by Jean Oram
Burke reached the door to his office before realizing he’d forgotten the marketing proposal on his desk. He snagged it and exited his office, Gulliver at his side.
“Oh, don’t be a poopy pants, Burke. Be happy for me,” Gulliver said with a pout.
“I’m happy for you,” he replied grudgingly.
Gulliver handed him pink papers. “Don’t forget your boarding pass.”
“I have it on my phone already.”
“I don’t trust technology.” He pressed the colorful papers into Burke’s hand.
No, he didn’t trust Burke. Gully had found Burke’s lost phone twice in the past week and was likely afraid his boss would end up at the gate without a pass.
“Put it in your briefcase now so you don’t lose it.”
Burke did as he was told. “Seriously though? Pink?”
“Sorry, I had it in the printer from the breast cancer awareness campaign brochure mockup and I didn’t want to waste more paper than I already was.” Gulliver continued with his original conversation thread as though he hadn’t missed a beat. “Anyway, Ethan’s brilliant man figured out the troll thing. I told you not to assume the worst in Jill.”
“I didn’t.”
“The troll was hired by someone here in town.”
“How do you know?”
Gulliver bowed in a graceful flourish as Burke headed for the elevator. “I know everything.” He handed over a folder Burke hadn’t noticed he’d been carrying. “It’s also in the report from Ethan and Zach. I took the liberty of forwarding a copy to Jill.”
Burke got into the elevator and pushed the down button, thinking. He didn’t like this. He also didn’t appreciate the implications. He’d been too quick to distrust Jill and she’d been too quick to cut herself loose.
Neither of them had fought for what they had.
The fact was, she hadn’t tested her products, and he hadn’t performed due diligence before subjecting his brand’s trust and image to the partnership.
No. Wait. That was all the troll’s doing, wasn’t it? The products were in fact good. He flipped open the report, kicking his foot out to prevent the elevator door from closing.
“Everything I need is in here?”
“Everything.”
He gave a sharp nod. “Thank you, Gulliver.”
“Should I call Ethan and give him the go-ahead to reinstate her products and the reviews feature?”
“No.”
“No?”
He let the elevator door close this time.
When he reached the lobby he was met by an out-of-breath Gulliver.
“How did you get—”
“Ethan says we could sue whoever it is for loss of sales and defamation. They’re messing with your business, Burke.” He added quietly, “Your marriage, too.”
“It wasn’t like that.”
“You liked her.”
Burke felt the weight of sorrow and loss settle over him again. He missed her. Missed believing it was real and that she’d been genuine.
But he’d also learned a hard lesson. It was never genuine even when it felt like it was.
“The fact is, Gulliver, she stole from me by using my credit. Twice.” He held up his hand, knowing Gulliver would argue that she hadn’t meant to dive into his financial credit and use it for herself. But Burke wasn’t born yesterday. He knew accidents didn’t happen twice. “I’m not going to welcome someone back into my life if I can’t trust them.”
14
“I don’t know,” Jill said to her sister. Jodi was standing at Jill’s closet, trying to choose an outfit for her to wear to the Metro Conference. “I don’t know if I can put myself out there. Burke was happy for me to leave. Maybe this is a bad idea.”
Her sister paused thoughtfully, a hanger dangling off her finger. “Didn’t you say that his company is like family to him? Maybe it’s not about you. Maybe it’s about him feeling as though everything he holds dear was being threatened, and so it was easier to let you go than to fight for you.”
“Yeah, but still. I was his wife.”
“Wife before life?” Her sister laughed at the joke. “Oh, I like that. Let’s make that a saying. It’s better than ‘happy wife, happy life.’” She resumed flipping through Jill’s wardrobe. She held out a dress, her eyebrows raised.
Jill shook her head, then let out a shuddery sigh. “I think nice pants and this peasant thingy is good enough.”
Jodi pursed her lips, holding a different blouse in front of Jill. “You definitely need to go to him,” she said. “This is an amazing second chance. One year later. Same conference and everything.” She tilted her head to the side, analyzing Jill’s appearance. “What about some mascara?”
“Burke liked the real me.” The one she didn’t have to try to be. It was wonderful. “And I’m trying to win him the contract, Jodi. Not win a pageant.”
“I don’t see why those have to be mutually exclusive.”
Jill ignored the comment. “He got the report about the troll and didn’t invite me back into his life, or offer to renew our business partnership even though it was profitable. Maybe he doesn’t even want the Tiffer pitch now. Maybe he found something better.”
“Yeah, yeah. Business is boring. Go win him back like they do in the movies.” Her sister began putting the rejected outfits back into Jill’s closet, giving up on trying to dress up her twin. “What are you going to say when you see him?”
“I’m going to show up at his meeting with Tiffer and pretend I’m his wife so he gets the deal.”
Without thought she caught herself peering around the small space, on the lookout for something that might be spying on her. Like the nanny cam her sister had found. The beady-eyed bear in her office had been spying on her the whole time, as well, just like the one at home. She felt violated knowing that the bear had been reporting back to someone…somewhere. The sense of invasion of privacy had left her chilled. And paranoid.
