Conklin's Corruption

by Brooke Page

  “He’s not worth it,” Ray said smoothly.

  My eyes found Becca, and she looked horrified. Thank God the music was loud, and she most likely didn’t hear anything Chino just cockily admitted to doing.

  Chino took a few steps back, that damn smirk plastered to his face as he looked at me. He turned and showed concern towards Becca.

  “See what I mean, Becca,” Chino said as though he was a sympathetic father figure. “You call me, anytime.” Once he was done giving Becca his bullshit lines, he turned and winked at me, his thugs following behind him.

  Both Nathan and Ray grasped my shoulders, making it so I was unable to leap after him. I shrugged them off once Chino was out of sight then turned to Becca.

  “What the hell was he talking about?” my tone was harsh.

  Her eyes wouldn’t meet mine as she stared at the ground.

  Just as I thought I found peace, the rage was boiling inside of me again, laughing in my face for thinking I had any type of control over it. “Becca!” I said sharply, demanding her to answer me.

  Her eyes were still on the ground as I took another step to her.

  “Calm down,” Michael said firmly, sliding in front of his sister.

  My eyes grew big as I stared at him. “This doesn’t concern you,” I said in a low tone. Irritated that out of all the times Becca’s brother could pick to be the protector, he picks now, when I was the only one who could protect her. Whatever mind game Chino was playing, I needed to know about, for her own safety.

  Becca put a hand on Michael’s shoulder. “It’s okay, Michael. I think it’s time Tyler and I take a cab home.”

  Michael turned to Becca, looking for reassurance that everything would be okay. She gave him an assuring nod then reached for my hand. “Let’s go, Ty,” she said soothingly.

  I gulped, my eyes hitting the ground, feeling foolish for losing my head in front of everyone I wanted so badly to fit in with.

  Nathan patted my shoulder then nodded to Becca as we left.

  “I’m going to call a cab, unless you think we can walk home,” Becca said softly, making a circling motion on my palm with her thumb as we exited Enclave.

  Closing my eyes, I felt that familiar suffocating feeling in my chest. The one I had been fighting so badly to stop from creeping in and screwing up my life.

  “It’s about a fifteen minute walk,” I answered.

  Becca nodded and tugged on my hand. “Lead the way.”

  I let go of her hand and put them in my pockets as my mind reeled. Chino, Anderson, drugs, RJ, Papa… It was all such a head rush that I clearly didn’t have a grasp on at all.

  Becca crossed her arms and silently walked beside me, her heels clicking against the cement.

  “Tyler, can you slow down, please?” I turned back to see her feet shuffling to keep up with me. “These heels will be the death of me,” she laughed uncomfortably.

  I narrowed my eyes at her. She was trying to make small talk and dodge what happened in the club. I wouldn’t reprimand her until we were secluded in the condo, and I needed to not let those heels distract me from what I was so angry about. She caught on to my lack of small talk and didn’t say anything the rest of the walk.

  When we finally passed through the door frame of my condo, I turned on her, my arms firmly planted on my hips, eyes boring into her. She shriveled at my glare, but I didn’t care. I needed to know.

  “What is going on between you and Chino,” I said slowly, trying to reign in my anger.

  She tossed her heels to the side and walked into the living room, completely ignoring me.

  “Becca, I swear to GOD you better start talking,” I said, my voice rising.

  “Tyler, it’s nothing,” she sighed as she turned to face me. My scowl was in full force as I waited for her to continue. There was no way I was going to let her off the hook with this.

  “How am I supposed to keep you safe from the monster if you are making deals with him?” I asked, now inches from her face. “You can’t keep secrets from me, Becca.”

  Now her eyes narrowed as she crossed her arms, meeting my stare full on. My skin prickled while waiting for her to talk. Finally, beyond frustrated, I turned and groaned, throwing my phone onto the couch and kicking it angrily before I sat down, holding my head in my hands.

  “That’s what he was talking to me about,” she said loudly. “The fact that you have an awful temper and how he’s worried about me.”

