Adrien’s Adam’s apple shifts as he swallows.He waits until a jogger approaching passes, and says, “I need to shut it down.”
“Please don’t.”
The words may have come out too quickly, but if he pulls the plug, we lose the thread.From what we’ve seen, Eddie is a professional, and there won’t be any clues or trails to follow once we take the server room out.
We walk for about a block in silence.I steal sideways glances and almost always meet his gaze, but when he’s not watching me, I sense he’s deep in thought.
“If I let this continue, I could lose everything.”
I’m prepared for this.“If you don’t have answers, you’ll never regain the trust of your membership.There will always be questions.”
“You’ll stay on the project?”
My assumption had been I would continue, but as he asks the question, there’s a part of me that recognizes this is an ideal juncture to step back, to slip away, to move onto the next assignment, and to let the KOAN team follow this lead.
It would be easier to walk away.It always is.But I don’t move.
“To be clear, the only way I continue with your team is if you stay on the project.”
“Is that wise?”The question doesn’t come from a place of professionalism.No, it’s me being real with him, and possibly speaking my thoughts out loud.
“Wise or not, it’s the only way.Otherwise, I fire Eddie, clear the servers, and never look back.”
“If you do that, you’ll never know who else is working with him.”
“Oh, I’ll clean house.Entirely new staff.Send a notice to the membership that there’s been an issue.Alicia’s connected me with a private consultant to handle the hiring and vetting.”
“You’ve been busy.”
“I’ve been preparing.”
“This is bigger than you.We already know of one other client being blackmailed, and it’s not with information from your club.”
“These are the kind of projects you work on now?In the private sector?”
“Yes,” I answer.
“It’s important to you?”
“It’s worth pursuing.Look at what the senator’s being blackmailed with.Don’t you think that’s a lead worth following?Learning who out there thinks they can buy legislation?Possibly government contracts?”
He stops.I turn to face him.
“I’ll leave the servers,” he says.“Two conditions.”
“Name them.”
“You stay on the team.”His eyes hold mine, and there’s something raw in them—not manipulation, but genuine need.“And you have dinner with me.Tomorrow night.”
“That’s—”
“Non-negotiable.”He steps closer, voice dropping.“You asked me to keep the servers running.I’m asking you to have dinner with me.Fair trade.”
The wind lifts, scattering leaves like paper confetti.I should say no.Keep it professional.
“Deal.”
ChapterThirteen
