“Look, smarty-pants, I’ve been getting hassled when I go in. I just don’t want you to get hassled, too.”
“By Emily?”
“Yep. She hates me.”
His fingers tightened on the steering wheel. “I’m going to talk to human resources. No employee should be hassling a visitor.”
“I didn’t think about the unprofessional aspect. I was too caught up in my own reaction. You sure you want to do that?”
“I’m in if you are.”
“I’m in.”
It didn’t take long for Pax to arrange a meeting with Emily’s supervisor, Irina Schwartz. She was only a couple of years older than Gemma, with a long, narrow face and a darkly beautiful gravity.
“I understand you have a concern about one of our employees,” she said, once she settled into her chair behind the desk.
Gemma cleared her throat. “Emily Nicholson. My father is here recovering from an accident. Twice when I’ve come in she has not only been hostile but called a man who raped me to tell him I was here, so he could come and harass me.”
Irina winced. “That’s terrible.” She pulled a notepad in front of her and poised her pen over it. “What did she say and do?”
Gemma gave a brief summary of Emily’s vile words and then of what happened. “The second time, Blake followed me to my car.”
Irina’s pale skin blanched. Her fingers tightened so hard on the pen that it slipped from her grasp. “Blake who?”
“Sullivan.”
“You know him?” Pax asked.
She shook her head. “I…not recently.” She jotted down more information, but her fingers shook. “All right. I’ll make sure this is filed, and I promise you she will not be harassing anyone again.”
“Irina?” Gemma asked. “If you know something about Blake—”
“I don’t. I mean, I do know of him. But that’s all.” She kept scribbling down words that didn’t quite look like they made sense. “If he harasses you again, please find a security guard to help.”
Gemma placed her hands on the desk and leaned forward. “Irina, if he did something to hurt you, we need to know. Blake date-raped me seven years ago. He plied me with alcohol and forced himself on me. We know that he’s done this to other women, and we’re trying to find them. Not to press formal charges,” she added when Irina’s eyes widened in fear. “The statute of limitations has run out. But we want to expose him so he doesn’t do this to other women. So that maybe he’ll realize he has a problem and get help.”
Irina seemed to wrestle with what to say. But it was obvious that she knew Blake, and not in a good way.
“Irina…did he date-rape you, too?” Gemma pressed.
“I wouldn’t call it rape. I’d just transferred here, for this job. It was a scary time in my life, knowing no one in town. Blake had just come back from college, was running the car dealership, and I thought, hey, he’s responsible, trustworthy, and nice-looking. We went out a couple of times. Once, he brought a cooler with a container of this fruity drink. I could barely taste any alcohol. I only had two cups, but they must have been strong. We…well, things happened. I remember thinking that I must have wanted to do them, because I did them. But I felt…”
“Violated,” Gemma supplied.
She shrugged. “Uncomfortable. Vaguely unnerved.”
“Did you feel violated?” Gemma asked.
“No.” Irina’s mouth worked, and then, “Yes. I never considered it rape, just bad judgment. I broke it off with him.”
“You were raped, Irina,” Gemma said as gently as possible. “I went through the same thing.”
“But I thought rape was violent. Forced. That was a mistake. I blamed myself, because I’d been drinking, and people do stupid things when they drink.”
“I thought that, too. But Blake pushed me to drink and took advantage of my inebriated state. He’s been doing this kind of thing for a long time now.”
Pax asked, “Did this happen in his car about four years ago?”
Irina shook her head. “It was at the beach, four, four and a half years ago.”
“Hell. He’s done this to at least three women, probably more.”
Irina gripped her pen again. “How are you going to expose him?”
Pax turned to Gemma. “I just remembered: Blake is putting on a big sales event tomorrow. He’s invited the press, a lot of influential people in Chambliss, and his corporate customers. It would be the perfect time to confront him. You. Janey can call him on what she witnessed. And—”
“C-confront him?” Irina stuttered, pushing back from her desk. “I can’t do that.”
