Page 51 of Bidding War

Strange. An email should answer more questions than it asks.

Andre knows my credentials. He’s seen my resume, and he knows I am being blackballed by Elliot. And he knows I’d like revenge on him.

How in the fuck does he know any of this? I want to scream. I want to break something. Andre wants me to be his fucking lawyer? After he kidnapped me? The gall! I knew he was a damned sociopath, but does he think I’m one, too? That I could forgive and forget what he did to me?

It takes all the strength I have not to punch the wall. Instead, I drag my fingers through my hair to self-soothe. It’s not enough. Not by a long shot. Aghast does not even begin to describe how I feel. It’s too much, this has all been too fucking much! On what planet is this appropriate behavior?

But then I realize the concept of appropriate is likely foreign to Andre. When we’d eaten together, his every sentence was a calculation. He tried to sound sincere when he was sympathetic to my plight, but the sheer act of trying to sound sincere made it all ring false and hollow. The man has no human emotions. Only motives. Only goals.

So then, what is the point of trying to get me to work for him? What could possibly be his motivation? Is there a goal I can help him reach?

He said that thing about it being mutually beneficial…I assume he means between him and me. If that’s the case, does he plan to put me up against Elliot in some situation? I’m a tax attorney. It’s not as if I go to court. None of this makes any sense.

Unless … is he trying to dodge taxes? Does Elliot have some friend in the IRS breathing down Andre’s neck or something? I know he has friends throughout the government. Andre seemed to hate Elliot almost as much as I’ve grown to. If Elliot is wielding the government at Andre, then I might be able to help him that way?—

What the fuck am I thinking? How could I possibly help that asshole?

I close my email and tuck my phone back into my pocket. There is no dimension in which I will ever help Andre Moeller, may he rot in hell.

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28

JUNE

It’s been a day, and I still haven’t responded to Andre’s email. I’d thought to tell Anderson about it, and we’d have a good laugh, but the more I thought of telling him, the worse an idea it sounded. If I tell him, then he will give me shit for considering it.

And I am considering it.

I know it’s crazy. In school, no one ever said, “Don’t go to work for the man who kidnapped you and used you as a pawn and terrified you for a day.” I think they thought that went without saying. Or it’s so insane that no one had thought of it at all. But right now, I’m not sure if that’s good advice.

If Andre wants revenge on Elliot, why shouldn’t I help him? I want it, too.

When I met Elliot, he thought Anderson and I were engaged, so within moments of meeting him, he brought up a prenup. I called his bluff. After I offered to sign it, he admitted he didn’t have one on him. I thought that would be the end of things, case closed.

But then Andre entered the picture by having me kidnapped on the very night I met Elliot.

The two of them used me as a pawn. Anderson did everything he could to get me back, and he did, circumventing his father. I think that might be what pissed him off about me initially. That his own son worked around him instead of heeding his advice. Doesn’t matter now.

Since then, everything with Elliot’s been a shitshow. So, why shouldn’t I use Andre to get some revenge? The man is a sociopath, but does that stop him from being useful? Some might argue that would make him more useful. A man without scruples is a handy tool to have around. Like the big scary guy who helped Anderson with the?—

“No,” I tell myself out loud in my bathroom. “Stop. We don’t think about that right now.”

I’ve had to have those talks with myself frequently. Maybe it’s a symptom of a fracturing mind, but it helps for now. I choose to focus on one sociopath at a time. Now, the only question is, am I seriously thinking of doing this?

I want to talk to Anderson about it. He’s a great sounding board, and he knows more about these people than I do. But he won’t approve. That much, I know. He wants me far away from danger, and on that, I agree. But if I can work with Andre in a legitimate capacity in an office somewhere and make Elliot West pay for all the shit he’s put me through, I’d be a fool not to take the chance.

Besides that, Andre might pay well. I could stop bartending and still keep my home. Not that I don’t love bartending, but I’m not that young anymore, and I’ve been out of the game for a long time, so the late nights are wearing on me.

It can’t hurt to go to a harmless interview, right?

Screw it. I’m in, and I’m not telling Anderson until I know more about all of this.

I email Andre back, and within an hour, I sneak back into my bathroom to read his response. With Anderson in my bedroom, I can’t read this in front of him. We agree to an interview at his Boston office tomorrow at ten. For the first time in a long time, I am excited professionally.

The next day, Anderson goes to work, and I tell him I’m running errands for the day since I’m not going to the bar tonight. He kisses me goodbye, and I feel bad for not telling him the absolute truth. But he would have tried to talk me out of it. We would have had a fight. I don’t want that. Not when we’re reuniting. It feels too soon for that kind of drama. And we’ve both been through enough trouble to last a lifetime.

I’m not going to stress us both out over what is probably nothing.

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