by Carol Ross
“Wait a minute.” She spoke up and began talking it through quickly. “It’s Jeremy—he was involved with every one of these projects. And they all happen to be projects that I was not involved with. I personally look over every EI report that’s submitted when I’m on a job because local governments can tie up the process for months if it’s not done properly—meticulously even. And they all have their own idiosyncrasies to figure out and maneuver through. So what I’m confused about is how these were all approved so quickly. It’s not at all like most local governments that I’ve worked with. Oh, wait...” She shuffled through some papers and muttered under her breath.
“Excuse me?” Stuart said. “Moose—what?”
“I’m sorry, Stuart,” Emily said and ran her fingers through her hair. “What I’m thinking here is that someone has executed some old-fashioned bribery. I would be willing to bet that if you talked to the officials who signed off on this paperwork, you would discover who’s behind it all. And Jeremy is my bet.”
Stuart seemed incredulous as he asked, “Are you saying that Jeremy forged his uncle’s signature on these papers? And bribed government officials?”
“I am.” She nodded.
“But how can we prove...” He trailed off, and Emily could see the lightbulb flicker on inside his head. He nodded a few times before he spoke. “I’m going to have to dig a little deeper here, Emily. In the meantime, maybe you could talk to Franklin and see what you two can come up with.”
* * *
EMILY GRIPPED THE RECEIVER in her hand, willing Amanda to pick up. She did. Emily breathed a sigh of relief.
“Amanda.”
“Oh, Em, it’s so good to hear your voice.”
“Amanda, I’m so sorry I left you to deal with the chaos up there.”
“Don’t worry about that. It’s my job. I’m good at it. How’s everything there?”
“It’s rough, to tell you the truth. From a legal standpoint, it doesn’t look good.” She quickly filled Amanda in on her suspicions.
“I knew he was a weasel, but this is so beyond what I could even imagine,” Amanda said when she was through.
“I know. Franklin and I are meeting today to go over it all step-by-step. There’s no way Franklin knew about this. He has always insisted that everything be done properly.”
Amanda agreed wholeheartedly, “No, this has got Jeremy’s greasy fingerprints all over it. It doesn’t jibe with who Franklin is. He loves the challenge of what this company does. Besides, if he was to do something like this, which we know he never would, he certainly wouldn’t have put his signature on the documents.”
“I agree. It’s just proving it that’s going to be the problem. How much longer before you can get back here?”
“Just another day or two ought to do it.”
“Did you find it?” Emily asked and held her breath as she waited for the answer that she feared was forthcoming.
“No, Emily, I’m sorry. It wasn’t there. I personally packed up the whole place and it wasn’t there. I’ve looked everywhere. Are you sure you didn’t take it with you?”
Emily squeezed her eyes shut tightly as a wave of disappointment washed over her. “Yeah, I’m positive.”
“I’m sorry, Em. Do you want me to get you a new one?”
“No, no, it’s...it was special.”
Bering had called several times after the press conference but Emily had ignored every one. She’d raced to the office after leaving the meeting, grabbed her laptop and some paperwork. She’d then rushed home, stuffed her essentials in a bag and had taken off for the airport. But somehow, she’d lost her scarf.
After the conference, she’d wanted to get out of town as quickly as possible—both to get home for Franklin and to avoid Bering. When she’d seen Cricket Blackburn by the door, she knew that he was her quickest ticket out of town. Emily would always be grateful that Cricket had acquiesced right away to her request without an interrogation. His avoidance of the subject had lasted all through the flight. And in Anchorage he’d even arranged for a car and escorted her to the terminal with a quick squeeze of her hand and an assurance that if she ever needed another impromptu “sightseeing tour,” he was available. She’d nearly broken down then, but had managed to hold it together. Then she’d literally walked onto a plane bound for San Diego. She hadn’t even called Amanda until she was boarding the plane. One short layover in Seattle and several hours later, she’d landed and went straight to the office.
