He’s bent. The world doesn’t owe this guy anything. But that’s not my problem.
“Hey, Shane gets paid to do it. I could run circles around him, but Dad thinks I’m ‘irresponsible,’ so I’ll let him and his golden boy figure it the fuck out. Not that my oldest brother is capable of that.”
Rogan took the words right out of my mouth. “Any clue how I’m supposed to help this company if no one wants to even get involved enough to send me a few financial statements?”
The guy hesitates a long time, then sighs. “Look, you didn’t hear this from me, but the person who’s really going to end up running things is the one person my dad won’t acknowledge. He has a daughter.”
Not according to what I read on the internet. “Come again?”
“Jesus, this is so ridiculous. My dad went through… I don’t know what to call it. A mid-thirties crisis? He had an affair with an employee. She was single and twenty and broke. He was older and rich and horny. I didn’t pay attention to the gory details. I just know that, about ten years ago, this girl showed up on our doorstep and claimed she was Dad’s daughter. A blood test proved her right. All hell broke loose. Mom divorced Dad. He tried to pretend his affair never happened and sent the girl away. I don’t know what happened after that, but now she’s running a whole division of Dad’s operation. I hear people are going around Shane to get help from Sloan. That’s her name.”
“Why?” Do they perceive she has some authority because she’s the boss’s illegitimate daughter? And if that’s common knowledge, why couldn’t I find that out when I started digging?
“She’s really fucking smart and not shy about expressing her opinion. She’s a leader. She gets shit done and doesn’t hesitate to make the hard decisions. Of course, no one knows who she really is, and you didn’t hear the truth from me, but I think her fellow employees see the writing on the wall.”
I have my suspicions what he means, but I still ask. “And what’s that?”
“Shane will never be qualified to run Dad’s enterprises. It’s too complicated. Brady doesn’t give two shits, and I care even less. But Sloan? She doesn’t quit and doesn’t allow failure. She’s the son Dad always wanted. If you’re serious about helping Reservoir, start with her.”
I am serious about helping, just not Bruce Rawson. “Got her number?”
“No. We don’t…” He huffs. “It’s not like we’re family.”
I refrain from pointing out they are exactly that. Evan is lucky that his brothers and sisters didn’t cut him off simply because their dad had a wandering dick and loved planting his seed in most of his assistants, including Evan’s mother. Thankfully, the Reed clan welcomed my buddy with open arms.
“Got it. Do you know her last name?” I’ve got to find her if I’m going to make any fucking progress on this case. The clock is already ticking…
“O’Neill. And she looks just as Irish as she sounds.”
What does that mean? I don’t get to ask before Rogan starts talking again.
“Shit. I’ve said too much. Keep this on the down low, huh? Dad would kill me if this news got out.”
“You got it. I won’t tell a soul.” I’ll just use the knowledge against them when the time is right. “Thanks.”
March 6
The following morning, I wake up at the ass crack of dawn, Maui time, to continue the illusion that I’m consulting from Phoenix. It’s still early in Dallas, so I plan to leave a message for Sloan O’Neill. Instead, she picks up on the first ring.
“O’Neill here.” Her voice sounds crisply competent.
“Hi, Ms. O’Neill, I’m Jeremy McBride, the—”
“Consultant Bruce Rawson hired to take Reservoir to the next level and prepare us for global expansion, yes. How can I help you?”
In one sentence, she’s already given me more useful information than all three of Rawson’s sons combined. I had no idea their corporate goal was global expansion. That explains their interest in Wynam… “I wondered if I could have a few minutes of your time. I’d like to understand your capacity in the organization and—”
“Have you spoken to Shane Rawson?”
“Yes, along with Brady and Rogan. The last referred me to you.”
She’s quiet for a long time. Is she wondering if I know they’re her brothers?
“What do you need?” she finally asks.
“I’ve been hired to do a job, but so far I’ve been unable to lay my hands on even basic information. I need the last five years of financial statements. Do you have them?”
“I have the previous four. I’ll shoot them over now. Email address?”
Thankfully, Jeremy and I thought of this eventuality, and he lent me one of his company’s little-used addresses, which I’ve already set up in my mail program. I rattle it off to Sloan. Seconds later, the email pops into my inbox with a neat row of four attachments.
“Just got them. Thank you. Do you have any idea when you’ll be able to share the statement for last year?”
Another hesitation. “I’ve been working with the proper internal groups to get that finished. I’ll make some phone calls and update you shortly.”
“Great. So, Ms. O’Neill—”
“Just Sloan. Can I call you Jeremy?”
“Of course.”
“Thanks. Let me know if you need anything else.”
I should let Reservoir rot. But it sounds like Shane will see to its demise sooner rather than later, which will make my job for Evan easy as hell. But in five minutes, this woman has already given me the reports I’ve spent too long trying to get my hands on and offered me more help. It feels wrong not to…I don’t know, throw her a bone? Besides, I admire her crisp intelligence. “I also haven’t received anything resembling an org chart yet. Can you shed any light on the firm’s hierarchy and structure?”
In my ear, she lets out a quiet sigh, then stifles it, as if she knows it’s either unprofessional or pointless to show her displeasure with senior management. “While Mr. Rawson—Bruce, not Shane—is out temporarily for a project so super-secret even I don’t know about it…”
Bullshit. She knows her father’s health isn’t good. I’d bet money on that. And in her shoes, I’d also make up something amazing he’s supposedly doing if I didn’t want anyone to know that my fearless leader has a weakness. But it’s notable that she didn’t call him Dad…
“So I’ve heard. No idea when he’ll be back?”
“Oh, I don’t talk to the senior Rawson much. He’s a lot of levels above my pay grade.” Sloan affects a polite chuckle.
I doubt she’s laughing on the inside. I feel somewhat bad for her, pretending—for whatever reason—that the two of them aren’t related. I probably shouldn’t. It’s not my problem. I’m simply here for information about Reservoir, not to dig into their father-daughter dynamic. “So while Bruce is out…”
“Shane has assumed the CEO’s role. He’s in charge of everything related to Reservoir.”