AUTHORS NOTE: Apologies for the delay, but real life is a complete bitch at the moment.

CHAPTER 57

(EVA)

I lower the screen on my laptop and lean back in my seat. Everything that Elliot said makes sense and accounts for Landon's behaviour. It doesn't excuse it though; nothing can excuse that. The man is a petty grade A asshole of the highest order.

"You look deep in thought Angel? Is everything ok?" I turn and see those beautiful astonishingly vivid sapphire blue eyes looking at me with concern. I smile reassuringly and the worry vanishes and something much more primal appears in Gideon's gaze.

"I'm fine, I was just talking with El. He said something which makes a lot of sense" I say.

Gideon pulls a chair over and sits beside me resting his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands in front of him. "Oh?" he asks, clearly interested in what I have to say.

I nod, "Yeah, he was saying that our no show this weekend was talked about at lunch today and more importantly the reason behind it. Apparently Christian filled everyone in on fucking Landon" I explain and Gideon nods.

"Yeah, I've been talking with Christian about everything that has been going on… when I spoke to him last, he asked me about the reasons why I suddenly pulled out of flying out to Washington this weekend and I told him about what was going on and he has offered to help, but to be honest I can't see any way in which he can be of assistance".

I smile at that and reach for his clasped hands. He immediately responds and grips my offered hand tightly.

"Well, El said something which makes a lot of sense and it got me thinking of how we can put an end to Landon and his bitching once and for all, and perhaps Christian could help if what I have in mind could be put into action".

Gideon's eyebrows rise at this, "Go on" he says simply.

I take a deep breath and begin hesitantly to speak, I don't have a plan as such yet, more a series of ideas which could with some work become a plan. "Well, El said the reason he is constantly poking at you is because he can't get the better of you, because you are just too powerful. That irritates him and compounds his jealousy of you – which is the bottom line of what it is that drives him, it has nothing to do with what your dad did… well, it does in a roundabout way but it's not the main factor, he sees that despite what your dad did you managed to rise above it and forge a successful career and an amazingly lucrative business which has made you respected, feared and admired in equal parts and you have become a bigger success than he has and that drives him insane with jealousy. You are more successful and significantly richer than he is. Instead of looking at his own failings as a businessman, and working harder to become more powerful and wealthier he just prefers to just blame your success on what your dad did to his family and so that is the real reason why he keeps poking at you. He feels that until he takes you down he will not become what he wants to be – he wants to take you down to prove he is better than you, but he can't because you are too powerful and we have the vicious cycle of him constantly needling you, playing games and causing trouble".

Gideon leans back and thinks about that, "You have a point there" he concedes after a moment. "But how am I supposed to stop that? I am not going to let him win just to let him prove his point. As his point is wrong. I built Cross Industries with my own two hands and it was my hard work working around the clock which made me the man I am today".

I smile at him, and leaning forward I cup his jaw with my hand and I watch as he briefly closes his eyes and nuzzles into my touch. "Exactly! Of course, it is and I know that, and I wouldn't expect you to. I also know that the reasons you were there around the clock was because at that point in your life you had nothing else. You were totally alone in the world and you were building Cross Industries to have something which you belonged to and which would give you a place in the world, so that isn't something I would ever expect you to compromise".

"But you have something cooking in your mind" he says as he opens his eyes and looks closely at me.

I nod, "I do, I have a plan forming, well when I say plan it's more like a few random ideas at this point which could be a plan… eventually, but I'm not sure how it will work but the basic idea is you announce that you are going to be developing something new and spectacular, something that he won't be able to resist trying to compete against, something so mind blowingly outrageously brilliant that he will obviously try his hardest to find out how you have managed to get the technology to do it. You will say that this new idea makes the new GenTen and that cutting edge technology obsolete. But you are not doing anything of the sort, you just let him think you are doing that and watch him tying himself in knots trying to replicate it. We both know he is mortgaged to the hilt with the new PhaseOne system and if it fails there is a good chance his company will be in financial difficulty as he has ploughed everything into it to try and outdo you and undercut you. He is not a good businessman because he lets his animosity towards you cloud his judgement. If we can exploit that we can… with a bit of luck, help him put himself out of business.

I see Gideon running through my idea in his mind and his eyes brighten as he begins to piece things together.

