Chapter 69
Sixty-Nine
S ybil
I shouldn’t have come here, but when I got that text from Jonathan Vale with the video message attached, I knew I didn’t have a choice.
I thought I was going to Jonathan’s house to speak with him alone, but turns out, that was a setup. Now, I’m sitting across from Lance Vale and his nephew at Lance’s house , with a gun casually pointed at me.
We’re sitting in Lance’s home office like this is some kind of business deal and not a hostage/blackmail situation. He’s on one side of the desk, and I’m on the other. His nephew lounges on a loveseat to my left, like he doesn’t have a care in the world.
“We only wanna work something out,” Jonathan says, flashing a sickly smile. “Don’t be so obstinate. You don’t have a lot of choices, honey.”
He winks, and I grimace. “If you think I have that kind of sway with the board, you’re delusional.”
Lance leans back in his chair, voice cold, the butt of his gun tapping against his desk. “They will listen to you because you’re a Laurence, and if they won’t listen to you, they’ll listen to your mother.”
“Why?” Jonathan snorts. “They’re just trophies. She needs a man to speak for her.”
I give him a dark glare. “I don’t need a man.”
“You need Cooper,” he challenges. “You’re a slut who sleeps around and had an affair with your co-producer. Pretty sure you’d like to keep that private, wouldn’t you?”
Lance grins and nods at his nephew. “She’s always cared about her privacy.”
And therein lies the problem…
The video message that got me here contained far more than I expected.
It’s a mix of moments I want to keep private, starting with the day on Nantucket when Gloria confronted me about Benton, and ending with footage of me and Cooper having sex on the beach.
In between are lots of stolen kisses between the two of us.
I want to scream, knowing someone was filming those private moments. “You guys are sick for filming those things.”
Jonathan and Lance both roll their eyes, and I’m forced to bite my tongue. They had someone on the crew working for them, and I want to know who.
The sharp edge of desperation hangs in the air like a battle ax about to fall.
I’m desperate for my private life to stay private, and they’re dead set on using me to fix their mess. How the hell am I supposed to convince the board to reinstate Vale? Cooper already revealed Vale’s true colors. These men will never work at Laurence International again.
And my private moments will end up on some disgusting porn website for public fodder.
Fucking fantastic.
My thoughts return to the night on the beach. Not only was it my first time with Cooper, but it was the first time he’d had been with a woman since getting his prosthetic leg. That was a special moment and not something for anyone else to know about, let alone watch.
I fucking hate these men.
“I have a great idea,” Jonathan says, smiling like a viper. “If threatening you and your little boyfriend isn’t enough to convince you to do the right thing, how about we add someone else to the mix? Hmm, maybe your other boyfriend, Benton?”
I straighten and swallow hard. “What do you mean?”
“Well, it’s simple,” Lance says. “We got our hands on the full, unedited footage from Top of the World . Since you wrongfully removed me from my position with the foundation, I’ve spent weeks combing through the footage.
I think America would love to see exactly how much of a jackass New York City’s favorite hockey player really is. ”
My stomach twists.
“It’s at a new network,” I say carefully.
Lance grins. “Yes, thanks to my connections. As I recall, you’re the one who said sex sells. We have all the footage ready to go. All I have to do is send one email, and I guarantee we’ll twist everything needed to make Benton public enemy number one within the month.”
I wince. I want to help Benton, but not at the price they want me to pay.
I can’t call another board meeting, and I can’t change the outcome of the last one.
Despite everything they have on me, their time for blackmail is over.
They don’t know it yet, but I’m not going to change my mind.
If they want to share my sex life with the world, so be it.
If they want to screw over Benton, it’s out of my control, and I’ll do everything in my power to help him rehab his image when this is all over.
My eyes flick to the gun, and I swallow hard. It’s got to be for show, right? Lance wouldn’t actually hurt me.
He’d end up in prison, because while he may have wealth and influence, so does my family. It’s not like he could kill me and get away with it. My phone was on me when I drove over here, pinging off cell phone towers.
“I’m curious,” Lance says, “why did you even come here today if you have no intention of negotiating? Did you think you could cry your crocodile tears and expect me to feel sorry for you? I’m not your daddy. You have no influence on me.”
Coming here was obviously a mistake, but I was hoping to protect not only my future at Laurence International but the privacy of my intimate moments with the man I love.
“I thought you’d be reasonable,” I try. “I don’t have enough sway to change the board’s mind after everything that’s happened. Ask for something that’s within my capabilities to give you.”
