Kevin Dermott had long been fired from his senior position at a prominent firm on Wall Street. As soon as word got around that an investigation was brewing, he’d been escorted out. While his humiliation was likely still ripe, he got to lick his wounds at his multimillion-dollar home on the Upper East Side.
I rang the doorbell, and he answered.
“Will Donovan, hey.”
“I reached out by phone a few times.” When I hadn’t heard back, I decided to pay him a surprise visit. I was determined to squash this situation before the trip to London.
“Sorry, I’ve been screening calls. What can I do for you?”
“I want to talk to you about Jia Sumner.”
He glanced over his shoulder and back to me. “I don’t really do business with her anymore.”
“That’s not what I’ve heard.”
He frowned. “What have you heard?”
“I heard that you’re blackmailing her to get cut into the Reilly Donovan Capital profits.”
He shook his head. “No, that’s not true. I don’t know what she’s telling you, but I haven’t talked to her in months.”
“I know about the video.”
He took a step back. “I have to go.”
I put my hand on the door before he could close it. “Listen, Kevin. I need you to think really hard about this. I know it’s been a rough few months. Your career has taken a major hit, no doubt about it. But you’ve still got your family. Your wife, your kids. That’s what really matters at the end of the day.”
He stared at me, his eyes cold and still. There was no question in my mind that he’d caught the meaning behind my veiled threat. I wasn’t above making his life hell in every possible way if he compromised Jia’s career or my company.
He stepped through the doorway toward me and shut the door behind him. “What about the video?”
“I want to make sure it never sees the light of day.”
His breaths came shorter, and I could tell his adrenaline was spiking. “I don’t want it to either. I’m in the fucking video too. It was a mistake. I should never have made it.”
“Then why are you threatening Jia with it?”
He flinched. “I’m not. I told you I haven’t talked to her in months. I didn’t bring her up with me when I got promoted earlier in the year. I don’t think she’s uttered a word to me since. I do know she’s calculating as hell, though. So I want to know what she’s saying to you.”
“Reilly gave up his shares at the fund. Did you know that?”
He shook his head. “No, it hasn’t come up. We’ve had a few other things on our plate.”
“He’s threatening to leak the videos if she doesn’t cut him in. She’s seen them, so that means he has them.”
Dermott swallowed and rubbed his forehead with the heel of his hand. “Goddamnit.”
“Why does he have these videos?”
“We got drunk one night, and I made the mistake of sending them to him. I had no idea he’d ever use them against me, let alone her.”
“I don’t care what’s gone on between you and Jia, but I need you to make these videos disappear, once and for all.”
He nodded. “I will. Consider it done.”
Chapter Twenty
IAN
I chugged down a bottle of water, replenishing all the fluids I’d lost in the heat of the fire. Darren dropped down beside me on the length of street curb I’d claimed for my recovery. More crews had come onto the scene, and the fire was under control now. Everyone was safe. The building was damaged but not completely destroyed. Another day on the job.
“That was a bitch, huh?”
I unscrewed the cap to another bottle and drank from it. “Yeah.”
“How are things going with you anyway?”
“Fine. Same old.” The truth was I was a goddamn mess, but Darren was the last person I was going to talk to about it.
“I don’t think I told you, but a spot opened up on Ladder 201. They offered it to me.”
“Good for you, I guess,” I muttered, sucking down some more water.
I wasn’t sure why he was bothering to tell me. We hadn’t spoken much since we’d come to blows over me dating Liv. The tension had settled into a manageable discontent for each other. And when I’d left Liv, I hadn’t noticed it at all. I was too numb to notice or care.
“I thought about it, but I don’t think I’m going to take it.”
I shot him a tentative look. “Why not?”
He shrugged and twisted his mouth up. “I don’t know. Didn’t feel like getting to know a whole new crew. I’ve had a good run here. Why mess up a good thing?”
I shrugged and stared down at the dirty ground, contemplating why he’d tell me all this. Did he want me to go? Maybe he’d never be able to forgive me for being in a relationship with his sister, but it wasn’t something he had to worry about for the future. Liv and I were over. I wasn’t going back. As much as it killed me, I knew it was for the best. Maybe Darren didn’t know that yet.
“Maybe staying won’t be so bad. Things aren’t as complicated as they used to be. Liv and I… We’re not together anymore.”
His lips formed a grim line. “Yeah, I know.”
I stared at him in disbelief. I expected him to be smiling ear to ear about it. Instead, he seemed…thoughtful. I had no idea what that meant.
“Listen, Darren. I’m sorry that it messed things up between us. I really am. Hopefully we can all move on now.”