Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 77354 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77354 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
“All right,” I say. “Maybe they haven’t tracked me that way. Maybe they’ve made the connection some other way. But my gut tells me whoever broke into the building this week knows Ben Fort lives there. Because Ben Fort justifies two break-ins in a matter of weeks. Most people don’t. If they don’t get in, they go somewhere else. It kind of doesn’t matter if they know I’m him at this point.”
Worth pulls in a deep breath. That normally means he disagrees with whatever is being said.
I get it. I sound paranoid. There’s no hard evidence for anything, just my gut feelings.
All of us have varying degrees of fame associated with our kind of wealth. Leo is the most high profile, but Fisher definitely courts publicity. He has to. It’s part of the deal when you’re in the music business. I really do get it, and I don’t judge any of them for wanting the advantages a high profile can bring. It’s just I don’t.
I have no interest in being a household name like Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg. I can’t think of anything worse. My mother would have loved it. And if anyone finds out who Ben Fort, “Midas touch” owner of Fort Inc., is and especially if he’s Bennett Fordham, son of movie star Kathleen Fordham, that’s exactly what will happen. I’ll go back to the days of paparazzi jumping out of bushes to get a photo, back to people wanting to get close to me, hoping the fame and money will rub off on them.
I’m not prepared to let that happen. The only good thing about my mother dying when I was nineteen was that the press and paparazzi lost interest in me.
I don’t want them back.
“Do you have a plan other than hiding out until people lose interest?” Jack asks. “Because if that’s your plan, I have to tell you, it’s not great.”
“I have people watching my apartment.” That grossly understates the team of people I have scouring the area—physically and electronically—to find evidence that my building is being surveilled. My security team is the best of the best. Realistically, I’m not going to go back to that apartment, but at the same time, there doesn’t seem much point in moving if I’m going to be discovered again.
“Worst-case scenario, people make the connection,” Jack says. “Okay, so they’ll be interested for a minute. I hate to tell you, Bennett, but they’re going to get bored real quick when they find out you’re just not that interesting.”
I tap my bottle against Jack’s. “Cheers to that.”
“Son of a Hollywood legend, youngest ever self-made billionaire according to Forbes,” Jack goes on. “Loyal, too good-looking, wouldn’t want to arm wrestle him, and the best friend a man could ever want. Apart from that, you’re as dull as the bottom of my shoe. Really. Take comfort from the fact that if you do get found out, they’ll quickly lose interest.”
“You’re an asshole,” Worth says, on point again.
“Maybe,” Jack replies. “But I’m not telling any lies.”
If I didn’t know Jack, I’d think he was just being an asshole, but that’s not his only intention. He’s genuinely trying to make me feel better. The five of them have known about my mother since business school. Only Jack has ever told me I shouldn’t hide.
“Look,” Leo says. “I don’t mind the attention.”
Worth sniggers and I raise my eyebrows. Leo loves the attention.
“Fisher, too, to a lesser extent,” he says, completely ignoring our amusement. “But that’s part of our show. Doesn’t mean you have to do the same. You gotta live your life.”
He doesn’t get it. This is me living my life. It’s just a life that doesn’t involve socializing in public places at the moment.
But it’s not forever.
“At least have the occasional drink at the hotel bar.”
“No!” Leo says. “That will give him more advantage.”
I’m the only one of the six of us who keeps his identity from the hotel manager and staff. The Avenue’s manager knows the owner is Ben Fort, but because no one’s ever seen him, no one realizes he’s currently booked into the Park Suite. I’ve checked in under my real name, Bennett Fordham. I didn’t take the Presidential Suite—that would attract too much attention.
Staying here probably does give me a competitive advantage in our little game. I imagine the staff at other hotels give slightly different service when they know they’re dealing with the owner. I’m interested in how the hotel operates, warts and all.
“Yeah, maybe we should meet in the bar next week,” I say and enjoy the way Leo shoots Jack a look that could kill. Our competition is only friendly-ish. We all want to win and no one wants to give anyone else an advantage, even if it’s a night racking up a large bill in the hotel bar.