"Ah, another bonus of wealth," Kasi said.
Jessie’s expression darkened. "Please! Have you ever met my aunt? I can’t think of anyone who cares more about what other people think. I’m amazed she’s finally settling down with Joanna, but that’s just a function of how people feel about same-sex marriage now, not a statement about her courage."
Kasi really was tired. "That’s kind of harsh."
"You talk to all of your donors this way? Because if so, I like it."
"Just the ones who obviously want something else."
"Hire my fiancee," Jessie said simply.
"I’m sorry, what?"
"Martin? Martin Shepard. I know you guys know who he is."
"His name has come up," Kasi replied slowly, "but he’s working for Donnelly."
"And if Hwang had been in town when Martin decided to make a career change, he would have offered himself up to him. Donnelly seemed like the next best thing."
"And why should we?"
"Because he’s a really smart guy who works hard but manages to be really chill. Oh yeah—he hates Cervino."
"Why?"
"Alex Sheldon."
"He’s not going to be a factor in this race."
"And he’d like to make sure that he’s never one again." Jessie paused. "And so would I."
~~~
Emily, Richard and Michael were in Richard's office the next day when everyone else was out at lunch. It took Emily and Richard fifteen minutes to recap what they had found. Michael showed no emotion while they were talking.
"Why isn't Vijay here?" Michael asked when they were done.
"Because if he doesn't know then this can't be traced back to Kasi or David," Emily answered.
"Uh huh. Then why are you in the room for this? Shouldn't you be worrying about Mitch getting disbarred?"
Emily forced a smile. "I can handle Mitch."
Michael looked at Richard. "And what are you thinking? Zainab likes this guy for mayor so much that you're going to risk jail for him?"
Richard glared at his younger cousin. “You want to hear what we’re asking for before you start planning to visit us in prison?"
"It's one of two things: you either want me to write a check to Hwang or you want something from Cervino. By the way, if you guys are trying to be bundlers for Hwang, this is a much harder sell than you'd need to make."
Emily turned away. "Look," she said after a moment, "do you think going to the FBI with any of this is a good idea?" Silence. "Of course not. Because they would laugh us out of there, confiscate the evidence and force Kasi to reveal her source. And it wouldn't mean a damn thing as far as the election was concerned."
"What do you want from Cervino?"
"An endorsement," Richard said simply. "That will be huge."
Michael laughed. "Are you serious? He is on his way out, and as much as the press might make it sound like Boston is in love with him, there are a lot of people in this town who can't wait to see him go—especially those who have gotten on his bad side. An endorsement isn't going to make Hwang's job any easier."
"Then his influence behind the scenes, because that wouldn’t be nothing," Emily said.
Michael smirked as he stood up. "You really don't understand who you're dealing with. Either of you. People like this aren't just playing God; on some level they actually believe it. He's stepping down from the pedestal by his own choice, but that doesn't mean he isn't going to shoot down anyone who acts like he's just another human being. You don't play ball or blackmail these people; you do what they say."
Richard stood up too. It always made Emily smile to see the comparison. Michael was tall and muscular, but Richard was taller. "Interesting, because that sounds like someone we both know too well. I was happy to hand that son of a bitch millions of dollars I desperately needed. And remember who bailed me out?"
"Money is just too easy," Michael said, and then walked out of the room.
Richard looked at Emily in defeat. "We tried."
Emily folded her arms. "There's one more thing we can do."
~~~
That night Michael grabbed Miranda by the waist as soon as the boys were asleep. "You seem like you're still awake," he whispered before he kissed her.
"That's because I want to talk to you," she said as she kissed him back.
Michael's face darkened but he didn't loosen his grip on her. "I cannot believe Emily told you about this."
Miranda pulled away. "Because I can't handle information like that?"
Michael pulled her back to him. "Because you have enough to worry about with the boys and work."
"Uh huh," she said as she let him kiss her. "Well, I can handle this."
He growled. "Can you now?"
