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“But you did,” she says. Her eyes are rapt on my face.
“Yeah. Of course I did,” I scoff. “I came from literally nothing. Business school was my lifeline. I slept in the office every night when we started the company. And we were doing well. My star was rising in the business world, even if his wasn’t. Until he told the press I was embezzling. You’ve seen the articles.” My stomach tries to turn itself over at the memory. The article I’d opened with shaking hands. The allegations. The calls with feds, the overpriced lawyer I’d hired just so my mother would stop crying.
“No way.” Callie leans forward. “No fucking way. That was a lie? I mean, I know the charges were dismissed. But that was him?”
“Yes,” I say shortly.
“I’m sorry for printing it,” she says bluntly. I freeze. The words are a white flag. I keep my face carefully blank, even though I’m surprised at her candor. She’s willing to apologize. After everything I’ve done, she’s still willing to apologize. She’s a better person than I thought.
“I didn’t know it all came from him. Did you get in trouble?” she asks.
“No. By the skin of my teeth. I kept meticulous records and our head of finance was a stand-up guy. He was able to prove that I’d never touched a dime. I still lived with my parents, for fuck’s sake. It’s not like I was skimming and living large.”
“But you lost the company.” Her eyes are calculating. She’s always two steps ahead, this woman. And I fucking love it.
“I did. That company became Green Media.”
“And this is why you hate reporters. Because of the way he weaponized the press against you.”
That and everything that happened after. But I can’t get into that with Callie. I dip my chin. “That’s right. He weaponized the press against me, and in those articles, he said horrible things about my family, about my parents. And he outed my sister.” Hot rage slices through me. Christine had been twenty-one at the time, and vulnerable as hell. She’d been testing the waters with her first real girlfriend, who had been a secret up until that moment. She’d been trying to figure out how best to break the news to our family. She’d told me at nineteen, and I’d kept her precious secret, for the woman I loved most.
“My parents didn’t even know and he told the whole fucking world. Her girlfriend broke up with her. Her girlfriend’s dad found out when Christine was at her house. He kicked her out and made her walk home in the snow, at least until I picked her up.” I push my beer away before I break the bottle. “I sat next to her while she cried and made me promise I wouldn’t kill him. She was devastated.” My throat is thick at the memory. The hot shame I felt comes roaring back. I trusted Dylan, and he betrayed me. And Christine paid the price. “I regret that promise. I should have run her ex’s dad over with my car and made it look like an accident. And I should have gone after Dylan next.”
Callie presses a shaking hand to her mouth. “Dylan would have deserved it.” Her eyes are murderous and in that moment, I want to crush her to me and kiss her. She looks like she’d kill on Christine’s behalf too. “I want to help you take him down. Tell me what I can do.” Her voice is fierce. Ally instead of enemy.
“There’s nothing you can do tonight, Thompson. Ease up.” I give her a rusty smile, a real one, and her eyes flare wide.
“Fine,” she says. “But I can help, you know. I’m good at research. Really good. You’ve seen it in action already. I can find more information about Dylan. Whatever you need.”
My chest aches at her words. Several hours ago, I was tormenting her for my enjoyment. I’m not totally certain I’ve given up my plan to use her. And now, she wants to help me.
“Thank you,” I say roughly. “Let’s talk about it tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow,” she groans. “It’s already ten p.m. Are you sure you need to work out tomorrow? Maybe you should take a break.” She sounds hopeful, and I press my lips together to keep from smiling and encouraging her.
“I don’t take breaks.”
She studies me. “What do you do for fun?”
I freeze on my way to spear a sausage with my fork. “You sound like my sister.”
“Well?” She raises her eyebrows as I chew, stalling. She’s way too fucking perceptive. Those blue eyes seem to look straight through me.
“I work out.”
“We’ve established that.”
“I see my family.” Though not in weeks. “I watch New York Royals hockey. Theo’s fault, really. I’m not a sports guy.”
“Theo?” She cocks her head. “Oh, the other founder. The one you commented about on the site.”
I wince. I’m not proud of those comments.
“That’s him. He’s been gone for a while, but he owns a minor stake in the team.”
“So you’re not a sports guy. Do you like to travel? Eat out? Go to concerts?”
I don’t know. My chest is tight and my collar is cutting off my air. I shed my hobbies years ago. I sacrificed my personality on the altar of my ambition.
