One of Sheila’s team looked at her, and she waved him to speak. “I’m Jack Fronthill, one of the litigation lawyers. If the journalist disparages Black Pinnacle in any way, we’ll see to it that she’s hit with a cease and desist letter by morning, and then we’ll file a defamation suit if she so much as mentions Black Pinnacle in a public setting.”
“Okay. But that doesn’t answer my question. You can’t send a cease and desist until she’s actually said something. And by then, it’s too late. So what is it we need to be worried about?” Marina asked.
“Youdon’t need to be worried about anything.” Sheila gave her an icy smile. “You’re my real estate lawyer. You handle the paperwork and considerable information on the real estate itself. You have interactions with the business owners in an effort to get them to accede to the inevitable and to do it with me coming out on top…financially.” She motioned toward herminions, all dressed in similar black suits. “They will handle anything to do with Black Pinnacle’s reputation.”
Well, that certainly put Marina in her place. She gave a small shrug. “Understood.” She turned her attention to Montgomery. “Then this meeting isn’t really necessary, is it?”
He drummed his fingers on the table for a moment without answering. “Sheila, I’ve never steered you wrong. While it’s true we’re handling your Chicago development projects, that means we also need to be aware of any pitfalls we may encounter. Working as a team, with everyone in the loop, is always better than playing on a broken field.”
“You’ve always been a worrier, Monty. And you’ve always hated being kept out of the inner circle.” Sheila smiled like a bully looking at the kid on the ground at their feet. “But I’m afraid I like the way I do things, and if only some people know some things, that means the aspects I want kept quiet remain with a select few. If that information gets out, I know who to look at. Too many cooks in the kitchen, too many hands that could have spoiled the broth.”
“Sheila—” He stopped drumming his fingers and sat back, his hands folded over his belly.
“I said no.” Steel contained less rigidity than those three words. “I came to find out where we stand so we know how to move forward and to have a cup of coffee with my favorite attorney.” She turned her dark eyes to Marina. “Report, please.”
Marina put her hand on the sheet of paper with the bullet points, but she didn’t need to look at it. “You have seven business owners willing to negotiate in the 71stcorridor. Twelve from the 75thcorridor and seventeen from Jefferson Blvd. We’re still waiting on responses from others.”
Sheila frowned. “That’s not nearly good enough, Marina. Thirty-six people? What about building owners?”
“Forty-two, in total.” It also wasn’t a good number. There were nearly fifty thousand people living in three square miles. While less than a quarter of those had been made offers, not even a hundred responses was pretty dire. “I find it hard to believe you’ve had faster turnaround in your other projects?” Marina sipped her coffee, doing her best to keep her bland expression in place. “We’ve made the first overtures. We move to next stage with those who have responded and make second overtures to those who haven’t. You know it may take several offers and plenty of negotiation to get everyone to the table, but theywilleventually pick up a pen to sign.”
Sheila stared out the window for a moment before she nodded sharply. “And that, Montgomery, is why I know Marina is the right lawyer for me. She states things clearly and doesn’t act like I’ll grow another head if she tells me something I don’t want to hear.”
That isn’t true, Marina thought. She wouldn’t have been surprised bymultipleheads, all bearing snakes that could turn people to stone. “Thank you,” she said.
Montgomery’s cheeks had gone blotchy, but he smiled anyway. “Yes, well, that’s why I dedicated our best person to your organization.” He stood, clearly marking the meeting as finished. “However, I feel the need to say something just as clearly. I don’t want this firm tarnished by things we’ve had nothing to do with. If there are dealings in your past that could throw mud our way, we’ll need to revisit this topic.” He gave them all a quick nod and then was gone.
“You’re all dismissed.” Sheila didn’t even look at her minions as they rose and left. She turned to Marina. “Now. It’s time for lunch. Where shall we go? We can discuss the dinner you’ll be having with my friends later this week.”
Marina sipped her coffee as her mind skittered around every excuse to find one that would work. Nope. Only dead ends.Suckit up, buttercup. You can hand her off to some other unlucky bastard once you get your promotion.“Your choice.”
CHAPTER 20
“I’m just saying,I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.” Audrey huffed, as she’d been doing since she’d come in, and shoved a pack of tarot cards onto a shelf.
River groaned and lightly thumped her head against the table. “Audrey. Why are you here? You said you needed to be at the hospital.” She’d had more than enough of Audrey’s irritation at River not calling to tell her about the attempted mugging.
“Apparently I’ve been abusing visiting hours, and they can’t allow that anymore.” Her use of air quotes was indiscriminate and didn’t seem attached to any particular word. “Have you seen the schedule?”
River sat back and looked at the gloomy sky outside. Last night had been a win, as far as Adriana was concerned. Her multiple early morning texts said as much. But River’s dreams had been chaotic, filled with trap doors and the sense of people just waiting in the shadows for her to choose the wrong turn. Her morning tarot card, the nine of swords, pretty much underscored her stress and anxiety and didn’t give her any hints on how to proceed.
“River?” Audrey’s hand was gentle on her shoulder. “Your thoughts are all mucky. And really loud. Mucky loudness gives me a headache.”
River put her hand over Audrey’s and smiled. “Sorry. I’ll try to calm it down in there. Yeah, I’ve seen the schedule, and it looks like we’ll get through our usual post-holiday slump a little easier with all the new business coming in.”
Audrey squeezed her shoulder and went back to the counter. “Let’s hope it stays?—”
The door flew open and Leo practically leapt into the room, waving their phone. “Oh my god. You’re a total thirst trap. Have you seen this?” They laughed, still waving the phone. “I know you haven’t. That’s why I’m here. You’ve got to see it.”
“Leo.” River held up her hands. “Hold up. What are you talking about?”
Leo came to stand beside her and held the phone so River could see it. Audrey came hurrying over to look over River’s shoulder.
“Your name is trending as a hashtag. Look. People aren’t just talking about the neighborhood stuff. They’re dueting and stitching stuff where you’re talking or even just standing there listening.” Leo laughed and kept swiping to show River the different videos. “Look at this one. Hashtag thirsty echoes. And there’s?—”
“Okay. I get it.” River pushed the phone away. “Thank fuck I’m not on social media.”
Leo bit their lip. “But the thing is, River, Echoes has an Insta. You just don’t use it very well.”
