Allison dropped the paper on the desk. “There was that one tape of Hewitt with the boy. We didn’t get that.”
Christian shrugged. “All that proves is that Hewitt was a pervert. It doesn’t do anything to back up Harrison’s claim that Hewitt was the leader of some secret society that ‘influenced events around the world.’” He put his fingers up and made quotation signs.
“Is that what Harrison says in here?”
Christian nodded.
“You think he got Hewitt’s tape?”
“Probably, but I don’t think he’ll release it. Candidly, I don’t think anyone would care that much if he did. I’m sure U.S. Oil will come out with a statement sometime today explaining how Hewitt has stepped down. They’ll say all the right things. They’ll basically end their association with him somehow. They’ll claim he had a stroke or something and in a couple of weeks he’ll be a distant memory.”
“I guess you’re right,” Allison agreed. “What did you do with all the tapes we got off the island?”
“Burned them.”
“But you could have used them against Trenton Fleming. I mean, the SEC’s still going to come after—”
“It’s all taken care of, Ally,” Christian interrupted. “Fleming doesn’t know I burned them. Black Brothers agreed to pay all damages associated with the class action suit the CST investors have filed. And I gave Bob Galloway’s wife a nice check for her adoption agency.”
There was a knock on the door.
“Yes?” Christian called. Quentin appeared at the door and Christian motioned for him to come in and sit down beside Allison. “I was just bringing Ally up to speed on everything.” He’d talked to Quentin at length by phone an hour ago.
“You tell her about our great friend Nigel Faraday?” Quentin asked.
Christian shook his head slowly. “Nigel went back to London to one of the big buyout shops over there,” he explained.
Christian shook his head again. “It’s done,” he said quietly.
“Sorry about Jesse,” Quentin spoke up.
“Jeez,” Allison said loudly. “Guess I’m in the dark about everything. What happened with Jesse?”
Christian smiled sadly. “He’s going with someone else as his VP. Turns out Forte was the one pushing me, not Jesse.”
“I’m sorry. That’s too bad.”
Christian nodded slowly. “Yeah.” It was too bad. He’d wanted that—a lot. Almost as much for his dad as himself.
“I’ve got an idea,” Allison spoke up, her expression brightening. “Let’s all three go to Vegas.”
Christian laughed. “I’m one step ahead of you, Ally. The plane’s already waiting for us at LaGuardia. Sunday’s opening day for the Dice.” He glanced at Quentin. “First step on the road to the Super Bowl. We’re all going to watch from the box.”
“Awesome.”
As they headed for the door, Christian caught Allison by the wrist and pulled her toward him. “I’ll take you on one condition, Ms. Wallace,” he said, grinning.
“And what’s that, Mr. Gillette?”
“I’ll take you as long as you agree that whatever happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Okay?”
She gazed into his eyes for a few moments, then nodded. “Oh, yeah. I’m fine with that.”
STEPHEN FREY is a managing director at a private equity firm. He previously worked in mergers and acquisitions at JP Morgan and as a vice president of corporate finance at an international bank in Manhattan. Frey is the bestselling author of The Protégé, The Chairman, Shadow Account, Silent Partner, The Day Trader, Trust Fund, The Insider, The Legacy, The Inner Sanctum, The Vulture Fund, and The Takeover. He lives in Florida.
ALSO BY STEPHEN FREY
The Takeover
The Vulture Fund
The Inner Sanctum
The Legacy
The Insider
Trust Fund
The Day Trader
Silent Partner
Shadow Account
The Chairman
The Protégé
Copyright © 2006 by Stephen Frey
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Ballantine Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
BALLANTINE and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
eISBN-13: 978-0-345-49378-1
eISBN-10: 0-345-49378-8
www.ballantinebooks.com
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