“I was a slave to my classes. My whole life revolved around getting the next assignment in on time. You and Sonja were out every weekend. You got a break. I joined you, what, every other week? Not even. Once a month, if that.”
“That is true,” Fey mumbles.
“And you met Robin.” I gesture in his direction. “You already got to enjoy college. I mean, all of college. Not just the academics.
“What was my life there? I saw Yale as nothing more than a stepping stone. Something I had to go through to end up in a position better than my mother’s.
“I met you, and I met Sonja,” I say. “And you, too, Robin. For that, I am so thankful for. People say relationships are the most important things in life. If you three were all I got out of there, I’d still be grateful.
“But I got more. I got…Jeremy. And he freed me. He really did. He showed me that my life could be more than just books and work. He gave me the sort of freedom I never had. A freedom I never knew I lacked, in truth, until I met him.
“Remember, Fey. I wasn’t there on a full ride like Sonja. My parents weren’t springing for tuition, either. I couldn’t rely on anybody but myself. That’s how I grew up. I’m not lamenting it,” I add hurriedly. “I’m just saying, that now, finally, I have someone to lean on. I can rely on Jeremy.
“But I don’t have to,” I say quickly, when I see Fey ready to interrupt. “I have my own job. My own income. I’m free to leave him at any moment I want.”
“Then why don’t you?” Fey asks. “Why don’t you see it the way we do? Why don’t you get out, now, while you still can? Before something bad happens to you?”
“Because nothing bad is going to happen to me,” I insist. “I’m not in any danger from Jeremy. That I know.”
Robin exhales heavily. He stands up. When he speaks, he sounds gravely serious. “You make it sound like a fairy tale, Lilly,” he tells me. “But it’s not. It’s real life.”
“Yes,” I say. “Yes. Exactly. It is real life, Robin. And it’s my life. Mine. You can’t tell me what to do with it.”
“Honey, that’s not what we’re doing at all.” Fey gets off the bed and comes over to Robin. “We’re your friends. We’re concerned. We wouldn’t be here if we weren’t.”
“I know,” I say softly. I have to tread carefully now, because I think I’m close—real close—to appeasing their concerns. Somewhat, at least. Enough to get them to go back to Yale without me in tow. “But you don’t have to be. I understand what’s going on. I understand the man I’m with—more than either of you do. You don’t know Jeremy as I do. You don’t know who he is on the inside. You haven’t spent any time with him.”
“That’s why our perception of the situation isn’t warped,” Robin says firmly. “That’s why we can see the forest for the trees, Lilly! Dammit! Aren’t you the least bit concerned about how things are playing out?”
“Yes!” I emphasize. My emotions are starting to get riled up again. I know I should keep them under control. But it feels like we’re just going in circles here.
There’s still the lingering anger I feel toward Jeremy for lying to me, for deceiving me. The most frustrating thing is that I can’t let that show. The act I have to put on for Fey and Robin has to convince them that everything is perfect between Jeremy and me. “I’m concerned that you’ve taken such a vested interest in my life. I’m concerned that you thought you needed to fly across the country to come look for me. I’m concerned that you—“ I jab my finger at Robin, and wave it in the air to include Fey. “—are taking too much of an interest in my life. Robin, you saw me earlier. What was I doing? I was driving. By myself. If I wanted, I could have turned onto the freeway and driven all the way to Canada. Nothing’s holding me here. Nobody’s forcing me to stay. Can’t you see? Can’t both of you see that whatever might have led Jeremy to me, at the start, has lost relevance now?”
“So you do believe it!” Fey jumps in.
“I don’t know,” I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter what I believe. That’s the assumption we’re approaching this topic with. Right? So what if Robin’s investigation is correct? Even if it is—I’m telling you again, I’m telling both of you again: I am not in any danger from Stonehart!”
“Stonehart?” Fey blinks. “I thought you called him Jeremy?”
Shit! I think. That’s what I get for speaking in the heat of the moment.
In my mind, any and all danger I feel from Jeremy comes only from when he’s Stonehart.
