When she’d exhausted herself of the tale and complied with requests to repeat certain statements, she was thanked for her cooperation and allowed to leave. She hadn’t expected otherwise, though part of her believed she could be arrested for complicity because of her own role in bringing so many lambs to the slaughter. She wondered idly if there would ever come a time when she could forgive herself for working so hard to assure Magnate’s success. But she knew the answer.
She watched several water striders dart across the lake’s surface, and her thoughts shifted to her father. Throughout much of her life, Jess had believed he could practically walk on water. It had never occurred to her not to trust him. Normally people had to earn her trust. People like Dillon and TJ had done so over time through their actions. And yet, aside from his accedence to Lilith’s ultimatum regarding Jess and Dillon, Derrick had earned her trust. He’d been there for her day in, day out. He was as good a parent as she could’ve hoped for. Until now. God, she’d been so wrong. How could she ever trust anyone again when her instincts were so far off the mark?
And yet, were they? Dillon had proved dependable and honorable time and again. And TJ was so principled she was sure to never want to speak to Jess again after tomorrow. The idea sent a shooting pain through her abdomen. She was greatly conflicted about their night together. If Jess had been truthful as to why she’d been distant and mercurial, TJ would’ve never allowed Jess to touch her. Part of her felt disgusted with herself, as if by leaving out the truth she’d done the equivalent of slipping TJ a roofie. Another part justified it as consensual lovemaking as crucial to Jess that night as oxygen. Perhaps most damning to her psyche was the fact she knew without a doubt she’d do it over again in the same circumstances. She’d had to know TJ’s touch, had to touch her.
By tomorrow, assuming she’d read the news, TJ would understand why she’d had such difficulty making sense of the fund and why Derrick hadn’t wanted her getting too deep in its files. She’d know of Jess’s contributions to perpetuating the scam, and it wouldn’t matter whether Jess was in on the deceit because she’d helped fleece folks of billions of dollars. Moreover, Jess had been the first to spend some of it.
Jess finished her tepid beverage and looked out across the water, considering it as a type of weapon. One could drown in it. For the first time, she truly understood Kara’s desire to get beaten up, to be punished for what she believed were her own shortcomings. Jess didn’t agree that Kara should ever be hurt in such a manner or that Kara was at fault in any way. But she thought she finally understood the inclination, finally grasped why someone like Virginia Woolf would don her overcoat, fill its pockets with stones, and walk into the water to end her days.
Chapter Twenty-eight
Wednesday afternoon, TJ arrived at the business school’s offices for her meeting with Philip Ridge. As she waited, she noticed an uncharacteristic hustle and bustle among the staff. They were constantly on the phone, and as soon as someone would hang up, it wouldn’t take long for it to ring again.
When Ridge finally opened his door and welcomed TJ into his office, he seemed even happier to see her than usual. Likely he’d already heard about her termination and was trying not to make it seem like a big deal. He was probably already working his back channels to see if he could set her up for a shortened internship. TJ was grateful for his belief in her and dreaded having to disavow him of it. After they exchanged greetings and Ridge asked what was on the mind of the “resident celebrity,” TJ concluded she was the only one of her fellow students who’d been released from their jobs and this was his way of making light of it. She decided to get directly to the point of her visit.
“I’m here with bad news, Professor. I was fired from my internship because I got involved with someone I shouldn’t have. I convinced myself it was above board but realize now it was wishful thinking, since the person’s family runs the company. I can’t finish the case study, and frankly, I wasn’t making headway figuring out the formula for the firm’s success anyway. I’ve let you down, I’ve let the program down, I’ve let myself down. There’s really no way to sugarcoat it. I’m sorry.”
During TJ’s spiel, Ridge steepled his fingers and listened intently. “That’s not how I heard it.”
