Chapter Sixteen
“He’s starting to get some memories back,” Lori said into her phone as she sat in her office.
Marc’s image filled the screen in the FaceTime call. “That’s great news.”
“It started a few days ago when we were at a park. It sounded like a memory from your childhood together.”
“Ours? You mean he remembers me?”
“I don’t know how much. Or if it’s any more than flashes at this point,” she said gently, not wanting to get his hopes up. Jackson still refused to answer his brother’s calls. She’d hoped the resurgence of some of his memories would make him more inclined to “meet” his brother but it didn’t seem to make a difference.
In the week since the park, he’d remembered his father’s face and his Harvard graduation. If he’d regained more than that, he hadn’t shared it with her.
She’d practically dragged him to see Dr. Warren. The doctor had given him a full work up and declared he was pleased with his progress. Even if the memories returning were exacerbating the headaches, Dr. Warren thought it was a price worth paying. Jackson wholeheartedly agreed.
Which means I might lose him sooner than I thought.
Every night they fell into bed together, exploring each other’s bodies until her throat was hoarse from crying his name and her legs felt like jelly. But every morning she’d wake up, wondering if this was the day she lost everything.
“That’s amazing,” Marc said. “Good job.”
“It wasn’t me,” she said. “Your brother has been incredible. You should see him in action. No one has realized anything is wrong. Even his wrist is almost healed. We’ll all be back to normal before you know it.”
“A large amount of the credit for this charade goes to you. I’m well-aware of the trouble we’d be in without you.”
“You never would have been in this mess without me.”
He shrugged. “Water under the bridge at this point. Are you still planning to quit when he remembers?”
“I think that’s best for everyone. He might have forgiven me without his memory but we both know the odds of that holding are slim once he’s back to normal.”
Marc’s brows rose. “You told him the truth about the accident?”
She looked away. “Yeah.”
“Why?”
“I…had to.”
He frowned. “Why?” he asked again.
She shifted uncomfortably. The last thing she wanted to do was tell Marc she was boinking his brother. Talk about a conflict of interest.
“I couldn’t keep lying to him,” she said instead. “It seemed like the right thing to do.”
“That could have endangered our plan.”
“But didn’t,” she replied. “We’re in the clear.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Trust me. What about on your end? When are you coming back?”
“That’s why I’m calling. I’ll be back next Tuesday, and I need you to call a board meeting. I’m bringing the CEO and his team from Uni Industries with me. They are almost ready to sign the partnership agreement, but the final coaxing needs to come from Jackson. I’ll send you all the details to prep him. We need all our major players involved. This is it, Lori. If we get this signature, we’ve won. Everything will be all right.”
“And if we don’t, our company will fade away.”
“We won’t let that happen.”
She ran a hand down her face. “Okay. Get me all the information you can. I’ll call in the board and our legal team. I want this over with as much as you do.”
“Everything will be in your email within the hour. Good work, Carlow. Keep it up a little longer.”
The call disconnected.
Just a few more days and this will be over.
Well, the company part of it, anyways. Once Sinclair Industries was out of the woods, what would she do? Keep doing her job as long as she could?
Or bow out early before she had to face the full fury of Jackson when his memories returned?
Because despite the sweet words he whispered in her ear when they were alone in the darkness of his bedroom, she knew what was coming.
I made this choice. It was my decision.
And she’d stand by it.
Picking up the desk phone, she called Jackson’s office and filled him in on the details she’d gotten from Marc.
“I’m waiting on an email from him and then I’ll join you,” she said into the receiver. “Give me an hour?”
“Works for me. Let’s go to the park again on our way home.”
Her toes curled, and she smiled as she spoke. “Sure.”
“See you soon, sweetheart.”
Putting the phone back in its cradle, she pressed her hands to her cheeks. Sweetheart. Every time he called her that, her heart swelled.
Not mine to keep, she scolded herself. But her heart didn’t seem to care.
“I’m in trouble,” she whispered.
She’d thought she’d been in love before, but the feelings Jackson inspired now were so much more intense.
How do I give that up?
A knock sounded on her door. “Come in,” she called, welcoming the distraction.
Audrey popped her head around the door. “Hey.”
“What’s up?”
She came into the room, closing the door behind her. “Not much,” she said, dropping in the chair by Lori’s desk. “We rarely see you anymore. The girls sent me in to make sure you were still alive.”
“I’m fine,” she said. “It’s just been busy working here and helping Jackson at home.”
“I noticed he wasn’t wearing his brace today,” Audrey said. “Does that mean his wrist is on the mend?”
“Yes,” she agreed, wary.
