by Lauren Canan
Their combined efforts began paying off. The number of businesses canceling their accounts had drizzled down to nothing and amazingly new accounts were coming on board. In the last two days Clay had been advised that the sales staff had taken at least a hundred calls from corporate executives wanting more information on Everest. Pamphlets and application forms were promptly sent out.
Still, he didn’t know who was behind the vicious rumors or their reasons for spreading them.
A meeting was arranged with local business owners and CEOs to discuss the Maverick situation. Clay left Sophie and the secretaries to man the incoming calls as he headed for the Texas Cattleman’s Club. To his surprise and delight, the meeting room was full. The hushed banter stopped when Clay stepped up to the microphone.
“I want to thank you all for coming and hope you’re enjoying the refreshments provided. I know most of you have a very busy schedule, so with your permission I’ll get straight to the reason for this meeting. As most of you may know, the reason I asked you here today was because I need your help. Someone, I don’t as yet know who, has engaged in a smear campaign, online and in the local and national media, claiming Everest’s cloud computing has been compromised. They claimed security was breached and highly classified information was open for viewing. For the record, none of that is true. Not in the least.
“I don’t have a clue who’s behind this or what their motivations are. As far as I know, the only real enemies I’ve ever had walked on four feet, had horns and weighed about two thousand pounds. They don’t mess around with computers.”
A general laugh was heard across the room.
“But the name Maverick has come up in our investigations, and I know how other TCC members are putting up with harassment and blackmail from this mysterious source. I’m here to ask for your help and support and share what we’ve found out so far.”
“This has been going on for months now.” Wesley Jackson spoke up. “We have all tried to determine who is behind this. So far all we have is a little speculation.
“Many of us have been hit by blackmail threats, and attempts to ruin our personal reputations and close our businesses down,” added Toby McKittrick. Several people nodded in agreement.
“I think I can speak for most of us,” said Cecilia Morgan, “when I say we will do what we can to get behind you on this and give you whatever support you need.”
“I’ll give you the names of the detectives we have working on this and you can have your security contact them.” added Gave Walsh. “At least they will be up-to-date with this character’s goings-on.”
“We all know other CEOs across the globe that might do business with Everest,” Shane Delgado spoke up. Let us contact them and assure them Everest is solid, that you’re a good and reputable man.”
“I would be deeply grateful,” Clay responded, his heart warmed by the show of support.
“Heck,” said yet another, “we’ve all gotta stay together on this until we can determine who the culprit is and shut him down. I think it must be someone we all know or have known at some point in the past. Something we said or did must have rubbed him the wrong way and he’s out for revenge. Or he’s jealous. Or maybe he is just a nut. At any rate, we’ve got to work to support each other and we welcome you to the fold, Clay.”
As Clay glanced around the room, every head was nodding in agreement. These were good men and women, honest business owners who supported each other, as it should be. That was, after all, what being a member of the TCC was all about.
* * *
It took another few weeks but finally Clay’s business began to come back on track. Remarkably, because of the publicity efforts, outreach to clients and help from TCC members, Everest overall gained more accounts than it had lost. It was thriving.
“Do you have any plans for lunch?” Clay asked Sophie as she was preparing to leave the temporary desk where she had worked for the past few weeks.
“Well, I was going to pack,” she said. “The crisis is over and I need to move back into my own house.”
“I want you to stay here, with me.” Clay crossed the small space and removed her handbag from her hands. “As I’m sure you’ve noticed, we have plenty of room. Why do you feel the need to leave?”
“Why do you think I need to stay?” Sophie felt as though she’d been tricked. “I agreed to live here while we battled the rumors, but that’s over, thank goodness. There’s no more reason I need to be here night and day.”
“How about doing it for me? Stay because I want you to stay.”
“Clay, please. Don’t put me in this situation. It isn’t fair.”
“I thought we had something going between us. Am I wrong, Sophie?”
She would not answer that question. Yes, they had something but just what it was she didn’t know. While the sex was amazing, for her there had to be more. She needed commitment to go with the passion and most of all she needed love. There had to be love. Clay didn’t love her. She wouldn’t go as far as to think he was using her, though, because it was mutual. But she wanted a future, especially now that a little one was about to enter the picture. Clay couldn’t give her that.
“Is it right to ask me to stay while you needed my help then try laying a guilt trip on me when I need to go back to my home?”
“There is no attempt at guilt. I thought you’d want to be here with me.”
“That isn’t fair, either.”
Clay rested his hands on his hips and looked down at the floor as though in deep thought.
“Sophie, if I thought it was in me I’d be begging you to marry me. I care very deeply for you. But I’m not one to settle down with a wife and kids. I’m just like my old man. I’ve spent my life on the road, never staying in the same place more than a few days, following the rodeo circuit. Since the accident, it’s been tough, living here day in and day out. You make it tolerable. I thought you’d like to live here, too.”
“I can’t, Clay.”
