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Chapter Thirty-Six
Sable had finally escaped from Rose and Camilla Livingston and was desperately seeking Jethro.
She wanted to get out of here, and screw what her parents would say about missing the pictures and leaving empty spaces at the dinner table. She didn’t care.
She was tired and all of her feelings were bubbling to the surface. All she wanted to do was go home and sit on the couch with her daddy and the dogs. Rhodie and Marigold would make her feel better. And of course being in Daddy’s arms would too.
Jethro would insist on feeding her since she hadn’t eaten a bite here, and then maybe give her a bottle or two. Brush out her hair, give her a bath, put her in a diaper, take everything away. All of her control, all of this weight she always carried. Even after what her mother had tried to plant in her head, Sable still wanted him above all else.
Surely if she told Jethro about the ugly things she’d said, he’d be able to put her mind at ease. Of course he would.
Unfortunately, she didn’t see him anywhere after making two circuits of where the guests were being entertained. She realized there was someone else she hadn’t seen in her survey—her father.
Oh no. What if he was saying just as vile things to Jethro as her mother had said to her? She couldn’t bear the thought.
There were a few places her father could’ve taken Jethro to talk, but her money was on the library. It’s where her father brought people when he wanted to intimidate them. Of course Jethro wouldn’t even notice most of the things her father’s peers would be cowed by; the paintings and the rare books and the cigar collection. And she loved that about him.
Finally Sable made her way to the library and indeed heard the low rumble of Jethro’s voice without understanding the words he said, followed by her father speaking.
She knew she shouldn’t, but she pressed her ear to the door, hoping to catch Jethro verbally thrashing her father. Or telling him how much he loved her.
“Fine. Then I’ll make you an offer.”
An offer? An offer of what?
Sable tried to hold her breath so she could make out Jethro’s response, but it was no good. He was too quiet to make out over the chattering of the party guests and the music.
“Oh, I think you’ll find this proposition quite satisfactory. I’m prepared to cut you a check right now if you’ll leave my daughter alone.”
What the hell? She knew her parents didn’t like Jethro, but this was some real movie villain shit. Surely Jethro wouldn’t take him up on it?
“That depends on how much you think your daughter is worth.”
That wasn’t what Sable was expecting Jethro to say. Why wasn’t he raising his voice and telling her father to go to hell? Her heart felt heavy in her chest, like it might sink into her stomach. Betrayal. But maybe she’d misunderstood?
“I think it matters how muchyouthink Sable is worth.”
There was a pause.
“Well, even given the non-compete clause, Sable’s a smart girl. I’m sure she’ll figure out how to earn a comparable income in short order. So let’s multiply her VP salary by thirty-five years. What does she pull down right now, two-fifty large? That’d be eight-point-seven-five million. Plus I expect you’re grooming her to take over when you’re ready to step down, and it would be a pain to find a replacement, so really I’d be doing you a favor. Why don’t we make it an even ten million? Which is frankly a steal since I know she’d be making more money as time goes on.”
She was going to puke. She hadn’t eaten anything, and she was going to vomit all over the floor. That wasn’t love, that was… Sable had a pretty big vocabulary but she couldn’t think of a word repulsive enough to convey how shitty that was.
Ten million dollars wasn’t small change, especially to a man like Jethro, but…
Bile rose in her throat and Sable couldn’t stand to listen any more. She pushed away from the door and staggered down the hallway toward the back of the house where no one would see her leave.
When she burst out of the door and into the frosted-over garden, she tried to catch her breath and swallow her tears. She hadn’t thought in her distress to get her coat and it was freezing out here. The cold air in her lungs felt good in a way—bracing.
She felt her head clear, her mind sharpen. It was better this way. Better to know now that her mother had been right—that Jethro really had been more interested in her money, and if he could have the money without her, well, even better.
Sable wasn’t going to cry about that, not a single tear. But she did need to get out of here and to someplace warm. Most of her so-called friends were at the party and she wouldn’t chance calling any of them and them telling her parents.
So she dug in her bag and dialed one of her contacts while starting to pace, hoping the movement would keep her warm. Well, warmer, anyway.
There were only a couple of rings before he answered.
“Hey Pocketful, what’s up? I’ve missed you.”