  My head shot up from my hands. “You’re joking,” I said, now more mad than ever. I stood from the couch, pacing the length of the windows looking over the city. I stopped mid step, realizing what else Chino had told her. “He was the asshole who told you about my record, wasn’t he?” I growled in her direction. My mind started reliving the awful night I beat a dumbass college kid so badly that he had to eat through a straw.

  Her eyes found the floor again, arms still firmly grasping her chest. “Yes,” she said quietly, losing her strength. “He was telling me I could trust him and come to him if you ever… hurt me…”

  My breath caught in my throat, realizing how uncomfortable my unstable state was making Becca. Was she worried I would hurt her? I could never hurt her. But then that awful bitemark came to mind, the unknown bruises I most likely left on her hips from my uncontrollable hands. Anxiety in my chest squeezed my lungs, slowly suffocating me from my own mistakes. “Becca, I’d never,” I whispered, leaning back against the window with my hand to my chest. My other hand rubbed my face. How fucked up had I become?

  Her head cocked in understanding as she slowly walked towards me, her arms open to reach out and touch me. “I know, Ty.” Becca put a gentle hand over each of mine. “Don’t you see he’s trying to get a rise out of you. I think he’s trying to break us.”

  “Why would he care if we are together or not?” I asked, dumbfounded. “I don’t know what angle he’s coming from with you, Becca. I don’t know why he’s trying to involve you in this.”

  “He’s trying to get into your head Tyler, make you weak, so you give in to what he wants. Don’t let him win,” she pleaded. She grabbed my face with both hands now, causing me to drop my own hand. “Please don’t let this break us.”

  Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath. “I don’t know what else to do. Maybe I should just go through with the deal. Give him his partnership,” I conceded. “Maybe that would stop me from feeling like I’m going to have a heart attack every five minutes.”

  She shook her head rapidly. “No, that makes you no better than him. We’ll figure this out. Maybe… Anderson could help you and Nathan? Neither of you know where he’s hiding people in your company. Can’t you plead ignorance?”

  “I don’t think there’s an out for this, Becca. All I know is, if I sign that paperwork for him to become a partner, his drug scheme will take over our company. Everything I stand against would become a part of what I’ve helped to build.” I had never felt so defeated in my life, and that prick Chino was pinning me down by the balls.

  “Promise me something,” she said quickly.

  I nodded my head.

  “Promise you won’t ever sign those papers,” she begged.

  I swallowed hard. I just had my biggest moment of weakness ever when it came to the company. Hearing Becca’s voice make that plea helped me to snap out of joining the dark side.

  “I promise.”

  “We’ll get through this, Tyler,” she said soothingly again, her thumbs making those circles that helped temporarily calm every bone in my body.

  Chapter 17

  Becca

  My mind was preoccupied throughout the entire wedding shower. Sure, I smiled and nodded, said hello and thank you when it was appropriate, but I kept reliving last night. After I made Tyler promise me he wouldn’t give in to Chino’s outlandish demands, we made our way to the bedroom. I stripped off my clothing but was surprised when Tyler threw a t-shirt at me. Once I was dressed for bed, he scooped me in his arms and lay with me, clinging to me f
or dear life the entire night. My poor, handsome man. He was like a little boy, snuggling me as though I was a teddy bear. Throughout the night I could feel his pulse start to race, his heart pump faster. Whenever this would happen, I’d trace circles on his back and shoulders, kiss his forehead gently, trying to give him a sense of comfort. His breathing would typically go back to normal, but my heart slowly broke each time he had a minor panic attack.

  What astounded me the most was his demeanor in the morning, acting as though nothing had happened. He showered, got ready to go golfing, then hid in his office the rest of the weekend. He only came out for dinner Saturday night with the wedding party.

  It took all of me to stay strong when he said he was staying in Chicago for the majority of the next week when I thought he would be in Grand Rapids. He just gave me his same spiel, I need more time to get things in order from RJ’s death.