“You can’t or you won’t?”
“Take your choice.” She picked up her purse and headed for the door. “I’m taking the afternoon off.”
* * *
An hour later Sophie was packed and on her way back to the cottage. It felt strange when she entered the modest dwelling. It seemed more small than cozy and she felt very much alone.
She had to admit she missed being around Clay outside of the office setting. His incredible sense of humor kept her laughing in spite of the serious discussion she needed to have with him. But being here, in this house, was better. All she had to do was convince herself she was doing the right thing.
The next morning Clay lost no time in being a total pain in the butt. Even knowing the company was prospering again, he seemed angry, moody and downright offensive to everyone. His short temper wasn’t boding well with clients and certainly not with Sophie. His limp was more pronounced. Sophie couldn’t help but wonder if it had anything to do with that woman he’d been set to marry, the one who’d dropped him like a hot potato after the accident. Had she called? Had he been using Sophie to forget about that woman? The thought brought immediate pain and she forced it from her mind.
Finally she’d had enough.
“Clay, what’s going on?” she asked, standing just inside his office.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he replied without looking directly at her.
“I’m talking about the company. It’s prospering again. So what is with the attitude?”
“It’s not something I wish to discuss with you. At least not now. See if you can get Greg Johnson on the phone. He withdrew his account and I need to see if I can talk him into coming back on board.”
“Right away, sir,” she replied and turned to head back to her desk.
Was he hurting? It was something he tended to keep hidden
away inside, as if it made him less of a man if he admitted to having pain. Totally ridiculous.
The week continued to be tense. Some days Clay would call a halt to business and they both headed to the barn where the horses were saddled and waiting. This was his element. It was where he needed to be. The internal anger disappeared and Clay was at ease with the world.
It was during one of these rides that Sophie was again tempted to tell him about the baby. But she couldn’t bring herself to do it. The rare times he was obviously relaxed and happy, she couldn’t bring herself to take that away from him. Back in the office, faced with his short temper and foul disposition, she didn’t dare.
The following Monday morning, Clay stepped into the office and stopped in front of her desk, a coffee cup in his hand. “Where were you last night? I tried to call but either got a busy signal or your voice mail.”
“Then I must have been busy or on the phone.” She smiled up at him. It really wasn’t any of his business what she did in her own house on her own time. And she certainly didn’t owe him any explanation as to whom she was speaking with.
Clay stood there and glared at her for the longest time. Obviously he was trying to make up his mind whether to push it or let it go.
Decision made. “Were you or were you not at home last night?” he barked, as though he had the right to know.
“That really isn’t any of your business, Clay. But I’ll give you this one—I was at home, on the phone, talking with my mom. My father isn’t doing well. He came in from the barn yesterday and he couldn’t move his right arm. He complained of a sharp pain in his shoulder. She called for an ambulance right away. Today he will undergo a battery of tests but the general consensus is he had a heart attack. All he could talk about was the pain in his head and shortness of breath. We’re currently waiting for the results.”
“I’m sorry. Damn, I hope he is okay. I just thought maybe you were—”
“Seeing someone else?” she interrupted. “I’m not. Yet. But you’ve given me no reason to think I shouldn’t go out with someone if asked.”
“Sophie, you know I care for you.”
“Do I? Just because we had sex does not mean I’ve assumed it’s a monogamous relationship. You’ve never even hinted at such a thing.”
He released a long breath. “Sophie, you know I’m not cut out for marriage. That was proven after I had my accident.”
“How? How was it proven? By the fact that selfish woman walked out when you needed her? The fact you were injured? None of it was your fault and you’re smart enough to know it. Now, if you’re finished prying, I have work to do.”
Clay nodded his head and walked to the door. “I hope your dad is okay,” he said again. “What is his prognosis?”
Tears immediately flooded her eyes. “Not good. He needs a new heart but he is too old to be put on the list, or so says the doctor.”
“How old is he?”
“Sixty-four.”
“And they are saying that is too old?” The look on Clay’s face was incredulous. “That’s a load of shit. Please keep me informed. If you remember, I met your parents one Christmas. I liked your dad.”
“Okay. Thanks.” She replied and he disappeared inside of his office.
* * *
Clay returned to his office. He might not be able to corral a difficult filly named Sophie, but there was something else he might be able to do. At twelve years old and not a penny to his name, he hadn’t been able to save his own father, but maybe... He picked up the phone and contacted the aviation station at the ranch, asking them to ready one of the private plans for immediate departure. Destination: Cleveland, Ohio.
* * *
When Sophie arrived at the office the next day, she was surprised to find Clay was not there. A brief, scribbled note said he would be gone for a few days and for her to continue with the basic work. How long was a few days? And what was she going to tell the people who called, given the recent crisis with Everest? She wasted no time picking up the phone and ringing his cell. After several rings, she finally heard his voice on the other end.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yep. Doing fine. Had something I had to take care of. I should be back in Royal sometime tomorrow. If you want, go ahead and forward my calls to the service and take the day off.”
