“If my father were to have a sex tape released, that would kill any chance he has of returning to power,” Ruby mused. “He doesn’t have a chance anyway, but he hasn’t accepted that yet. He knows that would be the final nail in his coffin, though.”
“So … he comes up with a plan.” We were rolling right along now. “He wants to work out a deal with Haskins to buy that property and somehow cut Haskins in on the future profits. Like … maybe make him a silent partner.”
“Would that be enough to feed Haskins’s ego though? He held onto his place a lot longer than anybody else would have simply because he wanted to be able to say he was a player on the Strip.”
“Maybe your father intends to bring Haskins in as a shareholder under the radar.”
“How would he do that?”
“I don’t know, but I’m betting it’s something convoluted that involves whatever construction company he has in mind.”
“Oh.” Ruby bobbed her head. “I get it. It would be a silent partnership between them all. The money earmarked for construction would go to the lowest bidder, but the paperwork would say the bid was higher than it was. Then the construction company would use shoddy equipment and the entire amphitheater would fall during a big concert.”
I gave her a sidelong look. “That’s a little too Lifetime movie for me, but I don’t think you’re far off.”
“How does he plan on pushing this through, though?” Ruby sounded frustrated. “That’s the part I don’t get. I mean … how is he going to get everybody to agree to this amphitheater, and then put him in charge at the same time?”
“He’s not thinking that far ahead. He’s desperate to keep whatever dirt Haskins has on him from coming out. He’s glommed on to this plan, and he’s going to try to force it through.”
“How, though?”
“I don’t know. We need to figure it out.” I dug my fingers into the tender spots between her shoulder blades and cringed when she moaned. “Babycakes, for the love of God, have pity on me. I can’t take the moans.”
“Then stop rubbing me.”
“I can’t. It’s like an addiction now. I have to do it.”
She laughed as if I’d said the funniest thing in the world. “You’re hilarious.”
“I am.” I kissed her cheek, then rested my chin on top of her head. “We need to get your siblings and mother in on this.”
“We don’t have proof.”
“We don’t need it. As soon as we tell them our theory, they’re going to agree that we have to get ahead of this. It’s the only thing that makes sense. The Stone Group has already taken a hit. We can’t let it take another one.”
“Maybe that’s how Dad thinks he’s going to push it through,” Ruby mused. “He probably believes we’ll do whatever we can to protect his reputation.”
“Do you think your mother would do that? I mean … it would be embarrassing for her to have the prostitute story come out.”
“Everybody who is anybody in this town already knows that my father wasn’t faithful. I’m not sure it would even faze her.”
“We need to let her make that decision. You should text and get them all up here.”
Ruby sighed. “Okay, but I want ten more minutes of your finger magic.”
I burst out laughing.
“Notthatfinger magic.” She shot me a dark look. “We should probably have some food delivered too. I think we have a long night in front of us.”
“Yeah. It’s better to get ahead of this, though, Ruby.”
“I don’t disagree. It’s just … every time I think my father can’t get any lower, he proves me wrong.”
“If this was old Vegas, he would already be a lump in the desert.”
She made a face. “What is it with you and my brother talking about lumps in the desert?”
I shrugged. “We were obsessed with those old Vegas stories when we were younger. I guess we both let our imaginations run wild.”
