The remainder of the summer passed quickly, and fall swept in with its vibrant colors and cool air. Matthew started kindergarten in September, and he thrived among his new friends. Lana’s work was going well, too. She loved her job, and she loved the people she worked with. She had breezed through the tasks she had initially been given, and she now had a whole new realm of responsibilities, including the overall operating budget for the advertising division. Life had settled into a routine for her. She sometimes worked at home, but usually went into the office, since all of her files were there. Besides, showing up at work provided her only adult social interactions of the week, apart from the days that she and Sam got together. She was still hesitant about establishing a social life outside of her office, both because it might make her easier to find, but also because she didn’t want to endanger anyone around her. Lana had not forgotten the lessons she’d learned two years ago – her ex-husband was a dangerous man.
She occasionally had meetings scheduled with Jarrod Marshall and the board of directors, but since the day he had offered her a ride home, she seldom ran into him apart from those meetings. That was fine with her, she told herself. He still treated her rather distantly, which stood in direct contrast to his caring attitude toward all of his other employees, and Lana still had no idea what had led to that distance, but it didn’t really matter, as long as she was left alone to do her job.
She understood that he could be a problem for her – the attraction she had felt for him when she first met him had not gone away. If anything, it had grown, particularly when she saw him interacting with his staff. When the man smiled or laughed, he was deadly. Not that he ever smiled at her, she acknowledged. With her it was always business. That was fine, though – as handsome and attractive as he was, he was way out of her league. And Daniel would always be in the picture. They may be divorced, but with his mental illness untreated, he would always be a threat to her and to anyone in her life. Getting involved with another man wouldn’t ever be an option. In this case, it was just as well, since getting involved with her boss was another absolute line that she simply would not cross.
One evening, a few weeks later, Lana again bumped into Jarrod on the way out of the office building. She was on her way to pick up Matt from day care and she was running late, but she greeted him politely as they waited for the elevator together.
“How is the job going, Lana?” Jarrod asked as the elevator finally arrived and they got on.
“It’s going very well, thank you. I’m enjoying the work,” she added, glancing at her watch.
Jarrod’s eyes missed nothing. “Are you late for something?”
Lana grimaced. “A little. My son is at a sitter’s house, and I was supposed to pick him up a few minutes ago. I hate being late. Especially where Matt is concerned.”
Jarrod took advantage of the opening to ask, “How old is your son?”
“He’s five.”
“What about his father?” Jarrod asked, watching her closely, his casual tone belying the tense set of his shoulders and the keen glance he tossed at her.
Lana shook her head. “We’re divorced,” she said. There was so much more to the story, she thought, but nothing she wanted to share with her boss. When the elevator doors opened, Lana took the opportunity to run, calling good night over her shoulders.
Jarrod followed her out, watching as Lana disappeared through the front door of the lobby. Divorced, she had said. Not widowed. He supposed that it was technically true – they had divorced before Daniel had died, but he was surprised that Lana hadn’t just said that Matt’s father had passed away. Her words really didn’t mean anything, but Jarrod realized that it was past time to talk with Lana. He had no excuse for holding off any longer.
Errol had turned up a bit more information on Lana and Daniel’s life in Denver, but not much. Daniel’s name was, indeed, on Matt’s birth certificate, so that largely confirmed for him that Daniel was the father of Lana’s little boy. Errol had also asked around about the restraining order, and hadn’t gotten a lot of information, though he reiterated to Jarrod that these things were not taken lightly, and that he should consider that when he was mulling over any information that Errol provided to him. Checking hospital records was out of the question, since HIPAA kept personal information private, but when Errol called in favors from a friend, he did get a few police records related to domestic violence calls to Daniel’s old address.
All of this bothered Jarrod greatly. In addition to the soul-searing attraction he still fought whenever they were together, he was starting to genuinely like Lana, both as an employee and as a person. The thought that his best friend might have abused her or their son was disturbing enough, but if it were true and he’d done nothing to intervene? He had known something was wrong, he thought. He just never put two and two together.
