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“Now, Mr. Pierce, I understand the agreed upon price for the video was fifty thousand dollars, is that correct?”
Chuck flicked his eyes Mickie’s way before giving Angelica his attention again. He seemed to consider the question as though wondering if it was a trap before saying, “Yes.”
“Excellent,” Angelica picked up a piece of paper and slide it to Chuck. “Since no money has changed hands as of yet and there is no bill of sale, Ms. Hudson would like to offer you double that amount to sell the video to her instead.”
Chuck’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head. “Fuck yes, where do I sign?” he asked with a greedy grin.
“Just a moment, I’m not finished.”
Narrowing his eyes, Chuck said, “You’re not?”
Angelica smiled a shark’s grin. “Nope. As part of this deal, you agree to relinquish any and all copies of the video in both the digital and hard copies. Should this video ever appear again, in any form, say on social media or in the news, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. That includes ten years of jail time for violating this agreement.”
“What? There’s no way in hell I’m agreeing to that.”
“I’m not finished yet,” Angelica barked. “A similar but much less lucrative offer has been made to Mr. Earl Benson who couldn’t be here today because he is currently incarcerated.”
Michaela’s eyes widened. She hadn’t heard that tidbit. Did Keith know? And how was he taking it? How about the rest of the Bensons? God, she wished she was back in Vermont with them instead of sitting in this room negotiating with scumbags. But this was necessary and would protect Keith from every having to worry about that video again.
“Please feel free to have your attorney look over the document. There are no loopholes. We’ve covered every possible contingency. Believe me when I say that once you sign this, if you so much as reference this video, you’ll be prosecuted and spend time in jail.”
“I’m not signing this.” Chuck said, shoving the papers away.
Angelica continued as though he wasn’t throwing a mild hissy fit. “The deal expires in twenty-four hours. In case you don’t understand what that means, let me spell it out for you. If these documents aren’t signed by,” she checked her watch, “Four thirty-five tomorrow, the deal is null and void. You will not receive a penny from my client.”
When Chuck’s gaze slid to a scowling Mark as though expecting him to up his offer, Angelica chuckled. “We haven’t gotten to Mr. Degrasse yet, but trust me, you won’t be receiving anything from him, either. Once the timer runs up, this deal is gone and you can do whatever the hell you please with the video. If you approach Ms. Hudson in the future she will not pay. We have already prepared injunctions to keep this from hitting the tabloids, so you won’t find any money there. Sure, you could post it to your Facebook page, but you won’t be making a hundred thousand dollars off your fifty Facebook friends.”
This part was a bit of a bluff. Okay, it was a full-on bluff. Mickie would pay any amount necessary to keep this video from harming Keith or his siblings. And there were other avenues Chuck could go to make money off the video if he didn’t sign the agreement, but Angelica had warned her to keep that to herself. Greedy men like Chuck, she’d said, would never walk away from a guaranteed offer of cash like this.
“So, Mr. Pierce, would you like some time to have a lawyer review the documents?” Angelica asked knowing full well Chuck didn’t have an attorney on standby to perform such a task.
Michaela held her breath as she watched the man swallow. His face had turned a deep radish red and damn, was it satisfying. Sure, she’d be out a hundred thousand dollars, but it was well, well worth it to ensure Keith’s happiness and safety. She’d have paid the money just to see this sour look on Chuck’s face.
He cleared his throat. “No,” he said sounding close to tears. “I’ll sign. Can I have a pen?”
Angelica winked at Mickie as she handed a pen to Chuck.
As she watched him scrawl his name across the pages as instructed by Angelica, she wanted to jump out of her chair and shout for joy.
They were almost there. This was almost done. One hurdle down, and one to go. Then she’d be on a plane, heading back to Keith and hoping with all her might that he understood why she’d had to do this.
“Thank you very much,” Angelica said as she gathered the papers. “My paralegal will be providing you with copies before you leave here today. You have forty-eight hours to provide any and all copies of the video to Michaela and will be given instructions on how to do so. Do you understand?”
