“Father mentioned something about you having exciting news, Harrison,” I commented, trying to get them to relax.
This seemed to shake him out of his shock, and a giant grin spread over his face. “Well, my daughter, Kathrine, has been trying for ages to have children. They already adopted a wonderful little boy who’s a joy, but they wanted to give it one more try. I got word yesterday that she’s having twins.”
Daddy clapped his hands in excitement. “Oh, I knew it would happen one of these days. With the way the medical world is now, anything is possible.”
“Yes, it’s truly a miracle,” Harrison agreed while taking a sip of his drink.
“That’s absolutely wonderful news to be blessed with. I was hoping it would be something like that so when I shared why we called you here, it wouldn’t be too big of a blow,” I said, moving my clutch to the side so I could rest my elbows on my knees.
Raymond was the one who clued into what I said first. “What are you talking about? What kind of a blow?”
“See, the thing is… I had a chat with Mayor Wilson today when he came to see us about another matter to determine if there was anything we could do to move things in the right direction. You’ll never believe what he shared with me,” I rambled, acting as if I was nervous to tell them.
Fuckers already knew all of this as it was, so I was just trying to have some fun with it.
Harrison’s face sobered. “It’s all right, you can tell us. We knew this project was a long shot but also knew if anyone had a chance, it was old Col.”
“The problem has nothing to do with the toxic land or trying to get it cleaned up, which was a relief to hear until Mayor Wilson told me it was the Kocabe burial ground that was discovered. That, of course, was the first I’d heard of it, so he enlightened me on keeping it quiet so as not to create bad press with how tense things are with the Kocabe recently,” I explained. “So for now, that land is dead in the water until they’ve examined every inch of it and negotiated with the tribes what land is theirs and what we can still use.”
“I’m sorry, Harry, but I think it’s best if you find another plot,” Daddy added with a heavy sigh. “There are some areas where no amount of money or blackmail will get changed.”
“We thought that might be the case, so we kept looking for property and found something that might be a decent alternative,” Raymond said.
Flicking open my clutch, I grabbed the stack of pictures and tossed them on the table. “Oh, is this the place? Personally, I think a hundred acres is hardly anything to work with, but that would certainly cut down your cost. Thing is, it’s out in the middle of fucking nowhere farm country. Do you really think people will travel that far for a place that can hold maybe three roller coasters?”
Raymond snatched up a photograph with the for sale sign that matched the online listing. He then grabbed the other pictures and looked through a few before tossing them on the table. “This isn’t the place, this could be anywhere.”
“Hmm.” I nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I’m sure that’s not the plot Harvey would help you buy, but it was the trap set for us. As was the burial ground he paid to keep quiet. What I want to know is why neither of you said a fucking word about it?” I demanded, my tone turning cold. “One might think you were trying to screw us over, but why in the world would you want to do that? You’re making quite the profit off your invoice scheme, which I have to hand it to you was rather clever.”
“Col, what’s the meaning of this? Are you just going to let her speak to us that way?” Harrison demanded.
I raised my hand and snapped my fingers. Seconds later, Gunner was at our table handing over a large stack of invoices. “Thank you, Gunner,” I said, dismissing him for now. “I believe you’ll find the original copy of the invoice and the altered copy stapled together.”
“You can’t prove we took the money,” Raymond countered.
I leaned back and crossed a leg over the other, smirking. “You wanna bet?”
“Yes, prove it,” Harrison demanded.
Looking over my shoulder, I caught Atticus’s eye. “Could you be so gracious as to hand me the file you have on their finances?”
Atticus rose and walked over to me, but instead of handing it to me, the man tossed it on the table, remaining right at my side. “You weren’t nearly intelligent enough to cover your tracks. It took me all of twenty minutes to figure out your system. If you were going to try and launder your money through our business after you stole it, don’t give it to our hookers. We track every cent that enters their bank account since we take a percentage.”
“Do you know how many laws you’ve violated doing this?” Raymond roared, slamming the file on the table. “This is an invasion of privacy.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” I countered. “We are allowed to track our employees’ transactions, and all we needed was to match the ones that entered your bank account. As my friend here said, not all that bright of you. Hookers take the money, they don’t give it.”
Harrison shot out of his chair, but Atticus was right there to shove him back into it. “Don’t make a scene. People here are trying to have a nice night.”
Seeing this side of my sweet man was surprising, but yet made him all the more endearing that he was protecting me. I grabbed the last thing out of my clutch and slid the envelope across the table. Harrison was still glaring at Atticus, who hadn’t moved, so Raymond picked up the envelope. He pulled the letter out and read over it, his eyes going wide with shock as he then looked at me. “You can’t be serious. If you do this, you’ll ruin us overnight.”
“I’m sorry. What about this meeting so far has given you the impression I give a flying fuck about that?” I demanded. “You knew about the burial grounds. I heard it from your lips the night of the poker game. What was it you said? Something about my father losing his touch and putting a fucking broad in charge of things men should be doing. Did I remember that correctly?”
“Yes, Lady Astin, you sure did,” Luca commented from behind me. “In fact, I heard the whole conversation myself, so don’t try and pull any he-said-she-said bullshit. I’m sure we could ask the others at the table their thoughts once they see the ruin she’s about to cause.”
Luca rested a hand on my shoulder, and I could feel a piece of paper against my skin. Reaching up, I made it look as if I was giving him a reassuring squeeze as I took the paper.
“You’re calling our note?” Harrison barked, finally looking at the letter. “You can’t do that. There has to be a law against this.”