“What’s the plan, Jonathan? I’m not gonna go down because this woman has those shots!” Leo paced back and forth on the red velvet carpet. His pounding feet made deep imprints in the gold inlay.
“There is no plan. We give her the money and hope she shuts up. We missed her first deadline so I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re in it for more money.” Jonathan waited in the door of the room waiting for a sign. He had managed to reach Alecia soon after Leo had called him. His conversation with her was brief, yet she would not commit to anything, even when he offered the money to her.
Leo pounded his fist in his hands as the two men waited in silence, neither knowing what to say. They had faced crises together before. There were the PR nightmares of hookers and drinking. There were times when Leo’s security team got a bit too handsy with photographers. But this was something else. This man had a case against him and wasn’t about to let down. Money was their only option.
“Did you talk to your accountant?” Jonathan peeked over his shoulder empty towards the hallway as he asked, “How much of a hit is this gonna be?”
Leo sighed. “He wasn’t happy when I asked him to take out that much. This is gonna kill my inheritance—probably eat up some of the money left to care for the estate.”
“Shit,” Jonathan muttered, kicking his foot against the ground in frustration.
“Don’t worry, man, this ain’t gonna reduce your paycheck. Money’s still there for you from all the endorsement deals. But I’m gonna have a hard time telling Bailey about this.” Leo couldn’t help but think of his future with his girlfriend. He couldn’t be sure if the sprawling mansion with the stables and the acreage would be there for her and Lily in their future. The thought of it all sent daggers through his skull.
Jonathan chuckled awkwardly as he glanced at his gold watch, “Maybe it’s time to get back in the ring.”
It was a consideration Leo had thought of since Bailey had come into his life. But he couldn’t fathom fighting competitively again when it had led his life to be so chaotic. If it weren’t for his own foolish pride, he wouldn’t be standing in a meeting room at a ritzy hotel with a huge check burning through his pocket while he waited impatiently for his blackmailer to show. Then again, he would not have met Bailey and Lily if it weren’t for his boxing fame.
Jonathan suddenly stood up straight and adjusted his jacket. “She’s here,” he quietly whispered, “Sit down and shut up. Let me do all the talking.”
Leo obliged, sitting down on one of the long leather booths in the corner. He took out the cashier’s check and ran it through his hands. For something made of paper, he had never felt a thing as heavy.
A woman with long dark hair removed her trench coat on a hook and turned towards the men. Two large, imposing men followed behind her, tracing her every move. She was dressed the part of the affluent hotel customer with her tight fitted black dress, dangling diamond necklace, and opulent drop earrings. Alecia and her stiletto heels towered over Jonathan as she passed him in favor of where Leo sat.
She took a seat to the outside, an easy escape if need be, while Jonathan took his place at Leo’s side. Her two escorts stationed themselves at the head table.
“Stand up. I want to be sure your pockets are empty. No guns, no phones, nothing” She snapped her fingers as the men took hold of Jonathan. His hands shook as he emptied out his pockets and exposed his chest for a quick check for wires.
Leo stood, as well, placing the check on the table. He followed Jonathan’s moves. In his jean pockets were his wallet, car keys, and the toy Lily had given him last night. When the larger of the two men asked him what the purple and gold creature was, Leo shrugged his shoulders and passively said, “It’s a toy. My girlfriend’s daughter gave it to me last night.” A smile crept on the man’s face as he handed it back to Leo.
“Let’s get this over, boys. My team can't wait for me any longer.” She looked towards the open door as her team exited slowly and shut the door behind them. Alecia then pulled a cigarette out of a silver case. Leo and Jonathan waited for her to light up and take a long puff. A red lipstick mark stained its tip.
“We have the money, but we want a guarantee that the photo they showed in court is gonna be the last of it.” Jonathan was tactful and even-keel. It was as if this were just another one of his backdoor business transactions. At least, that is what he had to tell himself as fear coursed through his body.
She took another long inhale and released the smoke into the men’s faces without a care, “You've got my word. What do you expect me to give you? This is blackmail, not a legally binding contract.”
“So what’s to say you feel as if your brother’s case is losing and you decide to go for some extra cash by turning those into the prosecution?” Jonathan’s worries had long been that this was the ultimate double cross.
Alecia’s face suddenly changed as his words hit her. She began to laugh low, deep cackles as she put out her cigarette on the wooden table. “You’re kidding me, right? You’ve gotta be joking!” She leaned in closely as she took a calming breath to stop her from smiling, “If you think you've got a snowball’s chance in hell of winning this case, you must be one something. There is no way that the ‘Lionheart’ is going to get off. No way. We’ve been doing this a long time, my family. We know when a case is headed in our direction.”
Jonathan began to speak, but Leo had heard enough. He raised his hands to Jonathan’s chest, pushing him back into the booth. “What do you mean ‘doing it a long time?’ Is this some kind of fuckin’ scheme you got going on?”
She stared at him for a beat as she began to softly nod, “Look at you, Lionheart. Someone has a brain up there after all. Usually, my, uh, clients aren’t so quick on the draw—if ever. But, no, you’re not my first, and you’re certainly not my last.” She put her hands to her lips, amused with herself, “But I will say, you were my first fighter. My brother was certainly not too happy to take the punches from you.”
Leo furiously stood, the table spilling out from under him onto Alecia’s lap. She remained still as he yelled, “You’ve got your money, you dumb bitch. And you’re not gonna get another cent of it. Not you, not your brother, not your family. I’ll make sure of it.”
