Chapter Twenty-Five

JACKIE sat on the edge of the pool at the Beverly Hills estate. The place still didn’t seem remotely familiar. He supposed as busy as he’d been before he’d run away, he’d probably left the work of finding a place for him and Phil to someone else.

“It’s bad,” he’d told Lorene the night before. “We were always good friends. But now….”

He’d called her nearly every night since he returned to the States, and every time, he wished he was back in the Dominican Republic. Things had been so much easier there.

“You told me you didn’t treat Phil well. That you both treated each other poorly. Sweetie, it’s going to take time.”

“I’m not very patient.”

She laughed. “You can say that again.” After a long pause, she added, “You’ll figure things out. And when you do, it’ll all make sense.”

“You’re still watching Oprah, aren’t you,” he teased.

“She is wise.” He imagined Lorene winking at him.

Since the confrontation with Adam in his office, he and Phil had pretty much avoided each other. The subject of their marriage—even the reminder of it—made Jackie feel unsettled. And yet Phil had presented him with papers that looked entirely legit. The signature alongside Phil’s was his own. Something about their marriage just felt wrong. Not to mention there wasn’t a single photograph of the wedding or the two of them together anywhere in the house.

He and Phil had known each other since college. Phil had never hidden the fact that he was bi. But there’d never been anything more than friendship between them, and Jackie had liked it that way. Phil seemed to have wanted it that way too. At least that was the way Jackie remembered it. Why the hell couldn’t he remember the rest? He knew he needed to. But those memories seemed frozen deep within his brain, and the key to unlocking them remained elusive.

The neurologist who had checked him out when he’d returned to the US told him that he might never get all his memories back. But since then, he’d been able to piece most things together. Everything but my relationship with Phil.

He remembered when the social media site he and Phil had created in their dorm room suddenly became the hottest commodity on the web. How he’d fought to maintain control over Entech in the wake of a hostile takeover bid from Ventix, the biggest software company on the planet. How the company had grown and that six years later, he was the one launching a successful takeover bid for Ventix. How he’d been willing to do just about anything legal to keep the company safe from poachers.

How I became a paranoid son of a bitch.

He splashed his feet in the water and imagined himself forty feet down, chasing a spotted ray. No wonder he’d loved that life—it was so much simpler than this one. Jonah was simpler.

Happier too.

Jonah might have fallen for Adam in less than a week, but Jackie would have laughed at the sheer stupidity of the idea. He’d have married his best friend and business partner only because it was convenient.

Was that why he’d asked Phil to marry him? To shore up the block of shares Phil owned?

No. Even the old Jackie Roth wasn’t that big a bastard. Or was he?

He thought of Adam and his throat tightened. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and tapped one of the presets. “Barbara?”

“What can I do for you, Mr. Roth?” his assistant asked.

Seven o’clock in the evening and she was still answering his calls? Did she have a life? A family?

“Any messages for me?”

“I’m sorry, sir. No messages.”

“Thanks.” He hadn’t really expected Adam to call again, not after the clusterfuck in his office with Phil. Adam clearly wasn’t interested in the load of bullshit that came along with Jackie Roth. And what would he think when he found out about Jackie’s marriage to Phil?

“I have the reports you asked for,” Barbara said. “I can send them to your e-mail, if you aren’t planning on coming to the office tomorrow.”

“Sure. Thanks.” Maybe a day spent at the pool would do him some good. Kick him in the ass and get him to focus on anything but Adam.

“Is there anything I can do for you?” she asked.

He ran a hand through his hair and stared at the sunlight reflecting off the water. He needed to face the bullshit head-on. He needed to force himself to remember. “Actually, yes. Do you still keep my old day planners?”

“Of course, sir. They’re in the file room adjacent to your office.” She paused, then added, “If you tell me what timeframe you’re looking for, I’d be happy to retrieve them.”

“Please pull all of them for the year before I—” He struggled to find the right word. “—disappeared.”

“I’ll have those for you in the morning, sir.”

“Thank you.”

“Is there anything else you need, sir?”

“Copies of the minutes from the last ten years of board meetings,” he told her. “And any press clippings, company photo archives—that sort of thing—from the same timeframe.”

“I’ll get those to you as soon as I can. Anything else?” she asked.

“No. Not right now. Thank you for your help.”

“You… you’re welcome.” She sounded surprised. Why? Because he thanked her for her help?

Probably. Jackie Roth expected his staff to perform. He owed them nothing but a sizable paycheck.

“Go home, Barbara,” he said.

“Sir?”

“It’s late. You must have someone waiting for you.”

For a moment there was silence on the other end of the line. “Are you sure?” she asked at last.

“I’m sure. I can always call you if something comes up.”

“Thank you, sir. Have a good evening,” she said brightly.

“You too.” He stared at the phone after the call disconnected, then got to his feet. His idea of a relaxing day at the pool loomed like a prison sentence. He needed to do something. Get away from this claustrophobic place. Somewhere he could think. Clear his head. Something. Anything.

Ten minutes later he was riding his ancient Vespa through Beverly Hills with the wind against his face. Thinking of Adam, in spite of himself.

He needed to see Adam. And he needed to tell him the truth about his marriage before Adam found out about it from the media. Because sooner or later, the media would latch on to the story.

And then what? You tell him and everything magically falls into place? You tell Phil the marriage was a mistake?

He didn’t expect any of those things, but he knew it was the right thing to do. That was enough of a reason to tell the truth.

He turned toward the airport—a split-second decision he hoped he wouldn’t regret. The old Jackie might have been a risk-taker, but he never did anything without thinking it through. He hadn’t thought this through at all, but he didn’t give a shit.

He needed to see Adam, even if only to close that door forever.