Page 76 of Catalyst

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If you want to stop another article from leaking, meet me at 9:00 p.m. at The Shannon Hotel in Greensboro. Room 1450.

This bitch won’t quit. You’d think the threat of a lawsuit would’ve stopped her, but apparently not. I can’t let another article come out about Adam. Who’s to say the next one isn’t already written? If I don’t go tonight, it could be printed tomorrow morning, resulting in a world of issues beyond Adam’s reputation.

It would mean legal battles and more bad press that we don’t need. I can’t let that happen. I’m not afraid of Linda. I know I could take her down in a heartbeat. I’m just not sure what she could be after, wanting to meet me. She said some awful things about me in the meeting today. Maybe it’s me she wants her revenge on, now that she can’t do anything to Adam. If that’s the case, I’ll just subdue her and call the police. No big deal.

With my half-assed plan in place, I change out of my pajamas and into leggings and a loose long-sleeved crop top. It’ll give me full range of motion if necessary.

Five minutes later, I’m in my car, headed to Greensboro. The drive goes by quickly, most of it spent working out what I want to say to Linda when I get there, and when I pull into the parking lot, I’ve got a decent speech ready to go.

The lobby of The Shannon is noisy with guests enjoying cocktails at the bar off to the left of the space. The mood is jovial, clashing with my sour disposition. I’d love to be partying with Adam right now instead of dealing with this shit. I should’ve tried to call him or, at the very least, let him know what I was doing.

I take the elevator up to the fourteenth floor, my nerves starting to fizzle in my stomach. I take a deep breath and laugh at myself. This isn’t some spy movie. No one is going to pop out from around the corner and kill me. When I knock on the correct door, I feel as if I’m prepared for what’s going to happen, but I am so very wrong.

The face that greets me has the blood draining from my face so fast black spots spark on the outer edge of my vision.

Junior’s vile grin grows wider at my surprise. “Hello, Elliana. Please, come in.”

I continue to stare frozen in shock, and anger flashes in Junior’s eyes when I don’t follow his command. He grabs my arm in a bruising grip and drags me into the room, where two other men stand next to a table. In the back of my mind, I realize this hotel room is one of those fancy suites with a small kitchen, living room, and back bedroom. But I can’t take my eyes off one of the men staring back at me.

Junior’s father, Clifford Byrnes Senior, stands next to a man I don’t recognize, and my stomach drops at the realization that I’ve gotten myself into a shit heap of trouble, with no way out.

“Please, have a seat, Elliana. Thank you for meeting with us, although you didn’t have much of a choice.” Clifford Senior laughs, as if blackmailing someone is as silly as a knock-knock joke.

I don’t sit down, choosing to remain standing, as it’s my only form of defense. “What do you want from me?”

“Direct. I appreciate that about you.” He sits down, again indicating for me to sit down, as well. His hands are folded on top of the table, and I can tell by the look on his face that he won’t say a single word until I’m sitting.

With shaking hands, I pull out a chair, perching on the edge because there’s no way I could relax right now. I raise my eyebrow, waiting for Clifford Senior to start talking.

“Here’s the deal. You’re going to get Ellis to partner with my company. If you don’t, we are going to release an article stating that Adam has had a long-standing reputation for fucking his employees and then giving them preferential treatment. You will be our prime example and will be named as the source for the article.”

“You can’t do that. It’s not true,” I argue. My heart is thumping behind my chest as the situation sinks in. They truly are going to blackmail me into doing their dirty work. What the hell am I going to do?

“I can, and I will. I’ve had years of experience making false claims sound true, so this one will be no different.”

“How am I supposed to convince him to do something he’s adamantly against?”

“Give him a blow job or withhold sex until he agrees. I don’t give a fuck how you do it. Just get it done,” Clifford growls.

Of course, his suggestions would be sex related. To him, that’s all women are good for, anyway. Fuck, I can’t believe this is my life right now. These people are vultures. They won’t stop picking at you until your carcass is completely clean and there’s nothing left for them to use. I have to tell Adam. There’s no way around this, and I know he can protect me. He’s done it before, and he’d be willing to do it again.

It’s as if Clifford Senior is reading my mind when he says, “Oh, and before I forget. If you get the harebrained idea to tell Adam about this conversation, you might want to rethink it. I’d be more than happy to bring him evidence of your betrayal.”

I frown. “My betrayal? I haven’t done anything.”

“That’s not what these screenshots say. It’s not what the hidden camera in the doorway of the suite is going to show.” Clifford slides images of text conversations between Junior and what looks to be my name. They’ve made it seem like I’ve said all of these horrible things about Adam and that I was glad his reputation was getting dragged through the mud. I can only imagine what they’ll be able to do with the footage of me walking through a hotel room door that Junior was holding open.

And I never told Adam who actually attacked me. If they show him this, along with whatever else they’ve fabricated, there’s no way he’ll believe it wasn’t me. It won’t matter what I tell him now. If they bring him what seems to be irrefutable proof, he won’t be able to ignore it.

I’m so fucked.

I stand from the chair, needing to get out of this suite before I do something stupid like claw out Clifford’s eyes. “How long do I have?”

“Five days, starting tomorrow.”

I nod my head. I refuse to verbally agree to anything, but I need some time to figure out what to do next. Clifford grins as if he’s won the lottery, and I turn my back on him. I don’t believe he’ll physically attack me tonight. If I don’t do what he says, then there’s a chance he will, but not right now. He needs me too much.

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