Page 63 of Ruse
Leaning further back in the chair, I cross my legs over his desk and lower my head motioning for him to join me. “Sit Austin, you may have to after what I’m about to show you.”
Uncrossing my arms and taking my phone out of my back pocket, I open a photo of the file like the one I gave Levi and place it on the table in front of him.
“What is this?” he growls, picking up my phone and staring at the screen. All the blood leaves his face, and the man who was just as bright as a fucking tomato, is disturbingly pale and almost lifeless.
He swallows down the lump forming in his throat, but his eyes never once leave the small screen. Austin Bancroft is at a loss for words, no trace left behind of the arrogant bastard who just threatened to not only kick me out of his house, but ensure I end up penniless, far, far away.
Unimpressed, I taunt the asshole, not content with his response to what I’ve just revealed I know. “What happened Austin, cat’s got your tongue? Or is it so far shoved up one of your other whore's asses, that you’ve suddenly forgotten all about your illegitimate child?”
There he is. Austin stands about to throw my phone across the room.
“Do it,” I egg him on, “There are copies of every single one of those files somewhere very safe, with orders to be released, if say, something was to happen to me suddenly, and tragically.”
“What do you want?” he asks, and finally we’re getting somewhere. I look around the room, noting the odd decor that is inconsistent with the nautical feel of the rest of the house is still in place. The frames of the men of the Bancroft Dynasty watch me with the same arrogant yet foolish blue-green eyes of the man across me. It still reeks of cigars and single malt scotch, which makes me crave a cig of my own, but I don't have one on me.
I sit up straighter leaning forward as I drop my legs in front of me, folding them and resting my elbows along my knees. “I once told you not to push me because you wouldn’t like what would happen if I pushed back.”
Bancroft’s eyes never once leave mine, and for a moment I think he’s trying to read my mind or something because it’s as if he’s hypnotized, paralyzed as he eagerly tries to figure out my next move.
“Twenty million, that’s my price, and a good one at that. I know what you’re worth, Bancroft, and that’s merely loose change to a man as powerful as you are. You want my silence and secrecy, you want your indiscretion to disappear, that is my price.”
A blatant laugh erupts from the asshole along with a terrifying dry smoker’s cough. “You’re out of your mind, son. I won’t pay you that. Blackmail is beneath even you. What would a renowned businessman like your father think of your methods of doing business?”
I grin wide. “Frankly, I think Mathieu would be proud.”
“Ahh yes,” Austin mutters, “I forget he’s the same type of vile creature.”
This is taking too goddamn long. It’s time to up my antics. “You're one to talk Austin. But mull it over for a second or two. I’ll be here waiting for the deposit in my account. Although a check may be more efficient to erase the digital trail.”
“No one will believe you,” he utters triumphantly, like that has just solved his dilemma. “Nowadays files like the ones you’ve photographed can be fabricated and forged. I’ll claim you're a fraud. Who’s everyone going to believe, an eighteen-year-old punk who’s the son of a notorious corrupt businessman, or me, a prestigious tycoon who in the eyes of everyone, despite some minor indiscretions, is untouchable.”
I stand to meet him coming around to sit on the edge of his desk right beside him. “I don’t need everyone to believe me. Frankly, I couldn’t care less if the world finds out. I only need one person to know the truth.” I nod toward my phone still in his hands. “Go on, look for yourself, I’ve left you a little clue.”
That catches his attention, and he looks down, swiping through the photographs on my phone, in an album I created in which I may have intentionally added a few photos of Phoenix, just for shits and giggles.
The terror-stricken look in his eyes tells me when he’s found the photo of Phoenix I took the night we walked along the beach, her long blond hair in perfect waves along her shoulders, wearing nothing but the minuscule bikini and lustful look in her eyes.
“You bastard,” he shouts, throwing my phone against the wall to our left. It shatters into pieces on the floor. “You keep your hands off of my daughter.”
I step forward so we are now face to face. I’m taller than him and his head must tilt back slightly to meet my gaze. “Oh, but I’ve already had them all over her, inside of her.” I grab a fistful of his collar, bringing him closer until we’re a mere inch away. “I made her scream as they touched her, pleasured her.”
He wants to hit me, or worse strangle me. The look in his eyes as he glares murderously at me tells me exactly what he’s going to do.
“Your attempt at getting her back together with Chadwick, is in vain. Phoenix is mine, I’ve made sure of it. And she will continue to be mine unless you pay me what I’m asking. I know you don’t care about losing anything as long as you have your flawless, priceless diamond to sell to the highest bidder. Think it over, you have until next Friday.”
ChapterTwenty-One
PHOENIX
“Summer lovin’, had me a blast. Summer lovin’, happened so fast.
I met a girl crazy for me. Met a boy cute as can be.
Summer days drifting away. To uh, oh those summer nights.”
Laughter echoes in the distance, joyful squeals and cheers fading against the music blaring loudly on the overhead speakers positioned in every corner of the blue and white striped tents and gazebos sporadically lined up along the edge of the pier. Coasters roaring against the wind, the air filled with delectable sweet and savory aromas, and the silent waves of the sea in the distance dance back and forth to the beat of the music.
This is the meaning of paradise.
