Jimmy

“To new ventures,” Ross said.

“To new ventures,” I said.

I clinked my glass bottle with Ross before the two of us settled back. Ashley had taken off the rest of the day at work to be with her mother after her doctor’s appointment. I wasn't sure what had spawned the change in her decision, but it didn’t matter. She sounded okay, and she said she didn’t need anything, so I needed to take her word at that. I was more than happy to give her the time off to spend with her mother, especially if her mother was having a good day.

I couldn’t imagine watching someone I loved waste away like that.

“Thanks for inviting me out,” I said.

“I don’t usually see you drinking beers,” Ross said. “Good day?”

“Very good day. Guess who’s coming into town?” I asked.

“Let me guess. Markus.”

“Hell, yeah, Markus. He flies in tomorrow, and we’re supposed to be getting drinks.”

“It’s about time he came in. He’s been gone for a while.”

“A little over a year, despite the money he still invests.”

“He planning on making a stop by the company?” he asked.

“I’m sure he will. He’s flying in on business of his own, so I don’t know what his exact schedule is, but Markus has never been the kind of man to drop in unannounced.”

“Oh, no. Markus enjoys the pomp and circumstance.”

“Can’t fault the man for that, especially after his divorce.”

“Yes. Learn from that man’s mistakes,” Ross said.

“Hence why Nina is gone.”

“I’d like to think I had something to do with that, but I’ll take it,” he said.

“To Markus coming into town and regaling us with whatever insane stories he has for us this time,” I said.

But before Ross could cheer Markus’s temporary homecoming, the news station on the television caught my attention.

“Is that you?” Ross asked.

“What the fuck is my picture doing on the news?” I asked.

“Bartender. Can you turn that up?” he asked.

I felt my stomach hit my toes as my Twitter feed popped up on the news.

“Sources say Jimmy Sheldon, founder and CEO of Big Steps, has been bribing followers on his social media pages. The accusations state that Mr. Sheldon has been shelling out his own money to get people to favor and buy his product. I’m sure his competitors won’t be happy when they find out Mr. Sheldon is being accused of undercutting the competition.”

“What the fuck is that?” I asked. “Ross, did you know something about this?”

“This has Nina written all over it,” Ross said.

“That little—”

“Watch it. People are staring,” he said.

I looked around the bar and found everyone’s eyes geared toward me. We had to get out of there. I had to instate damage control. I threw back the rest of my beer while Ross threw some money onto our table, and then the two of us started for our car. We hopped in just as my cell phone rang, and I didn’t have to look at the screen to know who was calling.

“Have you seen the news?” Ashley said.

“Just saw it. In a bar full of people,” I said.

“You know who this is, right?” she asked.

“It’s Nina,” Ross said.

“Ross is with you? Good. The two of you need to get back to the office and start coordinating a plan of attack,” Ashley said.

“You sound like my public relations correspondent,” I said.

“Have you called her? Sherry, right?” she asked.

“Yep. Ross is calling Sherry right now,” I said.

I shot Ross a look, and he dug out his phone, placing the phone call to say she should get into the office immediately.

“Does this claim have any merit?” Ashley asked.

“Of course not,” I said. “Nina’s only trying to hurt me. She’s mad, and instead of taking the loss and making her own way in life, she’s choosing the revenge route.”

“Do I need to be worried?” she asked.

“No. The last person she’ll touch is you. I won’t allow it. That woman will go down in history if she tries to mess with you.”

“If she’s trying to hurt you, she could come after me.”

“I don’t care what she does, but you need to understand she won’t do that. She knows me better than that. She knows you’re off-limits. I’ll bring everything down on her head in a heartbeat if she comes at you,” I said. “What I did in the restaurant that night was kind. Calm. Like flicking an ant off a sofa cushion.”

“Jimmy, I know you’re upset, but try to think about this logically. If she’s trying to ruin your image, she might not have any issues exposing the arrangement you had with her.”

Ashley had a point, and it was a point I couldn’t ignore.

“Nina has to accept that we’re over. Part of me thinks maybe she’s acting this way because she did develop feelings, but the feelings weren’t reciprocated. No matter where this is coming from, Nina has to accept that our arrangement-slash-relationship is over,” I said.

“I told you we needed to be worried about her,” she said.

“And now we have reason to worry. I’ll be on my guard, but you shouldn’t be. I want to be with you, and that means protecting you if necessary. You will be okay. Do you hear me?”

“I do. I hear you. Just think about coming clean.”

“What?” I asked.

“About your arrangement with Nina. Think about coming clean, telling the public the truth. It’s going to be easier to come back from that than it will be if she reveals it.”

“Telling the public the truth would be annihilation, Ashley.”

“But then you could tell them about how you wanted to be with me. It’s the story of a cold-hearted businessman who morphed into a man who wanted to find something real. The crowd likes those kinds of stories, and it isn’t far from the truth.”

“Should I hire you as my PR representative as well?” I asked.

“Hardly. But it’s simple fact. She can’t use anything against you that you expose yourself. Own up to what the relationship was, and be honest about why you decided to end it. You take her biggest weapon away, and she looks like the spiteful gold digger.”

“I have to say, I’m enjoying this side of you. How’s your mother?” I asked.

“She had a really good day today. Thank you for giving me the day off with her.”

“I told you, you already had it. You were the one choosing to come to work.”

“Whatever. Anyway, get off here and go fix your world. Think about what I said. I’ll support you in whatever decision you make, but Nina isn’t to be messed with. She’s making good on that threat of making you pay. This is serious.”

“I know. I hear you. I gotta go. Ross is trying to tell me something,” I said.

“See you in the morning, Jimmy.”

“See you then, Ashley.”

“I got Sherry on the line. She’s arranging a press conference for tomorrow,” Ross said.

“Good. Okay. Tell her to prepare the press conference for first thing in the morning. I’m releasing all my social media streams and private messages for the public and potential clients to scour. We’re going to investigate this claim and figure out who made it, though we pretty much know who did. Once we can prove it, though, we’re suing.”

“Do you want to tell the public that?”

“Yes,” I said. “Tell Sherry.”

“So, we aren’t running with Ashley’s plan?” he asked.

“While it’s a good plan, it’s suicide, and if this isn’t Nina for some weird reason, the last thing I want is to start a war with that woman. We figure out the truth, and then we sue like any other company would do. Ashley’s plan, while creative, is too shortsighted, and we don’t have enough information to throw ourselves into that fire safely yet.”

“Okay. I’ll let Sherry know,” Ross said.