Tangled up in Hate

by Charlotte Byrd

  Aurora shakes her head.

  “I love you. You know that, right? I mean, we have been through so much together. A part of me will always love you as a result. But I’m not in love with you, Aurora. And I’m not sure if I ever was.”

  She shrugs her shoulders.

  “I’m sorry,” I whisper.

  She takes a deep breath and gathers herself.

  She wipes her eyes and cheeks and straightens her clothes.

  Then she flattens out her hair and pushes the loose strands more behind her ears.

  When she looks up at me again, the lost little girl who buried herself in my arms is gone.

  The woman standing before me now is confident and self-assured. I know that what may or may not have happened to her back there will never be revealed.

  “I do appreciate what you have done for me, Jackson,” she says after a moment. Even the tone of her voice is different now.

  “I know you do.”

  “I know that you gave up a lot.”

  I nod.

  “I have to tell you something,” she says after a moment. She takes a breath to gather her strength while I wait.

  “They really scared me. I have never been through anything like that before…“

  “I know. I can’t even imagine,” I cut her off.

  “Otherwise, I wouldn’t have ever told them about her.”

  My heart skips a beat. Her? What is she talking about? I narrow my eyes.

  “I thought that they were going to hurt me, even more than they did. They were asking me all of these questions. They knew about Harley being your girlfriend. They knew so much about you, too.”

  I nod, trying to process what she’s getting at.

  “I’m so sorry.”

  “What did you tell them?”

  “Nothing. I mean, they already knew everything. But I guess…I confirmed it.”

  “So that’s how they knew to go to her apartment?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “After they sent me a video of you, they sent me a video of someone following Harley going home.”

  “I didn’t tell them anything about where she lived. I just told them that you two did date, but you weren’t anymore. I told them that you broke up with her, but they didn’t really believe it.”

  I shrug. I should blame her for not denying it more. I should blame her for not protecting Harley.

  But I don’t.

  Only an ignorant bastard would think it’s her fault.

  Even if they didn’t know about Harley at all and she told them about her, it wouldn’t be her fault.

  That’s the thing about being held captive and being tortured.

  We glamorize those people who keep their secrets despite being tortured, but that’s not real life. In reality, people will say just about anything to make it stop.

  They will reveal the truth.

  They will lie.

  They will even confess to crimes they didn’t commit. All to make it stop. And that doesn’t make them bad people. It just makes them human beings.

  25

  Jackson

  When I make plans…

  The following day Aurora is feeling a lot better. It’s hard to tell if it’s all an act or not, but I decide to take her at her word. Over breakfast, she starts brainstorming all sorts of outlandish ideas about how I can get my company back. Most of them require an extensive legal battle.

  “They paid me a lot more than what the company is worth,” I say.

  “So?”

  “So, that’s why I won’t be able to get anything in court. They’ll just see it as seller’s remorse.”

  She doesn’t seem to understand, so I go over the details of the deal. I have to hand it to them.

  They really did think of everything. I had my attorneys present at the deal. I signed every part of the extensive contract.

  I made a video saying that I agree to all the terms. And, to really solidify the agreement, they paid me a lot of money for my share.

  “If they hadn’t paid me anything then the deal wouldn’t make sense,” I explain. “Why would I give away so much of the company unless they were threatening me with a gun or threatening someone close to me? But by paying me so much and by taking me to the bank and getting me on film, signing the back of the check to accept the money…well, they made it pretty much impossible for me to take any legal action against them.”

  “So, what are you going to do?” she asks, shaking her head.

  “Nothing.”

  “What do you mean?”

  I shrug my shoulders.

  “You’re just going to give up?”

  I’ve given this a lot of thought, but never once did I think of it as giving up. No, I’m just going to move on.

  They paid me a lot of money for my share and since I don’t have many options as far as getting the company back, I’m just going to move on with my life. I’m going to Harley, tell her everything, and beg for her forgiveness.

  And if she accepts me back into her life, then we’re going to go away for some time.

  Just the two of us.

  Somewhere far away from New York.

  I want to go somewhere where life isn’t so complicated.

  I don’t tell Aurora about all of these plans, but I go over the broad strokes.

  “You can’t just give up! You can’t just leave,” Aurora says. “No, that’s ridiculous.”

  “Give up what? Minetta wasn’t doing that well anymore. Expanding into products rather than just blogs and podcasts was your idea, not mine. The only reason I was doing it was to keep the company afloat. I didn’t want all of those people to lose their jobs. Now, under the Lindell’s leadership, they won’t. They are going to poach the company and use it to launder money but they won’t run it into the ground. They need to keep it alive so that they can do what they want with it on the back end.”

  “You can’t just give up.”

  “It’s no longer my vision. Minetta will become something I won’t recognize. You and I both know that. Why should I stick around to watch it morph into this new beast?”

