Page 78 of Texting the CEO's Obsession
I should have done more, donebetter.
I should have kept Riley safe like I fucking promised.
My ringtone breaks the silence of the air, and I scrabble in my pocket for it, answering without even looking.
“Riley?” I ask breathlessly.
A beat of silence answers me before my lawyer’s voice comes through the speaker.
“Mr. D’Amico? It’s Jerry Lynch,” he says. “I have updates for you, sir.”
Fuck.
Not who I wanted, but Jerry knows better than to call me unless he has good news for me.
“Hit me with it,” I say, scowling at the bottle of scotch before shrugging and lifting it up to my lips for another drink.
“The article’s been pulled from the official website and all records of the original interview have been handed over. I have my IT specialists ensuring all copies are scrubbed from theinternet. Marcus had your tech team send out a message to recipients of the initial link stating that it was a virus and to simply delete it.”
My shoulders slump in relief, and I clench my jaw to stop something that feels suspiciously like a sob from falling from my lips. I’m not going to fuckingcryover this.
“Good,” I say when I regain control of my voice. “Any luck tracking down who’s behind it?”
Jerry clears his throat, and I hear a bit of a scuffle before Thomas’s voice comes through, loud and clear.
“I joined Jerry’s boys when they paid the news outlet’s headquarters,” he says, cheery and lighthearted as always. “They were plenty willing to talk after someone wound up with a broken wrist. Don’t know howthathappened, but it wasn’t caught on any security cameras, so I guess it’ll remain a mystery.”
God, I could fucking kiss him.
As much as I usually enjoy his shenanigans, or at least tolerate them, I really don’t have the patience for them at the moment.
“I’ll buy you a Lambo if you shut up and tell me a name,” I grit out.
“Contradictory,” he sing-songs. “Should I shut up or tell you?”
“Tommy.”
I don’t use that tone with him, not about anything. Thomas isn’t someone I’ve ever genuinely threatened, but I’d cut my own arm off right now if it meant I could know whose teeth to bash in.Or at least if I could tell Riley with certainty that the person responsible is behind bars and set to rot for the rest of their life.
“It was your annoying employee. The blonde,” he says, knowing better than to push me when I’m like this.
The mostly empty bottle of scotch falls from my fingers as my teeth grind together so hard I’m surprised my jaw doesn’t shatter.
“Sloane,” I growl.
“That’s the one,” he confirms.
The way she treated Riley in the office was enough to make me want to ruin her life, but this? She fucked with Riley’ssafety.
I’m going to rip the bitch to pieces with my fuckingteethif I have to.
“Oh, and your lawyer can still hear you, so whatever you’re thinking, keep it an inside thought for now, yeah?”
CHAPTER 24
RILEY
It’s been four days since the shitshow that unfolded on Sunday.
