Page 116 of Dirty Rival
“Carrie wouldn’t want you to displace those horses for the oil. I’ll make you the money. Five million in two years.”
“This oil is worth four times that.”
“Is that the number? Twenty million?”
“There is no number. I won’t ever do business with a Maxwell. I hate your father. I hate the Maxwell name.”
“Why?”
“You signed away everything and he didn’t even tell you why. Oh, right. He didn’t have to. He put your name on the line with illegal activities you didn’t even know about.”
“You’re one to talk. We both know the lines you crossed.”
“Go home, Reid.” He stands up and walks away.
“I’ll give up everything and tell her,” I call out. “I can remake the money.”
He turns around and walks to the table, pressing his hands on the surface. “You won’t do that for Carrie.”
“Do you want to take that risk?”
“If I ruin you, your father ruins Carrie. If you really do care about her, you’re smart enough to know that, and you won’t do it. I’ve got you by the balls, and apparently, so does she.” He pushes off the table and walks away.
I sit there for a good twenty minutes, processing what to do next. I want his head. I want to hurt him. I stand up and go back to my room and change clothes. I go for a run. Once I’ve blown off steam, I go back to my room and pace. I dial Royce. “What can I do for you?”
“If I wanted to ruin him, do you have the ammunition?”
“Don’t do it,” he says. “She won’t get over that.”
“Thank you.”
“What?”
“I called you because I knew you’d say that. I needed to hear it.”
“Give me time to hand her a file with the research on her father. It’ll be hard for her to read, but it’ll do that for you.”
“You can’t get to the information I need you to get to.”
“You’d be surprised what we can get to,” he says. “And I’ll get to enough. Trust me. Come home before you do something you’ll regret.”
“I’m going to stay.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want to be on a plane when I come up with a proposal he’ll actually listen to.”
I hang up.
I drag my hands through my hair and spend most of the afternoon into the evening coming up with nothing. Finally, I take a shower, pack and charter my plane for tonight. I want to be back in New York City. I need to talk to Carrie. I’m sitting in my rental car when I decide I’m operating without facts. If I know the core problem, then maybe I can talk to West again. I dial my father. “Reid,” he answers coldly.
“Why does he hate you?”
He doesn’t ask who I’m talking about. “At this point, I see no reason not to tell you. I fucked his wife.”
“As in Carrie’s mother?”
“Yes. Carrie’s mother.”