Chapter 47: Corporate Takeover

Thursday, 10:08 am

I threw the stack of evidence on the dark wood conference table and looked at the two men standing across it.

“I want him gone by the end of the day.”

Karl Yunger looked like he was having difficulty getting it together this morning. “Who? Are you talking about Tanaka?”

“Tanaka?” I asked. “What does this have to do with Hiro Tanaka?”

William, with whom I’d had the least experience, immediately started spreading out the papers I’d dropped on the table. “He’s talking about VanCamp, Karl.”

Karl’s eyes went wide. “Roger! You’re talking about our partner!?”

“Did Erin not tell you what I wanted to meet with you about?” I asked.

“Ah ... I must have missed the details. Gladys is out today. She’s sick.” Karl said. “Seriously, though ... what’s this about?” He glanced at the only other person in the room besides Chloe. “And why is he here?”

Vikram was standing next to me, and he looked like he was turning a little green, which was impressive considering his Middle Eastern complexion. He opened his mouth to reply, but I cut him off. “He’s here to represent my legal interests as an expert on YPV.”

“We’re your legal representatives,” Karl insisted, “And no one is more of an expert on the subject of Yunger, Price, and VanCamp than Karl Yunger and William Price!”

I’d never seen Karl get so heated before ... he’d always struck me as more old and doddering than anything, but after recovering from the surprise, the old Karl was gone. In his place was a lion. Perhaps he was a little long in the tooth but still king of his pride. It made me hesitate a moment as I remembered that Karl Yunger had decades of experience in a world I barely had a month in. He was facing down billionaires and politicians while I’d barely been able to look my server in the eye while returning an order they’d gotten wrong.

But I wasn’t the same Marcus anymore. I couldn’t be. That Marcus could have eaten the scrambled eggs when he ordered fried, and his day would have been fine. In this world, the scrambled eggs could’ve killed me.

The metaphor didn’t hold up, but I’m sure my meaning was clear enough. I couldn’t afford to be a chump, no matter how wealthy I was.

“Not when VanCamp is the one responsible for murdering one of my people, Karl.” I began circling around the table. “Not when he’s responsible for getting my friend raped and beaten. Not when he had me kidnapped and beat me personally.” Stopping just outside his personal bubble, I glared at him. “Not when he fucking pissed on me!”

“Jesus,” Karl said, a flash of uncertainty crossed his face. It was gone a moment later, and he stood a little straighter. “Don’t be preposterous, young man. Roger was in the UAE when you were kidnapped.”

“Where did you get this from?” William said, interrupting our exchange as he looked up from the sheet of paper he was holding. I could see just enough of it to identify the transcript of the recording Henry Psalter had shown me yesterday.

“I have a private investigator,” I said.

“One of ours?” Karl asked.

“Of course not. Maybe I’m a little naive, but I’m not stupid enough to hire an investigator to investigate the firm they work for.” Truth be told, Erin, Vikram, and Helen were responsible for me hiring Chloe, and Chloe was the one who hooked me up with Henry. Had it not been for them, I probably would have simply used the firm’s recommended agency without giving it a second thought.

“I don’t care where you thought he was. He was definitely the guy beating on me.” I pointed to the fading bruises on my face. “I don’t want a law firm working for me that might have a partner who wants to kidnap, beat, and murder me. He’s got to go, or I’m walking and finding a different firm.”

“We can’t just kick him off the partnership,” Karl said with considerably less heat in his voice.

“You signed a contract,” William said on his heels.

“About that,” Vikram said. He cleared his throat and glanced at all three of us, who had turned our attention to the junior lawyer at the firm. “If Roger VanCamp did what Mr. Upton is accusing him of, then it violates a few different clauses in the contract, giving him the option to terminate the agreement if he wishes.

Neither of them spoke for a full ten seconds. Karl simply stared at Vikram while William looked back down at the transcript in his hands. Since neither of them pushed back, I guess they were very aware of the section of the contract Vikram was talking about. I wondered if Karl wanted to skin Vikram alive for his role in all this. His thousand-yard stare looked devoid of emotion, but something in his eyes suggested a lot more going on there that I couldn’t see. I had a suspicion that the only thing that kept me from being burned alive by his wrath was my billions.

