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“Our business does not concern you,” Daniel dismissed Ben with a wave.
“Angelina is mine. Anything that has to do with her concerns me.”
“I don’t know what you want. We have nothing to discuss,” Angelina tried to diffuse the tension.
“I see that a polite conversation is lost on the two of you, so let me make myself clear. How much will it take to make this go away? Everyone has a price.”
“You want to pay me to keep my mouth shut?”
“He wants to pay you to keep quiet about the padre pounding the waitress in a public bathroom. He also wants you to forget you ever saw him at the club and hand over any damning pictures to back up your claims.”
“Smarter than he looks,” Daniel responded dryly.
Angelina chewed her lip as she stared at Jake’s father. His full head of gray hair was artfully styled. Cosmetic surgery smoothed his face until it took on a damp plastic sheen. There wasn’t a wrinkle from his hairline to the top of his dress shirt. With the expensive outfit and shoes, he screamed wealth and power.
She wondered if he was like this when Sam married him. She couldn’t imagine the boisterous woman marrying the pompous ass gloating at the corner of her stairs. Maybe he was a drunken mistake, temporary insanity, or desperation. She didn’t want to judge, but she was asking on their next spa day. If that didn’t work, they would have drinks at Max’s until Sam spilled.
“I am a reasonable man,” Daniel preened. “I came to offer you a chance to change your humble lifestyle. If that isn’t inspiration enough, consider it the opportunity to keep the reputation you have worked so hard to achieve.”
“Get out,” Ben demanded.
“Let’s hear him out,” Angelina rested her hand on his stomach. She was worried about Jake. If she could listen to his father spout crazy nonsense in order to leave Jake alone, she would. It was what friends did for each other.
Ben didn’t bother with his shirt. She could feel the muscles tighten under his skin. He was ready to pounce. Angelina had to get this moving along before Army Ken decided padre had drawn his last breath. She could envision Ben making Daniel’s house a pile of rubble from a mysterious gas leak.
“Seems the lady has more sense than you.”
“You can only push him so far,” Angelina warned.
“You should be more selective of who you spread your legs for.”
“Yeah, because the club waitress was so much better than your wife,” Angelina rolled her eyes. “I can’t remember where in the bible it says screwing the indiscretions out of poor sinners in a public bathroom is the pathway to the afterlife.”
“The good book is filled with sinners seeking deliverance from their mortal sins. It is the charge of the shepherd to show them the way. When one endangers the flock, disrupts the harmony, it becomes a danger to us all.”
“You keep on selling the Kool-Aid, but I’m not buying it,” she prodded. “You have two minutes before I call the cops. Your name attached to a trespassing and harassment complaint wouldn’t be good.”
“He wants to pay you for your silence about banging the waitress. If you don’t agree, the good reverend will forget all about harassing Jake. He is going to turn his flock on you. All those people who tune in to watch his bullshit will think you are the devil. He is threatening to ruin you if you talk.”
“Intelligence found where I least expected it.”
“I suppose I should consider all of my options,” Angelina egged him on. “How much to forget the whole padre thing? It is super weird, by the way. Who had a kink about a priest? Is that really a thing?”
“We can Google it later,” Ben shrugged.
“Five hundred thousand,” Daniel grated out.
“You think five hundred thousand is going to make me forget? You should have done your homework on who I am. Do you realize what I make in a year? Besides, wouldn’t you think career-damning information would be worth more than that? Wait. Is this a down payment or a one-time thing? That could change my answer. You are worth mega millions. Five hundred thousand is kind of insulting if you think about it.”
“I bet padre pulls in close to a billion. I’m sure that isn’t what he claims on his taxes, but a scam with a good hook will net you the big bucks,” Ben smirked.
“Billion?”
“Be smart about my more than generous offer. I would hate to see all of this taken away. Unfortunate problems and harmful consequences befall the immoral,” Daniel warned.
“You are a special kind of crazy, aren’t you?” Angelina watched him in disbelief. “You could have gotten off, well, more than you did. You could have walked away free because I had no idea who you were. Jake didn’t see you. None of your camera crews were filming the back entrance. No one saw us leave. Why now? You could save the cash and pay for a hotel room next time. Think big. You could get two waitresses for the price of one. Maybe get a rosary whip, a holy water wet t-shirt contest, or a naughty nun costume for each waitress.”
“Loose ends,” Ben supplied. “If you ever came forward, think how it would look. A man famous for leading others to salvation got caught getting his wick wet with a lowly waitress who wasn’t his wife. He would lose everything. The book deals, TV shows, speaking arrangements, all of it would be gone because he dipped his wick where it didn’t belong.”
