Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 125700 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 629(@200wpm)___ 503(@250wpm)___ 419(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125700 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 629(@200wpm)___ 503(@250wpm)___ 419(@300wpm)
I lost my old one, and it meant the world to me. I had to leave everything behind, but this would feel like a new beginning.
She was like everyone else when it came to his money. She wanted her piece, but he could handle that. Money was the building block of what he truly desired. Power.
“Yes, we’re meeting them at The Reef at ten p.m. We’ll change and then be given a tour.” He’d received the schedule from Ms. Summers-Hunt earlier this afternoon. When he took over that club, he intended to ensure that bitch knew she didn’t have anything over him. She’d gone on his list. It was a long list of every single person who’d ever fucked him over. He’d crossed a whole lot of them off. Some had gotten off easy. He’d merely screwed them over in a businesslike fashion. Like that sarcastic asshole who’d done his security in the early days. All he’d cost that man was money and a bit of pride.
But some, he intended to cost far more. Kayla Summers-Hunt had made that list along with all the members of The Reef who’d tried to keep him out.
He would have put Madeline Hill in the helpful category, but lately it rankled that she was going to make so much money off his company. And there were other problems to consider.
“Good.” Jane sat back as the SUV began moving. “You’ve done well, Nolan. You’ve been a perfect partner.”
Only the sight of her shapely legs softened the blow of being treated like a fucking lackey. He wasn’t her partner. He would show her that soon enough. She’d crossed her legs and the motion slid her skirt up over her knees.
He wished she wasn’t so gorgeous. Her body was sheer perfection and her face was exquisite, but then he was almost certain that was artificial. She had some small scars that led him to believe she’d had plastic surgery in the last few years. He should know. He had some done himself, though he rather thought she’d had some radical surgery, not the simple nose job and neck tightening he’d had. He appreciated her perfection no matter how she’d come by it.
Her attitude was the thing that rankled, but he would take care of that soon enough.
“And you were right about Madeline. You told me she might be trouble,” he murmured.
“What’s happened?”
Oh, he had her full attention now. “Madeline’s been asking around about employees taking sick leave. Specifically the ones we tested the initial waves on.”
They’d needed to know if the damn thing worked. Of course they’d dialed back on the intensity. He hadn’t wanted to have to explain a bunch of employees with fried brains. A watered-down version had done the trick, and it appeared Madeline had solved the issue of how to integrate the weapon into Clarke’s systems. He simply had to figure out how she’d done it.
Or force her to do it herself right before he dealt with her.
“So she’s asking questions,” Jane mused. “I don’t like that at all. By the way, I was right to shut down your hiring until the launch. You had an inquiry from a man who used to work for the Central Intelligence Agency.”
And now she had his attention. “The CIA?”
“I told you they would very likely be looking your way at some point. Don’t worry about it. I’ve got it handled.”
“How exactly are you going to handle it?”
“Well, first of all I made sure you didn’t hire one of them. Secondly, you’ll have to trust that my associates take this project very seriously. We won’t allow anything to interfere with our plans, and that means not allowing the Agency to screw everything up. But you have to decide how you want to deal with Madeline Hill. She’s becoming a problem. If she’s asking those questions, she’s starting to put things together, and I don’t think she can be bought out. Can we ensure her silence in some way?”
Did he want to? “She cares about her parents, but they’re from a small town. I doubt I can simply swoop in and kidnap one without a large media presence coming into play. No. I think we should handle her in a different fashion. The truth of the matter is if she is allowed to keep her stock, she controls a minority share in the company. She could cause me trouble down the line if she chose to.”
“I’m surprised you allowed that to happen.”
“It hasn’t happened yet. Some of those shares only vest if she successfully delivers her AI. She can’t deliver it if she’s dead, right?”
A brow rose over her eyes, an arrogant look. “You can’t afford to kill her. Or did you figure out how to fix your problems?”
Everything seemed to have fallen into place this afternoon. “She’s got a solution. All I need is for her to show me how to do it. I’ll be the last person to touch the system before it goes into orbit.”