Chapter 15
CHAPTER 15
JAMISON
My eyebrows draw together as I read Hunter’s text message for the third time. I don’t trust Hunter’s motives for a second.
Hunter: Can we please meet up for brunch? I promise to be on my best behavior.
I must be in the Twilight Zone.
Normally I’d say no, but since I saw him with another woman last night and he made some off-the-wall comment to me, I’m curious.
Me: Sure. I’m hungry, so you can pay.
Hunter: Consider it done. Let’s meet in the restaurant downstairs in an hour.
Me: I’ll be there.
I spot him at a table as I stroll in. If his horrified expression is any indication of how this meeting will go, I’m looking forward to it.
“Jamison, thanks for meeting me.” Hunter stands and shakes my hand as I join him.
This meeting of his is going to be more than interesting with that greeting.
“No problem. I finished working out and was hungry, so you hit me at the right time.” I pull my chair out and sit. “What do you want to discuss?”
He takes a seat and organizes his utensils. “The terms of our agreement. We need to adjust them.”
“Look, I’ve kept my end of the bargain. Dori and I barely speak, and when we do, it’s short and to the point.”
“I understand. The problem stems from last night.” His face turns red and beads of sweat appear on his upper lip. “What do you plan to do with that information?”
“Now I see what this is about. Okay, Hunter. What would you like me to do and what’s the payout?” I cock my head and smile.
The server comes over and takes our drink order. I glance over the menu when she leaves. Making Hunter wait and shake in fear is more than fulfilling.
“Jamison, can we get back to the topic?”
“You called this meeting, so tell me what you want and I’ll consider it.” I lean back in my chair and revel in my advantage.
His eyes try to hide his panic, but it’s too obvious not to see. “You keep what you saw to yourself, and I won’t share anything about Lauren with Dorothy.”
“Not sharing anything about Lauren is already in our agreement. How does that benefit me?”
“If you tell anyone about last night, I won’t hesitate to pull Lauren into it. This is a separate agreement. You say nothing and neither will I.”
“Let me get this straight. The original arrangement now only has you sabotaging the success of the app. Who’s saying once we finish the project, one of us doesn’t go to Dori with what the other knows about these other women?”
“No, Jamison, the original agreement includes exposing your little Aricin package, telling Aiden about your night with Dorothy, telling her about the women you’ve dated, along with the billion dollars you’d lose if the app fails.”
“Yeah, right. I knew it was too good to be true.”
He puts on his best poker face. “If you play nice, the app succeeds. You get your money, and I keep all that other stuff to myself.”
I rest my palms on the arms of my chair. “I don’t know, Hunter.”
“You also get access to all my contacts who could use your services. That means I still have more leverage than you. If you agree to the new proposal, it’s an eye for an eye—an equal-weighted proposal.”
It's interesting and not a bad arrangement. I better confirm the information and make sure I understand this, though. He could be screwing me over somehow.
I shoot him a questioning look. “If I’m hearing you correctly, we’ll have two agreements.”
“That’s right.”
“The first one is where I stay away from Dori, and you keep the app on track. You keep things from Aiden and my past regarding Aricin locked away. Then you set me up for life with your business contacts.”
He nods, so I get back to our terms.
“You’ve already told Dori about the women I’ve dated, so that can’t be a part of it. The second agreement is if I keep your indiscretions to myself, you keep Lauren to yourself. Do I have the details accurate?”
“I wasn’t the one who disclosed your dating history to Dorothy, but yes. You have the details correct. Do we have a deal?”
Knowing I have most of the things he’s threatening me with squared away, I pretend to consider it. The fact is, once I clean up my shit with Lauren, I plan on telling Dori everything I know about Hunter .
I tilt my head and study him. “I’ll agree to this new arrangement if you tell me two things honestly.”
“What would you like to know?”
This next question is only because I’m curious. “How many times have you cheated on Dori, and why did you last night?”
He hesitates by drinking some coffee. The server grabs our attention by coming to the table and asking for our order.
Once that’s done, Hunter addresses me. “I haven’t cheated on Dorothy.”
I toss my napkin on the table to show him I’m done playing his games.
He panics. “Okay, Jamison, I’ll explain.”
“You have one minute before I leave.”
He takes a deep breath in resignation. “I haven’t cheated on her. At least, I don’t think I have. That’s beside the point. We aren’t officially dating right now. We spend time together so we can get to know each other on a deeper emotional level.”
“So she’s not as close to marrying you as you said.” I smirk and wonder why I believed him in the first place. “How many other women have there been, and why did you do what you did last night?”
“I wasn’t with the woman from last night. The reason she was with me was because I got trashed. She was helping me home.”