“And then what are you going to do or say? To Burke? To win him back?” Jodi prompted. She was really hoping for a happily ever after. So was Jill, even though she knew that was a very long shot.
Would she have the courage to put her heart out there? She’d been missing Burke something terrible and she loved him.
“What will you tell him?” Jodi prodded, coming at her with a pair of shoes—flats, thankfully.
Jill hated feeling so hopeful, of having people on her side, knowing her plan could fail and she’d disappoint not only herself, but everyone else, too.
“She’s going to tell Burke the truth,” said a deep Australian voice. A man darkened the bedroom doorway with his bulk. It was Logan Stone, with Taylor beside him, panting happily, pink tongue lolling out. The investigator handed her a dossier. “This is everything Zach and I found. And might I suggest you find yourself a real guard dog?”
“He specializes in planting land mines out in the yard. I’m impressed you got past them.” The dossier felt heavy in Jill’s hands and she sat on the edge of the bed, contemplating the document’s girth. “So what is the truth?”
“Tell him about the identity theft as an icebreaker.”
“I already did.”
It had been that call that had given her hope, then dashed it like a sudden storm throwing a schooner helplessly against the rocks. She’d needed all her resolve to reach for her phone, and had been relieved when Gulliver patched her through immediately.
Burke had promptly picked up, cool and professional.
“Burke, it’s Jill. I’m sorry for any grief the credit situation caused.”
He’d grunted in reply.
“It turns out my missing wallet ended up in the hands of an identity thief. I’ve filed a report with the police, filed an identity theft report, and let my bank know.”
“So will the bank relinquish the available credit to me?” She’d heard the hope, the softening in his voice.
“It takes time. Months maybe. I want to—”
“Thanks f
or your call.” And he’d hung up. That had been the rocks her proverbial schooner had been helplessly tossed against.
It had been a week since then and she’d been silly to think he’d treat her otherwise. She’d ruined his life, destroyed his chances of success, then divorced him to boot.
She was silly to think going to the conference would change any of that. That she’d be wanted there. Needed.
She clutched the stack of papers from Logan. But maybe with this dossier she could find the truth, sort through it all and show Burke that beneath the mess there was something still between them that was worth exploring and saving. Something unrelated to business. Something that felt a lot like love.
“There’s one person behind everything,” Logan stated. “Everything from the calls with nobody on the other end of the line, the leaked personal information, to the stolen identity, bad reviews and bulk product returns. You made yourself a sizable enemy who hired some professionals. This person is going to have a lot of protection. The good news is that you have Zach on your side and he did everything on the up-and-up. We’ll catch them. Make them pay.”
Jill flipped open the dossier and saw the name she’d feared seeing. The culprit.
She closed it again and stood. “I need to talk to Burke.”
Burke straightened his tie and smoothed his shirt. He’d spent Easter alone with his aunt, feeling lonely and as though he was barely going to make it through. It had been three weeks since his divorce and he felt off his game.
Not a great way to feel when about to go into the biggest pitch of his year.
“Here goes nothing,” he muttered to himself as he let himself into the suite Tiffer had booked for his Metro Conference meetings.
“Tiffer!” he called boisterously as soon as he entered, spotting the man sunk deep into the cushions of a sofa parked near the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the city below. “How are you doing? Good trip over?”
“Look what the cat dragged in.” Tiffer stood, buttoning his suit jacket. “No wife?”
Was this where he got kicked out? The expression on the businessman’s face proved he hadn’t expected him to come, even though he’d technically never canceled. The email he’d sent ages ago had been sour. Saying Burke and Jill deserved each other because they had no clue how to behave like two stable business partners.
Which was probably true.
“Jill can’t make it.” Burke offered him an awkward handshake. Tiffer barely completed it, his lack of interest apparent.
“Because she divorced you?” he asked.
“Mutual parting. Never mix business and pleasure,” Burke said mildly.
“Funny you say she can’t make it, because I saw her in the lobby earlier. We had a good chat.”
Jill? She was here? Why? And why had she chatted with Tiffer?
Burke avoided eye contact as he sorted through the implications of Jill being here. He gestured to a cart with what looked like fresh brewed coffee. “May I?”
“Help yourself.” Tiffer gestured to his team, who were crowded around a laptop in the dining nook off to the right. “Boys?” He tipped his head toward the sitting area.
The group settled in and Burke tried to keep smiling, act as though this was the deal he’d always wanted. That everything was fine and that he had the money should Tiffer say yes.
“So what do you think you have that we can’t live without?” the man asked. He pushed back in the cushions, uncrossed his arms to check his smart watch, then crossed them again.
“As you know, Sustain This, Honey is a—”
“You need to change your name. Rebrand.”
Burke bit his tongue. “My assistant and team—”
“Sith Lord.”
“Pardon me?” Burke was struggling to keep up with Tiffer, to not react to the disdain that was thick in the room.
“STH. Sustain This, Honey. All you’re missing is an i and you’re the lord of Sith. A Sith Lord. Linked to the dark side like you’re a part of Star Wars. Not the look you’re going for, I’m sure.” He smiled tightly. “And your sassy rebranding idea has potential, but it narrows your niche.”
