“James!” I hear Sylvia shout, followed by a gentle shaking as she snaps me back into reality. The ringing in my ear slowly subsides. “James, what’s happening?” she asks, clearly concerned for me.
Sylvia and I have not known one another for very long, but thus far our so-called relationship has been fun and exciting. She is one of the models for a competing supplement company –the CEO I am currently sleeping with, but that relationship is just a couple of rich and athletic people who use each other for sexual satisfaction. My still fairly new relationship with Sylvia is a step above that, I would say, but we have not exactly communicated what that means just yet, and thanks to this little interruption we have yet so sleep together –and I was so damn close. Despite the fact that Sylvia and I have just met, I can see in her eyes a legitimate concern for me. It, if only for a moment, makes me feel a little better to see that she has my back.
“Eddie,” I say into the phone to my older brother who had called to tell me all about the travesty that has befallen me, “Let me call you back. I’m about to head that way.”
Eddie grumbles something, but I am not listening to what it is he has to say right now. I’m still trying to piece together my sanity long enough to find my clothes. I hand up the phone and place it down on my nightstand. “Are you going to be okay?” Sylvia asks; she is standing in nothing but her underwear on as she stares at my television. She is searching for her bra while keeping one eye on the television to make sure she soaks up everything that is taking place.
“I don’t know,” I say honestly. “I’m worried.” My mind is running a million miles an hour. I can’t think straight. Pants. Where are my pants? I got my phone out of my pants just a second ago…
I locate my pants and start to put them on when my own underwear smacks me in the side of the head. “Hey, genius, you might want to put these on first.” We got all our clothes off, but we did not have time to do the deed. Fuck me.
“R-right,” I say, my voice shaking slightly. Okay, underwear and then pants. That makes more sense. I am out of it so much to the extent that I don’t even think that we’re in my flat, so I could just grab a new outfit –but for some reason, I rummage around our blankets and the floor for what I had been wearing before mine and Sylvia’s round of love-making. Yeah, my mind is pretty much gone.
Shirt. Okay, we’re getting somewhere now. My fingers feel numb as I struggle with the buttons. I see Sylvia searching for my suit jacket, and she brings it to me. I sit on the side of the bed while I finish buttoning up my shirt and throwing on my jacket. She brings me my tie, my socks, and my shoes. “If you give me a second to get dressed-” she starts to say, but I cut her off.
“No. You can stay here.” I say, “You don’t need to be around all of this craziness. I’d rather not drag you into it.”
“Are you sure?” she asks.
“Yeah. Make yourself at home.” I say as I put on my socks and my shoes. “I’m sorry I have to run out on you. This was not how I pictured our date night turning out-”
“It’s okay.” She says with a tremendous amount of assurance in her tone, “Really. It’s okay. Go do what you need to do.”
I stand, but before I can leave she takes me into her arms, and I can’t resist but to take a moment to stroke her bare back with my hands. She gives me a kiss. “Thank you,” I say, glad to see that she so understands that I have to run out on her.
“You… you didn’t know your supplements were dangerous before you sent them out to the market, did you?” she asks as though a hint of her is worried that I am some corrupt businessman unwilling to take a loss on some faulty drugs.
“No.” I say in a confident and reassuring tone, “I had no idea. And thanks for that –getting me prepped for the reporters, right?”
“Right.” She says and releases a slight, forced laugh as though she is just trying to lighten the mood.
I kiss her several times before pulling myself apart from her. I really hate that I have to leave. It’s getting late too, but that is not stopping a collection of reporters from showing up at Shattered INC. I am really not looking forward to talking to those reporters; I’m also not looking forward to talking to the police or to my lawyer. This is going to be a headache. A part of me really does want Sylvia to come with me just so I have some moral support, but I don’t want to subject to her any sort of scrutiny by the local media outlets. She does not deserve that sort of bullshit in her life right now.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can be.” I say, “If you have to leave, would you mind locking up for me?”
She smiles and pulls me back into yet another warm embrace, “James, I’ll be here for you when you get back.” She says it in this really sexy voice that makes me quiver slightly. It makes me twice as regretful that I have to leave. I am definitely up for round two, but I definitely can’t be the immature playboy today. Today I have to play the role of a professional CEO. I can’t let Eddie down just because someone wants to sleep with me. Yes, aren’t I mature, tonight? “I’ve got your back, James.” She promises and gives me another kiss.