  Tyler was more messed up than I thought he was. He was like an egg that had been dropped too many times, cracking and barely holding itself together. I was scared he was going to shatter the next time he was dropped. I needed to figure out how to help him. I knew he didn’t want me involved, but the truth was I had resources, and I was sitting in the waiting room of one of them.

  “Miss Stine, Mr. Prince will see you now,” the receptionist said at the law firm Connor was working for.

  I stood and smoothed over my skirt, waiting for the receptionist to point me in the right direction. Connor beat her to it, giving me a great big bear hug. “It’s so nice to see you, Becs.”

  I gave him a big smile once he finally let go of me and lead the way to his office.

  “What brings you to my side of the tracks? Need a pre-nup?” He laughed. “I saw your engagement photos. They were nice.” His eyes were sparkling, but I could see a trace of hurt behind them.

  “No, we’ve already taken care of those things,” I said quietly while taking a seat in front of his desk. “I just had a few… hypothetical questions.”

  Connor cocked his head and leaned on his desk in front of me. “Okay… shoot.”

  I took a deep breath, wanting to make sure I said what I needed to say in the right way. I didn’t want to give away exactly what was happening and needed to be as vague as possible.

  “What happens if something bad is happening in a company you own, but it wasn’t your fault?”

  Connor raised a brow at me. “Well, it depends on the factors and the jury.”

  “So say someone was paid by another person outside of the company to do illegal things, who would be held responsible?”

  Connor’s features evened then a knowing look crossed his face. It wasn’t a happy one, but a sad expression. He knew Chino was trying to get at the Conklin business.

  “Becca, if there’s something going on, you need to get out, now,” he said firmly. “You can’t fall in this city or be associated with anyone who will bring down your reputation or your father’s.”

  He was talking about Tyler. He already knew. I was stupid for thinking I could beat around the bush with Connor. He was too smart and already had an inkling of what could possibly be going on in my future husband’s business.

  “But what if they were thrown in the middle of it,” I asked in horror. “What if they didn’t know it was happening?”

  Connor’s shoulders fell. “Becca, it all just depends on the case. If it’s what I’m thinking you’re talking about, the chances aren’t good.”

  A tear escaped my eye. “What if the person who doesn’t know were to go to officials and explain, maybe help catch what’s happening?”

  Connor’s jaw ticked as he thought. “It could either end good or very badly on their behalf.” He grabbed my hands and pulled me from my seat, looking at me intently. “Becca, if you’re scared…”

  I shook my head rapidly, pulling my hands from his grasp. “I’m not scared. I just know someone is hurting when they shouldn’t have to be.” I turned on my heel, shaking my head and wondering why I even bothered coming to Connor for advice.

  Connor raced past me and put his hand on his door so I couldn’t leave. “If Tyler is really worried, tell him to come to me. Everything will be confidential, and we can figure something out. I can’t guarantee him going to the authorities unless I know every single detail.”

  I nodded. “Thank you, Connor. But I’m not sure Tyler will be ready to take that step. I guess I blew my cover,” I softly laughed, dabbing under my eye with my finger.

  He leaned on his door and smiled. “You’ve always been easy to read, Becs.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I’m working on that.”

  Connor’s grin widened then he became serious again. “I mean it Becca. Don’t get wrapped up in this. I can help you only to a certain point.”

  “I know,” I said gratefully.

  “I’d still do anything for you, Becs. But I really don’t want to represent you in a criminal case,” he half smiled.

  I returned a similar smile, although both of us knew that could be true someday if things went according to Chino’s plan.

  ***

  After denying an invitation for lunch with Connor, I headed back to the Conklin building. There was no need for lunch with Connor. I had said what I needed to say and didn’t need to become any more involved with him on a personal level.

  I sat at my desk, staring at the finished prints for the Arena. They would be breaking ground on the remodel on Wednesday and would be finished by mid November. The Griffins would start playing in their new Arena by December. My father was impressed it would only take three months.

