Page 339 of The Maxwell Brothers

“Sure. I’ll wrap this up.”

As soon as Reese left, Malcolm bellowed, "She cannot fucking do that. You didn’t tell me she could do that." He stared at his lawyer with menace.

Ashburn frowned. “You assured me she would never want to go public. We discussed that possibility, and you were certain that wouldn’t be an option.”

"I didn't even know she was going to be here. Why the fuck did you allow it?”

I cleared my throat. “You severely underestimated Reese. She saw through you right from the beginning."

"You fucking bastard," he said. "You're going to talk to the Halsey Group."

"Oh, I will. To them and to every other construction company I can contact. You do know my last name, right? Maxwell. Weare very,verywell connected. So here is how this will go. You’ll probably search for jobs at other companies. You’ll find out that none of them will want to employ you."

"You can’t blackmail my client," Ashburn said.

"This isn’t blackmailing. This is laying out the facts. He was going to go into business with my cousin. Consider this my referral. I suggest you move out of Chicago. You'll find that your job options here will be severely limited."

I looked from one to the other, waiting for Malcolm to reply. He didn't. Ashburn didn’t add anything either. He’d probably realized he wasn't going to make much bank off Malcolm.

Turning around, I left the room. Reese was pacing in front of the entrance, holding her phone in one hand.

“I spoke to Luke, told him how it went down. I didn’t give him all the details though. He’s at the office with the others. Are you going there?”

“As soon as I make sure you’re okay, I’ll go to the office.”

“I’m so glad it's over. Can we grab a coffee?"

"Sure we can.”

“Let’s go to the one where I’m meeting Vanessa. It’s three blocks from here. We can probably walk.”

“No problem.” I’d parked the car one block down. I could leave it there for the time being. “How are you feeling?" I asked her as soon as we were a few steps away.

"I'm great, actually."

"You are?"

"Yes. I've been so afraid of what he might do next. Of him maybe talking to the press."

"You don't have to do the interview. You know that, right?"

"But I want to. This is liberating. It was hanging over my head, and I was expecting it to blow at any moment. Do you think… do you think it would hurt the family name terribly?"

I stopped right there in the middle of the sidewalk and looked straight at her. "Reese, this is your life. Why would the family name have to suffer, for God's sake? Don't take what that moron said too seriously. Besides, he was the one in the wrong. Nothing will reflect poorly on you.”

We didn’t speak at all until we reached the coffee shop. It was empty, even for a Tuesday morning. I bought us coffee, and we sat in two armchairs in the far end corner.

“It's something I used to tell him," she murmured.

"What?"

“That I hope we’ll all live up to the family name. That I was afraid I’d muck it up. And now he wanted to use that fear against me. He knew what he was doing.”

"That sounds just like Malcolm," I said through gritted teeth.

"But if I give the interview, things will change. I have nothing to hide. It’s not my fault he cheated," she said, and I realized she was talking to herself more than me.

"No it's not, Reese. He's a fucking moron." I really hated him. "When are you meeting with Vanessa?”