Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 88114 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88114 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
“Here’s the offer.” Hugh glances at his father, who nods at him. “I will retain my position at the CEO of Hayle Construction. I will act as the outward face of the family in public. All of the legitimate, above-board activities will be my domain. You will take control of the less-than-legal operations.”
“We’re going to split the family, Kellen,” Cormac says. “You’ll run the organized crime and Hugh will run the corporation. It’s a good idea, one I had a long time ago. I wanted your father to be the shadow man while I took on the spotlight, but Orin wasn’t interested in sharing like that, and so we worked the way we did, with him making his childish demands and stomping his feet when he didn’t get his way. I had to learn how to influence the rotten old monster, but I survived, and I’m still here.”
“I’ll say that I don’t want this compromise,” Hugh says, looking sour, which I’ll admit to enjoying more than I probably should. It’s not mature, but there’s something so satisfying about watching the man that ordered your execution eat shit. “The Hayle family is deeply interconnected and its various businesses all work in tandem with each other. The lines between the legitimate and the illegal aspects of what we do are extremely blurry at best and totally impossible to delineate at worse, and I worry we won’t be able to function effectively if we’re busy squabbling. However, I am also aware that we can make this work. You’re good at what you do, and I’m good at what I do. If you leave me to the corporation, and you focus on doing what you do, I think we can own this city. I think we can expand and grow larger than anyone in our family dreamed possible.”
I sit back and sip my coffee. Hugh sits in his chair, uncomfortable. Cormac sits back looking smug like this offer is better than anything I could hope for and he’s confident I’ll say yes. I’m tempted to throw my coffee on the old bastard’s suit, just to ruin it out of a petty childish desire to destroy.
But I stay my hands and stare.
It’s not a bad offer. In fact, I considered something similar when I first came here, but it quickly became obvious that what Hugh said is true—the family is interconnected in deep and meaningful ways. The crime aspects of the Hayle organization funnel through the legitimate aspects, and there’s no way to separate them, not entirely. Not without destroying entire swaths of money and influence.
Which means I’d have to work closely with Hugh and trust that he’d be reasonable. The idea of speaking to him daily, of asking for permission to do something I believe is necessary only to hear him give me some petty, stupid excuse, or some whiny bullshit reason why I’m making his life harder, the thought makes my fucking stomach turn.
“I’m sorry, Cormac,” I say softly, placing my coffee cup down. “But I didn’t come home to share the crown.”
Cormac’s smile slips. “Excuse me?”
“Hugh’s right. The family’s much too deeply connected for this to work. If I could trust your son, or at least stand to be in the same room as him, then maybe we could talk about it. Unfortunately, I think Hugh is a sniveling, pathetic loser, and I’m not going to debase myself by treating him as an equal.” I turn my attention to Hugh, who’s looking beet-red with rage. “As for you, you’re lucky you’re not dead yet, and don’t think you’ve been given a stay of execution. This is merely a delay to give you time to rethink my proposal.”
“You can’t be serious,” Cormac says as I push my chair back and stand.
“I’m very serious. Fuck your deal. And fuck you both. Here’s my counteroffer: you both relinquish your positions and run as fast and as far from here as you possibly can and I don’t kill either of you. Or you can stay, try to fight me, and end up dead. Either way, the choice is all yours.”
“You fucking shit,” Hugh says, slamming a hand on the table. My cup rattles and some coffee spills out, dripping onto the table. “You think you can win this? You really think that? Just because I missed once doesn’t mean I’ll miss again.”
I laugh as I walk to the door. “You don’t get it, do you? You took your shot and now I know where you stand. I’ve killed harder and stronger men than you, Hugh. The only reason you’re still breathing is I want to avoid a civil war, but that’s looking less and less likely, and I’m starting to rethink my position. Reconsider my offer and save your pathetic skin.”
I walk out of there before they can argue. Cormac looks frightened, pale and drawn, like he’d been so sure I’d take that deal.