Jason
Iwasn’t pleased.
Nah, that was an understatement. I was pissed.
“You what?”
I looked at the large TV screen hung over the fireplace in my study. My brother, Scott, stared back at me smugly.
“You heard what I said.”
“I did. But I need you to be clearer so I can decide what to do about it.”
Scott grinned. He looked a lot like me. He had the same sun-blond hair with traces of black, as if streaked with india ink. His eyes were the same shimmering ice-blue, but his face was leaner, his jaw narrower, giving him a wolfish look.
“You know, Jason, most CEOs would be thrilled about new acquisitions. Especially those that will be very, very profitable.”
“That’s true. But most CEOs aren’t hearing about the illegality of those acquisitions.”
Scott winced. “Be careful,” he said. “You never know who’s listening.”
“The line’s secure. Unless you’re worried about your end.”
“Everyone here is loyal to the core. They’d jump off a cliff if it came down to it.”
“Hopefully it won’t.”
Scott cleared his throat. “But damn, what do you expect? You’ve got me down to our last big client. It’s been a financial bloodbath since you took over.”
“Exactly what I was planning.”
“You really think this is what Dad had in mind when he gave you the company?”
“He didn’t give me the company. I earned it.”
“Right, by being the older brother. If he knew how I’d been busting my ass to bring in cash flow, he would’ve put me in charge. After all, I’ve been the one who hasn’t been afraid to get his hands dirty. Even before you were CEO you’d always found some way to stay away from the parts of our business that’ve made it what it is.”
I almost laughed. “You know, it’d be nice if we could have one conversation without you informing me how much more suited you are for my position. And I stayed away from those parts of the company because I knew how important it would be to have a clean record if and when I finally took over.”
That wasn’t entirely true. The real reason was that I was sick of it all, sick of the crime, sick of seeing my family break the law. And if there had been any doubt in my mind, it was long gone after what happened to Megan.
“Jason, come on,” he said. “You’re getting soft. Hell, you’ve always been soft.” He was referring to my decision to shut down our money laundering services, which had been the building blocks of the company our dad built, and which I couldn’t wait to get rid of. When the company had been left to me after his death, my first act as CEO had been to start taking it legit. It had been a long process that was finally coming to an end.
Six years. That’s how long I’d been in charge of the company, how long it’d been since Dad died—how long I’d been planning to go clean. Over the course of my term as CEO, I’d shut down the illegal portions of the company one-by-one. It had taken this long so it wouldn’t arouse any suspicions. It hadn’t been easy, but it’d been necessary. And now it was time to finish the job, to forever separate the Ryder name with what—among certain circles—it had always been associated with.
“You need to get rid of that last client,” I said flatly. “Not pick up new ones. You told me you could get this finished in a month.”
He paused. “You getting paranoid? Worried about the law?”
“No. But I want it done. No more excuses.”
“It’s our father’s legacy, you know,” Scott said. “Every day that passes where we make it stronger is another day of honoring his memory.”
“Funny how you always manage to dress up your ambition in noble goals,” I said. “No sense in hiding what your true motivations are.”
Scott sighed. “You’re always psychoanalyzing me.”
“Easy to do when your motives are so transparent.”