Chapter 16: Corban

I didn’t go back into the Hotel Ivy. If I faced off with that asshole, I’d start something that would finish with me losing my position at Unique, and my business reputation would swirl down the toilet. I trembled though and couldn’t stop. The rage pushed through my veins and energized me. I had to move. I had to do something. Anything.

Luna Faye – no, Luna Anderson apparently – had burst into a torrent of agonizing tears because of that jackass. That same jackass who would be the emcee at my event. And she’d been so strong, she’d never said a word or indicated in any way that Unique’s choice would make her uncomfortable. I’d never met such a classy woman in my life outside of my own mother. I wanted to kick my own ass. It was the second time she’d burst into painful tears in my presence, and I hadn’t been able to take that agony away.

I strode down the sidewalk and dragged my cell phone out of my pocket. I swiped my thumb across the screen, then tapped through to my contacts. I scrolled to Larissa’s number. She answered after two rings.

“Hey, Corby,” she said. “Ross isn’t around at the moment, but I can take a message for you if you want.”

“I don’t want to talk to Ross,” I said. “I want to talk to you.”

“Oh? Wow, you sound super serious. Somebody pee in your cornflakes this morning? If so, just pour yourself some Captain Crunch.”

“You could say he pissed in my expensive champagne,” I snapped. “I didn’t even get to finish my eggs.”

“Okay? That sounds mysterious. And horrible.”

“Who in the hell is Thorn Edwards?” I asked. “And I don’t mean who he is as a man of the diamond. I don’t give a shit if he’s got an ERA of under 3.00 or a batting average above .350. The fucker’s the most hated man in Corbanville today.”

Larissa fell silent. I couldn’t hear her over the rumble of engines. A taxi drove by, and I waved it down. It stopped just ahead of me. “Give me a second, Larissa.” I let myself into the cab, gave the driver directions to my condo, then shut the door. “I’m back.”

“You want to know about Thorn?” Larissa asked and exhaled. A long, low, weighty sigh that spoke volumes about what she wanted to articulate but didn’t. Or couldn’t. “I don’t even know where to begin.”

“Start with how Luna ended up engaged to the asshole. He’s not her type. At least not the Luna Faye or Luna Anderson or whoever she is I know. I feel like I’m starting to get inside her head pretty well, and I’m having trouble seeing it.”

The cab driver glanced at me in the rearview mirror. I raised an eyebrow, and he shifted his gaze back to the road.

“Thorn didn’t seem like an asshole in the beginning,” she said, her voice grave. “He seemed like any woman’s dream, but I never liked him. Red flags started popping up all over. A temper. A sense of entitlement a million miles wide, then he started controlling Luna at every turn. Treating her like a trophy that should be seen and not heard. I told her I didn’t like him, but she had rose-colored glasses on. When they got engaged, she was dubious. You know, the bloom of love colored her perspective, and that dang oxytocin got the better of her.”

“So, what happened?” I asked.

“I don’t know. I know it wasn’t her fault, but I don’t know all the gory details. I’ve tried to get her to spill it, but it’s almost like Thorn’s holding something over her head. This is better done in person. Corban, come over to our place, okay? We’ll talk about this. You can decide what you need to do about him after that.”

“Do about him?” I asked, wanting clarification.

“Don’t pretend you’re not going to act on this,” Larissa replied. “I know you, and I know that tone of voice. You’re angry. Now, get your butt over here so I can fill you in.” She hung up before I could argue.

I gave the cabbie the new address and folded my arms, gripping my cell, crushing it in my palm until my hand burned and turned white under the strain. I still couldn’t relax. The image of Luna darting down the stairs and into a taxi stayed in my head. She hadn’t even looked back at me. I’d screamed her name until my throat went raw, and she hadn’t stopped. I felt dismal. Rejected.

I got out at Larissa and Ross’s house, paid the driver, then hustled up the sidewalk. Before I even reached the top step, Larissa flung the door open and ushered me inside. She shut the door behind me, expression sober.

“Well?” I asked. “You going to fill me in on what the hell happened? I hate to be brusque, but I’ve never been so flummoxed by a situation in my life. And I’m in marketing for a Fortune 500 for Christ’s sake.”

“First you gotta tell me what caused this? Why do you even care?” Larissa asked. “Did something happen with the Twins’ event? Did Luna do something you don’t approve of? I’d be surprised because her work is stellar.”

