Chapter 33
Tyler
Jack called me into the office today. I asked him if I could just come to his house tonight, but he told me no and that the meeting wasn’t optional. Not even a coffee from Maggie’s coffee shop is enough to put me in a better mood.
It’s Wednesday, and I’ve barely seen Audrey. Joe’s had her running errands all over town all week. We’ve texted some, but it hasn’t been enough for me.
I step out of the elevator and into the office.
“Tyler, I feel like it’s been forever. I’m ready for you to be back in the office,” Ella calls out when she sees me.
“Believe me, I’m ready for that, too.” I look around the office, nodding a greeting to some of the other guys ambling around. “Is Jack in his office? I’m supposed to meet with him.”
“Yep, he’s in there.”
I start in that direction. “I’ll see you later, Ella.”
“See ya.”
I rap my knuckles against the cracked door and stick my head into his office. “You ready for me?”
He whips the reader’s glasses off his face and drops them on his desk.
Ella finally convinced him to get them recently because she said she was sick of having to read him menus in every restaurant they went to.
Though I suspect it was really because Jack was starting to struggle at work and was getting headaches from the strain.
She chose something she could joke about to make him more open to the idea. And it worked.
I drop into the chair in front of his desk, resting my elbows on the armrests and intertwining my fingers over my stomach. Jack leans back in his chair and scratches his fingers along his jaw through his short beard.
“Why didn’t you want to come into the office today?” he asks casually, but I suspect it’s anything but.
“Technically, it’s my day off.” And it is. But we do sometimes come in for meetings on our day off, so this isn’t unusual.
His eyes narrow almost imperceptibly when he informs me, “From what I’ve been told, you haven’t taken a day off in weeks. Sometimes, even sending one of the guys home. But you don’t do that if you’re off during the weekend.”
I shift in my seat. I didn’t tell Jack that I was going into work, even when I was scheduled off, because I want to watch over Audrey. I’m not sure why I thought the guys wouldn’t say something to Jack. He also doesn’t know that Audrey’s working for Joe.
I shrug as nonchalantly as I can. “I wanted to do a good job. So I’ve been working more.”
Jack’s silent for a moment, then he asks, “Do you know what one of the traits I value most in a leader?”
I break eye contact and look to the side, needing a moment.
“And in a family member?”
“Fuck,” I spit out under my breath.
“Tyler, tell me the goddamn truth. Right now. Or you’re fired. I won’t even feel bad that you’re my cousin.”
I lick my lips before starting. “Audrey works for Joe.”
Jack’s eyebrows jump up his forehead. “So you lied about where you met her?”
I shake my head slowly, knowing how this is going to sound, since I already told Matt.
“No, I didn’t lie about where I met her.
But she applied for a job as Joe’s personal assistant and showed up at his door for the interview.
I had no idea that she’d applied. And she had no idea I was working for the person she applied for a job with. ”
Jack runs his tongue over his teeth as he takes in what I’ve told him. “That’s some coincidence.”
I nod, and he commands, “Go on.”
“Joe’s not a good guy, Jack. I don’t trust him. At all. And I definitely don’t trust him around Audrey without me there. That’s why I’ve been going in on my days off.”
I wish I could read his mind right now. I have no idea how he’ll react to what I’ve told him, given that he remains completely calm on the outside. I worry that a storm may be brewing underneath, about to unleash on me. Jack’s kind of scary when he’s really pissed.
“You should’ve come to me.”
“You’re right. I should’ve,” I rush to agree. “I just know how it sounds, and I couldn’t risk not being there with Audrey.”
“So what’s this about Joe?” he asks finally.
“I’m assuming you know about his past criminal charges?”
He inclines his head. “We did our research before entering into the contract with him. The charges were dropped.”
“They were.” I hesitate before I continue, but since I know I have to be honest, I say, “But I’m beginning to wonder if there wasn’t something to those charges.”
It’s his turn to look away. He stares out the window to the left of his desk before turning back to face me. “Maybe we should terminate the contract.”
Panic puts my chest in a vise. “You can’t.”
He tilts his head to the side at my demand.
“Not yet. Please. Let me convince Audrey to get a different job.”
His fist clenches and releases a few times as it rests on his desk when he finally says, “You have one week.”
I would’ve liked longer, but this is him being generous as it is. “Thank you, Jack.”
He wags his finger at me. “I swear to god, Tyler. You withhold something from me again, and you’re gone. There will be no second chances.”
Sitting up a little straighter, I reply, “Understood. Never again.”
