“The point is, don’t jump to assumptions.” She’s so serious, and I almost wonder if she’s talking about more than me and my situation. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that you need to give second chances.”
I resist the urge to say, “You’ve learned that in your what, twenty odd years?” Because everyone is wise, even young people. Maybe especially younger people. If she’s learned something like that, she must have a strong, good cause. So instead I say, “A second chance,” thinking it over.
“Yeah. I mean, you have the rest of your life to hate him, if that’s the right thing. But what if he… deserves forgiveness?” There’s the slightest quiver in her voice, and now I’m nearly a hundred percent positive that there’s more going on with her than I realize. But I also know that if I press her, she’ll back away. I’ll save this and ask later, when the moment is right.
I swallow. “He was just so awful. He is awful.”
“Maybe things will work themselves out.” She sounds hopeful.
“Well, I guess I could talk to him,” I allow. “Do the adult thing.”
“It’s worth a shot.” I can hear a smile in her voice. “I mean, you can always change tactics later. Try the honey first.”
I take a deep breath. “Thank you.”
When I hang up with her, it’s not a second before the phone rings again.
“Can you just leave me alone?” But I grab it and almost drop the device: It’s Dane. The last person I expected to hear from.
For some reason, maybe because of Lia’s advice, I answer. “What do you want.” My tone is cold and my voice doesn’t even shake at all.
“We need to talk.” He sounds as pissed as I feel.
“Talk about what?” I veer over, make a right, and pull into a side street. Park in some shade beneath an elm tree, because I can’t do this while I’m driving. “How you betrayed me?” Hey, at least I’m talking, right?
“Me?” His voice goes up. “That’s really spectacularly bold, coming from you. After what you did. Or are going to do.”
“I’m only doing what I have to do.” I wipe my eyes again. “I don’t know specifically what you mean, but I only care about the fucking cranes.” At this point, I sort of hate the stupid little assholes. Nothing but trouble, seriously.
“I thought you were better than this.”
“I’m only as good as I can be, Dane. At least I’m not out to deliberately ruin someone’s career.”
“That’s exactly what you’re doing. Are you serious?” He barks out a laugh. “Unbelievable.”
“If you only called to insult me, you can just hang up.”
“I want to know why you did it. Why?” And now, the raw pain in his voice makes me blink.
“Why I did what? What, Dane? What is it, all of a sudden, that has you so worked up?” I bite a hangnail on my thumb.
“The article? The ones that’s dropping Monday?” He clears his throat.
When I’m silent, he adds, “Yeah. I found out about that.” His voice is flat. “Ruined your surprise, I guess.”
“About the election?” I frown. I did not write a flattering article about Michael Boyd. I wrote a balanced one, and it focuses more on his opponent. Discusses Michael’s shortcomings, based on records and facts. But it’s not much of a ‘surprise,’ so Dane’s comment confuses me.
“No. The other one. About me.”
“I don’t have any article coming about you.” I bite my skin again.
“Please. Art showed it to me.”
“I don’t know what he showed you.” My blood pressure starts to go up. “But the only thing that my boss is publishing from me this coming Monday is a piece about the elections. And you’re not even on my radar right now as far as articles go.”
“He got it from Michael Boyd.”
“Michael Boyd? Seriously? He came to my office the other day and threatened me. Said he’d ruin me if I don’t write positive articles about him. You can’t trust a thing he says.”
“You’re lying.” But he sounds unsure.
“I don’t lie.” I raise my voice. “But I’d like to know exactly what you’re up to, having Michael threaten me with stuff from my past.” My voice cracks and I fight for composure. “Those records were sealed, Dane. Sealed. Because I was young.” I stifle a sob. “It’s just not… nice. You’re not nice. I thought you were better.”
“Oh, fuck.” He sounds both guilty and concerned at the same time. “Talia, I didn’t…” He breaks off, then asks, “Wait. When did Michael tell you this?”
“Does it matter?” I shake my head.
