The Love Of Money - Episode 300
31-08-25 (06:35)
Looking back at Quentin, I caught him checking out
Erin, his gaze traveling up her body before settling on
the keys she held. I couldn’t blame him for that either—
Erin was a goddess in a 5’2” package.
Quentin stared at the keys for a long moment before
finally turning his gaze back to me. “So… guess it’s true.
You really did get it all from the old man. This place,
too?”
There wasn’t any severe heat in his voice when he said
it, and I couldn’t detect notes of jealousy, but still…
something about how he said it made me feel a little
defensive. After all, I’d spent plenty of time second-
guessing myself; I didn’t need this guy helping me do
something I’d already mastered.
“Yeah,” I said, trying to diffuse any possible tension. “I
guess so, but don’t worry… I’m not here to kick you out
or anything. You were here before I even knew I was
a Gerrard.”
“Thanks,” Quentin said dryly.
When he said nothing else, I almost asked again for a
quiet space, but then he looked around. “Yeah, it’s a
little loud in here. Let’s go check out that study.” He
clapped a hand on my shoulder and guided me away
from the middle of the room, heading for a hallway. “I
haven’t been in there in like… a year.”
Chloe took up a spot just behind me; a simple glance at
her was all it took to see that she was a little
uncomfortable with Quentin getting familiar with me so
rapidly, but apparently, it wasn’t enough to make her
intervene. She wasn’t letting me get far out of her
reach, though.
As we headed down the hall, with Erin, Emily, and
Natashya in tow, Quentin asked, “So, that must have
been one hell of a thing, finding out about your dad—
our dad.”
“Ehhh… you could say that,” I said. “It took me quite a
while to figure out that it wasn’t some kind of elaborate
joke or mistake.”
“You don’t think it’s either of those things, huh?” Quentin
asked.
“Well,” I said, feeling defensive again. Nina seemed to
think that’s precisely what it was. “It’s pretty iron-clad.
Apparently, this is what our grandpa wanted.”
“Yeah… I guess so. Not gonna lie… I was shocked as
hell to find out about you and that you got everything.
Not as shocked as everyone else. There wasn’t any love
lost between me and Gramps, so I didn’t expect to get
much… maybe enough to get fucked up on for the rest
of my life. Writing out every single member of his
family except someone he’d never met, though? The old
man had more ice in his veins than I realized!” Quentin
chuckled.
Quentin stopped in front of a thick, dark wood paneled
door and gestured to it. Chloe took the keys from Erin
and opened the door, taking a few moments to peer
inside.
“John,” she called out, and one of my other bodyguards
slipped by us to join Chloe at the front. I hadn’t even
realized he had been behind us. “You take right. I’ll take
left. Just need to clear it.”
“What is it?” I asked, peering over Chloe’s shoulder. Erin
did the same, looking around John and gasping at what
we both saw.
“What’s wrong?” Emily asked from behind me.
The office looked like a tornado had crashed through it.
Cabinet doors were haphazardly open, and their
contents spilled on the floor. The desktop was
completely bare, its contents scattered. Against one
wall a torn painting with a broken frame leaned against
the wall under an opened and empty safe. The office
had been completely and utterly ransacked.
“Fuck,” I said and started to move into the office. An
arm dropped on mine, though, as Erin halted me.
“Might want to let Chloe and John do their job first,
boss.”
I was itching to move into the room and start
searching. Still, Erin was right—I’d hired Chloe and her
team to do a job, and not letting them perform their
duty would have been foolish, so I stood by Erin and
watched them cautiously move around the room,
searching for any sign of danger. Making the most of
waiting, I studied everything I could lay my eyes on in
hopes of spotting something useful—mostly a flash
drive.
Reaching the far window of the office, Chloe checked it
out, looking for any signs of damage or entry while
John studied the safe nearby.
“It’s clear,” Chloe said, turning away from the window.
“You can come in.”
I stepped into the office and heard glass crunching
under my feet. The sour taste of disappointment was
thick in my throat. This wasn’t what I’d expected to find.
“Don’t touch anything,” Chloe said. “We need to dust for
prints.”
“How?” I asked as I surveyed the wreck that was my
grandfather’s office.
“No cameras,” Chloe said as her eyes scanned the
corners of the room. “I don’t think there’s any
surveillance security on the premises. Don’t think you’ll
get that question answered.”
I felt slender fingers slip into mine and glanced up to
see Erin standing supportively beside me. She squeezed
my hand before letting go and carefully walking further
into the room.
“You didn’t know about this?” I turned back toward the
door to see Quentin leaning against the wooden frame,
staring listlessly into the room. “How long have you
been out here?”
Quentin shrugged. “About a week?”
“And you didn’t hear anything?” I asked.
“Nope,” he said, looking around the room. He didn’t look
particularly disturbed, which I found strange. I don’t care
what my relationship with my grandfather was like; if a
room in my family home had been ransacked more
than a week ago, I would have been highly disturbed. Don't forget to leave a Comment 
