“Elisha lost her temper. I didn’t get the chance to grab my wallet.”
I look at him with a mixture of sympathy and exasperation. Nick’s marriage is the most tumultuous one I’ve ever seen. I never understood why he chose to marry Elisha when he gets kicked out of his own home at least three times a week. But he doesn’t seem ready to give up on his marriage.
“Fine. You can stay. You two, out. I’m going to go fix myself a drink.”
“At this hour?” Caleb trails after me as I walk to the kitchen, which has an attached bar. “I want a beer.”
“And I need to talk to you.” I take out a bottle of scotch from the bar and pour myself a glass. “I was serious about you coming to work for me.”
I see Jake rifling through the fridge and ignore him.
Caleb groans. “I can’t work with you, Ethan. You drive me crazy. You’re too anal about everything.”
“You need to be an employee.” I regard him from over the top of my glass. “I just want someone I can trust in the Marketing Department. People like you. They’ll talk to you.”
“Hold up!” My brother’s eyes widen. “You want me to join your firm as a normal employee? You do realize I play in billions, don’t you?”
“And you do remember that I am one of your biggest investors, don’t you?” I remind him.
He fixes me with a sharp look. “You can’t force me to do this.”
“I can. Join the Marketing Department of Thalvyn Maritime, or I withdraw the AG Environmental project you’re supposed to start working on next week.”
Caleb splutters, his face turning red. “Y-You can’t do that! That’s fucking blackmail! Are you hearing this, Jake?!” He turns to look at the only lawyer in the room.
Jake’s head pops up from the side of the fridge door, a popsicle in his mouth. “What was that?”
“He’s blackmailing me!” Caleb snarls.
Jake blinks. “Oh, well. You shouldn’t do that, Ethan. That’s not very nice. Nick, let’s put on another movie.”
Jake makes his way back to the couch, and Caleb hisses in frustration. “Figures he’d have your back.”
“Look, I’ll pay you the salary of your choosing, but I need somebody I can trust. There is something going on in the Marketing Department of this company. At most, it’ll take a couple of months. I’ll compensate you fairly.”
“How much?” Caleb asks sullenly.
“How much do you want?”
“A blank check.”
“Try again.”
Caleb searches my gaze intently. “How bad is it?”
I drain my glass and set it down on the bar. “On the surface, it looks like simple stealing, but I have a feeling it’s more than that. I’m still investigating, but I need somebody to be my eyes and ears on the inside. You’re young and likable.”
“And this has nothing to do with the fact that if I start working for your company, your Marketing Department will boom?” Caleb sneers.
I give him a faint smile. “It’s a convenient byproduct. I wouldn’t ask you if it wasn’t completely necessary, Caleb.”
He sticks his hands in his pockets, rocking back on his heels. “I don’t like working for family. You in particular. But I guess I can give it a shot.” He sighs, looking aggrieved. “I’m going to go home now and think over how much I’m going to make you bleed for this.”
I don’t stop him from leaving, knowing he’ll make me pay heavily for this favor. When I look towards the living room, Nick has already retreated to the guest bedroom, and Jake is sitting on the couch, eating his popsicle and doing something on his phone. The television has been turned off.
I head over to where he’s sitting. “How bad are things between Nick and his wife?”
He glances at me, no mirth in his eyes. “Bad. She doesn’t want the kid.”
