A shudder racks me, and I drop my chin to my chest, hiding the devastation that must be painted across my face. “Wondered why you would approach me,” I rasp. “That about answers it.”
Barrett is unapologetic as he tells me, “I wanted to know how you’d react. See whether you’re done with her.”
I don’t lift my head, unwilling to let him see more than he already has. “I’ll never be done,” I confess quietly, feeling like I’ve been hollowed out. “I want Charlie to be happy. As long as she is, I’ll find a way to be as well.” Ishake my head helplessly. “Even if it means she’s with someone else.”
“What about you?”
I slowly lift my eyes to his. “What about me?”
“You gonna go out and find someone else too?”
A bark of unamused laughter escapes my chest. “Fuckno.I don’t want anyone else.”
His expression is solemn. “Not much I can do to help you with that.”
I didn’t expect anything else, but now I’ve reached a point where I can appreciate Barrett and the role he plays in Charlie’s life. He’s always had her back, even when it’s put him in shitty situations, and she—more than anyone else—deserves that.
She deserves someone putting her first.
“Might be able to help you with something else, though,” he continues, and I slide a skeptical look his way.
“What’re you talking about?”
He gestures over his shoulder at our table, where Jack’s still sitting, head down and focused on his phone. I frown, not sure what Barrett’s getting at until a booth to the side of our table catches my attention. It’s full of people, all strangers, and more than one of them is looking over at us curiously.
“Those are my colleagues,” Barrett explains. “And I overheard some of your conversation with Jack-hole.”
I roll my eyes at the name. “And you think you can help?”
Barrett rolls his lips inward, unable to hide the malicious amusement brewing. “My security firm has the contracts for several businesses in the area…” He pauses dramatically, and I tamp down the annoyance that flares. “Including alaw firm or two.”
It takes a beat before realization sinks its teeth in. “You’re talking about Bliss’s firm.”
Barrett props an elbow on the bar, his smile turning sly. “I have access to their building and cameras.” His eyebrows lift pointedly. “You need dirt on Bliss, right? Because you can’t use that video.”
It grates just how much of our conversation he heard without us realizing. He also isn’t wrong. Even anonymously, passing that tape along isn’t a risk that either Jack or I are willing to take. Not with what we could lose.
I slick my tongue over my front teeth. “Are you allowed to do that?” I ask consideringly. “Hand out footage to just anyone?”
Barrett presses his lips together, eyes shifting away. “Let’s call it a gray area. Atechnicality, if you will.” He pauses, adding, “My boss knows someone with the skill set to make sure this doesn’t come back to my firm, or you. And he likes Charlie. He would want to help her.” The hair on the back of my neck lifts, jealousy rearing its head. Barrett doesn’t notice as he asks, “So, you want my help or not?”
“Why’re you doing this? What do you get out of it?” I ask. “Is it just for Charlie?”
His jaw works as he watches me. “Not just for Charlie. What happened to Marisa was fucked, and it’s about time Bliss learned what karma tastes like.”
“You don’t think it’s too much? Going after her career?”
Barrett’s lips quirk, the smile not reaching his eyes. “She’s made a career of hurting people, and this won’t change that.”
I hesitate, and then nod. “Let me buy you a drink, and you can talk us through what we need to do.”
Chapter 18
Dillon
It took two weeks before I got a message, and all it had was a time for later that day. It was easy enough for Jack and me to schedule our breaks together, taking an early lunch and making sure we were waiting in the lobby of the building that housed Thompson Ford LLP on the fifth and sixth floors.
“So how does this play out?” he asks, lifting his paper cup of coffee to his mouth. We’ve positioned ourselves to one side of the large room, giving us a clear view of the elevator bank, acting as if we have every right to be here.
