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She was seated on my bed, and Dad hung in the corner like a menacing ghost, a cigar between his fingers, even in the middle of the night.
“But we can protect Ruby. You can protect Ruby.” Jacob finished for Mom.
They devised a plan. All I had to do was apply as Ruby’s nanny when Tristan moved to town. They needed me to gather evidence they could use to prove Tristan was an unfit father in their custody suit.
I accepted without a second thought, and they rented an apartment for me in town. I accepted not just for my parents but also because I hated the man’s guts, even though I’d never met him. He took away my sister and destroyed my business, and the chance to do the same to him had fallen in my lap. It was too sweet an offer to pass up.
Then, a month before he moved to town, I slept with him without knowing.
Chapter eight
Tristan
“What do you mean another one?” I ask angrily.
“Just like last time,” Luke says. “But this time, the asshole’s talking about your military past.”
I hear Luke take a deep breath on the other end of the call. He sounds just as angry as I am, but he’s trying to be the level-headed one. I try to keep the anger out of my voice. After all, he’s only the messenger. Another hit piece attacking me has been published.
“What about my military past?”
“Something about how your time in Afghanistan made you angry and irritable. He implies that you transferred that aggression to Deanna, and she often bore the brunt of your anger. He implied that you were, uh, a bit promiscuous over there, and you had some discipline issues. It’s just bullshit, man.”
“Luke, you and I know it’s bullshit. The hundreds of thousands of people reading this thing don’t know that.”
Luke takes another exasperated breath. He says something to someone in the background—something about canceling his lunch. It makes me realize I haven’t eaten, and it’s almost 2 P.M. I leave the living room and head to the kitchen for a snack.
“This shit is planned.”
“Yeah, I know.” I open the refrigerator. “The next board meeting is tomorrow.”
“And you remember what I told you last time?”
“Damage control.”
An apple will have to do. I take a big bite. The oppressing silence in the house suddenly makes me miss Ruby.
“You’re leaving that place today, right?”
He says that place like it’s the dirtiest place ever. .
“Yeah, I won’t miss the meeting.” I take another bite. “Not this one. How the board member reacts to this whole thing will determine our next move. No move should be made until then.”
“Okay.”
“Luke, I need you to start making calls. Smitty, Berkowitz, and Flounders. They’re usually on my side, and I need you to make sure they remain so.”
“Already on it, man.” I can hear the smile in Luke’s voice. “What do you take me for?”
I breathe a sound of relief. By this time tomorrow, I will be in New York. I should have left already, but I want to be here when Ruby returns from school.
“Where’s Ruby? All I can hear is the sound of you biting into that apple like it’s some kind of perverted hooker.”
“She went to school.”
“What?” He couldn’t keep the surprise out of his voice.
“Yeah, the homeschooling thing was a bad idea.”
