Chapter Three

Jessica

I felt like I was pimping myself out, but it was for a good cause. My father was beside himself worrying with sleepless nights. Coughlin hadn’t made any bold claims, but it was only a matter of time before he came knocking on the door.

My family heirloom was set to fall into enemy hands. I thought he was smug to ask me to have dinner with him. I couldn’t shake this feeling of anticipation in the air. I’d gone out and found a knockoff original in flaming red. It slithered down my body like a second skin.

I’d already called the taxi and it was waiting at the curb idling in neutral with the meter running. I grabbed my knee-length leather jacket from the back of the door. An unfinished masterpiece was covered with a cloth by the window where I found my inspiration. The cityscape and my neighbors were my muses for my paintings.

I turned the knob and opened it to face Coughlin in a grey trench coat. He breezed right past me and into the living room. He sat down with his eyes clearly ordering me to follow suit. I was about to protest, but I knew better than to argue.

“I’ve been thinking about this for the past few days. If I was only 20 years younger, I would seriously consider making a play for you myself. Family means the world to you. It’s a trait that you don’t find very often in today’s generation. You have a kind heart.” He was buttering me up for something and I was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“Just tell me what you want. What is it going to take to make this go away? I don’t mean to be curt, but this is my family we’re talking about. My father has made his fair share of mistakes. I can’t let him be ruined financially.” Living beyond his means wasn’t something I hadn’t seen before.

“Jessica, a man is defined by what he decides on the spur of the moment. A child should never be in a position where the sins of the father are laid at their feet. With that being said, there is a way to give your father back his life.” I was all ears until I heard the next few words coming out of his mouth.

My mouth started to drop and by the time he was finished I was stunned beyond words. The world was crashing down around me and I had no control over it. Coughlin had articulated his position to the best of his ability. He wasn’t asking me to kill somebody. There was nothing illegal and I breathed a sigh of relief despite his demands.

My apartment was an open concept with exposed piping and wood beams. I looked around and the investment was paying off.

This decision couldn’t be made lightly over an empty stomach.

“It’s not unreasonable, but you’re going to have to give me time to think about it.” I had heard through the rumor mill Coughlin wasn’t a very patient man when it came to negotiations.

“I will give you until the end of the week. There is a time constraint. You’re obviously a smart woman. This is the best deal you are going to get. There’s no reason to bother your father with this foolishness. He already has more than enough on his mind.” I saw a flicker of concern in his eyes.

“I don’t keep secrets from my father.” There were white lies made to prevent somebody from getting hurt.

“This arrangement has to be between the two of us. This isn’t ideal. It would be nice if we could do this the old-fashioned way. In this age of convenience, everything is the quickest way to the finish line. I’ve never been a big believer in procrastinating.” I wanted to get him to make some concessions, but I didn’t know where to begin.

The family heirloom could stay in my possession. I wasn’t sure this was the answer to all of my problems. The thrill of the evening was marred by his presence. Coughlin had come here with a purpose. His proposition wasn’t easy to swallow.

“I understand the need for secrecy. I might have to bite the bullet and do this for my father’s own good. He can’t seem to help himself. The lure of the big payday is hard for him to ignore. We both know you set him up to fail that night. You waited for the right time to strike.” He scooted forward with the leather of the chair squeaking in protest.

“I’m an opportunist. Business is built on knowing when your opponent is bluffing. Your father thought he was holding all the cards. It was nothing personal. I have no vendetta or grudge against your father. I watched you all evening. I know you were signaling your father. He shouldn’t have used you like that.” I felt relieved to have somebody to talk to about this.

“It wasn’t like he put a gun to my head. The money was hard to walk away from. It’s easy for somebody who has loads of it. The temptation of getting that piece of the pie can make people do some strange and interesting things. I wasn’t expecting this. It’s highly unusual, but there has been a precedent for this kind of thing.” Living in sin had become a staple of my generation.

We didn’t need the almighty piece of paper for any kind of commitment. Standing in front of our loved ones to declare our intention to spend the rest of our lives together was steeped in religion. I was happy to cohabitate with my significant other. It gave me the chance to learn those quirks that made me go mad in the middle of the night.