“You’ll be moving out soon then, I suppose.”
“Any day now,” she lied.
Audrey leaned forward. “You okay with that?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Because I noticed a hickey on your neck a few days ago.”
She slapped a hand guiltily over the concealer-covered mark.
“Exactly,” Audrey said, a satisfied expression on her face. “Confess. You slept with him, didn’t you?”
“Audrey, I’m an adult woman. I’m not with Jackson every hour of every day, and my dating life is my business,” she said, her stomach twisting at the evasion. She wanted to tell her friend the truth, but her loyalty had to be to Jackson. This was just one more secret she needed to keep for the time being.
Audrey narrowed her eyes. “Nothing has happened with Jackson?”
“Do I look like the sort of woman who’d sleep with her boss?” Because I absolutely am. Every chance I get.
The other EA sighed. “I’m just trying help. You wanted to quit because of your feelings for him. If he’s using your emotions to his advantage—”
“He’s not,” she said. “I promise, there’s no way he could.”
Since he has no idea they exist.
“You’ve got to be careful,” Audrey said. “We might work for people like Jackson, Will, or Trisha, but we don’t belong in their world. And they’d never want us to. Not really.”
The words were a dagger to the heart. “I know,” Lori murmured.
“I’m not trying to burst your magical Cinderella bubble here.”
“You’re just looking out for me. I get it.”
Worry filled Audrey’s eyes. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”
She reached across the desk and took her friend’s hand. “I won’t,” she lied. “I’m fine. Jackson is on the mend, and soon he won’t need me anymore.”
The words were like sandpaper against her heart, but what else could she say?
Audrey studied her closely before leaning back, releasing her hand. “You’re still leaving, aren’t you?”
“Probably,” she agreed.
“Men,” the other woman said, exasperated. “They’re far too complicated for their own good.”
“No arguments here.”
With a sigh, Audrey shook her head. “I wish you weren’t going.”
“Me, too,” she said honestly. She loved her job. Always had. The problem was just that she loved Jackson, too.
Or at least, she thought she had.
But it’s so much worse now. There’s a massive difference between walking away never knowing what I was missing, and leaving after getting my heart’s desire.
But that was the devil’s bargain she’d made. There was no undoing it now.
“I wish things could work out differently.”
“Me, too.”
“Next time Will asks me to get coffee for him and Jackson, I’ll make sure to screw up the order.”
Lori laughed. “I think our revenge skills need a little upgrading.”
“I’ll pick Teresa’s brain. The woman has a dark streak to her. We’ll come up with something good.”
“I appreciate the gesture.”
A ding from her computer signaled an incoming email.
“Something important?” Audrey asked.
She checked her inbox to see a new email from Marc. “Very,” she said. “Do you mind…?”
“On my way.” Audrey pushed to her feet and headed for the door. “Just think about staying, okay? Maybe things will work out for the best.”
“Optimistic,” she teased.
“Yeah. Guilty as charged.” With a smile, she left the room and closed the door behind her.
Lori opened the email the second the door clicked shut. They had a ton to prepare for and not a lot of time to do it in.
…
Jackson glanced up at the knock on his door. “Come in,” he called. He expected to see Lori walk in, but it was Will instead.
“Have a minute?” Will asked.
“Sure. Come in.”
“Mind if we sit?” he said, making a beeline for the couches.
Rising from his desk, he followed his VP to the lounge area and sat. “What’s up?”
“I got an email from Marc. Apparently, he’s headed back with some key stakeholders we need to meet with.”
He exhaled slowly. “I was going to fill you in.”
“These are some major strings the two of you have been pulling.”
“We need this deal.”
“You’re changing the face of the company. Didn’t you want to clue me in on that?”
“We wanted to keep it quiet until we were sure of what we had. The fewer involved, the better.”
“I’m your damn VP.”
“This is not a reflection against you,” Jackson said, channeling his old self. “It was a business decision, pure and simple.”
“Business, eh?” Will leaned forward. “This got me thinking of the time you, Marc, and I bagged our first big distribution deal. Do you remember how we basically lived in this room, surviving off takeout, for an entire week?”
Jackson searched his merge memory for any mention of such an event but came up with nothing.
What else is new. Just play along. “It was a hell of the time,” he said.
“I don’t think I’ve seen you eat Pad Thai since.”
“Too much of a good thing.”
Triumph flared in Will’s eyes.
Hell. What did I do?
“See, here’s the thing,” Will said. “I didn’t work here when you and Marc first started expanding our network. You brought me on four years later. And with your peanut allergy, Pad Thai is the last thing you’d ever want to eat.”
