Chapter 22
My sneakers scuff the dirt trail.
This place is huge.
I tug the folded map out of my pocket, and peer at the zig-zagging line of orange that crosses the glossy page.
I’m early for my meet-up with Vanessa. Sunset Ridge Park is big, and I’ve never explored it before. On the map, I can see the place where the orange line and a red line cross. That must be where I am right now because I can see two trails intersecting up ahead.
Tall, ancient oak trees with big, thick trunks line the path. The yellow leaves cluster on the branches filter the afternoon sunlight. When I look up, I can see puffy white clouds in the brilliant blue sky. The day has turned out to be nice and warm.
What am I doing here?
I don’t really want to work for Vanessa. It would require too much driving to come all the way out here to Riley to walk her dog.
It doesn’t entirely make sense—this decision to meet with her.
I’m being nosey,I realize.
Mandy really piqued my interest back there at the coffee shop. Vanessa now represents a mystery to me, and I’ve always been drawn to mysteries.
What’s her deal?I wonder. She came across as shallow and trite, yet Mandy went on about how ‘sharp’ she was about business.
Hm…
The dirt path is studded with rocks. Patches of sunlight light up some sections, while others are dark with shadows.
Vanessa asked me to meet her at a creek. It’s her pup’s favorite place in the park, she said. I hear water rushing now. The creek must be ahead. I walk a bit farther, then peer through the leaves and spot her.
Just before I reach my hand up to wave and try to catch her attention, I note a second figure standing there with her.
I recognize Clarice Manning, thanks to the articles I’ve read about her. She’s been touted by the media as Riley’s most successful businessperson in recent years. In person she looks shorter than I expected, given the headshots I’ve seen.
She’s barely five feet tall. From behind, she could be mistaken for a teenager. Her body is stocky and muscular, her limbs packed into tight-fitting workout apparel. She props a hand on her narrow hip and speaks to Vanessa intensely, as though they’re discussing something important.
I step closer.
Guilt about eavesdropping slithers through me, but I’m too curious now to let that stop me. I crouch down and take another few steps. What are they talking about?
Soon, I can hear their voices.
Vanessa sounds distraught. “I know, I know. It’s sort of risky, and I get that, but I feel bad… She’s looking for work. She must be desperate if she’s willing to drive all the way out here to walk little Cocoa Bear.” She lifts the white puff-ball dog in her arms and smooches his face.
“Don’t feel bad for her!” Clarice snaps. “She’ll be better off not working for him.”
“You have always been so hard on Brock.”
“That’s because he’s just another arrogant, selfish, macho guy who thinks he can dominate over the rest of us. Can you imagine all the illegal stuff he’s probably done to get Epic Elevate up and running? ‘Blood, sweat, and tears,’ my foot. He always gives that line in interviews, but I call bull. He’s steamrolled everyone in his path to get to where he is.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I know success demands sacrifice. You don’t get to the top tier by being nice, Vanessa. You get there by being ruthless. That’s how everyone else operates, so I have to do the same—if I want to make it.”
“You’ve already made it.” Vanessa smooches her little dog’s cheek again.
“Not as big as I want. I want Fit For Life to be bigger. I already have plans to triple sales next year. It’ll be doable once Brock folds. We got away with pegging Gwen, and your meeting up with her today is only going to give her a chance to ask you questions. I’m sure she’s going to want to ask you about what’s going on. If you ask me, that’s probably why she’s coming out here to meet with you, anyway. Brock probably accused her of leaking the launch info, and she’s got some suspicions it was you all along. She’s smarter than she looks, I bet.”
I have no idea what they’re talking about.
They pegged me… for what? She spoke so fast, I’ve barely processed the details.
Brock didn’t accuse me of anything. He fired me out of the blue… but that was more about what was happening between us personally than anything else. Wasn’t it?
I’ve thought about it a lot over the past few days.
I figured spending the night at my house was just too much for him. When I saw him and Vanessa so close in his office doorway, it struck a nerve. I watched her kiss his cheek…
“Will you give it a rest?” Vanessa says. “Not everyone has ulterior motives, you know.”
Clarice paces to the creek’s shore. I can barely hear her now over the sound of the rushing water. I miss a few words but then catch on when she turns slightly. “…and I bet she’s onto us. She probably knows you got onto Brock’s laptop when you were at his house. I bet she’s going to try to get you to admit it.”
“Stop being so paranoid. That lazy detective didn’t suspect anything. He gobbled up those stories you had your staff feed him, and it looks like Brock bought it all, too. That poor Gwen Temple is probably just freaking out because she doesn’t have an income anymore. And we did that. It’s our fault. We threw her under the bus.”
“What, now you’re getting soft? You were all about doing this with me when we discussed the pay.”
“I just feel bad for her.” Vanessa crouches to set her dog down.
The little white dog lifts his nose into the air. He swivels his groomed head left, then right.
Then, he points his tiny black nose up the hill… toward me.
His bark is so sharp it hurts my ears. “Yip! Yip-yip-yip!”