My father and Jessop are in the conference room by the time I arrive. My father looks at his wristwatch as a way to tell me I'm late.
"I'm sorry for my delay. I was on the phone with Derek Stiles from Killjoy Press."
I put my folder on the table, and take my time opening it to the correct page as I let the news settle in.
"Oh? What business could he possibly want with us?" Jessop said, falling right into it.
"No business. It's good to network with the competition, and he's been in the industry a long time. Besides, he likes playing squash, and I like playing squash."
My father looks at me and narrows his eyes. He knows I absolutely do not play squash, or any of the sports that people in our circles use to network and advance their business.
"Anyway, let's go through this. Jessop, you said you had a small amendment?"
"Oh yes, yes. Um, I revised the budget for cozy mysteries. The marketing team um...has put a good case forward um...for an increased budget based on the increase in market share they were able to obtain this year. They believe they can do more with a wider purse string," he says.
Jessop is clearly distracted by the news that I'm getting close to someone who holds a lot of information about him. I pay attention to his body language, and he's flustered enough that he's struggling to find numbers he should already have in front of him. In fact, I can see them from where I'm sitting across the table.
"Didn't that team run a lot of really costly promotions last year that didn't return any profit?" I ask.
Jessop looks at me and his face turns red.
I pretend to look at my phone and use the distraction to send my father a message.
Xander:Go with it and meet me in my office in five.
"Oh,look at that, I'm so sorry, but I have to run. I have another meeting that Mia wasn't able to change. Personal assistants, right?"
"Yes, yes, never do what they're told," Jessop mumbles. "I'll keep working on these numbers for you. You say you're interested in the cozy mystery ones in particular?"
"Yes, please, Jessop. And thank you so much for helping me understand this area during my transition."
I stand up, nod at my father, and leave. Five minutes later my father walks into my office.
"What was that all about, Alexander? You hate squash."
"Did you see how nervous he became when I mentioned Stiles?"
My father nodded.
"That's because Stiles has a lot of information about Jessop that he'd rather we didn't know about."
"What kind of information?"
"The kind of information that could get you kicked out of professional accreditation bodies."
"Alexander, you have to be absolutely certain if you're about to start throwing accusations. We could see ourselves with a lawsuit. Trust me, it's not what you'll want to prioritize in your first months as CEO."
"I agree, which is why I'm not interested in his past. The information I have relating to Stiles is only to color the whole picture." I open my folder and turn it over to my father.
"What am I looking at?"
"Remember the marketing promotions I mentioned earlier? Look at the company running them."
My father puts his reading glasses on and looks down at the information.
"The Midnight Reader Boost. I've never heard of them."
"Neither had I, which is why I looked it up. It's run by Jessop's wife. There's a clear conflict of interest, but when you look at the promotions run a few years back, even when you include inflation, they were cheaper and they yielded results."
