No. Ella would be mad enough about my interference. I couldn’t make a big scene, especially one that might land me in jail. But I would make a small scene, just between the two of us, as soon as I had some leverage over him. I picked up my phone and dialed my father’s number.
“Devin!” he said. “How are you?”
“I’m fine, dad. How are you?”
“Great, thanks. Man, it’s too bad your mom’s not here right now. She loves when you call, but she’s out seeing some racy movie with her friends.”
I cough-laughed. “Oh, lord.”
“I know. Some stripper movie or something. God love ’em. So how’ve you been? Still enjoying the transatlantic routes?”
“Yeah. I like the schedule.” I sat on the couch, kicking off my shoes. “And I met someone interesting a few months ago. In Italy. She’s a scientist.”
“Oh.” His oh was curious, but also delighted.
“She’s not Italian,” I elaborated. “She’s American, a theoretical astrophysicist. I flew her over here to work with a think tank at the NSF Institute.”
I tried to sound casual in my feelings for her, so my parents wouldn’t start planning our wedding. They’d wanted me to settle down forever, but that wasn’t easy for a working pilot.
“An astrophysicist,” my dad repeated. “A bit brainier than your usual types.”
“We’re not dating or anything. We’re…more like friends.” I wrinkled my nose, because I sounded like an asshole. “Anyway, she’s working with things like gravitational waves, time and space, measuring the universe. Even things like time travel.” I was babbling. My father let me do it. He was probably amused. “I think her project is funded through the end of this year, but I was wondering… Well, they’re always looking for sponsors.”
“I see.”
“I could donate my own money,” I said quickly. I had plenty of it, because my father had set me up to succeed. “But I thought it might be great for Gibraltar to get involved. The science is new and interesting, and the applications are boundless.”
“We are a travel company.” My dad fell silent a moment, thinking. “We donate a lot of money to charities, but rarely scientific endeavors. With your special connection…” I could hear the smile in his voice. “This might be a good place to start. Do they accept corporate donations?”
“They accept all donations. It takes big, specialized labs to detect these waves they measure, and money to fund the research. They have some federal backing, but I just thought…”
“Of course. Always looking for worthy causes to support.” I could hear his smile broaden in the way he spoke to me. “What’s this scientist’s name?”
“Dr. Ella Novatny.” I spelled the last name, knowing he’d write it down. “And she didn’t ask me to ask you. But she’s dedicated and industrious, and it’s not easy being a woman in a male-dominated field.”
“Yes. I imagine not.”
I rubbed my forehead, wishing I could tell him the real reason I wanted to donate to Ella’s think tank. Money was power. I needed power over a certain asshole, and money was the way to go. “Well, thanks, dad,” I said. “I just want to support her. She deserves it.”
“Of course. I’m glad you asked me about this. Send me some information to share with the board, and I’ll see what we can put together for your friend and her fellow scientists.”
He said friend like it was encased in air quotes, but I didn’t care. If he thought I was developing a relationship with Ella, he’d be even more likely to support her research project with lots of cash.
As I’d hoped, the sponsorship deal was extended less than a week later, a cordial offer from Gibraltar Air to donate heavily to ACE Con’s projects, including an upcoming interferometer build in upstate New York. The offer was presented to their leader, Dr. Leopold Mann, who was delighted with the influx of support.
As soon as he accepted it, I made an appointment to meet him in person as a representative of Gibraltar. It was time for a serious talk.
*
I approached Leo to introduce myself the moment he arrived at the park near the NSF Institute. He responded with an effusive greeting, taking my hand.
“You’re Devin Kincaid? I’m so grateful for Gibraltar’s generosity,” he began, but then he squinted against the afternoon sun. “Wait. I’ve met you before, haven’t I?”
“We have a mutual friend,” I said, letting go of his hand, resisting the urge to wipe mine off afterward. “Ella Novatny.”
“Ah, yes, our wonderful Ellie. What a fantastic theorist, as imaginative as they come, which is an important trait in our line of work. But you should have come to the office.” He looked around the city park where I’d asked him to meet me. “After Gibraltar’s generous pledge of support, I would have been honored to introduce you to everyone—”
“I’ve been to the office,” I said, cutting him off. “And I didn’t ask you here to talk about the ACE Consortium.”
One of his dark, overgrown brows rose. “Oh?”
His “oh” was one hundred percent disingenuous. What had she ever seen in him? He was such an oily bastard. “I recently learned you had a relationship with Ella when she was in college. When she was nineteen years old, by the way. How old were you then?”
His insincere smile turned to something even more grating. “I remember meeting you now. You’re the pilot.” He blinked at me, all innocence. “I was a few years older than Ella, yes, but we had a healthy relationship. A consensual relationship, if you know what I mean.”
“I know what you mean,” I said, answering his unspoken query. Yes, I was kinky, too. Yes, I was onto his shit.
His eyes narrowed as he checked me out. “I had a feeling you two were more than friends. Is she still a glutton for pain?”
“None of your business.”
He burst into forced laughter. “I’ll take that as a yes. I have to tell you, in all these years, I’ve never met anyone quite like her. So capable, so driven, and yet so willing to offer her body for whatever the hell you want to—”
“I’m not here to shoot the shit with you.” My rough tone shut him up, which was good, because my stomach churned when he talked about her that way. My hands curled into fists as I focused on his weaselly gaze. “Ella tells me you have photos you’re using to control her. Is that true?”
“Control’s a strong word.”
I took a step closer. “What word would you prefer I use? Blackmail? Extortion? Illegal coercion? Revenge porn? Take your pick, asshole.”
Any remaining mirth in his punchable expression bled away. “If we’re not here to talk about ACE Con, or Gibraltar’s generous donation toward our research, then I’m going to get back to the Institute. I’m a busy man.”
I caught his arm, exerting pressure with my fingers. He took it l
ike a pussy and stopped trying to walk away. “I’d like to go now,” he said. “If you’ll release me—”
“You’re not going anywhere until we talk things over, Leopold. You see, I happen to care about our mutual friend Ella. I don’t like to see her taken advantage of.”
“Look, she needed to be here,” he said, shoving out his chin. “She’s so flighty and neurotic, she always has been. She needed…motivation. I did what I had to do.”
“That’s fucking bullshit, and you’re an asshole.”
I increased my grip on his upper arms. I wanted to pummel him. He looked around for someone to rescue him, but this area of the park was dead.
“Men who bully women are the worst kind of shit-sucking scum,” I said, getting in his face. “Do you know how I know that? Because I watched my father bully my mother, and I was just a kid, motherfucker. I was four years old, and I knew it was wrong. I watched him beat her and control her, and manipulate her until she didn’t know which end was up, because he was a fucking asswipe, and so are you.”
“Let go of me,” he whined in a shaky voice.
“And I decided, when I was four fucking years old, that I would never let anyone hurt a woman again if I could help it. So here’s what we’re going to do.” I shook him to regain his attention. “You’re going to promise Ella right now, today, that you’re going to delete her pictures, and never threaten her with them again. After that, you’re going to leave her alone, understand? You’re not going to think about her, or look at her, or talk to her in the cafeteria, or have anything to do with her outside whatever science-y shit has to go on. Because if you ever interact with her again in a way that offends or hurts her, I will make you pay. My family has a lot of money, Leopold. Enough money to donate to your fucking project, but also enough money to screw up your life, you know what I’m saying?”