Free Shattered Legacy by Shane R. Daley Page B

Please.” Jackson winked at Ramona and headed for the door. “I'll start pulling records. Let me know if you need anything else.”
    “I will.”
    Jackson paused, his hand resting on the doorknob, chewing thoughtfully on his cigar stump. “Good luck,” he said without turning. “But I think we’re just wasting our time.”
    Then he left, leaving the door open behind him.
    Ramona rose from the couch. “I don’t like this. Seriously, what’s your plan if this investigation of yours actually turns up something?”
    Tyler had swiveled his chair to look out the window. “If something comes up, then we’ll look into our options.”
    Ramona marched over to the desk and leveled the back of Tyler’s head with an icy gaze. “Don’t give me weasel words, Samson.”
    Tyler felt his back stiffen. “You’re not the only person I have to answer to. You're not top of pyramid, Ramona.”
    “Not yet.”
    “When there's more to tell, then you'll be the first to know. This is a serious situation. I understand that.”
    “No, you don’t,” Ramona corrected him sharply. “If we don’t get the Naiad running commercial passenger flights by the end of the year, we’ll never be able to, because we’ll be out of business. So whatever you have to do to bury this shit, do it.”
    Tyler swiveled his seat back around. He shot a glance behind Ramona, to the doorway where Dustin O’Dell was waiting with his arms crossed, trying to look inconspicuous.
    Tyler looked back at Ramona and clenched his jaw. “Until I know what's going on here, Ramona, I’m going to do everything I can to minimize potential damage to the company. But I'm not burying anything .”
    “Fine, but we're going to keep this mess from Sinclair. The man does not need surprises.”
    “Too late.”
    “Shit. You told him already? What did he say?”
    “He took it pretty well.” Tyler tilted his head. “Of course, it turned out that you had already broken the news to him.”
    Ramona scowled. Then she turned and swept out of the office, nearly bumping into Dusty at the doorway. He watched her leave before he lumbered inside.
    Tyler was back on his feet, gazing out the window, hands clasped behind his back, frowning in thought.
    “Always a sweet lady,” Dusty observed.
    “She's just doing her job,” Tyler replied.
    “She wants to run the show when Sinclair steps down. She sees you as a threat.”
    “I have no ambitions to run this company. I don't know the first thing about rockets and astronauts.”
    Dusty slumped onto the couch and threw his arms back. “Still, you're the only person besides Ramona who can bend the old man's ear.” He chuckled to himself. “You know, between the two of you, it's like some sort of sibling rivalry…”
    Tyler didn’t want to hear it. He threw a glance over his shoulder. “I want to clear up this mess. We’re starting our own internal investigation.”
    “Really? I thought we would wait -”
    Tyler snapped, “Why does everyone in this company insist on questioning my judgment?”
    Dusty raised his hands. “Whoa! Hey, I’m on your side. I just thought that, you know, you might have consulted with us before going down this road.”
    “Well, I didn’t, so deal with it. You and I need to put together a list of questions for the procurement staff. Denise should gather background material on the subjects and organize an interview schedule for tomorrow.”
    “Sounds like we’re pulling another all-nighter.”
    “Do you have other plans?”
    Dusty shook his head and stood. “Not anymore. I’ll go inform the troops.”
     

CHAPTER TEN
    “I'll see your two and raise you one.”
    “Too rich for my blood.”
    “I'd be braver if we weren't playing for cash,” said the third as he slapped down his cards and folded.
    The forth, a large, bearded man, threw a dollar into the pile of bills and looked up. “What do you say, Tony? You in?”
    Tony Kanavos regarded his playing cards with a neutral expression. His face was