“Yeah, it really does.” His voice is tense.
“Two days ago, if you need to know.”
“Fuck.”
“Well, apparently yes. And the one getting fucked, metaphorically speaking, is me.”
“We need to talk in person.” His voice is low. He sounds sort of sad, which I really don’t understand.
“I don’t see the point.” I glance down the street. Two kids and their mom are approaching down the sidewalk. She’s pushing a high-end collapsible stroller full of dolls, and the little girls are riding scooters. I wipe my face and try not to look like a complete disaster as they walk by, because who wants to see a sobbing woman when they’re just trying to have a fun walk? Also, she might notice I’m not from this neighborhood and report my car or something. Some of these upper class streets can be a little snobby.
“Please. This situation is more complicated than either of us realize, I think.” He breathes out. “I think there’s a lot going on behind the scenes, and I don’t want you to get hurt. Talia. I mean it.”
“And I should believe you because?”
“Because we had fun together.”
I scoff. “That’s the stupidest—”
“And because I lo… I care about you.”
I’m so startled that I can’t speak. “You... did, I don’t…” I swallow hard.
“Just a few minutes. If you don’t like what I have to say, you can leave. And I’ll never bother you again.”
I’m still flustered from what he started to say, or wanted to say, or what I imagined I might have heard. “Okay.”
“Meet me by the woods, then.”
“The woods?”
“Yeah. By the site. We’ll go by the cranes and talk.”
“Now?”
“If you can?” He clears his throat. “This can’t wait.”
“Then fine.”
***
Dane
I’m uncharacteristically nervous as I wait, but I pass the time by making some calls. The most important one—from my contact in DC, has come through for me. It’s not going to be cheap, but they can do what I need. I breathe out a sigh of relief and surprise. Who would have ever thought that I, typically conservative when it comes to things like this, would be—
I stand up straighter as her car approaches and put my hands in my pockets. Take them out. Jesus, I’ve never been this nervous around a woman before.
When she walks toward me, I can’t help but smile. Even if I’m pissed and she’s pissed, I still get that feeling in my chest when she looks at me. Like I’ve been knocked over.
“Well.” She stops a few feet away and stands, looking at me. Crosses her arms over her chest. “What?”
“Let’s walk.” I point behind me, to the gate, where the cranes exist, somewhere in the bug-infested gloom, punctuated with bright spots of dappled light where the sun comes through the trees.
“Let’s not.” She scowls at me. “I’m not dressed for it.” She kicks out one foot, clad in a sexy heel. “I already got lectured once on my footwear, and even I’m not stupid enough to hike in there in these.” She points to the trees. “Although apparently, I was stupid enough to trust you.”
“I’m sorry.” I don’t know what exactly I need to apologize for first, but there are surely many things. And I have a feeling I know the biggest one.
“For?” She raises a bro
w. From somewhere behind us, a bird calls out. I don’t know if it’s the crane or something else.
“For everything.” I put up my hands. “For the fact that you’re hurting.”
“If you can’t give me specifics, it means you don’t take ownership of what you did.”
“Here’s the thing.” I take a breath. I can smell her perfume coming toward me on the hot, humid air. “I didn’t do anything, yet. Please.” I step forward in supplication as she frowns and opens her mouth. “Honestly. Look, Michael and Art came to me with information on you. Said we needed to contact you and tell you to back off on the environmental stuff, or else we’d spread it around.”
“First of all, I’m not even with the group anymore so I don’t—”
“Please, let me finish.” I wait until she nods, then continue. “This was last night.”
She sucks in a breath and her eyes go wide. “Last night?” But Michael talked to me two days ago.”
“Yeah.” My voice is flinty. “When Art came to me, he showed me a pdf of an article you wrote. Said Michael got it for him. Accusing me of breaking HR rules, violating policy. About Hector. Also, illegal dumping of chemicals. But I think maybe you didn’t write it at all.”