“I will sweeten the pot. I will take care of all of your student loans. You can start fresh without having the educational system with their hand out. I will even introduce you to a few art dealers. I’ve seen some of your creations. You have some raw potential. I’m not just saying that.” He knew which buttons to push.

This was another instance where he was doing his due diligence. His life revolved around the art of the deal. Personal or business…the results were still the same.

“You do drive a hard bargain. I will tentatively agree to your terms.” We sealed the deal with a handshake.

It was legally binding, but there was going to be no paper trail in this negotiation.

I heard the dripping from my faucet. It was something I had argued incessantly with the landlord about. I had even gone ahead and bought a book, but everything in plumbing was like speaking a different language.

“I’m glad you see it my way. The first test is a dinner party. I will send you over something appropriate to wear. You’re going to be the Belle of the ball.” He walked towards the door and stopped with his hand pressed up against it

I was young with my whole life ahead of me. This was a pothole with my path clearly marked in the art world. I was trying to convince myself this was going to work. I didn’t have to give Sebastian something that was emotionally priceless. I could’ve called off the dinner, but I thought it was rude. Besides, I wanted to see him again and I didn’t know why.

“I’m not going to fit in. They will see through me.” He walked back and lifted my chin with my neck straining towards the ceiling.

“You are an unpolished gem looking for some validation. Acceptance doesn’t come easy. I’m giving you a way to walk through the door.” I was wasting my breath and this was nothing I planned.

“I’ve never aspired to be of highbrow society. I had no problem being the one looking in from the outside. I live modestly without the trappings of the finer things to get in the way. Watching all of you in your ivory tower is a particularly interesting pastime. I bring to life the faces you don’t show the public.

“What do you see about me?”

“I see the scared little boy inside you. You weren’t born into this, but there’s no way you’re going to give it up without a fight. Once you have money there’s no going back to eating Raman noodles. The root of all evil is in the dollar bill.” I was waxing poetic knowing full well he was not going to see the underlying meaning of my statement.

“When you have more than you can spend it affords you opportunities of a lifetime. The value of a dollar is hard to assess. Having children comes with pitfalls. I remember the first time my son wrapped his hand around my little finger. I became a prisoner of his every whim. I wanted him to have the things I never did growing up.” He was looking at me underneath the microscope and smiling.

“You’re wasting your time, but it’s your time to waste. I will be at the dinner party fashionably late. It will set the tone for the evening. I’m going to need some lessons. You can’t throw me in with the sharks with the blood churning in the water.” Everything depended on pulling this off.

“You have street smarts. It’s not enough. You will come to the estate. Refinement for most of these socialites is something they were born with. I have a few favors I can call in to make it easier for you to swim with the sharks. They can be vipers with no filter. Don’t underestimate them.” Failure wasn’t an option.

“I want to go on the record to say this is a very bad idea. Stepping into those shoes is going to put a target on my back. It won’t take people long to uncover this sordid business.” My life was an open book with many of the pages left unwritten.

“We’re going to reinvent the wheel together. I will backstop your identity leaving little doubt to your heritage. We’re going to strip you of your old life in exchange for another.” I didn’t want to be some kind of trophy, but Coughlin was a man that wasn’t used to anybody refusing him.

“It doesn’t give us a lot of time. The window of opportunity is closing fast. I don’t know how you plan to pull the wool over their eyes. How in the world are you going to pull this off? A man with money is a dangerous man.” The one painful truth was that I owed my father more than I could ever pay back.

“I am a businessman looking for profitable opportunities. This building is one of the last holdouts in a development deal. Everybody has a price. I haven’t found the owners, but I will.” The heritage of the building went back to when it was a factory.

There was history in every piece of peeled paint coming off the walls. I could hear the sound of the sewing machines late at night. It was sacrilege to even think about bulldozing a footnote in history.

“I thought the name of the development company was familiar. It’s one of your subsidiaries hidden under a cloak of legitimacy. I don’t have to like you to work with you. I have someplace to be.” Once he was gone, I was a fuming mad and looking for the first person to lash out at.

My dinner with the pompous Sebastian Cole was going to take an ugly turn.