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“So like I said, I need some money.” Her voice has a smug tone now, as though she knows she’s got me. And maybe she does, maybe she doesn’t.
Confronting the inevitable, I ask, “How much are you looking for?”
“Thatta boy. I knew you’d come around. I’m thinking twenty thousand should get me by for a bit.”
I know, without her saying it, that this is only the beginning of her shake-downs. “Why don’t you tell me what it will take for you to go away forever?”
She chuckles and the sound is grating. “Feeling generous, are you?”
“I’m feeling like this is the last time I want to speak to you. What’s it going to take to make that happen?”
I can almost envision her trying to figure out the best way to play this. She used to get a look on her face when I was younger, when she was trying to figure out how to deal with my dad in a way that wouldn’t set him off.
“I don’t want to be greedy, so how about three million?”
I squeeze my eyes shut. I’ve done well for myself—hell, I own a beach house in Malibu—but I can’t pull three million out of my ass. It’d put a dent in my finances that I’d feel for sure. “I’ll give you one point four. A hundred thousand for each decade you raised me.”
“Two and a half,” she counters.
“One and a half.”
“Two million,” she says, and I detect the growing excitement in her voice.
“One point seven and that’s my final offer.” I hold my breath and wait for her response.
“Done.”
“If I give you this money, I don’t ever want to hear from you again. I don’t want you talking to the press—nothing.”
“Sure, sure, whatever. When can you get it to me?” she asks, showing how eager she is.
“I mean it. I’m going to have my lawyer draft up an agreement that says that if you do any of those things, you have to pay me back in full immediately.”
“Trust me, kiddo, you send me that money and I’m like the wind.”
No surprise there. She was able to leave me when she had nothing. Why wouldn’t she be able to do it when she’s newly rich?
“It’s going to take me some time to get my lawyers to draft an agreement and for me to get the money together. I’ll call you next week to get the details from you.”
“Don’t take too long. I might get chatty.”
I fist my hand over the steering wheel. “Don’t forget your end of the agreement. I’ll be in touch.”
With that, I press the red circle on my phone and toss it onto the couch where it thankfully bounces across the cushions and doesn’t fall to the floor.
“FUCK!”
“Is everything all right?”
I whip my head in the direction of the voice to find Adelaide standing in the entrance to the trailer, wide-eyed.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
“I had a conference call with my manager when we were done shooting, so I took it in my trailer before I left for the night. Are you okay?”
I blow out a breath and run my hand through my hair. “Yeah. Sorry, I’m fine.”
She gives me an unsure smile. “If you say so. Anything I can do to help?”
