The talk with Rick helped relieve a little tension. We’ve always been one another’s sounding boards when we needed to run through an issue. Dad had made me question whether I had full control over the situation, but my brother reaffirmed it, “I would’ve done the same things if placed in your shoes, and I’m sure if dad ran the investigation himself, he wouldn’t have altered anything either. Trust your gut and your instincts, bro. What are they telling you?”
I hung up with my brother and thought about his last question. The only thing was, my gut was telling me we’d only touched the tip of the iceberg, where you only saw a small portion of what’s on top while a whole shitstorm’s brewing underneath the surface, capable of bringing down an entire ship, or in our case an entire company and family.
I’d had to dive into the water with Tennison to get a better view of one angle, and now I had an idea of where I needed to go next to start filling in the missing areas. I just hoped— prayed—I could fill in all the pieces to this clusterfuck of a puzzle before any other lives were at risk. If someone was after the item I believed they were, they’d stop at nothing and go through anyone in their path to obtain it. I wouldn’t let anyone know I was privy to what existed or where it was, but I’d be willing to bet a small fortune that our tiny piece of serenity was about to come crashing down and fast. My team needed to be prepared, and I needed to have all angles covered, starting with the people who’d been closest to Tennison, including his unknown extended family.
The first week after Tennison’s will had been read, Voleur hit up every judge in the Central Florida area, from Tampa to Orlando, trying to overthrow the will and reinstate the old one. No one would touch it, just as Mr. Peabody had predicted. Eventually, Voleur came back, not apologizing for his outburst or salacious retorts, but stating, “Tennison would want me to keep an eye on you to make sure you both don’t fuck up the company. Besides, there’s not much out there for a man my age almost reaching retirement. I might as well use this company for all I can before I’m out of here.”
The words wouldn’t have bothered me normally, but the manner in which they were delivered almost sounded like a double entendre. What was with that man? To my surprise, his behavior seemed to calm during his absence. I don’t know what changed while he was gone, but he seemed to be almost pleasant and happy to be back; he’d even offered to join some of the employees at the bar down the street to honor the memory of Mr. Tennison.
Voleur sure could hold his liquor, drinking most of our crew under the table. We all thought it rather funny when he referred to the bathroom as the “loo”. It sparked a conversation of, “How many names can we come up with for the bathroom before he gets back?” To my surprise, there were quite a few. Was this his attempt at humor, or did I detect a slight hint of an English accent?
Jesse and several of the women engineers joined us at the bar, offering up their own memories of Tennison. Cassidy was the most tearful, breaking down crying every time her stepfather was mentioned. Even Blaine had come and was a bit more sullen than usual. They kept to themselves, but I did overhear:
“You don’t think…” Cassidy asked Blaine.
Her brother shook his head, “No, he couldn’t have.”
“Are you sure?” Her face looked a bit doubtful.
“I think so. He’d never risk…” Blaine didn’t continue, only raising his hand and waving it in the air to dismiss her notion.
I really couldn’t make heads or tails of what they were saying or who the hell they were talking about, but my intuition was telling me they were parts of the puzzle.
I began questioning Jasper’s loyalty to Titan. He hadn’t shown up at work in Orlando for his newest assignment. No one had heard from him. Having just lost his father to cancer, I knew Jasper had a family to take care of, with trying to help his mother cope with the loss, and his sister requiring round-the-clock care because of a horse riding accident years earlier. Did we have a double agent on our hands? I was worried. We needed to track down Jasper’s location, check on his family, and make sure we didn’t have an agent going rogue.
Some of the latest information Jonas had given us was completely opposite of what Jasper had provided. He’d been assigned to keep an eye on Cassidy and Blaine when the mystery man made his appearance, who we now know was Calleum Price, their father. Had things changed that drastically as of late?
Jonas was now tasked with reviewing every detail of this case from the data we’d collected, call records, time tables, surveillance we’d collected, along with the tapes provided by the Swiss banks—everything. My dad would’ve considered it a waste of time, but something told me that wouldn’t be the case. I knew Jasper had cleared all our background checks, but no one was above taking a bribe, especially if there was an urgent need for money or a personal threat against one’s family. Those were always great influencing factors, and, to no one’s surprise, Jasper had received some monetary payments to a recently opened bank account in the Tampa area. There was definitely someone pulling his strings. Who, remained to be seen. I only hoped the web of deceit would be spun so tightly by the spider pulling all the strings, that we’d catch the culprit at their own game, maybe snagging a couple of their extra players in the process.
Jonas had been a leader with his special ops team, a sniper, so he’d been trained to see things others might miss. Twenty-four hours was all it took to realize we’d been duped. The wealth of information he provided was unbelievable. There’d been a partial print on the safety deposit box at one of the banks in Switzerland, and the video tape from one of the banks had been fuzzy, but he noticed a small mark on the inside of the man’s wrist when he extended his arm out in front of himself. We didn’t have a good angle of the man’s face, but Jonas was having one of our team try to clean up the tape to see if we could get a better look at the man’s wrist.