“I didn’t.” Her voice is angry and fierce, her eyes flashing. “And I wouldn’t. How could you think that of me? Whatever article they had, I didn’t write it. They’re setting me up.”
“Well, I didn’t tell Art and Michael it was okay to publish stuff about you. I told them no, in fact. That’s not how we do business. Even if it means we don’t get the next bid.” I glance at the site, the building, nearly complete.
I lower my voice. “Even if it means people have to be fired. I won’t compromise my morals.”
She’s still mad and she almost shouts. “Well, neither will I.”
“Good.”
“Good!”
We glare at each other.
She looks away, lowers her voice. “So, but you read about... me?” She bites her lip and her whole body looks small, like she’s hiding herself, wrapping her arms around her waist. “You saw the stuff they found?”
“I did.” I swallow. “But I recognized it was years ago. People change.”
“I’m not perfect, but I don’t deserve to have that dragged out.”
“I agree. Hell, you beat addiction, Talia. That’s a powerful thing. Something to be proud of, okay? I believe that.”
She looks up at me. “I didn’t beat addiction, Dane.”
A cold feeling goes through me. “Ah.”
“I was never addicted.” Her voice is flat.
“Then I don’t understand. The records showed you were arrested for pain pills and were sent to rehab.”
“That’s true. I was found with pills, and I agreed to go to rehab. But the pills weren’t mine.”
“Oh, Talia. I’m sorry.”
“My mom was dying of cancer and our shitty insurance didn’t cover much. Of anything. And my cousin’s family tried to help, but they had less money than we did. So I fucking found her some pills. A few times. Only the person who sold them to me was working undercover, and I got busted. They told me that if I said it was for an adult, I could get off with a warning and that person would get the blame. But I couldn’t do that to my mom. So I said they were mine. And I went to rehab.”
“Oh, God.”
“It wasn’t that bad.” She laughs, but it’s not funny. “I met some interesting people. Learned from real addicts what it’s like to try to get clean. It’s like they were swallowing glass every second of every day. Gave me sympathy.”
“I swear I wasn’t the one who found the information, and I never wanted to use it against you.”
“Okay.” She takes a deep breath.
“Is your mom….”
She nods. “She died a year after I finished rehab.”
“Did she end up getting pain relief?”
She starts to cry. “Not enough. So I…”
Without thinking, I stride forward and take her in my arms. “It’s okay.”
She sinks into my chest. “So I did it again. I found a new contact, and I got her more pills. I knew if I got busted it would be worse, but she needed them. And that’s why…”
“It’s okay.”
“It’s not at all okay.” She looks up at me. “It’s ridiculous that in this country, people suffer without the health care they need. I have a friend, Lola, who is a sports journalist. Do you know who Mateo Vega is?”
I nodded. “Isn’t he the newest heavyweight champion?”
“Yes, but only because he was given a second chance. Lola told me that he was willing to sacrifice his career, his reputation in order to help his father. A few years ago, he threw a fight so that he could afford to pay for his dad’s medical care as he fought cancer. It’s not just me and Mateo. It’s countless people who feel there is no other way to get their loved ones the help they need. That’s why I wanted to go into journalism, to help get the truth out there. My goal is to work my way up to a national paper or group and start writing about health care. This is my ticket there, Dane. This town. This job.” She gestures around her. “Sure, right now I write about local politics and issues. But I have goals and dreams.”
I stroke her hair, feeling protective. “I’m not going to let Michael share that information.”
“How can you even stop him?” Her voice is flat. “He’s power-hungry and he’ll do it out of spite, because I won’t do what he wants.”
I take a deep breath. “I'm going to give him what he wants.”
“Which is what?”
“I’ll publicly endorse him for office. Donate to his campaign.”
She pulls back, eyes wide. “Dane, no. He’s a piece of shit. You can’t align yourself with him.”
“It will save the company and your reputation.” I shrug. “It will be okay.”
