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“That’s blackmail.”
“You can call it whatever you want. I want the money. You aren’t so innocent, are you? You’ve done your own things for money, cuz.”
“How much?” she whispered. “What will it take to make you go away?”
“See? I knew family was supposed to stick together.”
“How much, Leo?” she insisted. She wanted to throw up.
He paused. “W
hy don’t you make a few payments and I’ll let you know.”
She squeezed her eyes tightly as the elevator finally arrived. A woman scrambled off.
“I wouldn’t get on there if I were you. I got stuck on the ninth floor.” The woman was flustered.
“Thanks.” Alison smiled meekly. “I’ll take the other one.” It must be why everything was running so slowly.
“Princess?” Leo was still on the phone.
“I’m at work. I’ll call you later. Don’t do anything, Leo. Swear to me you won’t. I’ll get your money. Just don’t say anything to anyone.”
“It’s our little secret. Always has been. Unless you don’t come up with the cash. Then it will be everyone’s secret.”
Alison stepped on to the next elevator. Leo held her future in his hands. And if there was one thing she knew, it was not to trust him for a single second. There was nothing steady or honest about him. He was filled with one thing only—greed.
She leaned into the elevator. This was all going to fall apart. It would crumble at her feet.
Thirty-One
Alison
Trying to sit through a meeting and share her success in Vegas, should have made Alison feel triumphant, but instead she felt sick. All she heard was the sneer in Leo’s voice, echoing in her head. It was like a broken record and she couldn’t pick up the needle. Why did he have to ruin everything? Steal the only happiness she’d ever known? She felt the pit of hatred harden. It was money—it always came back to money.
How was she going to get through this?
“Alison?” Bruce waited at the other end of the conference table.
“Yes?”
“You were going to lay out how we should integrate your design into the website? Do you have that for us?”
She blinked. “Yes. Right. Exactly.”
She scrambled through her notes, looking for the file on the web design. It wasn’t her area of expertise, but she knew how she wanted it to look and feel when donors or families clicked to research the foundation. It would be the main basis for information. It had to be perfect.
“Bruce, I’d like to consult with the web designer and then we could work through that at the next meeting.”
“But we need that for the celebrity endorsement page. That should come up first, don’t you think?” he asked.
Her head pounded. Why was Bruce giving her a hard time? “Sure. But I need a consult first,” she spat the words with more anger than she intended.
“Sorry.” He pushed back from the table. “Let me know when you have something for me to see.”
He marched out of the conference room.
Alison sighed. She had let her fear surface in front of everyone. She smiled at the group. “Let’s reschedule this meeting for tomorrow. Ok? I think we all need a day after the Vegas success.”
