Chapter 29

Zach

When Jessi shoved open the door to my office, I almost wanted to slam it shut again. Because the mess I’d made was fucking embarrassing.

I’d come back into this place and, more or less, torn it apart from the ground up. Papers were strewn everywhere, and the couple of pictures I had with my father that included Craig Vector were shattered on the ground. I hated everything and everyone, especially and most importantly, myself. I wanted to tear the world apart at the seams, and I didn’t want Jessibelle to see me in the state I was in. But she closed the door and stepped toward me where I was leaning against the desk, my body taut with anger. I had no idea what my plan was, but I knew for certain that smashing this place to pieces wasn’t helping me get where I needed to be.

“What the fuck happened here?” Jessibelle asked, and her voice was heated as though she’d been dealing with some shit of her own. Or maybe she was just mad at the mess I made.

“I went to see Craig,” I said. I was controlling my voice. I didn’t want to lose it in front of her and I knew my anger wasn’t spent. I gave her a long look. “I know he’s been fucking the numbers up to get me in trouble.”

I shook my head, remembering how his men had tossed me out on to the street “Can you believe he actually called security on me? In my own goddamn company?”

“Look at me.” Jessibelle waved her hand in front of my face. “I have something you need to see. And it’s not good news. I need you to be sane right now.”

Not good news. Well, fuck, what was one more problem in the grand scheme of things? Besides, she wouldn’t have brought this to me now unless it was important. I nodded slowly.

“What is it?”

She thrust a brown envelope into my hands. I pulled the contents out and went through them. And went through them again. And then again. Somehow, the magnitude of the conspiracy to damage my business took time to sink in.

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. If it hadn’t been there in pictures, I might’ve dismissed it as a bunch of lies meant to sow discord between my brother and me. But it was clear there was much more going on than simply that. The pictures showed half a dozen people, maybe more, all of them huddled up and clearly enjoying each other’s company. Including Alana and Johnny. Including that asshole Aston who’d turned up at Jessibelle’s apartment. Including Craig Vector. All of them posed for the camera with big, sloppy grins that sent a lance of panic through my system.

“Why are you showing me this?” I waved the pictures back and forth. “How is this supposed to help?”

Then she shoved the emails under my nose. I read Hang ‘em High and it all came together.

“We’ve got them on collusion.” She spread her hands wide, her eyes shining, and it was clear this was the best news she’d had all day. “One of the shareholders got cold feet. He’d saved his email and turned it over to Jacob. He assured me he only applied a little pressure. Like the reminding him of the penalty for collusion. So the guy made a deal.”

Okay, that was good news for Jessibelle and her case. But for me, this was a nightmare. The office began spinning around me and the pictures slipped out of my hand and on to the floor.

“What the fuck?” I looked at the photo that had floated to the top of the pile, the one of Craig Vector with a glass of wine in his hand. So many times, my father had invited him over for dinner when I was a kid. And this was how he repaid me?

“I know it’s bad,” Jessibelle said, but I didn’t want to hear it.

“Oh, I know it’s bad,” I snapped back in her direction, the harshness of my tone making her jump a little. “It’s really fucking bad.”

“Listen to me,” she demanded, but I was done with listening to other people. The only thing I could focus on was the fire lighting up my veins, the anger at all these people I had let into my life, that my father had let into his life, who had betrayed both of us.

“I’m going to fucking kill him,” I growled, not sure who I was talking about but knowing I meant it. I headed for the door of the office, but before I could get there, Jessibelle stepped in my way. She looked up at me, jaw set firm, and something about the flash in her eyes told me I needed to settle the hell down and listen to what she had to say to me.

“Zach, I understand why this is hard for you,” she spoke quickly, as though realizing I was only going to be able to keep my temper in check for a limited amount of time. “These people, they’ve betrayed you. They’ve done something unforgivably awful, and they were going to try and take your father’s business away from you.”

“You’re not exactly convincing me not to go out there and beat their asses,” I pointed out, clenching and unclenching my fists at my sides, giving myself something to focus on while she spoke. She nodded.

“I know how good that would feel.” She continued to speak fast. “But beating their asses is only going to play into their hands. Right now, you need to keep a hold on your temper and make sure you don’t do anything that gives anyone an excuse to label you as unstable.”

“And what are we going to do about all of this?” I gestured to the pictures on the floor.

“Trust me, I have a killer argument in place for the court date,” she promised me. “You just have to trust me. Can you do that?”

I looked down at her, at this woman who I had given so much of myself to over the last few months and yet kept myself from at the same time. I let out a long breath and finally felt myself relax. Not completely, not enough to let go of everything I’d just found out, but enough to realize she was right. Enough to stop me in my tracks. I took her face in my hands, and I leaned down to kiss her.

Right after our lips touched, I could have convinced myself this was nothing more than a chaste encounter, but then, something in me reared its head, and I had to have her. I wrapped my arms around her, and she opened her mouth. Our tongues met, and I lost myself, happily, to the feel of her body against mine. How had I ever thought to let this go?

As my hand traveled down her backside, she suddenly pulled away from me. I furrowed my brow. Didn’t she want this as much as I did? She grinned at me, her cheeks flushed, and squeezed my arms as though clinging on for dear life.

“I need to go get this argument ready for court,” she reminded me. “I can’t do this now.”

She gestured around. I knew what she was trying to say. As much as she would’ve liked to, she couldn’t stay to indulge that side of our relationship just yet.

“I just want you to know,” I looked at her intently. “Thank you. For all this.”

“I’m your lawyer, it’s what I’m paid to do,” she said.

But I shook my head. “You know that’s not what I’m talking about,” I murmured, reaching up and grazing my finger over her lip. Her breath seemed to stop, and her eyes widened.

“I haven’t been the kind of man I should’ve been for you,” I went on, not letting myself slow down or stop now that I’d finally found the words to say what I’d been struggling to all this time. “But I promise that I will be.”

“What are you saying?” she asked, and I realized she needed to hear it. After all this back and forth, she needed to know for sure. And I was more than happy to give her what she wanted.

“I love you, Jessibelle,” I replied, the words sounding both foreign and familiar on my lips. Her shoulders sagged with relief and a smile curled on her lips.

“I love you, too,” she replied softly, raising her eyebrows as though the words were taking her by surprise. “But I have to go and make this case.”

“Call me when you’re done.” I made her promise. She nodded, gathering the pictures from the floor and heading for the door, and then she glanced over her shoulder and grinned at me.

“I’ll see you soon.” She ducked out the door. I looked around my office and let out a long sigh. I had a whole lot of cleaning up to do.