not screw this up. If I need to jump in and take this over, I will. And if I do, that’s it.”
I could tell Dad was serious about this. I always felt like I was disappointing him, and this was my chance to prove that I didn’t have to go through law school or be a big shot lawyer like he was. I had spent years perfecting my ability to read people and get the answers others couldn’t get.
Cain, Dylan and Ashley finished their side-meeting and called us back to the table. The tension between Cain and Dylan was obvious, and I needed to bring them both down to a level where I could get the information we needed; not only to help Vawter, but to get to the bottom of everything that was going on.
“Thank you, everyone, for your patience. There were a few things that Dylan and I needed to clear up before we could continue.” Cain’s confidence overflowed into the room and it was clear why he was the CEO of Vawter.
“We’re all on the same team here, but there’s more, Mr. Parker, if you can spare me just a few more minutes.” I looked Cain in the eyes and I could feel the power he had over me take over. I felt Ashley staring at me. She was watching me stare at Cain and I was careful not to hold his gaze for longer than I needed.
“Please, cal l me Cain, and yes, continue.”
I froze for second and collected my thoughts. I could feel the eyes of the group on me. “With all of this going on, the data breaches, the fraudulent credit card charges, it’s just unclear how you could be unaware of everything that was happening with your company, with this website.”
“I believe I’ve explained it to someone once before. I’m a manager, of sorts. I trust the people I have in their positions, and I rely on them to get me the information I need to make informed decisions. If that isn’t happening, then it is something I will look into right away.” Cain leaned forward on the table. The seriousness of the situation showed on his face.
“So you are aware of the stalking and harassment accusations against The Arena?” I pointed to the thick folder sitting on the table next to me.
Cain eyed the folder. “Stalking and harassment? We can’t be held responsible for our members messaging other members. We do our best to protect our clients, but there is only so much we can do.”
“It’s not our members.” Dylan paused, took a deep breath, and looked at Cain. “We’ve had complaints from our members that they were receiving unwanted messages and threats from a user on the site. That’s normal, but then I found out they were coming from your account.”
Chapter Three
Dylan’s statement hung in the air. Nobody said a word and he continued, a little more confident now that he had everyone’s attention. “Of course, I didn’t believe it, but someone had definitely assumed Trey’s identity and there were some accusations from some very upset customers.”
“Why not just tell me about this, Dylan? Why is all of this a secret from me?” Cain’s obvious frustration was taking over gain.
“I wasn’t hiding anything, Trey. Remember, we discussed the password resets across the board. You authorized it. You signed the paperwork.” Dylan seemed confident in his delivery.
“You explained that was just for security purposes, because of something with the Pegasus software. You never mentioned members being stalked or harassed, let alone by someone pretending to be me.” The tension between Cain and Dylan escalated again.
Dylan clenched the pen in is his hand. The vein in his forehead slightly protruded. “I was protecting you, Cain. I was protecting the company we built together, although it doesn’t feel that way.”
The room fell silent for a moment. Even Dad and Reese sat speechless as they watched the coarse exchange of words. I couldn’t help but break the silence. “There are always accusations, especially if the CEO is an attractive, presumably wealthy man. Something must have made you believe that
I could tell Dad was serious about this. I always felt like I was disappointing him, and this was my chance to prove that I didn’t have to go through law school or be a big shot lawyer like he was. I had spent years perfecting my ability to read people and get the answers others couldn’t get.
Cain, Dylan and Ashley finished their side-meeting and called us back to the table. The tension between Cain and Dylan was obvious, and I needed to bring them both down to a level where I could get the information we needed; not only to help Vawter, but to get to the bottom of everything that was going on.
“Thank you, everyone, for your patience. There were a few things that Dylan and I needed to clear up before we could continue.” Cain’s confidence overflowed into the room and it was clear why he was the CEO of Vawter.
“We’re all on the same team here, but there’s more, Mr. Parker, if you can spare me just a few more minutes.” I looked Cain in the eyes and I could feel the power he had over me take over. I felt Ashley staring at me. She was watching me stare at Cain and I was careful not to hold his gaze for longer than I needed.
“Please, cal l me Cain, and yes, continue.”
I froze for second and collected my thoughts. I could feel the eyes of the group on me. “With all of this going on, the data breaches, the fraudulent credit card charges, it’s just unclear how you could be unaware of everything that was happening with your company, with this website.”
“I believe I’ve explained it to someone once before. I’m a manager, of sorts. I trust the people I have in their positions, and I rely on them to get me the information I need to make informed decisions. If that isn’t happening, then it is something I will look into right away.” Cain leaned forward on the table. The seriousness of the situation showed on his face.
“So you are aware of the stalking and harassment accusations against The Arena?” I pointed to the thick folder sitting on the table next to me.
Cain eyed the folder. “Stalking and harassment? We can’t be held responsible for our members messaging other members. We do our best to protect our clients, but there is only so much we can do.”
“It’s not our members.” Dylan paused, took a deep breath, and looked at Cain. “We’ve had complaints from our members that they were receiving unwanted messages and threats from a user on the site. That’s normal, but then I found out they were coming from your account.”
Chapter Three
Dylan’s statement hung in the air. Nobody said a word and he continued, a little more confident now that he had everyone’s attention. “Of course, I didn’t believe it, but someone had definitely assumed Trey’s identity and there were some accusations from some very upset customers.”
“Why not just tell me about this, Dylan? Why is all of this a secret from me?” Cain’s obvious frustration was taking over gain.
“I wasn’t hiding anything, Trey. Remember, we discussed the password resets across the board. You authorized it. You signed the paperwork.” Dylan seemed confident in his delivery.
“You explained that was just for security purposes, because of something with the Pegasus software. You never mentioned members being stalked or harassed, let alone by someone pretending to be me.” The tension between Cain and Dylan escalated again.
Dylan clenched the pen in is his hand. The vein in his forehead slightly protruded. “I was protecting you, Cain. I was protecting the company we built together, although it doesn’t feel that way.”
The room fell silent for a moment. Even Dad and Reese sat speechless as they watched the coarse exchange of words. I couldn’t help but break the silence. “There are always accusations, especially if the CEO is an attractive, presumably wealthy man. Something must have made you believe that
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