I kiss her again and force myself to pull away. I grab my keys, deciding that I don’t have time to call my personal driver and wait on him. I need to get to the company as soon as possible to relieve Eddie of some of the stress he’s under trying to fight off the media. He and I are not exactly on the best of terms right now, so I don’t want to make it worse. “Thank you, Sylvia,” I say and take my private elevator down to the main floor.
I dart to where my driver parks my car in a nearby parking deck, and I load up quick. I’m not really sure what to expect exactly when I get to the company. I just know that I should probably try to think of something to say to the reporters for when I get there. I just don’t know what. I pull out onto the road, driving faster than I probably should. I’m panicking, I know. I call Eddie. I need someone to talk me through this, and he’s a lot smarter than me, I’ll admit. Hopefully, he can’t help me prep for my conversation with the reporters. Fuck my life.
18
Eddie does not answer his phone after having called him three times, so I start to feel a panicky warmth behind my ears at the thought he would be dumb enough to talk to reporters. There is a reason he never talks to reporters as well as a reason he is only the factory worker and assistant PR rep instead of head PR. He sucks at talking to people; he sucks at making people feel comfortable with a situation. Suddenly my phone rings just as I am running a red light; that was my bad. I got distracted by the phone. I’m lucky I did not get into a wreck just then and that no one had been coming from another direction.
I fiddle with my phone, almost dropping it while attempting to answer it. It’s Eddie. About damn time. “What’s going on?” I practically shriek, “Give me an update. I’m almost there.”
“James…” Eddie sounds hoarse, “Someone else just died. We have two bodies heading to the morgue, and they’re pointing the blame our way. It’s already been confirmed that they were taking supplements from our new line. Five more people have been emitted to the hospital since we last spoke less than twenty minutes ago!”
I feel like I am going to pass out. “Don’t panic,” I say to Eddie, although it is mostly a reassurance for myself. I’m the one with a lot more to lose.
“Our stocks have already hit rock bottom.” I hear Eddie say, “Man –they’re worthless!”
“We’re going to fix this.” I say, “There will be an investigation, I’m sure. I’m sure we will find out it has nothing to do with our supplements. Why is this just now happening now, anyways?”
“It’s our new line of all-natural supplements; they’re saying. We just released it a few months ago.” Eddie says, “We make everything from the new stuff on the site, James. On site! If it is our supplements getting everyone sick, then there is no one to blame but us!”
I cringe. This is not good. The new supplement line with all-natural ingredients had just been released nationwide one month ago after doing a trial
run for a few months in LA, our hometown. I cannot imagine what is about to take place. “Are the incidences just confined to LA right now?” I ask.
“No.” Eddie says anxiously, “It’s everywhere.”
“Damn,” I say under my breath, slamming on my breaks to avoid getting into a fender bender with the slowing traffic. Pay attention; I tell myself after almost hitting a pedestrian; the guy flicks me off as he hurries across the street. Can’t really blame him; I did almost hit him, and he had been in the crosswalk. I do one of those awkward apology waves that drivers do when they know they’re in the wrong.
The guy bucks up at me before getting out from in front of my car and completing his journey across the street. “Asshole!” he screams.
I speed away, continuing my unsafe driving. I know I should be more careful, but I am too anxious to take it slow. I need to get to the office and factory building immediately to calm down the press and try to get to the bottom of whatever this is. “There’s some damn protestors here.” I hear Eddie say, snapping me back into the conversation.
“Protestors?” I question.
“A bunch of stupid college kids with nothing better to do.” Eddie hisses into the phone, “I swear, one of them threw some popcorn at me when I pulled up. It’s like they all went to the fucking movies and got bored with the film and headed here instead.”
“Man alive.” I say, “Level with me, man. How bad is it there?”
“The cops are keeping the protesters back –the reporters too, but the cops are here with a warrant, man. I’ve talked them into waiting until you get here, though.” Eddie says, “We’re screwed if they find something wrong with the supplements.”
