* * *
In the morning, Julia woke to the sound of Anna and Alek talking in the kitchen. They were speaking in Russian and it was apparent that Anna was upset.
Donning her robe, Julia wandered in and poured herself a cup of coffee. Anna eyed her with open hostility.
“My brother would not do this thing,” she said forcefully.
“Anna,” Alek barked. “Enough.”
“He loves you. How can you think he would ever hurt you? He is a man of honor.”
“It isn’t as simple as it seems,” Julia said in her own defense. Anna didn’t understand, and she didn’t expect her to.
Alek said something sharp and cold in Russian, but that didn’t stop Anna from turning to Julia once more. “You do not know my brother. Otherwise you wouldn’t believe he could do this terrible thing.”
Alek reprimanded his sister harshly. Julia didn’t need to understand Russian to know what he was saying.
Anna responded by yanking the apron from her waist, throwing it on the kitchen counter and storming out of the apartment.
“I apologize for my sister’s behavior,” Alek said after she’d left. He was so formal, so stiff and proud. He hesitated, as if trying to find the words to express himself. “There is a meeting with the marketing people this afternoon. It is a very important discussion. I need to be there to answer questions. If you’d rather I wasn’t, I’ll see if someone can take my place.”
Julia felt incapable of making any decision, even a straightforward one like this.
“I suggest you attend it, too,” he said. “If you feel I am doing or saying anything that would hurt Conrad Industries, then you can stop me. I suggest Jerry be there, as well.”
“Alek, please try to understand how awkward this is.”
“Come to the meeting,” he urged.
“All right,” Julia agreed reluctantly.
He told her the time and place, and afterward they were silent. Julia thought with a kind of sad whimsy that she could hear the sound of their heartache, like the loud ticking of a clock. She was sure Alek heard it, too. After a few minutes, he left the condo.
Rarely had Julia ever felt more alone. Her thoughts depressed her. She dressed, determined to act as if life was normal until they resolved this problem.
It wasn’t until she was at the office that she made a clear decision, her first sensible one since this whole nightmare began.
She pulled the phonebook out of her desk drawer, swallowed hard, praying she could pull this off, and then, with a bravado she didn’t feel, dialed Roger Stanhope’s number.
“Mr. Stanhope’s office,” came the efficient reply.
“This is Julia Conrad for Mr. Stanhope.”
“One moment, please.”
A short time passed before Roger’s smooth voice came over the wire. “Julia, what a pleasant surprise.”
“I understand you met with my husband.” Preliminary greetings were unnecessary.
“So you heard about that?”
“Alek told me. I’m calling you for your own protection. Alek meant what he said about you staying away from me. If you value your neck, I advise you not to try contacting me again.” Her heart was in her throat, pounding so loudly she was sure he must be able to hear it.
“I think there must be some misunderstanding,” Roger said in an incredulous tone. “I did meet with your husband. Actually, he’s the one who contacted me, but your name didn’t enter into the conversation. He wanted to talk to me about Phoenix Paints. He was hoping the two of us could strike some kind of deal. Naturally Ideal Paints is very interested.”
“Good try, Roger, but it won’t work.”
He laughed that slightly demented laugh of his, as though she’d said something hilarious.
“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see, won’t we?” he added sarcastically.
Julia hung up the phone.
She sat there for several minutes with her hand on the receiver. When she found the strength, she stood, walked out of her office and directly past her assistant’s desk.
“Ms. Conrad, are you feeling all right? You’re terribly pale again.”
Julia shrugged. “I’ll be fine,” she said, more brusquely than she’d intended.
“Have you thought about seeing a doctor?”
Julia didn’t know any physician who specialized in treating broken hearts. Virginia frowned at her, waiting for a reply. “No, I don’t…need one.”
“I think you do. I’m going to make an appointment for you and ask for the first available opening. We can’t have you walking around looking as if you’re going to faint at any moment.”
Julia barely heard her. She walked farther into the hallway to the elevator and rode down to her brother’s office.
Jerry stood when she walked in. “Julia! Sit down. You look like you’re about to keel over.”
If her brother was commenting on her appearance, she must resemble yesterday’s oatmeal. “I’m fine,” she lied.
“Do you need a glass of water?”
She shook her head. She hadn’t come to discuss her health.
“I’m getting you one anyway. You look dreadful.”
Julia pinched her lips together to bite back a cutting commentary, and didn’t succeed. “How nice of you to say so.”
Jerry chuckled and left his office, returning with a paper cup of water. He insisted Julia drink it, which she did. To her surprise she felt better afterward. But then, it was probably impossible to feel any worse.…
“I imagine you’re here to find out what Alek said,” Jerry murmured. “He claims he confronted Roger and told him to leave you alone. I wish I’d done it myself.”
“I talked to Roger myself.”
Jerry froze and his eyes narrowed suspiciously. “You talked to Roger?”
“This morning.”
“What did he say?” Jerry demanded. “Never mind, I can guess.” He started pacing then as if holding still was more than he could manage. “Naturally he wasn’t going to tell you what Alek actually said. What did you expect him to say, anyway? That he was shaking in his boots with fear? How could you do anything so stupid?”
