After a shot of the reporter, the camera panned back to Everett. “As for our future plans …”
“Oh hey, that’s him,” Chris said.
“My CFO, yes,” Simon said. “I mentioned him—”
“No, I recognize his voice.” Chris put down the scone and swallowed. “This is the man who hired me to kill you.”
Chapter 16
“Look at my boy.” Everett hung the framed cover ofTime’s Person of the Year—with a heavy-contrast photo of Simon on it—on the wall in Simon’s office, next to the excerpt fromForbes’s 30 Under 30from a year ago.
Simon felt himself blush. “You don’t have to boast like that.”
“I’m not boasting for myself. I’m boasting for you!” Everett spread his arms, pointed at him. “I’m proud of you. And since your dad can’t be here, I’ll be proud in his stead.”
Simon walked from his desk to the wall. Maybe he could allow himself a bit of pride. Although, as much as they were his achievements, they also belonged to the people who supported him along the way.
He clapped Everett on the shoulder. “Thanks. I’m glad to have you.”
Everett nodded, his smile turning serious. “I’ll always be here for you. You know that, right?”
***
Shanna was caught between two predators.
On one side of the table was Simon, staring at Chris with lowered eyebrows, as if he was about to jump for her neck. Chris, sitting on Shanna’s right, was pouting in her typical rebellious teenager manner, her chin lifted, daring Simon to prove her wrong.
“No,” Simon said firmly. “That’s Everett. He works for me.Withme! He’s been my friend since before Aries even existed. He helped me get it off the ground.” His mouth twitched in a smile of disbelief. “He’d never try to kill me.”
“I don’t know what else to tell you.” Chris folded her arms. “I recognize the voice, and that beard matches.”
Simon leaned over the table. “It’s impossible.”
“You mean, improbable.”
The chair screeched as Simon stood, his hands clutching the edge of the table.
“Hey, you two,” Shanna said in a shaky voice. “I understand this is shocking …”
“It can’t be,” Simon said. “You mistook his voice. You didn’t see him that well. You have …” He ran a hand through his hair. “You have no other proof.”
“I wouldn’t have had proof for any other candidate either,” Chris said.
“How were you to get in contact with him again, to get your reward?”
“I wasn’t. He set a meeting at the same place he first found me. I had until then to do the job.”
“And when was that?”
Chris bit her lip, looking at the ceiling. “Like, a couple of days ago, maybe? The time difference is really fucking up my calculations.”
“So by now, he knows you didn’t do it,” Shanna whispered, but she was completely overridden by Simon’s loud, “He gave youtwo whole weeks?”
“He clearly didn’t know how to do crime!” Chris fought back in an equally loud voice. “I didn’t either. When he asked how much time, I made up a number.”
Simon covered his face with his hands.
Chris grimaced. “I’m sorry it turned out to be him.”
