Chapter 11 #2
“I’ll meet you at the deli,” she said coolly.
He was getting nervous about what she was writing.
But he needed something to counter what was in the press, calling him ruthless and uncaring.
She told him where the deli was, and she went to take a shower.
She was there punctually an hour later, in jeans and a white sweater, spotlessly clean new sneakers and a heavy army surplus camouflage jacket she had bought at a garage sale.
He was already seated at a table when she got there, and she ordered tea and paid for it herself.
She was always careful about details that could compromise her.
He smiled when he saw her and stood up. He looked distinguished in a dark gray suit and well-tailored overcoat, shirt and tie, and perfectly shined shoes. She had noticed a chauffeur-driven Mercedes outside, and could guess that it was his.
“The sandwiches are delicious here if you’re hungry,” she said, trying to be pleasant. She didn’t want her disgust for him to show, and hoped it didn’t.
“I’ve eaten. Thank you for meeting me. I just wanted to share some thoughts with you.”
“My assistant said you had something to add,” she said in a businesslike tone, wondering what it was that he thought was so important. She had more than enough for the article, and it was almost finished.
“I enjoyed meeting you in St. Barth,” he began in a roundabout way, and she didn’t comment.
“It’s beautiful at this time of year, nicer than when we were there in January.
It gets warm early, and you work hard. I thought you might like to spend some time there, on my boat this time, if you can get the time off.
” She looked shocked by what he was saying.
She wasn’t sure if he was propositioning her, or just inviting her, but either way she wouldn’t accept.
“Sailboats aren’t as spacious as motor yachts, so Sharpe’s boat is a little larger, with all the modern thrills, a spa and movie theater, and all of that, but there’s nothing more beautiful or more peaceful than a sailboat under full sail.
I’d be honored to have you on the boat whenever you like, or I can lend it to you, if you want to bring friends with you.
” He smiled at her and she still couldn’t tell if he was bribing her or trying to seduce her.
She didn’t seem like his type. She thought bribery was the most likely in the circumstances, given who he was.
And he was too smart to bribe her with money.
But a trip on a legendary yacht would be ample reward for her sanitizing the article, if she was willing.
She understood his motive perfectly. It was clear.
“That’s very kind of you,” she said politely. “That would be an enormous gift, and the magazine wouldn’t allow me to accept that, but it’s very generous.”
“Weren’t you on Ben Sharpe’s boat?” he asked her, which made her even more uncomfortable.
“The magazine put me up at the Cheval Blanc, and gave me some days off for working over Christmas.”
“I didn’t realize you were working then.”
“I did a profile of him. Christmas was the only time he had free, so I flew down for a few days.”
“Well, I’d be happy to host you on the Lady H or lend it to you any time. I have a great crew.”
“That’s very nice, but I can’t accept gifts of great value, and that would certainly be over the line in my managing editor’s opinion,” she said calmly, masking her shock at what he was proposing. He was openly bribing her.
“Is there something else I can do for you?” John asked, looking anxious. “I want this piece to come out well,” he said.
“So do I. I try to be objective and truthful.”
“I understand you called Lillith Jones as part of your research.”
“She wouldn’t speak to me,” Charlotte said matter-of-factly, “nor would Isabelle Phillips. They’re both loyal to you,” she said to reassure him.
“I hardly know the Jones girl well. I met her at a dinner party. She happened to be in St. Barth, so I invited her for a drink on the boat. Isabelle has been a family friend for thirty years, she’s like my sister.
” He seemed to want Charlotte to think there were no women in his life, so maybe he was hitting on her.
She still wasn’t sure. “Who did you speak to?” he asked her suddenly.
“I can’t reveal my sources,” she said simply, and he looked increasingly uncomfortable.
She wasn’t taking the bait of what he was trying to offer her, to indebt herself to him.
And offering her money could backfire badly if she refused it and then revealed that he had tried.
He had done that years before and it was a mess.
“Is there nothing you want or need? An air conditioner for your apartment, a vacation somewhere? You’re welcome to use my plane. I understand you have a son in Dubai. Maybe you’d like to visit him,” he suggested, and he looked pathetic to Charlotte.
