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“Your father worked for Spencer many years ago. He worked in accounting. It was a good job. It paid well, and it was enough to give the two of you a good life. Your mom abandoned you, left you with your father, and your father didn’t have anyone in his life. The job with Bishop Hotels would’ve been perfect if your father wouldn’t have been stupid and greedy.”
He jerkily shakes his head back and forth. “Don’t talk about him like that.”
It’s clear I’ve touched a nerve.Good.I want to strike one. I want to find the wound and dig my fingers into it until he gives up the control he foolishly thinks he has. By the time I leave here, I want him to feel powerless. Just like how he made Winnie feel when he betrayed her by threatening to make something public that was very much supposed to be private.
I give him a satisfied smile, loving the rush of adrenaline that courses through me that this is going exactly to plan. “Oh, but he was both greedy and stupid. He had a great job. Good hours. Good management. But instead, he wanted what everyone always wants—more. So money started disappearing. And Spencer saw to it to fire your dad himself. It put the Bishops in hot water at first. How could they not have a finger in what their employees are doing when it comes to missing money?”
If Spencer had hired someone to do background checks and not left it up to software, he would’ve discovered that Blake Billings is not actually Blake Billings. He’d put down a different name when he applied to be a driver for the family. He used the name of someone who existed, so he got away with it. This revenge plan never would’ve worked if Spencer was more competent. I’ll make sure to tell him that—now that we have a stake in Bishop Hotels.
Lifting my hand, I pick at my nails. “Things got rough for the two of you. Your father was blacklisted. Spencermade sure that no one would hire him. Long days and long nights working really took a toll on him. I’m sorry to hear about the heart attack he had a few years back. What a shame.”
It isn’t a shame. Blake’s father—or should I say Colin—wasn’t a good guy. He had a few arrests on his record for theft and battery after getting fired. The apple didn’t seem to fall far from the tree because it’s clear the man sitting in front of me isn’t any better.
His face turns red with anger. Sweat beads above his brow as he glares at me with pure hatred. “Now you know why money won’t do anything to change my mind. I have nothing left. My dad is gone. He would’ve been healthy if Spencer didn’t ruin his life.”
My head cocks to the side. “You see, to me, it seems like it’s your father who ruined his own life. I’ve never been particularly fond of Spencer Bishop, but he did what any competent businessman would do.”
Blake’s body shakes with rage. I love it. He’s reacting exactly how I want him to. I hope he feels angry and hurt and every other fucking raw feeling imaginable. It just makes me even more excited for when he realizes that he’ll have no choice but to agree to my terms.
“You say money won’t sway you. And it’s admirable…kind of, that you think you don’t have a price. But we both know you will once you realize you cannot release that video or those photos. It’d be fucking stupid. The media won’t touch it, and if you release it yourself, you can join your father in the grave. You say you don’t care, but you do. You aren’t ready to disappear,Colin,” I emphasize his real name so he understands how serious I am, “are you?”
His jaw clenches. He stares at me as his chest heaves up and down with heavy breaths. Eventually, he does one small shake of his head.
I let out a sigh of approval. “Now that we have an understanding—” I reach into my jacket and pull out an envelopefilled with cash. I don’t like paying the guy, but it’s nothing, considering what he has on Winnie. “You will take this money. You will leave New York—better yet, leave this country—and you will never, ever contact Winnie again. You aren’t allowed to breathe in the same fucking state as her again.”
“And what if I leave and decide to release the tape anyway? I could hide somewhere you’d never find me.”
I laugh. It’s cold and bitter. “There’s not a place on this planet you could hide from me. Be sure to remember that because as I’ve mentioned, I don’t take well to others threatening what’s mine. Do anything that could hurt my wife or her reputation, and I will hunt you down myself.”
He opens the envelope, his eyes going wide at the amount of money in there. While he looks at the bills, I go to his computer setup. He’s dumb and doesn’t have any kind of password protection, so it’s easy to sort through the files on his desktop.
“What are you doing?” he demands, rushing over to me.
I hold up my hand. “Don’t even think about coming any closer.” It isn’t hard to find the file where he has the video of Winnie, along with pictures that make me sick to my stomach. I hate that he violated her this way. For a split second, I think about making him disappear right now. I’d get my money back, and I’d be doing the world a service.
“How do you know I don’t have multiple copies of the video? I sent it out. I can get them from there.”
I don’t answer him at first. I focus on clearing his computer of everything. His accounts, his files, all of it gone. He tries to come up to me again but at the last minute realizes it’s a dumb idea.
At least he has some sense of a brain.
My eyes scan his desk, finding a hard drive and a USB tucked underneath a stack of papers. I put both in my pocket, making sure he doesn’t have possession of those either. When my eyes finally connect with his again, I find him staring at me in horror.
It’s about to get worse because as I stand up, I shove the PC’s tower to the ground. Itlands with athud.
“Fuck, dude!” he yells, going to look at his computer. I walk to it, kicking the tower until it crashes against his wall.
Satisfied that there’s no trace of that video or photos left in this house, I focus on him for the last time. “Just know if I find out that video is anywhere else, I will personally make you regret it. And trust me, Colin, you don’t want to ever see me again. You’re getting out of this relatively unharmed because I’ve got a party with my wife to attend in two hours.”
He lifts his hands, resting his fingers against his temples as he looks at the broken pieces in disbelief. “You just broke my computer!”
I nod to the envelope still wrapped in his grimy hands. “You’ve got enough money to buy a new one. Might want to think about a laptop. Heard they travel better, considering you’re going abroad.”
Rage washes over his face, but he luckily keeps his mouth shut.
I walk to his door, ready to be done with all of this. I stop in the open doorway, looking back at him. “I want to make one thing clear, Colin. I’m not a man to mess with. I’ve given you mercy today because I know that’s what Winnie would want. I won’t do it again.”
He narrows his eyes on me as if he’s trying to figure out if I’m bluffing or not. I stare right back, daring him to call me out. He’ll learn quickly I’m a man of my word.
