Reckless Intentions: CH. 6

CHAPTER SIX: AND ALL THE KING'S MEN

Kyle finds me two days later at a coffee shop three blocks from the bar.

I’m scrolling through my phone—some article about venture capital firms and their liability exposure—when he slides into the seat across from me, looking like he hasn’t slept. His eyes are bloodshot, his hair’s a mess, and there’s a coffee stain on his shirt that suggests this isn’t his first caffeine stop of the day.

“Dude, you don’t look so good,” I say.

“We need to talk,” he says.

I close my laptop slowly. “About?”

“The fund.” He leans forward, voice dropping. “I had my family’s CPA look into it. Quietly. He went through everything—quarterly reports, asset allocations, the works.”

“And?”

“Nothing.” Kyle’s jaw tightens. “He found nothing nefarious. Everything checks out clean. But that doesn’t make sense, Alex. You said you heard Jack Sr. talking about SEC investigations, margin calls, restricted redemptions—”

“I said I overheard something,” I correct him. “I’m a psych major, Kyle. I don’t know what half that shit actually means.”

“Then why did you—” He stops himself, rubbing his face. “Look, my parents have their entire retirement in that fund. My trust fund. My sister’s college money. If something’s wrong, I need to know. But if the CPA can’t find anything, then either there’s nothing there, or it’s buried so deep we’d need inside access to see it.”

I take a sip of my coffee. Let the silence stretch.

“So I’m asking you,” Kyle continues, desperation creeping into his voice. “Can you get me more information? Can you talk to Jack Sr., find out what’s really going on?”

“I don’t think he’d tell me anything,” I say carefully. “I’m just the boyfriend. He barely tolerates me.”

Kyle slumps back in his chair, defeated.

That’s when I lean forward. Hmm. Kyle needs information. And I need to get things moving along.

“I’m really sorry. I wish I could be more helpful.”

“Have you reconsidered reading Jack Jr. in—that’s his pride and joy.”

“Jack is gonna protect his dad no matter what,” he says. “I’ve seen it firsthand.”

I file that away. The next part of my plan involves severing the trust between the two people Jack Jr. trusts most. His father and his best friend, and now I know a way to tackle two birds with one stone.

“But you know what?” I say, keeping my voice casual. “Jack Jr. mentioned something to me a while back. About you.”

Kyle’s eyes snap to mine. “What?”

“The Grindr thing.” I watch his face carefully. “How your wife caught you last summer.”

The color drains from his face. “Jack told you that?”

“He tells me a lot of things.” I shrug.

“Yeah, well, that was supposed to go to the grave.”

“Look, I don’t give a shit who you fuck, Kyle. That’s your business. But now that I think about it, maybe you can use that to your advantage.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I always say the best way to get information is to go straight to the source.”

“I don’t get it,” he stares at me like I just suggested he rob a bank. “Are you seriously—”

“I’m saying you have skills,” I interrupt. “And Jack Sr. has information. And if you want to know what’s really happening with that fund, you’re not going to get it from a CPA looking at sanitized quarterly reports. You need someone on the inside. Someone he trusts enough to talk to.”

“You’re saying I should seduce my best friend’s dad?”

“Dude is a total DILF,” I say.

“You want me to fuck him for information.”

“I’m not saying you have to go that far, but a few compliments and I’m sure you could get him talking.”

Kyle’s shaking his head. “That’s insane.”

“Is it?” I tilt my head. “You’ve already established you’re attracted to men. Jack Sr. is attractive, powerful, and clearly available. And you’re desperate. So what’s really stopping you? Morality? Because from where I’m sitting, protecting your family’s financial future seems a lot more important than some misplaced sense of loyalty to a guy who’s probably cheating on his wife right now anyway. And hey, it’s just a harmless conversation.”

Harmless maybe, but if I know Kyle and Jack Sr. the way I do, they will absolutely have more than just a harmless conversation.

“Jack Jr. would—”

“Jack Jr. doesn’t need to know.” I say it simply. “This is between you and Jack Sr. You get the information you need, you protect your family, and nobody’s the wiser. Unless you want to keep lying awake at night wondering if your parents’ retirement is about to evaporate. Like I said, no harm ever came from a conversation.”

Kyle’s quiet for a long moment, staring at the table.

“How would I even—” He stops. Starts again. “I don’t know how to approach him.”

And there it is. The shift from if to how.

“You just need to get a little creative.”

“He doesn’t even come in the bar anymore,” he says.

“Yeah, ever since he admitted to having an affair to his family, he’s been like a pariah. He spends entire days out by the pool.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, his wife stuck him in the pool house, so every time I see him he’s on the pool deck like it’s his front porch.”

“And I’m just supposed to waltz in there and say ‘hey, I’m here to pump your dad for information’?”

“Olivia stays in her room. Cat is literally in another wing of the house, and if Jack Jr. isn’t with me, he’s in his room.”

“How would I even pull this off?”

“You don’t strike me as the kind of person who can’t talk his way into getting what he wants.”

Kyle’s still staring at the table, but I can see the gears turning.

“This is fucked up,” he says quietly.

“Yeah.” I don’t disagree. “But so is losing everything your family has because you were too proud to do what needed to be done.”

He looks up at me then, and I see it—the exact moment he makes the decision. The moment he crosses the line from considering it to committing to it.

“If I do this,” he says slowly, “and I find out there’s nothing wrong with the fund—”

“Then you’ll know for sure,” I finish. “And you can sleep at night. Isn’t that worth it?”

Kyle exhales slowly. Nods once.

“Okay,” he says. “Okay. I’ll... I’ll figure out how to approach him.”

“Good.” I open my laptop again, like this conversation is already over. “Let me know what you find out.”

He stands, hesitates. “Alex—does Jack Jr. know you’re suggesting this?”

I look up at him, my expression neutral. “Why would he?”

Kyle nods slowly, then turns and walks out of the coffee shop.

I watch him go, then pull out my phone and text Everett.

Kyle’s in. He’s going after Jack Sr.

The response comes thirty seconds later.

Perfect. I’ll make sure we get it all on camera.

I set the phone down and stare at my problem set, but the equations blur together.

If Kyle does what I expect him to do and not at all what I just told him to do, Jack Jr. is about to catch his best friend fucking his father.

And I'm the one who made it happen.

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