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“I think Jake is an excellent businessman. But he’s not the ideal partner to have during this time, Alicia. And all this talk about stalking and paranoia … well, it’s right out of the book. Jake’s manipulating you.”
“What?” I asked. I wanted to tell her to shut up, to get out of my house, but I was too afraid to stop her from talking. I wanted to hear what she had to say. I wanted to know how she knew so much about Jake.
“Jake is an intense, emotionally difficult man. He’s also controlling, to say the least. I mean, look at how he runs his business.”
I shook my head. I couldn’t believe it. “No, not Jake,” I said. “He’s not like that.”
“He is, Alicia. And more to the point, he’s a dangerous person to have around. Why aren’t you with him right now? When you need him?”
I looked down, ashamed. I couldn’t answer her. Somewhere, in some part of me, I knew Dr. Knightly was crossing a line, that she shouldn’t be talking like this about Jake, even if what she had to say was true. But I was fixated on what she had to say. Dr. Knightly was right. Jake might not even know he wasn’t treating me right.
“I’ll let you rest now,” said Dr. Knightly, standing up and redoing the zip on her medical bag. “But please, listen to what I’m saying. Oh, and one more thing, Alicia.”
“What?” I asked.
“Please, don’t tell Mr. Ryder about … well. This conversation. I’m worried about what he’d say.”
“Okay.”
She let herself quietly out of the room and downstairs.
I slept until evening, overwhelmed by tiredness and exhaustion. When I woke in the dark, I looked at my phone, which was buzzing quietly on the bedside table. I picked it up and looked at the screen. I didn’t recognize the number. I answered and put the receiver to my ear.
Chapter 18
Jake
Thatafternoon,Ihadbeen in a conference room on the thirty-eighth floor of One Metropolitan Square, the tallest building in St. Louis. Outside, the view dropped down hundreds of feet above the city, where people looked like ants and cars seemed like tiny toys, making their way up and down the streets.
But I didn’t notice any of that, because, at that point, my phone wasn’t working. I’d been trying to get it to work all morning and had almost been late to the office building because of the darned thing. I couldn’t check my email. Luckily, I still wore a watch, so I could tell the time!
“Good morning, Jake,” said Tom’s voice from over on the other side of the room.
“Good morning, Tom,” I said. “Here to speak to me before my lawyer arrives?” My lawyer, Jack Handle, was running late.
“Nothing like that, Jake,” said Tom, with his hands in his pockets. He took a seat at the conference table. “I’m just interested,” he said slowly, “to see if you’d like to do business.”
“I’m always interested in doing business,” I said. “In fact, I had several meetings with my lawyers this morning to discuss how I’ll continue to do business.”
“Glad to hear it,” said Tom, ignoring the meaning behind my words. “Because I have to say, Jake, you really are talented. Everything you’ve done with CAA up to this point has been just fabulous. I and the board cannot tell you how grateful we are to be a part of this great company.”
“And?” I said quietly. I turned and leveled Tom with a glare, enjoying the way he seemed to wilt in his chair. With all due respect, the man was a coward. Plain and simple.
“The thing is, Jake,” said Tom, “we know things are difficult for you right now. Personal problems, and so on. So, we’re giving you the opportunity to take a step back.”
“Funny, Tom,” I said drily, “because I thought you were going to say that. Who’s going to run things while I’m gone?” I said, “I’m the majority shareholder.”
“We’d like to buy you out, Jake,” said Tom. “All of us. You might be the majority shareholder, at forty-eight percent, but you don’t own the majority. And wouldn’t you know it? 52% of the stockholders have their stake in the company managed by—oh, yes,” chuckled Tom, “the board. Which is to say, me. Because I represent them.”
“You’re a real snake,” I said. “You’ve sold our investor’s false promises of riches, and now you’re going to leave them high and dry. All so you can get my share.”
“Now, now, Jake,” replied Tom. “That sounds pretty libelous.”
“I’m sure it does. I’d just like to know what makes you think our shareholders are going to support you pushing me out of the business I’ve worked so hard to make successful.”
“What about the news that you’ve got a CAA employee pregnant? That might undermine their confidence.”
I stared at him. I neither wanted to confirm nor deny it, not until I knew why.
