Page 28 of Insatiable Bachelor (Bachelor Tower 1)
I see Randy on the other side of the gym, and he looks more like a punching bag to me than the three I just passed. I could pick up a dumbbell and do some real damage to his face, but I’m not looking for life in prison. I’m loaded with emotions I don’t want to deal with, though, and shoving him around seems like a good outlet right now.
“I didn’t touch her,” Randy says, preemptively trying to thwart my rage. It’s not enough.
My hand is clenching around the collar of his gym shirt as I yank him up from the weight bench. “Don’t ever fucking go near her again.”
“Whatever,” he chokes out, his hands up so I can’t misconstrue any motion for a provocation. “I don’t get why you’re so angry. You’re the one who figured out how to get her out.”
“She’s not going anywhere.” I loosen my grip on his neck as a crowd starts to gather.
“I don’t get you,” Randy says.
“She’s not worth it, Dalton,” Paul says as he crosses the gym to where we are. “Are you really willing to risk everything for her?”
“Are you?” I growl. Losing Cannington will hurt. He’s the bridge to where I want to take my company. He could also be a wall between me and anyone in his circle.
“Just be a team player,” Paul says, looking like he may slap a hand to my back but suddenly thinks better of it. Good call. “You call her and the sister; you tell her you want to talk. Then you give them this.” He hands me an envelope and winks.
“What the hell is this?” I ask, shoving it back in his direction.
“I wouldn’t give it back if I were you. It’s the golden ticket out of this situation.” His devious smile gets a little bigger as he steps away. The room clears quickly, and I can tell everyone else must already know what I’m holding. “I get the lure of fresh pussy, but you need to wake up now and do the right thing.”
Curiosity isn’t enough to get me to open it, but worry for Penny is. I stride out of the gym. No way will I open it with an audience.
My mind runs through a hundred possibilities. Blackmail. They’ve found something so devious on Kylie or Penny that it will compel them to give up. Or they’ve found exactly what they wanted in the lease, and they’re moving forward.
Two separate documents slide from the large envelope into my hand. One is a manifesto with a snap shot of Ziggy paper-clipped to the front. There is a laundry list of accusations against him, including tax fraud and evasion, misrepresentation of financial condition, illicit transactions designed to evade regulatory oversight. Apparently someone has dug into Ziggy’s unconventional business practices and put together enough anomalies to launch an investigation. With one call he could be pulled in, questioned, and charged with a litany of crimes.
My blood boils as I consider the lengths these bastards have gone to. I assume the other sheet is more strong-arming blackmail. But I’m wrong. It’s a contract from the company Kylie works for. She’s already the CFO but this document is an offer. A legally binding document that says if she is willing to take up full and permanent residence in the penthouse suite of a building across town, a highly coveted location, they would make her an equal stockholder to the CEO, along with a few other key promises anyone would be crazy to turn down. The note attached says: sign this and the other goes away.
If Kylie moves out and takes all the significant perks being offered, Ziggy will be in the clear. They’ll bury this information and move on. It should be a no-brainer. What woman wouldn’t want to improve her own career and protect her father at the same time? Yet something tells me it won’t be quite so cut and dried in her mind.
I head for the lobby, the envelope clutched tight in my hand. Pulling my cell phone out, I dial Penny’s number and expect voicemail. There’s no chance in hell she’ll want to talk to me.
There’s no time to find out as I come face-to-face with Penny and a woman I can only assume is Kylie. We collide and the envelope and documents tumble to the floor, landing by Penny’s sneaker. I watch her forehead crease with confusion and then morph just as suddenly into anger.
“You just can’t stay out of this, can you?” Penny asks as she scoops up the documents and shoves them hard into my chest. “I don’t want you involved.”
“Too late,” I growl. “I know how to take Paul Winslow down.”
“You do?” Kylie looks up from reading over the contract that details her potential raise and career improvements.
“I do. And I’m all in on this. They won’t drive you out, Kylie. I’ll make damn sure of that.”
Kylie looks from me to her sister and back. “Penny, we should at least hear him out.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Penny
“I did not think they would go this far.” Kylie sighs, propping her hands on her hips and staring out.
“What are those papers?” I ask.
“It’s their next move,” Kylie answers as she spins and heads for the wet bar. The ting of ice cubes feels deafening as I wait for either of them to explain.
