“I’d hoped we could talk. Really talk.”
“Is that necessary? I’ve apologized. You’ve apologized. We’ve broken bread together, or bagels anyway. Let’s just move on, okay?”
“Whatever the lady wants,” he said with a wry twist to his lips.
What the lady wanted was answers but she’d be damned first before asking for them. History had taught her that all she’d hear was excuses, or lies, and she really wasn’t in the mood for them. Not now, not ever.
“Look, no one in my family knows what we meant to each other before.” If I even actually meant anything to you, she added silently. “And they don’t need to know. I’d be happiest if we could just move on as old college acquaintances touching base for the first time in a long time.”
“Won’t they have questions after last night?”
“After my performance, you mean?”
He quirked a half smile and nodded.
“I’ll sort that out,” she replied.
And she would. She’d tell her mom that she and Jackson had had a difference of opinion that had never been resolved. It wasn’t so far from the truth. She’d also make it clear that she didn’t want to talk about it and that they had reached an amicable agreement about leaving the past where it belonged.
“You always could be persuasive,” he said with another of those half smiles.
She wished he’d stop doing that. Referencing their history and smiling that smile that had always melted her resolve. It reminded her of better times together. Happier times. Times before the world went crazy, along with everyone in it. But then, experience had shown her that was life. You had to roll with it, dodge what you could and take the hits when you couldn’t. By now, she ought to be an expert, right?
She stood and looked pointedly at him, expecting him to do the same.
“Let me walk you to the lobby,” she said.
He stood and continued to face her. “It’s okay. I’ll see myself out. I appreciate you making time for me. I half expected you to say you’d take the food but refuse to see me.”
“That was my first reaction when I heard you were downstairs,” she admitted with a rueful laugh. “But we have a truce now, right?”
“A truce,” he agreed.
He put out his hand and maintained steady eye contact with her, challenging her to shake it. Kristin lifted her chin slightly and put her hand in his, fighting the sensations that threatened to rob her of breath as they touched. His skin was warm and smooth. His grip firm but gentle. It didn’t take a stretch of the imagination to remember what that hand had felt like caressing her body, her breasts, her thighs. That intimate connection was still there. Still overwhelming. It took every ounce of control she possessed to allow him to shake her hand and not to yank hers free the moment she possibly could. And yet, when he let her hand go, she felt oddly bereft.
“Right, now that’s settled, I’ll get back to work,” she said brusquely. “Have a good weekend.”
“You, too,” he said. “It was good to talk.”
She watched as he turned and left, heading back the way she’d brought him. Even dressed as casually as he was, he was a commanding presence. He’d always had that about him. The ability to draw the eye and the attention of anyone in the vicinity. Kristin shook her head slightly, as if to rid herself of the image, and turned back to her desk.
Suddenly the idea of studying reports and figures and facts in preparation for her presentation on Monday held no appeal, but she’d do it. Because that was what she did. She got on with things. No matter how much she’d rather be doing something else and no matter how much it hurt.
Four
On Monday morning, Jackson settled in his office chair and studied the mail his assistant had brought him.
Jackson had spent half the weekend here, taking a leaf out of Kristin’s book, and he finally had a better handle on what to expect from the Richmond family, among other clients. They’d certainly been through a lot, what with the death of the patriarch of the family, Douglas Richmond, and the subsequent discovery of an entire new branch of the family, swiftly followed by the corporate espionage issue.
He had to take his hat off to both sets of the siblings for the way they’d managed to engineer an amicable solution between them. It had not only drawn them closer as brothers and sisters but also strengthened their businesses as they worked together on specific projects at the same time. The file mentioned the half siblings in Virginia—Fletcher, Mathias and Lisa. He honestly didn’t understand how Douglas Richmond could have done it—established two separate families on opposite coasts and lived happily with each of them without the other ever finding out until he died. And yet, from what Hector had told him, despite everything their father had done, the children seemed to have taken it all in their stride and were working hard to remain united as a family.
Jackson leaned back a little more and, resting his elbows on the arms of his chair, steepled his fingers. How different would his life have been, he wondered, if he’d had siblings to share the burdens? He huffed out a breath and let his hands drop to his desk. There was no point in speculating. His life was what it was. The choices he’d made, the people he’d hurt, that was what he had to live with. At least he’d gotten one thing right.
He looked across his desk to the photo of his late wife and felt that all too raw, familiar tug of loss. He picked up the frame and traced her cheek with the tip of one finger. After Kristin he hadn’t wanted to love again. Losing someone simply hurt too much. But his love for Annie had snuck under his safeguards, and she had become everything to him. Mentor, lover, friend, wife. Theirs hadn’t been a traditional relationship in any way, shape or form, but he had loved her with everything in him. She was the first and only person he’d ever spoken to about his parents and their twisted relationship—and about their deaths. She’d offered him compassion and encouraged him to seek help understanding how their choices had affected him. Her quiet support had been immeasurable and there were days he missed her with a wholehearted ache that took his breath away.
