AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You’re the one doing it to him, Syl. Not me.”
“But you can stop it,” she whimpered. The villain all but vanished again. She was actually confused about why I wasn’t falling for her mediocre proposal. She didn’t really know me at all. It was time to finish her.
I leaned over the table to face her head-on, practically within kissing distance, speaking clearly and slowly so she would hear every word.
“Syl, come on. Do you really think I’m afraid of Collin’s name getting dragged through the mud for allegedly screwing his secretary? You think he’s afraid of that? It would be a stressful few days, sure, but that’s only in the unlikely event the story actually went to press. And I know you think the world may be on your side for this one, Syl, but your claim is pretty flimsy when we break it down.”
Syl sat back in the booth, arms crossed as if nonchalant, ready to listen to me.
I didn’t want her nonchalant. I wanted her afraid.
“Not only is Collin a Case,” I continued, “and therefore protected by a family name and reputation, but he’s kind of a pussy. Now, I love him, as you know, but no one will believe he ‘did things’ to you without irrefutable evidence of said things.”
Syl finally broke eye contact with me, looking away and down. I kept going.
“So you could go the route of surveying other women Collin has worked with, in an attempt to corroborate some of your accusations, which might also work, depending on who you manage to corral into lying for you. But those types of people usually require cash, which you don’t have. And all of this isn’t even considering the cease and desist that would likely come your way, along with an actual lawsuit, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing for you. That could actually work out in your favor. It’s very possible the Cases would offer you a hefty settlement along with an NDA. Fact or fiction, they won’t really care. You said you didn’t want cash, but that would be a really great way to get it.”
Syl looked back at me, her eyes narrowed. I had offended her.
“I don’t want cash,” she uttered.
“Whatever.” I shrugged. “So let’s just say everything did go your way. Because, please don’t be mistaken, in any of these scenarios, there’s absolutely no way I’m taking a DNA test. So, we were fantasizing that you managed to successfully alert the world to Collin’s predatory ways without any actual evidence. Okay. Say it happens. We get some mild family embarrassment. That’s unavoidable. Haven definitely won’t like it. Too tawdry for the woman. She’d be the most furious. Collin will be ‘asked to leave’ the Case Company. As a formality, of course. He doesn’t have to work. Unlike you.”
“Bea. Stop.”
But I wouldn’t stop.
“As for me, I wouldn’t love people thinking my husband did such awful things, but I also don’t really care. The circle I’m in now with the Cases? This kind of stuff meansnothingto them. They completely disavow cancel culture. It doesn’t affect them in any tangible way. Forsome of those men, they’ll even see it as Collin’s rite of passage. Pat him on the back. Happens to the best of us, son. Some of them will even think he actually did it and not give one single shit. I know, it’s sick, but that’s neither here nor there because what I want to talk about in this dream world of yours is you.”
“That’s enough. I get it. You’re really not going to help me.” Syl was starting to cry. She’d completely lost her nerve, but I had all of mine.
“Escaping one unsavory legacy for another? After everything you’ve been through as Jane Wink? That’s what you want? Sylvia Austin, sexual assault victim, for the rest of your life? What would John say? Your dad? Everyone? Youhaveto care about everyone’s opinion, Syl. You don’t have a lifeboat like I do. So it’s in your best interest to maintain some decorum, even as an alleged victim. Look, I’m only saying all of this because I actually do care about you, even with your foul behavior today. I like you and I respect what you’re trying to do here. We all have to look out for ourselves, but the only person this scheme of yours will reflect poorly on, if you even got that far, is you. So save yourself the trouble, Syl. Please. Don’t give it another thought.” I paused for dramatic effect, waiting for her gaze to meet mine once more. “I know I won’t.”
Syl’s lips quivered as she looked up at me. She was about to say something in response, but it came out only as a stifled sob before she ran out of the bar. Mission accomplished.
I wondered if I’d ever see Syl again. Would she go through with it, despite my scathing yet likely true warning? Something told me she wouldn’t. After that display of hers, it didn’t appear she had blackmail in her at all. It wasn’t like her. She was trying it out to get what she wanted, her venue an inspired choice, obviously meant to help her immerse herself in the dirty deed at hand. Fake it till you make it. Method acting. Anyone can play at being a shifty character in a seedybar, but what about the follow-through? See, what most people don’t realize is that conning and scheming and extorting and doing downright dastardly business is not for the faint of heart. Most people, suffering from a good conscience, cannot do it, and that’s why the people whocando it are often successful at it. Put simply, it’s hard for anyone to imagine they’re being taken for a ride because who would actually do such a thing?
Most people are trusting. Their first mistake.
I so badly wanted to order a drink. I deserved it after losing my first real friend of my whole life, but it was time to go.
Girls like Bea Case didn’t belong in seedy bars like that.
CHAPTER
18
MY FIRST RESPONSEwas “No, no, please God, no.”
I said it out loud in the restroom at work, decorum be damned. Two women I hardly knew from Accounts Receivable were washing their hands, talking shit about Colleen’s vegan brownies in the break room, cut short by concern for me in my stall.
“Oh, honey. Next month.”
“Don’t lose hope.”
I didn’t say anything, waiting for them to leave. After an excruciating thirty seconds, I heard them click-clack away in their sensible and hideous two-inch heels. They thought I was trying to get pregnant? I suppose that would have been the normal thing, being a newlywed and all, especially one in a family where legacy was the only thing that seemed to matter. But instead of being thrilled about the heir apparent in my womb, I was in utter and complete shock.
Collin and I hadn’t even talked about children. It was never partof our premarital discussions, but I just assumed that Collin assumed I would want a child as well. When he’d realize that wasn’t altogether true, we’d have to indulge in a heated conversation. I would push the envelope as far as I could, just to see what might happen, what I could get away with, but I envisioned myself being the one to ultimately relent. I finagled my way into the family to get everything I wanted, so I’d give him what he wanted in return without much of a fuss, but I would certainly not be the instigator. And a small part of me believed that perhaps I’d get lucky. Maybe Collin didn’t really want to have children either and we could go on being one of those fabulous child-free couples that are well-dressed, well-traveled and actually happily married until their deaths.