“I…”
“I thought you were smarter than that!”
“Roger claims Alek tried to strike a deal with our strongest competitor,” Julia said, trying hard to control her temper.
“I don’t believe that for a minute.”
Neither did Julia, not really, but she was so desperately afraid. She needed Jerry to confirm her belief in Alek, needed the reassurance that she wasn’t making the same tragic mistake a second time.
“Don’t you realize you’re playing directly into Roger’s hands? This is exactly what he was hoping would happen. He wants you to distrust Alek. You certainly made his day.”
“I…hadn’t thought of it like that,” Julia admitted reluctantly. She was a fool not to leave the detective work to Rich Peck.
“You contacted Roger even knowing the kind of man he is, and expected him to tell the truth. You’ve done some stupid things in your time, Julia, but this one takes the cake.”
Julia bristled. “The cake came three years ago, Jerry,” she reminded him. “Complete with frosting, don’t you remember? That was when I trusted Roger, when I believed in love and loyalty.”
“You believe Alek, don’t you?”
“Yes…” She did, and yet she had no confidence in her own judgment.
Jerry’s eyes narrowed. “Then why’d you contact Roger?”
“Because I hoped…I don’t know, I thought he might let something slip.”
“He did that, all right, another pile of doubts for you to deal with.” He rammed his hand through his hair. “Why on earth would you do anything so asinine?”
“I wish you’d quit saying that.”
“It’s true. Now are you going to believe in Alek or aren’t you?”
With all her heart, she wanted to trust her husband, but she’d been badly hurt before. She’d
zealously defended Roger, even when faced with overwhelming proof of his betrayal. Her faith in him had nearly destroyed her family.
“I take it you didn’t fire him, then?” she asked.
“No. I won’t, either. If you want him out of here, then you’re going to have to do it yourself. I believe him, Julia, even if you don’t.”
“Jerry, please, try and understand. This is like waking up to my worst nightmare. Don’t you think I want to believe him? So much that it’s killing me.”
“I can see that.” He sighed. “Just leave it for now, Julia. Time will tell if he’s being honest with us or not. For the record, I’m sure he is.”
“I can’t let the fate of the company ride on your instinct and your friendship with him. I can’t take that kind of risk. I have no choice but to ask for his resignation.”
Jerry’s fists clenched at his side. “You can’t do that.”
“I’m the president of this company, I can do as I please.” She didn’t want to get hard-nosed about this, but her first obligation was to protect their family business. Jerry was silent as he absorbed her words. “So you’re going to pull rank on me.”
“I didn’t mean it like that. The last thing we need to do now is argue with each other.”
“If you ask Alek to go…”
“Jerry, please, I have to, don’t you see?”
“If you ask for Alek’s resignation,” he started again, “you’ll receive mine, as well.”
Julia felt as if her own brother had kicked her in the stomach. “It’s funny,” she said unemotionally, “I remember saying those very same words to Dad three years ago. I believed Roger, remember?”
“A week,” Jerry said. “We’ll know more in another week. All I ask is that you give him the opportunity to prove himself.”
“As I recall, I said something along those lines to Dad, too.”
“Alek isn’t Roger,” Jerry said angrily. “What’s it going to take to convince you of that?”
“I know he’s not,” she said vehemently. “Maybe it would be best if I was the one who resigned.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Just give this time. If Alek sold us out, then there’s nothing we can do about it now. The deed’s done. It isn’t going to hurt us any to sit on our doubts for the next few days. Promise me you’ll do that.”
“All right,” Julia said. “One week, but then it’s over, Jerry. Unless there’s incontrovertible proof that Alek’s telling the truth. If not, he goes and I can return to running this company the way it’s supposed to be run.”
Jerry’s smile was fleeting. “I promise you, it’s going to be different this time.”
She stood to leave, then recalled her conversation with her husband that morning. “Alek mentioned an important meeting with marketing this afternoon.” She gave Jerry the particulars. “He said he’d like us both to be there. Can you make it?”
Jerry nodded. “With a bit of juggling. You’re going, too?”
“Yes,” she said, but she wasn’t looking forward to it.
* * *
Alek waited for Julia and Jerry to arrive. He watched the door anxiously, glancing repeatedly at his watch. Jerry was the first to show up; he walked into the conference room and took the chair next to Alek. Apart from them, the room was still empty.
“You talked to her?” Alek didn’t need to explain who he meant.
Jerry nodded. “I’ve never seen her like this. It’s tearing her apart.”
“It hasn’t been easy on any of us. I wish I knew how to clear my name. Julia would barely listen to me. It’s as though she’s blocked out everything and everyone, including me.”
“It would be a lot easier if she were a man,” Jerry muttered.
Alek arched his brows and laughed for the first time in days. “No, it wouldn’t.”
“Yeah, it would. I hate to stereotype, but maybe then she’d listen to reason. Sometimes I forget my sister is a woman—she clouds the issues with emotion.”
