Chapter 11 - The London Objective
The private jet banked sharply through the dense, charcoal-grey clouds descending toward Heathrow.
Elise did not look out the window. Her eyes were fixed on the glowing screen of her tablet, her fingers flying across the glass as she cross-referenced a dozen offshore shell companies.
“You’ve been staring at that ledger since we left airspace over the Atlantic,” Graham noted, his voice a low, warm rumble that effortlessly cut through the hum of the jet engines.
He unbuckled his seatbelt and moved to the leather armchair directly across from her, handing her a crystal tumbler of sparkling water with a twist of lemon.
“Kensington Dynamics is hiding something,” Elise said, accepting the glass without breaking her focus. “Julian Thorne’s valuation is too perfect. Tech companies operating in the cybersecurity sector always have a margin of unpredictable liability. His books show zero volatility for the past eight quarters.”
Graham leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees.
Kensington Dynamics was to be their first joint acquisition since Elise had taken her seat beside him at Bastion Arc. It was a billion-dollar play, a hostile takeover meant to establish their dominance in the European market.
“You think he’s cooking the books?” Graham asked, his analytical mind immediately locking onto her frequency.
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“I think he’s not just cooking them; he’s a Michelin-star chef of corporate fraud,” Elise replied, finally looking up. The fire in her eyes was the exact look Graham had fallen in love with. “He’s claiming a proprietary encryption algorithm is driving his revenue, but the money flowing into his Cayman accounts suggests he’s selling something far less legal.”
“Then we don’t just buy his company,” Graham smiled, a predatory gleam in his dark eyes. “We dismantle his fortress.”