Lance’s tone drips with condescension. “You were never the brightest crayon in the box, were you? The idea that you did as well as you did boggles my mind.”
Jonathan laughs. “It’s because she’s a rich white woman.”
“And you’re rich white guys, so what’s your point?”
Lance’s smile turns razor sharp. “We didn’t actually bring you here to negotiate. We already know you don’t have any power. We only brought you here, because we need Cooper.”
My stomach drops.
If there’s one person Lance King wants revenge on right now, it’s got to be Cooper.
Maybe the gun’s not for me after all.
I grit my teeth, hating that I fell for this trap.
“Speaking of which,” Lance says smoothly, “he just arrived.”
My heart slams against my ribs, and tears prick my eyes. It doesn’t matter that I’m mad at Cooper—I love him, and I don’t want him to get hurt.
Lance grips his gun tighter, like he knows damn well he might have to use it.
A security guard deposits Cooper into the room, closing us inside, and those eyes I love so much sweep over the scene—first going to me, then to the gun, then back again.
In less than a second, we have an entire conversation without saying a word. He’s telling me to stay calm and not to do anything stupid, and I’m telling him he never should’ve come here, that this was a mistake.
A big one.
Cooper, still standing in the doorway, turns on Vale. “What do you want?”
“Cutting right to the chase, I see. Alright. I want my rightful and well-earned position at the top of Laurence, but if that’s not possible, then I want your father to step aside and give me King as my consolation prize.”
He’s out of his mind. I’d laugh if I wasn’t so scared.
“And if you don’t get your way?”
“You don’t want to know,” Jonathan interjects, and Cooper shoots him a glare.
“Don’t interrupt the grownups,” Cooper snaps.
Jonathan’s eyes go wide. “How dare you speak to me that way.”
“Shut up, Jonny,” Lance says. “For the love of God, let me handle this. I promised you’d walk into a high-power job after graduation, so let me make that happen.”
Jonathan sinks into himself, pouting like a child.
“And if I don’t get you into a position I have no authority over?” Coop barks out a laugh and strides farther into the room, sitting in the chair next to me.
“Hey, baby,” he says, leaning over and dropping a quick kiss to my lips, leaving me completely speechless. “Missed you.”
Vale slams his fist onto the desk, grabbing the gun. “Is this a joke to you? Pay attention.”
Cooper turns on him with a raised eyebrow. “Put that gun down if you want to talk. You think I’d be stupid enough to come here without informing someone first? The police will arrive soon if my father doesn’t hear from me. So why don’t we get this over with, so I can take my girl home?”
Vale’s eyes bulge. “You don’t think I’ll hurt her? I warned you I would if you?—”
“I know you’d hurt her,” he growls, leaning across the desk, seemingly unaffected by the gun pointed at his chest. “I know you hired muscle the night Sybil got attacked. Tell me, were you trying to kill her, or are you a sick fuck who enjoys battering women?”
A jolt of shock collides with memories of that night. Vale hired that man to hurt me? “Oh my God,” I whisper. “You tried to have me killed.”
Vale frowns. “Of course not.”
Cooper’s voice doesn’t waver. “Don’t lie. I know it was you. I saw the transaction and?—”
Jonathan interrupts with a cackle. “Sorry guys, but I have to take credit for that one. I used my uncle’s contact and account.”
“You what?” Lance glares at his nephew.
“I thought Sybil deserved a little roughing up after she fired me.” He gives me another wink, and Cooper’s hands ball into fists. “I was there, you know. In the crowd. You should’ve seen your face. Hilarious.”
Cooper looks like he’s two seconds away from jumping onto Jonathan and strangling him.
“Jonny, are you kidding me?” Lance demands. “I gave you access to my resources, but that doesn’t mean you get to do whatever you want.”
“I’m your heir and prodigy.”
“Not if you don’t keep your ass in line.”
Jonathan raises a mocking eyebrow. “You’re surprised I’d resort to violence?
Don’t be.” He pulls a gun from a holster under his lapel and points it right at me.
“I learned a long time ago you have to be willing to resort to any means necessary to get what you want. You taught me that, Uncle. Don’t look so surprised. ”
My heart rockets. Is this how I die?
Boom!
The gun fires followed by a thud.
But I’m fine, and so is Cooper.
Lance’s body slumps on his desk, crimson blood pooling around his head.
A scream rips from my throat.