CHAPTER 211: LUNCH WITH ORIN (3)

"How?!" blurted Orin, before getting ahold of himself.

His look of surprise and disbelief turned to contemplation, then resolve.

In a respectful tone, he said, "I underestimated you, Mr. Waldron. Here I’ve been thinking I’m dealing with a young pup only to discover I’m actually sitting across from a keen-eyed wolf."

Jack just smiled.

Then Orin asked, "I have to ask, did you poke Old Man Wallingford about Lily’s security detail and prompt Katie to tell me about Darrel’s comments because you know something?"

"If I had even suspected that something like that would happen during the party, I would have convinced Katie to accompany me elsewhere. Just as I’m sure you would have prevented her from going if you’d had any suspicions."

Orin nodded.

"Old Man Wallingford’s dowry gambit combined with Darrel’s smug behavior had alarm bells ringing in my head. If you hadn’t responded to my warning via Katie, I would have found some other way to extract her from the club."

"You have good instincts," said Orin.

Jack shrugged.

More like chance favors the curious. If he hadn’t interrogated Darrel on a whim, things would have been a bit more dicey.

At that moment, the middle-aged woman in the chef’s coat came out onto the deck with three plates. She deposited one in front of each of them, then retreated back into the house.

The food was just a simple salmon steak on a bed of rice with a side of mixed vegetables.

They ate in silence for a while before Orin asked, "So, what are your intentions towards my daughter?"

Miranda’s mother, Sophia, had asked him the same question. To her he’d said, "She’s mine now. Now and forevermore. The only reason we won’t get married is because polygamy is illegal in this country."

He wasn’t sure Orin would be as calm with the same answer.

"Katie said she told you I have other girlfriends."

Orin nodded.

"I am as committed to them as I am to Katie, and I expect to be together with them, Katie included, now and forevermore."

"I see," said Orin, seeming a little unsettled at the firmness and finality of Jack’s answer.

"Does that mean you’ve already defiled my daughter?"

Katie had been silent for most of the lunch, quietly annoyed or amused at the way her father was treating Jack, but her father’s last question crossed a line for her.

"Father," she said sternly.

Orin’s head tilted back slightly, and Jack thought he saw the man flinch, if ever so slightly.

Then, to both men’s surprise and Orin’s shock, Katie said, "My first time with Jack exceeded my expectations and surpassed my wildest naughty dreams. We did it again in my bedroom this morning, and I look forward to him plowing me with his massive cock every day from now on."

Orin looked utterly horrified, and Jack was certain that if Katie actually tried to go into details, the man would flee before she could shatter his ’precious little girl’ image of her.

"Check and mate," muttered Jack, trying not to smile at Orin’s suffering.

Katie smiled evilly at her father, and Orin looked like he was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

After a tense moment, Orin relented and said, "I apologize, Katie. You are an adult now, and I overstepped."

To Jack he said, "You have apparently made her extremely happy, so I have no room to complain. I give her into your care."

Then to Katie he said, "So, when are you moving out?"

"Now, I guess. Though I won’t be completely moved out until after the mansion is ready."

Looking at Jack, he said, "I thought it was move-in ready. If you don’t mind my asking, what work are you having done to it?"

"I hired a security company to do a review and propose a full security system. I just reviewed and approved the plan a few days ago, but it will take a few weeks to complete the work. Besides exterior and interior surveillance and a keypad entry system, I also approved installation of bullet-proof windows and wall insulation."

Orin nodded in approval. "Paranoid. I like it."

They returned to eating. After they finished and the plates were cleared, Orin spoke.

"Because Kayden acted against his granddaughter, but you saved her, Old Man Wallingford is keeping Morton Richland in check. Morton won’t act against you as long as Old Man Wallingford is still alive."

"John, the old man’s head of security, said much the same," said Jack.

"I’ll also have a word with Morton. That should ensure he doesn’t act against you, even if Old Man Wallingford kicks the bucket. However, that still leaves Kayden. The boy is unlikely to leave the matter alone. He’ll want revenge."

Jack had interrogated a copy of Kayden to see what the man intended to do about Jack, and learned the man was hell-bent on revenge.

He also interrogated a copy of Morton to learn how the man would react to various manners of his son’s death. Based on what Jack learned, he determined that Kayden needed to appear to have ended his own life.

Kayden was still in the hospital, so operation, Kayden-drowns-in-his-sorrows was on hold.

To Orin’s unstated question, Jack said, "I imagine most men would be depressed after losing their balls like that, so I doubt Kayden will be any different. And we all know what happens when someone succumbs to their depression."

Orin gave Jack an appraising look. "You don’t think the boy will seek revenge?"

"Oh, I’m sure he’ll think about revenge, but when his daddy dearest tells him he’s on his own in that regard, he’ll probably go on a bender. I wonder if the man bothered to read the warnings on his medication."

Normally, Jack wouldn’t even hint at Kayden’s possible demise. But from his interrogation of Orin’s copy, he knew the man respected strength, and knew how to keep his mouth shut.

"Well," Orin said, "we can all hope Kayden overindulges, but hoping your enemy is lethally stupid is hardly a sound plan."

Jack grinned, then said, "Hoping your enemy is stupid? Sure, I’ll agree that’s a foolish hope. But it’s another thing entirely when you know your enemy’s weaknesses and know how to use them against him."

"I see," said Orin grimly.

Jack was certain Orin had picked up what Jack was hinting at and understood that saying anymore on the matter was unnecessary.

Kayden would be released from the hospital soon, and Jack was ready.