"Oh, shut up!" she said through her giggles. "And it wasn't Emily who told me, it was Zainab."
Michael groaned. "I am going to beat Richard up."
"Why won't you help them?" she whispered.
"Other than the fact that I don't want to expose us to any legal trouble?"
"That's BS, and you know it. How many times did you let someone finagle you out of trouble?"
He squeezed her hips. "Someone," he said, and put his nose to hers. "I wouldn't have put myself in any of those positions if I had..." He kissed her again, "something worth staying safe for."
She stroked his cheek with her thumb. "Is that what this is about? Alex?"
"God, I hate when you say his name," he said and pulled her into a hug.
"You know....why I was with him at all," she said. "And you know I sent him away."
"So why are you asking me to be him right now?" he asked painfully.
She stepped back, horrified. "I'm not. I don't want...." She steadied herself. "I'm not," she repeated. "He ruined people when it suited him." She looked up at him. "I'm asking you to help someone, and just maybe do the right thing at the same time."
"I really shouldn't let you work with Emily," he said as he walked toward her.
She turned away. "I've worked with Emily longer than you've worked with either of us, and oh by the way you don’t get to tell me what to do."
He took her hand and kissed her neck. "Honey, they're not thinking this through. I would not be doing anyone any favors."
She turned back to him and stood up as tall as she could. "Then do me the favor."
He traced her lip with his thumb before she started nibbling on it. He closed his eyes. "Fine," he said at last. "But then I want a favor too."
She moaned as his hand went up her shirt. "And what can I do for you, Mr. Abbot?"
"You'll find out," he said before he kissed her again.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Kasi shifted in the car uncomfortably. What was it about Michael? Certainly, he was handsome, but he was also...broody? Intense? At the very least, there was something about him that seemed unsuited for confined spaces. She checked her texts and emails before sending Vijay a message.
Do you think there's anything you should tell me about Michael Abbot?
It's a long story.
Am I safe here?!
He only has eyes for his wife, don't worry.
That might explain the lack of eye contact.
"Are you going to tell me who your source is?" Michael asked abruptly a few minutes later.
Kasi was stunned. "I...you must know I can't do that."
"Is he going to be in this meeting?"
"I don't know," she answered, and it was the truth. "I would guess not. I can't imagine Cervino would want anyone more than necessary there."
"So it's not Merrick Levar," Michael said, looking out the window again. "I didn't think so anyway. You're not his type."
Kasi's eyes widened. "Excuse me?"
Michael shrugged. "Don't be offended; his type is male."
"You think I'm sleeping with the person who gave me the hard drive?"
"If you're not, I think he's hoping you will be soon."
Kasi smirked. "What makes you think he is my t
ype?"
"Because Cervino doesn't have any women on his staff or his staff's staff that are well-placed enough to give you that," he said matter-of-factly.
"Yeah, you've got me there," Kasi reluctantly agreed.
"Why did he give it to you?"
"He thought I was going to get fired if I didn't put him in front of David. This was his compromise."
Michael wrinkled his brow. "Were you going to be fired?"
"No."
"I see." He looked out the window again, then turned back to her. "Almost there. Anything you need to tell me?"
Kasi blinked. "I used to work for Paloma Castillon."
His expression didn't change. "And why did you stop?"
"Because she's more interested in her relationship with the media than her colleagues—or her constituents."
He narrowed his eyes. "You know that's not unusual, right?"
"No one has been as blatant about Boston being a stepping stone since Jack Fitzgerald."
"Or Powers," Michael said as the driver pulled into the garage.
"At least he went to law school," she muttered.
They parked. "I don't think we'll be more than an hour, if that," he said to the driver.
The man nodded. "Yes, sir."
Kasi and Michael got in the elevator. He pushed the button for the ground level. "Did anyone tell you I don't have a degree either?"
"Looks like you didn't need one. Not the case for everyone."
He shrugged. "She doesn't seem like she had trouble finding a job."
