Huh.
“Who?”
“The old guy. His names Walter Lithgow. He's a wealthy investor. I've read about him on my course.”
“Really?” Suddenly things were getting a bit more interesting.
I wonder why Crash is meeting with him. Probably expanding on his oh-so-wonderful business.
“You know the other guy don't you? I can tell by the way you're looking at him.”
“Um, yeah I guess I do.”
“Ex boyfriend?”
I laughed. Well, huffed would be more accurate. “Not exactly.”
“But you like him, don't you?”
Wow, he was being very forward all of a sudden. Maybe the modicum of wine he'd actually drunk was having an affect.
“Pffft. No.”
He chuckled lightly. “It's obvious you do Elle. You keep glancing over at him.”
I had nothing to say. Was I that obvious?
“So who is he?”
“He's no one. Alice's boyfriends brother.” I knew Ray knew Alice from his course.
“Right. Another Logan brother.”
“You know the Logans?”
“Not personally. I've just heard about them.”
My interest levels for the evening were at an all time high. And it was about Crash. Fucking typical.
“What have you heard?” I asked casually, trying not to show my obvious interest.
He smiled, seeing right through me. “Just that their father died a while ago and they run multiple businesses. I heard about Charles Logan when Michael Cooper died not too long ago.”
“And who's Michael Cooper?”
He huffed. “You really are new around here aren't you! He was a billionaire investor. Charles Logan did business with him for years, or so I heard. And then, weirdly, he died not long after. I can't remember the details. Think they were both murdered.”
I knew that about Crash's dad but hadn't heard about this Cooper guy.
“Jesus, that's crazy.”
“Yeah, crazy suspicious.”
“How'd you mean?”
“Again, I'm not one to spread rumors, but these Logans aren't the shy and retiring type. Bit weird when Cooper and Logan both get murdered within a month of each other in the same sort of way. It's all underground stuff, all very cloak and dagger.”
He stopped, taking a rare sip of wine.
“But if you know the guy you probably know more than I do. Like I say, it's all just rumor.”
I sat back in my seat, Alice's words of warning from before rattling around in my head. She'd also banged on about Crash and his father, in particular, and how reprehensible they were. Well it was probably a good thing that nothing happened between us after all.
But something had happened. I couldn't get that out of my head. What the hell was it about this guy that sucked me in? We seemed to run into each other all the time, as if the fates were teasing me and trying to piss me off, dangling this Adonis in front of me like a carrot on a stick.
I took another gulp of wine, the alcohol now truly loosening me up. Ray continued to chat away in the background but my mind was taken on other things now. I nodded and made the odd comment where appropriate, but really my thoughts were set on Crash, my arm constantly delivering wine to my lips.
He'd infiltrated me completely now. Not only had he saved me once or twice - the mugger and from total solitude and potential embarrassment at the twins party - but he'd also seemed so damn nice when doing so.
He was a total enigma. One second making out with me and the next walking past me as if I didn't exist.
I mean, what the hell was this guys deal?!
I noticed Mr Lithgow walking off from the table out of the corner of my eye and made a split second decision. I don't know why I did it, but it just happened. Blame the booze. That was the easiest option.
Without even considering how it looked to Ray (frankly, by this point I didn't care any more), I stepped up from my chair and marched over towards Crash in the corner.
“Right Crash, I want an explanation, and I want one now.”
Holy shit what was I saying!
His eyes turned up towards mine suddenly, a look of utter bemusement on them.
“Elle, what are you doing here?”
“Don't pretend like you haven't seen me. I've been sat just over there for the last 2 hours.”
The corner of his mouth raised slightly in a smile, as if he found my exuberance and sudden lack of sense comical.
“Well I'm sorry Elle, I've only just arrived. I must have missed you. Now, please, I'm in the middle of an important meeting. Do you mind leaving?”
I stood there, my eyes set on him, unmoving. “Not until you explain to me why you're so - I don't know - inconsistent!”
“Elle, please, just go.”
I stood firm.
“Why did you just walk away the other day? You treated me like shit Crash.”
I had totally lost it now. Everything was coming rushing out like water from a broken dam.
“Elle, I'm sorry. I will talk to you later.” He was speaking through gritted teeth now, his eyes darting around the place at the eyes on us. “You're making a scene. Just go, now.”
There was a growing menace in his words now. He wasn't asking me, he was telling me.
“You can't order me around Crash. I'm not one of your minions.”
“Please Elle, for the last time, just leave.”
At that moment a voice came from behind me, old and dry. “Is there a problem Crash?”
“None, Elle here was just leaving.”
I turned to see Mr Lithgow just behind me. He looked down at me with a sneer, as if I was nothing. Pompous old bastard, who the fuck does he think he is?!
I felt an arm grab at mine, pulling me away. It was Ray. I could hear him apologizing to them, saying I'd been drinking too much.
The world began spinning as he moved me through the tables, everyone looking on at me, staring at me as I left.
Great Elle. Very good, you've just broken your own record of the most embarrassing fucking thing you've done when drunk.
