Sex and the Billionaire Crime Boss

Ch. 10: Stories to Tell

I stare at my grandfather across the table. Was everything else he told me to get me here a lie?

"So that's the reason for all of this. For getting me here to Miami. Did you even want to start a criminal law section in your firm, or was that just a carrot to dangle to get what you really wanted?"

I'm clutching the napkin in my lap even tighter now with both hands. If it was paper instead of cloth it would be in shreds.

"It's not the only reason. But it's all connected."

"What do you mean?" I feel disoriented, off balance. This isn't the way I expected this conversation to go. And I have the beginnings of a headache that will probably keep me up all night.

He flakes off a forkful of salmon, lifts it to his mouth, and chews slowly. But it doesn't look like he's enjoying it, or even tasting it really. It's just something to do.

"Part of it was Patricia. She pulls me back with her to what seems like another life. I may not have her much longer. And after my recent heart episode, I've also had to face the fact that I'm not actually going to live forever."

He looks straight at me then. "You think I researched you for our meeting with the firm today."

"Of course." He'd rattled off my credentials like he memorized them for a test.

He shakes his head no. "I didn't have to. I've been following your accomplishments, your education, and now your career, ever since you were born."

I don't know whether to believe him, so I make no comment. If it's true, I don't know how to feel about it.

He keeps talking, apparently oblivious to the confusion this is causing me.

"It was your venture into criminal law that actually got me thinking about a change of direction - an expansion - for the firm. And it made sense. The things I said at the meeting today were absolutely true. We are losing business to our competitors who have expanded into white collar crime. I've been thinking for some time about approaching you after you had a few more years experience in the PD's office, but before you made the jump to some fancy Philadelphia firm."

He may have studied my credentials, I realize, but he obviously doesn't know me at all.

"That wasn't something I was planning. I don't do what I do for money or prestige."

He nods. "That's your father in you."

I bristle, and he says, "It's not a criticism, Hadley. It's just a fact."

"So if I understand you correctly, you would have reached out to me eventually. But my grandmother's condition has sped up your timetable."

"I have a reputation for being ruthless, Hadley. You probably have that opinion of me already. I go after what I want and I don't care about collateral damage. I've been called a heartless bastard by plenty of people."

He's not wrong. Andrew and Patricia Reese are the two people my father has described all my life as cold and heartless, although he never wants to talk about the details other than to say they cut my mother out of their lives. I have some cherished memories of my mother before she died, but I was so young. Family has always meant my dad and me against the world.

I have another memory, too. Once I don't like to think about. My mother had stopped getting up much, spending most of her time in bed. She was so weak, and I was afraid. Then my father went away, and a neighbor came in and stayed with us. I don't know how long he was gone. It might only have been a day or two. But when he came back, something had changed.