TJ’s heart sank. She was too late. Of course someone at Magnate, probably Gary, would have already informed Ridge of her premature exit and must have provided a far lengthier explanation—hell, a sentence would have been more than she got—as to what had led to her termination. TJ was well aware of Ridge’s history with Derrick Spaulding. They’d been college roommates, and their continued association had ultimately led to the Derrick Spaulding MBA Program at Griffin University. “I’m sorry you didn’t hear it from me first. This was your earliest appointment, and I wanted to tell you in person.”
“TJ, Derrick Spaulding was arrested this morning after confessing to running the largest Ponzi scheme in history. It’s all over the news.”
This was far too much for TJ to process. She spoke the only words she could manage. “I don’t understand.”
“Whatever questions you were asking were obviously the right ones. Jessica Spaulding went to the authorities yesterday and named you as the whistle-blower.”
Jess did what?
None of this made sense. “Professor, all I did was get stumped. I didn’t reach any conclusions about Magnate except that I wasn’t savvy enough to grasp how it worked.”
Ridge responded by pushing TJ on statements he’d read. Had she made inquiries as to how the Magnate Fund operated? (Yes.) Had she found some oddities in the information she was given? (Yes.) Had there been occasions she felt she was being purposefully sidetracked from her goal? (Yes.) Had she been fired without reason? (Yes.) Had Jessica already been investigating the matter before TJ started asking questions? (No.)
Jess had spun her version of the truth, TJ realized, for TJ’s benefit. The details as Jess had apparently confided to the authorities were so close to being accurate that TJ had ended up seeming to corroborate Jess’s story, which in turn only bolstered Ridge’s contention that TJ was some kind of hero. The final nail: when TJ mentioned she hadn’t known a scheme was afoot, Ridge said that according to Jessica Spaulding, TJ wouldn’t want praise for her role in taking Derrick down. It was simply the right thing to do, and she would insist she hadn’t done anything special. At every turn, Jess had preempted TJ’s attempts to set the record straight.
Apparently attuned to TJ’s frustration, Ridge told her that the truth didn’t sell as much copy as sensationalism. If the public wanted a hero, the only guarantee was it wouldn’t be a Spaulding. It would be a far flashier story to have a working-class David bring down a high-class Goliath. Instead of being credited for taking the incredibly difficult step of turning her father in, Jess would be vilified. Ridge said Jess was already being excoriated in the media. The pundits were saying it was improbable Jessica Spaulding hadn’t been in on the deceit; she only turned her father in as a kind of plea bargain to minimize personal liability and maximize the assets they’d let her keep.
That’s when TJ realized she had no such doubts about Jess. With every atom of her being, TJ knew Jess hadn’t been involved in her father’s scheme.
“Professor, there’s no way Jess knew.”
“Doesn’t matter. She’s being assailed for living a lavish lifestyle on the backs of unsuspecting investors and castigated for not being suspicious earlier.”
“It’s not fair.”
“No. None of it is. The program will have to be cut immediately. There’s no way the university could survive the PR damage of trying to keep the remaining funds, since they weren’t Spaulding’s to begin with. Due to your actions, thankfully no one should question the kinds of ethics we’re teaching here, though we’ll have to jettison any association with Derrick Spaulding ASAP. From a personal standpoint, I’m having trouble with it. Derrick’s an old friend. A good friend. But what he’s done…” Ridge shook his head. “TJ, was it Jess
ica you were involved with?”
TJ nodded.
“I don’t want to insinuate myself where I don’t belong, but if you’re still…friends…I’m sure she could use one. I’ve known her since she was a child. She and Derrick have always been close. I can’t imagine what she’s going through.”
TJ didn’t know what she and Jess were, but Ridge’s words resonated. Whatever was or had been between them didn’t matter as much as letting Jess know she wasn’t alone.
*
The next two days flew by. At Ridge’s suggestion, TJ helped out in the college of business’s office while they put out various fires relating to the scandal and worked with other schools to see how, when, and where they could best transfer TJ and her classmates. Sprinkled throughout were interviews TJ granted as to how she discovered a fraud that had long gone unnoticed. Sticking with the corruption angle, reporters were quick to dismiss TJ’s commendation of Jess and unwilling to allow that Jess had been as much a victim as anyone. At every turn, Jess was a pariah second only to her father.