I brush over it, running a hand through my hair. I’m feeling more and more flustered by the minute.
Shit, this is not going the way I planned.
“Same thing,” I say quickly. “And anyway—”
“Lilly,” Robin cuts me off. He seems hesitant to do it. I recall what Fey told me once about my being intimidating to him when we first met. However, he’s grown more confident in the time that’s passed since we first saw each other at Yale. “Listen to yourself. You’re all over the place.” He directs a hard look at me—nothing, of course, compared to the looks I’ve gotten from Jeremy. Still, it makes me uncomfortable. Maybe it’s from the guilt, the cognitive dissonance I feel for having to lie continuously to my friends. Maybe it’s from the uncertainty surrounding this situation. Maybe it’s from the fear that my phone has actually stopped ringing since I told Jeremy not to call. I have a chilling realization that he’s actually listened to me.
I don’t know. All I know is that internally, I feel worse right now than if I were put in front of the harshest judges and prosecutors. I hate lying to my friends.
Robin takes a careful step toward me. “Are you sure,” he begins slowly, “that there isn’t something you’re not telling us?”
My defenses come rocketing back. “Yes, I’m sure,” I snap. “What type of convincing do you need? Fey, what more do you want? Is my word not good enough for you? You can see that I’m safe, that I’m fine, that I want to be left alone. Why can’t you respect that?”
“She’s too deep in the rabbit’s hole,” Fey says to Robin. “You were right. She won’t listen to us.”
“I’m right here!” I all but scream. “Talk to me directly!”
“Fine,” Fey turns on me. There’s fire in her eyes. “You know what I think, Lilly? I think that you’re full of shit. I think that you know what Robin found is true, deep down. But you’re unwilling to admit it to yourself. I think you’re too proud to admit to us that you’ve made a mistake. That you misread the type of man that Stonehart…” She emphasizes his last name, while glaring at me. “…really is. I think you’re tied so closely to him that there is nothing we can tell you that will make you leave.”
“So if you think that, why are you here?” I challenge, matching her intensity, her passion. “Why did you come?”
“I came,” Fey says, grabbing Robin’s arm. “We came because we care, Lilly. We care about what happens to you. We care because we heard that message you left me—yes, I let Robin listen, I don’t keep secrets from him—and were worried when you became unreachable. Or have things changed? Do the things you said on the recording no longer apply?”
The air goes out of me like a popped balloon. “Of course they apply,” I say softly. Guilt tears at my heart. I sag into an armchair.
All I want is to be left alone. I need time to think, to reflect on what’s going on around me. To disappear into some empty vacuum where time stands still, and to re-emerge only when I’m ready to face the world again.
I know I do not have that luxury.
“Then listen to what we’re saying,” Fey begs me. “Listen, and try to see things from our perspective.”
“I am listening,” I tell her. “I’ve heard every single word. But it’s just…You don’t know what it’s like, Fey. You haven’t seen, or experienced Jeremy from the inside.”
“Then let us,” Robin challenges.
I blink. “What?”
“Let us see what Jeremy is like.” Robin glances at Fey, the
n keeps going. “You say we have a flawed understanding of who he is. Show us otherwise. Introduce him to us. Maybe then, when we see things the way you do, we’ll stop worrying.”
I bite my inner lip. Introduce Jeremy to Robin and Fey? Well, he’s already met Fey, so that won’t be much of a problem. But with her new perspective on things, she’ll be even more scrutinizing than her mother was at our morning brunch. And Robin will have his suspicions, too.
Then again, didn’t Jeremy say he would like to meet Robin, when he heard he was hired by The Economist? Maybe those were just empty words spoken in the presence of company.
If I agree, how will Jeremy react when he finds out? I need to clear some things—a lot of things—with him before I’m ready for another meeting with the four of us.
“That…might be tricky to arrange,” I say, slowly. “You know about the IPO coming up. There are a lot of demands on his time—”
“If he really is as caring as you seem to think he is,” Fey cuts in, “he’ll find time. For you.” She looks at her husband-to-be. “I think he’s right. This is a good idea. Let us meet Jeremy together.” She turns to me. “It’s the only way I’ll believe you’re safe.”