“How could that possibly be okay?” She wipes her eye, but I can see that something has changed in her stance, in her demeanor. In her soul. She’s leaning into me, no longer holding back. The edge is gone, that sharp edge of anger. And beneath it, I don’t want to hope, but I think I see the affection and emotion that was there during our nights together. The raw affection. Like she trusts me, suddenly, for the first time. And it feels fucking good.
“I’ve done worse.” I clear my throat. “Maybe not the best way to sell my case.” I wrinkle my mouth and smile.
“But he’s so vile. Really, you can’t. It wouldn’t even help, long-term.”
“It probably would,” I correct.
“But then people would think you’re like him.”
“Most people wouldn’t care. And those who do... well, they’d get over it. Or get to know me. Make up their own mind. He does have a lot of supporters.” But I wince, thinking of how hard it will be to swallow my pride. Suck up to the man. “At this point, it’s the best way. He’s pissed about your protest—”
“It’s not mine,” she interjects, her voice rising. “I quit last week, Dane. Told Mark I’m not into his way. He planned it all on his own. I wouldn’t have agreed with the way he’s doing things.”
“What way?” I quirk a brow.
“The stuff about dumping chemicals. Making false accusations just for publicity even though I already told him there’s nothing there. He’s really into publicity. And he’s been talking on the down-low with Michael Boyd. Someone he’d normally detest.”
“Art’s been having secret talks with Boyd, too.” I frown.
She starts. “He’s playing both sides. Threatening and promising as he sees fit. Hedging his bets.”
“Fuck.” I turn around and pace. “He’s been pushing me hard to endorse him. Threatening to block me from the next bid if I don’t. Telling me he has the info he needs to shut down the protests and keep the job running smoothly to make the city council, and him, happy.”
“But at the same time,” Talia jumps in, “I think he’s working with Mark and that team too. Telling t
hem information about the company, fake, that they think is real. To spur their protest and make it uglier. Which he can then use to threaten you. Get you up against the wall so you can’t say no to what he wants.”
“And he’s trying to blackmail you into writing positive articles about him.” I scowl. “The asshole.”
“That’s not news.” She smiles briefly.
“So I’m being pressured from two sides.” I take her hand. “Boyd and the environmental group.” I think, then add, “And from the inside. Art—my cousin—he’s in this too, with his own agenda. He wants me out as CEO and he’s going to use this to push the issue. I think he wants to be the one to get Boyd to get the votes our way city-wise and get the credit with the board—so they’ll push me out.”
“And I have no doubt he’ll spill any dirt he has on me just for spite if I don’t write articles he likes. Of course, I won’t do it. But we need to figure out a way to get out of this.”
She tilts her head. “It’s like we can’t win.” She bites her lip. Then she gets a little sparkle in her eyes, and smiles. “Which we can’t, separately. But working together—”
“We take them by surprise and get them first.” I squeeze her fingers. “Stay a step ahead.”
She presses my hand. “Exactly.”
“Just how dirty is your environmental boss, Mark?”
She speaks slowly, tilting her head. “He’s power-hungry. Seems to care more about connections than animals. Needs approval. Admiration.”
“Can we use that?”
She nods. “I actually think we can.”
“And he’s in contact with Manda Shine?”
“Yes. To some degree, anyway. How about you? What are your connections like with the other city council members?”
“I guess we’re about to find out.”
She tilts her head. “I spent some time last week talking to Millie Falwell, the woman who’s running for council next term. And DeShaun Winters, Boyd’s opponent for the senate seat. I think…” she pauses, “I have an idea about how we can help them both while we work to take down Boyd.” She smiles.
“Tell me.” I can practically see the neurons firing in her brain.
“And I’m going to make sure that Mark knows that I found out what he did, and he can’t get away with it. I’d like to get his entire organization shut down. He doesn’t deserve to run anything, let alone a non-profit. But one step at a time. Because we’re going to need him for this next part.”
Hammered: An Enemies to Lovers Romance (Hard n' Dirty Book 5) Page 17