Vawter is facing shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. At least anyone that knew about them.”
Cain didn’t say anything, he just stared at me.
I continued on, careful to avoid sounding accusatory. “You knew about them, didn’t you? I mean it was your dad that made it all go away when you two were at Brown, wasn’t it?” My voice was soft but steady; I didn’t believe Cain was to blame, but we had to clear the air about this. Now that Reese had dug up the dirt on Dylan, there was no way it wouldn’t be slung around a little.
He played with the food in his container. He still didn’t say anything, and seemed lost in thought. Cain walked over to the sliding glass door and opened it. I followed him, slipping into the chair beside him.
“I’m not the enemy, Cain. I want to help you.”
“I know that.” Cain’s blue eyes shimmered in the light from streetlamps below. “I guess I am to blame, in a way. Dylan and I were more like brothers when we were younger. He spent almost every waking moment with my family when we were in high school. My parents loved him, especially my father. Dad really missed my brother—he died when I was thirteen. Jase had leukemia and I guess, in a way, having Dylan around was like having my brother back, to my father at least. No matter what he did, Dylan couldn’t do any wrong. I think Dylan loved him, too. But when Dad died, I began to feel like Dylan resented me. Dad left him out of his will and that angered Dylan.”
“So your relationship deteriorated after that?” I could see how Dylan would be motivated by money.
Cain looked sad, even tired. “No, we were still close. We continued to build our business together, but Rachel was there for me and that sort of kept Dylan away. I didn’t know that he had a crush on her. Things just happened between us in college. We hit it off. She complained about him a few times, but I promised her I would talk to him. I confronted Dylan about it once, but he denied everything. I warned him to stay away from her. It didn’t really matter, in the end, because she died about a month after that.”
I reached over and held his hand. He squeezed mine back. “Are you ok? I know this has to be hard on you.”
“It is. That’s why I was late tonight. Dylan and I had a meeting. I confronted him about my suspicions. He denied everything and I suggested he take a leave of absence for a while, to clear his head.”
“How did he take it?” I could only imagine the tension during this meeting. First Dylan had been rejected by me today, then his best friend pushed him a way while accusing him of causing the problems at the company.
“Not well. He was upset. He said I would regret this. I know it’s just talk. He’s overworked. There’s a lot going on with these breaches and I k now he’s concerned about them.”
“Cain, I’ve been wanting to talk to you about all of this. Aside from Dylan’s history in college, we found out he was pushing Pegasus away. He told Alice Bennett she could only speak with him, and then proceeded to decline their assistance and modify their software.”
“What? I was aware there was a software issue, but I never knew anything about Alice.” Cain’s face turned pale. The stress showed in his eyes. “So you think Dylan…”
Cain’s phone rang stopping him mid-sentence. “I’m sorry, I have to take this.”
He got up and walked inside. I could hear him whispering, and it seemed liked he was in an argument, but it was difficult to tell for sure. He returned a few minutes later.
“I’m really sorry. I have to go back to the office.” He s eemed a distraught and on edge.
“Cain, what’s wr ong? Can I help with anything?”
“It’s Ashley. She needs me back at the office for something, she wouldn’t say what over the phone. That’s really unlike her.”
“At this hour? Are you fucking kidding me?” I rarely cussed, but this pushed me over the edge. “She calls you and you go running. Don’t
Cain didn’t say anything, he just stared at me.
I continued on, careful to avoid sounding accusatory. “You knew about them, didn’t you? I mean it was your dad that made it all go away when you two were at Brown, wasn’t it?” My voice was soft but steady; I didn’t believe Cain was to blame, but we had to clear the air about this. Now that Reese had dug up the dirt on Dylan, there was no way it wouldn’t be slung around a little.
He played with the food in his container. He still didn’t say anything, and seemed lost in thought. Cain walked over to the sliding glass door and opened it. I followed him, slipping into the chair beside him.
“I’m not the enemy, Cain. I want to help you.”
“I know that.” Cain’s blue eyes shimmered in the light from streetlamps below. “I guess I am to blame, in a way. Dylan and I were more like brothers when we were younger. He spent almost every waking moment with my family when we were in high school. My parents loved him, especially my father. Dad really missed my brother—he died when I was thirteen. Jase had leukemia and I guess, in a way, having Dylan around was like having my brother back, to my father at least. No matter what he did, Dylan couldn’t do any wrong. I think Dylan loved him, too. But when Dad died, I began to feel like Dylan resented me. Dad left him out of his will and that angered Dylan.”
“So your relationship deteriorated after that?” I could see how Dylan would be motivated by money.
Cain looked sad, even tired. “No, we were still close. We continued to build our business together, but Rachel was there for me and that sort of kept Dylan away. I didn’t know that he had a crush on her. Things just happened between us in college. We hit it off. She complained about him a few times, but I promised her I would talk to him. I confronted Dylan about it once, but he denied everything. I warned him to stay away from her. It didn’t really matter, in the end, because she died about a month after that.”
I reached over and held his hand. He squeezed mine back. “Are you ok? I know this has to be hard on you.”
“It is. That’s why I was late tonight. Dylan and I had a meeting. I confronted him about my suspicions. He denied everything and I suggested he take a leave of absence for a while, to clear his head.”
“How did he take it?” I could only imagine the tension during this meeting. First Dylan had been rejected by me today, then his best friend pushed him a way while accusing him of causing the problems at the company.
“Not well. He was upset. He said I would regret this. I know it’s just talk. He’s overworked. There’s a lot going on with these breaches and I k now he’s concerned about them.”
“Cain, I’ve been wanting to talk to you about all of this. Aside from Dylan’s history in college, we found out he was pushing Pegasus away. He told Alice Bennett she could only speak with him, and then proceeded to decline their assistance and modify their software.”
“What? I was aware there was a software issue, but I never knew anything about Alice.” Cain’s face turned pale. The stress showed in his eyes. “So you think Dylan…”
Cain’s phone rang stopping him mid-sentence. “I’m sorry, I have to take this.”
He got up and walked inside. I could hear him whispering, and it seemed liked he was in an argument, but it was difficult to tell for sure. He returned a few minutes later.
“I’m really sorry. I have to go back to the office.” He s eemed a distraught and on edge.
“Cain, what’s wr ong? Can I help with anything?”
“It’s Ashley. She needs me back at the office for something, she wouldn’t say what over the phone. That’s really unlike her.”
“At this hour? Are you fucking kidding me?” I rarely cussed, but this pushed me over the edge. “She calls you and you go running. Don’t
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