"She's just not doing it that well," Kasi replied as they got out of the elevator.
Michael laughed. "Ever meet a politician who did?"
Kasi pushed the button for the walk sign. "Yes, I have. Most of the other city councilors don't have a lot of legislative achievements either, but they advocate for services for their constituents. The tiny, little, BS requests that are never going to make the news but that make everyone's lives a little better: keeping the lights on when someone's lost their job, making sure a senior citizen keeps his heat or even posting a speed limit sign. She hasn't done any of that unless it's served her purposes, and her purpose isn't to be better liked by her constituents, it's to make sure she gets into a highly visible event."
The light changed. "So why did you work for her in the first place?" he asked right before they crossed.
"Because I thought she was different," she said without looking at him.
"I see."
They walked up the steps to City Hall and entered the building. They placed their jackets, phones and Kasi's bag into a bin, then walked through the metal detector. "One more reason I don't like coming here," Kasi muttered as they got their stuff back.
"At least we didn't have to take off our shoes this time," Michael said as they walked to the elevator.
The elevator stopped thirty seconds later. "Don't say anything other than 'hello', 'thank you' and 'please'," Michael said right before the doors opened. Before Kasi could protest, he walked out.
An unsmiling woman sat at the desk guarding the mayor’s suite. She nodded to the two of them to sit in the couches while she finished a phone call. "What can I do for you?" she asked as soon as she hung up.
"We have an eleven o'clock with the mayor," Michael said with a smile.
Her expression changed after she looked at the schedule. "Just a moment," she said as she got up and walked out of the suite.
"I have that effect on people," Michael said drily.
A moment later the receptionist came back with two men, one in his late fifties with slicked back dark hair and the other a man with sandy blonde hair in his mid-thirties. Michael stood up and put out his hand. "Hello, Merrick. Good to see you," he said to the older man.
Merrick smiled jovially and shook his hand. "Nice to see you again, Michael. Sorry to keep you waiting. Please," he gestured toward the large door, "let's go in."
The receptionist nodded. "He's expecting you."
"Thank you, Nancy," Merrick said as he opened the door.
The office was larger than it appeared from the media photos, and so was the man sitting behind the desk. Certainly, he needed to lose weight and it was easy to see why he had trouble walking. It was also immediately apparent why he needed to leave office; he was ill. But even ill, he was clearly in command of the room—and the city.
"Michael!" he boomed. "How have you been?" he shook Michael's hand, then turned to Kasi. He waved his finger at her. "And you’re Kasi, right? You used to work in the councilor's side of the building if I'm not mistaken."
She knew he knew he wasn't mistaken, and she knew he remembered which councilor she'd worked for. "You have an excellent memory, sir," she said with a smile as she shook his hand.
"And Michael I guess you know Merrick and his aide Joe."
The younger man put out his hand. "Jonas Maxwell," he said as he shook Michael and Kasi's hands.
"Nice to meet you," Michael said before turning to Cervino. "Shall we get down to it?"
Cervino clapped his hands and pointed toward his couches. "Part of why I love dealing with business people. Right to the point."
Michael gestured for Kasi to sit down and then sat next to her. She sat across from the Levar. He looked at her and she forced herself to smile. He smiled back, but it wasn't friendly.
"Did I ever tell you how my wife's parents met?" Michael began as soon as Cervino was seated. "Neither of them lived in Boston, but they met at Faneuil Hall and then, as my wife tells it, fell in love by the sweater bins in Filene's Basement. Her father was a tourist from Israel who didn't realize how cold it got in the spring here."
"Boston is filled with stories like that," Cervino said gruffly. "We're a mix of old and new, history and commerce; something new happening every day, if people know where to look."
"Something new,” Michael repeated. “Exactly. As you know, David Hwang is running for mayor, and my wife and I have decided to support him."
"I'm surprised," Cervino said, unbuttoning his jacket and sitting back. "Hwang isn't the best choice for the business community. Especially finance." It was just the barest hint of emphasis, but everyone heard it.
