Page 38 of The More I Hate

“How would you know that?” he scoffed.

“We went to boarding school together. Harrison isn’t a weak man, and to approach him while underestimating him would be a mistake.”

“Then what do you suggest?” My father cracked his knuckles, a sure sign he was losing patience.

“I’m sure we can browbeat Phillip Astrid to do as we please. More to the point, I don’t think we will need to. The joining of our whisky with his tobacco can make for an extremely lucrative venture. I’m worried that if we approach in bad faith, Harrison may not be as amenable to working with us as he was with Dubois. Especially if he finds out about some of the less-than-legal methods used by some of our less-cultured associates,” I said.

“If that Astrid bitch doesn’t want her secrets out, she’ll make her son see reason.” My father cracked his knuckles again, and I wondered, not for the first time, if he knew he had so many tells, he was easy to read and therefore easy to manage.

“I don’t think Mrs. Astrid controls her son as easily as she does her husband,” I said. “Besides, we have already used that leverage on Mrs. Astrid.”

“So? We can use it again.”

“No. We can’t.” How could this man be so shortsighted?

“Says who? Does marrying the slut’s daughter somehow undo the fact that the Astrid boy, the Manhattan district attorney, is a bastard?”

“No, but…”

“This is leverage. I have no intention of giving up anytime soon. He’s a public official with a very dirty secret. If we just pull on a few strings, I’m sure more secrets will come to light that I, for one, have no problem letting the world in on if the Astrid whore doesn’t do as she is told.”

“Once I am married, we are linked to the Astrids.”

I couldn’t believe I had to spell this out. “Hurting them would hurt us. We got what we needed from Mary Quinn Astrid. Now, I intend on being around her as infrequently as possible.”

“But this merger?—”

“Has merit on its own. Why not take these plans to Astrid senior and Harrison, let them see the value, and create a merger based on my marriage and merit?”

“Because they can say no. They can choose to impede our progress or ask questions I’m less inclined to answer.”

His face started turning ruddy around his temples. Lucian Manwarring did not like being questioned. Not even by his son. “Blackmail here is simpler and more efficient.”

“Respectfully, Father, I disagree. It means we are operating in bad faith.”

I held up my hand at his protest, something that would have gotten lesser men tossed out on their asses. “I agree, using blackmail was best to end the Dubois merger, but now I think we should make these deals aboveboard, get both Astrids to agree. It would be far easier and create a better relationship for the long run.”

“You are being shortsighted. We can just blackmail the slut and ensure that we never have to compromise.”

“Astrid is not a fool, a cuckold maybe, but in business, he is almost as savvy and clever as we are. If we make this deal in good faith, we can hold back the blackmail as leverage for when we need it,” I argued.

This didn’t sit right with me. I’d gotten what we bargained for. The threat of exposing Harrison’s true father shouldn’t be hovering over his mother anymore.

At least not from us.

“We have more resources to use if the blackmail ever becomes ineffective,” he said, as he pulled out another chair and took a seat.

“No.” I raised my voice. “She is to be my wife, which means our families are tied together. We will not resort to using those thugs on any of the Astrids. I know enough about Harrison to know he will burn the world to the ground to protect his sisters. They can never know our Irish mob ties are involved. I’m sure he will help us clear the way for them, but only so long as he thinks his sisters will never be close enough to them to be hurt.”

“Sit down, boy.” My father rolled his eyes.

“Not until you hear me on this. We can do this deal legitimately. The more dealings we have aboveboard, the easier it is to conceal the ones below. To be truly effective, we need Harrison to look as clean as possible for as long as possible.”

“Maybe.” He stroked his chin, his dark brown eyes contemplative. “Let’s see what the Astrids think of this deal. If they are amenable, fine. But if they are less than accommodating, I will use this leverage to get what I want.”

“Of course.” I shrugged as if it didn’t bother me. “This is business. We will get done what we need to, but I think we should save the leverage for something bigger. Unfortunately, our get-out-of-jail-free card can’t be waved around wildly. A smarter man would save it for a rainy day,” I said as I turned and left my father’s office for mine. I had plans to make.

There had to be a way to stop my father from using this leverage, or at the very least, to protect Amelia from the fallout.

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