It was over a year since her shock diagnosis of stage four kidney cancer. He’d stopped work immediately to nurse her through the pain and nausea. Watching her grow weaker and weaker had only made him love her and her resilient spirit even more. When she’d passed only three months later, it was as if a light had been extinguished in his life. He’d needed time to come to terms with her loss and his life without her in it. Hector’s approach a couple of months ago had been the impetus he’d needed to grasp life with both hands again—and it helped him to honor the final promise he’d made to Annie. But would he have taken the lifeline quite so keenly had he known Kristin Richmond was part of it?
Leaving her the way he had, so long ago, had been the deepest regret of his life. Back then he hadn’t seen any other way. His life had suddenly and irrevocably imploded. The scandal and unwelcome publicity revolving around his parents’ sudden deaths would have been an unfair test of his and Kristin’s relationship. So he’d made a split-second decision to sever ties without looking back. It was easier not to have to make any explanations—just simply leave. Easier in physical terms, if not emotional ones.
And now, of course, he was reaping the damage of his twenty-one-year-old brain’s decision, and he had to prove to her he could be trusted to handle her family’s affairs. If the situations were reversed, would he be ready to trust the person who’d walked out without a backward glance? No, he couldn’t blame her for her reaction, especially when her family had already been through so much. But Hector had put his trust in him and he owed it to the older man to stick with this even if it was uncomfortable. As Annie had always said, nothing worthwhile came easy. Building trust with Kristin would have to be a careful process and he knew it wouldn’t be a simple task.
There was a noise at the door as his assistant came into his office with a messenger bag in her hand.
“This arrived for you,” she said, handing the packet over to him. She noted the photo still in his hands. “Nice picture. Your mom?”
“No, she was my wife.”
He didn’t blame her for the assumption. Annie had indeed been old enough to be his mom, but he also wished that, just for once, people wouldn’t make the automatic assumption and judge her or their relationship based on their ages.
His assistant’s eyes widened, and her cheeks pinkened. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean any offense.”
“None taken. Please, don’t worry about it.”
She nodded and left his office, closing the door behind her as she went. Jackson studied the messenger bag, surprised to see how it had been addressed. To the Attorney representing Douglas Richmond’s Estate. He turned it over in his hand. The return address was a mailing office in Tacoma with no hint as to who had sent it. He reached for the letter opener on his desk and neatly slit the bag open.
There was a single sheet inside, and he opened it carefully, laying it flat on his desk as he started to read.
I wish to make a claim against the estate of the late Douglas Richmond on the basis that I am one of his children. Douglas Richmond and my mother had an affair twenty-five years ago, while she was working for him, and I was the result. He made a large severance payment to her on the basis that she say nothing to anyone about my existence.
My mother recently passed away, and I found evidence of this payment to her along with a letter outlining the conditions for her acceptance of it. I am convinced that I have the right to be recognized as one of Mr. Richmond’s children. I have the right to an equal portion of any monies that are being distributed to his heirs.
I do recognize that my existence may come as a shock to the family and I am prepared to keep my details and my claim private provided that I receive a sum of money equivalent to what would have been my share by January, one calendar month and one day from the date of this letter. If I receive that money, I will, like my mother, sign a hush statement and take the secret of my paternal identity to the grave.
However, if you do not give my claim the seriousness it deserves, I will not hesitate to take my story to the media. I am sure you are aware of the Richmond family’s need for privacy and stability at this time—more media scrutiny would be damaging to their reputation and their company position—so I expect to hear from you within the next week via the below email address.
Jackson read the note a second time and mentally debated the veracity of the claim. The not-so-subtle implication of taking the story to the media was a big red flag for him. Extortion was never pretty and the police would have to be involved if the Richmonds agreed. If the author of the letter was indeed a child of Douglas Richmond, then surely they could have simply fronted up and made their claim legally. Either way, the threat was clearly stated. If the family didn’t accede to the claimant’s wishes, they would go to the media. Jackson had a duty of care to the family, and that meant updating them and Hector about this development as soon as possible.
He carefully crafted an email to both sides of the Richmond family as well as Hector and the lawyer representing the Virginia side of the family, inviting them to an urgent video conference with him later that day. Over the course of the morning, the responses came in. A negative from the woman who had incorrectly claimed to be Douglas’s legitimate first wife, Eleanor Richmond in Virginia, and an apology from her daughter, Lisa, citing a preexisting appointment she couldn’t shift. From the brothers and Nancy, Hector and the other lawyer there were affirmatives, but from Kristin there was nothing.
Jackson looked at the time on his computer. There was still time for her to respond. He set himself to attending to the rest of his day. The Richmonds, as much as they were a major client, were not his only client.
