“Because if you don’t, we lose everything.”
“Dad,” I drop my voice, hoping that only he can hear me. “I don’t understand. What do you mean?”
“I fucked up, Darius. I’m sorry.”
His non-answers are making my blood boil. I set my sights on Floyd, hoping I’ll get a straight answer out of him.
“Why? Why is this so important?”
Floyd smiles, but it’s not warm like a smile should be, and it makes my stomach churn uncomfortably.
“How much do you know about your Uncle Robbie?” he asks, settling himself in my dad’s desk chair.
“Not much. I never met him; he died before I was born.”
Floyd picks up a ballpoint pen and flicks it between his fingers. “Well, Ididmeet him. Knew him pretty well, in fact.”
“What does he have to do with this?” I ask. My father drops his head and won’t look at me when I repeat the question directly to him.
It’s Floyd who answers again. “Your uncle was not a loyal man. He loved only three things – money, drugs and my mother – and it’s two of those things that bring us here today.” Floyd passes the pen from hand to hand, keeping his eyes on me as he speaks. “I don’t know how much your father’s told you about how he and your uncle built this company, but I’m going to guess that he left out the less savoury parts.”
My gaze shoots to my dad. “What is he talking about?” The older man simply shakes his head.
“Insider dealing, fraud, lies, lies, and more lies. You get the idea.”
The churning in my stomach has increased, and I feel physically ill. “Is this true? Tell me it isn’t, and he’s lying!” I demand, my voice rising with a mix of fear and frustration.
All my father says is, “I’m sorry.”
“Fucking hell, Dad.” Disappointment laces my words. “How could you?” When he doesn’t reply, I turn my attention back to Floyd. “What has this got to do with you?”
“So much, sweet boy.”
“Don’t call me that,” I snap.
Floyd smiles again and I want to turn and run and leave whateverthisis in the dust, but I also need to know the rest of it.
“So what, you’re blackmailing him or something?”
“I guess you could say that. I like to think of it as a mutually beneficial arrangement.”
“I doubt that. How do you even know about all of this? If what you’re saying is true, it happened years ago.”
“It may have started years ago, but I’m fairly confident your father is still doing things he shouldn’t. I don’t have proof of anything that came after what’s in the file, but I’d bet a chunk of my fortune on it. As for how I know as much as I do, your uncle kept highly detailed records on what he and your father had done. I guess he thought he might need it one day. Collateral maybe. If it was me, I would have destroyed the evidence, but your uncle didn’t. Like I said before, he loved money, but he also loved my mother, and for whatever reason, he gave her the file for safekeeping. Being the absolute dear she is, she never looked at it, just put it away in the loft.”
Floyd adjusts himself on the seat, pointing to the empty one in front of the desk. I sit, keeping my back straight and my arms folded across my chest.
“After your uncle died, my mother, she never quite got over him, so she kept everything of his, including that file. Imagine my surprise when I was packing up her things to help her move, before Christmas, only to find a whole load of paperwork that could sink this very successful company?”
My heart races and I take a deep breath to try and bat away the panic rising in my chest. I’ve never had a panic attack, but it sure feels like I’m on the edge of one now.
“I still don’t get why you want to marry me? How do I fit into this?”
Floyd taps the desk, and I flinch at the sudden anger clouding his hard features.
“Because my grandfather fucked me over when he died. The bastard left me asignificantamount of his wealth with one clear caveat. By the time I’d found the folder your uncle put together, I’d had the will looked over by my lawyers, only to find it was airtight. At first, when I worked through all the documentsI’d found tucked away in my mother’s house, it all seemed inconsequential until it hit me what I was looking at.”
“You were going to blackmail my father for money.”
