Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 84442 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 422(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84442 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 422(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
I’m pissed, don’t get me wrong, but what I really am is guilty.
I should have done more, done better.
I should have kept Riley safe like I fucking promised.
My ringtone breaks the silence of the air, and I scrabble in my pocket for it, answering without even looking.
“Riley?” I ask breathlessly.
A beat of silence answers me before my lawyer’s voice comes through the speaker.
“Mr. D’Amico? It’s Jerry Lynch,” he says. “I have updates for you, sir.”
Fuck.
Not who I wanted, but Jerry knows better than to call me unless he has good news for me.
“Hit me with it,” I say, scowling at the bottle of scotch before shrugging and lifting it up to my lips for another drink.
“The article’s been pulled from the official website and all records of the original interview have been handed over. I have my IT specialists ensuring all copies are scrubbed from the internet. Marcus had your tech team send out a message to recipients of the initial link stating that it was a virus and to simply delete it.”
My shoulders slump in relief, and I clench my jaw to stop something that feels suspiciously like a sob from falling from my lips. I’m not going to fucking cry over this.
“Good,” I say when I regain control of my voice. “Any luck tracking down who’s behind it?”
Jerry clears his throat, and I hear a bit of a scuffle before Thomas’s voice comes through, loud and clear.
“I joined Jerry’s boys when they paid the news outlet’s headquarters,” he says, cheery and lighthearted as always. “They were plenty willing to talk after someone wound up with a broken wrist. Don’t know how that happened, but it wasn’t caught on any security cameras, so I guess it’ll remain a mystery.”
God, I could fucking kiss him.
As much as I usually enjoy his shenanigans, or at least tolerate them, I really don’t have the patience for them at the moment.
“I’ll buy you a Lambo if you shut up and tell me a name,” I grit out.
“Contradictory,” he sing-songs. “Should I shut up or tell you?”
“Tommy.”
I don’t use that tone with him, not about anything. Thomas isn’t someone I’ve ever genuinely threatened, but I’d cut my own arm off right now if it meant I could know whose teeth to bash in. Or at least if I could tell Riley with certainty that the person responsible is behind bars and set to rot for the rest of their life.
“It was your annoying employee. The blonde,” he says, knowing better than to push me when I’m like this.
The mostly empty bottle of scotch falls from my fingers as my teeth grind together so hard I’m surprised my jaw doesn’t shatter.
“Sloane,” I growl.
“That’s the one,” he confirms.
The way she treated Riley in the office was enough to make me want to ruin her life, but this? She fucked with Riley’s safety.
I’m going to rip the bitch to pieces with my fucking teeth if I have to.
“Oh, and your lawyer can still hear you, so whatever you’re thinking, keep it an inside thought for now, yeah?”
CHAPTER 24
RILEY
It’s been four days since the shitshow that unfolded on Sunday.
Taylor’s the only person who’s seen me since. She was waiting for me when I got home that night and has spent every night on my couch trying to keep me from spiraling.
I took the week off work, too humiliated to even think about stepping foot in the office. Or in public at all. The thought of coming face-to-face with Nick is enough to have me hyperventilating and triple-checking that my blinds are pulled tight.
The article got taken down before I even got home from the D’Amico estate on Sunday—his lawyer must have a lot of pull to get something like that scrubbed from the internet within half an hour, which is terrifying on its own—but it also got sent out on a company-wide email seconds after it was posted. Even some of our clients were on the email list. I have no way of knowing how many people saw it.
It doesn’t matter. Even if Nick and I were the only people to see it, the damage is done.
I’ve been spending every evening with Taylor because I’m too stressed out to feed myself or get off the couch most days. Nick and I had a single conversation Monday morning where he filled me in on as much as he’d sorted through then, but I told him I needed time to handle this and that I’d call him when I was ready to talk. He agreed, saying he’d wait for me, no matter how unhappy he sounded at the prospect.
It hasn’t stopped him from leaving me voicemails and texting me to check in, but he hasn’t shown up at my door, so I’ll take it.
If Sloane hadn’t gotten arrested, she’d probably be kicking her feet in glee right about now.