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The smirk on his face fades. “Careful, Ian, you might be my son and all, but that doesn’t mean you get to do or say things without consequence. I’d do anything to protect my company, even if I have to go through you.”
From the look on his face, I can tell that he’s not joking. But I’m not fazed.
“I expected that, Andrews. But I’m not going to stop. The only way out of this is to plead guilty for all your wrongdoings and step down from your position. You also have to cut all ties to the Andrews & Sons company. Let someone else run it.”
“Someone like you, you mean?”
“I have no interest in anything of yours. All I want is justice for my friends and everyone else you’ve hurt.”
“Hmm.” Barrett nods. “So let’s, um.” He takes a step forward, placing his hand on my shoulder. “Let’s get one thing straight…that’s not gonna happen.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes. what’s going to happen is you’re going to destroy that rubbish you call evidence and go back to…whatever you’re doing these days.”
“You’re crazy.” I slap his hand off my shoulder. “Look around, Andrews. This is one of the last times you’ll be allowed to step foot in this building. You might as well enjoy it for as long as you can.” I turn around, walking back toward the banquet hall.
“Do you know your problem, Ian?”
I stop, turning to face him. “Not really, but I guess you’re about to tell me.”
“You never think about anyone else but yourself. If you did, you’d know that following this path affects other people. But that doesn’t cross your mind, does it? All that matters to you is jerking off your ego.”
“I’m doing the right thing. You’ve hurt a lot of people and you have to be stopped.”
“Do you think your mom would like that? Besides, how about all the people whose businesses and startups I’m funding? What happens to them?” A sly smirk curls up his lips. “What happens to your little girlfriend Kaylee?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Oh, you don’t know?” He readjusts his suit. “When I heard that you and the baker were a thing, I ordered my people to fire the other person and give her the grant.
“What?”
That’s impossible. Kaylee didn’t tell me anything. I’d expect that if she received news like this, I’d be the first person she’d tell.
“You’re lying.” I fold my arms. “Kaylee lost the grant.”
“Yeah she did.” He nods. “But we had a change of heart. I saw that she needed the win, so I made it happen.”
“Wait— but.”
“You don’t need to think too much about it. I did you a favor…one I expect you to return.”
I open my mouth to speak, but no words come out. I didn’t expect him to play this card. Kaylee was really hurt when she learned that she didn’t win the grant; now that she has been given a second chance, taking it from her will just be cruel.
“So the way I see it, you have only two choices.” He clears his throat. “You can release your evidence to the press, and my company gets a bad rap. But who’s going to suffer the most? Her, of course. She won’t get the funding, and she might even lose customers for being affiliated with me. Her business won’t survive.”
I gulp. If this happens to Kaylee’s business, she would never be the same. I don’t think I can do that to her.
“Or,” Barrett continues, “we can forget this ever happened, and both our businesses flourish.”
He’s got me, and he knows it.
My hand clenches into a fist, and I turn my gaze downward. I’ve worked so hard to get Barrett Andrews, and now I have him in the palm of my hands, but I can’t squeeze. It will be nice to tell him to go fuck himself and release the evidence to the press, but I can’t do that. I’ll only be hurting Kaylee.
“You’re pure evil, Barrett. You deserve to rot in jail.”
“Yeah well.” He shrugs. “Don’t we all?” He pauses, scratching his chin. “So do we have a deal?”