“Fine,” I sigh. “Fine. Okay. We can do that.”
“Great,” Fey says. She grabs my arm. “Let’s go.”
“What, now?” I say, incredulous.
“Yes, now,” Fey says. “I’m not letting you out of my sight, Lilly Ryder, until you’ve convinced me that your life is not in any danger.”
“Fey, we can’t go now,” I tell her. “He’s not here.”
“Where is he?”
“Boston.”
“Hmm.” She stops short. “Well, when is he coming back?”
“Tomorrow night,” I tell her. “Or maybe Monday. It depends.”
“Why don’t we all go there?” Robin suggests. “Lilly, the flight will give us more time to talk. Fey, you know you have to be back at school by Monday. You and I have class,” Robin reminds her.
“Class can wait,” she says with absolute conviction. “When my friend’s well-being is on the line, everything else takes a back seat.”
“Fey—” I begin.
“No!” she turns on me. “Don’t try to tell me otherwise, Lilly. You’ve had your chance to convince me. You failed. There’s only one way you’ll get me to leave you alone. And that’s if we meet Jeremy Stonehart. Tonight.”
Chapter Two
A few hours later, I’m sandwiched between Robin and Fey on a commercial flight to Boston.
I haven’t had a moment’s privacy to speak with Jeremy over the phone since he called. And there’s no way in hell I’m talking to him within hearing distance of my two friends.
I texted him to let him know we were coming, though. He replied with a single word:
Unacceptable.
My gut sank when I read it on the screen. But I soldiered on, feigned conviction, and said:
Too bad. We’re coming. Deal with it.
Then I turned my phone off and boarded the plane.
“Looks like you got your wish.” I say to Fey, only half-joking, as we lift off. “You said you’re not leaving California without me.”
She gives a thin smile, then takes my hand and squeezes tight.
Tension grows among the three of us during the six-hour flight. Fey is nervous. I can tell. Robin is, too. But he masks it well.
And me? I’m terrified. Not of what tonight will bring, but of what the consequences of this meeting might be. I sprung it on Jeremy in the worst possible way. At the worst possible time. He told me, when he invited me to come with him, that he’d be busy during his trip and we wouldn’t have time for each other. This definitely throws a wrench into his schedule.
Hours later, we touch down. Fey puts on a brave front. But I can see the worry and anxiety digging at her. Robin, too.
I don’t blame them. I mean, hell, look at us. What are we? Three college-aged kids about to face one of the most powerful businessmen in the country? A façade of strength is laughable. Anybody would be intimidated having to meet Jeremy.
The thing that I’m most worried about—the one thing I cannot change—is that Jeremy and I won’t have a chance to speak in private beforehand. I won’t be able to confront him about why he blocked my phone. We won’t be able to create the united front we need to present to Robin and Fey.
This’ll be both of us improvising on the fly, hoping to have enough of a read on each other to avoid any major screw-ups, any big catastrophes.
Some couples know each other so well it’s as if they can read each other’s thoughts. Jeremy and I are not like that. We are far, far apart, at opposite ends of the spectrum. His mind is as shadowed to me as mine is to him. Maybe, I can grant that he can read me better than I him. But he still knows nothing of my ultimate intentions.
Nobody knows. Nobody is allowed to know yet or things may still be ruined. Growing affection for him be damned! Jeremy has to pay for the things he did to me when he was Stonehart. He has to. It is a promise I made to myself. I am not about to back off now.
Or ever.
So do I consider myself more capable of dealing with Jeremy Stonehart tonight than Fey and Robin are? Of course. I’ve already proven it. The tricky part is, our charade will have to go on before a live and skeptical audience.
Just as we’re stepping into the lobby of Logan International Airport, a thought occurs to me. “Hey, Fey,” I ask. “How is it that you found out Jeremy’s father’s name?”
“What?” she says. “I don’t know his father’s name. Why would I? Does it matter?”
