Page 27 of Bargaining

“Another time? I’ll ask Lucas and Theo to come.” His imploring voice chased me across the fairway.

Good luck with that.

I phoned Theo from the office. He answered on the fourth ring.Sloppy.

“I’m in the middle of something.” His voice was a derisive growl.

And people called me the arsehole brother. Theo’s charm knew no bounds. “I need your help. Philip’s not going to be happy with me in the coming days.”

“What have you done now?”

“He wants a new hotel. I’m going to make sure he doesn’t get what he wants. But it’s only fun if it blindsides him. He mustn’t know what I’m planning until I’m ready.”

My father always knew what I was up to. Anyone else would have called me paranoid, but not Theo. Theo knew what Philip Thorner was capable of. I’d long suspected my father had spies in my company. Rooting them out wasn’t easy.

Strange noises filtered down the phone: clanking metal, thuds, grunting. It sounded like he was at the gym or some kind of orgy. Theo was such a dark horse it could have been either, or both. An orgy in a gym was probably a perfect Sunday morning for Theo. He never took a call with video. Only ever voice.

“You haven’t wound him up enough already? People heal, Cole. They try to move on.”

I’ll heal in hell.It was easy for him to say. He’d moved out as soon as he could. “Philip hasn’t moved on. He won’t leave me alone.”

“He would. If only you’d stop poking him. He’s like a wasp at a picnic. Just keep still and don’t flap your hands so much and he’ll buzz off.”

Yes, he was a wasp, and he’d spread too much venom. He’d ruined my picnic. He’d ruined my fucking life. “Are you going to help me or not?”

A deep sigh. “I know a counterespionage specialist. We’ll set up surveillance. Scan for bugs. Standard cybersecurity measures.”

An ache blazed between my shoulder blades. I’d been up all night working, and my spine wasn’t happy. “I need thorough security countermeasures and monitoring of threats.”

I could hear his condescending smile in his gravelly voice. “I know what you need. I’m on it.”

“What do you know about Gabe Rivers?”

“The football club boss? Not much. He was on the party circuit when he was younger. Bit wild. Seems to have settled down.”

“I need a meeting with him, but he won’t take my calls.”

Theo snorted. “Sensible man.”

Idly, I lifted a silver ball on the Newton’s cradle on my desk, watching the metal spheres tap lightly against each other. “If you hear anything about his whereabouts, let me know. I’m not averse to accidentally bumping into him somewhere.”

“Stalking him, you mean?”

He sounded nonplussed by the prospect. Theo’s security firm had an impeccable reputation. On the surface, everything was above board. My brother was a war hero with a medal for bravery, but he’d come back from Helmand different in a way I couldn’tput my finger on. It wasn’t just the physical scars. It was something rippling beneath the surface. A darkness that I didn’t like to think about too much.

“Just some light stalking,” I said.

A pause. “I know he’s hosting a big fundraising shindig next week. Lots of high-profile people. I’ve got my team running security on a few attendees.”

“Perfect. I need a ticket.”

“Then get one.”

The line went dead. Prickly fucker was always hanging up on me. I swiveled in my chair to take in the jagged London skyline through the expanse of floor-to-ceiling windows: the shining ribbon of the Thames, Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament. Clouds drifted in a clear blue sky. A warm feeling spread through me. What a beautiful day to fuck with my father. It always gave me a smile.

I put a call through to my PA. “I need a ticket for Gabe Rivers’s charity fundraiser next week.”

“Just one?”