The uncomfortable silence continued to wear on. I sure as hell wasn’t going to break it ... not when I had nothing to be uncomfortable about.

Karl finally looked back at me, his expression neutral. “What can we do to make this right?”

“I already told you,” I said. “He has to go. He’s no longer a partner at this firm. I also want him arrested.”

“If you have Roger arrested,” William said, “Helen and Ashlee will be arrested as well.”

Ashlee, I couldn’t give a flying fuck about, but Helen...

“What? Why?”

William glanced at Karl and said, “I’m okay with it if you are.”

Karl gave William a look that basically said, Are you fucking kidding me?

“It’s not like we have a choice here,” William said.

“Fine,” Karl sighed. “Look, Mr. Upton, we have always strived to keep our operations within the scope of the law, but we are working with clients with certain needs that occasionally require ... out-of-the-box solutions. Your grandfather was one of those people. Roger VanCamp was our out-of-the-box specialist, and Helen worked directly for him. I’m sure the Federal government would be interested in hearing what Helen and Ashlee had to say just as much as Roger.”

Glancing back and forth between the two partners, I knew a lot of context was left out, but I got enough of a picture to be convinced. Besides that, I was already uncomfortable with Roger VanCamp being arrested, knowing he could make trouble for me and use that as a bargaining chip. Not getting the police involved meant that we were at a stalemate—I had the kidnapping/beating/murder charges on him, and he had the dirt on me and my company. It was mutually assured destruction.

Okay ... so not cops.

“He still has to go,” I said.

“We can’t—”

“He’s out, or I walk away,” I cut Karl off. “Maybe I won’t risk everything to have him arrested, but I’m sure as hell not letting him get away with what he’s done without any consequences. You have a choice, Karl. Me or him.”

“Marcus—”

“Mr. Upton,” I corrected Karl.

His jaw snapped shut, and he blinked, clearly not expecting that from his mild-mannered client.

“Fine,” I said, stalking back around the table. “We’re done here.”

“Mr. Upton! Wait! Can’t we just talk about this!? There has to be another solution! He won’t come near your account! We’ll keep you completely quarantined from him! And if you leave Helen alone—”

“Not happening,” I said, whirling on Karl. “Even if Helen wasn’t part of this, I’m not supporting a firm that has a partner that wanted to literally murder me with his own hands! As for Helen, VanCamp’s lost his wife. He just doesn’t know it yet. She’s leaving with me. Today.”

“Mr. Upton,” Karl said. “You’re talking about starting a feud between our firm and you. You can’t possibly—”

I laughed. “I’ve got Hiro Tanaka gunning for me, and apparently, he’s one of the scariest men on the planet! You think I’m scared of YPV?”

“Mr. Upton—”

“No. I’m fucking tired of all the games. I’m tired of hearing about how scary everyone is. You know who I think was one of the scariest men out there? My grandpa. Well, guess what ... I’m the Gerrard now, and I’m saying that Roger VanCamp’s days are numbered.” I glanced from Karl to William, letting both of them know they had a choice to make.

“So, you have until I walk out that door to make up your mind. Either Roger VanCamp goes, or I do.”

William and Karl looked at each other, and if I hadn’t known better, it appeared as if they were communicating telepathically. Eventually, Karl nodded to William, who sighed, dropped the transcript back on the table with the pile of damning evidence, and reached for the phone sitting on the conference table.

“This is going to end badly, Marcus,” Karl said, looking back at me. The expression on his face made me think I was making him shoot his dog.

“I’m going to make it worse, Karl. You’re going to make Helen the new partner at YVP. She gets everything Roger has.”

“You can’t be serious!”

“I am. It’s part of this deal.”

“Why?” Karl asked.

“Because I need someone at YPV I can trust,” I said, and the look I received from Karl suggested that was unnecessarily harsh. After all, it looked like they were staying with me. “Not that I can’t trust you, but I’ve been working with Helen for a while now. I’m comfortable working with her. Besides, I’m used to the name. I want another VanCamp in the driver’s seat with you.”

