Ruthless Heir (Ruthless Billionaires #5)

Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Asher

“Benjamin Deffort is a fucking fraud broker and a con man,” I say to Hunter with a triumphant smile on my face.

We’re in my office. I arrived at the office early just so we could talk.

I point to the listing Harper showed me on Nolan’s report and hold up a file I got from Jericho last night after I asked him to check things out.

“No fucking way.” Hunter leans forward with his mouth open in shock as he scans the document. “Looks like this guy has worked with Nigel and Nolan for over a decade.”

“Twenty years,” I clarify. “More importantly, I now have the shit to take that motherfucker down. Jericho confirmed the checks we got from Benjamin Deffort are for another company. He has an elaborate system set up that he accesses when he needs to be verified. That’s why our systems and analysts didn’t pick up anything untoward. Jericho was able to bypass all that.”

“I don’t believe this.” Hunter frowns.

“I do, and there’s more. Jericho found Benjamin Deffort’s name linked to all sorts of cartel and mafia shit. He seems to be their go-to guy when they need to cover up their shady deals.”

“How in the hell did Harper recognize this guy’s name?”

“Nick.” I was as shocked as Hunter when Harper told me, but the instant she mentioned Nick’s name I understood.

“Jesus.”

This intel feels like another miracle that’s fallen right into my lap.

We haven’t been able to find anything out since Hunter suggested the possibility of Nolan running a scam. This fits right into the theory and adds a solid layer of proof.

“We have to show Father this.” Hunter’s brows furrow.

“Yes. I’m just waiting for one more thing from Jericho. With this new discovery he’s certain he can show Nolan’s involvement in a scam. Once I have that, I can show Father that Nolan was trying to use us.” I want extra hardcore evidence when we take this to Father. That way he won’t be able to find some excuse to absolve Nigel and Nolan. “We should have that info by tonight.”

“Alright, I’ll organize an emergency meeting tomorrow morning. We can all meet with Nigel and Nolan and lay the cards on the table.”

Finally, things are going the way I want. “Thanks, bro.”

“No. Thank you. Your instincts were right.”

“They’ve never failed me.”

“That’s why I never doubted you. Looks like you’re the new Wall Street Shark.” He smirks.

I laugh, feeling lighter for the first time in months. “I learned from the best.”

Hunter shakes his head. “No, you did this on your own this time, Asher. And it was a close call.”

“You can say that again. Father has no choice but to listen now.”

“He doesn’t. I’m glad we could wrap this up before I went on paternity leave. It makes me feel better.”

He’s taking six weeks off to be with Luna and the baby.

I would have sworn that the baby would have been here already but Luna is now overdue. She’s going to the hospital next week to be induced.

“Don’t worry, now I can truly hold the fort.”

“I’m just glad this shit is over.”

“Me too.”

“I guess you have room to think of other things now. Like Harper.”

“Yes, like Harper.” She was already living in my mind, but now I can truly focus on her.

“You two look happy together.”

“We are very happy.” I smile, thinking about the last few weeks. It’s great to know that you made the right decision when you take a risky leap of faith.

“I guess Alexis is out of the picture then.” Hunter already knows the answer to that.

“Yes.” Because she’s Layla’s friend and a nice person I called her and let her down gently.

“Happiness is all I want for you, little brother. You and Harper. You’ll be surprised to find that when you’re happy together nothing else matters.”

He’s right. I just have to get past my issues with Josh. I ended up writing that email after days of careful planning on what to say. In my response I made sure I touched on everything he spoke about in his email. Especially the stuff he said about the press and me and Harper.

I never confirmed nor denied it. I just said the press will be the press. That left it open for me. Josh doesn’t know me the way I know him.

He doesn’t know the side of me that can easily manipulate words or a situation to work in my favor. That’s the artful part of me that landed me my spot on the billionaire list before the age of twenty-five. That had nothing to do with my family name.

“I’m going to tell Josh in a few weeks,” I say with conviction in my tone. “A month, tops. That should give Harper and I enough time. I know I also need to start thinking about the endgame.”