  “Because…you started it. It was your baby.”

  “My baby grew up.”

  “What about your employees?”

  “Like I said, the Lindells will not restructure the company. They are just going to use it for parts. So, I’m pretty sure that everyone will keep their jobs doing the same things they are doing now.”

  Aurora continues to argue with me, but I tune her out.

  We are going in circles and none of this matters anymore.

  Minetta is no longer my problem. In fact, I sort of want to give them the other nineteen percent and just be done with the whole thing.

  When I get back to my office, I check my voice mail and emails.

  There are about twenty unread messages from Avery Phillips, let alone everyone else.

  I have been ignoring everyone at Minetta long enough and now it’s time to deal with this again.

  I don’t want this situation weighing on me when I go to see Harley. I want this to be resolved completely.

  Before calling her back, I take a moment to gather my thoughts. What exactly should I say to her?

  How much should I explain?

  How much of the truth do I reveal and how much do I hold back?

  “I’m sorry that I haven’t called you back,” I start. “I was dealing with…a personal situation.”

  “Are you okay?” Phillips asks.

  Her voice is detached, not as frantic as I had expected. Perhaps, she’s past that emotion.

  Or maybe she’s just bracing for the worst.

  I have no idea.

  Phillips has worked for me for years, but I know very little about her. She keeps everything personal to herself and rarely asks me any personal questions in return.

  Suddenly, I have an idea. What if I were to use this attribute of hers to my benefit?

  “I made a decision that I wanted to share with
you,” I say.

  “I’m listening.”

  “A few days ago, I made an agreement with Lindell Industries and sold them the controlling share of my interest in Minetta.”

  26

  Jackson

  When I deal with the fallout…

  My voice is stern and definitive. I am stoic, showing no emotion. I wait for her to reply, but she doesn’t. I don’t explain further. I want to, but frankly I am not entirely sure what to say.

  “Why?” Phillips asks after a moment.

  “Andrew Lindell approached me and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

  At least, this part is true.

  “But Lindell Industries isn’t even in this kind of business. Aren’t they in real estate? Why would they even want Minetta?”

  “They are seeking to expand their holdings.”

  “You didn’t think that you wanted to tell anyone about this?” she asks after a moment.

  “Like who?” I ask, as if I don’t understand her question.

  “Like me, for one. I am the Chief Operating Officer.”

  “Yes, you are. But I am the CEO. And, frankly, I don’t owe you or anyone else an explanation about what I do with my share of the company.”

  She coughs a little bit to clear her throat. When she speaks again, her voice cracks and I realize that she is holding back tears.

  “Can we talk in person?”

  “I don’t really know what else there is to talk about,” I say coldly. My heart goes out to her. She doesn’t know what’s going on and I will not offer her any other explanation. Everyone knows about Lindell Industries, but not many people know about their back door, secret dealings with the oligarchs and the most corrupt heads of state in the world. And frankly, the less that she knows about any of this the better.

  “So…what’s going to happen now? I mean, to everyone’s jobs.”

  “Your jobs are safe. They are just acquiring Minetta, they don’t want anyone to stop doing anything that they were doing before.”

  “Really?” Phillips asks, surprised.

  “Yes, that was part of the deal.”

  Actually, it wasn’t. It’s just an assumption that I’m making, but I don’t want to worry her anymore for now. I am pretty certain that they won’t fire anyone, what would be the point? They aren’t trying to make a profit from Minetta, they are just going to use it as a front.

  I am tempted to tell Phillips this, but I keep my mouth shut. If she knows then maybe she’ll refuse to work there and she’s a good COO. I don’t want the Lindells putting in any of their own people into my company.

  Phillips has more questions and I do my best to answer them. At the end of our conversation, I actually seem to put her at ease.

  “I won’t lie. I’m sorry that you made this decision, but I’m glad that everyone gets to keep their jobs. I don’t want to go through working for a company doing layoffs ever again. It’s heartbreaking.”

  I nod, inhaling deeply. I sure hope that my hunch about their plans is the right one.

  “So, can I talk to you about some issues that we’ve been dealing with now?” she asks.

  “Actually, there’s something else I have to tell you.”

  I tap my foot on the floor, nervously.

  “I’m going to be stepping down as CEO.”

  She doesn’t say anything for a moment. I wait for her to respond and when she doesn’t, I explain.

  “It’s just that with such a small share of the company, I am not sure whether it’s in my best interest to keep running Minetta. I’m feeling a bit burnt out actually. I’ve been shouldering all of the stress for a very long time and I think I need to take some time for myself.”

  “So, take a vacation. Don’t fucking resign from your job!”

  Her words explode out of her and take me by complete surprise. I’ve never heard her curse, let alone raise her voice.