“I don’t know if we can make that happen,” Karl said.

“You’ll figure it out,” I replied. “Do this, and you have my full support ... and my business.” I glanced at Vikram, “Oh, and give Vikram here a senior position. He’s sharp and has integrity. You guys should reward that.”

Karl nodded as if that last request was the least of them. He already looked like he was going to be sick.

“Roger,” we heard William say. “Are you in your office? Good. Karl and I are coming to see you. We need to talk.”

I probably wasn’t doing the guys any favors by going with them to see Roger VanCamp, but I didn’t give a shit. I wanted to see his face as I took everything from him.

As we walked into his office’s reception space, a young woman with thick, dark brown hair and a fair complexion stood up hurriedly and made her way around her desk toward us. She was about 5’4” and some change in heels, had a lovely cream complexion, and almond eyes, favoring Ashlee a little.

“Mr. Yunger! Mr. Price!”

“Don’t worry, Candice,” Karl said. “He’s expecting us.”

“Alright...” she said, watching us pass while she stood awkwardly beside her desk.

Yunger rapped on the door and opened it without waiting for a response. All three of us entered, followed by Chloe, and I shut the door behind me. My eyes wandered around the room for any sign of Helen or Ashlee, but neither were present. The only other person in the room was Roger, who was standing behind his desk, slightly bent over it with his palms resting on the surface. As soon as he saw me, he straightened.

“What’s he doing here?” Roger asked, his stance showing the wariness I could hear in his voice.

Karl took a deep breath and said, “Roger—”

“What is this?” Roger asked, gazing at the three of us as we stood in front of his desk.

Karl and William both glanced at me as if asking me with a look whether I really wanted to follow through with this. When I didn’t say anything, William turned his attention back to his soon-to-be-ex-partner. “Roger, we’re here to ask you to resign as a partner of Yunger, Price, and VanCamp.”

The room remained so quiet after William’s statement that the persistent tick of the grandfather clock sounded like construction equipment. William simply stood there, his jaw hanging crooked and bouncing, almost as if he were working a jawbreaker between his teeth. His steely gaze bounced back and forth between the two older men, and then he started to nod as if finally making sense of the words William had just said to him.

“Why?” he asked, surprising me with how calm he’d been, and for a moment, I had a single shred of doubt about whether or not this was the unhinged person who had beaten me in Vegas. That man had been beside himself. The Roger I was witnessing seemed calm and collected in the face of professional ruin.

“We think,” Karl said, choosing his words carefully, “This might no longer be the best place for you to work. Your talents—”

Everything on VanCamp’s desk went hurling into the wall as the man suddenly swept his hands across the surface. His face was twisted in a snarl, and his well-groomed hair fell out of place. “DON’T FUCK WITH ME!” He screamed, flecks of spittle flying over the desk. His words were punctuated by the crash of a phone, computer, keyboard, picture frames, and other paraphernalia crashing to the floor. William and Karl both jumped in place, completely taken off guard by the display, and I couldn’t blame them. Frankly, I was surprised I wasn’t glued to the ceiling after the sudden display.

There was the out-of-control maniac that I’d met in the industrial section of Sin City.

“Roger!” Karl said. “You kidnapped the boy!”

“So,” Roger said, sounding much calmer, “This is your doing.”

“You killed Ray,” I said. “You’re lucky this is the worst thing happening to you.”

“Who?” Roger said.

Oh fucking hell no. I opened my mouth to tell him precisely who Ray was, but William spoke first.

“You kidnapped the wealthiest man in the world, Roger! And our client!”

“No, I didn’t,” Roger spat without looking at William. “You know exactly where I was.”

“Roger, we have overwhelming and damning evidence that says otherwise,” Karl said, holding up the proof that Henry had collected. He stepped forward to place it on the now empty desk and stepped back. Roger stared at it but didn’t move to touch it.

Finally, he looked back up at me without denying anything, “I’ll end you for this. I’ll tell everyone everything I know.”

