“I’ve got enough money to bury you under a mountain of legal bills if you pull a stunt like that again,” Simon warned. He didn’t like throwing his power and wealth around if he could help it, but Gary was trying his patience. Putting up with his threats was totally out of the question now that he and Heather were together. They had only just started their relationship, and he wasn’t about to let Gary come between them again.
“What if I could make all your problems go away?” Gary asked.
Simon raised an eyebrow. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Gary shrugged. “It means whatever you want it to mean. Maybe we could work something out between us. I mean, you’ve got money, right? Why don’t you use it to get what you want?”
“I’m guessing you already know what I want,” Simon said coldly.
“Sure, you want Heather. And Finn comes with Heather,” Gary said. “They’re a package deal. She’ll break up with you the moment she realizes that you’re coming between her keeping custody of Finn.”
“You’re what’s coming between her and Finn,” Simon bit out. “You’re trying to take Finn away from her. Why are you punishing her like this?”
“Because she ruined my life,” Gary growled. “She got pregnant and saddled me with a kid. I was supposed to live my life, but I got stuck with a child and a wife like some chump. But now she gets to be free after all the years she sucked out of me? Screw that. I’m getting what’s mine. If she gets to waste my time, then I’m going to waste hers. A custody battle is the least she deserves after sucking all those years out of me.”
“This is payback for Finn?” Simon was stunned. Gary was an even bigger ass than he had ever realized. He was putting Heather through hell as some kind of sick payback for getting pregnant. Pregnant with his child. How the hell could Gary use his kid to get back at her? “You know she didn’t get pregnant on her own, right?”
“You don’t get to judge me, asshole,” Gary snarled. “If you really want to help, you’ll give me what I want.”
“And what do you want?” Simon demanded.
“If Heather gets to start over with some rich boyfriend, then I want my cut,” Gary said.
“Your cut?” Simon narrowed his eyes at Gary, suddenly understanding what he meant. He wanted money. Money to stop hurting Heather.
“Yeah. I expect a sizeable amount for getting out of the way,” Gary said. “A couple million dollars, if you know what’s good for you.”
Chapter 7
Money had been no object for so long, that for a second the amount Gary was demanding didn’t even register.
A couple million dollars was chump change really. The type of money Simon could make back within the hour without doing anything at all. But to Gary, that kind of money could set him up for years. Decades, if he spent it wisely.
Simon leaned forward, too intrigued to let this go. “What happens if I don’t pay you?”
“You’ll regret it.” Gary’s eyes narrowed. “You might be able to sue me and stop me from going to the press, but you can’t stop me from going to a judge with what I know. A sympathetic judge means I’ll get full custody of Finn.”
Instinctively, Simon’s hands balled up into tight fists. “You’re seriously willing to ruin your son’s life to get back at Heather? Are you really that petty?”
“Finn is my kid, okay?”
“You never spend time with him,” Simon shot back, half regretting the words. He wasn’t Finn’s father. He wasn’t anything—yet. However, Gary... This guy was just an asshole. And a lousy father.
“What do you know about it?” Gary crossed his arms and scowled.
“I know that Finn’s heartbroken over the fact that you refuse to spend time with him,” Simon shot back and then sighed, trying to lower his voice. “Do you have any idea how lucky you are to have a great kid like that look up to you?” Simon stopped himself before he let things get too personal. He knew how Finn felt. How it felt to want a father’s respect and attention. Simon would’ve given anything to have his own father’s love, but that ship had sailed long ago. He might not be able to go back and fix things with his own father, but maybe he could help give Finn the chance he never got.