"You may be on to something. Especially considering what we have been dealing with this week".

I look at him questioningly, hoping he is going to finally divulge what Landon has done this time. When he doesn't immediately say anything more, I give him a little push. "What has been happening? I know something big has happened and judging by the foul mood you have been in and the amount of time you have spent with Arash it is obviously something significant" I say.

Gideon nods and rubs his face with his hand, "It is, I have a mole. Someone has been feeding Landon details of the GenTen system. Thankfully though, the project manager of the GenTen noticed, and tipped Arash off and they have been monitoring the situation and they know who it is and they have stopped the flow of genuine information and instead have been feeding him false information to pass on to Landon. Landon has got himself in a flap now as it turns out that the information is similar to stuff which he has actually been developing for the PhaseOne system and he thinks his mole has been double crossing him and feeding us information so it's all a bit of a mess. Thankfully Arash has managed – with a considerable amount of work, to smooth things over and now we are debating what to do about the guy in question, but on the plus side we now know exactly what the PhaseOne system is capable of and to be honest with you the GenTen is light years ahead of it – technologically speaking and will blow it out of the water".

I cock my head to one side, "Well, my suggestion would be to keep him in the dark about the fact you are on to him and use him to feed the information to Landon. That way you don't have to make any public announcements when you have no intention of developing what it is you are feeding to Landon".

Gideon thinks about this and nods thoughtfully, "That's not actually a bad idea. If I could get Christian to come to New York and make it look like he is excited about this new technology, so much so that he is willing to invest in it, then that would make it look all the more viable. Everyone knows that Christian is using the Nexus technology for his cell phones. It wouldn't be a stretch now that everyone is also fully aware of the familial links with the Greys for him to want to show support and invest in new cutting-edge technology which Cross Industries is developing".

I smile, "Plus it would be a brilliant excuse for Christian and Ana to come and visit, so I can see my sister again in person".

Gideon's smile fades and he lowers his head, "I'm sorry about this weekend. I know you were looking forward to seeing Ana and Elliot again in person… if there is any consolation, the reasons I have been working around the clock this week is because I really didn't want to have to cancel and it gave me no pleasure to have to do so".

I touch his face again and I press a small kiss to his lips. "Stop it, you had to do what you had to do. I accept that, and look at it this way from what you have discovered and from what I have put forward it could be a blessing in disguise as it could all work out that it puts a stop to Landon once and for all".

"Yes… but" Gideon argues and I press my finger to his lips to stop him arguing with me.

"But nothing" I say.

Gideon grabs my wrist and after placing a small chaste kiss on my hand he stands. "I'm going to talk to Arash about your idea, and maybe I will also call Christian and run your ideas past him to see if we can come up with something. There's no time like the present to start planning getting rid of that fucker once and for all".

I nod and smile at Gideon, this has clearly galvanised him into action and now that he can see how to take down Landon once and for all he is grabbing it with both hands and running with it.

oooOOOooo

(GIDEON)

"So, what do you think?" I pause and wait as the silence spreads out between myself and my personal attorney.

"Eva is a bloody genius" Arash says with a mixture of awe and amusement in his tone.

I let out a small chuckle, I totally agree with him, and it irritates me on a daily basis that she refuses to join me at Cross Industries on the grounds that she doesn't want to cash in on my name. I have tried asking her, I even resorted to begging her to give up her position at Waters Field and Leaman and take a more challenging and lucrative position at Cross Industries in my PR department. She refused on the grounds that PR was too much like propaganda and she didn't do propaganda. When I had pointed out that Marketing was also a form of propaganda – in some respects, she had acknowledged that but also responded that at least with marketing you knew where the bias was. But her uncanny knack of seeing solutions to problems would make her a valuable asset in my crisis management team, but sadly she won't have any of it and refuses point blank to work alongside me.

"Do you think it would work?" I ask.

"I don't see why not, especially if you can also get Grey on board it will make it look more realistic and genuine. I think after what I managed to do; Landon now believes that the technology we are supposedly developing is just a coincidence. I don't think he wants to lose his eyes on the inside so he won't kick off too much to risk us joining the dots and finding his informant. The fact we have already found him and he hasn't realised it also gives us the upper hand. So, if we can feed him some bullshit which sounds brilliant, he will break his neck to tell Landon and he will in turn almost wet himself if he thinks he can get a head start on developing something and getting it out ahead of you".