Hunter smiles wider on hearing that. “Yes, you do. The clock is still ticking. Portia will be out of the picture once this scandal hits about her father and brother.”

“I know. But Father will still try to find someone for me if things don’t work out with Harper.”

“How do you feel about that?” Hunter’s brows furrow.

“I won’t do it.”

He sits straighter, realizing what I’m saying. “But that means…”

“Yeah. I know. I don’t get my legacy. So here’s hoping things work out between Harper and me.”

“Why wouldn’t they work, Asher? She adores you.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about. If shit hits the fan with Josh she won’t go against him. He’s her brother. She won’t do anything that will ruin her relationship with him.”

Hunter bites the inside of his lip as understanding forms in his eyes. “I see. Asher, we fought for our legacy.”

“We did but I know if you had to make a choice between getting the company and being with Luna, you would choose her a million times over. And you wouldn’t want to marry anyone else.”

He nods and I see the extent of his love for his wife gleaming in his eyes. It’s all over him. I sense it inside and outside of him.

“I hope you don’t have to make that choice. This company was for us. You and me.”

“I agree.”

He stands. “I’ve got to get to my meeting. Let’s do lunch later.”

“Sure thing.”

“Well done again. Can’t wait for tomorrow.”

I give him a proud smile before he leaves.

I stare at the blank gray wall and think about how the tides have shifted in my favor.

Harper.

Good things started happening to me the moment she came back into my life.

While we were in St. Barts all I could think of was what life would be like if she were truly mine.

My wife .

I never thought about having an actual marriage until her.

People say you shouldn’t find pleasure in other’s misfortune.

I’m fairly certain those sorts of sayings and rules of society never applied to the Fairchilds.

I walk into Le Blanche Global the next morning a happy man with all the aces I’ll ever need up my sleeves.

The meeting starts in five minutes. Everyone should be there by now. I decided to arrive right on the mark for effect.

For today’s meeting we also invited Luc because we’re supposed to involve him in emergencies like these.

With the exception of Hunter and Luc, everyone there will be wondering what this meeting is about.

Father called last night to probe me for answers. It was difficult keeping what I know from him but I hadn’t heard from Jericho at that time.

I’m glad I waited because Jericho was able to find so much more than I was expecting from him.

It fascinates me how one little name can put all the pieces of a puzzle together and enable you to unveil the clear picture of lies and deceit.

I will enjoy being the Grim Reaper today.

I reach the meeting room. Everyone is there just like I imagined and even Layla is on time, ready to take her minutes.

She’ll get a real kick out of today’s meeting.

I glance at Father talking it up with Nigel in his usual joyous way and I almost feel bad for what I’m about to do. Nigel has been like a brother to my father.

When Luc’s father died Father was devastated—he still is. I think he turned to Nigel more to have someone to lean on.

“Oh good, you’re here, son,” Father says with a dip of his head to acknowledge me. “Are we okay to make a start? As you know, I’ll be flying back to Hong Kong later. I have a million things to do before I head out.”

“Don’t worry, this meeting won’t take long, and we’re good to go.” I smile back at him then glance at Hunter.

I avoid looking Nolan and Nigel in the eye. I may be happy I got them where I want them and they have no idea but I’m enraged by what I’ve found.

I stand next to Hunter and Luc but don’t sit.

I set the envelope I’m carrying on the empty space on the table before me and give Hunter a nod. As CEO he is actually going to open the floor.

He clears his throat in his habitual manner and sits forward, resting his elbows on the table. “I’ve called this meeting because there are some extremely important matters that have been brought to my attention. These are matters that will jeopardize the company and our good name if left unattended.”

“What sort of matters?” Father asks, his brows knitting.

“Matters to do with Nigel and Nolan Fairchild.”

Both father and son look at each other.

“I can assure you nothing of the sort exists,” Nigel scoffs with that stupid fake innocence on his stupid face.

“That’s where I beg to differ.” I imbue my voice with power and resilience.

“What do you mean?”

“I have evidence that you and Nolan have not only been embezzling money from us for months to fund your pump and dump scheme, but you’re also on the verge of bankruptcy.”