The bank issues were only a small part of the items Jasper either didn’t work on or had hidden deep within the piles of data. We’d known that Amy had been seen with Calleum on numerous occasions, while Blaine had only been around him a couple times…or so we thought. The interactions between Amy, her kids, and Calleum were quite frequent. We also hadn’t known about the gifts Calleum seemed to be passing through his kids to give to Tennison: bottles of scotch, new guns, pre-paid car detailing, and the list went on and on.
I knew we couldn’t go on the offensive and corner Calleum, accusing him of being the one behind the attempts on Tennison’s life. At this point we only had circumstantial evidence, nothing concrete enough to cause a grand jury to indict. We needed more details, which would take up more of my time—time I wanted to spend with Jesse.
Tennison had left his club, Rapture, in the hands of his manager, while I was to continue to provide extra backup when needed and to check in from time to time. For now, however, the club would have to wait, and the Master would have to use the excuse of being called out of town on business. I knew Jesse wouldn’t be too upset with the note I’d sent as Master. She’d be too busy to anyway; I made sure our department was slightly understaffed, granting vacation time to one of our employees, forcing us to handle more of the workload.
Jesse would hate me for all the work I’d piled on her, but she’d thank me later. At least with her at the office and us sharing space, I could keep an eye on her while she worked. She didn’t need to know we’d found a couple different guys following her.
We’d discovered that someone matching Jasper’s description had purchased the electronic equipment with a large amount of cash. He’d been the one identified as being in her apartment, which means he’d known about some of the equipment I’d placed in her unit, so why didn’t he attempt to disable things so he could go undetected? Did he want us to see him?
The possessive Master side of me wanted to use some of the computer wires at work to tie Jesse up and cart her home to my apartment where I could keep a permanent eye on her. I was inching closer to telling her who I was, but I needed to hold out just a bit longer.
Everything about my life had been turned upside down from the moment I’d heard of Mr. Tennison’s death. I’d gone home not too long ago to talk with my parents. I wasn’t sure how I felt about being given such responsibility at work. Granted, I’d wanted to move up the ladder to a management position—and busted my ass to do it—but never in my wildest imagination had I ever considered leading a company.
I could see why Tennison hadn’t left either Derrick or me solely in charge. He’d only been with the company a short period of time, but he brought forth knowledge and expertise that I didn’t possess, along with the ability to talk with other former military personnel. However, he lacked the inner workings within the interior of the facility. I guess that’s where I came in. Mr. Tennison taught me that successful leaders always take the time to get to know the people they work with. Based on the quirks I’d learned about each individual, I could tell Derrick what motivated some of the employees to move faster, design better, and how to boost morale.
My parents were happy for my promotion, though hated the manner in which I got it. They asked about my mental state and how I was adjusting, knowing how I’d looked up to my former CEO as a mentor. You’d think by now I’d be used to my parents asking so many questions, given they’re both psychiatrists, but it still unnerved me at times. I always felt like I was under the microscope, being analyzed for whatever behavior I was presenting. This is why I never bothered to play in their BDSM club, wanting to go elsewhere to learn who I was without them. I didn’t need to be analyzed every five seconds.
We’d discussed work, what my goals were at the present, and where I saw myself in a few years. They were happy with the steps I’d put into place to achieve everything in business. Their only concern was my lack of desire to establish personal goals including dating, finding the right man, and the-whole-nine-yards bullshit most parents wanted for their kids. I guess seeing most of their friends’ children married now, with kids of their own, put the need to be a grandparent a little higher on the list.
Was I interested in meeting someone? Sure, when the time was right. Did I feel anything towards anyone I’d encountered yet? There was definitely a pull existing between the Master and myself. I felt similarly with Derrick, but he always kept a certain distance between us, avoiding me when possible, so I couldn’t really examine my feelings toward him.
Mom had picked up on my hesitance to discuss my personal life. There was no way in hell I was going to let her know about playing with the Master of My Dreams or how I’d been daydreaming of Derrick, imagining him leaning over me while I was at the computer, pressing his chest against my back. Hell. No. I’m not going there. It just won’t happen.
I didn’t even want to try and guess what they would say if they knew I lusted after two men with similar builds but somewhat opposing personalities. Although, as of late, Derrick seemed to be growing a bit stronger with his demands at work, but it could just be the new job position that had been thrust on both of us. We were doing double duty within our department and as CEO’s of the company. Great, there went my mind again, off on another tangent about Derrick while wishing I was in the hands of Master, pushing me toward the edge as he lit the fire inside and stoked the flames of my desires. Girl, you need to get control of yourself. You need to get back to Tampa to let the Master know you need his guidance.
I could sense mom knew I wasn’t fully telling the truth when I’d explained that my current workload didn’t allow for much outside of work, at least not until we had a handle on everything. Life had been crazy as of late—that’s why I was there: to get time away from work, from Master, and to try and figure out why I found my dreams of he and Derrick merging into one lately. Until I could make heads or tails of my thoughts and feelings, I wouldn’t be bringing them up to my parents. I needed to sort through it myself. Besides, they already had enough to deal with—arguing with my sister and all.
