The Other Side of Greed (The Seven Sins #5) - Lily Zante Page 0,8
knock that Florence Nightingale crown from her head.”
Emma’s school-teacherly look is highly condescending. The firm press of her mouth tells me she’s holding back from giving me her true opinion but I’m intrigued. She’s my compass. She lets me know when I’ve strayed too far from levelheadedness. “Say it, Emma. Don’t hold back.”
“What you’re doing is pure evil.”
“I’m not a saint.”
She folds her arms together, her body posture spelling defiance. “You won’t find any dirt on her, because she doesn’t have any. Have you read about the things she’s done?”
I flick my hand in an air of defiance. It’s wearing on my nerves, how everyone blows this woman’s horn. Talking about her as if she’s the best thing to happen to the city. “No one can be that good.”
I should know.
Emma eyes me in surprise. “Yes, they can.”
I shake my head, refusing to believe such bullshit. “It will give me extreme satisfaction to prove to the world that Saint Kyra doesn’t exist. No one is that selfless. She’s up to something.”
“She has lots of corporate donors clamoring to donate to her cause.”
I disagree. “She’s a media darling, but she’s not an angel. People aren’t squeaky clean,” I tell her. I can find dirt on Kyra Lewis, if I put my mind to it.
And then, it won’t look too bad, when the truth comes out that I, and Hawks Enterprises, developed the land for our own gain. More than that, taking her down will give me a sense of satisfaction.
Emma eyes me with more contempt than a school principal would show to kids smoking weed in school.
“You’re going to lie and cheat your way into their lives, and steal their land from beneath them?”
I open my mouth to protest, but my PA’s appraisal of the situation is accurate. I can’t fault it. “Correct.”
“I don’t know how you can face yourself in the mirror each morning.”
“I can, and quite easily, too, I might add.”
She blows out an exaggerated huff as she walks away, everything about her screaming scorn for my idea. She can’t fully see or appreciate the brilliance of it.
“You have to help me.”
She turns around. “I will do no such thing. I’m your PA. I won’t be a party to your evil crimes.”
I stand up and slide my hands into the pockets of my slacks. “Emma. I pay you to do as I say. And for the record, I pay you very, very well.”
She mumbles something under her breath as her hand grips the door handle. It amuses me to watch this battle of conscience playing out before my very eyes. She glares at me. “Help with what?”
“I don’t know how to do ‘poor’. What to wear, what to drive. I have no idea.”
“‘Poor’? You want to know how to do ‘poor’?” Her tone scalds like hot water. “These people aren’t ‘poor’. They have heart and history, they’ve worked in those businesses for decades, and all they’re trying to do is earn a living.”
“They can earn a living, just not on my real estate.”
“What do you need my help with?”
“Advice. A resumé, a new wardrobe of clothes. A car.”
She scoffs. “Yes, you won’t be able to cruise over in your Tesla.”
“I’ll need something old. Something with a stick shift.” I rub my hands with glee. “This is going to be a lot of fun.”
Chapter Five
KYRA
Yvette is a fast learner and its clear to me that she wants to do well. My experience has been that every person who comes to us, who has made that decision to get off the streets, or to walk away out of an abusive relationship and go into a women’s shelter, all of these people have a reason to live; they want to prove themselves.
They want a better life. They aren’t homeless because they’re lazy—which believe it or not, some skeptics have said to me—but because of life’s circumstances. Either they were by life’s cruel twists and circumstances, or lost their jobs, or lived paycheck to paycheck and a huge calamity blindsided them. Or women fell in love with men who became monsters, beating them to within an inch of their lives, until they found the courage to flee.
“Nice work.” I stop by one of the workers and examine the jacket that she has just finished making on the industrial sewing machine.
“Thank you.”
“How are you finding it?” I stare into the eyes of a relatively new worker who joined a little over a month ago. She looks happy, pleased with herself, and so she should