Page 123 of Be Your Anything
“Oh, I’m taking you seriously,” I reply. “I’m just completely unconcerned.”
Her eyebrows rise.
“Ellison, it astounds me that you believe a video like that could serve you in any way. That my family wouldn’t snuff it out the second we became aware of its existence.”
She chuckles, though I can hear an uneasiness that wasn’t there before.
“It won’t matter if you somehow managed to delete that video off of my phone,” she says. “I have another copy—afewother copies.”
I nod. “Oh, I’m sure you do. But, even if you manage to keep those copies, which is highly—highly—unlikely, there is not a single possible place you could put them that would result in what it is you’re hoping for.”
“And what am I hoping for?” she asks, her chin high and her eyes ablaze with rage.
I lift my hands with a shrug. “I have no idea. I doubt you want money. You’ve already gotten yourself to a comfortable place you believe gives you enough power and influence.”
“Ibelieve…?” she begins, unable to mask her shock.
“So, as I’ve been trying to communicate to you, it doesn’t matter in the slightest whether you have this video or not, because any person you would try to send it to, any newspaper or website or any other entity you can possibly imagine? I can promise you, not only will you not get anywhere with it, but you’ll also find an uncomfortable number of doors closed in your face if you attempt it.”
Ellison shifts in her chair, her eyes flitting over my face. I can see her brain working, trying to assess what step she can take or what move she can make that will thwart me, take me down.
Too bad she’s been in check for longer than she knows.
“Now, if this little conversation is finished, I have a directors meeting in an hour that I have to prepare for, so…” I stand and walk over to my office door, swinging it open with a flourish. “Thanks for coming to see me.”
Ellison stands like a wrecking ball, the backs of her knees shoving the chair she was in back a few feet—clearly something she enjoys doing. Then she’s standing next to me, towering over me, as she has done for so long.
“We arenotdone here. You havenoidea—”
“No, Ellison,” I say, my head tilting to the side. “Youhave no idea.” I keep my voice low and take a step closer to her. “You have been threatening me and bullying me and treating me like shit since we were kids. I’ve tried being professional, holding you to task with professional expectations and not allowing your vindictive bullshit to affect how I interact with you. But clearly, none of those things matter, so I’ve decided to speak to you in the only language you seem to understand.”
I always promised myself I’d never use gossip for personal gain. That I wouldn’t use it to target anyone specifically or manipulate a situation. To hurt someone.
But I’m sick of being a fucking paved walkway. Of being the place people rest their feet as they move on, move up, move forward. My mother was right. Ihavebeen using kid gloves with Ellison. With a lot of people in my life.
Today, the gloves come off.
We’ve been building up to this moment for weeks. Months. Maybe years. Two decades of knowing this woman and I’m finally going to let her know exactly who the fuck she’s dealing with.
A Roth. No, not just a Roth.
A Day.
Lennon Montgomery Roth Day.
And I can’t help that little bit of pleasure I get when I see her jaw work, her throat swallow as I lift up on my tiptoes and whisper into her ear.
“The things I know about you, Ellison…about your fiancé…and your family?Youhave no idea what I could do or how far my family’s reach extends. What I can absolutely promise you is that if you ever try to come at me like this again, your life will be in such tatters that your family will bebeggingme for my forgiveness.”
She pulls back, her eyes connecting with mine, the clear shock and high level of nerves racing through her body apparent in how she holds herself.
I smile at her then drop back down to my heels and motion to the door again.
“Best of luck to you,” I say.
Ellison turns on her heels and bolts.
It’s after two when we finally wrap up the directors meeting, and I make my way back to my office with my heels in one hand and stack of paperwork in the other.