“If you come, we’ll have three incidences of him taking advantage of women he’s gotten drunk,” Gemma said. “It shows a pattern, and it may prompt others to come forward.”
“I can’t do it,” Irina said. “It’s too much. Too public.”
Pax pulled out his business card. “Here, I’m going to write Gemma’s phone number on the back. “Will you think about it? We’ll be right there with you.”
She started to say no, but she relented. “I’ll think about it. But no promises.”
“We understand,” Gemma said, though she wanted to drop to her knees and beg Irina.
“Tomorrow night? Are you sure?” Gemma asked as they rode up in the elevator a few minutes later. “This will change everything.”
He brushed his knuckles against her cheek. “I’m counting on it.”
Chapter 16
Gemma walked out of the bedroom. “I’m ready.” She stopped and blinked at the sight of Pax, in dress pants and a crisp dark blue shirt. His hair, usually a little wild, was neatly combed. “Wow, you look handsome. I mean, you always look gorgeous, but you look refined now.”
“Are you saying I clean up nice?” he asked with a grin, charming her with those dimples.
“Something like that. But I like you dirty.” She winked at him this time.
Pax took her in and let out a long whistle. “You look mighty fine yourself, babe.”
She spun, giving him a view of her very short skirt and very blond hair. “Thanks.”
He wrapped his arms around her and fluffed the strands of her hair. “You’re blond again.”
“I had the stylist dye it close to my natural color. I’m not hiding anymore.” She glanced down at herself. “Though I’m not going to dress quite this provocative regularly.”
“Except for me.” He kissed her forehead, her nose, and then her mouth.
She savored the taste of him, his words, and their meaning. “For you, anytime. Or in nothing at all.”
“I like the sound of that.” He playfully nipped at her ear, then kissed down the side of her neck. When he leaned back enough to look at her, though, gravity replaced the playfulness in his expression. “Are you sure you want to do this? If it doesn’t work, it could backfire big-time.”
“I need to, for anyone he’s violated, anyone he will violate, and for me. I have to do this if I want to stay. And I want to stay. With you.”
He pressed his forehead to hers. “I want you to stay. So bad it twists my insides into a pretzel.”
“I know the feeling.”
They had talked, played with different angles, but this seemed the best way to expose Blake. The only variable was whether his kids would be at the event. If so, they would have to find another way, even if they were too young to understand.
Gemma’s phone rang. “I don’t recognize the number,” she said as she looked at the screen. “Hello?”
“Is this Gemma?”
“Yes?”
“This is Irina. I’m…I want to join you. I’ve lived with this shame, this uneasiness, for the last four years. I thought it was just me being weak. Stupid. But since you came I’ve thought of nothing else. I didn’t want to face the possibility that it was more than bad judgment, but I can see now that it was all a well-orchestrated plan on his part. If this is something he does to other women, I’m in.”
G
emma gave Pax a thumbs-up, her smile filled with relief. “Thank you, Irina. You’re doing the right thing.” She gave her the particulars, planning to meet her outside the dealership.
Pax filled a water bowl for Harley and gave him a goodbye pat on the head when the dog started to go with them. “Sorry, buddy, this is ugly human business.”
They drove to Pax’s family homestead to rendezvous with Janey. She met them on the road going in and climbed into the rear seat, wearing a pretty Sunday dress.
“Hi, Pax, Gemma,” she said breathlessly, clipping on her seat belt. “I’m ready.”
Pax braced his hand on Gemma’s seat as he turned around. “You sure? You could get into a lot of trouble with Mama over this.”
“You get into trouble a lot, Pax, but you’re a good person. You quit being a cop because Daddy did a bad thing. And Gemma, you told the truth, even though people were mad about you doing it.”
Gemma held out her hand to Janey. “You’re a good person, too. And very brave.”
The compliment made Janey’s face glow with her big, beautiful smile.
