Chapter Nineteen
“I’m glad you agreed to come to ‘my house’ here in Chicago. I like to have the advantage of knowing my environment. This is my sanctuary from the harsh reality of life outside those doors. I was a little surprised to hear you weren’t coming alone. Please, have a seat and we will get down to business.” Tony felt it was in bad taste to gloat over her misfortune. He had already done enough to cause her pain.
“I thought I was going to be more surprised by how easily you blackmailed your ex-wife into doing your bidding. A man of your limited character would stoop to this level to get what you want. Tell me how you live with yourself. How do you look in the mirror in the morning and respect the person looking back at you?” Adam felt it was his duty to put the screws to the ex-husband.
“I don’t have to sit here and take this verbal abuse. I sleep just fine and nothing makes me sleep more like a baby than getting back what is rightfully mine. I blackmailed her because I wanted to. It gave me pleasure to see her squirm. Nothing like the years I have spent dodging the IRS, but pleasurable nonetheless.” Tony wasn’t worried about being recorded and there was a device near his door to make the room impenetrable to listening devices.
What he didn’t account for was the listening device on his own phone. Jeffrey had planted the listening device by hacking into his cell phone. He was the one responsible for activating it at the moment the conversation began.
“Your arrogance is appalling. It’s a good thing you feel your importance makes you untouchable. It makes what I’m about to do more than a little delicious.” The last word was code and Tony’s phone began to sprout verbatim what he had said down to the very last word.” Adam was the one sitting in the captain’s chair with his arms crossed to show that he was confident.
Tony looked at his phone incredulously, staring at it and then back at the three of them. It didn’t seem possible, but he had been negligent unlike when he was in the courtroom.
“What is the meaning of this nonsense?” He already knew the answer before he posed the question.
“The recording will go viral and before long you’ll have the police and the IRS giving you a colonoscopy. As I recall, the IRS can be quite intrusive when they want to be. You will be the one to sink this ship like the Titanic on its maiden voyage.” Blake watched his bravado crumble with his face pleading for mercy.
“Not to worry, Tony. All of this can go away for one low price. You are going to promise to stay out of my life and never darken my doorway again. The penthouse is staying in my name and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it. Don’t even try to get on your high horse. I don’t trust you to give us all the evidence you have compiled against me…us. We will hold onto this recording leaving your future in jeopardy.” Yvette’s tone of voice was enough to convey what she was feeling.
“I would say we have reached a stalemate. You reveal what you have and I will do the same. I reveal what I have and you send me down the river. I will promise that you’ll never hear from me or my family again. Shack up with whomever you want. Why should I give a damn that you have fooled two men into thinking you are the best thing in their lives? I’m sure over time you will dispel their belief.” This was his last chance to sow the seeds of doubt in her mind that things were going to work out.
“I don’t think that’s enough. We want it in writing that you will never disparage our family. I’ve taken the liberty of having a boilerplate document made for this occasion. I know your signature will bind you by the law. It’s really the only thing you respect other than your own vanity.” Adam waved the paper in his face and slammed it down with his finger on the very spot where he was to sign.
“You all deserve one another.” Tony signed the document and was given a copy for his records.
“I would say it was a pleasure doing business with you, but I would be lying. I hope you don’t have any delusions of getting the private investigator involved again, as I feel it’s fair to warn you he is working for us. The Slim family fortune is a force beyond anything you have ever seen before. We take a dim view of anyone who decides to step up to us.” Adam was poking his chest trying to get a rise out of him.
“I would suggest you use the door before I forget my manners.” Tony was fuming inside but knew when he was beaten at his own game. He didn’t think she’d had it in her to play by his despicable rules.
“I want to leave you with one thought: Yvette is under our protective umbrella. She and the child she is carrying will never feel the fear of reprisal from you. We will eventually announce our relationship to the world, but you will always have the black cloud of uncertainty following you. You may never hear from us again, but the possibility remains we might give this information to the police and the IRS at any time.” Blake walked toward the door where Adam and the woman he loved were waiting for him.
“I know losing is a bitter pill to swallow. In some small way, you will always be a part of my life. I have my finger on the trigger to your financial and personal ruin, and I can pull it at any time. Do remember that whenever you get the need to puff out your chest.” She had finally gotten the last word.
She was between her men walking down the hall and she kissed them both for the partners to witness with a gasp of surprise on their faces. She grabbed them both from behind and got onto the elevator winking to the secretary who had her mouth gaping.
“I’m still not ready to make our relationship public. I know you’re not concerned with how the public might vilify you for your bohemian ways. We need to slowly reveal the truth. Taking baby steps will help us to wean them into it.” She was ready to go home.
The plane was already fueled and ready to go on the tarmac whenever they finished their business. Having a private flight made it easier for them to go to his office to close this chapter of their lives.
“I almost forgot, we have a baby to get ready for. This town is waiting for us to catch it by the tail. It also has many baby stores in time for the holidays.” Blake wasn’t ready to be a father, but he felt like he had the kind of role models to make him a well-rounded parent.
“There’s no reason to twist my arm. We do have something to celebrate. I think it’s about time we paint this town a baby blue.” She waited for them to hear the words and put together the hidden meaning behind them.
She gasped from a startled surprise when they both lifted her into the air. They were going to have a baby boy to carry on the family name.
It wasn’t exactly conventional, but it made them happy. It was something they’d thought elusive until they found each other.