Page 13 of Dirty Dillon

William laughs. “So it’s like that is it?”

“Are you here for a reason?”

“Actually, yes. To remind you to give me fifty bucks. I picked up Max and Cherry’s engagement gift. Also, don’t forget about the barbecue at their place tonight.” William looks at me. “You should come, Cressida. Are you new in town, or do you already know Cherry?”

I look at Dillon before I answer, but he doesn’t give me any clue how to proceed. “I was raised here. I’ve been away at school.”

“Her name is Cressida Hamilton,” Dillon says, and I watch as William’s eyes widen with recognition.

“Hamilton? As in Mayor Hamilton’s daughter? The mayor who hates us? What the fuck, Dillon?”

Yikes. William’s reaction to my name is sort of an explosion.

“Yes,” I admit, lowering my gaze. “My dad is Mayor Hamilton.”

“And if anyone has a problem with her being here, they can take it up with me,” Dillon growls, his arm tightening protectively around me.

William looks at us like he’s very confused. “Easy bro. I’m just shocked.”

“Cressida needed a job. I needed some help.”

William shakes his head. “Does your dad know about this?”

“No,” I admit. “I’m not trying to cause Dillon any problems.”

“You’re not,” Dillon interrupts.

That is not what William’s body language is telling me.

“Maybe if someone explained to me what is going on...why is everyone so mad?”

William plops onto the couch.Thatcouch. I share a horrified look with Dillon, but he just smiles, his gaze boring a hole right through me. He’s imagining it too.

Oh my God. This is mortifying.

William says, “Tempest was turning into a ghost town.”

I nod. “Right, but things have turned around lately, haven’t they? I get that people think my dad was doing a bad job as mayor, but he and his lawyer have been fixing things. Downtown is looking better already.”

A little vein shows itself on William’s temple. “Your dad and his lawyer have been fighting us every step of the way,” he protests.

“Fighting you?”

Dillon is very tense next to me. “My brothers and I formed a holding company last year and started buying the abandoned storefronts and houses. We moved back a few months ago with a plan to fix them up and bring businesses back. Your father hired his lawyer to find a way to stop us.”

I’m no business mastermind, but that makes no sense. “Why wouldn’t they want you to succeed? It benefits my father more than anyone to have a healthy town.”

William’s eyes narrow. “You’re right and that’s why I don’t know how to answer you.”

It doesn’t make any sense. Are they lying? Trying to make my dad look bad?

But then I remember how tense my dad has been. The looks he shared with the slimy lawyer. The comment my brother made about our father having a lot on his plate.

“You okay, Cress?” Dillon asks.

“Yeah, I’m just trying to understand. Believe me, I think Blake Masterson is a giant creep, but there doesn’t seem to be a reason that makes sense why he and my dad would want Tempest to fail, unless...”

“Unless what, honey?”

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