Somehow by appearing shell-shocked on camera, Brooke, Gary, and Lilith all faced less public wrath than Jess who, by turning Derrick in, was seen as someone in the know and therefore culpable. TJ made the mistake of tuning into an exposé on Derrick’s downfall that cast Lilith, her son, and the two Spaulding girls as spoiled spendthrifts. Brooke hadn’t helped counter that reputation when it was reported she left the country to be with the wealthy son of a French diplomat, leaving her family behind.
At one point, Ridge’s assistant transferred a call to TJ.
“TJ Blake.”
A voice TJ didn’t recognize said, “Ms. Blake, please hold a minute while I transfer you.” TJ had little patience for these kinds of telemarketing ploys, though she couldn’t understand why Ridge’s assistant would put through such a call. A protest died on her lips when she heard, “Darling, it’s Muriel Manchester.”
The commanding voice left no doubt it was Muriel. She had a way of being slightly irritating yet very intriguing, like a sports celebrity. “Ms. Manchester. What a pleasant surprise. What can I do for you?”
“Several things, and you know better than to call me Ms. Manchester. First, what’s your number so I can reach you more easily? The pit bull who answered refused to divulge your private information to my assistant.”
TJ gave Muriel her mobile number.
“What’s your employment status?”
“I’m helping out in the business-college office.”
“Surely not for the long term?”
TJ didn’t know what had prompted the call or the question, and it was none of Muriel’s business. Yet while she didn’t appreciate her derogatory tone, she thought it best not to strike an adversarial one. Knowing Muriel’s deep pockets, she might be a donor of some significance, and TJ was representing the university. “You’re a well-informed woman, Muriel. You must know my classmates and I are on a bit of a hiatus, so I’m assisting with the higher volume of inquiries at the moment.”
“Perfect. I want you to be my compliance director, reporting to my chief compliance officer. Your name’s associated with a standard of ethics every public company should aspire to and which my board takes very seriously. We’d be privileged to have you.”
This offer was more unexpected than Muriel’s call. The position was a solid jumping-off point to a career in nonprofit management and especially useful for establishing a reputation as someone mindful of asset stewardship. Days ago she’d been fired and all her prospects had dimmed. Now the CEO of a Fortune 500 company was seeking her. But TJ wanted to finish her degree. It was the best assurance she had of landing a management role in time and ultimately running the show.
“Muriel, I’m honored. But I can’t accept. I need to earn the last of my course credits before I can graduate, and that has to be my focus at this stage.”
“How close are you from graduating?”
“Very. But the program’s been, well, it’s in an unprecedented state given the overnight collapse of its funding. The credits earned are transferable, but it will take time to apply to a new program. Also the faculty has to determine how much credit, if any, can be earned for the internships and whether to keep the service requirement.” TJ felt she was rambling and stopped. “Sorry. Probably more than you wanted to know.”
“Not at all. I’ll speak with your dean. I’m sure we can work something out, and I’m willing to accommodate your school schedule.”
“I don’t understand. Why would you want to help me?”
“TJ, darling—once you’re my employee I’m going to miss being able to call you that—there’s one thing I’ve managed to learn in all my years in business. Women, especially lesbians, need to look after each other. We need to hold each other up. Enough people out there strive to tear us down, and I’ve no intention of allowing that.”
“That’s…wow, that’s very generous of you. Thank you. I’ll certainly think about your offer.”
“Please do. I want you on my team—my other team.” Muriel laughed. “Besides, it’s the least I can do after what your girlfriend did for me.”
Jess. TJ had left countless voice mails and sent numerous texts. Every day she tried Jess’s number multiple times in the hope it wouldn’t go straight to voice mail. She’d driven by the mansion and the loft several times, but she never got any answer.
