Page 55 of Bastard

“Of course he does.”

“He can have it,” Sam said so quietly I almost missed it. “Who cares? Roark is corrupt to its rusting beams. Sell it all out. As long as the Feyereisens go down, I don’t care what they take with them.”

Georgia stood up. “I’ll be damned if I go down for anything. I didn’t do anything except naively marry the wrong man!”

Not entirely true, but that wasn’t the point. “I won’t let him, Georgia. He has nothing without me. That’s why I’m coming clean now. The faster I give him something huge, the more pressure there will be on him to close this case. I think it’s pretty clear the Feyereisens are the virus here. And maybe Randall Cork. They go down, Todd goes down, and we finally get to be free.”

“It’s a pretty picture. Too pretty.” Georgia ditched her tea and went for the bourbon.

“I disagree,” Sam said, holding up her glass for a refill. “I trust Jace. I just did a fucking interview gushing over how much I trust him. I meant every word.”

I grabbed Sam’s hand. “That’s why the beginning of my story matters, Georgia. I’m willing to go however hard and however far I have to. In the beginning it was just survival. Then it was the idea of building something good with people I care about. Now…it’s about everything. I’m willing to go all the way to get it.”

23

David contacted Sam. She sent a plane. I picked him up.

“So you figured it out?” We got the small talk out of the way fairly quickly, then rode in silence for a while.

“I have.” He stared out the window, not saying anything else.

David Young always struck me as odd. He looked like a lightweight, quiet computer nerd with questionable social skills. But between Sam’s stories and the handful of times we met, I got a different impression every time. He was smart as a whip. And I was pretty sure his awkward silences weren’t actually awkward. I think he was thinking. And he was not a lightweight. In fact, I was pretty sure he could give me a very interesting run for my money.

I would win, of course. But he’d go down fighting.

“Will Georgia be joining us?”

“Yes. Is this going to get ugly? I mean, she isn’t involved in the Feyereisen business is she?”

“No, she’s not. You have nothing to worry about there.”

That was good to know. I pulled up outside Stroman. Storm came to deal with the car while I got David signed in at security with a temporary badge, then walked him upstairs to Georgia’s office.

“You can go right in, Mr. Malone. She’s waiting for you,” Michael, one of Georgia’s assistants, waved to the door.

Georgia sat behind her large desk laughing. Sam sat across from her in a chair, a laptop balanced in her lap. She smiled up at me when we walked in.

“Hope we’re not interrupting, ladies.”

“Not at all,” Georgia said. “We’ve been waiting for you. Can I get you anything? Water, tea, coffee?” She stood up and went to a small bar on the side of the room. “And you must be David Young, it’s so nice to meet you. Samantha has spoken very highly of you.”

David stepped forward and shook her hand. “Samantha was one of my best employees. I was sad to lose her.”

Sam ditched her computer and gave David a big hug. “You look good. Happy.” Then she gasped. “Are you seeing someone?”

“Maybe I simply enjoy travel?” David dodged. Poorly I might add.

Sam shook her head. “Does Hazel know?”

David frowned. “No. And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell her about this. The last thing I need is her nosing around.”

Sam’s mouth hung open, her eyes wide with surprise. “Oh my god, you really are dating someone! We’re not co-workers anymore. Tell me everything!”

Georgia cleared her throat. “You two can gossip about your love lives after the meeting. David, tea?”

“I would love a cup.”

In the corner of the office Georgia had a sitting area with a low coffee table, two couches, and two chairs. We sat there with our drinks and proceeded to perform a shortened version of small talk before Georgia had enough.

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