  Just as I was beginning a new project, a knock came to my door.

  “Hey Becca, do you have a minute?” I was stunned to see Detective Anderson in my office door frame. After witnessing the odd encounter at Enclave in Chicago this weekend, I had no idea what he could possibly want.

  “Yeah, sure,” I said quickly, standing from my chair, gesturing him to sit down as I closed my office door.

  “I wanted to apologize if I antagonized Tyler this weekend,” he said smoothly as he sat down. “I didn’t mean any harm.”

  I shook my head. “Don’t worry about it. He’s been easy to rile ever since RJ’s passing.”

  Anderson scratched his chin. “Yes. It was a shame. RJ was so young. Tyler made it sound like he didn’t think it was a suicide.”

  I blinked at him, feeling slightly hurt that Tyler had talked to the detective about RJ’s death and not me.

  “I wonder sometimes if it was foul play. To be honest, a lot of fingers point in Tyler’s direction, but his alibi is too clear. Surveillance cameras catch him entering the building after RJ’s time of death. I don’t think Tyler is capable of killing anyone anyway…” Anderson said, trailing his last sentence as he looked at me.

  “Of course not!” I gasped. “Tyler would never hurt anyone, especially his family.”

  Anderson raised an eyebrow at me.

  “Look, I know RJ and Tyler’s relationship seemed unconventional, but deep down they cared about each other. They just had a weird way of showing it.”

  Anderson nodded in agreement, and a huge sigh of relief escaped my mouth. No way would Tyler kill anyone, and the thought of Anderson pinning his father’s death on his son’s hands sent a shiver down my spine.

  Anderson leaned forward, his eyes intently looking at me from across my desk. “Becca, this is going to be off the record.”

  I gulped, unsure if I could trust him.

  “I know Robert Senior did dirty business and that RJ covered it up somehow. If Tyler is feeling pressure from anyone, he can come to me. Deals can be made.”

  We stared at each other for a moment then Anderson stood. “I should get back to the office. It was nice seeing you again.”

  “Same to you,” I said quietly, getting up from my seat to let him out.

  “I mean it Becca. This city isn’t what you’d think it’d be, and I’m willing to get help from anyone to make it a better place.”


  “Corruption seems to be taking over everywhere,” I agreed.

  The detective nodded then left.

  Slowly closing the door, I tried to recollect what he and Connor had said. There just might be an out for my Ty.

  Chapter 18

  Tyler

  My Chicago office was bigger than both my Grand Rapids and Cleveland offices combined. The space was too quiet, and the sounds of my keyboard reminded me how separated from people I had been the past few months.

  Glancing at the clock, it was almost 7:30 p.m.. Becca would be home from the gym, cooking dinner. She decided to start staying at the condo in Union Square instead of her parents’ or sister's. I didn’t blame her for wanting her own space. No one would be able to break into the top floor of Union Square, so I felt she would be safe without me there.

  My door slowly creaked open, and I was shocked with who passed through the door frame.

  “Why are you here, Tyler?” my mother’s voice rang through the stillness of my office.

  I scowled as I looked up from my computer screen. Since when did she come to my office? And why did my receptionist let her back without telling me?

  “I’m obviously working, mother.”

  She rolled her eyes and marched to the front of my desk. “Why aren’t you in Grand Rapids with Becca?” she asked harshly.

  I squinted at her. “Again, I’m working.”

  “You need to stop this, Tyler,” she said sternly.

  What was she talking about? “Stop what? Building this empire?”

  “Stop turning into RJ.”

  I stood from my seat, glaring at her. “I’m nothing like RJ,” I sputtered. Then that awful thought crossed my mind that maybe he wasn’t so bad after all.

  “You’re sure acting like it. Have you actually talked to Becca lately?” she accused, her hands firmly on her hips.

  “Of course I talk to her,” I snorted. “She’s my fiancé. I talk to her every day.” Maybe we weren’t as connected as we should be, but I was trying. So what if our main communications had been through texts… or text…