Dammit. Lori warned me about that allergy.
But nothing in the house had peanuts in it, as carefully checked by his capable assistant. He hadn’t even thought of that piece of trivia since his first few days out of the hospital.
“You called Gordon ‘Tim.’ You forgot your own father’s history. Yesterday, you didn’t know the name of our legal counsel, and last week you knew nothing about a project you yourself had cultivated. What the hell sort of invasion-of-the-body-snatchers mystery is going on?”
Jackson ran a hand down his face. Is there any way out of this? He wracked his brain but came up with nothing.
“If you lie to me, I will hand in my notice,” Will threatened.
“You’re not going anywhere,” he replied. “You like the salary and the office far too much to walk away. I may not know much, but I know you’re making more off me than you would for any other company in the city.”
Will’s jaw clenched. “I can’t do my job if information is kept from me. You’re making me a bad VP, and I’m done with it. What is going on?”
He weighed his options. Losing Will right before Uni Industries arrival was not an option. With only a few days to go, did it really matter if he let one more person in on the secret? It might even be to their benefit to have someone else in the room on guard during the big meeting. Besides, Dr. Warren said his memories were on their way back. Who knew how much longer he’d be acting this role?
“This doesn’t leave this room,” Jackson started. “You won’t mention it to anyone.”
“You know I keep your secrets.”
He smiled wryly. “Actually, I don’t.”
“If you are implying I’m not trustworthy—”
“I don’t remember you keeping secrets,” he cut in. “I don’t remember anything beyond a couple weeks ago.”
Will blinked. “What?”
“I didn’t hurt my wrist playing racquetball,” he said, holding up his arm. “I got hit by a car. I woke up in the hospital the day Marc flew to Australia.”
“What the hell. Why didn’t you tell anyone about this?”
“Because when I woke up, I didn’t even know my own name.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Amnesia. My past is a blank slate.”
“But…” Will sat there with a stunned look on his face. “You’ve come into work every day. You’ve been yourself. I was expecting you to tell me you had a drug problem or something that was making you fuzzy. Not a freaking brain injury.”
“I’m starting to get flashes of my past, but it hasn’t rushed back yet.”
“How did you pull this off? Why does no one know?”
“Marc and Lori came up with the plan before I woke up. She’s been my secret weapon, feeding me lines and prepping me for each day.”
“Damn. That girl is brilliant.”
“Yes, she is.”
“That’s why you didn’t want to take anyone else to the benefit. And why she’s living with you.”
“Yes.”
“My God.” Will shook his head. “How many people know?”
“Just my brother and Lori. And a doctor monitoring my health.”
“Unbelievable. I knew you were ballsy, but this is intense. Lying to your own board. They could remove you from power for this.”
“Which is why you are going to keep this to yourself.”
Will glared at him. “I know where my bread is buttered. You go down, and the board will clean house. No way I’m giving this gig up.”
“I find your self-interest oddly comforting.”
“You should.” He braced his elbows on his knees. “How can I help?”
“We need this meeting with Uni Industries to go well. If you see me slipping, jump in. I run my fingers through my hair when I need help.”
His eyes widened. “And Lori jumps in. Oh my God. I wondered why she’d suddenly gotten so talkative in meetings.”
“She’s my memory. I can’t function without her.”
“Like at the benefit when you had to send her away then slipped about your father. Damn, this is all making sense.” He snapped his fingers. “She dumped her drink on Trisha on purpose, didn’t she? Quick thinking.”
“She’s worth her weight in gold.”
“I always thought I lucked out in the secretary draw, but now I’m wishing I’d gotten Lori. Apparently, she’s an evil mastermind.”
“Nothing about her is evil.”
Will arched a brow. “And then there’s that. You’ve been super protective of her, and now I get it. You don’t remember anything about your past relationships.”
“She’s been my anchor,” he agreed.
“But, Jackson, before she was—”
“I know. She told me about how I used to treat her.”
“You had no interest in her.”
He ground his teeth. “I know.”
“Do you now?”
He looked away.
“This is a mess.”
“I know that, too. We just need to get through Tuesday. Once the company is safe I’ll take some time off and Marc will step in until my memories come back. We just need a little more time.”
“I’ll do whatever I can to help. You should’ve pulled me in from the start.”
“Noted. I appreciate the loyalty.”
“I’m going to go start digging up anything I can find on Uni Industries. Let me know if you learn anything else.”
“Marc will be sending more information when he has it. I’ll see that you get a copy.”
Nodding, Will got to his feet. “Five days till the meeting. We’ll make it.”
Watching him leave, Jackson wished he were as confident.