章 87: The Conversation

In normal times, it's so easy for Gabriel to fly off the handle and threw things and furniture at people in rage. He had done that to Claire, both as a real thing and as part of an "act," and even Gabriel is aware of this. He cultivated this behavior to cement a certain reputation, one of notoriety, yet also of charisma.

But this morning, his rage is genuine. His chief financial officer, an otherwise brilliant man named Ferdinand Salvador, is now telling him on the phone how exactly Michelle had slipped past their due diligence. "It's clear based on the documents we have," he says, "Michelle had a very special arrangement with Relentless. It was a cunning plan, because Michelle's company, Maxx Cosmetics, didn't even have previous dealings with Relentless. It was all a shadow move. When we were in talks with Relentless, and even down to the date we signed the documents and everything was made legal, Michelle was already having a deal with the CEO of Relentless."