silently communicating his displeasure at how early Conner had left, “you were already gone.”
“How could he have done that?” Conner asked.
“Done what?”
“Printed out copies of this presentation.”
“What do you mean?”
“The only place I have this file saved is on my hard drive, and I turned my computer off before I left.”
“I guess he turned it on,” Gavin replied, as though the answer ought to be obvious. “Where’s the mystery?”
“He would have needed my password to get to my files.”
“Really?” the old man asked innocently.
“Yes. And Paul doesn’t have my password.”
“Mmm.”
“Does he, Gavin?”
“Well . . .”
“Gavin?”
The old man groaned. “Okay, I gave him your password. So what?”
“I can’t believe you!”
“Relax, pal.”
“Those are
my
files, Gavin.”
“And Phenix is
my
firm!” Gavin shot back. “I keep a list of everyone’s password. The network guy gives them to me. What’s your problem? There shouldn’t be anything on your hard drive you don’t want me to see, right?”
“Paul changed this,” Conner said firmly, holding up the deck. “He inputted the typos before he printed it out.”
“Why would he do that?”
“To make me look bad.”
“Oh, come on.”
“I bet he pointed out all the errors when he was in here, didn’t he? Probably told you he’d taken the liberty to review the presentation on his way out from Manhattan.”
Gavin rolled his eyes.
Conner pointed at the old man. “You know what, I’ve got a hard copy draft of the presentation in my desk at Phenix. I printed it out before I left yesterday, and I guarantee you
it
isn’t full of typos. I can prove Paul did this.”
“You might be able to prove the presentation was changed,” Gavin said calmly. “But you can’t prove Paul did it.”
“The guy’s trying to get me fired,” Conner said angrily. “It doesn’t surprise me at all that he’d pull this kind of crap.”
“Conner,” Gavin said sternly, “you’re being ridiculous. And more than a little paranoid.”
“No, I’m not. And why are you protecting him?”
“I’m not. I just don’t want to jump to any conclusions.”
“Do you know about Paul cheating on Mandy?” The revelation had nothing to do with the conversation, but it had the desired effect. Conner saw Gavin’s expression darken right away. “With that new secretary you hired,” he continued, pressing his advantage. “Rebecca.”
“I know.”
“You
know
?”
“Of course.”
“And you don’t care?” Conner asked incredulously.
“I hired Rebecca specifically for Paul. He needed someone.”
“You’ve gotta be kidding me.”
Gavin tossed his presentation onto the desk. “I take care of people who take care of me, pal. Paul and Mandy are going through a rough time. She’s a bitch.”
“That doesn’t mean you play pimp and go hire a whore.”
Gavin glanced out the bay window, his right hand contracting into a tight fist. “Conner, I give you a lot of leeway in how you speak to me,” he said, teeth clenched. “Don’t make me regret that.”
Conner looked down. He’d gotten ahead of himself. “Sorry.”
“Paul’s work and his attitude have improved dramatically since Rebecca joined,” Gavin continued, still seething. “He’s no longer talking about divorce.”
Conner hesitated, giving Gavin a few minutes to cool down. “Maybe it’d be better for them if they did split up.”
Gavin shook his head. “I can’t let that happen.”
The old man seemed to be calming down. That was one thing about him. His explosions never lasted long. “Why not?”
“Two reasons. First, I don’t want another business partner.”
“Another partner?”
“I gave Paul a piece of Phenix when he joined me,” Gavin explained. “If they get divorced, Mandy would probably get half his shares. I don’t want her showing up at my office looking for financial statements and telling me how to run my business.”
So,
“How could he have done that?” Conner asked.
“Done what?”
“Printed out copies of this presentation.”
“What do you mean?”
“The only place I have this file saved is on my hard drive, and I turned my computer off before I left.”
“I guess he turned it on,” Gavin replied, as though the answer ought to be obvious. “Where’s the mystery?”
“He would have needed my password to get to my files.”
“Really?” the old man asked innocently.
“Yes. And Paul doesn’t have my password.”
“Mmm.”
“Does he, Gavin?”
“Well . . .”
“Gavin?”
The old man groaned. “Okay, I gave him your password. So what?”
“I can’t believe you!”
“Relax, pal.”
“Those are
my
files, Gavin.”
“And Phenix is
my
firm!” Gavin shot back. “I keep a list of everyone’s password. The network guy gives them to me. What’s your problem? There shouldn’t be anything on your hard drive you don’t want me to see, right?”
“Paul changed this,” Conner said firmly, holding up the deck. “He inputted the typos before he printed it out.”
“Why would he do that?”
“To make me look bad.”
“Oh, come on.”
“I bet he pointed out all the errors when he was in here, didn’t he? Probably told you he’d taken the liberty to review the presentation on his way out from Manhattan.”
Gavin rolled his eyes.
Conner pointed at the old man. “You know what, I’ve got a hard copy draft of the presentation in my desk at Phenix. I printed it out before I left yesterday, and I guarantee you
it
isn’t full of typos. I can prove Paul did this.”
“You might be able to prove the presentation was changed,” Gavin said calmly. “But you can’t prove Paul did it.”
“The guy’s trying to get me fired,” Conner said angrily. “It doesn’t surprise me at all that he’d pull this kind of crap.”
“Conner,” Gavin said sternly, “you’re being ridiculous. And more than a little paranoid.”
“No, I’m not. And why are you protecting him?”
“I’m not. I just don’t want to jump to any conclusions.”
“Do you know about Paul cheating on Mandy?” The revelation had nothing to do with the conversation, but it had the desired effect. Conner saw Gavin’s expression darken right away. “With that new secretary you hired,” he continued, pressing his advantage. “Rebecca.”
“I know.”
“You
know
?”
“Of course.”
“And you don’t care?” Conner asked incredulously.
“I hired Rebecca specifically for Paul. He needed someone.”
“You’ve gotta be kidding me.”
Gavin tossed his presentation onto the desk. “I take care of people who take care of me, pal. Paul and Mandy are going through a rough time. She’s a bitch.”
“That doesn’t mean you play pimp and go hire a whore.”
Gavin glanced out the bay window, his right hand contracting into a tight fist. “Conner, I give you a lot of leeway in how you speak to me,” he said, teeth clenched. “Don’t make me regret that.”
Conner looked down. He’d gotten ahead of himself. “Sorry.”
“Paul’s work and his attitude have improved dramatically since Rebecca joined,” Gavin continued, still seething. “He’s no longer talking about divorce.”
Conner hesitated, giving Gavin a few minutes to cool down. “Maybe it’d be better for them if they did split up.”
Gavin shook his head. “I can’t let that happen.”
The old man seemed to be calming down. That was one thing about him. His explosions never lasted long. “Why not?”
“Two reasons. First, I don’t want another business partner.”
“Another partner?”
“I gave Paul a piece of Phenix when he joined me,” Gavin explained. “If they get divorced, Mandy would probably get half his shares. I don’t want her showing up at my office looking for financial statements and telling me how to run my business.”
So,
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