Alecia looked at the check that had fallen into the folds of her dress. She studied the numbers, the signature, the design. She even held it to the light to examine the security seal. Finally, she pushed back the table and stood, walking towards where her coat was hung. She spoke across the room to where Leo and Jonathan stood stunned and shocked by the revelation she had dropped, “We’re gonna get you, Leo Connelly. Just you wait and see.”
The woman exited the room silently, shutting the door softly behind her. Leo and Jonathan remained silent. All that could be heard was Leo panting as he curled his hands into small fists over and over and over again.
“Shit, man.” Jonathan ran his hands through his slick backed hair as he tried to come to terms with what just happened to them, “I can’t believe those damn detectives couldn’t have caught that. Damnit!” He ran across the room, grabbing a chair and throwing it across empty space. He screamed out incoherently.
Leo sat back down, cradling his heavy head in his palms. A sharp sting near his thigh caught his attention. His hands crept through his pockets as he searched for what caused it. Surprised, he pulled out Lily’s Catchall doll and placed it on the table. The blinking light caught his eyes. He pressed play. A woman’s familiar voice sounded. “Let’s get this over, boys. My team can't wait for me any longer.”
Jonathan looked over to where Leo stared at the toy, “What’s that? What’s that—”
His own voice answered him, “We have the money, but we want a guarantee that the photo they showed in court is gonna be the last of it.”
Leo talked over the rest of the conversation, his eyes lighting up at each second it played on, “Oh my god…I can’t believe it…Jonathan…”
“Is that toy doing what I think it's doing? Did it record the entire conversation?”
“...snowball’s chance in hell of winning this case, you must be one something.”
“Oh shit! That guard must’ve hit record accidentally. I had no idea. I had no idea! Jonathan! Do you know what this means?”
Jonathan grabbed Leo’s coat from the hooks and tossed it at him. “Get up. Turn that thing off. We’ve got to get to the lawyers. Now.” Jonathan was out the door before Leo could even stand. His legs shook as he stepped outside the hotel’s meeting room and into the entryway. Sun streamed through the massive colorless windows down onto the glass tile floor. Their limo idled by the door as the two men jumped inside and instructed the driver on where to go.
Hours later, Leo walked through the gate of his home on foot. On his request, the limo had dropped him off a few miles from his home. Leo wanted nothing more than to go the rest of the way by foot—even if it meant being hounded by the devoted band of photographers and reporters. Today, he was celebrating. Today, Leo Connelly was feeling alive.
The press spotted him yards from the entryway, each grabbing their equipment to meet up with him. One athletic reporter ran beside him as he threw a microphone in Leo’s face. He panted as he yelled, “Leo, can you give me a comment about the victim in your case calling your girlfriend Bailey a liar? How about him claiming that it was you who started the fight in the first place?”
Leo turned to him, still jogging intently. “I know the real truth will come out, and the liars in this case will get their day. I can guarantee it.”
He punched the code into gate’s keypad and slipped through a small entry, finally making it to the gravel driveway. From his spot, he could see the outline of Bailey and Lily waiting for him on the porch. Bailey had a phone pressed to her ear as she walked the length of the wooden porch. He could see her press her fingers to her temple as she gestured wildly to the empty field in front of her.
When Leo came into her view, she put down her phone and called out towards him, “What are you doing? Where’s the car?” She looked around the estate in a panic, as if she expected someone to jump out at her or him.
Leo climbed the last few steps and then sat at their feet. “Today was a great day for a run.”
Bailey wasn’t sure what to make of her boyfriend or his wide, mischievous grin. It was not a look she saw often, or at all. She ushered Lily inside, as she glanced over at a shrub rustling against the wind. She had been staring at the bush since she had walked outside. She knew it was probably her eyes deceiving her, but it looked a bit misshapen. She made a mental note to talk to the gardener about it tomorrow. Fixing it would probably ease her mind.
Before Lily could go inside, Leo stopped her, holding her hand out as he placed the Catchall in her palm. He whispered, “Thanks, Lily. I loved playing with him.”
As she ran back into the home to find the housekeeper, Bailey took a slow seat next to him, her eyes now darting to a shadow. She shook her head before she leaned her head into his shoulder and asked quietly, “You want to tell me what’s going on now?”
“The case. It’s over.” He nudged her upright as he took her hands in his. “It’s over, Bailey. The lawyer said so. In a day, it’s gonna be all over the news.” He struggled to contain his excitement. Every bit of him burst at the seam, screaming to come out. Leo couldn’t wait any longer. He pulled Bailey in for a long, deep kiss, his hands gripping at the back of her head and hair.
She pushed him away, still confused, “I—I—wait—what do you mean the case is over? How could it be? Was it postponed?”
“Jonathan and I met with Alecia today, the sister that was blackmailing me. I didn’t know it but I had Lily’s toy in my pocket, and it recorded her saying she was blackmailing me and that I wasn’t her first attempt at it. She even said that her brother was in it—that it was planned and staged.”
Bailey shuffled in her seat, completely shocked at the news. “So, it’s over? That’s it?” She wasn’t sure what or who to trust. Their lives had been in so much upheaval and she couldn’t seem to feel like nothing would be truly over until it had disappeared completely.
“Well, no. We’re still gonna have to go to court and present this as evidence. But no judge in the world would allow this to go any farther, no matter what I did or where I was on that boat. It’s over, Bailey. You and me, we can start a life together. We can start over.”
He took her into his arms once more, their lips and bodies smashing into one another like waves crashing to the shore. For the first time since they began, everything seemed right in its place. For the first time, Leo could feel his life could reset. However, Bailey, on the other hand, couldn’t help but look over her shoulder. The feeling that something was about to send their lives into a tailspin that sent her own mind racing.