So yeah, it was probably time to for her to know who he was, and past time for Matt to get to know his father’s family. But Lana had kept Matt from them all for a reason, and Jarrod was more than a little concerned about why. She had also filed for divorce from Daniel, so Jarrod couldn’t imagine that she’d be happy when she realized that Jarrod was Daniel’s friend, and that he’d brought her here under false pretenses.
Lana’s obvious vulnerability bothered him, though he could see the strength behind it. In some ways, she seemed to be waiting for someone to hurt her, but then seemed equally ready to pummel the hell out of anyone who tried. It was an intriguing combination, but likely born under circumstances he still couldn’t quite fathom. He really hoped he was wrong. He really hoped that her vulnerability came from something other than her marriage to Daniel.
He needed to know more, but he also needed to be really careful, he thought. One wrong move could spook her badly, and while he’d find her again with the help of Errol, it would be easier if she stayed put. He needed a plan.
When Lana got the summons to Jarrod’s office later that week, she thought that it was to go over some figures that she had sent him on Monday morning. But when she walked in the door of his office, she knew immediately that something was wrong. Jarrod was standing in front of his desk, with an expression on his face that was very similar to the expression he had worn the day that she had interviewed with him. He motioned for her to close the door behind her.
“Is something wrong, Mr. Marshall?” she asked quietly after she had shut the door and moved into the room. She really hoped that he wasn't about to fire her. She liked this job, and she honestly didn't think she had done anything wrong, but this didn’t seem like an ordinary meeting about a report. There was something else going on.
She took a deep breath and looked at him directly, fighting to maintain her composure. He was watching her again, his eyes locked on hers as he leaned back against his desk. Crossing his arms in front of him and looking down at her, he watched the emotions stream across her face. “You have no idea who I am, do you?” he asked softly at last, his blue eyes still holding her gaze.
Swallowing hard, Lana remembered his offer of a ride from a few months ago, and his clear need for her to know that he was the CEO of Marshall Industries. Was this related? She couldn’t think of a single reason why this might matter, other than for him to reinforce that he was her boss. Oh dear God, she thought. Maybe she hadn’t hidden her attraction to him as well as she thought, and he was calling her on it?
She tore her eyes from his, embarrassment rolling through her as she fought to keep calm. “I’m sorry,” she said at last, trying to figure out how to respond to him without completely making a fool of herself. “I guess you should explain what you mean, Mr. Marshall,” she added quietly.
Jarrod pushed himself off the desk, and took a step toward her. He stopped several feet away, remembering the fear in her eyes when he had gotten too close in the past.
“I don’t know a better way to say this, so I’ll just come out with it. I was your husband’s best friend, Lana,” he told her quietly. “Daniel and I served in Iraq together.”
Jarrod watched as she visibly paled, her eyes fluttering around the room as if she expected her ex-husband to pop out of the woodwork. For a moment, he was afraid that she might flee the room, but she pulled herself together and took a deep breath. The expressions on her face were heartbreakingly easy to read. Shock appeared first, followed by confusion, followed by an honest, deep-rooted fear that pulled at Jarrod’s heart. Finally, she managed to choke out, “Was?”
He nodded. “Yes. Was.”
Lana swallowed again, her throat dry with fear. He had spoken of the past. Why? “What happened?” she asked at last.
He looked at her in confusion. “I’m not sure what you are asking. We were friends until he was killed.”
Lana was having a hard time keeping up. Killed? “Daniel is dead?” she asked incredulously. Was that why she hadn’t seen or heard from him since she had taken Matthew and fled?
Jarrod was silent, watching her reaction with a mix of curiosity and disbelief. She was either one hell of an actor, or she honestly hadn’t known that Daniel had been killed. And he was leaning toward the latter explanation, God help him. Nobody was that damn good at acting. Nobody.
“What happened?” she asked at last.
“His car overturned on a rainy night in London.”
“When?”
“Two years ago.”
Lana sank down onto Jarrod’s couch, without waiting for an invitation. Her legs were shaky, and she didn’t want to collapse on this man’s floor. Jarrod had just inadvertently told her that Daniel had been looking for her and Matt in England. The reality was, he had probably been close to finding them. The thought terrified her, even though she knew that she was safe here, in this man’s office. There was a world of people outside of his door, going about their business. And, if Jarrod had been telling her the truth, she no longer had to fear her ex-husband.
