“Laydon’s behind this, right?”
“Not him specifically, but there were still a few loyal thugs who thought it would get them into his good graces once he’s out—which will never happen, mark my words. Laurier is just someone who jumps on every opportunity. I don’t think she even knew or cared what kind of business Laydon was in as long as the cash flowed.”
It’s enough to make a person sick, a woman involved with traffickers. Laurier went to Paris specifically to be seen with Penelope, for those photos. We get inside the car, and I pull out of the parking.
“The transactions?”
“Some clever hacking attack that took the bank a while to find out. I imagine Nick would have come to you with the same information soon enough.”
“Now we’ll never know, right? Let’s go to her parents first. Don’t look at me that way—I’ll drive by the house and see if her car is there, that’s all.”
“If you say so,” she says, leaning back into her seat.
Penelope’s car is not at her parents’, or Lara’s house. Haley is next, and this is where I find the Mercedes parked on the curb. It’s a little after five a.m., and there’s a light on the lower floor. I park on the other side of the street, hesitating.
“Carter.”
“What?” Of course I want to go in there and explain, take her home with me, but I’m not sure if that wouldn’t make everything worse. I’m not sure of anything. At least, I know that Haley is a fiercely loyal friend, and while she will like me even less after this, Penelope is in good hands for now. This is a certainty I need when I go and tackle some difficult conversations next.
The decision was an easy one, once I was confronted with the facts.
“Okay, next we’ll deal with the crazy people who somehow have replaced some of my best employees. Jesus.”
“Maybe you should sleep on it, just a few hours? Nick and Muriel went home. I’m sure they’ll still be available to answer all you questions later in the morning?”
“Oh no. I see no reason why I should give them that much time.”
* * * *
Muriel, at least, seems chastised. “Carter, I’m really sorry about this, but we had to move it forward. I swear, we treated her okay. We were just trying to find the truth.”
“You didn’t do a very good job, did you?”
She cringes, and for a moment I feel bad, reminded of what she’s been through. I never before raised my voice at her. Muriel has always done a great job, no reason to complain. She has made an extraordinary transformation since I met her. I can’t see past the fact that they both didn’t trust my judgment, had no faith in me—or my wife. This is Penelope Elliot we’re talking about, a woman who doesn’t have a mean bone in her body.
“I’m sorry,” she offers once more.
“Yeah, you should be, and you should think twice the next time Nick asks you on a job that I didn’t sign off on, and never would.”
“Are you going to fire me?”
“Not yet. I’ll be watching you though, and I want you to apologize to Penelope. There was no reason to act like this, for Christ’s sake. You wanted to ask her questions? Ask her at home over a cup of tea. This was unacceptable. Do you even understand what I’m saying?”
“Yes. Of course,” Muriel mumbles. “It will never happen again.”
“No, it won’t, otherwise you will be out, you hear me? I will always make sure you’re okay, but one more mistake, and I can’t have you on my team anymore.”
I don’t even care about the fact that she’s privy to many secrets the FBI and other agencies might be interested in. She wouldn’t rat me out—in some twisted way, she and Nick think they did all of this to protect me. What they did was to put in danger what I care about most. Penelope. Our marriage.
“I understand. Can I go now?”
“Sure. This is for you.” I hand her the plane ticket, and see her eyes widen.
“You want me to go back to Europe?”
“I thought you liked it there. I will argue no more about this, and remember, you still work for me, not Nick. For now.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” she says and gets up, obviously relieved to leave the room. That wasn’t so hard. I’m not fooling myself for a moment that what I have to tell Nick will go over so well.
I have no choice. I made a promise to Penelope, and above all else, I’m going to keep it.
* * * *
I meet Nick in his office. He’s obviously been expecting me, wearing a suit for once, the setting very formal. His staff is quietly watching as I walk inside, and a moment later, the secretary offers coffee. Why not? It probably won’t make this talk any less painful, but I already know this day will drag on. I better get my caffeine while I can.
“Carter,” he says. “What can I do for you?”
There’s a split-second when there’s a chance I could transform into a screaming banshee in reaction to his calm, matter-of-fact tone, so inappropriate for the situation. Of course, I answer in the same polite tone.
I put my trust in you!
“I think you already know that there have to be consequences for what happened. You were out of line.”
“I heard you’re sending Muriel back to Europe.”
“News travels fast, doesn’t it? I understand we will all need some time to deal with this situation. For the time being, you’re suspended. I want you to clear out the office. If I am to call you back, and that’s a big ‘if’ right now, it won’t be in the same position.”
“Carter, have you lost your mind?”
He doesn’t even seem angry, just completely blindsided, which frustrates me even more. For so many years we worked hand in hand, friends who had each other’s back, and he still doesn’t understand what has gone wrong? He saw the men we were trying to bring down, their attitude. I never thought he could be this blind to a mistake of his own.
“One of us has, and it’s not me. If you don’t know why I’m doing this, it makes me even more certain that it’s the right thing. There’s no doubt you need time to think about what happened.”
