clinging to this worry desperately. "Said his version was

some kind of original he had uncovered."

"Every step of this process has been transparent,"

Oscar interrupted. "My money is with Riley and his

consultancy backed up by the information my own analysts

assessed. I saw the work Riley used to do for HayesOil, and

even though he was never given credit, I trust his oilman's

instincts."

One down. Two to go. There was a silence and

Riley waited for who was to speak next.

"Agreed. I'm sitting this one with Riley also." Bill

sat back in his chair and visibly relaxed as he made the

decision.

That left Ernst who had his hands clenched in his

lap and was visibly tense.

"I'm thinking of pulling out all together. No CH, no

Josiah."

"That's your choice, and none of us here will stop

you from making your own decision," Riley said. In his head he began calculating what they would need to finance the gap of losing two syndicate members. His stomach sank when he realized just how much he would need to find to fill the hole. He could have managed one loss of the five, but two? He wasn't even sure changes to the syndicate at this late stage would be something the government agency would fly with, whatever kind of group they were left with after today. Fucking Josiah and his crippling move of

sowing seeds of doubt.

The door opened and his dad arrived with his mom

in tow. She was dressed as Riley remembered from the

time before she broke free from Gerald and found love

again with Jim. Before she was back with his dad and

comfortable in her own skin. For a moment Riley had an

uneasy flashback to the woman his mom had once been. In

a designer dress and pearls, the scent of Chanel entered the

room with her. All four men stood as she came in and she

nodded to all of them before approaching Bill first. "Bill, how wonderful to see you, how are Margaret

and the children?"

"They are doing well." He leaned down for a peck

on the cheek from the diminutive woman. He was all aww

shucks, ma'am as he explained his eldest grandson had

decided to come work with him and that he was now a great-grandaddy to a newborn that only arrived a few days

ago.

She used the same treatment on Oscar but made no

one feel like they were standing in line. Finally she pulled

Ernst into a tight hug.

"I was so sorry to hear about Vera," she said softly. Riley was attempting to not listen even as he, like

the rest of the room, were wondering what Ernst's response

was going to be. Vera, his wife of over forty years, had

Alzheimer's, which was just another pressure the older man

was dealing with.

She finally sat in one of the conference chairs and

shrugged off her jacket. Steely eyed she looked right at

Riley.

"So where are we at?"

Gone was the genteel oilman's wife and instead here

was the woman Riley knew was under the mask. As she

listened to what he said, and to what the others added, she

was nodding and asking questions the likes of which Riley

would have asked himself. Too many people

underestimated the wife of an oilman.

Finally with all the information laid out in the arena,

Sandra turned to him.

"So, how do we fix this, Riley?"

Ernst looked more comfortable with Sandra here

and there was even a faint smile on his face. Sandra had

that way about her. Not only that, but perhaps it was easier

to deal with someone from the old guard as opposed to

placing all his trust in a newcomer when there was any hint

of doubt. Riley did wonder when he would be considered

one of the old guard. When Hayley was coming up to thirty

with children of her own perhaps?

"My concern is that we are already exposed to so

much that if this went wrong…" Ernst shrugged. Sandra sipped on her coffee and looked thoughtful.

No one said anything for a second.

"Not one of us here can tell you what to do," she

began. "What was it that drew you to joining this syndicate

in the first place? Was it the chance to invest in something

different? To work with Oscar, Bill, and Josiah?" "All of those and none of them," Ernst answered

honestly. "I'd heard good things about your son long before

I met him." He turned so he faced Riley. "I remember

talking to your father." He stopped and cast a look at Jim

that screamed embarrassment. "Sorry, with Gerald, he said

you had the instincts of an oilman. I think he saw it…"

Ernst stopped talking.

"Go on," Sandra encouraged.

"As a curse. None of us ever understood why, not

until everything happened." Again he cast a look at Jim and

then at Sandra. "I trust Riley and CH Consulting, so for