Billionaire's Pleasure-Chapter 71: Betrayal

Bruce’s POV

When Chris told me that Omnilert had dismissed Apple because of our affair, I felt like a horrible jerk. I felt like a jerk since I knew she was going to be fired and did nothing to prevent it or warn her. What a jerk I used to be!

That wouldn’t have troubled me in the least until I met her. It was now eating away at my gut like cancer. I also knew Chris was the one who had sought her firing. At first, I was upset, but I soon understood that he was correct: I needed to stop thinking with my manhood and start thinking with my head.

I liked Apple a lot but if our connection became public, it may give the perception of impropriety, which could endanger the Jones sale.

The financial news media would have a field day, as Chris so correctly pointed out. He put his hands in the air, thumbs touching, and observed, "I can see the headlines now. A billionaire playboy had an affair with a management consultant who is conducting due diligence on a large purchase. For all the juicy information, go here."

"You’re exaggerating," I remarked as the jet circled the airport, sitting next to him.

"Not going to happen."

"Do not fool yourself. This kind of dirt appeals to financial writers. They call it hot sex and cold hard cash." He breathed heavily and threw a sidelong glance at me. "You know I’m right, Bruce."

Even though I knew he was correct, it didn’t make things any easier.

"So, what are you expecting me to do?"

"I finally conceded defeat and demanded."

"First and foremost, you must halt any communication with her. You can’t text, call her, and you. Not your regular fare."

"Okay."

"You must ignore her if she tries to call you. Do you follow me? Block her from your phone and don’t contact her again."

I was clutching my phone. In anticipation of the plane landing, I had been holding it. Apple was the first person I meant to call. It was not a decision I would make. I gave Chris a nod as I gazed at him. "Okay."

He put his hand on my shoulder and shook it. "Don’t be so unhappy, Bruce. You may go back to fucking anyone when we finish the Jones deal. Anyone except Apples Clark, that’s it."

I couldn’t bear hiding Apple’s number or wiping her from my brain straight quickly. I claimed to be too busy to react to a few basic texts.

Then Chris noticed me reading a text when he was speaking in a meeting. Without skipping a beat, he bent down and took the phone from my fingers. He put his phone into his jacket pocket and started his meeting as if nothing had happened.

I felt like a kid whose favorite toy has been taken away in front of the entire class.

It had been a lonely, restless week without Apple in my bed and embrace. On Friday morning, we returned to New York. After lunch, the Omnilert team – excluding Apple– was waiting for us in the conference room.

"How are you doing, Dew?" Chris questioned as we entered the room. Dew and the other three stooges exchanged handshakes. While sitting there, my fists were gripped around the red rubber ball.

It took a full-time assistant just to wipe the brown from Dew’s nose, but he said, "We’re all good, Chris, thanks. And I believe you’ll be quite satisfied with our report," Dew said.

"This is exciting for us, too," Chris said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. "This is the final box to check before we sign the official acquisition paperwork on Monday. We’re good to go if Jones gets a clean bill of health from you." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

For some reason, Dew leaned over the table and handed out perfectly good copies of Jone’s report. He then took a seat and flipped up his copy for the rest of us. I didn’t even bother to glance at the report since I didn’t want to deal with it.

I was the only one to blame for the devastation caused by that report and my own behavior.

Apple would be sitting across from me now, attempting to ignore me, if I had simply listened to Chris and kept my dick in my pants.

The financial review begins on page 5, Dew said as he glanced through the report.

I recognized the woman behind them as a government figure when the conference room door opened and a huge black man wearing a dark suit and tie arrived before he could continue. Two more men stood behind him, each with a serious expression on their faces.

"What the hell is going on in this room?" Chris was curious.

His mouth slammed shut when the first man held up a badge in Chris’s face. FBI Agent Renz introduces himself: "I’m Agent Renz, along with my colleagues, Chris Blake and Bruce Lawrence are the guys we’re looking for."

When the FBI agent reached inside his jacket pocket, he handed Chris a folded piece of paper. Without his spectacles, Chris opened the paper and scanned it. His skin had turned a dull shade of gray.

"What’s the deal?"

After Chris recounted, I sat back with my arms crossed over my chest and my lips shut. I’d never seen him so anxious before. To say the least, Chris’s reaction to this tiny attack was intriguing.

"The SEC has become aware of an off-shore corporation and has been purchasing an unusually large amount of put options linked to Onez Enterprises and JonesTelecommunications stock," the SEC lady said, standing close to the FBI agent.

"People buy puts all the time," Chris said.

"But stock manipulation occurs when the individual acquiring all of those puts is an officer of one of the firms involved in acquiring the other," she said, correcting her earlier statement.

"And who exactly is Enigma Investment founder?" Inquiry sparked by the sound of my chin tapping the rubber ball.

"Chris Blake," Agent adds after giving Chris a courteous nod.

Chris bought a large number of options on both companies’ stock following the finding that Jones’s financial reports had been manipulated by Omnilert and Maximo management consultants," according to our preliminary analysis.

"What?

When Dew said, "We didn’t change any financial information," he appeared to be about to spit in his pants.

"Does Omnilert employ you?"

"Dew’s head slowly nodded.

"Our best guess is that Chris is going to accuse you of manipulating the data in exchange for a large contract to do due diligence on this deal," he said as he handed him his business card. Interviews with everyone who worked on the project are required."

The reason Chris insisted on working with Omnilert & Maximo was finally clear to me. When the feces started flying, he’d need someone to blame.

Dew appeared to be in danger of passing out. Jaws agape, the rest of the Omnilert crew stared in awe as their eyes locked on one another.

I think the program would have been more enjoyable if my mentor and best friend hadn’t tried to swindle me. Suddenly, my chair was facing him.

"Chris?

"How could you do anything like that?" I whispered, bending the rubber ball in my hand.

"In the words of —"

"What’s going on, Chris?"

Chris looked down as he shook his head. With his fingernails, he whispered: "I’ve been trying to get you to grow up for years, Bruce."

He was stunned when I informed him, "Chris, you’ve made hundreds of millions of dollars. Did you feel it was inadequate?"

It was Chris’s time to retreat. "I’m tired of being your nursemaid," he mumbled. "It’s about time I got what I’ve worked so hard for."

"Well, I’m sure you’ll get that, "I said.

"Can I ask how all of this came to light?" the SEC lady inquired.

After reading the name of a caller off of a piece of paper in her hand, she added. "Do I understand that the acquisition has been placed on hold?"

With a smile on my face, I inquired about Jone’s availability, knowing the answer. I wasn’t intending on purchasing Jones anyway, and now I understood why.

"There is an injunction from a federal judge freezing the transaction, and the SEC and the state attorney general’s office will conduct a complete investigation."

I rolled the rubber ball in front of Chris on the table and said, "Fine by me."

"Take him away, officers," the federal agents said as I extended my hand to them, saying, "Here, you might need it."

"We’ll need you to come to meet with us too, Mr. Lawrence," the SEC woman said as she handed me her card. "We have no reason to believe you were involved in anything unlawful," she said.

I put the card in my trousers’ back pocket and replied, "I’ll have my attorney set up an appointment for Monday. First and foremost, I must attend to a very important subject."