Conflict of Interests

by Denean Dawson

  “I know, and that’s what I keep thinking. I’m sure if Caroline knows that, she will agree the merger is an opportunity we don’t want to miss,” Jake said. It sounded as if he was trying to convince himself more than anyone else.

  “We’ll get there when we get there. If all else fails, we can take the idea to another firm,” Jack voiced his earlier thought.

  “I’m not sure if I feel comfortable taking Melissa’s idea if we end up turning her down.”

  Jack wasn’t surprised by his brother’s response. He had never liked taking credit away from others; he was always the “goodie two shoes” in the Jamyson family.

  “Alright, I get what you mean. Let’s see what Caroline says before we get too carried away, we could just be overthinking things,” Jack acquiesced.

  The two brothers enjoyed the rest of their dinner as the topic shifted to less serious matters. It felt good to have a closer relationship with his brother, Jack thought. He hadn’t realized how much he had missed Jake during the years he’d spent abroad.

  “How are things with you and Danielle?” Jake asked as they were walking out of the restaurant.

  “Oh, things are great. I’m happy the move went so well. It’s nice to have someone to go home to,” Jack replied. A small smile lifted the corners of his lips as he thought about the previous week, when she had been waiting in the living room for him wearing nothing but a pair of earrings he’d given her. He didn’t know why it had taken him so long to understand that settling down was a good idea for him. He knew deep down it was because he hadn’t met the right person yet. Meeting Danielle had been just the turning point he needed. Even after months of dating, Jack’s heart still started racing every time he saw his girlfriend.

  “I’m happy for you, brother,” Jake said.

  “Thanks man. Things have a funny way of working out the way they should,” Jack said. “I’m sure this merger situation is no different.” Since Jack had returned, things just kept getting better for the family business. He was confident Jamyson & Jamyson would be fine with or without Melissa’s idea, and he trusted that Jake would make the right decision at the end of the day.

  “That’s true. I suppose we’ll have to see how things work out on my side. At this point, everything is good. I just hope it stays that way,” replied Jake.

  Jack felt bad for his brother because he seemed to be planning for the worst possible outcome. He couldn’t blame him because Jake had been through a lot over the last year with all the drama caused by his divorce. But being with Caroline had made his life better. Jack hoped that, no matter what happened with the business, Jake would always be happy. Life wasn’t just about working or making money, it was about being happy. “Don’t think negatively about it. Nothing has happened yet,” Jack said and clapped his brother on the back.

  “You’re probably right,” Jake replied. Then, laughing quietly, he added, “Never thought I’d be saying those words to the likes of you!”

  ********

  When he pulled up outside of his recently purchased house, Jack could see Danielle standing in the kitchen through the front window. The house sat just a few yards from the road, and had large windows that allowed a perfect view of the interior if the curtains weren’t closed—and they rarely were. Jack didn’t like the idea of other people being able to look in and see Danielle alone, but he knew she was safe. Danielle was a woman who knew how to take care of herself, and Jack loved that about her.

  Being in a steady relationship was something completely new to Jack, but with Danielle, it didn’t feel like work at all. Being with her felt natural, like they were destined to be together. Many people in Jack’s life had been wary when he and Danielle had decided to move in together after being a couple for such a short time, but he knew they’d made the right choice.

  Jack continued watching her through the window as he walked up the short path to the door. The warm light in the kitchen made her long red hair look like it was glowing, and he couldn’t wait to twine his fingers through it. He was greeted by the smell of something roasting in the oven as soon as he opened the door. When she wanted to, Danielle could make delicious food. She was usually just too busy with the bar she owned to cook a full meal. This didn’t bother Jack at all, he was perfectly content to curl up on the couch and eat directly from takeout boxes as long as Danielle was beside him. Putting on his best sitcom husband voice, Jack called, “Honey, I’m home,” as he shrugged off his coat and threw his briefcase on the hall table.

  “Thank goodness, I’ve missed you,” Danielle exclaimed as she swept out of the kitchen and brought her hand to her forehead doing an impression of Grace Kelley. Jack gathered her in his arms and lowered her into a dip, kissing her dramatically. As he brought her back up, they both burst out laughing. Jack would never tire of holding Danielle in his arms, and listening to her musical laugh. Every time he looked at her, he wished they had met sooner. “How was your day?” Jack asked when they had released each other.

  “Oh, not too bad. Had a bit of a problem with a delivery today but it was sorted out in the end,” Danielle replied with a shrug before she led them into the kitchen so she could check on the food. “And how was your day?”

  “It was good. We have a possible merger on the table, but it’s up to Jake to make the decision,” Jack replied.

  “Oh, why is it up to him?”

  Jack took the time to explain the situation to her. He thought maybe, as a woman, she would be able to give him some insight into how Caroline might react to the news.

  “Oh, wow. That’s crazy.” Danielle said when he was finished explaining everything.

  “What would you do if you were in that position? What would you do if you were Caroline?” Jack asked.

  He watched as Danielle thought about it for a moment, her lithe body becoming completely still as she stopped stirring the sauce on the stove.