We walked through to the living room, and I sat down on the sofa, placing my forearms on my thighs. “Everything was perfect. We went to the party last night, and we spent the night in – ahem – in the Hotel Ivy, and this morning we went to the champagne brunch. And that’s when the bat-wielding douche canoe arrives and accuses Luna of ruining lives. Of ruining his life, and his professional baseball career. The fucker’s headed for the hall of fame, so I’m not quite sure what he’s bellyaching about. She ran out of there. People were screaming at her. Screaming. And swearing. It was like the entire establishment had been reduced to a trailer park mentality.”

Larissa shook her head and closed her eyes. She pressed both palms to them. “God, hasn’t he tortured her enough? I hate him.” She dropped her hands. “Thorn and Luna got engaged way too fast, and since Thorn and his parents insisted he get married during the short off-season, the next thing we knew, their wedding day loomed before us. She walked down the aisle, but she wasn’t happy. I’ve never seen a gloomier bride in spite of her stunning beauty in her gown. She was super nervous on the day, but she wouldn’t tell me much. And after it happened, she wouldn’t tell me anything at all.”

“You keep referring to this dastardly wedding day. What the hell happened?”

Larissa sighed out a long breath. “Luna ran when she got about five yards away from Thorn. She turned around and ran right back down the aisle and out onto the street, her long lace train dragging behind her. Ross and I brought her back to our house. Remember when we lived in Excelsior before we moved to Minneapolis? She stayed with us for months since it was so much more remote. And then one day she just went back to the house on Summit Avenue. No explanation. No rhyme or reason. Poof, she’s gone. I know Thorn had something to do with it.”

“The house on Summit? I’ve been there. It’s more like a mansion.”

“It’s his house,” Larissa said. “I know that what happened between them sounds weird, but I know that what he’s saying about her, about her ruining his life, is absolute bullshit.”

I cracked my knuckles, an old habit I hadn’t resorted to since finals for my Masters. I didn’t believe a word that scumbag said. What kind of man speaks about a woman like that in polite company? What kind of person talks about anyone like that? A big, fat fucking entitled piece of shit. “Why did he say she ruined his life?”

“Because after they broke it off, he had some really bad games that ended in a career destroying injury. Since then, the entire city hates her. That season, they finished on the bottom of the MLB roster. And I’m not talking about by the hair on your nose. By about ten games in the L column. You know how obsessed people get about their sports teams, painting their faces, and redecorating their rec rooms? Yeah, that. Every Twins fan in Minneapolis, which means everyone in Minneapolis.” Tears gleamed in her eyes. “Her business is failing because of him.”

“How?”

“No one will hire her. She’s brilliant at what she does, but no one will work with her,” Larissa said. “She gets spat on in the streets. I won’t even tell you the names she gets called. Even after she changed her cell number and dropped her last name, she still gets hate calls.”

“What? Are you serious? Jesus, Larissa. A baseball team isn’t just one guy. It’s nine guys and a manager. What’s the excuse for the other eight players who tanked?”

“No, I’m not kidding. People are batshit crazy about sports. Surely you understand that. You know how important the Twins account is for Unique, right? You’re going to get a huge promotion if all goes well.” Larissa scrubbed her fingers through her hair, then clapped them once and turned her palms upright. Tears made her eyes glisten, and my heart dropped to my feet. “She’s screwed because of him.”

“I still don’t understand.”

“I don’t know what went on, but there’s something he did or said that made her leave. She couldn’t come to terms with it.”

“So, why doesn’t she just tell everyone about it?”

“I finally pulled one data point out of her under duress. He made her sign a nondisclosure agreement,” she said. “That’s all I know about it. It was the only thing I found out and that was only because I – now, I’m not proud of this okay? – but yeah, I read her diary. Don’t ever tell her I told you that. I just had to know because Luna wasn’t giving me the full story. We’re besties. I knew Thorn, and his family’s old money was behind it all.”

I couldn’t wrap my head around any of this, and the diary reading was the least of my concerns. Hell, I’d done it myself before my conscience got the better of me.

“Don’t judge me,” Larissa grunted. “She was a closed book when she stayed here. All she did was cry and sequester herself in the guest bedroom. I couldn’t stand seeing her like that. It wasn’t fair. And when I tried contacting Thorn, I got his secretary. I couldn’t get through to him after tons of attempts. I tried asking him to back off, but he blew me off.”

I ground my teeth. This Thorn guy was clearly an arrogant and self-important piece of work who’d had everything handed to him on a silver platter. But I couldn’t do anything about it until I knew exactly what he’d done and why.

“What are you going to do?” Larissa asked.

“I don’t know. I need to talk to her.” I needed to find out if she was okay because thoughts of her alone in her home brooding and hiding didn’t help me concentrate on figuring this mess out. Whatever happened, I couldn’t allow this shit to go on. No one deserved to live that way.

