The Kid, the Boss, and the Incorrigible Nanny

Part Thirty-Two

Monday morning came far too quickly.

"Adrian, thank you for meeting me this morning." Clayborn's smile was wide. "John, I'm very glad to see you as well."

They had agreed to meet, of all places, in Adrian's kitchen. 

As it turned out, Clayborn was as much of a coffee fanatic as anyone Adrian had met. When he had learned, through one of Adrien's poor attempts at casual conversation over the phone, that the Lawson kitchen was complete with an espresso machine that he cleaned meticulously, the older man had almost insisted on holding their private meeting at his estate so he could test the product for himself. Adrian just hadn't realized that he'd want to test the machine at five o'clock on Monday morning. 

John had begrudgingly arrived, at Adrian's request, to be a second pair of ears in the conversation. He had arrived moments ago, unshaven and half-asleep. Clayborn, in juxtaposition, had appeared bright-eyed and ready to go.

Just now, the would-be investor was in the process of steaming his third pitcher of milk. Through the whir of steam meeting froth, Clayborn had barked a warm "Good morning" to a surprised Kid as she had arrived for work. 

"I'm sorry," Adrian had mouthed, but he wasn't sure she had noticed it. Her sleepy eyes brightened considerably when Clayborn shoved (gently as could be expected, given his excitement) a salted caramel latte into her hands. He'd even managed to include rosetta art in the foam.

"Sure," John said in response to the older man. "I'm always awake this early."

Kid, who had only slipped from the room seconds ago, snorted in the hallway. "Sorry."

A smile tugged on the corners of Adrian's face. "I'm glad we could find a somewhat private place to talk."

"Indeed." Clayborn's cheerful face dissolved into one of deep thought. "I believe something became quite obvious to me after our discussion this weekend, Adrian."

"Yes sir?" Adrian asked. He thumbed the handle of his own coffee mug.

"The person who has been fielding my calls at Lawson... I can say with some confidence that I know who I've been speaking with."

Adrian shifted in his seat. He felt the answer coming before Clayborn spoke the words. The instant the word "obvious" leave Clayborn's mouth, he knew exactly where the conversation was going.

"Peter," John said. It wasn't a question.

Clayborn raised an eyebrow. "It seems this turn of events isn't such a surpise to you."

John sighed, appearing more awake. "Honestly, if there's anyone at the office who rubs me the wrong way, it's him."

Clayborn turned to look at Adrian. "Your thoughts? I know the man has been with your company for many years. The last thing I want to do is start a fire where there isn't kindling."

Adrian resisted the urge to avoid his gaze. Peter was one of his father's closest colleagues. He had been over to this house, had sat in this very kitchen discussing audits and investment opportunities countless times. He had given more than time to the company. He had helped develop benefits packages for the employees, vacation plans, quality control measures, and had a hand in countless other initiatives. 

But still. He couldn't deny that the morning of the breakfast with Clayborn's team, Peter had seem almost disengaged. He could assume that Peter had simply been playing it cool. But if he had been taking Clayborn's calls, why wouldn't he be direct about it?

What reason did Peter have for hiding the opportunity from him, or from the rest of the board, for that matter? Adrian mused.

On the other hand, if there was anyone who second-guessed him, if there was anyone who questioned him in front of older members of the board, it would be Peter. It was only too tempting to believe the man was capable of something like this. 

"Peter certainly seems like the obvious person to suspect. I just can't determine a motive." Adrian bit his lip.

Clayborn nodded. "I'm certain the voice I heard on the phone was his."

John leaned forward. "Certain enough to call him out on it in front of the board?"

The older man paused momentarily. "Yes."

Adrian squeezed the bridge of his nose. Calling Peter out would be starting a fire. It would mean taking a step forward and making decisions he couldn't rescind. If he was right, there was no telling what else Peter had been up to that they would uncover. If Clayborn was wrong... 

Adrian would look like a complete fool in front of his father's people; his people.

"There can't be any room for error on this," he said finally. "If we're going to catch him in this, we need to make sure we have a solid plan. We need to have concrete evidence. I may have the company name, but he has seniority. If we're wrong and he's innocent, he'd have every right to turn the board against me. I'd probably do plenty of it myself just by calling him out. But if we're right and we don't have enough evidence to go off of... it will look like I'm just trying to push him out because I don't like him."

The other men paused, their silence almost buzzing with their thoughts.

"I'll run a scan on the receptionists' phones," John offered. "It's as simple as determining which receptionist has been forwarding Clayborn's calls, and to whom."

"I agree," Adrian nodded. "Given his history with the company, though, it might be easy for him to convince the board he truly was acting in what he believed to be our best interests."

"And if it's larger?" John asked. "I doubt Peter would be foolish enough to have emails or documents on his computer laying out any plots to undermine you."

"It would be easier if we knew who we could trust to bring into this," Adrian said.

"Well." Clayborn cleared his throat. "If all else fails, we'll go for the big reveal. Bring me in tomorrow to make the announcement: I'm investing twenty-five million into Lawson. Whoever your rat is, they won't like seeing my face or hearing what I have to say. Be they Peter, or otherwise. They'll reveal themselves quickly enough."

Adrian looked at John. His friend nodded.

"Alright. Let's do it."