Page 53 of Luca
“Save it,” she snapped. “Damien just got engaged to a woman from a prestigious family, and your behaviour could have jeopardised that. If anyone had seen you attempting to take advantage of his inebriated state, and word got back to Lorraine’s family, they might have thought he was cheating on her. That’s not something they’d tolerate. I won’t have you ruining his future marriage in an attempt to use him to further your career.”
“Use him?” I felt my anger rising, hot and prickly. “That’s ridiculous. He?—”
“Enough! I don’t want to hear any of your excuses,” she said, her voice shrill with barely controlled fury. My eyes blazed in response and I took a deep breath, desperate to maintain my control. I was bloody raging at how the bastard had twisted the narrative, painting me as the villain in a story I never wanted to be part of.
“I never took you as the type who’d throw yourself at a man just to get on in life. Although with your ambitions, I suppose I should have.” The look of disgust and the disdain in her voice cut through me.
“Not only did you try it on with Damien, but you were then discovered by your thug of a boyfriend, who beat my son, breaking his tooth and almost breaking his jaw. I’m appalled, Claire,” she finished her tirade with a shake of her head.
“Oh, Claire, I’m so disappointed in you,” Elizabeth said, feigning shock.
I narrowed my gaze at her, then Margaret. What were these two up to?
“Naturally, Damien doesn’t wish to press charges against either of you,” Elizabeth said quickly.
Press charges against us?That fucker!
“Not when he understands how it might have looked to that Orlov man. How it might look to Lorraine if she was also to mistake the incident.”
“And we wouldn’t want the firm to be the centre of a scandal. That wouldn’t do anyone any favours,” Margaret pipped in, her expression smug. “However, that’s not to say we can just sweep everything under the rug, so to speak.”
I could feel Elizabeth, Margaret’s accomplice, in whatever was about to come, shift slightly in her chair, her expression unreadable but her eyes glinting with barely concealed amusement.
“Why did you do it, Claire? Did you think by seducing my son, the newest partner in the firm, you’d somehow be able to get a fast track to partnership?” Margaret continued, her voice laced with venom.
I shook my head about to deny things, but held her hand up, stopping me as she continued. “Because let me be clear—your actions have consequences. If you don’t do what we say, you’ll find yourself in a great deal of trouble.”
“What do you mean?” I managed to choke out, a sense of foreboding washing over me.
“That thug of yours has enemies in high places, as I believe Elizabeth already explained to you. One of those enemies in particular has plans for him and his associates. You getting him out on bail caused his plans to falter, and he wants them back on track, and that means revoking his bail,” she said, leaning forward, her tone conspiratorial.
“You’re going to plant drugs in his car and then arrange for the police to find them. It’s the only way to ensure he goes back inside where he belongs. After that, you’ll withdraw any help you’ve been giving that lawyer of his, and steer clear of the man.”
The audacity of her words left me speechless. Seriously? What the hell did they take me for?
“You can’t be serious. That’s illegal. Reprehensible.”
Margaret smirked and waved a dismissive hand. “What’s reprehensible is you attempting to sleep with a junior partner while you’re with someone else.”
“I bloody well didn’t!” I retorted, clenching my fists to stop me from flying across her desk and punching her in the jaw. “I’m not going to do what you asked. Why does the MP want Luca to be put away so badly? Surely, he doesn’t need him in jail to have him killed?” I had to know what the heck the MP had planned.
Elizabeth’s gaze sharpened. “So, you know who wants this man dealt with then. Very good. I’ll get right to the point. Luca Orlov is Bratva. The Bratva were responsible for the death of the MP’s father, and he’s been trying to get revenge on them for some time now. His original tactics proved fruitless and, in fact, resulted in his current problems. So now, he is taking a less subtle approach. Incarcerating the Orlov man sends a message to the Bratva, letting the individuals within the organisation know that they are not untouchable. The MP may be down, but he’s not beaten.”
“But isn’t framing Luca enough to do that?” I asked, determined to find out all I could about the MP’s plans.
“It was until you got the man out on bail. Now, he’s decided to take a leaf out of the Bratva’s book and ensure the police discover their less than stellar activities. Planting the drugs in Mr Orlov’s car is just one of the steps he’s taking to make that happen.”
Oh hell. That meant the Bratva had more trouble to come.
“Do this and we will not only forget all about the incident with Damien, but you are guaranteed your promotion next year when Hanson retires,” Margaret said, smugness in her voice.
They really thought I would do anything to get a partnership? Truly? Well, hell no! I might have been relaxing my previously strict moral code and be willing to overlook some things, to dance in the grey with Luca, but I wasn’t going to compromise my integrity entirely.
I shook my head. “Not happening!”
Elizabeth sighed. “You are so like your mother.”
“And proud to be!” I spat out.