Chapter 10 - Raymond's Version of Loyalty
I dismissed everyone except Raymond, Leah, Marcus, and Mercer.
Mercer tried to leave anyway.
Marcus closed the door.
“No.”
Mercer looked at Raymond.
Raymond did not look back.
That told Mercer exactly where he stood.
Disposable.
Raymond remained seated.
His confidence had returned.
“You want the truth?”
“Yes.”
“You won't like it.”
“Try me.”
He leaned back.
“When I joined you, Blackwell Companies was three profitable businesses held together with threats, handshake agreements, and terrible accounting.”
He wasn't entirely wrong.
“You wanted expansion.”
“You wanted hotels.”
“Warehouses.”
“Development.”
“Political access.”
“Respectability.”
“So I gave it to you.”
“With stolen wages?”
Raymond shrugged.
“With efficiency.”
Leah's face hardened.
“You stole millions from employees.”
“No.”
Raymond looked at her.
“I redirected compensation.”
June's hunger flashed through my mind.
“Say that again.”
Raymond saw something in my expression and chose different words.
“The margins in Domestic Services were weak.”
“So you took money from workers?”
“I created reserves.”
“Reserves in your personal accounts?”
His silence answered.
Mercer suddenly spoke.
“You told me those accounts were company contingency funds.”
Raymond turned to him at last.
“And you believed that?”
Mercer's mouth opened.
Raymond laughed.
“Don't become moral now, Daniel.”
“You authorized everything.”
“You forged signatures.”
“You told me to.”
“I told you to solve problems.”
Mercer stood.
“I did what you asked.”
Raymond looked almost bored.
“Sit down.”
Mercer did.
That frightened me more than if Raymond had shouted.
This was not loyalty.
It was conditioning.
Leah placed another document on the table.
“Northstar Workforce Benefits.”
Raymond's expression changed.
“Your mother's company.”
“She doesn't operate it.”
“No kidding.”
“We have transfer records.”
Raymond finally looked toward me.
“What do you want?”
“The truth.”
“You already know enough.”
“No.”
I leaned toward him.
“I want to know why.”
Raymond smiled without warmth.
“You want there to be some complicated reason because that would make you feel better.”
He pointed toward the skyline.
“There isn't.”
“People at the bottom don't know what they're supposed to earn.”
“They don't have lawyers.”
“They don't have time.”
“They're afraid of losing jobs.”
“And most importantly, nobody at the top listens to them.”
His eyes met mine.
“Especially you.”
The words landed because they were true.
Raymond saw it.
He leaned closer.
“I knew you would never audit housekeeping payroll.”
“You cared about acquisitions.”
“Mayors.”
“Investors.”
“Your reputation.”
“So I took money from the one place you would never look.”
He smiled.
“The invisible people.”
Mercer whispered, “You're insane.”
Raymond turned sharply.
“No.”
“I understood him.”
He pointed at me.
“Better than anyone.”
I stood.
“You're finished.”
Raymond laughed.
“You can't fire me.”
“Watch me.”
“No.”
He reached into his briefcase.
Marcus moved immediately.
Raymond raised one hand.
“It's paper.”
He removed a thick folder and placed it in front of me.
I opened it.
Photographs.
Bank transfers.
Property records.
Meeting dates.
Names of politicians.
Names of contractors.
Deals I had spent years ensuring were never written together in one place.
Raymond watched my face.
“If I go down publicly, Blackwell Companies goes with me.”
Leah stopped breathing.
Raymond smiled.
“You don't have an employee theft problem.”
May you like
He tapped the folder.
“You have a hostage situation.”
