by KB Winters
I arrived at Arnold Street and looked up at the nondescript building above me. I wouldn’t have expected anyone of note to work in a place like this, but someone was clearly doing good enough work to catch Jessibelle’s attention. I headed up to the door, buzzed, and waited for a response. It came a few seconds later.
“Hello?” A gruff man’s voice came down the line, the kind you would’ve attached to the stereotypical PI in an old black-and-white cop drama. It was slightly muffled by the static on the old apartment intercom.
“Hi, it’s Zachary Rose,” I announced, using my full name to underline how serious this was. “I understand you’re on my payroll, and I want to talk to you.”
“Come right up,” the man replied at once, sounding surprised. I did as I was told, heading up the stairs to be greeted by a man in his early fifties waiting in a doorway for me. I half-expected to see his name printed above the words “private investigator” on the cloudy glass behind him, but I guessed not all clichés turned out to be true.
“Mr. Rose.”
I nodded and flashed him some ID to make sure he knew I wasn’t lying so he’d have no reason to hold back on the truth. He gestured for me to go in, and I looked around with a far-fetched hope to see Jessibelle in there, but it was just us.
“What can I help you with?” The man who I assumed to be Jacob closed the door behind us and looked me up and down. I supposed if he was working with Jessibelle, he’d have done enough research on my company to be sure I was who I said I was. I needed to stall, to stay in here a little longer in case Jessibelle showed up, and besides, it wasn’t as though I didn’t have some questions of my own.
“I understand you’re working on a highly confidential investigation involving my law suit. I need some information.” I pressed my fingertips together and looked at him seriously. “I’m sure you can understand this is of great importance to me.”
“Of course.” He nodded. “What do you want to know?”
“I want to know why my attorney decided to hire a PI without telling me and what exactly she asked you to investigate.”
Jacob raised his eyebrows and reached into the drawer below the desk. He pushed a stack of papers toward me, and I started leafing through them. Nothing jumped out at me, until—
“Johnathan Rose?” I frowned. “Are you investigating him?”
“We are.” A voice came from behind me, and I snapped around to find Jessibelle standing in the doorway. My heart soared when I saw her, but dropped at what she was saying. I turned to Jacob.
“Could you give us a moment, please?”
Jacob held his hands up and headed out of the room, leaving the two of us alone. I stared at Jessibelle. All I’d wanted the last week was to get her in a room alone, but now that she was here, I had a dozen more questions I hadn’t been prepared for.
“You’re investigating my brother?” I asked. She took Jacob’s seat and breathed deeply before she spoke, as though she knew this was going to be hard for me to hear.
“He’s the link between all the shareholders, Zach,” she explained. “He’s the only thing that ties them all together. So, I dug a little deeper and I found indications he was incubating a company of his own. That may be what he intended, the shareholders revolting against you as an attempt to destabilize your business so you would fail and his start up would be successful.”
“And you have evidence for this?” I murmured. She nodded.
“I wouldn’t have brought it up in a million years if I wasn’t certain it was true.” She sounded almost apologetic. I stared at her, eyes wide, desperately trying to process what she’d told me. There was no way Johnny would do that to me, to the company our father had built for us. Would he? I supposed he’d always had to play second seat to me, standing to the back to allow me to take center stage. Maybe he’d grown tired of that.
I shook my head. No. It couldn’t be true.
“You’ve made some mistake,” I insisted. “He’d never do that to me.”
“I wish I had,” she replied gently. “But we’re on the brink of getting what we need to out him for good. I’m sorry I had to leave town so suddenly to do it. I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch, but this is what this case needs, the break we need to keep your company under your control. Do you see that?”
I blinked a couple of times. Did I want to hold on to my business if it meant Johnny would be cast out of the family? Was it worth tearing what was left of the family apart? Maybe I should roll over and let him win, if that’s what he wanted. If any of this was even true, which I still wasn’t convinced it was. I looked at Jessi again, and something about her deadpan expression infuriated me. She had no idea what I was going through, nothing close, and it sent rage spiking up my spine. I got to my feet.
“I can’t believe any of this,” I snarled at her.
“It doesn’t matter what you don’t want to believe,” she pointed out, not fazed by the fury I threw in her direction. “What matters is the truth, and the truth right now is your brother is very likely trying to—”
“—How do you know?” I demanded again, gesturing at the papers. “You think these papers supersede everything I’ve shared with my brother over the years?”
“I don’t know about that, but they prove he’s been pulling stuff behind your back for almost as long as he’s worked at your business,” she shot back sharply.
I closed my eyes. I couldn’t take this out on her. She didn’t deserve it. But anger was running through my veins, and I was furious at the bombshell she’d just exploded in front of me. I tilted my head back, looking at the ceiling, which was covered in peeling corners and damp patches. I focused on one, took a deep breath, and sat back down.
“I’m sorry,” I muttered, but she shook her head.
“I get it,” she replied gently. And then, as if my brother’s betrayal weren’t enough, she went on. “And there’s more.”