She swallowed hard, willing the fear and the incredulity to the back of her mind. She would deal with all of that in just a moment, she thought. First, she needed to make sure that they were talking about the same person. “Show me,” she demanded. “Show me a photo of your friend. I have to know that we’re talking about the same person.”
Jarrod moved behind his desk and opened a drawer, pulling out a framed photo of the two of them, taken five years ago when they went on a skiing vacation in Breckenridge. He leaned across the desk and tossed it over to her.
She caught it easily, looking down at the photo of the two smiling men. Her breath caught. It was her ex-husband. It was the Daniel she had married ‒ a happy, laughing, kind-hearted man. A man who had loved her as much as she had loved him. Until he started hearing voices telling him that the government men were coming for him. Until she insisted he see a doctor, who prescribed him meds that made him feel bloated and unhealthy. Until he stopped taking his meds, and started thinking of her as a demon, and even started thinking that their son was trying to kill him with his eyes. Untreated mental illness took her loving, wonderful husband away, until there was no solution left to her but divorce. She needed full custody of her son, and needed to be far away from the man who now wanted them both dead so that he’d be free.
If Jarrod Marshall was telling her the truth, though, Daniel was the one who had died, and probably only a few miles away from where she and her son had been staying. The relief she felt at knowing that she no longer needed to keep under the radar was tempered by the sorrow she felt at losing the man she deeply loved to a disease that she couldn’t fight.
She could have fought another disease, even a cancer diagnosis, since a disease that didn’t affect his mind would have meant that she’d be fighting with Daniel. Instead, she became an enemy to him, someone to guard himself against, rather than someone to align himself with. There was no cure for his illness, no way to bring the man she loved back. By the time the divorce was finalized, she was looking over her shoulder daily for this new man – the man who wanted to harm both her and their son.
So what now? she wondered as her brain slowly started to wrap around her circumstances. Jarrod had obviously known who she was from the moment she showed up in his office. In fact, it seemed fairly likely that he had manipulated this job offer from the very beginning, to get her here into his office, for this very moment. She had no idea why, though. Still staring at the photo, she bought herself a few more minutes to think. OK, two possibilities. The first is that Jarrod knew that Daniel was sick. The second was that he had no idea. Of the two, it was more likely that Daniel had hidden his illness from his friend, which would have been easy enough to do if they seldom had contact. She had to admit that it was keenly possible that Jarrod had no idea what demons her husband had been facing. But she was still left with the question of why Jarrod had manipulated her into taking this job. In his office. Working for him. Why?
She sighed. It didn’t matter, in the long run. Manipulation it was, and she didn’t like it. Job or no job, she was through here, she realized. If it was true that Daniel had been killed in an accident, she would be free to pursue other jobs freely, without worrying about looking over her shoulder. If it weren’t true, she shuddered to think about what was in store for her now. No, she couldn’t think that way – couldn’t think that Jarrod would lie to her about this. Daniel was, in all likelihood, no longer a threat to her and as much as it grieved her to think it, his death was more of a relief than a sorrow. She’d check, though. Obituaries were on line these days, and while she had never googled Daniel’s name in the past for fear that he would somehow find her, she was going home and googling it tonight. She needed to know for sure that she and her son were safe.
Jarrod watched her reaction closely as she examined the photo, sure he’d catch some hint of disdain or disregard for his friend. But she just sat on his couch and stared at the picture. It was all he could do to keep himself from striding over to the couch, pulling her into his arms, and assuring her that he’d take care of her in Daniel’s stead. He wanted to comfort her, but more than that, he wanted her. Oh Lord. He really needed to get a grip, he thought as he leaned back in his chair. His timing was all wrong. She had just learned that her husband was dead, and all he could think about was what he wanted. Not cool, Marshall. Forcing thoughts of touching her from his head, he watched as Lana stood up and walked over to his desk, reaching out to hand the frame back to him. When she spoke to him, her gaze was direct and her voice, while soft, was strong.
