Page 60 of Playing With Secrets
“No problem. I finished working out and was hungry, so you hit me at the right time.” I pull my chair out and sit. “What do you want to discuss?”
He takes a seat and organizes his utensils. “The terms of our agreement. We need to adjust them.”
“Look, I’ve kept my end of the bargain. Dori and I barely speak, and when we do, it’s short and to the point.”
“I understand. The problem stems from last night.” His face turns red and beads of sweat appear on his upper lip. “What do you plan to do with that information?”
“Now I see what this is about. Okay, Hunter. What would you like me to do and what’s the payout?” I cock my head and smile.
The server comes over and takes our drink order. I glance over the menu when she leaves. Making Hunter wait and shake in fear is more than fulfilling.
“Jamison, can we get back to the topic?”
“You called this meeting, so tell me what you want and I’ll consider it.” I lean back in my chair and revel in my advantage.
His eyes try to hide his panic, but it’s too obvious not to see. “You keep what you saw to yourself, and I won’t share anything about Lauren with Dorothy.”
“Not sharing anything about Lauren is already in our agreement. How does that benefit me?”
“If you tell anyone about last night, I won’t hesitate to pull Lauren into it. This is a separate agreement. You say nothing and neither will I.”
“Let me get this straight. The original arrangement now only has you sabotaging the success of the app. Who’s saying once we finish the project, one of us doesn’t go to Dori with what the other knows about these other women?”
“No, Jamison, the original agreement includes exposingyour little Aricin package, telling Aiden about your night with Dorothy, telling her about the women you’ve dated, along with the billion dollars you’d lose if the app fails.”
“Yeah, right. I knew it was too good to be true.”
He puts on his best poker face. “If you play nice, the app succeeds. You get your money, and I keep all that other stuff to myself.”
I rest my palms on the arms of my chair. “I don’t know, Hunter.”
“You also get access to all my contacts who could use your services. That means I still have more leverage than you. If you agree to the new proposal, it’s an eye for an eye—an equal-weighted proposal.”
It's interesting and not a bad arrangement. I better confirm the information and make sure I understand this, though. He could be screwing me over somehow.
I shoot him a questioning look. “If I’m hearing you correctly, we’ll have two agreements.”
“That’s right.”
“The first one is where I stay away from Dori, and you keep the app on track. You keep things from Aiden and my past regarding Aricin locked away. Then you set me up for life with your business contacts.”
He nods, so I get back to our terms.
“You’ve already told Dori about the women I’ve dated, so that can’t be a part of it. The second agreement is if I keep your indiscretions to myself, you keep Lauren to yourself. Do I have the details accurate?”
“I wasn’t the one who disclosed your dating history to Dorothy, but yes. You have the details correct. Do we have a deal?”
Knowing I have most of the things he’s threatening me with squared away, I pretend to consider it. The fact is, once I clean up my shit with Lauren, I plan on telling Dori everything I know about Hunter.
I tilt my head and study him. “I’ll agree to this new arrangement if you tell me two things honestly.”
“What would you like to know?”
This next question is only because I’m curious. “How many times have you cheated on Dori, and why did you last night?”
He hesitates by drinking some coffee. The server grabs our attention by coming to the table and asking for our order.
Once that’s done, Hunter addresses me. “I haven’t cheated on Dorothy.”
