novelAn Awkward Standoff
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Ryan's brow furrowed as he turned to Keeley."Why did you have to be the one to drive him home?"
She shrugged and swallowed her bite of cake before answering."No one else was going to do it."
"Why couldn't he?" he persisted, nodding toward Aiden.
"I was closer. We had just finished walking down the aisle when it happened."
Aaron was getting annoyed that this guy was interrogating her like a jealous boyfriend. They weren't dating. What right did he have to question her?
Valentina seemed to realize she had brought up a bad subject and hastily tried to change it."Wow, this cake is delicious!"
"I know, right? Probably the best cake I've ever tasted. I wanted some for my birthday but forgot because of finals, " Keeley lamented.
"There's always next year!" she said brightly, grateful that her friend was playing along.
There was still an awkward standoff between the men in the group. Aiden and Ryan were eying each other distrustfully and Aaron was trying very hard not to go into ice mode. He didn't want to cause any trouble at Cameron's wedding.
"Are you even going to be able to get it next year? Since you're planning on moving and all, " Ryan said.
It was as if the world stopped. Moving? Since when was she moving? Keeley never said anything about moving! How did this guy know about it when Aaron didn't?
She didn't notice that his world was falling apart and answered with a nonchalant shrug."If I end up in New Jersey I'll be even closer."
Valentina sighed dramatically."Ah, postgraduate problems. I might have to leave New York too depending on which hospitals are willing to accept me for their residency program."
They continued chatting idly but Aaron felt himself floating further and further away from everyone even though he was rooted to the spot. Keeley loved New York but in this life her career was the most important thing to her. If she left...he might never get to see her again.
But what could he do? Aaron didn't have any influence over universities in the city. He couldn't make them hire her. He could try to convince her to stay (not that it would be very effective) but it wouldn't be fair. She had already given up her dream once.
It wasn't like he could leave New York either. His revenge wasn't complete. He had to kick his father out of the company and find a way to bring the Knightons to their knees.
After that, he could find someone trustworthy to hand it off to if necessary but...would she even want him to follow her? Probably not. All he could do right now was try to work on improving their relationship. If they were friends, he could at least stay in contact with her.
He was able to breathe again. This wasn't the end of the world. Keeley wasn't even sure whether or not she would be moving yet. He still had time.
In the next six months Aaron had to get her to continue staying in his house so he could focus on developing a friendship again. It was all he could do.
===
With Cameron visiting Italy for his honeymoon, Aaron had to handle the next board meeting minus one chess piece. He barely managed to get the majority vote for his latest proposal. He needed more board members in his pocket.
Unfortunately, his father was dead set against appointing Bruce as the CFO. So that was one more person who would remain neutral and vote how he felt on an issue by issue basis. Carol, Emilio, and Alexander were similarly unpredictable.
What Aaron really needed was to acquire more shares so he could set up another dummy shareholder. Alistair would notice if he gave some of his current 20% away so that was out.
He might have to wait another eight months. Stock prices would be the highest they had been in twenty years then and he might be able to convince someone like Alexander, who had a lot, to sell some of them. Getting even 2% would be helpful.
After the meeting multiple people asked where Cameron was since he had never missed a meeting before. Aaron couldn't exactly explain that he knew he was on his honeymoon since he had been the best man—people would realize they had a close relationship.
It was actually pretty amazing how well he had kept his business relationships with both Cameron and Aiden a secret within the company. Everyone knew those two were buddy-buddy since they ate together every day in the cafeteria but they didn't connect them to Aaron.
Cameron seemed like any other member of the board since he hardly acknowledged Aaron in the meetings despite always voting with him. Aiden was a nobody down on the call floor.
They both visited his office frequently but it was so secluded that nobody ever saw them coming and going from it. It helped that Aiden had full access to the building's security footage and could alter things as needed so Alistair remained in the dark.
After the meeting he headed back to his office immediately. Something was bothering him. The Knightons had been too quiet lately.
Aiden had been monitoring both Brann's and Lacy's communications and couldn't find anything illegal. The only odd thing was that Lacy had made multiple calls back and forth to the same number. They never lasted more than a few minutes but they seemed suspicious somehow.
In today's world people typically preferred to text and Lacy was no exception. So why did she only call this number? Calls were more difficult to trace unless a device was installed in the phone.
Feeling unsettled, he messaged his resident hacker. 'Who is that number Lacy keeps calling registered to?'
His phone dinged instantly. 'Give me three minutes'
Aaron decided to check Facebook during that time. He wasn't friends with many people so his feed was mostly full of pictures from Cameron's honeymoon. They looked like they were having a blast exploring Rome.
One picture in particular caught his eye. Jennica was wearing a tank top and sunglasses and grinning for all she was worth while squishing her cheek against Cameron's.
If he remembered correctly, there was a picture almost exactly like that from his own honeymoon. Keeley was even wearing a similar outfit. The main difference was that Cameron had a relaxed smile on his face while Aaron had been less expressive.
He had been such an idiot. There was nothing wrong with showing emotions to the one you love. He wished he had realized it sooner. A lot of things might have turned out differently.
Aiden texted him back. 'The number belongs to somebody named Graydon Meyer'
'Get me everything you can on him right away'
'On it!'
Graydon Meyer. Why did that name ring a dim bell...
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