"It will certainly be satisfying to see him destroy himself, but do you think it will come to that? Is he really that stupid as to go all out and risk everything?" I ask.

There is another silence and then Arash sighs. "In short, yes I believe he is. He is so clouded by jealousy and a desire to completely destroy you. A desire which has backfired so many times he is now desperate to do anything which will hurt you. His PhaseOne system is piss poor compared to the GenTen and he has practically mortgaged his socks to get it out before the GenTen and hopefully corner the market".

I laugh as I know that isn't going to happen. "What he doesn't realise is that the GenTen is ready and the only reason I have delayed launching it is because I have wanted him to continue to believe he is ahead of me. As soon as I get details of the launch of PhaseOne I will authorise the launch of the GenTen to come out first" I reply smugly.

I hear a snort of laughter, "And if he isn't bankrupt when he realises just how lacking the PhaseOne is we put into operation Eva's plan and finish him off completely… or we start the whisper campaign now, let him think the GenTen is being delayed because this new technology is being tested, start the rumour mill going and see what he does".

I think for a moment and that seems like a better idea, "That is a better idea, if we do that I would bet he would delay the launch of the PhaseOne to try and see if he could come up with something similar, if he does then we have him on both fronts, he will be spending to try and replicate the bogus technology and we will then launch the GenTen and just blow him out of the water completely".

"I love it when you are a ruthless bastard. I thought that marrying Eva had tamed you and sent you soft but its moments like this when I see that the killer instinct is still right there" Arash says.

"It always will be, and never forget that" I say coldly.

"Ok, let me see what I can come up with. You get in touch with Grey and see if you can organise a visit for him to come to New York so we can set this in motion and get rid of that annoying fucker once and for all because I don't know about you but it's getting boring keep batting him away".

"I totally agree" I say.

We talk for a few more moments and then Arash says goodbye with the promise that he will talk to the tech guys and see what he can come up with.

As soon as Arash is gone, I hit the speed dial button for Seattle and wait. On the second ring the call is picked up.

"Grey" comes the curt greeting. I smile and respond accordingly.

"Good Evening Grey, Cross here" I say sarcastically.

"Gideon my friend, how are you?" is the much warmer response.

"I'm good, listen I have a favour to ask" I say as I jump in with my plan.

"Ok, what do you need?" Christian asks immediately.

I quickly outline the conversation I had with Eva and with Arash and highlight the jist of the skeleton plan I am quickly putting together. He listens and asks intelligent questions which I am quick to answer.

"So, what you are saying is you want me to come to New York supposedly looking to invest in the technology and show some enthusiasm over it to add credence to its authenticity so that your mole will then spill this information to Landon which will hopefully make him do something stupid and ultimately destroy himself and LanCorp… is that pretty much the jist of it?" he asks.

"Got it in one" I say, "Plus I'm feeling pretty bad about cancelling this weekend so I want to make it up to Eva by having you and Ana here to visit so she can spend some time with Ana in person".

"Yeah, Ana was quite disappointed when you cancelled. But she understands why it happened which I'm fairly sure Eva does as well. So, as we are lucky enough to be married to such understanding and accommodating wives you have no reason to feel guilty" he says.

"It's good of you to say so" I reply amiably, "So, are you going to do it?" I ask.

"It would be my pleasure to" he replies. "I'll start the ball rolling my end, let me know when it's good for you to orchestrate this and I'll rearrange my schedule accordingly. I'm certain Ana will be on board with it as well… you should also know I have been doing my own research into Landon and LanCorp. He really isn't in a financially secure position, and some major board members and investors have been seeing the decline in the company and a significant amount of stock has been sold off recently".

I sit up straight as he tells me this. "Really?" I say. I knew things were bad but I wasn't aware it was quite that bad.

"Yes, so as the shares in LanCorp were there just begging to be bought… well it would've been rude not to do so" he says coyly.

I realise what he is getting at and I smile, "Are you saying what I think you are saying?" I ask.

"Depends on what you think I am saying" Christian replies vaguely.

"That you have a significant share in LanCorp?" I say bluntly.