They pulled into the dealership as the setting sun cast pink rays across the sky. Cars that had no doubt been bought at the dealership filled the parking area. Gemma scanned the lot and found Irina pretending to look at new cars. They traded a wave, and she started heading over. A young man stepped forward when they pulled up to the valet booth. Pax surrendered the keys to his truck and escorted Gemma and Janey toward Irina, who waited out of sight around the side of the building.
They introduced her to Janey, who said, “You’re very brave, too.”
Irina gave a nervous laugh. “I don’t feel brave. I’ve been chewing my nails off all day.” She flashed those bitten-to-the-quick fingers.
“Are you ready for this?” Gemma asked. “I know how hard it is to accuse someone, especially to their face.”
“I read the old newspaper articles online about you. And you were only seventeen.” Irina shook her head. “If you could do that, I can do this. I’ve had this hanging over my head for years. It’s going to feel good to tell him to his face that I know what he did to me.”
Gemma felt it in her soul, the importance of vindication and how much she needed to hear Blake admit it. But would he? She turned to Irina. “I think you should blend into the background. If we walk in together, Blake will be clued in that something’s going on. We want the element of surprise.”
After they made a plan about placement and timing, Gemma held out her hands to Irina and Janey. “Are you ready to turn this ass-kissing shindig into an ass-kicking shindig?”
“Yes,” they said, their hands all clasping.
Pax hooked his arm, and Gemma slid hers inside it. Her stomach churned, her chest so tight that she could hardly breathe. Yeah, a big fat pretzel. Pax held the door open, and Gemma and Janey stepped through.
The showroom had been transformed into a wonderland of silver and black, with formally dressed servers taking trays of champagne and appetizers around to the guests. Jazz flowed over the speakers that were going to play a big role in their plan.
Gemma had gotten the idea from the time Pax had called out Raleigh and Mia as they were making kissy-face at the track. Pax had confirmed that there was a speaker system at the dealership, and he’d described how to turn on the intercom. They’d practiced maneuvers at her father’s desk and looked up the control panel online.
“Janey Bear, wander over to the appetizer table—and keep your back to everyone, stay in the background, like we talked about.”
She nodded and busied herself placing the fancy tidbits on a plate.
Gemma couldn’t help smiling. “She’s enjoying this, isn’t she?”
“She’s part of something important. Something right. I’m sure it’s empowering for a young woman who’s felt disempowered for far too long.”
Gemma stiffened at the sight of Blake, shaking hands with a couple. “For a long time, I made him into this big, overpowering man. When you said he was a coward, it didn’t register. But I see it now. His need to be accepted, to be in control, comes from a place of weakness.”
Pax watched him, too. “It’s sad. And disturbing. It’s like I don’t even know who he really is. Oh, hell. Our father is here.”
She picked up on the way his voice changed on the word “father” as she found Sheriff Sullivan pumping fists and plastering on that fake smile right along with his son.
“The election’s coming up,” Pax said. “I wouldn’t vote for him. We need some fresh blood in the Sheriff’s Department. Someone who can look beyond their personal shit to see what’s right and wrong.”
“Someone like Grace,” Gemma said. “She could do it.”
Pax chuckled. “I don’t see her donning that uniform, though I think she’d rock the position.” He kept searching. “Damn, Blake’s wife is here, too. But not their daughters.”
“Whew! But how is she going to take this?”
“Not well. She’s all about reputation. But she needs to know what her husband is doing.” Tracy seemed to be holding court with four women, pointing out items in a catalog.
Lily was there, too, wearing a dress just as provocative as Gemma’s and appearing very uncomfortable in it. No doubt Blake had ordered her to look sexy for his guests, most of whom were male. She spotted them and gave them a nod and a half smile before tugging the straps on her dress.
A server came by with a tray of champagne flutes. Pax took two and handed one to Gemma. She had no intention of drinking even a sip. She needed a sharp mind, and an even sharper tongue.