Bra-fucking-vo.
Chapter 17 - Crash
Crash
I stared on as Elle was escorted out of the restaurant by what I could only assume was her date.
I tinge of jealousy struck me with the thought.
“A friend of yours?” It was Lithgow, that fucking degenerate, sitting back down at the table.
The fool had no idea why he was really here. I hadn't yet revealed my true intentions. No, I had to get him to meet with me first.
I'd spoken to Lithgow recently to apologize for how I may have reacted when he told me he was pulling his investment. I said that I had another potential project he might be interested in and that I'd like to discuss it over dinner.
It was a lie.
“She's no one,” I said. “Just a stupid girl.”
I could see Lithgow eyeing her up as she was taken away, his sleazy eyes sliding over her like a snake. Keep your fucking gaze away from her.
I was telling the truth there though. She was a stupid fucking girl. What the hell was she playing at?! She was clearly drunk, her words completely unrestrained. She was like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde: quiet and reserved when sober but completely fucking insane when drunk. She has some balls, I'll give her that.
“Right Crash, let's cut to the chase. What exactly is it that you've brought me here to discuss?”
I was finding it hard sitting there with this man without telling him how I really felt, without telling him exactly what was going to happen to him.
The man had murdered my father. Everything inside my body was making me want to stand up right there, grab the steak knife from the table, and saw his fucking head off.
But no, I needed him.
I'd managed to convince him to meet, but had yet to reveal my true purpose. He'd help me secure the investment I needed for my casino development. He'd do that, or his public persona would
be completely destroyed.
And when he'd served his purpose, when he'd done everything I needed of him, then he'd face the consequences of what he'd done to my father. Once my use for him was spent, so was his life.
“Mr Lithgow, I wanted to get you here to talk about another proposal I have. As you know, my family have always been enterprising and are always looking for opportunities to expand.”
He nodded, his eyes filled with memories of how he'd fucked over my father. He didn't know I knew. But I did.
“OK, lets hear it.”
I reached for my whiskey and took a sip, letting a short silence fall between us.
“My new proposal is simply this: rethink your position on my original proposal.”
His face contorted into a deep frown.
“Your original proposal? I told you already what my position on that was Crash. I haven't, and won't, change my mind.”
I nodded. “I understand that, but some things have come to light that might make you think again.”
“I'm afraid the decision is done. No changes to your proposal will alter my thinking, or my decision.”
He made a move to stand, an irritation in his words that I'd wasted his precious time.
“Now, if that's all you've brought me here for, I'll take my leave right now.”
“Sit down,” I said, my words drawing cold.
It was an order, something a man like Walter Lithgow wasn't used to.
“Excuse me,” he said, his eyes narrowing on me. “Do you have any idea who you're talking to?”
“Oh, I believe I know more than you think.” I smiled as I spoke, a devious look spreading over my face.
His eyes widened slightly at my words, his brows still furrowed and deep.
“What do you mean?” His words were no longer inflected with indignation. Now he sounded worried, the look on my face and the confidence with which I spoke unsettling him slightly.
Yes Walter, I know your secret.
....
It had been almost a week ago that Jones had called me to his office once more. This time he had the information I was looking for.
“I've got the information you want about Lithgow,” he'd said.
“Is it good?” I'd asked excitedly.
He'd nodded slowly, “Oh yes, it's good.”
“Tell me.”
He'd launched into it from there, spilling Lithgow's dirty little secret, a secret he'd been living with for years. A secret which, if revealed, could spell the end for him. After they knew what he'd done, no one would want to work with him, no one would want to be associated with him. He'd be finished.
It was a long time ago, when Lithgow was a younger businessman building his fortune. He had a young wife and child, a family he was supposedly devoted to.
He'd built on that image his entire career. The family man, the man with ethics and morals. A man who would always make a steady return on any investment, always build a strong business on firm foundations from nothing.
But back then, he also harbored a need that he would see attended regularly. He hired attractive secretaries who he'd fuck in his office. He'd cheat on his wife and family, playing the family man in public, and abusing his power behind closed doors.
It was a secret that he'd kept carefully hidden until now. But nothing can be hidden from someone like Jones. He had his methods of extracting information, and it sounded as though he'd used those to full effect.
“By any means.” That's what I'd told him. He didn't need to be told twice.
But there was more.
One of the girls Lithgow cheated on his wife with got pregnant and raised a son. He'd secretly supported that woman and his illegitimate son for years in return for their silence. One paternity test and word to the press and Walter Lithgow's name would come crumbling down around him.
I knew that he'd do anything to keep that secret safe in his vault. I knew I had him by the fucking balls.
And now - now I'd get exactly what I wanted as a result.
....
Lithgow sat back down into his chair, staring at me like a rabbit caught in the headlights. Fucking coward. I'd see him give me what I want. Then I'd see him burn.
“Correct me if I'm wrong Walter, but you've built your name and your fortune on the back of your reputation as a family man, a man with unimpeachable morals and ethics, a man who will always do the right thing, no matter what. Is that all correct?”
