Page 75 of Nash Falls

“If he’s such a genius, why did Black Cliffs turn him down?”

“I told you. If Zuckerman steals my star talent, he knows I will make his life so miserable he’ll jump off the top of his skyscraper, or else I’ll push the bastard myself.”

“Nice guy that you are.”

“Nice guys don’t only just finish last in our business, they die.”

“Don’t get melodramatic, Dad.”

Barton leaned forward. “Now that you know what I know, I hope you understand, boy, that I am conveying the literal truth to you.”

“What I know now is thatyou’vebeen shoveling all the losses into my division to launder all the dirty money coming through your companies. What, just determined to make me look bad, Dad?”

“You’d look bad regardless of what I did or didn’t do. And thoselossesare making us rich.”

“We already were rich. Andyougot me hooked into Victoria Steers. Why?”

“Because you can’t run a business to save your ass, laundering money or not. I was actually doing you a favor.”

“Come on, if that were really the case you would have just canned my ass and put Nash in my place.”

“Think what you want.”

Rhett assumed a more confident look. “YouneededSteers.” He paused. “Not as rich as you say you are, Dad?”

“You’re talking out of your butt. My wealth is unassailable. Not even Mindy can spend it fast enough.”

“Which begs the question of why you’re in business with a woman who employs people who put bullets into other peoples’ heads.”

His father held up his hands. “Okay, I concede it was a mistake on my part to let you know of my involvement. I lost my temper with you, which is what you do to me because of your incompetency. But now that I have, let me just make things real clear to you.”

The big man leaned forward and put his elbows on his son’s desk. “You toe the line like your life depends on it. Because it does.” He glanced at his son’s arm. “If you think that was bad, you have no idea.”

“Well, Dad, let me tellyousomething.”

“What?” said his father with a sneering look. “I’m all attention.”

“Youbetter watchyourstep with her. Because you’re not used to playing second fiddle to anybody, especially a woman. You live to issue the orders, not take them. And from what I’ve seen of her, she’d gut you for looking at her wrong and feed you to the fish.” He looked over his father’s bloated physique. “And what a smorgasbord you’d make.”

Rhett stood. “Now, I’ve got some important business to attend to. Which, of course, doesn’t include you.”

He walked out, leaving his father sitting there staring at a wall.

CHAPTER

37

YOU MOVED THE MONEY,” Agent Morris said accusingly to Nash as he opened the hotel room door.

“You said I could do whatever I wanted with it. Now, I have some things for you.”

Nash passed by him and entered the room. Agent Braxton appeared from around a corner and greeted him.

“Where’s your boss?” asked Nash.

Morris said, “Back in DC with a full plate. So what do you have for us?”

Nash set up his laptop on the desk, inserted a thumb drive, and went through in great detail what he’d discovered about Cho’s company, the two food processing plants, and the second set of electronic books.