Chapter 44：A false sense of security

―It has become apparent to me that the elder Harrison Grant is slowly building a monopoly. He turned to Chad. ―Since you have an accounting firm and you, he looked at Conrad, ―have the bank, I thought I would bring my suspicions to you and see what your thoughts are on this matter. ―It's no doubt he's trying to eliminate his competitors, Chad easily replied.

―Poor Greg Allen and Hugh Rivers lost everything they had. ―Are you telling me that Harrison managed to manipulate their files so that they went bankrupt? Conrad asked Jonathan. ―The paperwork looked legitimate when I verified their financial status at the bank. ―I don't exactly know how they did it, Jonathan said.

―A piece of the puzzle is that young Harrison took a sudden interest in Jessica right before her father went bankrupt. Leo and I suspect he used her to gain access to the files he kept in his home. ―He's not going to be able to use that method again if Junior marries Julie Muse this Saturday. ―Which means he most likely has something else in mind.

―I interviewed Harrison Jr. today for the contractor position. I wasn't overly impressed with him. I don't understand how he can win clients his way.

―The father has an easier way to charm people with his words than the son does, Chad added. ―His son is too desperate to please him, and my wife senses some hesitation on his part. He acts tough on the outside, but she wonders how hard his father is pushing him so he can mold him into his image.

―Whatever the father-son relationship is like, we would be wise to keep our eyes and ears open for both of them, Jonathan advised. ―I already do. ―I suppose setting up a bank is something the father's itching to do, Conrad reflected.

―Of course, he'll want to bankrupt me once he establishes it. Could he be seeking to contract his services for investing to gain access to my bank records?

―Most likely. On our end, he's just trying to take as many clients from us as he possibly can. If he were to get enough of them, he could do considerable damage to our investing firm. Jonathan glanced at Leo.

―We do have to be careful. Conrad sat thoughtfully for a moment. ―The best way for me to watch what the Grants are doing is to keep them close by. I wasn't going to take their business to invest, but it would be wise to do so. Chad nodded.

―At the very least, it will give him a false sense of security. Just have one of your employees keep an eye on him and his son.

―I have the right employee in mind for this. Leo wondered if he would trust George for this task, but Conrad's next statement distinguished his fears for he knew that George could easily be bought if the price was right.

―I'll have Jake Mitchell work with the Grants and tell him our misgivings. Jake is good about keeping things to himself.

―Do you think they will suspect Jake is up to something?

―No. Jake can hide his emotions with surprising ease. Leo wished he was like that. It would come in handy when people insisted on gossiping about his sex life, or rather a lack thereof.

Once again, he considered just allowing the annulment. Then the rumors would slowly die down and people would find something more exciting to discuss.

If I didn't love her, I'd sign the papers tonight. He knew he shouldn't let what other people said bother him as much as it did, but he often felt as if his life was on careful display before the whole town and he had to be careful of what he did or how he said something. He didn't like drawing attention to himself.

―I'll keep you posted on what Jake or I discover, Conrad promised. As Chad and Conrad left the room to join the other men in the parlor, Jonathan turned to him.

―That was a fruitful meeting. I'm glad you could make it tonight. Now you can appreciate the threat the Grants are. We need to be on our toes.