Hoping to defuse the situation, I poured myself a glass of milk from the jug I’d almost forgotten about and prayed Dad didn’t notice the knife half hidden behind a jar of utensils. “Mom at one of her meetings?” I asked casually.
“She is, though she should be home any minute, so it’d be best if we could move this along. What brings you so far from the Moxy, Mr. Byrne?”
The Moxy? What was that? I made a mental note to look it up.
The two men stood across from one another, the white marble island between them, with me stationed like a referee off to one side. Of course, we also had the presence of Dad’s security chief lurking at a distance, but that didn’t seem to change anything. These two were ready to go head-to-head.
“I see you’ve been doing your research,” Keir said evenly.
“I had a feeling you wouldn’t be dismissed so easily, though I already told you I wasn’t interested in doing business with your … organization.”
“Very presumptive of you to dismiss us without hearing me out. Thought you were known to be one of the good ones—levelheaded and open-minded.”
“Say what you came to say.” Dad’s command hung in the air.
“As you’re aware, the mayor is close to announcing his appointment to replace the retiring police commissioner. The man he plans to put in power is even more corrupt than the mayor himself, which isn’t saying much.”
The shadow of a grimace darkened my father’s face. “You know as well as I do that as the governor, I have no control over who is appointed to that position.”
“Come on now, Alexander.” Keir tilted his head. “You’ve been in the game long enough to know how it works. Just because it’s not in your job description doesn’t mean you don’t have any influence.”
“I’ve built my career on integrity.” Dad glared. “I don’t intend to throw that away now.”
“You don’t have to cross any lines to cast your influence. Say you had some very private information about the mayor—information he’d prefer to keep out of the press. That knowledge might give him reason to rethink his decision.”
Dad glowered. “That’s blackmail.”
“It’s politics, and you know it.” Keir maintained his unflappable tranquility throughout the conversation, as though plagued by perpetual boredom. He was fascinating to watch.
“And you would provide me with this information in order to help install who? Someone equally as corrupt but more in line with your way of thinking?”
Keir tipped his chin. “Men as upstanding as yourself are hard to come by, but that doesn’t mean we couldn’t find someone better suited for the job. Someone we could both agree upon.”
Dad shook his head, his lips pursed. “I have no plans to interject my authority over the mayor. So if that was all …” Dad crossed his arms and stepped back to clear the path toward the front door.
I could have told Keir that would be my father’s answer. His standard of ethics was unimpeachable, which was one of the reasons I worked so hard to measure up.
As though he’d only been trying to help for my father’s benefit, Keir slowly bobbed his head. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” His eyes lifted to mine, deflating all the air from my lungs like a leaky balloon.
“Is that a threat?”
I shook loose of Keir’s thrall to look at my father. I’d never heard such violence in his voice.
Keir lifted his hands in surrender. “Just reminding you that once a new commissioner is named, it’ll be that much harder to get rid of him. Government red tape and all that bullshit.”
“Again, not my problem.”
“Now, that doesn’t sound like the city’s renowned savior.” Keir wasn’t ready to give up. I wasn’t sure if I was impressed or annoyed.
Dad glared at him. The air grew saturated with a suffocating display of power, neither man willing to back down.
Keir finally conceded with a smirk. “I suppose I’ll see myself out.” His eyes caught mine one last time before he turned for the door.
Watching his retreating form was like watching the shoreline disappear as I drifted out to sea. I wanted to call him back and make him stay so I didn’t lose that feeling of breathlessness he had created. But I knew that yearning was reckless and counterproductive to everything I’d worked toward—like bingeing an entire pizza after a week of clean eating—only so much more catastrophic. Someone like Keir Byrne would decimate the landscape of my life. Why was I even thinking about him?
I shook my head, hoping to rattle lose some sanity, then went to give my dad a hug.
“Sorry about that,” I murmured. “I shouldn’t have let him in.”
“I’m surprised you did. He doesn’t exactly give off neighborly vibes.”
I raised my brows with a touch of levity. “I was trying not to judge.”
Dad huffed out a laugh and kissed my forehead. “It’s good to see you, Ro. I can always count on you to brighten my day.”
I wished the sentiment brought me joy rather than a tightening of the vise around my rib cage. “Bad one?” I asked.
“Nah, just long. You staying for dinner?”
I shot him a calculating look. “Depends. What are you having?”
“I do believe Melody has a lasagna ready to go in the oven.”
Licking my lips, I closed my eyes in savory anticipation.
“I take it that’s a yes?”
“I suppose I can work it into my schedule,” I teased.
“As if you’d pop in all the way up here for anything else.”
“Ouch!” I grinned, knowing my smiles never fully reached my eyes and wondering not for the first time if my parents could tell or if they’d forgotten the difference.
“I was startin’ to think you’d been hit by a bus. T’was the only explanation I could figure that would keep ye away.” My grandmother’s penciled-in eyebrow arched high on her forehead.
My paternal grandmother had trouble getting around but was still as sharp as a tack. If I was scared of anyone in my family, it was her. I’d be better off letting down my own mother than disappointing Nana Byrne. Where my mother, Brenna, was firm but understanding, Nana’s authority was absolute.