The Proviso

8: Greedy Enemy of the State

November 2005

Giselle and Sebastian sat at the conference table, Giselle studying and Sebastian tapping away on his laptop. Fox News blared in the background. Knox came through the front door and up the four steps to the conference room, dumping his briefcase and computer on the table. He too sat down to work without a word.

"Feds finally decide you didn't kill Leah?" Sebastian muttered after a while.

Knox grunted. "Don't even know why they bother investigating me anymore for anything. Over a year. Waste of taxpayer money."

"Breaking news this afternoon from Kansas City, Missouri. OKH Enterprises CEO Fen Hilliard has announced the formation of an exploratory committee for a possible run for the Senate seat that will be vacated at the end of this term-"

All three of them turned toward the TV and gaped. Giselle felt the blood drain from her face. Knox dropped his head in his hands.

"You have got to be kidding me," Sebastian whispered. "FUCK!" he roared, slamming his hands on the table as he got up and started to pace, his hand rubbing his mouth. "I gotta go make some calls," he muttered finally, his long legs eating up the distance from the dining room to his office. Giselle winced when the door slammed.

She and Knox traded sober glances. Fen had put Sebastian in check brilliantly, thus setting Knox and Giselle back in play if he decided to call Giselle's bluff. Giselle never bluffed. Though she dreaded the consequences of taking Fen's life, she would do it.

"Murder doesn't wash clean, Giselle," Knox offered softly.

She looked away, biting her bottom lip, nauseated.

"Should Democrat Fen Hilliard win the seat, he will tip the balance of power in the Senate. Some on Wall Street speculate that he would bring the necessary leverage to pass legislation that would force his nephew, financier Sebastian Taight, to cease his takeover of OKH Enterprises. How such legislation might impact the financial landscape is unknown at this time.

"Taight, infamous for his Fix-or-Raid policy, has been accused by various corporate executives and members of Congress of deliberately sabotaging companies that have hired his services. Though no fault has been found in various audits across the spectrum of companies Taight has taken over, a Hilliard win in the Senate could trigger long-anticipated hearings on Capitol Hill to call Taight to answer these allegations and account for his business practices.

"On a related note, another of Hilliard's nephews, Knox Hilliard, Chouteau County, Missouri prosecutor and heir to OKH Enterprises, was only recently cleared of last year's murder of his bride. No other suspects are in custody at this time, but investigations into the allegations of corruption in his office are ongoing."

Knox growled. "They make us sound like a couple of thugs."

The office door flew open and Sebastian was even more angry. "Gets worse," he snapped, leaning over the table toward Knox. "Kenard's on the guest list for the fundraiser next month."

Knox paled underneath his perpetual tan and he wiped his hand down his face.

"This is what's going to happen," Sebastian said. He took up pacing again, his hands on his hips and the expression he got when he had to churn through thousands of possibilities to deal with a problem. "You- Giselle-" She started, but he went on. "You are going to go to that fundraiser with me next month and if Kenard shows up, you are going to keep him away from Fen. I'll attempt to keep Fen away from Kenard."

"Are you out of your fucking mind?" Knox demanded.

Sebastian stopped and stared at him, an eyebrow cocked wickedly. "Are you concerned for Fen's life, his war chest, or that-Bonus!-Kenard will love her?"

Knox looked at him stonily.

Sebastian smirked. "That's what I thought."

"Wait," Giselle said. "Who is this person and what am I supposed to do with him and why am I doing it and why doesn't Knox want me to?"

"Bryce Kenard," Sebastian explained, "is one of the most powerful tort lawyers in the country. He's filthy rich-like, maybe he has a couple bucks more or less than I do-and he has influence. He keeps his politics to himself, and for Fen to court him means that he can't come up with enough campaign money from amongst his cronies. Kenard's support could be the difference between his running for Senate and not, and he has a personal reason to-"

Knox growled, and Giselle glanced at him.

"Giselle," Sebastian continued, his tone urgent, "it is imperative that you keep him away from Fen. If Fen doesn't get Kenard's support that night, he'll have to work that much harder to drum up the kind of cash Kenard could give him."

"That makes no sense. Why couldn't he get it any other time?"

"Kenard gives people one chance to pitch ideas at him. If they don't get him in the first thirty seconds, they don't get him at all. You know Fen likes to put on a show and he'll think that'll impress the hell out of him without having to say a word."

"Okay. What am I supposed to do with him?"

"All you have to do is be yourself," Knox mumbled. "He's brilliant and he likes nothing more than erudite conversation."

"Your job is to lead him away from Fen-preferably out of sight and as far away from the party as possible-and fuck his mind. He'll forget everything else but you and Fen will know that he was singularly unimpressed."

"I don't like this idea," Knox pronounced.

"Of course you don't," Sebastian snapped. "Pee on her leg before she leaves for the party, whydontcha?"

Giselle looked at Sebastian. "Why is Knox being pissy?"

Sebastian looked at Knox and smirked. "Ask him. If he tells you the truth, I'll give you three months' rent free."

She looked at Knox, who sat stone-faced. "Well?"

At which point, Knox whipped out his checkbook and wrote a check to Sebastian for three months of her rent. Sebastian howled and Giselle decided she didn't care why Knox was upset; she'd take the money and keep her curiosity to herself.

Once Sebastian had calmed down enough to get back to business, he leaned across the table and got right in her face. "This is very important. You must have scared Fen enough to get him to back off you two, but now he's coming after me. There's just too much anti-Taight sentiment on Capitol Hill, especially after the way we conned the Department of Justice. He could easily get me shut down-and he'd most definitely be able to haul my ass in front of the Senate. Wouldn't Fen love to have me and Knox sitting at a table in front of him and the nation, grilling us like we were kids again." He dug a credit card out of his wallet and flipped it at her. "Go get a dress. Make sure you have cleavage."