Family Ties

Part 21

"Ray, what are you doing?" Damon asked as soon as they sat down in the study.

"What do you mean?" he carefully pretended he didn't know where this conversation was going.

"You're investigating his company, trying to find something, something that may end his career and you're dating him?!" Damon cut to the chase. This was a very unusual situation he was in. Work had never interfered with personal life in this way before and if there was something off about Jackson, then it didn't make much sense for Raymond to get attached to him.

"Come on Pops, I'm not completely brainless." he leaned back in his chair. "Jackson and a friend were kidnapped while he was in grad school. Apparently, they thought it was a prank gone wrong at first, according to the report. He was gone for five days and his friend went missing, presumed dead, but they couldn't find a body. The specifics are sketchy because a lot of the information had been redacted. At least I could get to the sealed files in time." He briefly closed his eyes and sighed.

"There was something off about the ransom, though. Nobody seemed to have picked it up or even looked at it, which was weird. Besides the cash, they also wanted a jewel that the family had recently acquired. Very rare and very expensive. The insurance tag on it alone was, well it knocked the wind out of me." He had to admit. The jewel was worth a small fortune and to lose it must have been a great blow to the family.

"So, Jackson is in the clear, even if he's in the middle of it all. The issue we have is with that jewel and the kidnappers. Because more than one party seemed to have scored out of this disaster, and if what I'm suspecting is going on, then your friend needs to start spilling the beans, or I'll have to find them myself." He finished looking at Damon who had a bemused look on his face.

"My little Inquisitor!" Damon exclaimed with a grin. "You seemed to have an idea of what's going on, do you mind sharing with your Pops?" He leaned forward in his chair in anticipation.

"Sorry, no joy Pops." Raymond shook his head with a heavy frown. "Unless you tell me who this person is because that would cut this case time in half, I'll have to go hunting myself and you know what that means?" He asked, sitting up straight himself.

"You're going to start digging into me next." He smiled mildly, his eyes twinkling. "I've always wondered what you would find if you ever investigated me. I guess I'm going to find out!" He clapped his hands together in glee.

"Pops, there's definitely something wrong with you. Aren't you afraid of what I could find?"

"Afraid? This is like searching for yourself online. You never know what's going to pop up first." he openly grinned. "Look, I promised my friend that I wouldn't tell anybody who they were, so I won't, you know that. But I also knew that when I assigned you the case that you'd find out on your own anyway."

"Stop overthinking it, Ray." Damon got up and put his hand on Raymond's shoulder. "He's a nice guy and who knows, if he loosens up a bit, he would fit right in with the family."

"What?"

"Ray, I'm your Pops. Between your father and me, we trained you to be the best at what you're doing now. Your instincts are a hundred times sharper than anybody else's and you wouldn't put yourself in a situation that was doomed. Trust yourself." He squeezed his shoulder, before moving off.

--

"So, besides being a CEO, what are you bringing to the party?" Kelley asked having moved to stretch out over the couch on her stomach, her feet in the air.

"Excuse me?" Jackson was caught off guard again.

"Honey, let the men talk. You take the child to the kitchen and do womanly things." Eric snickered.