The Love Of Money - Episode 127
29-07-25 (07:37)
"So, what are you suggesting? I date Ashlee?"
Helen gave me a look that didn't need any words.
"Seriously?"
"You should invite her to Vegas."
"Fuck nol"
"Marcus-"
"I'm leaving town to get away from all of this! I'm not
taking it with me!"
"It's a good opportunity to isolate her," Chloe sald.
"Cartwright and Roger won't be around."
I looked at Chloe like she had just stabbed me in the
back. She simply shrugged at me.
"Chandler's here," Erin said, looking at her phone. "I
need to go get him. Want me to bring him to your
office?."
"Yeah," I said sullenly..
"I'll come with you," Helen said. She gave me a look.
"Think about it, Marcus."
Erin gave me a piteous smile as she brushed by me
and trailed Helen out the door, leaving me with Chloe
and Psalter-.
"Henry, can you keep an eye on Helen while I'm gone?"
I said as soon as the door shut behind her.
"Certainly," he replied. "Is there anything specific you're
interested in knowing?"
"I just want to make sure she's being above board with
me."
"And the girl?"
"Ashlee?" I asked. I looked at Chloe for guidance but
got nothing from her except a stone-faced expression.
"Maybe. I'll let you know.
After saying my goodbyes to the investigator, I
returned to my empty office. A few minutes later, Erin
entered, followed by Chandier and Helen. Chandler
Grayson was all smiles as he walked in, bright grey
eyes wandering and taking in the typical vibes it gave
off. Considering I'd just bought an apartment and an
airplane, the office decor at the Dunbar building wasn't
exactly high on my list of priorities and still looked like
any random office you might see in marketing stock
photos.
"Hello again, Mr. Upton! Lovely to see you again!" he
said, stepping forward and extending his hand to me.
I stood up and grasped it, smiling back at him despite
all my frustrations. I had only met Grayson once, but
that was enough to decide I liked him; his friendly
demeanor, easy smile, and bouncing gate made him
seem more like a lovable uncle than a high-level
-executive of one of the most successful companies in
the US. The fact that Helen trusted him made it all the
easier.
"Chandler," I said and gestured at him to have a seat,
"It's good to see you again."
Unlike Psalter-, he didn't give me some weird story
about murdering priests and altar boys before resolving
to never sit in the presence of others again, which was
another point in the likable column. He unbuttoned his
suit jacket and took a seat as he thanked me. I sat
behind my desk while Helen and Erin both took the
couch. Fortunately, the smell of sex from earlier had
faded to almost nothing.
"I'm terribly sorry I didn't get a chance to speak to you
after yesterday's interview with Mrs. Lyons," Chandler
said. "You did rather well, considering you're a new
hand at this sort of game."
"Thanks," I said with a nod of gratitude. "There's no
need to apologize. I saw how busy you were. Everyone
wanted a piece of you after it was over."
"No doubt," he said. "Yunger was quite taken aback by
the change in the messaging, but he's an old pushover.
He'll fret and fuss but ultimately fall in line. I dare say
you're going to give poor Mrs. Rodriguez a bald batch if
you keep this up." When he noticed my apparent
confusion, he clarified. "The communications director up
there with us. I don't think you've had a chance to
make her acquaintance yet."
"Hopefully, I won't give her any other reasons to pull
out her hair. Listen, Chandler... Helen filled me in on the
situation with the new CEO. Apparently, there's a push
to bring on someone named Kelly Maddox?"
"Er... yes," Chandler said, shooting a look at Helen.
"And you don't trust her?"
"Not particularly," he said. "How much has Helen told
you?"
"Just the high-level stuff. I know my grandfather had
his hands in all sorts of things and that you probably
have a better idea than most what those are."
"I'd like to think so.. at least to an extent," Chandler
said.
"So he trusted you more than most?"
Chandler snorted. "I should say not. Colin Gerrard
wouldn't have trusted his own mother, let alone
anyone who worked for him."
"Doesn't mean anything if she was a horrible person," I
countered.
"The woman was an absolute saint," he retorted
without missing a beat. "Anyway, Colin didn't trust
anyone with the full picture of what he was involved
in. He had everything thoroughly compartmentalized in
a confusing network. Maddox knew some of it, as did I.
At one time, his brother was a key player in Colin's
machinations. I'm quite convinced he handled some of
Colin's shadier ventures. Truth be told, he was likely the
closest thing your grandfather had to a friend and
valued confidante."
"They were close?"
"Indeed."
"Not close enough to keep him out of prison like he did
for this Cartwright guy."
Any good mood still in Chandler's expression vanished.
"Charles Cartwright?"
"Yeah. You know him?" Don't forget to leave a Comment 
