Chapter 37 Spin #2
“I’ll find it,” I said, and hopped on a database page on my phone.
Developers—and the firms they hire—and politicians worked hand in hand, so chances were good Nick Bradshaw would have donated over the years to various campaigns.
If he did, his address would be public record.
Sure enough, a contribution to the last city council election revealed that the fucker lived in the Village.
“I need to go,” I said to Michelle, then turned to Davis. “Will you stay here with her?”
“Of course,” he said protectively, narrowing his eyes.
I got the meaning behind the stare. I was merely the lover who’d brought down a heap of trouble on Davis’s sister, his family, his blood.
Her brother had been the man in Michelle’s life—her steady, her constant, the one person who got her through the shittiest times of all.
Seeing that cool stare made me even more determined to prove myself. I had to right this ship.
I knelt down by Michelle, took her hand, and looked her in the eyes. It wasn’t the sadness that stunned me. It was the defeat. The look of ruin already. This had the potential to destroy her career.
“I love you,” I said, because it was all I could say right now that mattered. Anything else was an empty promise. This was the only true thing.
“I know,” she said, managing the sliver of a smile.
“And I’m sorry. I’m sorry this is happening. That they’re going after you. It’s all my fault,” I said, clasping her hand tighter.
She shook her head. “It’s not your fault.”
“I’m going to fix this. I’m going to fix this right now.”
“It’s okay,” she whispered, but I knew it wasn’t okay to her. It wouldn’t be okay to anyone. She just wasn’t the type of person who’d blame me, or anyone.
I left, but her brother followed me into the hallway, letting the door close behind him. “Don’t hurt my sister,” Davis said, his features stony.
“I won’t hurt your sister.”
Davis shook his head in frustration. “I mean it. If this is on you, you better make things right. As right as you possibly can.”
“I have a sister too. I would do the same, and say the same if I were in your position. Michelle means the world to me, and I’ll do everything for her.”
Davis gave a curt nod, then turned on his heels.
I took off for downtown, hailing a cab, and arriving at Bradshaw’s building fifteen minutes later. I buzzed 2C, then waited, muttering c’mon under my breath.
“Hello?” It was a man’s voice, and I was ready to strangle him, so I called upon some extra stores of my best friend—restraint.
“It’s Just Jack. I believe you wanted to talk about backing off. I’m on your steps.”
“I’ll be right down.”
I leaned against the railing of the stoop, watching through the glass panels of the brown front door.
Soon, I saw a man descend the stairs, then reach the ground level.
He looked exactly as Michelle described.
Standard businessman. Gray slacks, button-down shirt, loosened tie. He had dark hair and dark glasses.
He opened the first set of doors, then the second, stepping out onto the stoop.
I dug my nails into my palms to refrain from pummeling him, from grabbing this bastard by the throat and shaking the goddamn life out of him. That would do no good.
Instead, I took a different approach. I extended my hand. “Clark Davidson, right?” I asked, and Nick smirked. I continued. “Market researcher, I understand?”
Nick smiled wickedly in response. “I see she’s been breaking patient-client confidentiality,” he said, tsk, tsking under his breath.
I fumed. “Don’t even go there,” I said in a hiss.
Nick pretended to bug out his eyes. “Why?” he asked in fake shock. “What are you going to do to me?” Nick’s eyes traveled to my clenched hands. “You gonna hit me, Soldier-Turned-Sex-Toy-Mogul? Why don’t you try? Why don’t you see how I spin that?”
Smoke billowed from my ears. I gritted my teeth.
“Keep it all inside,” Nick continued, taunting.
“Because they don’t call me The Spin Doctor for nothing.
You touch me, and I will find a way to make everyone hate you too.
” Nick laughed, revealing perfect white teeth.
“Or maybe, take your chances. Take a punch at me. I turned your girlfriend into garbage. You think I won’t find a way to pulverize you? ”
Rage coursed through my veins and I grabbed the man by the shirt collar. “You can’t touch me. I funded a fucking sex toy company. I sell dildos for a living. There is nothing you can do to me. My reputation doesn’t matter.”
“I know,” Nick said with an evil glint in his dark eyes.
“You’re the fucking Teflon man, Jack. The press loves you.