“Hold on a second,” Larissa said. She launched herself out of her armchair and bustled from the room.

I stared at the blank TV on the opposite wall, shaking my head. How had any of this come to pass? It seemed surreal to me. Like a bad movie script that never made it to the boardroom table. I’d spent years in Japan where they produced poop candy and watched tentacle hentai, but this freaked me out more than any of that crazy shit.

Luna had been engaged to Thorn. Any normal human being would’ve ended things with a modicum of respect, but it seemed he’d gone out of his way to make her feel unwanted and rejected. A pariah. And he was supposed to emcee the same Twins event that held my future with Unique hostage?

My stomach sank. It must’ve physically fucking hurt her to have to ask his people about his availability. Sure, my assistant probably handled the actual invitation, but it would still have eaten at her. But Luna had remained professional and done what she had to do to make it work for Unique and for me. Dammit, I wanted her with every breath in my body. She’d already wormed her way into my heart with her quirks and her sexy fumbling.

All thoughts of my promotion flew out of the window with its view of Larissa and Ross’s sunny back yard. I’d give up the Twins account to help Luna if it came down to that. And I didn’t doubt it would come down to that. Shit. With my connections and expertise, I could easily freelance as a consultant for start-ups and mid-listers.

Larissa entered the room, and I straightened. “What is it?”

“Just had to find my phone,” she said and sat down opposite me once again. “I’m going to call her and see if she’ll talk to me. And then I’ll see if she’ll talk to you. It can’t hurt, right?”

I crossed my fingers and showed them to her. “I need her to know that I don’t care what Thorn said about her. I know an asshole when I see one. I don’t buy into all his bullshit.”

Larissa sniffed. “I should think so. Now, quiet down.” She dialed the number, cleared her throat twice, then pressed the phone to her ear.

An awkward silence filled the space between us, punctuated by the muffled rings on the other end of the line.

Finally, they stopped. “Luna?” Larissa perked up and focused on a spot on the wall behind me. “Hey, I heard about what happened. Are you okay?”

Nerves assaulted my stomach, punching holes in whatever serenity I’d retained after the run-in with that bastard.

“Slow down,” Larissa said. “It’s okay. Listen, I know you’re upset but you – you need to talk to someone.”

I put my palm out for the phone.

“Yeah. He’s here. He wants to talk – Luna? Luna, hello?” Larissa moved the phone away from her ear and looked at the screen. She grimaced. “She hung up. She’s hysterical. It was the ugly cry.”

“I’m going over there,” I said and rose from the sofa. I paced back and forth in front of the coffee table, working things over in my mind. “I’ll talk to her face to face. She won’t be able to turn me away then. I’ll… shit, I don’t know, I’ll force the truth out of her if I have to. I know a great lawyer. There’s no such thing as a contract that’s iron clad.”

“What? Are you crazy?” Larissa shot out of her seat. “If you do that you’ll ruin everything for her. Who the hell knows what Thorn has planned if she tells anyone the truth about what happened between them? He has big money behind him, remember?”

I stopped walking and fisted my hips. “What else am I supposed to do?” I demanded. “I need to know what happened, or I can’t deal with this appropriately. And Lar, I’ve got to deal with this. You didn’t see the look on her face when he arrived. It was just, it was pure terror. I’ve never seen such depth of emotion. And I couldn’t do anything to stop the train wreck from happening. I felt so helpless. And throughout the entire exchange, she remained professional. Well, until the end. She finally lost it and ran off.”

“You don’t think I know what it’s like to deal with this? I’ve been trying to help her for years, and nothing I’ve done can change anything!” Larissa’s voice rose to a screech. “She’s my best friend, and I can’t help her either. You don’t know her like I do, and I’m saying you can’t go over there now. You’ll ruin her. You’ll make everything worse if you try to–”

“All right,” I said, holding up my hands. “Larissa, all right. Relax, god. I won’t go see her. I’ll – I’ll figure something else out.” I hesitated a beat, then clicked my teeth, an idea forming in my racing mind. “Yeah, I’ve got to go.”

“What? Where?” Larissa still hadn’t come down from her panicked high. “You’re not going to–”

“No. I’m not going to see her. You can relax. I’ve got to figure this out another way.” I took my cell out again, unlocked and scrolled through to my assistant’s number. Jeffrey would have the details I needed. I dialed while Larissa looked on, both eyebrows raised.

“Morning, boss,” Jeffrey said.

“Jeff, I need you to organize a meeting for today. Now. As soon as you can.” This was my last shot at finding out exactly what happened. I’d have to frame it with regards to the event, or I’d never get away with it.

“Sure, boss, what do you need?”