Page 98 of Can't Win 'Em All
“Well, since he’s been paying Haskins to keep the recording under wraps and now he no longer has the money to pay…” I trailed off.
“Ooh.” Pearl leaned forward. “I hadn’t even put that together yet. Of course he was paying Haskins to keep it quiet.”
“And he doesn’t want it to get out even now because he’s convinced that he will somehow come back to power,” Zach surmised.
“That’s my feeling,” Rex agreed. He hadn’t touched his dinner yet. “I think he offered the deal to Haskins. As part of it, Haskins will somehow get shares in the company. Haskins has always wanted to run a casino. He can’t because of the background check. I don’t know what he has in his past to stop him, but he’s been turned down by the licensing board multiple times.”
“I’m sure it’s gross whatever it is,” I replied.
“I’ve been wondering why your father has been so gung-ho about this amphitheater when he was lukewarm on the idea when I first brought it up ten years ago,” Mom said. “Now, suddenly, he’s acting as if it’s always been his life’s dream. I thought he was just doing it to needle me.”
“That’s what I thought at first too,” I admitted. “I think it’s way more than that, though.”
“No, it most definitely is,” Mom agreed. “This makes perfect sense.”
“So, what do we do?” Olivia asked when nobody spoke for several seconds. “Do we tell him we know and shut him down?”
“No.” Mom shook her head. “We have to come up with a different plan.”
“We could out him ourselves,” Zach suggested. “That would put an end to all of it.”
“And have the gossips and press knocking down our doors,” Mom said. “We managed to hold things together relatively well with the first scandal. I don’t think they’re going to take it as easy on us a second time around.”
“Okay.” Zach nodded. “So … what do we do?”
“We need to take those shares from your father.”
“Can you do that?” Rex asked. “I mean … he’s never going to willingly volunteer them.”
“No, but he’s desperate to keep Haskins quiet,” I said. “What if we approach Haskins with a deal of our own?”
Rex angled himself to stare at me. “What sort of deal?”
“We could tell him we know what he’s doing and it’s never going to happen.” I thought about how to phrase it correctly. “We could basically wave the red flag and tell him to release the information. It would be a bluff, but I think it’s one that would work because we all know he doesn’t really want to release the information.”
“If he does, he’ll lose all leverage,” Mom agreed. “He likes to fancy himself a power player in the Vegas scene.”
“That’s all he’s ever really cared about,” I agreed. “So, we make him an offer. There will be no partnership for him. If he gives us the leverage against Dad, though, we’ll give him … what? We can’t give him a piece of the casino. Rex is right, he hasn’t passed muster with the licensing board and that will blow back on us.”
“We’ll give him a piece of the parking garage,” Mom said out of nowhere.
I was thrown. “What parking garage?”
“He’s willing to sell that piece of land.” Mom was determined. I could tell by the way she was holding her jaw. “Let’s see if he’ll give it to us. We’ll cut your father out of the deal. It’s something Haskins will enjoy. We’ll buy the land—depending on what he’ll let it go for—and build a parking garage and an amphitheater. He can have a piece of the parking garage.”
“How much money is that going to be, though?” Rex asked.
“You would be surprised. Once the garage is built, he could probably clear ten grand a week with his stake in the parking garage. It will be continuous money, on top of his payout for the property. He’ll also get to screw your father in the process because he’ll have handed over his leverage to us.”
“It might be enough,” Rex agreed. “It might not be enough either, though. You have to be prepared for him to turn you down.”
“I will be.” Mom flashed a wan smile. “It’s going to work, though. I can feel it.”
“Okay.” Rex bobbed his head. “Do you want me to make the offer?”
“No. I’ll put together a team for that. I want it to be official. I also want time to put together a contract that he can’t weasel his way out of. It all needs to be in place before I approach him. That’s the only way I can be certain Ryder won’t find out what’s going on.”
“So, we just pretend like nothing is happening until then?” Zach asked. He didn’t look happy.