“I didn’t realize she had business with you,” TJ said. And girlfriend might be overstating things.
“I recently invested half a billion dollars in Magnate.”
TJ cringed. She wondered how much of that money Derrick Spaulding had already used to pay dividends and returns of capital to earlier investors. Even if the independent investigator ultimately found that Muriel should be entitled to recoup some of it, it would likely be years before it was returned. “I’m sorry, Muriel.”
“Don’t be. Unlike the hundreds of unfortunates that seem to come forward daily, I won’t have to admit to being one of them. My money was wired to me in full.”
TJ wondered whether Muriel was more concerned about her reputation—i.e., of not having been duped—than the money. But it didn’t make sense it had already been returned. “It wasn’t used to pay off other Magnate investors?”
“It never made it to Magnate. Seems your girlfriend provided my accountant with the bank account details of the family attorney’s escrow account to hold until otherwise instructed. And she later instructed the attorney to return the money. That’s all he’d tell me.”
TJ’s heart soared. Performing one good deed after another was becoming Jess’s MO. “I’m glad to hear it, though I can’t say I’m surprised. But how about thanking her directly by offering her a job instead of me?”
“You’re the famous whistle-blower, TJ. No offense to Jessica, but it’s your name that carries weight. A much different kind than hers carries.”
“Then how about a package deal?”
“I’m listening,” Muriel replied.
“Your marketing department is about to get ten times better.”
Chapter Twenty-nine
When Dillon entered the customer lounge area, he reminded TJ of Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire. How the man managed to look so dreamy when his clothes were streaked with grease was kind of hard on one’s self-esteem. He held out his hand, which was absurdly clean given his outfit. “TJ, good to see you again.”
“Thanks for making the time,” she said as she shook his hand.
“Come on back.”
Dillon led her through a door next to the payment window to the back offices. His was no different than the others they passed except it had less clutter. “Have a seat,” he directed her, and she sat opposite his metal desk. “How’s the mechanical prodigy?”
“Restless and studying like mad. She said to tell you she’ll be back here faster than a Shelby Cobra.”
Dillon laughed. “Glad to hear you haven’t changed your mind.”
“Not at the risk of a
year and a half of silent treatment, occasional grunt notwithstanding.”
“If our plan’s still on, why the visit?”
“I need to get in touch with Jess.”
He picked up a little black muscle-car toy and started squeezing it with one hand.
“Stress toy?” TJ asked.
He tossed it to her. “Yep. Sixty-nine Camaro ZL1. Only sixty-nine were made, and unfortunately, that’s the only one I own.”
“You don’t keep it in the showroom along with the other collectors’ items?”
“I see where Kara gets her sense of humor.”
TJ set it on the desk and made it do a wheelie before getting down to business, barely suppressing the desire to make a screeching-tire sound along with it. There really was something fun and carefree about playing with toy cars, but this wasn’t the time for it. “She doesn’t answer at her house or loft. All my calls go directly to voice mail, and none of the texts I’ve sent show they’ve been delivered. Magnate’s been shut down. I don’t know how to reach her.”
“What makes you think I do?”
“You’re her best friend.”
“Best friends look out for each other.”
Having just confirmed he knew how to contact Jess bolstered TJ’s resolve not to leave empty-handed. “Please tell me where she is.”
“She knows how to reach you.”
“Yes, but what if she thinks I don’t want to talk to her?”
Dillon started giving the stress toy another workout.
“She’s getting lambasted out there,” TJ said. “Her supposed ‘friends’ are getting their fifteen minutes of fame by telling stories of how they spent money like it flowed from a tap and how they’ve no doubt she knew. Brooke took off with her rich boyfriend. That idiot Chad’s the only one defending her, and his defense is that she’s too dumb to have been able to figure anything out on her own. I’m not surprised she’s gone off the grid and wonders who her real friends are.”
For Money or Love Page 30