The Price of Greed

CHAPTER 4

Grover sighed as his sister hurried through another plan to salvage her selfish existence. His evening of relaxing and watching the football game was blown out of the water by her insistence on him listening to, and ultimately finding himself, curiously interested. The plan actually had merit with the promise of great financial benefit.

He maintained an aloof interest as he conceded to discuss it.

"Last time I was expected to somehow help you steal Enland's program codes."

"Things change. Opportunities change. This is a very good opportunity and easier than my other suggestion. All you have to do now is anonymously offer to sell Victor back his codes."

"Say, that sounds simple." The sarcasm dripped. "And how the hell do I do that when I don't even have them?"

"You will. I will... soon."

"Okay, let me get this straight. You are going to steal Victor's codes—"

"Not me, Grover, another party is going to do it for me."

"How many people are involved in this, Gloria? Jesus. You know what, never mind. I don't want to know. I'm not interested in blackmail."

"It's not blackmail, Grover. You are just offering to sell them back to him . . . or his competitor."

"Is that all. Well, and how did I happen to come by them to sell back?"

"That's not important; he either wants them or he doesn't, but he'll want them."

"Yeah, or I sell them to his chief competitor." Grover took a breath and blew it out resignedly. "That's not blackmail?"

"Right. You can do that can't you?"

"Gloria, this is crazy. In the first place I would have to show proof that I even had the damn things - to either party, and secondly the odds against staying anonymous throughout the whole business are too big a risk."

"We can work that out. Grover, Victor would be ruined in business if his competition got hold of the codes. He'll pay plenty to prevent that; Enland has risked everything on this contract."

"Plenty. Plenty like what?"

"You can ask for three million."

"Are you serious!"

"Without his codes and me standing in the way of he and Charlotte, he will pay. Believe me."

"Charlotte? Who the hell is Charlotte and what's she have to do with anything?"

"She is Victor's mistress."

Grover blinked and stared at the bucolic painting on his apartment wall.

"You know- knew about this? I mean- so how long?"

"Years, and yes I have always known about it. It doesn't matter, Grover. What matters is from now on."

"Christ, Gloria, is this just some vengeful act because you're pissed? Look, I'll be in town at the end of the week, we can talk this over sensibly then."

"I told you. Victor's reputation will be the talk of the industry, and Charlotte will just have to keep her dreams in her drawer. He won't want a divorce piled on top of everything else. There is no time to wait on this, Grover. You need to commit now."

"Now it's a divorce were talking about. I'll call you at the end of the week."

"This is going to happen, Grover, with or without you. You would be missing out on a very big score." He rang off and sat staring at the phone.