Chapter Thirteen

Could this day get any worse? Fucking Jethro has made me look like a fool in front of my mate. Kolton blamed himself. He had been absent from the casino a lot after meeting Warner, and once Warner was in the hospital, he used to spend most of his days with him. That whole process, Warner being sick and medications barely able to help, Kolton would be so tired at the end of each day, he would sneak in through the back way to his suite at night, unwilling to talk to or engage with anyone.

And now that damn vampire has taken advantage, leaving me looking like a first class idiot. With that frame of mind, Kolton wasn’t impressed to find the door to his office locked. Crunching the handle in his fist, he just kept turning it until it shattered under his strength. Pushing open the door, conscious of Simon standing solid behind him, he walked into his space, leaving Simon to close the door.

The changes to his office space extended beyond the carpet. A glass and chrome monstrosity was in the place where his wooden desk had been. His bookshelves that had filled one entire wall, along with historical artifacts he’d collected for centuries, were gone. The empty wall was now painted a deep gray with a single portrait of Jethro as the only decoration.

“Kolton.” Jethro jumped out of his seat so fast his chair rattled against the window. “What are you doing here? I…er…I was in a meeting.”

There were two other men who had chairs pulled up to the desk, and what looked like blueprints spread across the glass.

“Concerning my casino? More changes you’ve been authorizing without my permission?” Kolton folded his arms across his chest, glaring at his manager. “I’ve noticed more than a few changes around here already that you’ve neglected to tell me about.”

“I haven’t wanted to bother you with incidentals when you’ve been busy with your poor young man in the hospital.” Kolton immediately got the impression Jethro was trying to cover his ass. That thought was confirmed when Jethro spoke to the other two men who were still sitting in Kolton’s office as though they had a right to be there.

“Kolton’s partner has been seriously ill in hospital this past month or so. As you can appreciate, it’s so difficult to keep up with the plans we discussed months ago when a family member is going through a difficult time, I’m sure you’ll agree.”

One of the men frowned. “If this is a difficult time…”

“No, no,” Jethro said. “It’s fine. I’ll just pop outside and have a chat to Kolton for a moment, bring him up to speed on what we’ve been working on…”

“None of you are going anywhere just yet.” Kolton pointed to the two men. “Who are you?”

“Brian Rynolds from the First National Credit agency. I specialize in business finance needs.” Brian wore his suit comfortably and seemed very relaxed.

“I’m Josh Carter, from Carter Construction. I’ve been employed to project manage the restaurant upgrade. I have to say, Mr. Kolton, I’m very excited about this project. The designs we have,” he tapped the prints on the desk, “will rival anything seen on the Strip and beyond.”

Kolton noticed the nicotine stained fingers and the stress lines around Josh’s eyes and mouth. He focused on Jethro who was hovering above his chair, as if he couldn’t decide whether or not to sit down. “Restaurant upgrade? Last time I noticed, there was nothing wrong with the restaurant we have, and I’ve received no complaints from the restaurant manager about concerns.”

“Forward thinking, Kolton.” Jethro finally decided to sit down. “There are a number of areas around the casino that need updating, and as the restaurant is underperforming…”

“There is nothing wrong with the restaurant figures, the same as there was nothing wrong with my office the way it used to be.” Kolton knew his hound was showing through his eyes and Jethro knew it, too.

“Perhaps Brian and Josh could be excused, Kolton,” Simon said quietly from behind him. “This does not concern them, and is more a matter to be worked out with your casino manager, don’t you agree?”

No. Kolton didn’t agree. As far as Kolton was concerned he wanted to see the plans on the monstrous desk shredded into bite sized pieces so he could force the three men who were conspiring against him to eat every last scrap. However, he realized Simon was just looking out for him. Standing as he was, with the door blocked… actions that could be construed as keeping someone against their will.

“Gentlemen, you’re excused,” Kolton said, stepping aside. “Not you,” he pointed directly at Jethro. “You will stay right there. You’ve got a lot of explaining to do.”

“Mr. Kolton?” Brian asked as Josh quickly gathered up his papers. “If you wanted to make a time to visit me at my offices, so we could go over the terms of your loan…”

“I’ve never needed a loan in my life and I’m not about to start borrowing money now. Go.” Kolton wasn’t sure if it was his expression, or the growled last word, but Brian could move fast when he wanted to, and so could Josh. Within thirty seconds only Jethro remained.

“Now then, Jethro. You have five minutes to explain yourself before I throw you out of my office and ban you from my casino.”

“Kolton, I don’t know where all this antagonism’s coming from. We talked about making improvements when I was first employed…”

“You talked about it. I never agreed.”

“Yes, but it’s not like you’re here very often. I was just trying to increase your bottom line. I mean, profit is everything when it comes to a successful business.”

“I’m not going to be more profitable if I’m borrowing money to make these changes you seem to think my business needs.”

Jethro shrugged. “Every business runs a line of credit, Kolton. I don’t have to tell you that. I have no idea how financially secure this place is because your accountants don’t tell me anything, but rather than embarrass you by insisting we discuss the casino finances, I pulled a few strings and arranged a line of credit. It’s no biggie.” He had the cheek to grin. “You can thank me by padding my end of year bonus.”

“How was all this paid for?” Kolton waved his arms, indicating the desk, new paint job, and the floors. “That carpet wouldn’t be cheap and why the heck would anyone have a piped music system in the executive offices?”

“I thought it added an air of sophistication to the place.” Jethro actually looked insulted. “They are the little touches that add elegance to a place of business.”

“Who paid for it all? Who paid for all this shit? You?”

“Well, of course I charged it to the casino accounts. All of this is for your benefit.”

“My benefit?” Kolton’s hound was rising along with Kolton’s temper. “I trusted you to keep things running smoothly. I pay you to simply keep things running smoothly. Instead I come in and find out my company is being used as collateral for loans I don’t need, for upgrades to my casino I don’t want, and my priceless artifacts that were displayed in my office have been removed to places unknown and replaced with this shit.” He grabbed the painting of Jethro off the wall and smashed it against the corner of the glass desk. “Where’s my stuff!?”

“That old crap?” Jethro was pressed as far back into his chair that his spine would go. “It’s in boxes. Probably in the basement. I don’t know. I just got housekeeping to remove it. This office hadn’t been updated since the nineteen fifties, I’m sure. It needed a makeover.”

“I’m going to give it a makeover of my own in a minute, and it’s not going to cost me a cent. Let’s see what those ugly walls will look like when they’re splattered with your brain matter.” Kolton reached for the vampire, but damn, Jethro was too fast, moving around him and heading for the door.

“Not so fast. Kolton’s not finished with you. You’ve got five minutes, mate,” Simon said in those firm tones of his. Kolton turned to see Simon in his gargoyle form, holding Jethro around the neck with one hand so the man’s legs were dangling a foot above the tacky carpet. Simon was holding up his phone with the other hand. “I’ve called in the paranormal guard to hold this one until your accountants have completed a full audit of your accounts and made up a list of any missing money, including the unnecessary expenses incurred without your permission. That Lamborghini wasn’t cheap.”

“Five minutes is all I need.” Kolton grabbed for Jethro’s feet as Simon let go. Jethro’s head made a satisfying smack as it hit the wall, so Kolton did it again.