“Thank you for telling me about his death, Mr. Marshall. I’m very sorry for your loss. I’ll clear out my desk and go.”
“No. Not yet,” he said quietly, his voice commanding, even from his sitting position. “We’re not done, Lana.”
Lana remained standing in front of his desk. She looked tired, suddenly, and Jarrod found himself fighting the same fierce feeling of protectiveness that he had felt from the moment he met her.
“Sit down, sweetheart, before you fall down.” His tone was gentle, but the strength behind his command was clear. He waited until she had cautiously lowered herself into a seat before he rolled his desk chair back and moved to join her in the seating area. Her eyes watched him carefully, and Jarrod tangibly felt her urge to run from him. He spoke quickly, wanting to calm her before she sprinted for the door.
“I apologize. I didn’t realize that you weren’t aware of his death. I’m very sorry for taking you by surprise like that.”
Lana nodded, not trusting her voice.
“Are you OK?” he asked softly.
She shook her head. “Not even remotely. But I will be. Please tell me one thing, Mr. Marshall,” she said, determinedly. “Why am I here? You clearly knew who I was before you hired me, so I’d really rather you just explain to me what you want from me. Why did you go to so much trouble to hire me for your company? You could have just shown up at my door one day to talk with me ‒ that would have been a lot easier than all of this.”
Jarrod sighed. “It probably would have been. But I wanted to get to know you before you knew who I was.”
“I don’t understand,” she admitted. “Why would that be important?”
Leaning forward in his chair, Jarrod’s eyes landed on hers. Holding her gaze, he shook his head slightly. “Lana, Daniel told me a lot about you.”
“And?”
“It wasn’t good.”
Her expression hardened.
“I’ve learned a lot about you over the past few months, Lana, and I know that most of what Daniel said was untrue. What I’m trying to figure out is why he lied.”
“How?”
“How what?”
“How have you learned about me?”
Jarrod hesitated a moment before admitting, “I hired someone to look into your background,” Jarrod admitted.
She leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes briefly, her hands gripping the arms tightly. When she spoke, it was barely discernable. “I see.” Good Lord, Lana thought, trying hard to keep it together. Someone had been peering into her past, finding out things she wanted to keep hidden, and she had been completely blind to it. Daniel would have been able to find her in a heartbeat, if he were still alive. She had apparently been terrible at this hiding thing if a stranger had been able to so easily find her, and uncover facts about her life.
“I’m sorry, Lana,” Jarrod said softly.
Lana opened her eyes and looked over at the man sitting across from her. She could either stay professional, or she could run screaming from the room, she thought. Professional would likely give her a better reference over the long term, and since she would be leaving Marshall Industries within the next two weeks, professional was probably the right choice. She took a deep breath.
“If you’ve looked into my background, then you know that I’m not exactly flush with options right now. It would help me a lot if you would be willing to give me a decent reference, Mr. Marshall.” Standing, she added, “Thank you for telling me the truth.”
“Lana, please sit down, just for a few more minutes.”
She swallowed hard. “Why?”
“Because there are some things you should know. And if you walk out of here right now, the only thing you’ll walk away with is the knowledge that your husband died two years ago.”
“Mr. Marshall…”
“Jarrod. I think we have enough of a shared history that you can call me by my name.”
Sighing, she asked, “What things?”
“Please sit down, Lana.”
She badly wanted to continue walking directly out his door, but she wanted answers more, and now was the time to get them. With a glance in his direction, she sat back down in the chair she had just vacated, but her spine was erect, and she knew that she looked like she was ready to fly away at a moment’s notice. Which, to be fair, she was.
“Tell me,” she insisted. “And then I’m leaving.”
“You never met Daniel’s family,” he said, watching her face for a reaction.
“Family?” she responded with shock, sitting up even straighter. “What family? Daniel didn’t have any family. He was an only child, and his parents died when he was a kid. That was one of the things that drew us together, right away. We had both lost our parents when we were children.” She knew she was jabbering, but she couldn’t help it. The lack of family on either of their sides was one thing she truly regretted when Daniel got sick – she had nobody that could help to push him into treatment and to stay on his meds. They had friends, but as her husband had gotten more paranoid, they had slowly been pushed out of their lives.
