Page 47 of Mr. Blackwood

“Listen, I hired you to do the job. My reasoning should not be in question, only whether you can do the job,” he argued.

“Your investment firm was the top investment firm in all of the state of Georgia. You were doing well and expanding into the southeast region all along the eastern seaboard. When a young upstart financial services firm stepped in and upset your strategy with their lower prices, aggressive strategies, and relentless persistence, you found that you weren’t as strong as you thought you were. You thought they would go away in time, but ultimately you couldn’t compete, and you lost much of your client base to the competition. Now, do you want to be honest with me about why you involved me in this mission of yours, Mike?”

He chuckled softly, leaned back just a little, and eyed me up and down. “You’re going all Barbara Walters on me.”

“Don’t try to distract me or play mind games with me, Mike.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I turned sideways in my seat to stare into his face while I propped an arm on the table. I shared with him everything that I learned from Jabari that I knew about their competition and the conversations and threats that had been issued between both men over the years, along with the fact that since Jabari started winning, he hadn’t stopped.

“Why weren’t you honest with me from the beginning? I thought this was about a story of one of the wealthiest CEO’s in this country, and definitely on the East Coast. I thought this was going to be something he would be proud of, but it never was, was it? You always had nefarious purposes, didn’t you, Mike?”

“I knew from the beginning that you were hungry enough to support my plan and take on this mission. It didn’t matter what your interest was; I knew that the further you dug, you would find something, and that’s all I cared about.”

“You’re a selfish bastard, Mike Sullivan. He’s a good man and an even greater businessman than you will ever be.”

“What all did you learn, Camilla? I’ve heard what you said, but there’s a lot you’re not saying.”

“How about I say this—I’m not here to further your personal vendetta. I was on a mission to expand my business, you took advantage of it, and because of that I’m on the brink of losing everything.”

“If you’re worth your salt and if your magazine is as reputable as you claim, you should’ve been able to get the job done without losing anything,” he countered.

“I was never in this to sabotage anyone, and you knew that. You promised me funding for expansion if I could do an article like my other ones on a larger scale for national companies like Blackwood Realty and Blackwood Investments.”

“What did you learn about him in your investigative research?” he asked.

I leaned back slightly, but kept my posture relaxed and my face impassive. “Nothing that anyone cannot learn during routine research on the internet.”

“There’s not much on the internet about him.”

“Just basic research, mostly things about his company. That’s what you wanted, right?”

He narrowed his gaze at me as if he didn’t believe me. Mike sat back in his chair and draped an arm around the one beside him.

My skin crawled when he pointed his fork at me and smirked. “I’m sure that you would have uncovered something on Jabari Blackwood because a man like that doesn’t get to where he is without burying some bones. I want to know what those bones are, and I’m willing to pay premium dollars to expose them.”

“I would never do something like that.”

“For the right price, you will. The only reason you haven’t is that you haven’t discovered anything. Or you have, and you’re hiding something from me.”

“Why would I hide anything from you, Mike?”

“Because it’s become personal with you. You’re in too deep, and you’ve caught feelings for this guy.”

I scoffed and tried to play it off to no avail. In the past, I was good at bluffing, but something about Jabari had left me off my game.

“I barely know the man. How could I possibly catch feelings for him?”

“You moved into his building.”

“Which I had no clue was his when you referred me to the building and informed me that they had vacancies.”

“It was the perfect setup to help you get inside, and I didn’t want you messing that up by accidentally sharing that with anyone.”

“Well, it didn’t pan out the way that you wanted it to now, did it? I just wanted you to know that this isn’t going to work for me anymore. I simply wanted to have a conversation with you today about the way that you used me. It doesn’t feel good, Mike.”

He gulped down the last of his coffee and shrugged. “I’ll find someone who can take him down.”