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“Or I’ll put you in your place,” growled Tom. “The old-fashioned way.”
And for a moment, I thought he was about to hit me. Tom’s muscles were practically bursting through his suit. The vein on his temple stood out. His cheeks were flushed but his eyes were dead. I knew that look on any soldier’s face. It meant that his rage was controlled.
But I can’t do it. Not in front of Jamie. I can’t fight with her dad.
I can’t fight the inevitable.
“Go, then,” I growled, hanging my head and sighing.
But Jamie stood frozen.
“GO!” I thundered, and then Jamie turned and started walking away as the tears fell down her cheeks. Tom shot me one last, long, and ugly look.
And then he was gone too. The two most important people I ever had in my life.
Vanished into thin air. Along with all the rest of my hopes and dreams.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Jamie
Afterthatday,Ididn’t want to speak to my dad anymore. I knew what Eric had done was wrong, but at the same time, I wanted to be the one to talk to him about it. I was in control of my own life. My life worked. I didn’t need the men of my life messing things up for me. My experience with men only brought more pain, and I am not willing to let that happen again.
I was paid for the work that I did for Eric, and handsomely too. A few days after everything, I discovered that another $400,000 had been deposited in my bank account.
I didn’t want the money. And yet at the same time, I knew it was a payoff for my silence. Or at least I thought it was. But I didn’t mind. The extra money would tide me over for the rest of the year. Until I was able to find another job. I still had my old clients, even if in boardrooms and among the chatter of workplace gossip I heard stories about us—that the engagement had been a scam, or that I left Eric, or maybe even that he hurt me or wronged me in some way.
That was the worst thing of all. I didn’t want to acknowledge the rumors by responding to them. I didn’t want to make a big deal of something that was a private matter between two people and not the whole world. But at the same time, I wanted to speak up; I wanted to tell people the truth. For a moment, our ‘fake’ engagement had felt all too real. For a moment, I wondered if I really would have married Eric.
I could remain broken, I could give up, or I could resign myself to crying my nights away in front of the TV. But I can’t do that, either.
Thanks to the little miracle that Eric and I brought into the world, Cassie became my rock, the center of my world. Oddly enough, the whole thing brought us closer together. She was going to elementary school in the fall. So, I decided the two of us would take a little trip. So, I booked a vacation far away from the rest of the world.
I chose Cape Cod. I knew that it would be tough to return there, but I felt guilty for not taking Cassie with me the first time. All of this would have been avoided if I had only taken her with me and not gone alone the last time. I would have never been drawn into the seductive orbit of Eric Slade.
So, one week in August, when it was a little cooler than the hottest months of June and July, we packed up our bags and took a trip down there. I brought Janine with me. Despite everything that my crazy affair with Eric had done to my friendship with Janine, she forgave me and understood.
Julia was a different story. Later I found out that it was her who tipped off the press about my house. She was jealous of me, jealous of the attention I got from Eric, and jealous of my seniority over her. Despite her fancy Ivy League education, Julia had always felt second-best to me.
I guess it was all just a reminder that I had to be careful of whom I trusted.
At this time of year, Cape Cod is beautiful, not wild and savage like it had been when I went with Eric, but placid and warm. The sun was hot, but Cassie loved it. Together, we went to the beach with Kyle and Janine. And Janine and I had lots of fun together, water-skiing and eating out. Catching up on all the time we spent apart the last few months.
I wasn’t surprised when, on our third day staying by the sea, my dad gave me a call. I ignored his occasional texts since the blowup, but I had to be honest with myself, My dad isn’t a young man anymore, and I can’t bear the thought of not being with him or denying him access to visit with his granddaughter.
“Hey, Jamie,” he said when I picked up the phone.
I sighed and watched through the window, as Kyle and Cassie ran around the enormous back garden of the guesthouse I rented. “Hi Dad,” I said.
“Sweetie, I know everything that happened was bad,” said Tom. “But I can’t stop thinking about you. Wondering where you are. Are you okay? How’s Cassie?”
“She’s fine, Dad,” I said. “Having the time of her life, in fact.”
“And how are you?”
“I’m as good as can be expected. You know me.”
I was always strong. Even after my mom died, I knew I had to pull myself together for my dad’s sake.
