Chapter 14

"Mr. Paterson?"

Jadon lifted his gaze from the screen of his laptop and stared at his secretary, barely suppressing his irritation. He was certain he had told the woman he didn't want to be disturbed for the next hour while he reviewed the documents for the new market contract the city council was eager to sign.

Of course, that had only been part of the reason for his request to take no calls or see anyone. Jadon had been trying to avoid another call from his friends asking him if he had called the lady from the gym yet. Or worse, a call from Asher to talk about his girlfriend, who was apparently playing games for attention. Whatever that meant.

Jadon didn't want to think about Asher and his girlfriend playing games of any sort and he was tired of explaining to the two idiots he called friends that he wasn't interested in a woman who went to the gym for pictures. And with his phone conveniently off in his drawer, he knew the only way to get to him was through the main office phone. God, he hoped that wasn't the reason why his secretary was at his now open door.

Something told him, though, that he hadn't masked his emotions as well as he thought he had. His secretary, who was a good two decades older than him with salt and pepper hair tied back from her face in a no-nonsense bun and wearing a gray suit that made her look more like a high school principal than a secretary, shifted on her feet in a rare show of unease.

Her reaction, however, made Jadon feel like a jerk in an instant. He respected Mrs. Sitta too much to cause her any discomfort. God knew he wouldn't be able to run the office without her.

She had been kind to him when he took the position of CEO. When he had harbored every doubt in the universe that he would sink the company within a day. The older woman had simply chuckled softly and patted his arm, telling him he would do just fine. Not even his mother had ever taken the time to reassure him like that. The words had been simple, but they had meant the world to him.

Exhaling quietly, Jadon willed the tension in his shoulders to drain away as he emptied his lungs. Then he smiled at the woman still hovering at the threshold. "Yes, Mrs. Sitta, what can I do for you?"

A beat passed and then Mrs. Sitta seemed to visibly relax. She plastered on her face an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry to disturb you, Mr. Paterson. But there is a man on line three insisting on having a word with you. I explained that you asked not to be disturbed, but he said you would want to take his call."

Jadon arched a curious brow. "Did he give a name?"

She shook her head no. "Unfortunately, he did not, sir. Not even when I threatened to end the call if he couldn't give his name or the purpose of his call. He just said it would be in your best interest to speak to him." Mrs. Sitta hesitated and then stood straighter and met Jadon's gaze with sharp eyes that never seemed to miss anything. "Maybe we should call the police. This doesn't sound right, sir."

Jadon had to agree. It didn't sound or feel right. But He thought about it for a beat and shook his head. "No. Let's hold off on that until we know what is going on. Patch the call through, please."

"Very well, sir." Mrs. Sitta didn't linger. In a heartbeat, she was gone and his heavy door closed again. Jadon threw his pen on the papers he had been reviewing, he barely had a minute to contemplate what the mysterious caller wanted before the phone on his desk rang.

Well, there was only one way he would get answers. Jadon picked up the call. "Jadon Paterson speaking. I understand you wish to speak with me."

"Mr. Paterson," a deep male voice said with a touch of amusement evident in the tone. "I'm glad you made the right decision and took my call."

Jadon frowned. He already regretted his decision. "That is yet to be determined. What is this about?" he demanded, his patience slipping through his finger with every passing second. Especially when a derisive chuckle filled Jadon's ear. The crease between his brows deepened. A muscle ticked in his jaw as he ground his teeth together. Every cell in his body told him to just hang up. He didn't.

Thankfully, the caller stopped chuckling. "Tell me, Mr. Paterson How was the party the other night? Did you have a good time?"

Jadon's eyes widened. His breath caught in his chest for a few seconds before he consciously released it quietly. Calm. He had to be calm, he told himself. There was no point in panicking before he knew what he was dealing with. Jadon mustered his most indiferent tone. "What are you talking about?"

Annoyingly, the man chuckled again. "Come on, Mr. Paterson. Don't play that game. She was very beautiful. Yes? A little out of it, but I think it's safe to say you had a good time. It certainly looked like it."

Jadon's thoughts span a mile a second. This man knew about the night at the party. And he knew more about it than Jadon. That alone put Jadon on guard. On instinct, his hand shot out and hovered over the button to end the call. But then the questions hit him. Why had the man called him? Jadon's eyes narrowed. Suddenly, he wished he had taken the call on his mobile so he could record it. Something told him things were about to get ugly.

"What is this about?"

"Ah! I see why the old man made you CEO. You are a very smart man, Mr. Paterson," the caller said in a patronizing tone that made Jadon clench his free hand into a fist he wished he could throw into the caller's face.

"Tell me, Mr. CEO How will the board of directors take it if they found out you had sex with a barely conscious young woman at some wild drinking party? I can almost hear the words sexual assault being whispered in the air. Oh! That wouldn't do the company a lot of good. Would it? Your father would probably have a heart attack just hearing about it."

"I did not assault anyone."

"Hmm. That is debatable. I bet the young woman would say otherwise. Tell you what?" The man's tone suddenly changed to one of seriousness, and Jadon knew he was about to find out the reason the man had made the call in the first place.

"In the next five minutes, an envelope will arrive at your office. Don't worry, it's not a bomb." He chuckled again. "Just take a look at my little gift and then you can decide how the police and the board will look at it. And while you are deciding I suggest you stop all negotiations on the Sunset estate deal."

Jadon's frown deepened. "What?"

The caller huffed in impatience. "Pay attention, Mr. CEO. The Sunset estate contract. It won't be going through. Unless you want the police, the company board of directors, and the entire world to know what you did in that room. Do you know how much people like free porn? It will be everywhere before you can say your own name. Am I clear?"

"You are blackmailing me?" Jadon asked, even though it was obvious that was exactly what the man was doing.

"Did I stutter?" the caller retorted with a snort, and then the line went dead.

His jaw dropped. Jadon stared at the phone for a beat. Had that just happened? He blinked and then shook his head. What the hell?

The knock at his door half a minute later snapped him out of his daze. He called out and Mrs. Sitta walked in but then stopped and gave him a concerned frown. "Are you okay, sir?"

No, he wasn't. He was still trying to figure out if the caller was joking or if someone was indeed blackmailing him with false accusations of sexual assault to sabotage a deal that would bring the company millions. "I'm fine. You have something for me?"

A beat passed. Mrs. Sitta pursed her lips as though to stop herself from saying more. Instead, she walked further into his large office, the thick carpet muffling the click of her low heels until she reached his large desk and placed a sealed brown envelope on it.

"This just arrived by carrier. There is no name to indicate the sender, but it is addressed to you, sir."

Jadon stared at the envelope as though it was a poisonous snake that would launch at any second and bite him. Still, he forced a small smile for his secretary and told her everything was okay.

Once he was alone, Jadon grabbed the handkerchief from his pocket and used it to hold the envelope in place as he used a letter opener to tear it open. He didn't want his fingerprints on it, just in case. Logic told him he should call the police, or building security to investigate the envelope first, but he couldn't hold back the need to know what the hell the caller thought he had on him.

A moment later, Jadon stared at the contents of the envelope. Pictures. Several of them, all blown up in A4 size. The first two pictures were of Jadon standing, leaning against a wall at the party. The boredom he had felt that night was evident on his face even in the frozen images.

Jadon ground his teeth. He hadn't noticed anyone watching him that night. Much less taking pictures of him. He pushed the two pictures aside and stared at the next one. In an instant, Jadon's vision blurred and then it went red.