apart from rocking the stock market, large corporations, state institutions, hell, everyone, stood in line to do business with the young entrepreneur, who was regarded as a genius in software engineering. He cursed himself for never putting two and two together to realize the Einstein everyone gushed over was Hunter.
“It’s never too late to admit when you fucked up, right? I’m here now, ready, and willing to work.”
“I’m afraid my board of directors’ positions are filled. If you really want to work for me, all I can offer you is a position in the engineering maintenance division.”
“As what? A program fixer? No, thank you.”
“Tell you what. Since you brought me food and beer while I worked into the night, I’m willing to give you a chance to put your own name on the map.”
“Meaning?”
Hunter opened the drawer of his desk and took out his checkbook. Moments later, he handed the slip of paper to him.
“This should help you to start your own company. I’ve learned a lot about running a business, so once you’ve got it going and need advice, my door is always open.” Hunter smiled at his PA as she popped her head around the door. “Yes, I know. I’m on my way.” He shook Mark’s hand and gave him a firm slap on the shoulder. “I really have to go. It was good seeing you again.”
Mark only looked at the check when he got into his car.
“Holy fucking shit! How much goddamn money does this prick have?” The bold handwriting was evidence of the confidence with which the amount was written on the check.
Ten million dollars was a fortune in those days, but more than the magnitude of the chance that Hunter had offered him by giving him cash, it was the humiliation of measuring his own failure against his success that Rocco couldn’t get over. In his mind, Hunter had mocked him, ridiculed him by giving him a shitload of cash, purely to show him how much of a loser he had become.
That hadn’t stopped him from cashing the check, but it had opened his eyes to where he was heading. He became Hunter’s shadow, copying trades and investments he made, and soon his bank account grew. Still, he never had the desire to run his own empire. It was easier to reap the benefits of others doing the hard work. Gustav had been a friend since school, and it was easy to manipulate him into selling shares and giving him the COO job at DevelopMate. He knew how to charm his way into anything. The Prince twins hadn’t stood a chance.
Now, with Leigh destroying part of his plan to get to Hunter, he would have to switch gears. Hunter Sutton had made him feel insignificant, and nothing was going to stop Rocco from returning the favor.
He wanted Hunter to lose face, to have his name smothered in mud, and he wanted him to be destitute. His company, every fucking cent of the billions he had lost to him. Then, Rocco would be satisfied that justice had been served.
Revenge for the degradation he suffered would be sweet.
“As long as Lilith doesn’t fuck up like Leigh did. With her help, I know I can get my hands on whatever he’s working on, then fiddle with his algorithms and make sure he is discredited publicly. I’ll break him. He’ll become a void, nothing but wind in my rearview mirror.”
Chapter Sixteen