“Actually, we’ve been working on that and the feedback from our community has been quite positive. We’ve also lined up some local marketing contracts and the outlook for growth has been very positive.” Just not quite as positive as it had been when he and Jill had been partners.
“So far nothing has been amazing about your trajectory. Jill’s Botanicals were doing well and yet you pulled them. Why?”
Burke inhaled slowly and focused on the question, knowing Tiffer was really asking about his ability to handle risk. “We had a troll. An attack.”
“One? Isolated, I hear?”
Tiffer checked his watch again, exposing a wrist tattoo that made Burke think of his own, of Jill’s. He still hadn’t had it removed, but he’d finally gotten as far as making the appointment.
Burke cleared his throat. “Yes, just one attack as we promptly shut things down. Jill thought it would be better for STH if she no longer partnered with us.”
“Didn’t you have a contract?”
“We did. I let her out of it.”
“One attack and you rolled over and gave up?”
“It was complicated.”
Tiffer smirked at his word choice.
“I think our track record and growth show we’re a viable company, ready for global expansion.” Burke passed sales data and projections to the man beside him. “Since talking to you last we’ve partnered with a few local businesses, and our new marketing contract is working on reaching a few select niches that you’ll see on page five.”
Tiffer didn’t look at the packet before he said, “You aren’t profit oriented.”
“I have people who depend upon me. I churn a profit.”
“So do I.” Tiffer leaned across the small table that separated them. “You need to stop thinking about everyone else and start thinking about lining your pockets. About the real world and what you can take from it.”
“I run an ethical company and I believe in treating my employees the way they should treat our customers. Like family.”
“I hear you have credit issues.”
“My wife’s identity was stolen.”
“I thought you were divorced.”
“We are.”
“So you give up when things get tough?”
“No.”
“But you did.”
“No, she did.”
“Why?”
“To…” Burke closed his eyes, opened them again, knowing that what he was about to say was the truth. Truth that wasn’t about him and his past or even his fears. It was about Jill trying to do the right thing for him.
Because she loved him.
Truly loved him.
“She wanted to protect me as well as the company.”
He felt ashamed of himself, the truth was so blatant. A truth he didn’t want to see. Instead of battening the hatches to weather the storm together, they’d taken separate lifeboats and cut the lines that had tethered them, made them stronger and more stable.
“Have you seen this?” Tiffer held up what looked like some sort of file with Autumn Martinez’s name on it.
“What’s that?”
“Your troll. The thing your wife was protecting you against.” Tiffer paused to let it sink in.
Autumn had been behind all this? That hardly seemed possible. When Burke had finally managed to meet with her, she’d been pale, distant. Not clingy or needy. He’d been relieved and hadn’t questioned it, but now he did.
Had she known the gig was up?
“I told you playing around was going to get you in trouble,” Tiffer said. “But I like your determination, Burke. Not a lot of men would have the balls to come in here today. That shows me something. That and the loyalty you build in those around you. Well, not in Autumn’s case.” He gave a wry smirk. “But in the case of your ex-wife. She went to bat for you today, to co
nvince me that you and your company were what I’m seeking.”
Burke wasn’t surprised that Jill had done that for him, but it added to his own sense of failure for assuming the worst in her and letting that taint everything he saw—or thought he saw.
“However,” continued Tiffer, “your reputation is in the toilet with this governor’s daughter business. If we’re going to work together you’ll have to go through a severe overhaul. Join a church. Do something big to show you’ve changed your ways.”
While Tiffer talked, Burke flipped through the file on Autumn. She was in some serious trouble. Identity theft, public mischief, harassment, invasion of privacy. She’d been spying on Jill with cameras and it all felt a bit overwhelming. What had Jill ever done to deserve all that he’d heaped upon her?
The woman he loved?
He wanted to run to her, wrap her in his arms and ensure she was safe.
He stood, carefully placing the file on the table. “Did you say Jill’s here?”
“Are we not ironing out what you need to do to grow your company? To protect your employees?”
“You think you can do all that?”
“Yes.”
“Really? With me?”
“Well, not as you are…”
“Because Jill can. And she was.” He cursed under his breath. And he’d blown it. But maybe there was still time to make it right again.
“She was using you to propel herself,” Tiffer said simply.
“Did she say that?” Burke challenged.
“She didn’t have to.”
“You don’t know her. And you don’t know me, either. Your values are all messed up.”
The man got to his feet. “I believe in marriage and devotion to those we love.”
“So do I. I just suck at showing it sometimes.”
Jill sat in the hotel bar, where a mariachi band was pumping out cheerful music that normally would have her up and dancing—and had a year ago when she’d been here with Burke. She’d reacted on instinct when she’d spotted Tiffer in the lobby hours before Burke’s meeting. She’d walked up to him, pressing the dossier into his hands despite it being confidential, and vouching for Burke. She’d been desperate for the businessman to know the truth about Burke and to see beyond the poor reputation he was no doubt judging him for.