“What do you mean, there’s more?” I gaped at her, and she took a deep breath.
“I’m not sure how to tell you this.” But she did because she launched right into it, the train wreck my family business had become. And I’d thought it couldn’t get any worse. My stomach sank.
Chapter 26
Jessibelle
I didn’t want to be the one to tell him about his real estate conglomerate, but there was no choice. He’d turned up in my PI’s office, out of nowhere, not exactly giving me time to prepare. I’d broken the news of his brother’s backstabbing actions, and Zach seemed to accept that. Now, I had to follow that up with more bad news? Great, just what I wanted to deliver to the man who had my heart in a vice. A one-two punch. I hated this job sometimes.
“The justice department has found improprieties with the real estate segment of the business.” I spoke in an even tone and explained as gently as I could. “The one you still have control over. They’re launching a full investigation next week.”
“What the fuck?” He exploded again. I couldn’t blame him. If I had to deal with even half of the things he’d just found out, I would’ve been tossing furniture around by now.
“When did this come through?” he demanded. I glanced at the papers on the desk in front of me.
“Day before yesterday,” I said. “I wanted to get some kind of lead on the investigation before we dropped that on you.”
“Oh, so you wanted to take my brother and what’s left of my business from me in one fell swoop, then?”
“That’s not what this was about.” I tried to reassure him, but I was so exhausted from everything that had happened over the last few days, I barely had it in me to boost his ego. I’d headed to my mother’s, but before I got there, I hired the PI for the case, knowing my job had to come first, even if my heart was wrecked.
Perhaps one reason I’d made the detour was that there was a good chance my creepy-ass stepfather would be hanging out at Mom’s home. The last thing I needed was to deal with his overly touchy-feely attempts to father me. Even now, the thought
of the peck on the lips he’d delivered to me when he’d gotten me the job at his firm was enough to make me shudder with disgust.
Once I’d started working with Jacob, we’d found so much that went back so far and so deep that I knew I’d been looking down the right rabbit holes all along. There was no doubt in my mind that Zach’s brother was behind the rebellion taking place at the company. That wasn’t enough, though. We needed proof and it had to be ironclad. A defense that Aston’s former firm couldn’t shake.
I’d hoped to have it all tied up in a neat bow before Zach turned up. If I didn’t have the whole package I’d at least have settled for something to prove without a doubt that I was telling the truth and not just speculating wildly or trying to throw a wrench into the family dynamics. But then, Zach showed up out of nowhere, despite my specific instructions not to let anyone know where I was or what I was doing. I guessed being the boss meant he could get anything out of anyone whenever he wanted, whether I liked it or not. Now here he was, in front of me, demanding answers I didn’t have.
Yet.
“Jesus Christ, this investigation,” he mumbled, pressing his head into his hands and letting out a deep sigh.
“I know.” I wanted to reach over and take his hand, but we were already pushing the boundaries of what we should be doing in this office as it was. I didn’t want to take things any further. “I know it’s tough, but you—”
“—You believe me, don’t you?” He looked up at me, his eyes meeting mine, and I jolted slightly in my seat, taken aback.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, you believe all this stuff they’re accusing me of is a lie, don’t you?” His eyes widened with something not far from mania. I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out. I wanted to believe him. I wanted to believe him so badly, but after everything I’d seen, I wasn’t convinced the investigation by Justice Department wasn’t on to something. After all, his brother couldn’t have had so much influence over what they chose to do with their time. This investigation, despite everything else that surrounded it, had to be based on something real. I just couldn’t shake that knowledge. I closed my mouth again, and Zach raised his eyebrows at me.
He snapped at me accusingly. “You don’t believe me, do you?” I shook my head.
“That investigation has nothing to do with our case. What the board is accusing you of,” I pointed out. “You know we’ll do everything we can to make sure everything goes according to plan, to get you back in charge of your business again . . .”
He cut me off. “You’re talking about the whole firm, right?”
“What?”
“You’re talking like ‘we’re’ going to do this, ‘we’ want the best for you,” he pointed out, never one to miss a trick. “Are you still as invested as you were in the beginning?”
I shifted in my seat. I supposed I had lost sight of some of the reasons I was doing this in the first place. But then, I needed to keep this man at arm’s length, needed to keep him out of my head, because letting him snake into my brain was a recipe for disaster, and I had to keep my eyes on the case.
“Of course, I am,” I responded smoothly after a long beat. “I just meant all of us are behind you on proving you’re in the right with this court case, that’s all.”
“You better be,” he muttered, and I could see something brewing behind his eyes, something new, different. As though he was just beginning to put the pieces together himself.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, but he shook his head, holding his hand up to silence me. I would’ve been pissed at the rudeness of his gesture, but it seemed like he was finally coming to terms with something. He stayed silent, staring at a spot just behind my head. His intensity made me a little uncomfortable. Zach was someone who was totally all-or-nothing, one-hundred-percent in, or he was out. Nothing in between. Why would this be any different?