His face drains of all the blood and his eyes widen.

“There must be some mistake,” Nolan cuts in, his skin as pale as his father’s.

“Oh no, Nolan. There’s no mistake. But don’t take my word for it. Why don’t you all look at the evidence for yourself.” I pull the copies of the documents from my envelope and hand them one each.

I give Father the last copy. As he accepts it he looks at me with a hardness in his eyes I’ve never seen before. I know it’s not directed at me, though.

He takes the paperwork and reads through.

“May I draw your attention to the name Benjamin Deffort. You may want to check the full listing of his criminal activities in the back,” I add.

I glance at Layla, who is loving this display of mine just as much as I thought she would.

Father’s face is red with the fire of rage when he looks up from the document. I’m sure that’s from the part where he saw his best friend stole fifty million dollars from one of our smaller subsidiary companies.

Jericho checked out why we didn’t notice the money was missing and found that Nigel had hired someone on the inside to mess with the audit. The police picked up that guy from his desk an hour ago and took him into custody.

We wouldn’t have known anything until we did a manual audit, and we only do those at the end of the year.

“Nigel, tell me this isn’t true.” Father’s voice quivers as he stares at his lifelong friend.

“I can explain.” The moment Nigel says that I know I’ve snared him and Nolan. Those three words— I can explain —are as good as a confession.

“What is there to explain? You and your son stole from me, then you both wanted to be on the board and worse, you wanted your daughter to marry into my family. For money.”

“Preston, I was in trouble with some dangerous people. You wouldn’t have helped me with so much money.”

“So you decided to steal it from me.”

“You’re loving this, aren’t you?” Nolan snaps at me as if I’m the one who did something wrong. “You’ve hated us from day one.”

“Yes, I have,” I reply, cold and callous. “I never trusted you. I may not have had evidence until now but I’ve always known that you were all up to no good.”

Jericho found more evidence of them doing shit like this before, to other associates and destroying their companies. So this isn’t a recent thing or some act of desperation.

“You didn’t just come up with this. It was your little bitch girlfriend, wasn’t it?”

I ball my hand into a fist. “Say that again.”

“You heard me.” He stands and makes his way over to me. Big mistake . “I saw the way she looked when she was checking my files. Then she acted suspicious when I spoke to her. She spotted something and alerted you. Didn’t she? That bitch?—”

Mistake number two—calling Harper a bitch twice to my face.

I land a fist smack in the middle of his face, hitting him so hard he drops backwards to the ground.

I’ve always wanted to do that.

He gets up, snarling like a feral beast, ready to fight me but Hunter and Luc step in, body checking him into the wall.

They hold him down. There’s no way he’s going to escape them.

“Layla, please escort the cops in. They’re next door,” I say.

“Certainly.” Layla gets up and rushes away to get the three police officers who arrived earlier and spoke to Hunter.

They enter and relieve Hunter and Luc of Nolan. Nigel doesn’t even put up a fight. He goes with them willingly when they read him his rights.

“I’m sorry, Preston,” he says to Father as he’s ushered away.

I’m glad Father doesn’t answer. Finally he can see Nigel for who he is.

Father turns to face me with a lost look in his eyes. His lips part to speak but no words come out. We all stare at him, seeing he’s hurt and disappointed.

“Father, are you okay?” I ask even though the question feels foolish and the answer is obvious.

“No.”

“I’m sorry. I never wanted to be right but I exposed them because it was the right thing to do.”

He walks over to me and rests a hand on my shoulder. “You wouldn’t be my son if you didn’t know when to do the right thing. I’m sorry I doubted you. I should have known better but I didn’t want to believe it.”

“It’s okay.”

“It’s not. My stubbornness could have destroyed everything we worked so hard to build. That will not happen again. I will never doubt you again.”

He gives me a quick hug and I look at Hunter and Luc watching us.

It’s over now. This battle of my life.

I don’t have to worry about the Fairchilds anymore.

Now to the next part of my agenda.

Harper.

The moment I step into the house, the sound of violin music wraps around me like a welcoming blanket.