Several men did double takes when they saw her. Thinking of what Grace said about her sensuality, Gemma straightened her shoulders and stood tall. It was time. With a nod to Pax, she wandered over to the shiny new car in the center of the showroom and bent to look inside. It didn’t take long to catch Blake’s eye. A mix of surprise, irritation, and desire racked his schmoozing expression. She sauntered away, toward the hallway that housed his office, giving him a beckoning glance before she lost sight of him.
She was looking at the pictures of old Chambliss and the original dealership when Blake hissed, “What are you doing here?”
“I came with Pax. He’s here somewhere.” She tossed out a nod of her chin toward the crowd but continued to move closer to Blake’s office. A brass plaque announced his name and the title of president. “Since I’m dating Pax, we’re going to have to learn to tolerate each other.” She pushed open the door and walked inside. “Maybe I’ll buy a car. I hear I get a family discount if I’m married to a Sullivan.” She found the intercom controls and blocked his view with her body as she pressed the button.
Blake’s face was flushed as he followed her. “My brother’s not going to marry you. He’ll fuck you for a while, and then he’ll toss you aside.”
“No, you’re confused. That was your M.O.” She sat on his desk, crossing her legs, checking that the intercom light was on. “Remember when you told me that dressing sexy made me a whore? So if I’m dressed this way, does that mean you can assume I’ll have sex with you? Especially here alone with you in your office? Or am I not drunk enough? You like them drunk, don’t you? So they don’t fight and yet you can feel like you’re not actually raping them.”
“I didn’t rape you.”
“Then what do you call forcing yourself on me when I kept saying no? I wasn’t too drunk to tell you no, and you weren’t so drunk that you didn’t hear me. You pretended I was answering other questions, even while I was crying and telling you to stop. But you didn’t stop.” Gemma let the emotion of that night fill her voice. “I was a virgin, Blake. When I went off into the dunes with you, I told you I didn’t want to have sex. But you ignored all of that, too, didn’t you?”
The door opened, and Irina stepped inside. “And you ignored me when you kept pushing those high-powered drinks camouflaged in fruit juice on me. I might have been drunk, but I remember telling you no when you started unzipping your pants.” Her
anger rose along with her volume. “I remember every agonizing moment of you pushing yourself into me while I begged you to stop and take me home.”
“You’re lying,” Blake ground out. “Both of you.”
“And yet we have the same story: you getting us drunk and forcing yourself on us,” Gemma said. “Coincidence? I think not.”
Irina crossed her arms over her chest. “I wasn’t brave enough to formally accuse you of rape, because I know how it works. Clean-cut football captain, son of the sheriff, and me an unknown in town…yeah, nothing was coming of that. So I convinced myself it was just a mistake, living with the shame and guilt and anger. Then I find out you did this to Gemma and another woman.”
“You’re both full of shit,” he said. “What other woman?”
Janey stepped into the office, her mouth a tight line. “I heard you, Blake. I heard a woman in your car crying and saying, ‘Why did you hurt me? Why didn’t you stop?’ I ran up to the car to help her, and you called me a retard, and said I didn’t know what I’d heard. But if I’m stupid why did you threaten to tell Mama and Daddy I was outside if I said anything?”
Gemma threaded her fingers with Janey’s, a silent Atta girl. “That’s three women you assaulted—that we know of,” Gemma said. “I bet there are more.”
Pax came in from where he’d been hovering outside the door. “You told me the other day that you needed to feel like a man, because everyone else in your life controls you. And now I get it: this is how you feel empowered. In control. You get women drunk and rape them.”
Blake stepped behind his desk, eyeing them as though he were a cornered animal. “They wanted it. They—”
“No, we didn’t,” Gemma said, echoed by Irina. “I never wanted to have sex with you. I was a friggin’ virgin. You think I was going to waste that on some jock who only cared about his stats?”
“I didn’t want it, either.” Lily stood inside the open doorway. “But you told me I couldn’t have the position unless I took a position under you. Every time I ask you to please not make me give you head or have sex, you remind me who signs my paycheck. And that I have a little girl to support.”
Falling Hard Page 24