Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 77309 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77309 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
General Leyland turns to study Conlan. I hover near the door feeling out of place and wishing I were anywhere else in the world. Maximum security prison, the bottom of the ocean, the center of an active volcano, any of those would be preferable to this meeting. Instead, I try to turn into a statue again, even though that didn’t work out last time.
“General, this is my brother, Conlan.” Adler stands to make the introductions.
Leyland doesn’t get to his feet. He stares up at Conlan with a narrowed expression. His ruddy skin flushes, his bushy eyebrows knit, and I’m afraid he’s about to have a heart attack. He’s got salt-and-pepper hair cut military short, clean-shaven, and his suit looks like he got it off the rack at Macy’s.
“You’re the man that’s trying to fuck me,” the general growls.
I almost snort a laugh, since Conlan tried to fuck his daughter, but that’s not funny.
“No, General Leyland, that is not my intention.” Conlan remains standing. “I’m here to clear up a misunderstanding.”
“Oh, am I misunderstanding something? You’re not the guy that fucked my teenage daughter?”
Conlan’s lip twitches. “That was me.”
“I know it was, you shit stain. Clear off that chair and sit.” General Leyland kicks it toward him.
Conlan hesitates. His face contorts into rage for a moment, and I think this meeting is over and we are massively screwed. But before he can explode, Adler comes around his desk, makes a show of pouring a drink, and shoves it into Conlan’s hands.
“Down it,” Adler says before clearing off the chair himself. “And sit.”
Conlan does as instructed, tossing back the liquor, then lowers himself. Still sitting straight-backed.
I’m totally ignored. Which is ideal.
“I don’t think you boys understand the massive turd you dropped in my fucking lap all because this nitwit over here couldn’t keep his dick in his pants.” Leyland waves a hand at Conlan. I grimace, my hands curling into fists. “The goddamn Citizens for a Better American Super PAC wants to drown me, and fuck-boy Costa over here tossed them enough ammunition to blow my entire political career to smithereens.”
“That was not my intention,” Conlan says, doing an admirable job of keeping his tone even. “I didn’t know she was your daughter, and I sure as hell didn’t know she was nineteen.”
“Save it. I don’t give a shit that you fucked her. You think you’re the first idiot to dip your cock between my daughter’s legs? She’s been a pain in my ass for fucking years. Her first boyfriend was twenty-six. She was thirteen. You should’ve seen the guy’s face when he found out.”
“We can appreciate your position, General,” Adler says smoothly. “That’s why we’re here taking this meeting.”
“I want you both to hear me right now. I need you to fix this, make this go away. I know who you are and I’ve heard your reputation, which means I expect you to do whatever you can, legal or otherwise. Understand me?”
“We’re in agreement there,” Adler says. “We discussed a possibility earlier. Conlan suggested we obfuscate the issue, complicate it, throw enough dirt on top to make any respectable journalist stay far away. In this day and age, no media outlets want to get caught spreading misinformation. We’ll use that against them.”
“I don’t give a fuck what you want to do. Murder the piece-of-shit detectives that took the images for all I care. Just make it go away.” General Leyland glares at Conlan. “Sometimes I wonder how you dumbasses keep on falling for my mess of a daughter.”
“She’s very persuasive,” Conlan replies, staring straight-faced back at him.
“Oh, you want to be funny, you cocksucker? I am going to destroy your little family business if you so much as step out of line, do you understand? I am sick of you greasy fucks thinking you can run the show just because you have a little money and a drop of influence. Fix the problem. That’s all I care about.”
“We’ll see what we can do.” Conlan’s lips twitch. I can tell he’s holding something back.
“You’d better, you pathetic little—”
“That’s enough.” The words break from my mouth before I can stop them. The men stare at me like they all forgot I was there. I gape back at them, equally shocked.
“Who the fuck is this?” General Leyland asks.
“That’s my assistant,” Conlan says, looking surprised, but not angry.
“Why the fuck does your assistant think she can speak that way to me?”
I can’t help myself. “Because you’re being insulting for no reason. Conlan knows he screwed up and he’s here to make things right. Instead of having a rational discussion, you’re being just plain rude.”
Silence falls over the room. I think I’ve lost my mind. So much for being a statue. But I couldn’t help myself. Listening to General Leyland berate Conlan like that broke something in me. He couldn’t speak up for himself, not with Adler right there and the family’s business on the line, but I don’t care about any of that.