“What does this have to do with your girlfriend?” Craig asked.
“As you know, her father is one of the wealthiest men in the country.”
“We’re aware.”
“So, what you may not know is that he actually wanted to buy up the company before me, but the original owners wouldn’t sell.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s a man that likes to make money, and that’s where his morals end. I’m not saying he’s not a good man, but money talks.”
“Okay, well, it sounds like that’s the type of man you need for this company,” I said in confusion. “Why wouldn’t they want someone like him to own the company?”
“Nanotechnology used in the human body has the potential to be very dangerous. Imagine if this works, the next step would be to see how else you could use nanotechnology in the body. Could you cure a kid with Down Syndrome? What about trisomy 13, trisomy 18, Klinefelter syndrome, and Turner syndrome? All of those are diseases with chromosomal abnormalities. Now, imagine that scientists just started targeting those abnormalities and finding ways to cure those.”
“I’m not seeing the problem with that,” Craig said.
“And there wouldn’t be,” Jamie said. “Except, the next logical step after that is targeting anything else you want in the human body to create the perfect child. Soon, you’ll have parents requesting cookie-cutter kids, designed to be the absolute perfect specimen. And from there, where does that lead? Once you start messing with our DNA, the possibilities are endless. Look at the cellphone. That seems like a simple device, right? But what’s the one thing about a cellphone that infringes on our human rights in every way?”
“Tracking,” I said.
“Exactly. Suddenly, the government can track your every movement. Tell me that you haven’t done that before in your line of work.”
“Of course we have, but never to do anything evil,” I said, a little irritated at what he was implying.
“And that’s the way every good thing starts. We never plan for these new inventions to be used for anything but the greater good, but eventually, someone finds a way to use new technology against us. To weaponize it. Imagine nanobots in the hands of terrorists. And who would be willing to trade this great technology for money?”
“Someone like Blakely,” I surmised.
“And that’s why the company wouldn’t sell to him. No one knows for sure that he would sell the technology to the wrong people or that he would be selling it off for things other than cancer research, but they were smart enough to realize that they had to be careful with who they allowed into their company.”
“So, if you knew about Blakely, why would you date his daughter? Didn’t that throw up all kinds of red flags for you?”
“I didn’t know who she was at first,” he said sheepishly.
“Doesn’t your security team run background checks on pretty much everyone you meet?” Alec asked. “Any good security team would.”
“And that’s where my second problem comes in. I’m pretty sure that my security team sought me out. See, when I started researching security companies, I hired this guy, Johnson, to help me out. He was supposed to be kind of like my right hand man, but he left not long after he found me the security team. I interviewed several companies and the one I have is the one that seemed to fit with me best. But I think I was manipulated into liking them. I think Johnson told them what they needed to say and do to get the job. I don’t have any proof in that, but this security company also happens to work for Blakely, which I found out after I had already been dating Tessa for two months.”
“How is it possible that they didn’t know who Tessa was?” Cazzo asked.
“It’s not. She has the same last name, but she stays away from her father for the most part. She says that she’s not interested in living his life, but that doesn’t explain why security didn’t notify me of who she is.”
“And you didn’t dig into her when she told you her last name?” Alec asked skeptically.
“She told me her last name was Smith.”
Craig snorted and I glared at him. Turning back to Jamie, I asked what we all wanted to know. “You didn’t think that was suspicious? Didn’t your security detail give you a portfolio on her?”
“They did, but they changed her last name to Smith for the profile. When I asked my head of security about it, he said that he talked with her and when she explained that she was distancing herself from her father, he decided to give her the benefit of the doubt, but told her that she had to tell me who she was before things got too far with us.”
“Wow.”
“And that’s why I called you guys in. I don’t know who I can trust, but I didn’t want to cut things off with her without a second opinion. And I had to be careful how I reached out to you for help. I know your boss is a good man, but I was hesitant to say too much over the phone. I never know anymore when I’m being watched.”
“You like her,” I grinned.
“I do, but I don’t know if she’s using me. I need someone to look into her that won’t be swayed by her.”
“I’ve got no problem with that,” I smirked. I happen to think that Jamie was a very good guy, and I had no problem making sure that the woman he was with was worthy of him.
“I figured you’d say that.”
“Not to put a damper on your plan,” Alec spat at Jamie, “but if your security works with Richard Blakely, how the fuck are you going to explain away that you hired a
