Jesse shrugged again. “It keeps her quiet for now. That’s better than worrying about problems that don’t exist yet.”
“It encourages her to come back every time she needs a dollar.”
Jesse motioned toward her. “She’s already here. Give her a few extra dollars now and have a contract drawn up that this is it.”
Alex exhaled sharply, clearly done entertaining the idea. “No.”
Jesse sighed, then turned to me. “Fine. We’re at a stalemate, so let’s ask the one person in the room who actually understands risk. What do you think, Will?”
What did I think? I thought this was exactly the kind of mess Jesse created and I ended up managing. I thought two hundred million dollars was an absurd number to attach to silence that wasn’t going to hold anyway.
But mostly, I thought that paying her off was simply an admission of guilt, leverage she didn’t have right now to force us to comply with all future demands she was definitely going to make.
“I think she’ll talk either way,” I said. “Regardless of whether we give her what she’s asking for.”
Eugenie tilted her head, like she appreciated the honesty but not the implication. “That’s a little cynical.”
“It’s accurate,” I said firmly, holding her gaze without wavering. “It doesn’t matter how much we give you now, you’ll be back. That’s how blackmail works.”
Alex exhaled quietly, like I’d just confirmed his position, but Jesse didn’t look convinced. I wasn’t surprised, though. To his mind, paying her off solved the problem now and we could figure out future problems when they arose. Alex and I, however, were different.
“Why would I do that?” Eugenie asked, the sickly sweet innocence in her tone not fooling anyone.
“Because you’d be able to,” I said. “Giving you what you ask also provides you the benefit of leverage and let’s be honest, you don’t actually care about the outcome beyond what it gives you.”
She tried to fight a smile, but it didn’t work. “That’s unfair.”
“Have you ever cared about Eliza?” I asked instead of commenting. “Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you’re willing to break your sister’s heart just over money.”
Eugenie looked me right in the eyes, the cool expression making my stomach turn. “Do I care about her? Let me explain it in terms you might understand. I often forget she exists, Will, and it’s not only me. Everyone does.”
She said it unapologetically, like it was the easiest thing in the world to admit.God, she really is an absolutely terrible person.
“It doesn’t matter to me, but Eliza is in love. WithJesse.” She pointed at me with a cruel, cold laugh. “It’s written all over her face and the worst part of it is that she’ll never forgive you once she finds out, but she’ll go through with her marriage to the real Jesse anyway.”
She paused for a beat, a smug smile spreading on her lips. “Eliza always does what’s best for the family, despite the fact that we don’t even see her when she’s the only person in the room. Sincethisis what’s best for the familyandfor her precious estate, she won’t back out. No matter how?—”
“Enough,” I ground out, my voice dangerously low. “Get the fuck out of here.”
Eugenie just blinked rapidly at me, like she was trying to decide if she’d misheard. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” I said firmly. “Leave.”
She rolled her eyes, turning toward the door like this had all been part of her plan. “Oh, relax. I’ll give you until ten tomorrow night to deliver the check.”
“What happens if we don’t?” Alex asked as she reached for the door handle.
She looked back at him over her shoulder. “I’ll go public in a way that will embarrass all of you, your family, and most of all, my sister.”
Deliberately knocking over a stack of papers on the side table on her way out, probably for dramatic effect, she opened the door and left. It shut with a loud snap behind her, the room completely silent in her wake.
Alex was the first to recover, speaking calmly as he motioned at both Jesse and me. “Sit down.”
When neither of us moved a muscle, he sighed. “Just sit down so we can think this through.”
“I have thought it through,” I said. “She’s going to talk no matter what we do.”
“Which means we need a strategy,” he said, holding my gaze before motioning at my chair again. “We’re not going to come up with that while you’re standing there, looking like you’re considering putting a hit out on her.”
