“I know.” The stress he’s putting himself through is literally on every one of his features. “We’ll figure it out.”
“She thought they had put everything on hold.” He tightens his jaw. “Simon moved forward without approval.”
I brace my hands against the concrete wall, looking out at the city. This is turning into one hell of a shit-show. “How much money are we talking here? Thousands? Tens of thousands?”
“She said it was more along the lines of millions,” he corrects me. “The old man had a literal heart attack when he found out about the money being gone.”
I check the area again then give a low whistle. “The company’s missing that much?”
“Man, I’m sorry,” he says. “I just got the phone call about it a few minutes ago.”
“Nah, I get it.” I dismiss his concern. “Shit like this happens all the time.” It’s not like learning about this is going to shock anyone.
“It does?”
“Yeah. You just don’t hear about a lot of them,” I explain. The type of coordination it would take to cover up something like this must cost a bundle. “Usually, the company doesn’t want the bad press. Sometimes they don’t want to appear weak, or it’ll damage their reputation. Imagine a money manager who doesn’t notice someone stealing money. They’d lose credibility. People would pull their investment, and the company would take a devastating hit from which they might never recover.”
“Oh hell. I never considered that.” The information is sobering, wiping the strain from his features.
“You never know why it’s covered up. But I’m not worried about this.” I nod toward the building. “Per the wording in the contract, I’m only responsible for what happens from Monday forward. Lydia made sure I’d be exempt from any liability, in case there was any shit going on behind the scenes. So, whatever this is stays with Kelly Oil.”
The stiffness in his shoulders lets up. “That’s a relief.”
My family has gone through generations of turning down contracts with gas companies. There have been more requests than normal, thanks to the Eagle Ford Shale. I only agreed to this contract because Derrick reached out, knowing I was looking for additional revenue streams.
I bought the division because it’s on my property and Kelly Oil is quietly trying to get an influx of cash. I figured something was up, but I didn’t consider this. I lean an elbow on top of the half wall. “I have to admit, I wondered why they were selling an entire division so cheap.”
“Cheap?” He scoffs. “Only you would consider shelling out millions of dollars cheap.”
To the family, the money is mine to lose. It just means I’ll have to put more time into this new investment because I’m determined to grow the legitimate side of our business interests. “Hey, are you forgetting your newfound fortune?” I shoot back.
He curls a lip. “I can’t seem to fucking get away from it.”
“How are you doing with that?” I ask, changing the subject.
Keith Kelly’s heart attack brought a lot of things to light. He felt the need to make what he thought was a deathbed confession. Derrick learned who his father is at the same time the world found out he fathered a kid with his secretary.
“People started doing the math and figured out I was born almost exactly nine months after Simon.” He exhales. “I can feel him hating me from the next floor.”
“Shit.” I drop my head back. With so much information available as part of public record, it would have been easy enough to find the dates within minutes. With the droves of assholes online, it didn’t take long for the trolling to start, then his half-brother joined in, making Derrick’s life a living hell.
“Well, he thought he was an only child, set to inherit the Kelly Dynasty. Now he’s finding out he’s only entitled to half. Not that I want a single dime of it.”
I get it. The mere fact Derrick exists is enough to make Simon feel threatened. Hell, even I’ve had to deal with the hate in his eyes just for being Derrick’s friend.
The sound of an engine running as it comes up the ramp catches my attention. A red older-model car comes into view, a dark-haired woman behind the wheel. Derrick’s focused on the driver with more than casual interest. “You okay?” I ask as she drives past us and pulls into a space on the other side of the entry ramp.
“Just someone from the office,” he says, distracted.
We both watch as the woman exits the car, goes around to the passenger side, and bends over. Her clothes may be on the conservative side, but the skirt rides up, showing off the back of shapely thighs. I grin. It’s not hard to see why she’s got his attention. The woman straightens, bringing a tray of coffee cups from the floorboard.
“I’m thinking I should head back and start digging into this,” I announce, timing it to where she’d be coming through when I’d be climbing into the truck. “Can you check on any activity at the office over the weekend?”
“Why?” He jerks back to the present. “I thought you said this wouldn’t matter.”
“It doesn’t matter to me, directly. But I might be able to preserve evidence if they don’t know I’m coming.” I shrug. “It might help if you go to trial, maybe even be able to get some of the money back.”
His lip twitches. “Makes sense, but do you know what you’re looking for?”
“Send me anything you’ve got for the construction division, including inventory, expenditures, and budget. Then pull the same for whatever work is being done at the ranch,” I add as an afterthought. “I have someone there who can help.” The construction superintendent for my new company is Bill, the former sheriff and a friend of the family. “In fact, I probably have the best person for the job.”
“Well, I’ve done my part in telling you. Since you’re off the hook with everything up to Monday, I’m washing my hands of the whole thing.”
I bust out laughing. Derrick Stockton has rewritten code because the total in the game he’s developing is off by one twentieth of a cent. He thinks he can walk away knowing the company’s books are off by millions of dollars. “Of course you are.”