There is a brief silence and then Christian replies with more than a sense of smug satisfaction, "I do, ever since you made me aware of your ongoing issues with Landon I have made it my business to buy up all available stock in LanCorp as it became available. I've instructed my team to keep doing this until I'm in a position to do something drastic".

"Drastic… drastic as in take his company away from him?" I ask, surprised at the turn this conversation is moving towards.

"Something along those lines. Call it a backup plan, should your ruse not pan out. I'm sure it will, but it's always prudent to have a plan b and if I can facilitate a plan b with what I have been putting together then all the better.

"Thank you" I say sincerely. I hadn't expected this and to be honest I am totally shocked that Christian has even done this. I voice my surprise in what I say next.

"I don't know what to say, nobody has ever done anything like that for me before. I have always relied on myself to fight my battles… I'm touched" I say and then I inwardly cringe at what I have just said.

I hear a laugh down the line, "You are family Gideon and I take care of my family. You should know that by now. You are my brother-in-law, it's as simple as that… Ana, Eva and Elliot are siblings and Elliot is also my brother so with thanks to the messed up family tree you are my family end of story".

I let out a small laugh at his assessment. "Well thank you" I say again, but then a thought comes to mind, "But you will lose money if we manage to bankrupt him and you hold shares in his company".

There is a long silence and then he clears his throat before he speaks again, I brace myself as I know whatever he is going to say is something important.

"No, I won't. Mergers and acquisitions are my bread and butter, now that I know what you are doing and that the end game is the destruction of LanCorp I will work accordingly, I will use my position and as soon as he turns towards his other shareholders to help… which are dwindling and he is faced with me holding the cards I will take great pleasure in breaking LanCorp apart and selling it off piece by piece" he says with a cold grimness which surprises me.

I don't reply has he has shocked me into silence but then after a moment he speaks again, and I am momentarily surprised at the switch in direction.

"How is the therapy going?" he asks slightly nervously.

I swallow hard at the mention of the therapist he put me in touch with. The lady who he has made so much progress with since he stopped seeing John Flynn agreed to take me on as a patient and we have therapy sessions via video link. It was a little strange at first and undeniably awkward. I was totally on my guard but slowly she broke down my barriers and I started to open up about what had happened to me.

"It's going well… I've made considerable progress" I say quietly.

"That's good to hear, how… how is the night time situation?" Christian asks gently.

I sigh, "I still get the nightmares, it's not a quick fix. She has been working with me and giving me exercises to help though and I take medication now in the evening to try and block the nightmares. On the whole I'm sleeping better now than I have ever done before" I say.

"Well, that is brilliant news and clearly progress has been good" Christian says enthusiastically.

"It has, thank you for everything you have done in that respect" I say and I hear him huff his dismissal of my thanks.

We continue to talk and chat about family and how Elliot is doing with his birth family. I was surprised when Sadie had dropped all the charges against her now ex-husband but I can understand why she did it. She just wanted to be rid of everything to do with him and start a new life in Washington without him hanging over her like a shadow. We talk about Grace and Carrick and how they have welcomed Sadie and Lucy as part of the family and how like myself and Eva they are now considered honorary Greys.

"Your birthday is coming up soon then" I say venturing towards another personal subject.

"Yes, it is and despite me saying that I don't like to make a fuss Ana seems hell bent on making a fuss" he says with an irritation which makes me smile.

"You can't blame her, look at what has happened recently. There is no way she is going to let this birthday pass without comment. Not now your birth family are involved in your life, plus the fact it gives her the valid excuse to see Eva in person".

"True" he concedes, "However, seeing Eva isn't something which should be used as an excuse. Both Eva and Ana are fully aware that we will facilitate their relationship and make every effort to help them see each other in person as much as possible".

"Which takes us right back to where this conversation started" I say with a loud sigh, "with me feeling guilty that I failed to do that".

"As I have already said, stop it. Neither of them blame you for what happened so stop raking over it" Christian says firmly.

I can't help but smile at his adamant tone. "Ok, let's leave it there, I'll call you and arrange for your visit to New York sometime this next week, the sooner we get Landon out of the way once and for all the better everything will be all round".

"I quite agree" Christian says simply.

We say our goodbyes and I lean back in my seat satisfied that hopefully once and for all I will annihilate Landon and put an end to his petty games.