“Um, yes you do,” I say. “You texted me. Remember?”
“No,” Fey shakes her head. “I didn’t. I—”
“Excuse me.” A federal agent stops Fey, Robin, and me in our tracks. I look up, and find us surrounded by four others. All are fully armed. They ostentatiously display their guns. “Is one of you Miss Ryder?”
Dread washes over me. The stream of passengers coming off the plane gives us all a wide berth, like a river splitting around a boulder.
“Yes,” I say. “That would be me.”
“I’ll need you to come with us, Miss,” he informs me. “Your friends can stay behind.”
“Hold on,” Fey jumps in. “What is the meaning of this? You can’t just pull her away from us for no reason!”
“I need you to remain calm,” he addresses her. “There is nothing wrong. This is just a routine security screening. Miss Ryder, if you’ll come with us?”
I step away from Fey and Robin, toward the officer. Fey grabs my arm and tries to pull me back. “Hold on,” she prompts.
“Fey, let go,” I tell her. I have no idea what’s going on. No idea what type of shit I’m in. One thing’s for sure: where there’s trouble, Jeremy’s involved.
I just don’t know how.
The officers surrounding us all take a looming step closer. The one who approached me is looking at Fey as if she’s got a ticking bomb strapped to her chest.
“Fey,” Robin says slowly, careful not to make any sudden movements. “I think it’s better if you listen to Lilly.” He glances at the men around us. “Look where we are.”
Fey does. For a tense, uncertain moment, that seems to last ages, it feels like her grip on my arm will never release. Danger pulses through the air like a living thing.
Then her fingers unfurl. Slowly, she lets me go. The current of hostility emanating from the officers lessens.
Somewhat.
“Okay,” I say to the man in charge. “Where to?”
“Just follow me,” he says. The rest of his gang surrounds me like iron fillings draw to a magnet.
“We’re not just going to abandon you!” Fey calls as I walk away. “We’re going to figure out what’s going on and get you out, Lilly! Don’t worry!”
That’s the thing I’m most worried about, I want to say.
I trail after the officer in the lead. We’re surrounded by a tigh
t cluster of the others. I recognize the hallways and open space we’re walking through. Last time I was at Logan International, I thought I’d be nearly debt-free and close to graduating by now.
How naïve I had been. How young. The girl who last walked through these sparkling corridors was nothing at all like the woman I am now.
We turn away from the main flow of foot traffic and go through a set of heavy doors. After those electric, fluorescent lights, the atmosphere here is like a dungeon. The walls are close together. The lamps are dark. Our footsteps echo in the empty, metallic chamber.
The man leading me stops in front of a heavy, locked door. It looks like the entrance to one of those interrogation rooms you see in cop shows on TV. He takes out a security card and swipes it through the reader. The door unlocks.
I look behind me. The four other officers surround me in an impenetrable semicircle. There is no escape.
“Through here, if you will,” their leader says, cordially.
I nod at him, take a deep breath, and step through the doors.
Chapter Three
What I find inside is nothing what I expected.
Or rather, who I find inside.
Jeremy is there. I had a feeling he was behind this. That doesn’t surprise me as much as his companion does.
It’s Hugh.
Hugh Blackthorne, the man who stole me away and pulled out the collar. Hugh Blackthorne, the board member whom I remember as the most vocal opponent of Jeremy’s decision to take Stonehart Industries public.
Hugh Blackthorne…Jeremy’s father?
The door shuts behind me with a loud, metallic bang. The sound makes me jump and look back. The security officer is gone. I’m locked in this room with Jeremy and Hugh.
There’s a table in the middle, bolted to the floor. There are no chairs. I glance at one mirrored wall. My initial suspicions were right. This is an interrogation room.
If I thought the atmosphere between me and the guards was tense, it has nothing on the hostility I feel now. Jeremy and Hugh are both on the other side of the table. They do not look at each other. Jeremy towers over the shorter man, and yet I feel a certain…deference…he directs towards him.
Uncovering You 8: Redemption Page 2