“It will be three against two,” I say.
“It doesn’t matter how many there are, if they’re prepared to go to these lengths to get rid of anyone opposed to their ideas.”Logan’s right.
“We’ll bring them both down. Cut them out completely,” I tell him.
“How?”
“Take their funds.” I’m not about to share the fact I’ve already got a plan in place for Levine. I just need to put one together for Van Baron. They’re an old oil family, but they’ve invested well over the years. They now have a bunch of different ventures under their belts.
There has to be a way, though.
“Or, we just hand this over to theactualcartel. Let them deal with it.”
“I thought about that, but that’s not the smartest option. We need to end their influence, the pull they have on the country. We need to tarnish their names so no one will want to be associated with them. And then, we need to make them broke.”
Logan laughs. “Other than hacking in and stealing billions of dollars from their accounts, how exactly do we do that?”
“First, it starts with a scandal,” I say. “We’re going to target Van Baron, his wife. That’s where you’re going to come in. I hear she likes younger men and you’re, well,unattached.”
“You want me to fuck his wife?” Logan smirks. “She’s what? Fifty?”
“At most,” I shrug. “And she will want to offer you comfort in your time of mourning.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because she tried it with me.” I grin. “You’ll take her into a room and record everything. I’ll have cameras covering every angle to make sure we get her face. Yours will be blurred out.”
“Okay, so we have to put out a sex tape? Not exactly that big a scandal.”
“It is if you get her to talk. After you’ve fucked her, you have to get her to share her husband’s darkest secrets.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
I’ve seen Jake every night for the last week. He turns up at my apartment late, usually with food. We spend hours getting to know each other’s bodies and then more hours talking, just like we used to when we were kids.
It’s been heaven. I was worried that the time that passed would dim whatever connection we had. I honestly thought I was holding on to something that didn’t exist anymore. I was wrong. The more time I spend with Jake, the more I want him, and the more I’m falling in love with him all over again.
Not that I ever fell out of love with the man. I tried to. I fought with myself so hard. I wanted to hate him. And I did, to an extent. There’s still that little niggling doubt in the back of my mind that this is going to blow up in my face. That he’s going to disappear on me, leave without a trace.
I was so hurt when we were teenagers after having him ignore my phone calls and messages. I gave up. I never even asked his mom what happened. Jake didn’t return to school, and I just assumed he had his father move him somewhere to avoid me. I was young and stupid. I wish I would have fought harder and found out what was actually going on with him.
I wouldn’t give up so easily if it happened now. It’d hurt more, but I’d fight for us. I know he loves me. Or at least I want to believe he does, because I can’t handle the thought of him not loving me the way I love him.
I’ve been working during the day, learning the ropes and trying to take as much off my dad’s plate as I can. I’m getting the hang of it, and I’m actually enjoying the job. It’s different from what I was doing, but I also think my analytical skills come in handy here. I can see where improvements can be made and know exactly how to implement them.
I’ve been creating a proposal to present to my father with all my suggested changes to increase profits while still maintaining and upholding the casino’s ethos. Right now, I’m adding the finishing touches to my proposal. I’m thinking of showing Jake first. Get his opinion on it. He has a great mind for business.
But also, I know my ideas are good. I’ve never needed Jake’s encouragement to make a career for myself. I don’t need it now either. I think I just want it.
I shake my head. I don’t think I’ll show him. He comes to me at night to escape work. I can see how tired he is, how much his parents’ passing and everything else he’s dealing with is taking a toll on him.
“Jazzy, we need to go.” My father walks into my office. He looks… nervous? I’ve never seen my father nervous.
“Go where?” I ask.
“Home. We need to go now. Get whatever you need to work from the house for a couple of days.”
“Why?” I stand and start packing up my things: my laptop, my notebook, and pens. I pick up my phone and then I’m walking around the desk. Something is wrong. I can tell. “What happened?”