Personally Alek had no trouble remembering Julia was female. “Not all women have been betrayed the way she was,” he said. “I understand her fears, but at the same time I want her to believe what I say because she loves me and knows me well enough to realize I’d never do anything to hurt either of you. Until she does, there’s nothing I can do.”
“I don’t know what Julia believes anymore and she doesn’t either,” Jerry said after a moment. “I talked her into giving the matter a week.”
“A week,” Alek repeated. “Nothing can happen in that short a time. The paint won’t reach the market for another two to three weeks at the earliest.”
“Unfortunately, there’s more than that to consider from her point of view,” Jerry said.
“She’s miserable,” Alek added. “She doesn’t eat properly, she’s working herself to death and she’s sleeping poorly.” In truth he wasn’t in much better shape himself.
He loved Julia, but he couldn’t force her to trust him, he couldn’t demand that she believe him. She would have to come to those conclusions herself. In the meantime he was left feeling helpless and hopeless, and worst of all, defenseless. She was judging him solely on her experience with another man, one who’d hurt and betrayed her.
“I thought Stanhope was out of our lives once and for all,” Jerry was saying. “I should’ve figured he’d be back since we’re on the brink of a major product breakthrough. We should’ve been prepared.”
“No one could have known.”
“I should have,” Jerry said, his lips thinning with annoyance. “Only this time Roger knows he doesn’t have a chance of stealing anything, so he’s undermining our trust in each other.”
The marketing people rushed in with their displays. Most of what they’d be reviewing was geared toward television and radio advertising. The magazine ads had been done a month earlier and would be coming out in the latest issues of fifteen major publications.
The advertising executive glanced at his watch. Alek sighed. Jerry did, too. Everyone in the room was waiting for Julia.
* * *
“Virginia, please, I have a meeting with marketing.”
“But I’ve got Dr. Feldon’s office on the line. If you could wait just a few minutes.”
Julia looked pointedly at her watch while her assistant haggled for the first opening in Dr. Feldon’s already full appointment schedule.
“That’ll be fine, I’ll make sure she’s there. Thank you for your help.”
“Well?” Julia said when Virginia hung up.
“Five o’clock. The doctor’s agreed to squeeze you in then.”
Julia nodded. She wished now that she’d put her foot down about this appointment issue. A doctor wasn’t going to be able to tell her anything she didn’t already know. She was suffering from stress, which, given her circumstances, was understandable.
“You won’t forget now, will you?” Virginia called after her as Julia headed for the elevator.
“No, I’ll be there. Thank you for your trouble.”
“You do what Dr. Feldon says, you hear? We can’t have you getting sick every afternoon.”
Julia grinned. The never-married Virginia was beginning to sound like a mother. “I’ll see you in the morning,” Julia said. “Why don’t you take an early afternoon?” she suggested. “You deserve it for putting up with me.”
Her assistant looked mildly surprised, then nodded. “Thank you, I will.”
Every head turned when a breathless Julia burst into the conference room. “Sorry I’m late,” she muttered, sitting in the chair closest to the door.
The marketing director smiled benignly and walked over to a television set that had been brought in for the demonstration. “I thought we’d start with the media blitz scheduled to air a week from this Thursday,” he said as he inserted a DVD.
Julia couldn’t help being aware of Alek. His eyes were on her from the moment she’d entered the room. She expected to feel his anger; instead she felt his love. Tears clogged her t
hroat. It would’ve been less painful if she’d found him with another woman than to learn he’d been talking to Roger, no matter what his reason.
“Our ad agency tested this twenty-second commercial and is very pleased with its effectiveness.”
The figure of a man and a woman came onto the screen. The husband was on a ladder painting the side of a house. The woman was working on the lawn below, painting a patio table with four matching chairs. Two children played serenely on a swing set in the background. The music was a classical piece she recognized but couldn’t immediately name. The announcer’s well-modulated voice came on but Julia couldn’t hear what he was saying.
The room started to spin. The light fixtures faded in and out as though someone was controlling a dimmer switch. She thought she heard a woman cry out but even that seemed to be coming from far away.
When she regained consciousness, Julia found herself on the floor. She blinked up at the ceiling. Alek was crouched over her, his arm supporting the back of her neck. His eyes were filled with anxiety.
“What happened?” she asked.
“You fainted,” Jerry said. He was kneeling beside her, holding her hand, patting it gently. “I’ll say this for you, Julia, you certainly know how to get a man’s heart going. You keeled right over.”
“Where is everyone?”
“We had them leave. Alek and I will review the commercials later.”
“I don’t understand it,” she said, struggling into a sitting position. “One moment I was perfectly fine and the next thing I knew, the room started whirling.”
“I’ll get her some water,” Jerry said.
He left the room and Alek slid his arm behind her back, helped her into an upright sitting position and held her against his chest. She braced her hands against his ribs, intent on pushing herself free.
“No,” he said, kissing her temple. “You can mistrust and hate me later, but for right now let me hold you.”
“That’s the problem,” she whispered. “I believe you.”
“Right now, we won’t speak of this again. You’ve worked yourself into a state of collapse.”
“I don’t know what happened here, but I’m sure it’s nothing important. I’ve just been overstressed, that’s all.”
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