"You wanted to talk to me about business?" I said, cutting off the trip down a path that I didn't want to travel. Leo looked at me and shook his head before grabbing a stack of papers off of the desk and handing half to me.
"We've been asked to provide security for the next election cycle," Leo said. "It's a huge contract with multiple candidates and their families."
"You know how I feel about this, Leo," I said, reading the top page and shaking my head. "I don't want to get CSC involved in any contracts that will expose my involvement in the company. The answer is no. Anything else?"
"You can't just waltz in here and say no without actually discussing this," Leo protested.
"Actually, I can," I replied. "I own the majority stock and I have the deciding vote. You knew that when you accepted the position as public CEO."
"This isn't fair," Leo said quietly. "I've been doing everything you ask of me and I've run this company at a profit for the past eight years. Everything I've done has improved the standing of this company, and I've grown the business by more than one hundred percent since you started it."
"Leo, we discussed this at length when you agreed to accept the position," I said as I ran my hand through my hair. "I don't want any publicity. CSC is a private security firm that offers high-level protection services for people who want to stay out of the spotlight. We do not get involved in political campaigns or self-serving celebrity issues; we fly under the radar and we get the job done."
"But this is an opportunity to join the big league, Cam!" Leo pleaded. "We're incredibly good at what we do and we are recognized as being top in the field. Shouldn't we be able to capitalize on that reputation and increase our client base?"
"Not if it involves Chicago-based candidates," I said, shaking my head. "I do not want people digging into our business and uncovering the fact that I own controlling interest in a multi-billion dollar security firm. I want to keep working for the fire department without being hassled by every Tom, Dick, and Harry who wants to write a story on the poor firefighter who turned tragedy into triumph. I've had enough of that to last me a lifetime, thank you very much."
"You're so selfish," Leo muttered. "It's always about you, isn't it?"
"What do you mean? You agreed to this deal!" I said feeling defensive about his attack. "I didn't beg you to take the job; you offered to do it. I told you what the terms would be and you agreed!"
"Yes, I agreed -- EIGHT YEARS AGO!" Leo shouted. "Everything was different back then. We were different back then. I didn't know I'd be so good at this job, and I didn't realize that there was a potential for growth in the way it's come about. You can't blame me for wanting more, Cam."
"I don't blame you a bit." I sighed as I looked at my best friend. "I just don't want to have my life on parade again. Once was enough, Leo. I can't go back there."
"I know," he said, sinking down into his chair and resting his head in his hands. "I know. I just..."
I looked at Leo knowing how difficult it must have been for him to ask this of me. We'd been friends since grade school, and he'd been the one who'd watched me struggle to keep things together as my mother wasted away from the drinking. He'd been with me at graduation, and he'd stood next to me at my mother's funeral when no one -- not even her own family -- had shown up. And Leo had been the one who'd gotten drunk with me the night the fire changed my entire life and then looked out for me in the hard months after that night.
I knew he was trying to do what was best for the business, but I couldn't let the business interfere with the life I'd carefully constructed to keep everything at bay. I'd started the security firm as a way to distract myself while I was on leave from the fire department, but it had grown faster than I could manage alone, and when my leave was over, I found that there was no way I could manage the security business while also working full-time for the department.
Leo was between consulting jobs as he finished his MBA and looked for a position that would give him an opportunity to demonstrate his knowledge. It was the perfect fit, and after we'd agreed upon a couple of rules that would govern the company, I'd handed over the reins to him.
"All right, let's talk about this." I sighed as I sat down and looked up at him. "How can we manage this without putting my name in the papers?"
"Make me an equal partner in the business, and I'll take all the heat," Leo said in a way that made me realize he'd been thinking about this for a lot longer than the last few days. "Either that or we can hope for a political scandal that will occupy the headlines for months."
"Well, the latter might not be so far off." I laughed. "It is Chicago, after all."
"C'mon, Cam," Leo said in a serious tone. "You know I'm not going to run off with the business or run it into the ground. You can trust me."
"I know, I know," I said, running my hand through my hair and suddenly feeling very tired. "It was never about that. It was..."
"The business was your baby," he finished. "It was what you turned to after Quinn was gone. I get it, Cam, but letting go of a little portion of it isn't going to mean that you've let go of her completely. We're in this together. This business can be so much more, but you've got to let go of the tight control."
"I know." I sighed. "I just feel like everything is changing so fast, and I don't know what to do, Leo."
"What else is going on?" he asked.
"Nothing, it's just..." I began and then trailed off as I looked away not knowing how to finish the sentence. When I looked back up at him, I took a deep breath and said, "Fine, let's split it fifty-fifty and see how that goes. You take all the public heat, got it?"
"Happy to oblige." He grinned.
"But for God's sake, get yourself a girlfriend," I said, shaking my head. "The last thing you need is a scandal based on your love of exotic massage girls."
"Hey, it works for me." He shrugged. "And I'm single; I don't see the problem!"
"Dammit, Leo," I growled. "If you're going to be the face of the company, then you have to act like a professional! I don't care if you hire the girl who just left here to play your girlfriend, just do something so that you don't get caught with your pants down and have to expose me in the process!"