"Finally, I spent all day chasing you! What the hell man?!" Kevin Beechwood finally managed to get hold of Adam.
"I'm sorry Kev, I had a family emergency, I thought I sent Marie the message but, it never went through. Think I'm having issues with my phone. I've been using a burner since Wednesday night." 'Shit' Adam mimed to himself, realising that if Aldridge was monitoring his phone traffic, he probably just realised Adam's got another phone.
"Yeah, well, whatever the family emergency was, it better be life-threatening, because the other directors are pissed! We were all sent some troubling information Wednesday night and hoped you could shed some light on the matter."
Adam heard the news and was floored by it. Had Martin Aldridge pulled the trigger early? Adam's mind was racing.
"Wh-what kind of information?"
"Adam, just get into the office and soon as you can. I've already let the board know you are coming in, they want to meet at 8.30am"
"Oh. Ok. I've got another meeting at 8 so-"
"Don’t fuck around, Adam. I can't protect you with this. You need to cancel everything and get up to The Pinnacle as soon as you land. I knew something was up the other day, in your office." Kevin didn't need to say anything else. He had Adam marked from the moment he saw his momentary break in character during the Sector C presentation Wednesday morning.
"I'll be there Kevin."
"Listen, if I'm going to have a hope in hell to save you, we need to cut the familiar shit. Call me Director Beechwood once you land. In fact, just make that the new default Adam." Beechwood hung up the call.
Adam sat there, in his car, motionless. Every worse case scenario ran through his head in a flash.
The car pulled up in the private garage beneath Calder Energy HQ, and Adam rushed to the elevator. He made his way up to his office floor. His office was in complete darkness - no Marie. That was very odd, and he didn't remember giving Marie the day off.
He opened the office door and it looked exactly as he had left it Wednesday.
"CILLA, when was Marie last-"
"Ah, good morning, Mr Ashworth." Martin Aldridge entered Adam's office behind him.
"Aldridge..." Adam stated, in a low growl.
"shh, Adam. Not too loud. Not yet. CILLA, take the morning off my dear, me and Adam here are going to have a lovely breakfast meeting."
"Certainly, Mr Smith. Commencing Privacy Mode."
"Wonderful. Bagel?" Aldridge held out a tray of freshly baked bagels. They smelled delicious, but Adam did not want a single thing from this man.
"No. Thanks. You hacked my phone."
"Oh, come now, Adam. You are such a grump this morning. We were supposed to be celebrating the start of a beautiful partnership, you and I."
"Fuck you, you piece of shit!"
"Ok. No bagels for you." Martin grabbed the box, closed the lid, and placed them on Marie's desk. He grabbed a chair and sat facing Adam, who had moved into his seat behind his desk.
"You're in no mood. I get it. So, let's cut to the chase. Did you decide to come clean, or did you get my money?" Aldridge sat with his legs crossed, eating a bagel and smiling at Adam.
"I've got your money. Ready to wire it?"
"Sure, let's do that first, then we can discuss the particulars of our relationship moving forward. Here, I've already taken the liberty of having my CILLA ping yours, you'll need to open your device and do it manually, due to the privacy mode."
Adam grabbed his phone from his pocket, and true to his word, Martin had sent the bank details to him. He opened his Zenith app and begrudgingly transferred fifty thousand pounds to Martin Aldridge's account.
"Wonderful. We are now business partners. Of a sort."
"What did you tell my superiors?" Adam said flatly.
"Who spoiled the surprise? I bet it was Beechwood wasn't it, the little minx! Don't worry, I didn't tell them about your dirty little Eleanor secret. I mean, they already know, they were the ones who hired you to do that!"
"I wish you'd stop playing these fucking games and just tell me what you want already."
"Ok, yet again, for the second time, I can see you're in no mood to play. Let me be straight with you. I know exactly what you did to Eleanor. And I know your bosses hired you to do it. I know that you have this lovely office, with a private secretary, and that beautiful house of yours PRECISELY because you fucked your wife over, before she was even your wife."
"What has any of that got to do with you? Why are you blackmailing me against my own wife for?!"
"I'm not. It's leverage. And now that I've got hard evidence that shows you transferring a large sum of money to a very special bank account, there is nothing you can do but comply."
Adam's head began to throb. He didn't even think to check what the bank account was, who it was registered with. He'd been so focused on getting out of this room and up to the directors meeting, he didn't think for a second what that bank transfer would look like on the record.
"Still not being fully straight with me, Aldridge. Why the charades. You want me? Fine, you've got me. You've got my marriage, career, by the bollocks. So just tell me what the fuck you want!"
"I can't tell you. Not yet. Not because I'm trying to be mysterious, as fun as it has been. But because, I need you to act as normal as you can. Me giving you too much information too early would jeopardise that. Instead, I will promise you this. Help me, and Eleanor will never find out that you were the one who ruined her career. I'll let your dark, twisted conscience keep that one."
"You never answered my question before, about my phone."
"You didn't ask a question. You made a statement. An incorrect one. I never needed to do anything as clandestine as hack your phone. What, you think I maybe hired the kid on the e-wheel to bump into you so that he was close enough to gain Near-Field remote access?" Aldridge laughed as he played with Adam like a toy.
"As for what the board meeting is about in....7 minutes. I can't say. That one isn't me. You must have a full closet, Mr Ashworth. It appears all your skeletons are falling out."
"I don't have any skeletons. Just...The Elle thing. That's it. And it's my biggest regret, the one thing that I wish I could take back. But hey, don’t let me stop you from enjoying the torment you’re inflicting on me," Adam said, a mix of sadness and anger seeping through the cracks of his mask.
"Oh, blow off, Mr Ashworth. Your self-righteous indignation is neither earned nor accurate. You're a piece of shit. You ruined countless lives, not just that of your wife. Any suffering you feel is incalculably infinitesimal compared to what you have wrought..." Martin Aldridge stared a hole through Adam, this was the first time he had shown genuine anger, even disgust. In fact, it was the nearest to an emotion Adam had seen in Aldridge's face since they first met.
"I do have some good news though. You don't need to pay me any more money. But, I now own you. Anything I ask you to do, you WILL do it. And don't bother with the second phone, I genuinely didn't hack the first one. I have ways and means far beyond your petty theories. Stay reachable." Aldridge dramatically feigned shock as he looked at his watch, making sure Adam noticed it. An Omega Speedmaster.
"I better let you go, you've got 3 minutes. And just to put your mind at ease, if whatever shenanigans you've been up to results in your termination this morning, I'll make sure Eleanor knows exactly what you did to destroy her life's work. So you can now let that one go from your mind." Martin stood up, straightened his suit jacket with a smile on his face. He walked over to Marie's desk, picked up the box with the freshly baked bagels and inhaled deeply. He put them beneath his arm and walked towards Adam's office door.
"CILLA, you can wake up now. Tata for now, Mr Ashworth. I'll be in touch soon." And with that, Martin Aldridge walked out of Adam's office. Adam felt like Aldridge had pulled the pin and left Adam holding the grenade.
The familiar high-pitched oscillation rang out around the office, "Mr Ashworth, you have an urgent meeting in The Pinnacle. I suggest you leave immediately. I'll attempt to hold the elevator for you." Adam stood up, buttoned his suit jacket and straightened his tie. He'd gotten used to doing it without a mirror. He placed his hand in his pants pocket and walked around his desk. As he passed, he noticed a binder left on the chair Martin had been sat in. He picked it up. It was the same binder Aldridge had shown Adam on Wednesday.
"Why has he given me this now?"