He said it in such a calm, conversational way that I found it unnerving after the crazed display that had spread his stuff across the floor. Still, despite my reluctance, I spoke up. “You go right ahead and tell whoever you want. I’ve got the evidence to press charges and enough resources to make sure you never see the light of day again.”

It looked like he was chewing on those words and preparing to spit them back at me. “What do you want from me? An apology?”

I shook my head. “I just don’t want to have anything to do with you. I told your partners, either you’re gone, or I am.”

“Karl?” Roger said, looking at the older man.

“Roger,” Karl said, sounding apologetic. “He’s the new Gerrard. Losing his account alone...”

“After all I’ve done for this firm,” Roger said. “You two never had the spine to do what was necessary. You always relied on me. It’s what’s made me invaluable to this company, and now I’m being punished for it?”

“You flew too close to the sun, Roger,” William said.

“He slept with my fucking wife!” Roger said, pointing an accusatory finger at me. “And you wouldn’t lift a finger to stop him!”

“Roger, you were leveraging Helen for years. You have to know that would’ve come back on you at some point,” Karl said.

He looked back and forth between the two partners again, his eyes wild. “Really? That’s it? After all these years?”

“We’ll buy your part of the firm,” Williams said. “You’ll also receive a nice severance package as a ‘thank you’ for your years of service to the company, but I’m afraid we have to part ways.”

Roger looked down at the evidence on his desk, and I could see the wheels turning in his brain. Finally, he nodded but said nothing more.

“Before you pack all your shit in a little box and walk out of here,” I said. All three of them looked at me. “I’m gonna need you to go with my bodyguard. She’s going to take you somewhere private where some friends can ask you questions specifically about my kidnapping.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you or any of your people,” Roger spat.

“You don’t have a choice,” I said.

“Marcus, you didn’t say anything—”

“I promise you,” I said, cutting off Karl, “I’ll treat you a lot better than you treated me, and when my people are satisfied that you’ve told them everything you know, I’ll let you go wherever the fuck you want.” Roger retrieved his phone from his pocket and unlocked it, still eyeing me as I finished. “But I’m going to get some answers from you.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you,” Roger said sullenly.

“Who are you contacting?” William said.

“Helen. I’m telling her that we’re leaving.”

“No,” I said. “That’s the other thing. You’re leaving. Helen isn’t. Not with you.”

He sent his text and dropped his hand to his side, frowning up at me. “What?”

“Helen stays with me.”

This time, Roger took a step toward me. Karl took a reflexive step back. “She’s my wife!”

“Not anymore,” I said, standing my ground. “You’re going to divorce her. She’s mine now.”

Roger sneered at me. “What use is she to you? You’re not going to marry her. She’s technically old enough to be your mother.”

“It’s none of your business what I do with Helen. Just know that I’m going to make her feel things you never could. It’s why she wouldn’t stop fucking me when you told her to. She wants to be with me.” I looked him up and down and felt my lip curl in disgust. “You’re just not enough for a woman like Helen.”

Roger closed the distance between us but halted as something caught his eye behind me.

“That’s far enough, Mr. VanCamp,” I heard Chloe’s cool voice.

Silence hung in the air as Roger stared past me at Chloe. One of the other men in the room cleared their throat uncomfortably.

Roger turned his glare back to me. “I’m going to ruin you, Upton.”

“Not before I ruin your wife, Roger. I mean... ex-wife.” I fucking wanted him to try something just to see how badly Chloe would wreck him. Maybe I’d get lucky, and she’d even put a bullet in his head. That certainly would have made my life a little easier.

No ... I need him alive and answering questions.

“Sir,” Chloe said when it looked like VanCamp was about to make another move. “The sooner you come with me and answer any questions, the sooner you can go home.”

We stared at each other for a moment longer ... and then he walked past me, shoulder-checking me as he headed for the door. “I expect a premium for my part in this company, Yunger!” he shouted as he tore open the door and stalked through. Chloe glanced back at me, giving me her patented, unreadable gaze, but still managed to communicate that she’d be back soon. She left me with William and Karl.