  “Hmm. Honestly, I don’t know. A part of me thinks that it’s just business, so it should be fine. But...how do we know if that’s all this Melissa woman wants? Your firm is successful, but she could have taken her proposal to any number of companies. But it seems like she sought Jake out specifically. That might mean she still has feelings for him.”

  Jack knew she could be right. He didn’t believe his brother would cheat or leave Caroline, but considering he had been so in love with Melissa, it could bring up old feelings that he hadn’t let go of. He wanted to believe that they could make the merger work, but, deep down, he knew that bringing Melissa into the mix could break up Jake’s little family. “I guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens. But enough about that. Come over here.” Jack pulled Danielle into his arms again and kissed her deeply, her body melting into his. He would never get tired of kissing her soft lips. Danielle slipped her tongue into his mouth and ran her hands up under his shirt. Then she broke the kiss to whisper in Jack’s ear, “Let’s have dessert before dinner tonight.”

  Chapter Three, Honesty is the Best Policy

  Still reeling from seeing Melissa after so many years, Jake became increasingly nervous the closer he got to home. He knew he had no reason to be, but he couldn’t help himself. He hoped that Caroline would understand how important the opportunity Melissa had presented him with was. He didn’t want to do anything that would upset her, but taking the firm international could really put his business on the map. Before he had met Caroline, Jake’s work was everything to him. He had missed out on a lot of time with his son, and he didn’t want to go back to living that way. His business was still important, but expanding wasn’t worth the risk of ruining the life he had built with Caroline.

  As the elevator brought Jake to his apartment, he took a few deep breaths to center himself. Jonathan was sitting on the couch staring intensely at the bright TV screen. Jake didn’t disturb him and walked into the open plan kitchen where Caroline sat. She was at the dining table, three plates of food in front of her.

  “Hey,” Jake greeted her.


  “Hey, you,” she replied with a smile as she stood to kiss him.

  Jake kissed her, his heart racing not only from the physical contact, but also because he was still on edge. Then he moved back to look at her, trying to gauge what type of mood she was in. He could tell that she was relaxed and in a good mood, so he started the conversation he had been dreading all day. “Do you mind if we talk in private about something before dinner?” Jake asked nervously. He could see that Caroline was instantly worried by what he had said.

  “Oh, sure. Let’s go to the bedroom,” she said as she looked over his shoulder to check on Jonathan.

  Jake took her hand just so she would know that there wasn’t anything she should be worried about. Once they were in the bedroom, Jake closed the door and sat down on the edge of the bed, patting the spot beside him.

  Caroline came to stand near him, but did not sit. “Are you going to break up with me?” she whispered before he had managed to say anything.

  “Oh, no, no, no. Of course not! I love you, and that’s not going to change, there’s just something I need to talk to you about.”

  “Okay, well, what is it?” she asked.

  “Well, today I had an old friend come to the office. She has her own accounting firm in the UK, and she’s proposing a merger,” Jake began. He was rushing through his words, and he could tell that Caroline was confused.

  “That sounds like a cool idea,” she replied with a small shrug, finally sitting down beside him.

  Jake took Caroline’s hands in his again. “It is! It’s a huge opportunity for the firm but, the thing is, well...she wasn’t just a friend. Melissa was my first love,” he blurted.

  “Do you still have feelings for her?” Caroline asked softly, removing her hands from his and resting them on her thighs.

  “No, absolutely not. I just don’t want to do anything that would make you feel uncomfortable,” he replied quickly. He watched as she processed that information, her eyes darting back and forth as she looked at him, then looked away. He wished he could read her mind because her expression was unreadable. Jake wanted her to feel secure in their relationship and hoped that Caroline would appreciate his honesty.

  “I’m glad you came to me about this. I trust you. I trust that you will keep things focused on business, so if you feel that the merger is a good move then you should do it,” Caroline said evenly.

  Relief washed through Jake. “We’re in this together. We promised to be honest with each other and I mean to keep that promise. The merger could launch the business into the stratosphere. With international clients, the profits will be huge.”

  “Well, I like the sound of that.” Caroline’s mood was lifting.

  The tense atmosphere around them eased, and they moved to hug each other. He was pleased at how well the conversation with Caroline had gone. Imagining how his ex-wife would have responded in the same situation, Jack was grateful that his girlfriend was so understanding. He would talk to Jack and phone Melissa in the morning to share the good news. He was eager to get the ball rolling, but now it was time to be with his family. “Let’s go have some dinner, shall we?”

  “Sounds like a good idea to me.”

  They walked hand in hand out of the room, pried Jonathan away from the TV, and sat down to their dinner. Jonathan was excited to tell his father all about his day, and even though Jake tried to listen, he was too excited about the next step in his career to truly focus.

  ********

  The next day, Jake went to work feeling extremely excited.

  “Good morning,” Jake said brightly as he walked into the office.

  Denise was behind her desk near the entrance. She was essentially the face of the business, and her desk was strategically placed so she could greet any visitors while also being able to survey the rest of the team members in the room. There were thirty other desks arranged around the office set into low walled cubicles. Jake had the only office with walls, but he thought it was probably time that Jack had his own private office as well. He had proven himself more than capable in the last few months; Danielle was, no doubt, a positive influence on him.