  My phone beeps and when I look at the screen, I see that she’s requesting to video chat with me. I don’t want to take the call, but I can’t force myself to not press the Accept button.

  “What the hell is going on, Jackson? Is someone threatening you?”

  I take a step back and pull the screen as far away from my face as possible. I don’t want her to see the truth in it, but I fear that it’s too late.

  Phillips repeats her question.

  “No…what makes you say that?” I finally say.

  “Because this is insane. This came totally out of left field. What’s going on?”

  I shake my head. “Nothing. They just made an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

  “This is your life. This is all you care about.”

  “No, it’s not. They offered me a lot of money.”

  “You don’t care about money.” She laughs.

  She knows me too well.

  “You are the one boss I had who never checks his accounts. You see dollars as points. You want the profits to increase like any other CEO, but not because it’s going to make you richer.”

  I take a deep breath. This was so much easier to do when she couldn’t see my face.

  I gather my thoughts and force a stern expression to it.

  “I made up my mind, Avery. I don’t need your permission to do any of this. And I don’t owe you an explanation.”

  She hangs her head and rubs her right temple with her free hand.

  “I know you don’t,” she says softly. “But…I just don’t understand. Did something happen, with Harley?”

  “No, nothing happened. Everyone is safe.”

  I shouldn’t have said the last sentence. It piques her attention and she narrows her eyes.

  “Did they threaten you? Did they threaten her?”

  I don’t want to go around in circles anymore. “Everything is fine…now.”

  “But it wasn’t before?”

  Despite my best efforts, I have given her enough clues. I can’t part with any more than that.

  “I’ve heard the rumors, Jackson. I know that the Lindells are a pretty shady bunch. After they went bankrupt with those casinos they owned in Atlantic City, no American banks would lend them money anymore. They owed everyone a lot of money. But they restructured and miraculously got loans from Deutsche Bank. And we all know that Deutsche Bank is the place where all the villains of the world keep their money. They have no scruples. They kept Mirodi’s money safe after he was on the run for orchestrating a genocide of nearly half of his country just because they wanted him out.”

  “I didn’t realize that you were so…informed about the Lindell situation.”

  “I know a lot. I know that they are not the type of people to take no for an answer and they are known to use a lot of dark and illegal methods to get what they want.”

  “Uh-huh,” I mumble.

  “And I also know you. I know how hard you worked to grow this company, and that you wouldn’t just sell it. No matter how much they offered you. Let alone, sell it to the likes of them.”

  I shrug my shoulders. Without really being privy to any of the details, she knows everything. I give up.

  “It’s a done deal, Avery. There’s nothing else I can do.”

  27

  Jackson

  When I go to see her…

  I’ve waited long enough. I should have gone to see her sooner, but now I can’t wait any longer.

  I don’t know why I had put this off so long except that I was afraid of what she was going to say.

  I’m still afraid.

  I am still not sure if she will let me explain, but I have to try.

  I pull up to her building and drive around the corner looking for parking. Luckily, I find a spot only a block away.

  I walk up to the intercom. She and Julie did not bother with putting their names next to the number of their apartment.

  Most of the other people in the building have. I wonder if it’s because of Parker.

  Did they not want anyone to know that they live here? I stare at the number and take a br
eath before I press it. Then I wait.

  No one answers.

  C’mon, c’mon. Be home. Please, I say to myself over and over.

  Meanwhile, I also hope that someone else comes to the front door and just lets me in. But I’m out of luck on both counts.

  I call up again. This time, I stare right at the camera that’s pointed at me.

  Is no one really home? I ask my reflection in the glass. Or do you just not want to see me?

  I press the button again and again, but again no one answers. After a few moments, I take a step back.

  Perhaps, I should’ve called her phone first. Maybe just showing up here is too much of a first step to take. She is angry with me. I just broke up with her without much of an explanation. I have one now, but she doesn’t know that.

  Unsure of what to do next, I head back toward my car. I pick up my phone and call her number. It’s not particularly surprising that no one answers. So, I text her.

  * * *

  Harley, please call me back. I really need to speak with you. I’m so sorry about everything.

  * * *

  After I send the text, I re-read it again and realize just how desperate it comes off.

  It sounds like it’s coming from someone who has a lot of amends to make but isn’t exactly sure where to start.

  It sounds like it’s coming from someone without much of an explanation.

  I send another text.

  * * *

  I have a lot to explain. Please let me talk to you. I love you.

  * * *

  A black town car pulls up right next to me and the back door swings open.

  “Jackson, get in,” a familiar voice says. I clench my jaw.

  “What do you want?” I ask.

  “Get in,” Andrew Lindell says. I take a step toward him to climb inside, but he motions for me to go around and get in the other way. Apparently, it’s too much of an imposition for him to move over six inches.