I was going to enjoy torturing this old fuck.
He nodded suspiciously, still wondering where I was going with it.
“Interesting. I wonder how your name and reputation will suffer if, suddenly, you had been shown to be a fraud all this time. We wouldn't want that, would we?”
His eyes began narrowing, a realization hitting him. He knew what I was talking about.
“You know of Andrew?”
I nodded and smiled. I must have looked like a smug cunt but I didn't care. In fact that's exactly how I wanted to look.
“Andrew? You mean your illegitimate son who you've been trying to hide for 20 years? That Andrew?”
I hailed the waiter and ordered another whiskey, giving Lithgow time for the information to settle in.
When he next spoke his tone was dreary, defeated. He knew I had him.
“What is it that you want?”
“You know what I want Walter. You're a smart man, I'm sure you can figure it out.”
“Your casino? You want me to back your casino?”
I clapped sarcastically. “Give this man a gold star. Yes, you dopey old fuck, I want you to back my casino. If you don't, then expect to wake up tomorrow with the press all over your front porch.”
“I can't do that. I've already set the wheels in motion. I can't just do a u-turn, not now.”
My teeth gritted, my jaw clenching. I leaned in closely, staring through fierce eyes.
“You will do this Mr Lithgow. Or be prepared to suffer the consequences.”
I leaned back and sunk my whiskey.
“I'll give you 24 hours to make your decision and give me positive assurance that my project is being put into action. 24 hours Mr Lithgow, no more.”
With those parting words I stood and paced straight past him towards the exit of the hotel, leaving the old shit to pay the bill.
In 24 hours I'd have my casino back. In 24 hours, after Lithgow had corrected his wrongs, his days would be numbered.
Chapter 18 - Elle
Elle
I lay, face down on my bed, my head pressed hard against my pillow.
My head was throbbing, and not only because of the alcohol. I'd never done anything so downright reckless and stupid. I mean, what the hell was I thinking?
Ray had ushered me into a cab outside and sent me packing. I guess he wanted to make his own way back without me in tow. I didn't blame him. I was an embarrassment.
I heard the door to the room swing open fast but kept my head to my pillow. I didn't want to have to field any questions from Alice right now. Maybe I'd just pretend to be asleep?
But no, it wasn't Alice. It wasn't Tess either.
Oh shit, it was Crash.
“What in the name of fuck was that?”
The voice sent a shiver into my body. The last thing I wanted to do now was see him. I wish I could just disappear into my pillow and die.
I heard the door shut hard and his footsteps come towards me from behind.
“I said, what the fuck was that Elle?”
I couldn't move. I couldn't turn around and look at him. I'd sooner spend the rest of my life hugging my duvet.
“I know you're awake. Look at me.” His hand reached onto my shoulder and forced me over onto my side.
My eyes were full of tears, my face growing red with abject humiliation. His, on the other hand, were fierce and furious. They looked like they did when I first met him.
“Do you have any idea what just happened Elle. You damn near spoiled a fucking important meeting for me.”
I sniffed, rolling back onto my side to hide my face. I couldn't bare to look at him right now.
I felt him sit down on the bed, my back to him. His words began softening at the sight of me. I must have looked so pathetic.
“I'm sorry,” I sniffed, “I had a few too many drinks. I wasn't thinking.”
“Too damn right you weren't thinking. You were shouting like a loon in the middle of a fucking restaurant Elle!”
“I know. I can't take my drink sometimes.”
I felt his hand lift onto my shoulder, his touch gentle.
“So who were you with? That guy, who was he?” Was that jealousy in his voice? No, just interest.
“Um, he was a date. Tess set us up.”
“That's what I thought.” He voice did seem to drop a little. “Was it going well, before...?”
I sniffed again. “Not really. Hence all the drinking. He was pretty boring actually.”
He laughed lightly. He sounded almost relieved.
“First dates can be like that I guess.”
“Yep, not that I'd know. I haven't had one in years.”
His tone perked up. The anger in his voice was lost now.
“Really?” He sounded surprised.
“Yep. Last proper first date I had was way before I started uni. Before I met Brad.” The name still left a bitter taste in my mouth.
“Brad? Ex boyfriend?” I realized suddenly that he wouldn't know who Brad was. Why should he.
“Psycho ex, yeah. He's the reason I'm here.” The lingering alcohol in my body was making me open up more than usual.
I felt him pull at my shoulder and roll me back around to look at him. His eyes were full of concern all of a sudden.
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, nothing serious,” I lied. “Things just got weird with him when we broke up so I moved here to get away. I mean, I didn't have to move. I guess I wanted a change anyway.”
All lies. I didn't want to move. It was the last thing I wanted. That freak had forced me out.
“I'm sorry to hear that Elle.” He sounded genuine.
“And I'm sorry for the other night as well,” he continued. “I guess I reacted badly when you pushed me away.” His eyes dropped a little and he turned his head from my gaze. “I just thought you liked me is all.”
CRASH (A Logan Brothers Novel) Page 11