“I thought you said this was a nonissue? They stole the lease and they wouldn’t be able to use it?”
“They can’t,” Kylie says as though the truth is obvious, striding over to Dalton and taking the papers. “It’s why they needed another option. It says a lot that they feel they need vinegar and honey here.”
“What are you talking about?” My voice is a few octaves higher than normal as I pace the room.
“They are offering me a promotion and a leap forward in my career or threatening me with having Dad prosecuted for all his nonsense. They’d never throw in the promotion if they thought I’d cave to the threat. My reputation precedes me here.”
“Prosecuted?” I gasp, looking desperately at Dalton for some kind of reassurance. I hate myself for wanting or needing it. I hate him for not being able to give it to me right now. But the thought of my dad in jail makes my stomach churn.
“Dad is a small fish.” Kylie shrugs as though this is all no big deal. “He wouldn’t exactly show up on the FBI white-collar crime radar, but if these guys put the wheels in motion there is enough there for Dad to get in trouble. He’s played fast and loose with his business for decades. It’s a plausible threat but misguided. If they knew anything about me they’d realize that play wouldn’t work.”
“You can’t let Dad go to jail over this apartment.” Kylie just rolls her eyes.
“Penny, it’s like you don’t know me at all. Dad’s not going anywhere. Besides, Dalton says he has a plan.”
“I do?” Dalton asks, then says, “I do.”
“Although I’d love to know why.” Kylie swirls the amber drink around in her glass.
“Excuse me?” Dalton looks rattled, which isn’t like him at all.
“My sister told me everything,” she says, raising a challenging brow at Dalton. “So I know all the sordid details. I’m asking you, where you stand right now?”
Dalton’s eyes slide away from Kylie and to me. His face falters. “I stand here. With the two of you.”
I shake my head. “You don’t have to, Dalton. I know you don’t get involved.”
Dalton reaches for my hand, but I step back from him. “That used to be who I was.”
I blink quickly. “I want to believe that, but I can’t. Not yet.”
“That’s okay. We’ll talk after we fix this.”
“Good,” Kylie says, cutting off any chance at a warmer moment between Dalton and me.
“Your father is in some serious trouble if you don’t meet their terms.” Dalton flashes his cocky smile. “But I’m reasonably certain Winslow doesn’t want his father to know he’s fucking his stepmother. Daddies don’t like to share.”
“Oh, my God, that’s awesome. Do you have proof?” Kylie leans forward.
On his phone, Dalton brings up a photo of them in a compromising position. “This one is my favorite.”
Kylie laughs. “Welcome to the family, Dalton.”
My jaw drops open. Dalton and I don’t have a
commitment to each other, and even if we did I haven’t forgiven him yet.
Kylie asks, “How about the others?”
“I’m compiling shit on them as we speak. We also have Luther Green on our side, although that might be because he finds this amusing.”
The smug smile on Kylie’s face reflects the one on Dalton’s. “I’ll take my raise, my title, and my apartment here. They can take my foot in their asses. Tell them those are my terms.”
“Kylie,” I squeak out, my blood pressure thudding dangerously high. “You can’t take that gamble with Dad. These men are dead serious.”
“So am I. They want to blackmail me? Not going to happen. I don’t negotiate with people who have as much to lose as I do. I have the support of Christen Brockton who owns this place. I have as many connections in business as they do. Plus we have something they don’t.”
“Vaginas?” I ask, desperate for a little levity before my heart explodes from all this pressure.
Kylie laughs.
Dalton is still watching me as if waiting to see a sign that I’m softening.
“We have your friend, Dalton.”
I swallow hard. Is he my friend? Is he more? I don’t know where we go from here. I meet Dalton’s gaze and ask, “Do you believe in friendship?”
He touches my cheek gently. “I do now. That and so much more.”
“Together we will crush these bastards,” Kylie says.
“Your sister is a little crazy,” Dalton whispers as he leans into me. His cologne fills my nose, and I’m instantly transported back to the last time he held me in his arms. Back when everything felt hopeful and possible.
“She’s my sister.” I shrug, eyeing him closely. “You’re the nut who pledged your friendship to her willingly. Crazy might be contagious.”
Okay, maybe I’m beginning to forgive him.
