Page 82 of Glow

“Don’t you dare question me. Who do you think you are?”

Scott puffed his chest out. “Carla asked me to identify who had been stealing stock. I believe I have. Of course, we should probably hand all this over to the police. They can investigate Elliott’s phone and emails.”

“And I’ll sue you for slander.”

“It’s only slander if it’s not true,” Scott fired in response. “How confident are you?”

“Okay, that’s enough,” Carla said. “Richard, let’s not fuck about here. Elliott took that stock. You know it and I know it. What’s left to decide is how we handle this. He’s not coming back. That’s a given.”

Richard trembled with rage. He reminded Scott of an angry little boy caught out one too many times.

“I will ask Elliott to leave on one condition,” Richard said, eventually.

Scott was amazed. Who the fuck did he think he was to give conditions?

“Go on,” Carla said.

“I want to know who the whistleblower is.”

“Never going to happen,” Scott answered. “I don’t have the energy for a bullying investigation on top of everything else.”

Richard slammed his hand down on the table. “You jumped up little?—”

“Careful, Richard,” Carla said, silencing him.

Scott shook inside. He certainly wouldn’t let this playground bully see the effect he’d had on him. No wonder his son was a piece of shit. The apple never fell far from the tree.

“I’m not going to tell you who reported Elliott,” Scott said. “You should be grateful they came to me. Although why we’re hushing it up is anyone’s guess.”

Richard curled his hand into a fist. For a second, Scott feared he might have to dodge a punch.

“I spoke to Alistair,” Carla said. “It’s his decision to keep things internal.”

Alistair Webb was the chief executive. A very absent one who had a penchant for holidays. However, he did lower himself toget involved in the running of Pleasure Seekers from time to time.

The boys club strikes again. A quick round of golf and Richard’s got it all sewn up.

Scott smirked. “What a surprise.”

If Richard had expected him to be intimidated by this, he was dealing with the wrong man. Gary and Debbie had instilled in their children the importance of the truth. They might be rough diamonds but they had never lied or cheated to get to where they were.

“Are you going to go against him?” Richard asked.

“Obviously not,” Scott replied. “Elliott never returning should be fine. If people put two and two together, what am I supposed to do?”

He would tell Charlotte to spread it like hot butter. Richard had no idea who he was dealing with.

“And the whistleblower?” Richard asked.

“Remains anonymous,” Carla replied. “If Alistair doesn’t like that, tell him to call me.”

Richard’s icy glare fell on Scott. “I will be watching. You’ll give yourself away in the end. You have a mouth the size of the English Channel.”

“Forget it,” Scott replied. “You can’t intimidate me. I speak to everyone. That’s my job.”

Although inside, unease swirled through him. He and Prin wouldn’t remain a secret forever. Brighton was a city, albeit not a very big one. They would be spotted together at some point. It might not be a smoking gun but it would certainly raise suspicion. Especially as Prin barely spoke to anyone about anything other than work.

“Someone has a vendetta against my son,” Richard snarled. “I can’t believe you expect me to just give that up. Elliott had a future here.”