Not one of his finest moments.
“You were pretty drunk.” I shake my head. “Where was Dori?”
“I wasn’t with Dorothy because I jumped to conclusions about you being out with her on Friday night. She was out drinking and I assumed that led to you two… You get the point.” He rolls his eyes and glances down.
“I wasn’t out with her on Friday. Melanie invited me out. I met her and a bunch of people. Mateo’s in town, so I took him with me. Ask him if you want, but you blew it for yourself because Dori and I didn’t speak.”
“I know that now.” He sighs heavily. “What about our agreement?”
“Your story doesn’t fly with me. You still date Ava Aldridge, and I saw Jody in the elevator coming down from your place not long ago. Tell me the truth, Hunter, or there will be no agreement.”
I’m bluffing because Dori can’t know about Lauren until I handle her first. I need to make sure Dori’s safe and Lauren won’t go ballistic.
“Ava and I aren’t dating. Dorothy knows what that relationship is about. The last time Jody was at my place, nothing sexual happened.”
“Yeah, right.”
“I was drunk in the bar. Jody helped me upstairs and took care of my sick ass all night. The woman last night was doing the same thing. Obviously, I have an issue with self-medicating that needs to be addressed.”
For the first time, Hunter appears vulnerable. I’m not sure I believe him, but he seems sincere.
I glance at the table and nod once. “Sure, Hunter. We’ve got a deal.”
He noticeably relaxes. “Great. Thanks for considering it. I don’t plan on getting that drunk again if it’s any consolation to you.”
“It’s none of my business. I was curious and wanted to know. That’s the only reason I asked.” I lean back in my chair and file away the information for another day.
I’m buried in work this week. My phone rings on my desk and Aiden’s name flashes on the screen. I stand and answer it as I close the door to my office.
“Hey, Aiden. How’s medical leave treating you?”
“I’m bored to tears, which brings me to why I’m calling.”
“I’m all ears. Why are you calling?”
“Since I have extra time, I did some investigating on the subject we discussed. I have some information.” Something moves over his speaker and crinkles in my ear.
I pull up a new document on my computer. “I figured you would. So what’s Hunter up to?”
“It’s not much, but I’m getting closer. The thing with Ava Aldridge is going to be our golden ticket.”
“Why is that?”
“Their relationship is anything but above the line. They’ve been fuck buddies for years. It looks like they were involved in high school.”
“That far back, huh?”
“Yeah. During that time, they were in an on-and-off relationship. It took a turn in college. I’m not sure why, but from what my guy found, there were rumors of a pregnancy. Ava and Hunter had a horrible falling out.”
“Interesting. So Ava got pregnant. What happened to the baby?” I type out some of the highlights of the information.
“That’s where I’m running into a huge hole.”
I rest back in my chair. “What kind of hole? It seems if she was pregnant, the information would be relatively easy to find.”
“You’d think. The problem is not long after the rumors started, Ava went on a summerlong European trip. She traveled all over but stayed in France most of the time.”
“Is their kid there?”
He shakes his head. “That’s the issue. Nothing indicates a pregnancy. She didn’t see a doctor while she was there and she was taking modeling classes during that time. If she was pregnant, she would’ve been showing.”
“You don’t think a doctor could go to her and perform an abortion or hide a pregnancy?”
He sighs heavily. “Not that I can find. We’re still digging, but something doesn’t add up about the entire thing. However, there’s an interesting curveball.”
“I’m all ears.”
“Ava spent quite a bit of time with Hunter’s mother while she was in Europe.”
My eyebrows rise in curiosity. “I’ve always wondered what happened to her. What did you find out?”
“Just that she’s married to a powerful billionaire. He has ties to an underground crime organization. I’m still looking into it, but if you can ask around the office, see what you can pick up.”
“You think his mom is involved with whatever Hunter’s hiding?” My mind swirls with a few random ideas.
“She’s part of something. I just can’t figure it out. If my gut is right, she’s a bigger part of it than we can imagine.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know, but it feels big enough to have a random tip come into the department, so they start an investigation. My hands are tied at this point unless I go against the rules.” He pauses and I get the hint.
“I understand. Tell me what I need to do to get this tip to the department?” I pick up a pen and get ready to write down his suggestion.
“Start with Ava and go from there. When she came back from Europe, Hunter was at her beck and call. There’s something there, so that’s where I’d start.”
“How am I supposed to reach Ava without sounding the alarms?”
“I have her contact information. If I were you, I’d set up a meeting and see what you can get. She’s holding something over Hunter’s head. If we can figure that out, we’ll know how to keep Dori from marrying him.” Aiden releases an exasperated sigh.
