“What?” I questioned. “Why and how did you know?”
“As I said, Miss Julia, you can’t go alone. So, since you’re going, it looks like I’m driving you.”
A grin came to my lips. “I appreciate that, but you know my parents don’t want me leaving.”
Arnold scoffed. “And they wouldn’t want you leaving alone either. If you’re going, so am I.”
I loved Arnold, but it wasn’t as if he were Michael or Albert. Arnold was one half of the McGrath house staff—and had been forever. If I needed anything around the house, he was my man. At over sixty-five, his posture was a bit stooped. Time had added gray to his hair and spots to his wrinkly skin. In a nutshell, he wasn’t exactly a bodyguard. “Arnold, I need to get my ride back.”
“Yes, ma’am. Your ride is out back. I might not be a fancy security service, but I know there are too many unknowns for you to get into a car with a stranger.”
“It was just an Uber driver.”
“And you’re sure it isn’t someone who might cause you harm?”
I hadn’t thought of that.
“I messaged Michael, Van’s security head, earlier, telling him that I was…” I inhaled. The pieces were coming together. “He called you.”
Arnold nodded. “There isn’t any shame in being a good person, Miss Julia. And good people, well, others care about them. I’m now your ride to Madison.”
Madison.
Arnold knew I wasn’t going to Ashland.
“Do you know where we need to go in Madison?” I asked.
“Michael finally received information. He sent directions.”
My heart practically leaped. This wouldn’t be a wild goose chase or a needle in a haystack. “Michael told you where to find Van?”
“Not officially.”
“Unofficially?”
Arnold nodded.
I reached for Arnold’s hand. “Let’s go.”
Together we headed for the garages.
Van
I’d begun building my fortune with a small nest egg and by having a keen eye for disaster. I searched and saw pitfalls in what others saw as necessity. I started with an idea, nurtured that idea, and invested in people who could make it a reality.
Firewalls and protection for online transactions.
The timing was perfect and the environment ripe for the picking. Instead of taking that capital and building more, I used it to destroy. I hired the best people behind a keyboard or multiple keyboards. They were masterminds at navigating what was still new—the Lewises and Clarks of the web. My people sought out weakness. The capital I’d earned was used to manipulate, obliterate, and wreck.
It wasn’t enough.
I longed for more.
My profits grew by capitalizing on others’ mistakes, limitations, and vulnerability.
I made mistakes along the way.
I listened and learned.