“What happened?” he echoes. “Come on, don’t put all of this on me. You knew we were investigating her, you know how this goes—”
“Penelope is not a criminal! She is my wife! Do you remember what she went through with Laydon’s people? Did you even think about it for a second, before you set up that interrogation? I’m sorry, Nick, you screwed this up so badly, there is no alternative.”
“You know as well as I do, it doesn’t work like this. I have to set up things with someone, I can’t just leave.” He shakes his head, patiently even. I don’t tolerate this kind of attitude from anyone, least from someone I thought I could trust.
“I could have Scott over here in a few hours. You said Rachelle is one of the best, so maybe I’ll give it to her, or send her to Europe in exchange for Scott. There are enough options.”
“You’re just making rash decisions again, just like you did when you thought it was a good idea to give half of your business to a waitress!”
“That’s enough! Get out of here right now—and if you think you’ll ever want to be anywhere near this business, you should apologize to Penelope first.”
He shakes his head, picks up his keys and leaves. I see the looks of disbelief on the faces of his colleagues. Rachelle stands by the copier, avoiding my gaze. I don’t make decisions on a whim. They know that, and if he’s honest, Nick knows it too. He will have to face what he’s done here—and so will I.
* * * *
I retreat to my own office and order a coffee and muffin from the kitchen—precautions. There is no message from Penelope, and when I call her cell phone, it goes straight to voicemail. I keep my distance, physically, at least. I want her to know I’ll do anything in my power to get her back.
Anything, it’s somewhat of a vague, guilty thought…Not that I could pull anything like the beginning of our story ever again. This time, her parents, Haley and not to mention Colette, would
have a whole lot more questions. I need to talk to her. When she gives me that time, I will be able to make my point clear.
As it is, I need more caffeine and a sweet treat to get me through the day. On my computer, I pull up Colette’s profile. She’s had ups and downs in her job, misogynist supervisors, an error long ago that almost cost her career. We’ve kept each other honest through the years. She’s a good friend, and is not afraid to disagree with me.
I’ll have to think about this. I don’t have a lot of time, though. Nick was right in one thing: With a business this size, I can’t leave things in limbo for too long, especially with the breaches lately. I have the report from Colette about Catherine Laurier—apparently there was no relation to the break-in in Chicago.
I pick up the phone to call Scott, then decide otherwise. It’s clear already, isn’t it? I need something palpable, something to present to Penelope other than I’m sorry, and I need to be clear on where I stand with the people in my company.
Then I’ll call Scott and tell him it’s time to come home. I get Rachelle into my office.
She looks worried—guilty? Are they going to side with Nick?
“Is something wrong, Ms. Forbes?”
“No, not at all. How would you like to go to Vienna for a while? You’d be able to visit the offices in Paris, Zurich, Florence and Copenhagen…” I don’t have to say much more. She’s already beaming. “I need someone to overlook security there. Nick tells me you’re one of his best, and from your résumé I can certainly see that.”
“But…I thought this was Scott’s job.”
“I need him here to train and generally help out a new employee.”
“I…I don’t know what to say. I’d love to go.”
“Fine. We can hash out the details in the next few days. You have someone who can take over your duties in the meantime?”
“Yes, of course. Thank you. This is a great opportunity.”
“You deserve it. Is there something else?” I notice she’s hesitating at the door, and probably dying to ask about Nick.
“Actually, yes. I hope I’m not out of line…” I knew it. “About Nick? I have to admit he wasn’t the only one suspicious. It just didn’t look good, and when we heard from Gillian that you didn’t want a prenup, we were all worried. Anyway…Thank you for the opportunity. I won’t disappoint you.”
“Wait.” It must be a mistake. I can’t have heard what I think it is I just heard. It’s impossible. “Sit down, Rachelle.”
She seems nervous all of a sudden. “For the record, I don’t condone the way Nick and Muriel handled things. It would have been easier for everyone if they had just questioned Ms. Elliot at home.”
“It would have been a lot easier for everyone if they had asked me first, because you can imagine I wouldn’t have consented for my wife to be interrogated! Someone framed her. You’ve all been working in this business long enough to know there are enemies, and some of them have excellent resources.”
“Yes. I’m sorry.”
“About the marriage arrangement—I didn’t know that was common knowledge.”
“Some reporter picked it up, but thankfully we were able to contain it. Many people would have asked too many questions, even if Ms. Elliot owns half only in name. Please, don’t fire anyone else—we did this only to protect you.”
“I’ve heard that a few times too many since I came back to find she was taken from our home. What exactly did you do?”
“Nothing big, just a small clause that in the case of divorce, she’d be…comfortable, just not taking half of the business with her. It’s not personal. These things are worst case scenarios.”
This must be an alternate reality, because I have trouble recognizing these people. Yet, I pay them quite a bit to understand everything this business needs, that I need.
“Okay, so…Gillian. Who else?”
Rachelle is fidgeting in her chair.
“Don’t give me that look,” I warn her. “Last I checked, I own this company, and I sign off on all of your pay checks. “I should know everything that’s going on inside, right?”
“Yes, of course. Nick, Gillian, Linda, Scott and I. We just hoped this would never be an issue.”