“I appreciate the thought, but I can’t do any of that. My professional ethics would be in question. I can’t be bought. I try to keep things very clean. Those things come out eventually, and it would be a disaster for both of us.” He nodded and looked glum.
“I suppose you’re right. You’re a very beautiful woman,” he said, and the way he looked at her gave her the creeps.
He was willing to do almost anything to guarantee himself safe passage, but she couldn’t give that to him, especially given what she thought of him, though she wouldn’t have anyway.
She had never taken a bribe in her life and didn’t intend to start now.
He dropped a dollar on the table as a tip and stood up, and she followed him outside.
He looked uneasy as he nodded and got in his car, and a moment later she watched him drive away.
It had been a very strange exchange, and she called Henry when she got home and told him about it.
“He’s a damn fool if he thinks he can save his skin at this point and goes around bribing journalists.”
“I couldn’t tell if he was bribing me and hitting on me, or just bribing me. I think he’s scared I’m going to mention the woman he was with in St. Barth. He tried to pretend she just happened to be there and he had her over for a drink. I don’t believe a word he says.”
“Well, I’m sorry you didn’t get another boat holiday. Big yachts seem to be part of your karma these days,” he said, and she laughed.
“He really is creepy. He made my skin crawl.”
“I’m sure that’s not the effect he was hoping for. Maybe he thought you’d fall into his arms and hop on the boat with him, and write him a nice puff piece about what a great guy he is.”
“I just wanted to let you know,” Charlotte said, and went back to polishing the article. She continued to work on it for most of the night, honing and sharpening it, and in the morning, she sent a clean copy to Henry. He called her an hour later.
“Wow, that’s another fantastic article. You’re really cooking these days.
You got everything in there, even the two guys who died by suicide over Christmas.
” One had hanged himself, and the other had thrown himself in the freezing river on Christmas Day and drowned.
“And I thought you handled the rape very tastefully, and disguised it well.” She had changed the girl’s age at the time, the location, and the event.
John would know who it was unless he had raped many young women, but no one else could guess who the victim was, which was Charlotte’s intention, to protect Angela.
But she efficiently conveyed to the reader that John Williams had raped a young woman, and was a cruel man, to a criminal degree.
She was satisfied with her piece, and after Henry had approved it, it went to the fact-checkers.
The next issue of the magazine was coming out in two weeks and they were rushing it through to appear in that edition.
The headline for it was “Honorable or Ruthless?” above the tagline “You Decide.” The magazine hadn’t taken a declared position.
They furnished all the information and were letting the readers decide for themselves.
There was only one possible conclusion, and it wasn’t Honorable.
She went to the office then, and there was an enormous vase of three dozen white roses mixed with orchids, and no card.
She called the florist and after she insisted, they confirmed that John Williams had sent them.
She asked them to pick them up and said that she couldn’t accept them.
She wanted to be scrupulously ethical with him.
Henry came in and told her again how much he liked her article.
“Who died?” he said when he saw the flowers.
“John Williams’s hopes of bribing me,” she said, and he laughed. “They’re picking them up in twenty minutes.”
“What are you doing this weekend?” he asked her.
“Tonight, sleeping. I’ve hardly slept in three days, while I was writing.
And tomorrow Hugh is flying through on his way back from Paris to Dubai.
He’s been there for two months, working.
He’ll be here for two days, till Monday.
” Henry knew how much that meant to her, and she looked all smiley at the prospect.
“Give him my best,” he said. He really liked her boy. He had turned into a fine man, with his mother’s good values. Henry knew how much Charlotte worried about him and missed him. She was deeply attached to her only child, and she lived for his visits.
She went to bed early on Friday night and slept, and on Saturday morning, she was dressed and ready for Hugh when he arrived. He had a good haircut, and was wearing jeans, a black turtleneck sweater, motorcycle boots, and a black leather jacket. He looked chic and trendy.
They went out for breakfast and had a hearty meal, and then back to the apartment, and he told her all about what he’d done in Paris. A lot of good meetings and great meals. She showed him the two articles she’d written and he read them, and said he liked both of them.