She’d barely left since then, except to briefly visit her mother, who was so distraught that Emily could barely get a word in edgewise. In between bouts of hysterical crying and smothering Emily in hugs—which was a new one for her—she’d pleaded with her, demanding that she resolve it all somehow.
“Do something, Emily. You know how he’s always been able to count on you!”
Now Emily sat back in her office chair and tried to retrace her steps again in her mind.
“Emily, are you still there?”
“Yes, Amanda, I’m sorry. I’m distracted.”
“Maybe if I asked Bering, he could have Janie knit you another one and—”
“No,” Emily barked. “No, Amanda, thank you, but I don’t want anything from him. I don’t want to talk about him. I can’t even think about him right now.” Bering hadn’t called again since the night she left. As soon as she’d left town, the calls had stopped. She’d been right all along, she realized bitterly—Bering had used her. He’d won, and now that Cam-Field was gone from Rankins. his business with her was done. too.
She’d known that when Cam-Field was finished in Rankins she and Bering would be, too. But she hadn’t been prepared for it to end like it had. She hadn’t been prepared for it to end at all. Because who was she kidding? In her heart she’d longed for the fairy tale. Even though she knew it couldn’t possibly happen, she’d thought they would at least part amicably. Maybe even keep in touch. She’d even fantasized about him visiting her in California and her traveling to Rankins occasionally. She had been hoping that it would all work out somehow. How naive. How utterly love-struck. It was embarrassing. It was worse than embarrassing—it was humiliating. It was heartbreaking. And what was worse was that she’d been a willing participant in the disastrous circumstances that were now her life.
* * *
“OKAY, FRANKLIN, WE have been over the charges set forth in the indictment, and we ourselves know your signature was forged.” She thought for a second and then said, “But we have to prove that somehow. McFarland has a legal team working on it, but in the meantime I need to run something by you. It’s not going to be easy to hear, I’m afraid.”
“What is it?”
Emily looked her stepfather straight in the eye. “I think Jeremy is behind this.”
“Emily, what are you saying?”
“It all adds up. He was involved in each of these jobs, and they all happen to be jobs that I wasn’t working on. And I don’t want you to think that I’m speaking from a case of sour grapes here, but his work has always been sloppy. He’s managed to cover it up by constantly delegating virtually everything. But truthfully, Franklin, he doesn’t even really know the industry. I would have thought in the years he’s been with Cam-Field he would have learned certain specific things, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. Anyway, I think it’s why he chose jobs that I wasn’t working on. It is no secret that I’m a control freak. I personally oversee every aspect of the process. It would have been impossible for anyone to get away with this malfeasance if I had been on these jobs.”
He didn’t say anything for a long while, so Emily continued, “The employees don’t like or respect him and I—”
“Emily, this is a rather harsh way to speak about your fiancé, don’t you think?”
Emily blinked at him dumbly for a few seconds. “My what?”
“Your fiancé,” he repeated.
“What—Jeremy, my fiancé? Franklin, Jeremy and I are not engaged. Where in the world would you
get that idea?”
“Why, from Jeremy. I know he hasn’t officially proposed yet, but you do have an agreement, right? Jeremy reassured me of this only last week.”
Emily laughed at the statement. “That’s totally ridiculous. Why would he...? Jeremy and I broke up, and we weren’t even that close to begin with.”
It seemed so pathetic to her now that her relationship had been such with her stepfather that he wouldn’t have been clear on something as important as her relationship status. It was even worse that Jeremy could have convinced him so easily that things were fine between them. She was still intent on sticking with the career change she’d decided upon in Rankins; it had just been delayed a bit. As soon as things were straightened out, she was going to tell Franklin that she was quitting and leaving San Diego. But for now, she was going to mend whatever she could of this relationship between herself and her stepfather. They could communicate just fine where business was concerned; they should be able to succeed on a personal level, as well.
Emily looked over at him and saw that his normally vibrant color had faded to a dull gray. She was afraid he might be cracking under the stress. He’d had some minor heart issues in the past. She sat forward in her seat and placed her hand on top of his, something she never would have done before....