Dad had found out Makenna had accepted a job with Titan. I don’t think he ever got over losing his brother, so anytime my sister mentioned wanting to follow in his footsteps, Dad became highly anxious. Mom hadn’t been pleased by it, but wanted Makenna to follow the dreams and goals she’d laid out for herself.
When I’d returned back to Tampa, I’d sent Master a text, per his request, to let him know I was safely home and to see if he wanted to meet me. I knew I couldn’t come right out and ask him for relief. I’d tried that a couple of times and couldn’t sit that well for a few days afterwards, thanks to “topping from the bottom.” I was definitely growing as a submissive and learning I truly did belong in the hands of a dominant. I liked being able to turn off my mind and let someone else take control every once in a while. The idea of taking charge in the bedroom, even for just a moment, scared the crap out of me. I don’t know how my sister could float from one extreme to the other, but she’d explained it was dependent upon her mood at the time.
I’d been disappointed to learn that Master would be going out of town briefly, but he insisted I continue to play with the toy he’d sent me, building myself up, but not allowing myself to come until he returned. I’d asked, “Why?” He explained how he wanted me so worked up and ready for him that I’d explode like a supernova, emanating radiance, and needing more of him to find total fulfillment.
Was I disappointed? Sure, who wouldn’t be, but we’d discussed the need to kick things up a notch and try coming together as one. Everything he’d done so far had offered me amazing pleasure, taking me to heights I never even dreamed possible. Was I scared of actually doing the deed? Petrified would be the word, but I trusted him to take care of me. Somehow I knew he’d stop if it were too much. He’d already stopped a couple times when I’d panicked, yelling out “Yellow” in our play. It was more my mind playing tricks on me than anything.
It turned out I didn’t have much time to miss the Master; I was called in to work over the weekends. One of our team members had been given vacation time prior to Tennison’s death, so we were short-handed. Between the CEO duties and trying to maintain our department, Derrick and I spent every available waking hour working. To top things off, my car had recently begun sounding funny; I’d need to find time to get it looked at.
Anyway, I have to laugh just thinking about Voleur. He was pissed about getting bypassed for CEO and even more so when Derrick and I rearranged the office. Tennison had it sparsely furnished with a small desk just big enough to hold a phone and a computer. He did most of his hands-on work at a drafting table. Well, Derrick and I were able to move a matching desk in to allow us each a place to sit and work comfortably.
For someone who didn’t like the changes we made to the office, Voleur sure did hang around quite a bit. He seemed to grow frustrated the more we worked and got accomplished. I don’t know if he was ticked because Derrick and I hadn’t failed or what. I was just happy that Derrick’s desk faced the open doorway where he could be the one to scowl at Voleur any time he tried approaching us. That scowl…since when did Derrick have such a firm jaw line and tight lips? It almost seems…nah. I’m either overworked or really missing the Master.
Everything at work seemed to be running smoothly for the first time in weeks. Derrick and I established a rhythm of who handled what and were seeing results in every department across the board, which, again, seemed to royally irk Mr. Voleur. I didn’t care, however, since nothing could put me in a bad mood today. Derrick and I had caught up on our workload and were going to have the first weekend off in the past two weeks. Plus, Master had texted he was back in town and wanted to see me tonight, giving me specific instructions on how to dress and what time to meet him in the club. Hopefully my car is ready so I can meet him.
The workday was almost at a close when Derrick received a call on a phone I didn’t recognize. Since when does he carry two cell phones and why? He seemed a bit panicked, exiting the office and walking down to the conference room where he could talk out of earshot. I hated being a busybody, but wondered what the heck was up, needing to know
if it related to the company.
“Do your best to follow him. See if you can get him cornered so we can finally have a much-needed talk and, hopefully, get some answers to our questions. I’m on my way right now. I should only be five, maybe ten minutes. I just need to leave Jesse in good hands.” What the hell was he talking about, leave me in good hands? And why all this secrecy?
I rushed back to our office and busied myself with a design template, making last-minute changes in the M-9I project before we submitted it to the General we were working with at the Pentagon. For some reason the main contact that had been in talks with Voleur and Tennison was either released from his position or MIA, no one really knew, and we were talking with a new contact that wanted to add a few provisions to the final design. Hopefully, this would be the last time I had to look at this setup. I was so ready to start something new.
When Derrick returned, he made an excuse for his need to leave and said he’d see me on Monday and to enjoy my weekend. I noticed he hung around long enough to send a text and receive a response before leaving, though. What that was about I didn’t know. I was still trying to figure out whose hands I was supposed to be left in and why. Did he not trust me here in the office by myself? He was in a hurry, so I didn’t want to get him more agitated than he already was. I’d just address it the next time I saw him.
I’d been lost in thoughts between the design and Derrick’s overheard conversation, when I heard Cassidy’s voice. “Are you ready to go, Jesse? I kind of need to get going. I’m hoping to have dinner with an old friend tonight.”
I saved my work and closed my laptop before unhooking it from my workstation and depositing it in my bag. “Sure thing, let’s get out of here and start our weekend.” I looked around the office to make sure I wasn’t missing anything. “I’ve seen enough of this place to last me a while. I’m going to live this weekend to the fullest.”
Derrick's Choice (Titan Security Book 1) Page 16