  “Morning. You’re in an unusually good mood today,” Denise responded with a look of mock suspicion.

  “Good things are coming, Denise! I have some big news about the firm, but I have a few things to finalize before I call a companywide meeting.”

  The rest of the accountants were already at their desks, their heads down and focused. Jake had a good relationship with his workers; however, it was primarily an employer-employee type of relationship. He knew he would have to explain soon enough that he would be expecting everyone to work harder, especially in order to make the merger happen seamlessly.

  “So, the talk went well?” Jack asked as he walked into the office and came up behind Jake.

  “It honestly went better than I had expected. We’re good to go, brother.”

  “That’s great! Are you going to call Melissa then?” Jack asked.

  “I was actually thinking that maybe Denise should call her. I want to respect my promise to Caroline that our contact will be strictly about business.” Jake thought the less contact he had with Melissa, the better.

  “That sounds like a plan.” Jack clapped his brother on the back, then moved past him. Denise nodded her head.

  Jake turned to Denise, “Here’s her card. Arrange a meeting with her for tomorrow so we can get this going,” he said as he pulled out Melissa’s card from his wallet.

  “Perfect, I’ll get to it,” Denise said.

  “You sure you can manage working with Melissa?” Jack asked when Jake passed his desk.

  Jake had thought about it long and hard, considering all the ways he could end up crossing the line with Melissa. All he had to do was set hard boundaries with her, and nothing bad would happen. It might be awkward in the beginning, but Jake was sure he would be able to work with Melissa and keep their relationship professional. “I thought about it last night, and I know what I could lose if anything goes too far, so I’m sure I’ll manage,” he replied.

  He had to keep reminding himself of that fact because, even though he knew what he could lose if things went wrong, Jake hadn’t been able to stop himself from thinking of the life he might have had with Melissa. It had been easy enough not to think about her while he hung out with his family, but while Caroline had lain asleep next to him, thoughts about Melissa, about how good she looked, crept back in.

  “Well, if you have any doubts, I can step in and help. I’ve always got your back, and I don’t want to see you or Caroline get hurt.” Jack said earnestly, interrupting Jake's thoughts.

  Jake spent the rest of the day with his head down, focused on his work. He didn’t want to ask about Melissa or the meeting Denise was setting up because he didn’t want to seem too eager. Instead, he would wait for Denise to confirm the meeting. He would rather avoid sparking any office gossip by spending too much time with Melissa and he didn’t want to be seen to be overly interested in her company. And although he didn’t feel the need to really hide his past from anyone, Jake would rather keep his personal life to himself.

  He managed to resist all morning, but after lunch Jake gave in to his curiosity and looked Melissa up on social media. It seemed that she had been single for a few years after one serious, long-term relationship. He couldn’t help but wonder why her relationship had ended; Melissa was an absolute catch—she was beautiful, successful, and charming. When she had walked into his office the day before, he had been immediately entranced by her. As Jake scrolled through her pictures, especially the ones she was in with her ex, he imagined himself in the stranger’s place, imagined his hand gripping her waist, imagined his lips locked with hers.

  Abruptly, Jake stood up from his chair, flinging it backward, and shook his head to clear the intrusive thoughts. “This is ridiculous, I love Caroline,” he muttered to himself. He left the office on the pretense of getting
a coffee, but in reality, circled the block around his building a few times. As he walked, he forced himself to think about what he had with Caroline, what a positive impact she had on his life, not to mention Jonathan’s. Jake felt much better once he returned to his office and worked contentedly for the rest of the day; all dangerous thoughts of Melissa gone from his mind.

  Chapter Four, One Last Shot

  The phone hadn’t stopped ringing all morning, and Melissa was having a hard time keeping up with all of her clients, but when she noticed the caller ID on her latest call, she knew she had to take it. “Melissa Downing,” she answered, attempting to keep the excitement out of her voice. She was a professional, after all, even if the person on the line was the enigmatic Jake Jamyson.

  “Hi, Ms. Downing. This is Denise calling from Jamyson & Jamyson,” said a woman with an alto voice.

  Melissa was disappointed that Jake hadn’t phoned her personally, but she didn’t take it to heart. She knew that showing up out of the blue the previous day had spooked him, it was written all over his face. She had not chosen his company to merge with only because of their history, but also because his firm was one of the tops in the country. If the deal went through, getting to work with her lost love would be a bonus.

  She had never been able to move on after their break up, so, eventually, she stopped trying. She had dated men that were similar to Jake, but they were never enough for her. She had ended her last relationship when her boyfriend proposed to her. She wished she could have said yes. He was a wonderful man, but it wouldn’t have been fair to marry him—Melissa would not have been able to give him the love he deserved. She didn’t mind being single so much because she took pride in her business. However, it became harder over the years to feel happy just working all the time. Melissa wasn’t sure where Jake stood in his life, she hadn’t been able to find him on social media, but she hoped that he might still feel the same way about her. Or, if he did not, she hoped that those feelings would return to him once they started spending time together.