“Give me Ava’s information and I’ll take it from here. I don’t know if I’ll find anything that can lead to the business being investigated, but I’ll look.”
I sit back and know I won’t do it. I’m not going to put a company that Dori’s involved in at risk. The only person I care about getting even with is Hunter. Everyone else is off-limits.
Just in case I need it, I scribble Ava’s contact information on a sticky note. Aiden and I spend a few moments catching up on his health. A knock on my door causes me to hang up with him.
I open the door and Dori comes into view with her back to me. “Dori, can I help you?”
She spins around. “Do you have a minute?”
“Sure. Come on in.” I open the door wider and step away.
She enters and closes the door behind her. My stomach churns with anxiety. Prickles erupt over my skin.
Being with her in a small, closed-off room messes with me on so many levels. She notices I’m hesitating with the idea of being alone with her.
“You can relax. I’m not here to fight with you. I just want to talk.” She tips her head to the chairs as if she’s asking if she can sit.
I nod. “Take a seat.”
As she gets situated, I try to hold myself together in my chair behind my desk. I’m still not where I can be near her.
Partially because I want to scream at her and confront her about the hurtful things she’s pulled, and partially because I can’t help but want to take her in my arms and kiss her.
I pick up a pen and mindlessly work it through my fingers to release some of my nerves .
She brings her sexy, long, thick auburn hair over one shoulder. Her neck is on full display. I have to look away.
She cuts in. “The last time we spoke outside of work issues, it didn’t go well. I know you said you didn’t want to speak to me anymore, but I need to say something. If you’re still upset with me after that and don’t want to be friends, I’ll understand.”
I exhale. She has to know I can’t say no to her.
I rest back in my chair and give her my attention. “I’ll give you the time to say what you need to say.”
She glances down and nods. “Thanks. I wanted to do this Friday night, but this is probably better. Anyway, I’ve thought a lot about what you said the other day. What I did that night with Hunter was completely inappropriate.”
“You think?” My sarcasm is obvious.
“Jami, I’m trying. This is difficult and embarrassing, so please don’t make sarcastic remarks.” Her eyes shine with genuine remorse, so I cave.
“Sorry. I’ll do my best to refrain.”
“Thank you. As you know, I’m in therapy. It’s helping. At least, I hope it is. Anyway, Melanie and I spent a lot of time together this weekend.”
I place my pen down. “What’s that got to do with our situation?”
“Those two things have given me some awareness about how I handle painful occurrences in my life. I was trying to avoid acknowledging what happened with our baby.” The words catch in her throat.
My heart aches remembering what we lost. I rub my chest to release the burn.
She regains her composure and continues. “It wasn’t healthy. I haven’t been dealing with the loss in a positive way.”
“Does that include hanging out with Hunter?”
“He’s not a bad guy, Jami. He tries hard for me.”
I roll my eyes. If she only knew what he did over the weekend, she might think otherwise. Knowing I’m about to say something rude, I keep my mouth shut.
“Jami, can I ask you a strange question that I can’t get out of my mind?”
“Sure. What do you want to know?” I lean my arms against my desk.
She subtly shakes her head. “Why did Hunter tell you what happened? Are you two close friends again?”
I snort a laugh at the thought. “No, we’re not friends. We tolerate each other, but you know how Hunter is. When he wants you to know something, he finds a way to slide it into the conversation.”
“How did he do that?”
“I don’t remember exactly, but he was talking about the morning Aiden and I came by. He threw it in there somewhere.”
She lowers her head and sighs. “I can see him doing that.”
“For what it’s worth and to give him a little credit. He told me you two haven’t had sex since before we went to Denver. Well, intercourse because of your UTI. Other stuff like oral… You know what I’m getting at.”
I glance away and try to find a way to recover from my embarrassing blunder.
“Yeah, I get the point. But Hunter and I haven’t been intimate since that night. Not that it matters.” Her cheeks turn red and she swallows hard. “I don’t know why I just told you that.”
“If telling me helps you feel better about everything, it’s nice to know.”
“Really? Why?”
“It just does.” I shift to escape her gentle gaze. “Look, let’s just move on from that.”
“Yeah, right. That’s probably the best thing to do.” She stands and ambles toward the window.
On her way, her sweater catches the corner of the papers I have on my desk. They stick to her and fall to the floor as she moves.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” She bends down to pick them up.
I stand to help her. “It’s no big deal.”
She gathers them in a pile and starts to organize them. Her eyes focus on something written on a sticky note.
She pulls it out and shows it to me. “Jami, why do you have Ava Aldridge’s address and phone number?”