“Franklin, are you okay?” But she knew he wasn’t okay. Emily could see now that he was angry.
He sat up straight and cleared his throat. He placed a hand on top of hers. “Emily, my dearest, I’m afraid I’ve made a terrible mistake.”
Emily felt her heart sinking. She knew that if her stepfather was admitting to making a mistake then it had to be bad—very bad. She prayed it wasn’t anything illegal.
“Here’s the thing,” he said. “Jeremy convinced me to promote him over you because he told me you two were going to be getting married. He assured me it was something you had discussed—that you had an agreement. He asked me not to say anything to you about it because he hadn’t officially proposed. He wanted to ‘do it right,’ he said. Naturally, I was rather surprised, but also quite happy for you. Needless to say, your mother was thrilled that you were finally going to get married and live a ‘normal’ life.” He grimaced before continuing.
“Now, I’ll admit,” he added with a halfhearted chuckle, “I was disappointed that you were choosing marriage over Cam-Field. That wasn’t the Emily—the daughter—that I’d raised. But Jeremy insisted that you would still be a vital part of the organization. You weren’t going to give up Cam-Field completely—you were just going to become his ‘second in command,’ allowing you time to take care of him and the children.”
“The...the what?” Emily stuttered, gripping the edge of the desk in front of her. Her heart was thudding heavily in her chest and cold sweat had begun to form on her brow. “Children?” she repeated, stunned. “Taking care of him? What children?”
“Emily, I can’t tell you how sorry I am.” He squeezed her hand. Had he ever held her hand before? A few times maybe, once, she remembered, when she was little and she’d taken a fall off the ladder in the supply room and she’d had to have stitches in her chin.
“I’ve been an unpardonable fool. I love you, Emily. I know...” He swallowed heavily and went on. “I know that I haven’t said it enough to you over the years. But I know that you know how proud I am of you. I’ve never had a problem telling you that much. You’ve always made me so very proud. You know that, right? How proud I am? My heart just aches with joy when I think about the woman you’ve become, what you’ve accomplished...” He trailed off and Emily watched his Adam’s apple dancing in his throat. She was stupefied. Was he actually on the verge of tears?
“It’s a lie, Franklin,” Emily said and slowly shook her head back and forth. “It’s all lies,” she repeated, not quite believing it, that Jeremy had stooped so low. She knew he was capable of laziness and stupidity and arrogance and general lack of character, but this... It was reprehensible. It was unforgivable.
“I can see that now,” he said slowly. “You know, I wanted to ask you about it at the time, but your mother was so...ecstatic about the whole thing, and she and Jeremy insisted that a surprise proposal would be sooo wonderful.” He raised his hands in frustration and then slapped them hard on the table. “I knew better. In my heart I knew better! But you don’t think your own nephew, your own flesh and blood...”
“Franklin, this is all so unbelievable to me,” she said. Traitorous, conniving, bribing coward, she thought. “Where is Jeremy anyway?”
* * *
JEREMY WAS IN one of the circles of hell. He wasn’t sure which one, as he’d always found classical literature a complete bore. But he was definitely suffering hellish-type tortures—that was for sure. He was Jeremy Strathom III! And he’d been freezing his backside off for three days waiting for the snow to finally stop falling so he could get out of this uncivilized ice patch.
He had no idea how he’d ended up here in the first place. He was supposed to be in Rankins wooing Emily. And now, after he’d finally gotten through to Kim in San Diego, he’d learned that Emily was already back there. Why would Emily be back in San Diego already? He didn’t know the details because the line had promptly gone dead and stayed that way. Things had either gone incredibly well or incredibly catastrophically. And knowing Emily, it could only be the former.
He couldn’t wait to get back home. He had no doubt that she would say yes when he proposed. She was crazy about him—well, she had been until Franklin had announced the promotion. But an official proposal of marriage for a frigid ice queen like her would get her back on board the Jeremy train. He’d purchased a huge diamond, he’d turn on the charm and she wouldn’t be able to resist him. Not to mention that it was the best thing for her career. It was the best thing for Cam-Field, and Emily always did what was best for Cam-Field.