“Well, it’s an issue now. You can go. I’ll see you tomorrow morning to talk about your job in Zurich.”
“Yes, thank you.” This time, she is out the door quickly, obviously wanting to avoid a longer conversation. I lean forward until my forehead touches the desktop.
Where the hell do I go from here?
More importantly, how can I ever hope to earn Penelope’s trust again?
In the evening, I drive by Haley’s house again. This time, I don’t stay in the car. I can’t wait any longer. I need to tell her the truth, I need to hear the truth from her.
There are two children playing in the front yard, obviously watched by their mother, because Haley is outside the front door before I can ring the bell. Her expression is unreadable as she waits.
“I don’t know what you heard, but I did not tell my people to go crazy on Penelope. I need to talk to her.”
“I’m sure. It’s just that at the moment, she doesn’t want to talk to you. You have to give her time.”
“There are some things that can’t wait. I made some changes to my staff today. It’s important that she knows whose side I’m on.”
“We know that, technically, but I don’t know if it’s going to be enough. I’m sorry, Carter, I can’t help you.”
There’s one last card I could draw, as it stands—I paid for this house, so it wouldn’t be very polite of her to deny me entry. I don’t go there. It wouldn’t do any good to change Penelope’s mind, on the contrary.
“Tell her to call me.” Haley gives me a prompting look, and I add, “When she’s ready.”
“All right. I’ll tell her. You should go home now. Frankly, you don’t look so good.”
“Yeah, thanks for reminding me. Have a good evening.”
Back home, I try to call Colette, but I can’t reach her either. I sit at the kitchen island, too tired to even think of food. I’d love to get into a bottle of wine and all the way down to the bottom, but tomorrow is another long workday, and there are people I can’t let down.
I wish that it would be easy, just for once, to abandon all responsibility.
I wish Penelope was here.
Only when I hear Marlene’s shocked gasp I realize it might not have been the best idea to sit here in the dark.
“Ms. Forbes! What happened?”
I wipe my face hastily—the last thing I need now is sympathy. “I think you heard most of it already. Were you in on the save poor naïve Carter from making a big mistake conspiracy?”
“What? No. I just heard about Nick and Muriel. I didn’t know about any of it, I swear I would have tried to talk reason into them. Have you eaten today?”
That’s Marlene, always pragmatic in the face of crisis.
“Where is Ms. Elliot now?” she asks.
“With a friend. Marlene…She might not come back.” I hate to cry. I hate to be weak, especially at the moment. This is not about me.
“You don’t know that. This was a shock to her. I can imagine that she needs time to deal with it, but I’m sure she will come back.”
For the first time in the almost two decades Marlene has worked for me, she hugs me.
Chapter Ten
Penny
It’s hard to even begin to figure out how I feel when most of all, I feel miserable not to be with her. I’m not sure if all of that is on Carter, or my own addict tendencies. Haley is the most gracious host. After I gave her a short version of the events, she told me I could stay as long as I needed to. Being mortgage free, they were able to create a guest suite upstairs, so I have my space without disturbing the family life too much.
I know Carter was here last night, and I nearly broke down, so close to telling her I’d come back and we forget about everything—but it’s not that easy. I t
hought we had come to a place where we were as equal as we could possibly be. I never asked for half of her company. All I needed was a chance to make some sort of contribution, and with my work in philanthropy, I hoped I had succeeded. It pains me that some of her closest friends think I’d come up with such an elaborate plan to get back at her.
We had a rocky start, no doubt about it, but I thought I knew her by now.
I thought she knew me.
I don’t know what the solution is, but it’s not sweeping everything uncomfortable under the carpet.
Meanwhile, I go back to work, to my classes and study group. Much to her credit, Carter doesn’t show up in any of those places. If she feels anything like me, I know how hard it is.
Muriel waits for me one evening after university though. When I don’t stop walking, she calls after me. “Penny. Please wait. I’ll be leaving tomorrow.” Why would I care? I let her catch up to me though. Speaking to her doesn’t hurt—I never had big expectations with her.
“I wanted to apologize. We crossed a line. I’m sorry.”
“Okay, fine.”
“You must understand we owe Carter a great deal. We couldn’t let this slide, and the bank was slow to obtain that information.”
“I understand all of that. What else do you want?”
“Nothing. That’s all, I promise.”
“Bye, Muriel.”
I wonder if this was Carter’s idea rather than Muriel’s, though she seems honest. Not much of a surprise, Nick doesn’t come by to grovel.
When the kids and Ryan, who has an early shift this week, are in bed, Haley and I sit down with a glass of wine. It has soon become something of a ritual.
“Maybe you should talk to Carter,” she says. “Not that I mind having you here, and my offer still stands…but I think you might feel better.”
“I don’t know what to tell her,” I admit. “It’s all just a chaos in my head.”
“You’re not thinking of a divorce?”
I flinch at the word, which is obviously enough answer for her.
“I’m just trying to understand where we are, okay? This is so weird. Even if there were some irregularities in the books, how do they figure you could be responsible for any of it? Did they think you planned it from the beginning, when you and Carter first met?”
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