talk, you were concerned enough about making the vote go your way. I called people, and I exerted pressure. Someone was pressing them harder, Alex.” He sighed, and shook his head slowly. “You must be careful, moy brat . Not too many people can push harder than me.”
“Is my mother one of them?” Alex couldn’t bring himself to raise his head and look his long-time friend in the eyes.
It was a funny thing, really. He and Olivia had been at odds for so very many years, he hadn’t thought that it would hurt this much to admit that she was this cold. That she had this much hatred inside of her. He knew that his mother had suffered in the years that she’d been married to his father. He knew that living so many years without the love of the man she wanted had hollowed her out. He’d tried, in therapy and out of it, to forgive her for never finding that love with her children. Some days, he’d even managed it.
But he couldn’t help thinking of a picture of his mother, long before she and his father had married. She’d been a young girl, barely a teenager, wearing a bright white dress that made her dark complexion stand out, with a pretty straw hat embellished with flowers. She’d smiled in the picture.
“Leo, I don’t know what to do. People are dying.”
Leo shook his head. “You know me, Alex. I have certain solutions to these sorts of problems. They don’t tend to be the solutions that you want.”
Alex nodded. More death wasn’t going to solve anything. “So you think I should go to the police.”
Another long silence from his friend. “I think that you want to go to the police.”
“You think I shouldn’t?”
Leo shook his head. “We aren’t debating philosophy. Are you sure it is her, and her dog?”
Alex thought it through. No, he wasn’t sure. He was far from sure. He shook his head. “I think she’s involved somehow, but is she the one pulling the trigger? Or sending the man who pulls the trigger? I don’t know. I don’t think so. But I don’t know if that’s wishful thinking, if I just don’t want to believe it of her.”
Leo offered another sage nod. “If you go to the police, and you don’t like the results you get, that makes it trickier for me to become involved down the line, Alex. I will do almost anything for you, but I am responsible for my people. I cannot guarantee that anyone would take that job, even if I were able to offer it.”
Alex’s skin gave a shiver. “I don’t think I could ask you to do it anyway, Leo. The fact that you would be willing to try means the world to me, but you’re right. It’s not how I solve my problems.”
Leo nodded. “Then we must make another plan. Work through shell corporations, gather more resources. Convince those within your own organization that the change you want is within their best interests, so that they convince the shareholders for you.”
Alex found himself nodding along. He pushed the fears and upset about Zoey out of his mind, as thoroughly as he could. He needed to focus. He’d send her a text before he left the office, just like he’d told Claire. If she was willing to at least talk to him, he’d bring dinner. Something simple. Pizza. Really good pizza and a nice IPA could soothe over a lot of hurts, in his opinion.
But first, he’d put his head together with Leo and scheme.
CHAPTER NINE
Helen watched Zoey eat every bite of an egg sandwich with a side of bacon and hashbrowns. As the mimosas found something to blend with, the feeling of disorientation in her belly got a little less extreme, and she was able to let herself relax, just a little.
“So what’s your next step?” Helen had switched to coffee herself, and although she’d scolded Zoey every time her fork lagged, all she’d eaten was a sausage wrapped in a slice of toast. “Are you still chasing the story, or are you going to let it go?”
Zoey paused and chewed.
“Is my mother one of them?” Alex couldn’t bring himself to raise his head and look his long-time friend in the eyes.
It was a funny thing, really. He and Olivia had been at odds for so very many years, he hadn’t thought that it would hurt this much to admit that she was this cold. That she had this much hatred inside of her. He knew that his mother had suffered in the years that she’d been married to his father. He knew that living so many years without the love of the man she wanted had hollowed her out. He’d tried, in therapy and out of it, to forgive her for never finding that love with her children. Some days, he’d even managed it.
But he couldn’t help thinking of a picture of his mother, long before she and his father had married. She’d been a young girl, barely a teenager, wearing a bright white dress that made her dark complexion stand out, with a pretty straw hat embellished with flowers. She’d smiled in the picture.
“Leo, I don’t know what to do. People are dying.”
Leo shook his head. “You know me, Alex. I have certain solutions to these sorts of problems. They don’t tend to be the solutions that you want.”
Alex nodded. More death wasn’t going to solve anything. “So you think I should go to the police.”
Another long silence from his friend. “I think that you want to go to the police.”
“You think I shouldn’t?”
Leo shook his head. “We aren’t debating philosophy. Are you sure it is her, and her dog?”
Alex thought it through. No, he wasn’t sure. He was far from sure. He shook his head. “I think she’s involved somehow, but is she the one pulling the trigger? Or sending the man who pulls the trigger? I don’t know. I don’t think so. But I don’t know if that’s wishful thinking, if I just don’t want to believe it of her.”
Leo offered another sage nod. “If you go to the police, and you don’t like the results you get, that makes it trickier for me to become involved down the line, Alex. I will do almost anything for you, but I am responsible for my people. I cannot guarantee that anyone would take that job, even if I were able to offer it.”
Alex’s skin gave a shiver. “I don’t think I could ask you to do it anyway, Leo. The fact that you would be willing to try means the world to me, but you’re right. It’s not how I solve my problems.”
Leo nodded. “Then we must make another plan. Work through shell corporations, gather more resources. Convince those within your own organization that the change you want is within their best interests, so that they convince the shareholders for you.”
Alex found himself nodding along. He pushed the fears and upset about Zoey out of his mind, as thoroughly as he could. He needed to focus. He’d send her a text before he left the office, just like he’d told Claire. If she was willing to at least talk to him, he’d bring dinner. Something simple. Pizza. Really good pizza and a nice IPA could soothe over a lot of hurts, in his opinion.
But first, he’d put his head together with Leo and scheme.
CHAPTER NINE
Helen watched Zoey eat every bite of an egg sandwich with a side of bacon and hashbrowns. As the mimosas found something to blend with, the feeling of disorientation in her belly got a little less extreme, and she was able to let herself relax, just a little.
“So what’s your next step?” Helen had switched to coffee herself, and although she’d scolded Zoey every time her fork lagged, all she’d eaten was a sausage wrapped in a slice of toast. “Are you still chasing the story, or are you going to let it go?”
Zoey paused and chewed.
Similar Books