As the harmonious sound captures my mind I can’t help but stop by the door and close my eyes, allowing the melody to wash over me.

I recognize it as one of Franz Schubert’s compositions, one of her favorite composers.

Each note is like a whisper filled with emotion vibrating through the air.

This always happens to me when I listen to Harper play. She soothes the inner turmoil in me with her music and her enchanting power.

I stay there for a moment and allow the angst of the day to drain from me before I open my eyes and continue down the hallway, deciding to follow the sound.

I’m home early. After this morning’s victory I decided I’d earned a half day.

I left after lunch, knowing Harper would be at home practicing. She spends Fridays working on her project—which is what she’s doing now.

I follow the sound of her music to the back hall. There I find her playing her heart out and the walls alive with every note.

I don’t interrupt her. I never do. I always hang back and listen.

I like watching her in her element, where she seems to be her strongest. As if she’s stepped into another world. One she owns, where everything, including me, is under her control, her spell.

She’s facing the glass wall, staring at the woods with intent as she plays. I wonder if she gets inspiration from looking at the scenery. Some people do. I’ve never been like that.

My mind has always worked in a mathematical way with equations, probabilities and possibilities. I don’t know what it’s like to be touched by creativity and have the ability to create art. The kind of art that reaches past the mind and speaks to the soul.

I want this always.

When I look at Harper I see more than just right now. I see forever. It’s the only thing that’s ever scared me because I have no control over what happens to us. This has to work both ways. For her and for me.

Harper finishes playing and pauses for a moment to gaze outside, then she turns slowly to face me.

A smile spreads across her face and she sets her violin down on the table then rushes toward me, practically skipping into my waiting arms.

“You’re home early,” she says through a soft kiss she plants on my lips. “Please tell me nothing bad happened.” She pulls out of the kiss, looking worried.

“No. Nothing bad happened. Thanks to you, I no longer have to worry about Nolan and his father.”

She smiles brighter. “I’m so happy to hear that.”

She has no idea how happy she’s made me. “No more talking, especially about them. I need you now, Harper St. John.”

“Then take me, Asher Le Blanche.” She giggles.

I return to her lips for a needy kiss, desperate and hungry for her. The world fades away into insignificance and I’m sucked into her potent passion.

Fuck, listen to me. But it hasn’t just been today that I’ve been thinking like this.

My world changed several weeks ago on the night of fake kisses that shouldn’t have felt real.

I pick her up and carry her to my bedroom, where we strip off our clothes and I make love to her. It’s not just sex anymore, or fucking. It’s love.

I spend the rest of the day and night buried inside her every chance I get.

I’m glad the next day is Saturday because I wouldn’t have been able to leave her to go to work. And even if I had, my mind would have been fucked from the lack of sleep.

We sleep in and at lunch we head out to the terrace and eat. After a feast of gourmet sandwiches Olga prepared for us I place Harper on the table and feed her strawberries. It’s my attempt at recreating the wild fun we had during our last days in St. Barts.

“Do you just like watching me eat?” Harper laughs.

“I do. And I can imagine you doing other things.”

“Like what?” The little minx knows full well what I mean but she’s playing with me.

“I’d have to show you. But not here.”

“Where?”

“I need to take you back to St. Barts as soon as possible.”

“I would truly love that.” Her eyes fill with awe and excitement.

I hold out a strawberry for her to take but she leans forward and kisses me instead.

“What was that for?” I cup her cheek.

“To thank you for making my life better and taking such great care of me.”

I hold her gaze, feeling my heart beating like it never has before, and I know it’s time to cross another line and tell her something I’ve felt for so long. “I love you.”

Her eyes fill with tears and her smile radiates with happiness. “I love you, too.”

I lean forward to kiss her again but stop when I feel like we’re being watched.

I look around to find Josh standing by the doorway.

Harper looks around, too, and sees him, then instantly goes rigid in my arms.

Josh’s eyes blaze as though fire burns beneath them and his face is stone. With his hands at his sides, balled into fists, I don’t have to ask if he’s mad.

“I guess it was true, then,” he states, speaking up so his voice carries through the air. “You two are seeing each other.”