“Okay,” she said, then disconnected the call. Sophie was puzzled. Normally he told her of any meetings, especially the ones out of town. She shrugged, writing it off to his temperament of late. She straightened her desk and was on her way.
As soon as she walked through her front door, she called the hospital in Indiana only to find her father had been discharged. That should have made her happy but she sensed all was not right. She next called her parents’ home. Susan, her younger sister, answered on the fourth ring, her voice sleepy.
“Hey, Susan, it’s me. I called the hospital and they told me Dad had been released. Is he at home?”
“No. At least not yet.” She yawned. “He was transferred to another hospital. And before you start, I don’t know why. You’ll have to talk to Mom. She said if you called to tell you not to worry. He was doing better, it’s just that they wanted him to see a specialist.”
“Is Mom there?”
“No, she’s with Dad. She said she would call around noon. If you want, call back this afternoon and I’ll tell you what she said.”
“I’ll just call her myself.”
“She won’t answer. Something about the hospital rules prevent the use of cell phones in the area he’s in. Just call me back this afternoon and I’ll tell you what she says.”
“Okay. Susan...”
“That’s all I know to tell you, Sophie.” Another yawn. “Sorry, I was out late last night.”
“Well, okay. Sorry I woke you. I’ll call later.”
“Don’t worry about Dad, Soph. He’s in good hands.”
Susan ended the call.
She would call Susan this afternoon and maybe find out what was going on. Something else... Susan was a bookworm, rarely going out, and even then she was normally home by ten o’clock. Where had she been so late that it would cause her to still be asleep at eleven o’clock in the morning?
That afternoon, before Sophie had a chance to call Susan again, her mom called her.
“We are fine, Sophie,” her mom assured her. “Your father is in good hands. He’s in the Cleveland Clinic and is undergoing some specialized testing. I’ll know more in a week or so and I’ll be sure to call.”
“Mom? How did you get to Cleveland? Why is Dad there? What specialist is he seeing?”
Before her mother could answer, Sophie heard voices in the background.
“I have to go, sweetheart. Just don’t worry. I will call you immediately if anything bad should happen, but I think it’s going to be okay. I love you.”
“Love you, too, Mom.”
And the call was disconnected, leaving Sophie wondering what was going on and what was it she was not being told?
* * *
Thursday morning as Sophie entered the office, she immediately saw Clay behind his desk, reading the morning paper, a cup of coffee in one hand. Approaching, she couldn’t help but notice the look of self-satisfaction on his face. Wherever he had been, whatever he’d been doing, he’d apparently been successful. She couldn’t help but speculate what it was. He’d probably been signing new accounts for Everest.
“Good morning,” she offered. “I’m glad to see you back. Did you have a good outcome to whatever it was you were doing?”
“Good morning,” he replied, “and yes, I did. Thank you for asking.” The newspaper still blocked his face but by the tone of his voice he’d accomplished what he’d set out to do. Whatever that was.
She went about her business the rest of the day
. Clay approached her as she was straightening her desk before going home.
“Can I delay you a few minutes?”
“Sure.”
“There is someone I want you to meet.”
“Who is it?”
“Come with me and find out.”
Together they made their way through the enormous house, out the kitchen door and down a walkway toward the main barn. Bypassing the lobby and the duplicate stalls of horses, Clay continued to the back of the barn, finally stopping in front of a large pen made of solid iron topped by wire panels held together by steel supports.
Sophie peeked through the panels and saw the creature inside. Startled, she jumped back. It was the largest Brahma bull she’d ever seen in her life. She’d guess the weight to be well over a ton.
“Sophie?”
“Not what I was expecting. It’s massive! What is a Brahma bull doing here on the ranch?” she asked, her voice quivering. “If that sucker ever got out, it could eat someone’s lunch.”
Clay smiled and stepped toward the fence. When he held his hand out to Sophie, she hesitantly put her smaller one in his and stepped forward.
“This is Iron Heart. He and I met in a rodeo arena five years ago. And he stomped more than my lunch.”
Sophie swallowed hard. “This is the bull that almost killed you?”
Clay silently nodded.
“Clay? What is it doing here?”
“It was scheduled to be euthanized. I found out and had them stop and arranged for him to come here.”
“But why?”
“Because that ogre’s the only SOB I’ve ever met who’s meaner than me and that deserves some recognition. Besides, he actually saved my life.”
“I don’t understand.”
“If it hadn’t been for Iron Heart, I would’ve entered into a marriage with a woman who I didn’t truly love and who certainly didn’t love me. It was the roughest damn thing I’ve ever been through, overcoming both downfalls. But it gave me the chance to build Everest from the ground up into the technology behemoth it is today.” He turned to face her. “Just so we’re straight, I suffer no regrets that Veronica walked out. None. Not with you beside me.”