They love the grieving fiance story. They love that you run a business with your sister.
You’re impenetrable. No one gives a shit if you like it dirty.
No one cares if you fuck a woman on the Met Life Tower.
Same with Henry. He runs sex clubs with his wife, who’s a cancer survivor.
After that interview comes out tomorrow?
I can’t touch her. But you,” Nick said, poking my chest, and I was ready to throttle the man.
He’d started this war by going after Henry’s business solely to turn a profit.
It wasn’t personal to him, but he’d already hit below the belt.
Now he was firing bullets, by throwing around the most personal things he’d learned from our emails, “You gave us the perfect target.”
The anger burned my throat. I gripped Nick’s collar harder. “I gave you nothing.”
Nick cackled and shook his head. “You’re wrong.
You gave us everything we needed to take down our opponent.
Because you started screwing a therapist. An intimate relationship therapist, at that.
I couldn’t have planned it better. It was like taking candy from a baby.
It was my easiest job ever. Because she takes herself so goddamn seriously.
She’s so perfectly aboveboard. She does nothing wrong.
Never a professional misstep, until you.
Henry and Marquita have tried their best, along with their pussy-ass lawyer.
But the easiest way to take them all the way down was through you.
This is why you shouldn’t be friends with colleagues.
You’re their weak spot now. And so you’re going to stop, aren’t you? ”
“Stop what?”
“Oh, I suspect when you leave my doorstep in twenty seconds, you will go to Eden and tell them not to go to the city council meeting next week. Instead, they’ll send a letter for their sad little lawyer to read, apologizing for their contribution to the downfall of the neighborhood and announcing that they’ve accepted Conroy’s offer to buy them out of their physical space at a reduced cost. Or else I will happily share all those emails and texts.
Something I’m certain Henry and Marquita would never allow to be made public.
My god, the things the two of you did,” Nick said, recoiling, as if he were disgusted with me.
“She’s dirty. She likes it dirty, doesn’t she? ”
The rage spread like wildfire in my blood. I twisted Nick’s collar, pushing the man who once called himself Clark against the railing of his stoop.
“Do it. Push me over. Break a bone. And I will find a way to call you a pedophile. You think you’re so fucking untouchable? No one is untouchable. For all I know, you might even sell child pornography.”
My eyes were about to pop out of my head.
I wanted to snap this guy’s neck, to crack every single bone in his body.
But I knew I would only hurt Michelle and my sister and everyone at every company my studio was ever involved with if I did that.
Instead, I spat at his feet. It wasn’t the least bit satisfying. Then I let go, and backed off.
“That’s all you’ve got?” Nick said, taunting.
“No. That’s all you’re getting. You fucking scum.”
Nick held out his hands, like a big-shot boxer gloating in the ring. “Development, baby. We’re the scummiest.”
“You destroy lives to open a few more lackluster apartment units?”
Nick laughed. “I’m helping my client open a few more lackluster apartment units because it’s the job he pays me for.
Conroy wants a stake in the Upper East Side, and I’m delivering it to him.
I destroy lives for fun. Now, go do as I say.
Run and tell your friends I expect the paperwork signed by the meeting next week or I will fucking bury your woman.
Maybe I won’t leak any more texts. Maybe I’ll escalate,” he said, biting off that word as if it were filthy.
“Hell, maybe I’ll even go straight to the ethics board and say she tried to seduce poor, vulnerable Clark Davidson in her office too. ”
“You have no honor.”
“Of course I don’t. You should try it some time. It’s freeing. Now I need to go wash my shoes. Because I know where your mouth has been,” he said, and I broke. I ripped in two. The rational, logical part of me evaporated, and instinct took over. I lunged at Nick, and slammed my fist into his jaw.
Hard.
So hard, his lip cracked.
Then I did it again.
Nick yowled, and the sound was satisfying for about a second as I shook out my hand.
I reached into my back pocket, grabbed my cell phone, and showed it to Nick.
“By the way, cell phones are such nifty spying devices, don’t you think?
Feel free to go after me for assault. I’ve got this entire conversation recorded for posterity. ”
Then I walked off. When I could speak again without breathing fire, I called my sister and told her it was time for Plan B.