The day passed swiftly, and the time for the video conference arrived. Still no word from Kristin, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t appear on his screen along with everyone else. Jackson opened the video conference and waited for everyone to virtually arrive. Everyone who’d RSVP’d appeared within a few minutes, but there was no sign of Kristin.
“Hi everyone,” he said with a nod to his screen. “I’m glad so many of you could make it today, and Fletcher and Mathias, with the time difference I’m glad you could attend. I have received some disturbing correspondence that I need to share with you. I’ll scan and forward it to you by email after this meeting, but for now, I wanted to read the content to you myself.”
The others remained silent while he read the letter he’d received that morning out to them. There was a stunned silence for about three seconds after he’d finished, and then the expressions of disgust and shock began. Mathias was the most vocal.
“Who is this person? How can we trust they’re telling the truth? It all sounds a little far-fetched to me. While it’s true Dad may have had an affair, for him to hush things up like that doesn’t sound right. He may have been a bigamist but he provided for all of us as he obviously did for this person’s mother, too, if their story is to be believed. This sounds to me like someone thinks we’ll be an easy touch for the money.”
There was wry agreement from Keaton and Fletcher. Nancy cleared her throat and leaned closer to her screen.
“Do you think their threat to go to the media is a credible one? We can’t afford another scandal, not on top of how hard it was to recover from losing customer confidence after Douglas’s duplicity and the subsequent espionage attack on our business. Together with the global recession and recovery, we don’t need any more adverse publicity,” she said firmly.
Logan nodded. “My thoughts exactly, Mom. What do you propose we do, Jackson? We can’t really afford to call their bluff and ignore their demand. Do we even know who this person is?”
“No, we have no identifying information at this time, but obviously if they expect us to take them seriously they will have to provide documents—the hush agreement they reference in the letter, as well as birth certificates and photo ID. I suggest we ask for such information before we agree to proceed any further. They will need to prove their claim and provide DNA samples.” He sighed. “This does sound like extortion and people like this are tenacious. Whether their claim is genuine or not, they will doggedly hold out to get their money, what they see as their due, one way or another.”
“One way or another?” Fletcher asked. “You’re referring to what a media outlet might pay for an exclusive, right? Can’t we do something with gag orders?”
“That’s probably premature at this stage and first we need to know who they are. When I request the necessary proof they might back down, but something tells me they’re not that kind of person. And we may need to involve the police.”
“No police. Not until we know if they’re genuinely a member of this family. You and Hector will have your work cut out with this,” Nancy said.
“Of course,” Hector interjected. “I was your family attorney at the time this person asserts their mother had an affair with Douglas. I know I never received instruction from him about this.”
“Nor I,” said the attorney for the Virginia family.
Nancy shook her head. “I feel sure that I would have noticed if he had an affair right under my nose here in the office, but he fooled me for years with Eleanor and the rest of you kids, so I can’t trust my own judgment anymore.”
“That’s totally understandable and you are not to blame here, Nancy,” Jackson said firmly. “We will get to the bottom of this. Fletcher, Mathias, can I ask you to let your mother and sister know what is happening?”
They both affirmed in the positive.
Keaton spoke up again then. “I’ll talk to Kristin. I don’t know what kept her from attending. I believe her presentation finished an hour ago.”
“Perhaps she didn’t receive the email in time,” Jackson replied. “But if you could get her up to speed,
I’d appreciate it.”
Everyone signed off from the video conference, and Jackson was left staring at his blank screen. Was Kristin simply too busy to have read her email, or had she seen it and decided against responding because, apology or no apology, she still harbored a grudge against him?
They really needed to clear the air properly. A hurried breakfast of bagels and coffee last Saturday hadn’t allowed him to say any of the things he knew he needed to tell her even if she’d been ready to listen. And while she’d apologized for being rude to him, she’d made it quite clear she still didn’t trust him. It was going to make working with her exceptionally difficult if this continued, and wouldn’t reflect well on either of them.
He didn’t want to let the family down, nor Hector, who’d had faith in him and placed the practice in his hands. Too much hinged on what had happened between Kristin and Jackson in the past. He needed to see it brought out into the open, every last hideous detail, and dealt with so they could work together effectively. Because if she had no idea why he’d had to leave her so abruptly eleven years ago, how could he expect her to trust him now, when it was vital the family all drew together?
Five
Kristin looked up at the knock on her office door and smiled as she saw Keaton stroll in and sit down opposite her desk.
“Hello, brother. How’re you doing?” she asked, putting down her pen and pushing her papers to one side so she could give him her full attention.
“Pretty good, considering.”
“Considering?”
“Considering what?”
“That there’s another potential sibling of ours out there, and they want their cut of the pie that makes up Dad’s estate.”
What Happens at Christmas… Page 4