AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Penny Hawkins has run away.”
thirty-three
Cannonballers
Cooper
On my drive back to L.A. later in the afternoon, I call into the follow-up meeting with Nyx that’s been arranged at the last minute. With my ringer being off most of the day, it’s the best I can do since I’d never make it in time. I really wish I could be there just to see the look on Nyx’s face when we finally tell her to fuck off and shut up. Because it’s been a long time coming.
I mute the phone on my end in the off chance something like that slips out of my mouth.
“We’re all here, so we’re going to go ahead with the meeting.” I can tell Cassidy is anxious to get this over and done with. I don’t blame her. I know how much this has bothered Jake, so I’m sure she wants to resolve this, if for nothing else but to ease his mind. “Nyx, I understand you’ve had a chance to review the agreement, and you are willing to discuss terms. Is that correct?”
“I am willing to bargain, yes.” The confidence in her voice sickens me. She knows she has us by the balls, and she’s giving them a little twist on the way out. It’s a good thing I’m muted because I would happily share a piece of my mind with her.
“Well, we’ll see about that,” Cassidy says flatly. While she’s eager to get this over with, she won’t take any shit either. “If you have new terms you would like to propose, please go ahead.”
My fingers instinctively tighten on the steering wheel, and I need to remind myself I’m in a moving vehicle. I have to keep my emotions in check.
“Well, I’m fine with just about everything except for the monetary arrangement.”
“Of course, that’s the thing that’s holding you up, bitch,” I mutter to myself. The only thing she cares about is the fucking money. That is no surprise.
“If you have a counteroffer, please go ahead. We’re all ears.” The tightness in Cassidy’s voice is almost funny. She’s not hiding her annoyance, and I love it.
Right when Nyx is about to talk again, I get an incoming call and see that it’s Sloane. “Fuck. This is the worst possible time.” I send the call to voicemail and strain to hear the end of Nyx’s counteroffer.
“Two million...”
I nearly swerve off the road when I hear the number. Did she really just demand two million dollars to be quiet? She has got to be out of her fucking mind. There is no way we or Blackmore are going to pay that kind of money to anyone, especially her.
The sound of Jake, Logan, and Remy objecting to the amount fills the car, and I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks she’s insane.
“Guys, guys, please settle down,” Eliza says, and it takes a little while, but eventually, everyone does calm down.
Another call comes in from Sloane, and I send it to voicemail again. We can talk about why I didn’t show up today later. This is more important right now.
Nyx laughs, and it’s not a normal laugh. It’s edged with something I can’t quite give a name to. Malice? Malevolence? Evil? Or is she just too far gone with the drugs now? She did not look well when I saw her the other day, and it’s never a good thing when a dealer dips into their own stash. It will not end well for her if she doesn’t get her shit together. I don’t know if I care or not, but two million dollars, let alone two in the hands of a junkie, is a really bad idea.
Cassidy dives straight back into negotiation mode. “Well, compared to the two hundred thousand dollar offer originally presented to you, a two million counter is far from where we started. Don’t you agree?” She must shrug or give some other sort of nonverbal response because I don’t hear anything, and Cassidy continues. “As we mentioned in our last meeting, this arrangement is being offered as a courtesy to you. I don’t think you want this to be dragged into court only for you to fail and get absolutely nothing, right?”
“What makes you so sure I would lose?” She sounds delusional enough to think she wouldn’t.
“Well, for one thing, we have the truth on our side. And for another, we are willing to do whatever it takes and spend whatever we need to see this through. If that means spending every dollar we have to see you lose, that’s exactly what we’ll do.” The steel in Cassidy’s voice even intimidates me hours away and over a phone line. She is not fucking around.
“Go, Cassidy, go.”
Again, my phone rings with a call from Sloane, and this time, I’m legitimately worried something is wrong. She wouldn’t keep calling me like this if everything was OK. But I’m torn because I need to hear what happens with Nyx. I hesitate but then send it to voicemail again.
There is silence for a while, and for a minute, I worry that I accidentally ended the call with the meeting, but then Skyler must clear her throat or something, and I realize it’s just quiet there.
“Nyx, just take the money,” Jake says, and I’m surprised there’s no vengeance in his voice. If anything, I hear regret or remorse. “This is the best you’re going to get. And I’m not just saying that. We’ve all talked about it, and this is it. Take the money, go back to Vegas, and move on with your life.”
It’s quiet again, so I guess she’s considering what Jake said. From where I’m sitting, he sounded empathetic. His words were heartfelt. He is a much bigger man than I am. I would not be as gracious. So perhaps it’s good that I’m muted in my car far away rather than in the meeting and probably getting in her face.
“If I sign and take the money, it doesn’t mean that what you did to me was right.”
What the fuck is she talking about? Who did what to her? She isn’t making any sense.
