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Earl nodded toward the empty table to Jessa’s left. She took that as an order to sit down.
He’d always been protective and decent with her, but people spoke with almost a sense of awe about his ruthlessness. He was known to take a position and refuse to bend during intricate business negotiations. He viewed compromise as a synonym for getting his way.
Covington talked about Earl’s background in hushed, respectful tones. Retta referred to three brilliant brothers raised by a single mom who had to balance getting a nursing degree with boys running in every direction. One brother excelled atsports and went on to play in the NBA. The other was a well-known playwright. Earl was the successful one. The one who made the most money.
Earl succeeded because it was expected. Because his competitive drive didn’t let him lapse behind his older brothers. That kind of determination made him tough and practical. And right now, he looked pissed. Other people probably couldn’t tell, but Jessa could. The usual welcoming smile he wore when he saw her was nowhere to be seen.
He sat across from her and stared down a man who ventured too close but then wisely scurried away before bothering him. “Do you know what I would do to protect my wife?”
“Probably—”
“Anything.” He folded his hands together. “Don’t let the money and the big house fool you. She and the boys are everything to me. Nothing threatens them. Do you understand?”
His smooth, clear tone had Jessa’s insides shrinking. He made his point without ever raising his voice. “I would never harm them.”
“Gabby Fielding.”
Jessa hated this topic. “Yeah, she’s everywhere these days.”
“The divorce is behind her.” Earl glanced at Gabby with what looked like reluctant respect. “She’s no longer in Baines’s shadow.”
“She doesn’t believe he killed himself.” Jessa blurted that out and regretted how much it sounded like tattling. The last thing she wanted was to come off as insecure in front of Earl.
He stared at Jessa, not saying a word. He stalled long enoughthat Jessa had to fight squirming. The relentless attention made her wither, but she tried not to let it show.
Finally, he spoke. “It sounds like Gabby is someone you should avoid.”
“I’m trying.” She never thought Gabby would pop up here. This should have been a safe non-Gabby space.
“Good.” Earl stretched out in his chair. He had a medium build, but he managed to take up a lot of space. “You’re on the verge of accomplishing the goals you set out for yourself years ago.”
A topic change. Not a great one, but Jessa grabbed on to it. “I’m afraid to believe it.”
“You plan and prepare. Swallow setbacks and other people’s doubts. Make mistakes that derail you and try to break out of a life you never wanted before it can define you.” He tapped his fingers against the table. His expensive watch caught the light. “Then one day, an opportunity drops in your lap, and you have to decide if you’re willing to make the sacrifices needed to grab that opportunity.”
Sacrifices.Retta had used that word, too. This wasn’t a lawyer discussion. This was about the Foundation, or, more accurately, about theotherwork of some members of the Foundation. Jessa still didn’t know what she could and couldn’t say and to whom.
“It should be easy to take what you want. You ache for it. Dream about it. Taste disappointment and regroup. Find a new way.” He made a fist. “But making that final jump is a different thing.”
A lecture... a warning. She couldn’t tell where this fell, so she made her position clear. “I already said yes to Retta’s offer.”
“Words are easy, Jessa. True sacrifice, the kind that will quench that thirst and make all your choices and all that drive worth it, is about action. About earning trust.”
Forget a friendly conversation. This was a warning. His expression stayed open and friendly. His voice never rose, but her body reacted. Her nerves jumped to life, and restless churning started in her stomach.
She’d been caught messing up before. Her last law firm, the one before Covington, caught her lying to a client about documents being filed when they weren’t and hours billed that ran a bit too high, and confronted her. Fired her. Agreed to a nondisclosure agreement and silence only when she threatened to expose a partner’s habit of sleeping with every female intern. The younger the better.
This moment felt a lot like that one. Pivotal and life-changing.
She had to swallow twice before talking again. “Did I do something wrong?”
“That’s a good question. Did you?” His eyebrow lifted in the same accusatory way his wife’s did.
“Is this about Gabby? Because we’re not friends.” Jessa refused to get pulled under by Gabby’s deadweight. “Our lives intersect in places, like it or not, and I don’t, but that’s all.”
“Retta and I share everything. I support what matters to her. So your doubts about taking the next step are my concern because they threaten Retta, and I can’t allow that.”
Jessa hated that he saw through her and tried to hide her shifting thoughts. She wasn’t someone who got bogged down in the “rightness” of a decision. If it worked for her, that wasenough. But going full vigilante came with risks. She knew if someone in the group had to be sacrificed, it would be her, and signing up for that level of responsibility had her backpedaling.