“It’s just all coming together,” he muttered, more to himself than to me, and my eyes widened.
“What’s coming together?” I demanded, grabbing for a notebook and a pen. “Can you clue me in? Does it have to do with the case?”
He shook his head and then nodded, and I wasn’t sure which one to take as the answer. I waited for an explanation, but he didn’t offer one.
“Zachary,” I snapped at him, waving my hand in front of his face and hoping his full name might draw his attention. “If there’s something you think would be relevant, then you need to tell me. We need to build the strongest case we can, so you have the best chance of holding on to your business.”
But it was as if my words flowed off his back, like they didn’t even break the surface of his concentration. He lifted his eyes slowly and blinked as though trying to put something together in his head. His eyes on mine were enough to make my stomach curl. It was heating something primal beneath my skin. I should’ve been firmly over whatever it was this man had to offer me, but his gaze was still strong enough to send something sparking along my body, a sensation that had been dormant since we’d fucked back in my apartment.
“It’s about my father,” he muttered to himself, and before I could stop him, he was on his feet and heading out the door. I went after him, trying to stop him, but I knew once he had this in his head, there was no getting in his way.
“What’s about your father?” I demanded, exasperated. He paused on the staircase. Jacob waited nearby, glancing between us as though he could feel the importance of the moment hanging in the air.
“He’s trying to live up to a ghost.” He shook his head, continuing down the stairs. The pause was nothing more than Zach solidifying his thoughts into a cohesive whole, not an attempt to explain it to either of us. I glanced at Jacob apologetically and ran down the stairs, hurrying to catch up with Zach as he made his way outside and onto the street.
“Zach, please tell me what the hell you’re talking about,” I pleaded, hoping I was conveying how important this was to me.
“Something’s rotten down there,” he shook his head. “I need to—”
He pulled his car keys from his pocket, and I could see him slipping away from me. I didn’t know what I could do to stop him. He stalked over to his car on the opposite side of the street, and I rushed over to it, putting myself between him and the door, and planted my hands on my hips.
“Zach, please catch me up on what’s going through your head right now,” I demanded, but it was in vain. His eyes were distant, and it was clear his mind was racing in a direction out of my reach. I didn’t have any right to demand an explanation, but surely, by now, he knew telling me what was going on was the best course of action.
“I can’t,” he replied at last, finally looking me in the eye. “I need to get out of here.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” I replied, lifting my chin and daring him to physically move me out of his way. Well, I should’ve known he wouldn’t hold back, and sure enough, he tucked his hands beneath my arms and lifted me away from his car, placing me carefully on the sidewalk next to it. I gasped. He had seriously just done that? I stood there in shock, letting the man I needed more than anything get away.
He slid into his car and glanced up at me, a flicker of apology passing across his face.
“I’m sorry about all of this,” he remarked, but I held up my hand. I didn’t want to hear it.
“You can make it up to me by telling me the truth,” I replied, my voice sharper than ever.
“I’ll see you, Jessibelle.” He pulled the car door shut, and launched off into the distance, the car engine roaring as he left me standing on the sidewalk outside Jacob’s office, wondering what the hell had just happened. With a sigh, I headed back into the office. Back to work. At least it was something to keep my mind off Zach for a while.
Chapter 27
Zach
I knew exactly where I needed to go. There was no doubt in my mind who had set this up for me, and I wasn’t going to let him get away with this.
It didn’t take long to
arrive at the real estate offices for the company. I hadn’t been out here in a while, a long while. I hadn’t needed to, because I’d been so confident that the man I’d left in charge would take care of things for me. As it turned out, I was completely wrong.
There was only one person who could’ve fucked things up for me like this, only one person who had the reason to. I thought I could trust him, but Craig Vector had proven me wrong.
It took me half an hour to arrive at the offices, seething as I pulled to a stop. I clenched the wheel between my hands, trying to calm down and failing miserably. I stepped out of the car, pushed back my sleeves, and headed to the door. Pulling it open, I was faced with another nervous-looking secretary. Craig must’ve hired a new secretary because I didn’t recognize her and she definitely didn’t know who I was.
“C-can I help you?” she asked, clearly unnerved by my aggressive march to her desk.
“Where’s Craig Vector?” I demanded, and she glanced over her shoulder toward a meeting room.
“He’s actually meeting with someone right now,” she replied apologetically. “If you’d give me your name. I’ll have to ask you to wait a few—”
“I’m not waiting,” I snapped, heading to the room. I left her scrambling to stop me when I burst through the door. Craig looked up at the commotion and then froze in front of the board he’d been gesturing to when he recognized me. His already light complexion went an even paler shade of white, and the other people in the room glanced around to see who had come in and disturbed them. When they realized it was me, they got to their feet at once.
“Some privacy, please,” I ordered, stepping aside so they could head out the door. They all hurried out, one behind the other, and left me alone with Craig.
“Zachary.” He greeted me, attempting to keep his voice neutral, but failing. “What are you doing here? Can I help you with something?”