Page 39 of Takeover
Both my brother and Pierce grinned at me.
I reviewed the findings on my iPad after I removed my jacket.My frown deepened the more I read.Gwen was right.They didn't have any money.Her father had, in essence, set R&D adrift, knowing she hadn't signed off yet.And we hadn't ratified our contract.So, how the hell was she going to pay her employees in the next few weeks while we sorted out the nitty-gritty details?
No wonder she was fucking stressed.
Fuck.
"There should be customer funds in here.Do you think someone is pinching it?Is it Lakewood?"
Pierce glanced at Micah.Micah glanced back at Pierce and then to me."Um, no.Lakewood is clean.We looked."
I ground my teeth."Define clean."
Pierce just shrugged."He's clean on paper.No nasty drug habits.No wife or child support to worry about.Nothing anyone can really blackmail him with.And he's good at his job.Actually, I think we have a skillset opening for him in London."
I smiled then."London, you say?"
"Well, he's been tech operations here, but he can be more useful somewhere else while we work out how all the employees fit in."
"Pierce, sometimes, I want to kiss you fully on the mouth."
"I think my last girlfriend read a lot of romance novels like that."
I grinned at him."I'm sure you read some too."
He shrugged."I cannot confirm or deny.The point is, I can get rid of him if you want."
"And by rid of him, I know you just mean to London, right?"
Pierce just rolled his eyes."Okay, if you say so."
Micah shook his head."You let him casually talk about murder, but I can't talk about hacking?"
I scrubbed a hand over my face."I swear to God, I need better friends.One of you, tell me something useful."
Micah hit a couple of keys and then used his laser pointer."Right there.That's the one we should dig into."
I glanced at the numbers, the deposits, and the receivables."What company is that?"
"AKC Consulting," said Micah."It's a small tech firm.From the amount of receivables in there, they're not doing enough business to be able to afford access to this kind of software.Not to mention, what are they going to use it for?They're a small house.As far as I can tell, they just pump out apps."
"Right, so what's their story?"
"Well, the issue is more like, who are they owned by?"
A prickle of alarm danced at the base of my spine."Fuck."
"That's precisely the right sentiment.Jacobson.Not the younger.The senior.The senior is a lawyer who executes a trust."
"Fuck.Let me guess, a trust that benefits Bronson Jacobson.What is his hard-on for this software?"
Pierce, still bouncing on two feet of his chair, shrugged."It could be about the girl."
"They know each other, but have they dated?"Micah asked.
Pierce shook his head."It didn't come up.I've got nothing on them.They've been in the same circles for a long time, but her movements indicate nothing about knowing him on a personal level."
"Okay, then.Unlikely his interest is about her.If it's not her, then it's fucking me."
