26. Dean
DEAN
It’s just after ten on Wednesday morning, and I haven’t slept.
I spent the entire night trying to fix the permit on my own.
Calling in favors, chasing dead ends, reading zoning code like I was going to magically understand it if I stared long enough.
None of it worked. Every hour just confirmed what I already knew: I’m in way over my head.
Will’s office is as obnoxious as I remember.
Polished marble floors, glass walls, the kind of skyline view that screams money but no one actually pays attention to.
He’s just as bad. He’s sitting across from me wearing the same smug look he’s had since we were kids.
The one that says he’s already figured it out and is just waiting for me to catch up.
He’s the last person I wanted to ask for help.
But Henry’s buried in diapers and sleep deprivation, and Max wouldn’t know a zoning appeal from a lunch receipt.
I didn’t have many options. Will helped me the last time things went sideways with Ray, so I hoped I could give him a stripped-down version of the story and get what I needed without dragging Ray into it.
Didn’t work. Lawyers don’t leave things alone. Will asked three questions and I was laying it all out. I don’t talk like that. I don’t talk, period. But this isn’t about me. It’s about Michelle, and right now, I don’t have the luxury of keeping things to myself.
When I finish, he doesn’t look at me right away.
He just sips his coffee and stares at some invisible spot on the floor.
The silence drags long enough to feel intentional.
I don’t fill it. Finally, he lifts his head and gives me a look I’m pretty sure he saves for people who are already in deep trouble, and just haven’t realized how deep yet.
Then he scrunches his face. “Since when have you had a girlfriend?”
I give him a look, not in the mood.
He nods, mostly to himself. “Right. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you’re going to have to get Ray to fix it. We’ll figure out the terms—”
“I can’t,” I cut in. “I might’ve gone around him on this one,” I admit.
“Got a couple of his guys to sort it out. I didn’t think it was a big deal.
I figured they’d talk to someone, push some paper, slow things down.
Not permanently, just enough to jam things up for a while. I should’ve been clearer.”
Will’s eyes narrow. “What exactly did they do?”
“Filed an anonymous complaint,” I say. “Zoning violations, stormwater runoff, setback issues. All obscure enough to look legit, but just enough to trigger a review.”
Will lifts a brow. “And it stuck?”
“Yeah.” I lean back in the chair. “Turns out Vinnie’s site plans were garbage. I don’t know how they got approved in the first place. Now the city’s doing a full internal audit.”
I let out a slow breath as it sinks in. This isn’t a paperwork snag.
It’s not something I can fix with a favor or a phone call.
Vinnie’s project isn’t delayed. It’s dead.
And someone’s about to lose their job over signing off on those plans.
No one’s going to touch that site again, not for a long time.
Will watches me without blinking. I can see the gears turning behind his stare, running the numbers, tracking every angle. His expression sharpens right before he speaks, and I already know I’m not going to like what he says.
“He’s screwed,” Will says. “Tell her the truth.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because she won’t just be angry,” I say. “She’ll walk.”
Will says nothing, but I can feel the weight of his stare. I don’t look up.
“She trusts me,” I add. “If she finds out what I did...that I went behind her back, messed with her brother…”
I don’t finish the sentence. I don’t have to. We both know how it ends.
Will leans forward, resting his arms on the desk. “And she’d be right to. You’re manipulating her life from the shadows. You really think that’s going to stay hidden? You can’t control women—”
“I’m not trying to control her,” I snap. “I’m trying to protect her. What else am I supposed to do?”
Will doesn’t flinch. “If you’re not going to tell her the truth,” he says, “then you pay Vinnie out. Cover the investors. His project’s dead, but at least he walks away without dragging her into it.”
I let out a dry, humorless laugh. “I’m not giving Vinnie Pierce a cent.”
“Then you tell her the truth.”
I drag a hand down my face, the weight of it all pressing in. There’s a sharp ache behind my eyes. There’s no clean exit here. No version of this that doesn’t cost me something. I knew that before I walked through the door. But I came anyway, hoping Will might have a way out.
“So that’s it?” I ask. “Those are my only options? Cut that asshole a check or blow everything up?”
Will shrugs. “I don’t know what you want me to say. You made a move. Now you live with it.”
I push back from the chair, pull out my wallet, and toss a few bills onto his desk.
“For your wisdom,” I say. “And client privileges.”
Will raises an eyebrow at the cash. “This won’t even cover my coffee.”
I don’t bother answering. Just turn and walk out. He’s right. He always is. That’s what makes him unbearable.
Looking for revenge was a mistake. I see that now.
It’s not what Michelle would’ve wanted. She’s not built like me.
She believes in fairness, in doing things the hard way if it means doing them right.
But I’ve never operated like that. And now I’ve made a mess I can’t untangle.
I’m in too deep. And for the first time in a long time, I’m not sure I know how to get out.