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I give her hand a squeeze. “I appreciate that.”
“So… I’ve been doing a little research on my own.”
My head snaps up from the order I’m filling out, where the math just won’t add up.
I hate math. Even simple addition throws me for a loop.
“Yeah? What do you mean?” I ask.
She pulls a stack of folded papers out of her backpack. “I hope you don’t think I’m meddling, but I did some research on the developer. I found something interesting.”
Like what? They have billions of dollars and I don’t stand a chance against them? They have mob connections, and if I don’t watch my step, I’ll end up at the bottom of the East River, wearing concrete shoes?
Or is it just that they, a bunch of alpha-hole masters of the universe, get everything they go after no matter what they have to destroy in the process?
So. Depressing.
“Check it out, Livvy. There are safety violations on their record. They’ve been cited several times.” She pushes the stack in my direction, turns to a page in the middle of it, and points.
“What? Where did you get this?” I lean closer, but not too close, like it might bite or something.
“At the building department or whatever it’s called in City Hall. Look, it says right here what they did wrong.” Jewel points to a list of issues.
Poor construction practices…
Failure to obtain permits…
Unsafe work conditions…
Could this be true? Did they really do these things?
“Holy crap. Why would a big, successful company take chances like this?” I mutter, running a finger over the words.
“I wondered that too,” Jewel says, nodding. “Turns out developers are usually under tight time constraints and pressure to cut costs. I guess all of these are related to this.”
Holy fucking shit. Tingles run up my spine, not because I would ever wish this kind of ill on anyone, but when it comes down to it, I kind of do. All along I’ve known I’m David to their Goliath, and I’ll do what I have to in order to win. If I can’t win, I’ll at least survive.
I turn to Jewel. “This is our trump card. I can take this to Bartlett Murray and he’ll have the city council block everything.” My heart’s pounding. Has Jewel saved the day? I like her a lot, always have, but I hardly expected this. Didn’t know she had it in her.
I throw my arms around her. “Thank you so much. I never even thought to look into the developer’s background. How’d you find this? Where’d you even get the idea?”
She smiles proudly. “I meditated on it, and it came to me, like a sort of message.”
Now I’m sorry I asked.
She continues. What the hell, maybe she’s on to something. “I’ve spent the last several days researching this stuff. It seems like quite the scandal. I think you can milk it, Livvy. You have to use it.”
I plan to. Boy, do I plan to.
“You are a genius, Jewel. Pure genius. I’m heading straight to Bart’s office. I’ll read this on the way. Can you take care of things here?”
“Of course. I’m on your side. Always.”
I need someone on my side.
26
LIVVY