But Jarrod was shaking his head. “I assure you that Daniel’s parents are alive and well,” he said.
Nothing this man said was making any sense at all, Lana thought to herself. If Jarrod hadn’t shown her the photo of Daniel, she would be sure they were talking about two different men. He had told her that he was born and bred in Colorado, and he had never ever mentioned Jarrod to her. Not once. But why would her husband lie to her, especially when they first met? Was it possible that he had been paranoid from his illness even then, but she just hadn’t seen it, and didn’t see it until he started to self-medicate with drugs and alcohol?
“I don’t understand any of this,” she said at last, leaning back into the cushions of the chair. “Why would he have kept his family a secret from me?”
“There’s more,” Jarrod said gently. “You have to understand that Daniel’s parents are like parents to me. Daniel was like a brother. The Wests told me that they had invited you and Daniel to their home many times, but he always told them that you couldn’t make it. He told them that you were too busy.”
“But that makes absolutely no sense at all! Why wouldn’t I want to meet my husband’s family? Why would I ever be too busy for that?”
He stood up from his chair then, shifting over to where she was sitting before she even realized he had moved. He sat down on the coffee table in front of her, and leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. “Look. I’m putting a lot on you, Lana. I get that. For you, the issue is that you are learning things about your husband that you were unaware of. For me, I’m learning things about you that are completely opposed to what Daniel told me and his parents. I’d like to try to make sense of all of this, with your help.”
She stood up then, moving away from this intimidating man. She still had more questions than answers, but she was getting increasingly edgy, staying here in the same room with him. She wanted to see her son, to hold him, to google the local obituaries, and, if Jarrod were telling the truth, to tell Sam that she no longer needed to hide from an ex-husband with a grievance.
“I think I should go,” she said quietly, edging toward the door. “I need time to process all of this before we talk again.”
Jarrod stood then, turning around to face her. “Before you go, there’s one more thing."
Lana looked pointedly at the man and then at the door. Barely masking her frustration, she sat down on the arm of a nearby chair and looked up at Jarrod expectantly. “OK. I’m listening.”
“Daniel talked to me a lot, once he got back from Iraq. He told me that he realized that you had only married him for his money.”
The accusation, while mild, still hurt. On top of that, it was ridiculous. She stood up again, and forced herself to respond to him calmly. “What are you talking about? What money?”
“Your husband left behind quite an inheritance.”
Lana shook her head, forcing herself to take deep breaths. Nothing this man was saying was making any sense, and she was done ‒ she needed to be alone. Emotions were rolling over her, and it was suddenly essential that she find fresh air.
“Ex-husband. And I’m sorry, but that’s simply not possible. Excuse me, please. I’ll have my desk cleared out by the end of the day today. I’ll tell Grace that there’s been an emergency, unless you’d prefer to weave her a story.”
Her voice was even, her tone cool and professional. If Jarrod hadn’t seen the pain in her eyes, he would have assumed that she had no feelings at all. As she turned to go, Jarrod reached out and curled his hand gently around her wrist, stopping her.
“Look, Lana. Don’t make any decisions yet. Go and get some air, but please come back. We have a great deal to talk about, and I’d like to do it sooner than later.”
But Lana no longer had words. This position at this company, working for this man, no longer held any appeal. She needed time to think, time to process, and time to determine what she would do next. Pulling her wrist from his grasp, she nodded quickly, and bolted for the door. Rather than wait for an elevator, she pushed open the door to the nearest stairway and ran down the flights to ground level. She knew that Jarrod would not be following her, but she needed to put distance between them anyway. As she left the lobby, her arms and legs were trembling so much that she wasn’t sure she’d be able to make it to the sidewalk. The cool fresh air helped to calm her, but she still shook inside. Walking quickly across the street to the city park, she collapsed onto one of the benches near the central fountain, trying to catch her breath before she decided what to do next.