He picks up a stack of papers, tapping them on the desk, then sets them down so they stay perfectly aligned. “I need to talk to you about something else.”
I side-eye him. “Okay, what is it?”
He clears his throat. “I paid off your father.”
I drop my gaze and study my palm, working to regulate the emotions that statement brings up. “I thought Tim was pressing charges.”
“He was going to. But Tim came to me, said he wanted Rob gone for good. He worried about how long the justice process would take, and he didn’t want to wait for him to leave you and them alone.”
I finally look up. “And my mom was okay with that?”
Jack’s smile is pained. And I chuckle, knowing my mom probably didn’t make this easy on them to convince her. “She finally came around,” is all Jack says.
“I don’t like him not being held responsible for what he did to Tim, but I get it. I’m also ready for him to be out of our lives for good.” I give Jack a skeptical stare. “How do we know he won’t just come back and ask for more money?”
Jack sits forward, resting his arms on his desk. “I had him sign an agreement that if he ever came back, we would press charges and sue him.”
“Not that I’m doubting you, but would that actually hold up in court?”
With a shrug and a laugh, Jack says, “I don’t know, but neither does Rob. Plus, we have a damn good lawyer on our side.”
I cringe when I think about the last interaction with Chris. “I don’t know. That guy seems...unhinged?”
“Eh, he’s a good guy. He’s just been through a lot.” He shakes his head in bewilderment. “Hell if any of us know what it was.”
I trust Jack on this, so I let it drop. “Thanks for taking care of it.”
Jack waves me off like it’s not a big deal. Despite both of us knowing it is.
We discuss a few more work-related topics before I leave.
One week. I have one week to get Audrey out of Joe’s house.
The moment I join Matt in the living room, I know something’s off. I look around, hoping to see Audrey. She wasn’t in the dining room when I came into the house.
“What’s going on? You seem tense.”
He holds up his hands in a defensive motion. “I’m going to tell you something you probably aren’t going to like. I need you to promise not to hit the messenger.”
My teeth clench. “Fine, I won’t hit you.”
His expression is skeptical, even with my assurance. “Okay, well, I drove Joe and Audrey to a meeting. Joe came back after a few minutes, but Audrey didn’t. When I asked him if she was coming and if we should wait for her, he said no and that she would find her own way back.”
Fury invades every cell in my body, and I think I might black out for a moment. “Where did you take her?”
“Some fancy-ass condo building on Porter.”
“Fuck, that’s where I took them the other day.” I thread my fingers through my hair.
“Do you know who they met there?”
I shake my head as my mind races. My instinct is to go confront Joe and demand he tell me where she is and what she’s doing. But my gut tells me that’s a terrible idea.
Taking my phone out of my pocket, I pull up her contact info. I connect the call and put the phone to my ear. It rings multiple times before her voicemail picks up, and I hang up with a curse.
“How long ago did you drop her off?”
Matt checks the time on his phone. “Maybe forty-five minutes ago.”
I blow out a breath and close my eyes.
“I’m sure she’s fine. She’s tough. You have to be to work for Joe,” Matt reasons, trying to make me feel better.
I do believe she’s tough, but I also know she’s under a lot of pressure. Between her mom’s situation, losing her job, and then coming to work here, that’s a lot to put on someone. That makes her vulnerable.
“Not to be a dick, but that’s not reassuring to me in the least,” I mutter, with a bite to my words.
I attempt to call her again, but she doesn’t answer. Pulling up our text string, I type out a message.
Me: Audrey, please let me know you’re okay. Matt said Joe told him you’d find your own way back. I’ll come get you. At any time.
I jam my phone back in my pocket, unsure what to do next, when Joe joins us.
“Gentlemen, I have some meetings this afternoon. I need to leave now to get to the first one.”
Swallowing down my frustration, a curt nod is all I give.
The entire drive, I’m fuming. I try not to be angry at Matt because I know he didn’t have much of a choice, but I hate that he just left her.
Matt and Joe are getting out of the SUV to walk into his first meeting, when my phone vibrates in my pocket.
The second the doors close, I dig my phone out and unlock the screen.
Audrey: I’m okay. And thank you for caring about me.
Thank you for caring about me? I don’t understand why she’d say that. Getting her text doesn’t calm me fully, but at least I know, for now, she’s safe.
I type out a reply.
Me: I’ll always care about you, mama.
I drop my phone in the cup holder, asking the stars that made us a perfect match to help me out and align so that she’s safe and contacts me when she needs me.