"You forget," Michael said. "I'm the Chief Operating Officer of an alternative energy and vehicle company. Hwang's the perfect candidate to see the potential that industry can bring to the city and the region."
"All of them can see dollar signs, Michael," Cervino said knowingly.
"Yes, they can," Michael agreed. "But Hwang's the one who understands how it integrates with the rest of the industry—and with other regions. He's also the only one who comes close to understanding the actual technology."
"He's the smart one in the race." Cervino acknowledged. "But that, like money, doesn't always win races. You recall what happened last time."
"You won. But you're not running this time."
Cervino waved his hand. "Hwang lost because he wanted to do too much too fast. You can move some parts quickly, but when you're the mayor you have to move all of them together. Boston wasn't ready."
Kasi wanted to jump out of her skin, but instead she focused on Michael. He nodded as if he were conceding the point. "But that was four years ago. Things change."
Cervino winked. "I'm not going to stop you from spending your money the way you want to."
"Thank you, but I wasn't here about that." He sat taller. "I'm asking for you to support David Hwang."
"The mayor isn't going to be endorsing anyone in this race," Merrick quickly interjected.
Cervino nodded. "I don't want to give anyone an unfair advantage, and I'm not sure that any of these kids deserve it even if I did."
"I'm not asking you for his endorsement," Michael said calmly. "I'm asking for your machine."
Cervino regarded Michael, never once letting his gaze drop. "My machine?"
Michael leaned forward. "On election day."
Cervino hadn't blinked yet. "And why would I do that? For Hwang or anyone?"
> "Because you don't want your legacy tarnished on the way out."
Cervino laughed gruffly. "It's going to take a little bit more than whispers about what might have happened a few elections ago to destroy my record. What was it Powers called it? 'Typical election year politicking'. And the person who does that to the guy not even running in the race is going to look very weak."
Michael waved his hand. "I have no interest in discussing rumors and things no one could ever prove. I have facts—numbers, names, dates, places—and I'm a witness."
Cervino blinked. "You don't expect me to believe Alex shared anything that good, do you?"
"When Richard Hendrickson hired me to run his operations, do you think I chose Roxbury because I liked the views? Or the ease of our employees getting there?" Cervino didn't respond. "Or do you think I had some insight into how much money was about to be thrown into that part of town?"
"Perhaps it was the low rent," Merrick said.
Michael kept looking at Cervino. "Is that why we bought the building? Or might I have known something?"
"You read the business pages," Cervino said, no longer smiling. "It wasn't hard to figure out."
"If I hadn't been out of town for the two years before, I would have done so sooner. Richard gave me an excuse."
"You're not as smart as you think you are," Cervino said. "The smart money was in East Boston, especially a few years ago."
Michael heaved an exaggerated sigh. "Well, that's what I said, but Richard has spent half of his adult life staring at climate change projections. What can I say? He takes after our grandfather and likes the long view."
"Who do you think is going to criticize me for investing in Roxbury? That area was neglected for decades."
"For starters, there are the longtime residents who got pushed out. Then there's Mattapan, which could have been transformed with half of the investment Roxbury's gotten. And then—my favorite—South Boston and Dorchester."
"They're not hurting for development."
"That's not how they'll see it."
"This is bullshit," Merrick said, suddenly losing his temper. "You think you can get some people upset because our administration invested in a neglected—"
"That was just an example," Michael said, still looking at Cervino. "You'd be amazed at what Alex liked to share as he was buttering his toast in the morning or after he'd had a little scotch. The man never got over his need to prove how important he was to a captive audience." He inhaled. "Other people heard the information; I'm the one who thought it was interesting enough to track down. Why do you think I started reading the business pages? I lost count of how many times I wanted to call the beat reporter and tell him how wrong he'd gotten it."
The Golden Boy Returns (The New Pioneers Book 5) Page 14