“Mr. Strathom?” A young woman’s voice pulled him out of his reverie. “The pilot says you can get on board now. But he said to make sure you got an extra jacket, ’cause it’s gonna be pretty cold on there—unless you wanna ride with the cargo.” She nodded knowingly and added, “But trust me, you don’t want to be doing that.”
“Cargo? It’s a cargo plane?”
“Yes, sir, that’s all we ever get here. That fancy plane you came in on was a pretty rare thing. It was carrying a VIP—our chief coming home from a conference in Anchorage.”
Jeremy shook his head. He had no coat other than the one he was wearing, which was nothing more than a thin wool overcoat. He had no gloves, no hat—not even a handkerchief. He had no idea where his luggage was. “Um, would you by any chance have any spare clothing lying around? Or a blanket? Anything of any warmth will do. I could pay you.”
The young woman shrugged her shoulders and looked him solidly in the eye. “Well, snow clothes are in pretty high demand around here. I tell ya what—why don’t you tell me what you got for cash, and I’ll see what I can do....”
* * *
AS IT TURNED OUT, even Amanda managed to make it back to San Diego before Jeremy. Emily screwed the top off a root beer and handed it to her. Yet another thing she missed about Rankins, she thought as a fresh wave of sadness overtook her—frosty, cold, birch-syrup-flavored root beer on tap from the Cozy Caribou. Would she ever quit missing that place, she wondered, and missing Bering? She willed herself to ignore the ache that had taken up permanent residence in her heart. She opened her own bottle and took a long swig. Then she proceeded to fill Amanda in on all that she’d discovered over the course of the past few days.
“Jeremy is actually planning to propose to you?”
“According to Franklin,” Emily said. “Can you imagine anything so absurd?”
“Well, Emily, in light of your impending engagement, there’s something else I think you need to know about Jeremy. He’s...he was seeing someone else before we left for Rankins. Kirsten Leer—you remember her?”
“The agent from Dieter & Manning Insurance?”
“
Yep, that’s the one.”
Emily shrugged. “That figures. No one needs that much insurance.” She tapped her fingers on the tabletop, deep in thought. “Why didn’t you tell me this before? How long was it going on?”
“A few months at least, and I didn’t find out until a couple days before we left. And I was going to tell you—I was just giving you some time to deal with the promotion and everything—but when we arrived in Rankins, you were so...not yourself. I decided it could wait awhile. And then you got your feet back underneath you and I was so relieved to see that, and then you started seeing Bering and I... It didn’t seem important anymore. Em, I’m so sorry.”
“Oh, no, Amanda—it doesn’t matter. I’m not hurt or upset about that. I’m relieved. I mean, I obviously dodged a bullet. I’m a bit angry maybe, because of the way he used me. And of course I was devastated about the promotion, but really, when I think about it, I’m a better person after it all. But I am furious about what he’s done to Cam-Field—to Franklin. I mean, that man has given him everything. I had to work so incredibly hard for everything I achieved. But Jeremy could have had it all without even trying.”
She continued tapping her fingers as she stared off into space with narrowed eyes.
“What is it?” Amanda asked. “I know that look of yours.”
“I... It’s just that, why would he be proposing anymore? I mean, he already got the promotion. So, why would he need me now? I know he told my mother and Franklin that marriage was his plan but he didn’t have to follow through with it. He could have just let time go by and eventually made some excuse about how it didn’t work out between us. I mean, I assume that he didn’t actually plan on proposing while he was getting involved with Kirsten, so why...?”
“I know why,” Amanda said. “He couldn’t do it.”
“What do you mean?”
“He can’t do the job without you, Emily. Now, granted, the staff may have been, um...how shall I say it?...uncooperative while we were gone. But my, uh, sources have informed me that the guy has been coming completely undone...”