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He told his dad about the three incidents.
He was quiet for a moment. “Do you know what they mean? Why you had these flashbacks? Doesn’t sound like PTSD.”
“It’s not. I don’t know what they mean, but until I get a handle on it, I can’t go back to the team. That’s not an option.”
“How about a shrink?”
“No. I don’t want to do anything…official like that. If it gets back to command, I’m toast.”
His father thought for a moment. “How about your Aunt Helen?”
“I thought about her, but wouldn’t she tell Mom?”
“No. She’s a therapist. She won’t break that confidentiality, even to her sister.”
“I’ll go see her this afternoon.”
“That’s a good plan.” He rose. “You can play basketball, right?”
Easy grinned and nodded. “Yeah.”
“Let’s go,” his father said confidently. “I’ll beat you at a game of Horse.”
Easy chuckled. “You can try, old man.” His gut clenched at the thought of talking about his past, especially about Jeri. He’d told no one in his family about what had happened that night before and after the accident. It was something he’d always wanted to keep in the past.
But his mind had a different plan. He just didn’t know what it all meant.
* * *
PAY-TV Headquarters,Dallas, Texas
Astraea Jacqueline Devers stood at the window in the corporate lawyer’s office, her arms folded, seething with resentment and frustration. She’d taken this job as a sales executive for PAY-TV with the promise that she would be promoted. Great strides had been made toward equality in the workplace. But apparently not at PAY-TV. From what she could see of this company’s policies, they got caught on the glass ceiling, a metaphor for the invisible barrier that prevented some people—namely her as a woman—from rising to senior positions. She was being suffocated by the pressure from her ambitions, that unyielding obstruction and biases.
Raymond Clary sat behind his desk, looking all regal and corporate in his three-thousand-dollar suit. “Jack, competition is good for our employees. It keeps everyone on their toes,” he said, smiling his politician’s smile. He looked as if he had just come off someone’s campaign trail—or was ready to hit one.
Clary was only one of the players on her chess board. The other two were Mitchum Falk, current CEO of PAY-TV, and her nemesis, Kyle Nost, Falk’s nephew. He hadn’t gotten his job from rising in the ranks but from nepotism.
Her ultimate goal was to become the president of PAY-TV, and everything she did at the company was to achieve that goal.
She’d closed big deal after big deal and was on the fast track, until the previous CEO, a man she had wrapped around her little finger, died from a heart attack. His replacement proved to be a challenge.
Falk. A misogynistic, narcissistic asshole as far as she was concerned, who thought he could take whatever he wanted. He was obsessed with her and wanted to take it to the next level.
Jack knew men found her beautiful, brilliant, and desirable. There was a fine line to draw between using her body for advancement and manipulating the situation to her advantage. Jack battled back against the old boy establishment with subtle use of body language and manipulation of her sexuality in a way that made her seem almost attainable.
The suggestion had been her mother’s and the thought that Jack wouldn’t reach her ultimate goal made her panicky and sick inside. She had to be the best and on top and she didn’t want to be weak, ineffective. So, she listened when her mother told her to push Falk until he broke and made sexual advances, then Jack could use that leverage to get him out.
Jack had been reluctant to go that far, mostly because she wanted to get to the top by good honest work. She had invested six years in this company, and Falk was stalling her advancement and screwing with her head. She wanted her due.
A voice came from behind her. “Good. Everyone is here.”
“You’re going to lose, Jack,” Kyle Nost taunted. Her nemesis and the man who was her biggest rival, and threat to her snagging the upcoming promotion and corner office located in New York City. It was the perfect steppingstone to the seat of power.
She turned around, annoyance washing through her, the muscles in her gut hardening. His boasting words reminded her of Jack’s sister, Georgia, and like Jack’s nickname, Georgia went by George. Her mother often pitted them against each other for just about any type of reward, even though her wishy-washy father disapproved. She’d learned young that love was conditional on how she performed, and love impeded success, unless she was in control.
The only problem with that last tenet was that the men she could control, she didn’t want to be with romantically. All the others had egos and attitudes. She didn’t want to waste her time arguing or fighting with a strong man. Maybe that was why her mother was still married to her father, but what was his motivation to stay married to her mom…the income?
“Are you going to let him get away with that kind of trash-talking?” She glanced at Falk. Frustrated at his every attempt to run her out of the company. His piercing hawk eyes stared at her, the subtext clear. She was done here unless she gave him an easy out. Falk was well aware that Jack could wipe the floor with his nephew. She was no dumb bunny. One corner of his mouth lifted in a cold, sardonic smile, taunting her, daring her to use her unimportant threat against him.