“What are the chances that they do find anything?” I ask.
“I don’t know,” Eddie says.
“What do you mean you don’t know?” I snap, “You’re the head of the factory operations!”
“Yeah, but we’ve never used anything sketchy in our supplements!” Eddie shouts, “Especially not in the all-natural stuff we just released. It’s all herbs and vitamins and dried fruit. Nothing that should be hurting anyone.”
In the background, I can hear the protestors chanting something unintelligible. I could scream, “All right, Eddie just holds them off a little longer. I’m less than ten minutes out, and when I get there-”
I’m not able to finish my sentence. It would happen when I’m actually going through a green light rather than the two red lights I have run. I can’t see what type of car it is, but it t-bones me as I am coming through the intersection. Everything sort of happens in slow motion. I know my car flips. I’m not sure how many times. The screeching sound of metal on metal pierces my ears. I feel my lip smack into the steering wheel before the stupid airbag deploys and slaps me in the face. The side of my head hits the window during one of the flips. I obviously lose my phone, and it flies around the inside of the car –landing God knows where.
It feels like an eternity before my car stops flipping, landing upside down, of course, because my luck is just that awful right now. My head is throbbing. I look at my stomach and see blood on my white button up that I threw on under my suit jacket. My tie is flapping down in my face since I am hanging by my seatbelt. My head…
I can faintly hear Eddie’s voice, “James? James? James!” Is he worried about me? I guess that’s a good sign considering I unknowingly slept with his girlfriend not too long ago. I was starting to think that our relationship was starting to be strictly a business one. I have never been so dizzy in my life. My head is throbbing, and I’m worried about all the blood I see. I try to unbuckle my seatbelt, but my fingers are numb. The seatbelt is jammed.
This is not good. I start to see things through tunnel vision. I can hear someone shouting, “Call 9-1-1! Someone call 9-1-1!”
Someone is looking in through the shattered driver’s door window. I’m hardly able to move as my mind catches up with me; I start to realize that I am in a lot of pain, but the realization comes slowly as it works its way into my reality. The person staring in at me reaches in and puts his finger to my throat –is he checking my pulse? Do I look dead to him? “Sir, can you hear me?” the man asks. “Can you tell me your name?”
“James.” I say, “James Mont.”
“Sir?” he did not understand me, “Sir, can you tell me your name?”
“James,” I say again, but this time, I can hear myself. I’m not making any sense. My words are slurred. I open my mouth to speak again, and I see blood drip onto the roof of my car. The blood is starting to rush to my head –which is not good considering that I think I have a gaping wound somewhere on my head or neck or something like that.
“Help is on the way.” The guy says and I feel him gently lift my head up, “I can’t get you out.” He says, but I’m just glad he’s moved my head to where it’s not dangling anymore.
I groan loudly. My tunnel vision gets worse. I pass out just as I start to hear the sound of an approaching ambulance in the background.
19
I wake up slowly, but I don’t open my eyes –not yet. I can tell I’m in a hospital bed, though. I can hear the beeping sound of the monitor nearby. Everything hurts, but I can tell that they have morphine pumping in me; otherwise, it would be way worse. I’m afraid to open my eyes and see the damage. I move my head slightly, and I realize I have a neck brace on as well as a bandage around the top of my head. My face is throbbing, so I guess that I, at least, have a broken nose. Just what I need; I model for my supplement line, and now my face is probably jacked up.
When I move my head, I let out a slight groan. “James?” I hear Eddie’s voice.
I decide I have to face reality eventually, so I slowly blink my eyes open. I’m honestly surprised to see Eddie sitting by me. “What the hell?” I grumble.
“Damn,” Eddie sounds somewhat relieved to see me awake. “You all right, man?”
“My head….” I grumble slightly, and when I move my right arm, I realize it’s in a sling. “What happened?”
“You got into a car accident on your way to the factory.” Eddie says, “Hold on, let me go get a doctor now that you’re up-”
“Wait.” I say, “What happened at the company? What are the reporters saying?”
Eddie had started to stand up from his seat beside my hospital bed, but after I had asked for an update, he started to sink slowly back into his chair. He sits and nervously wrings his wrist, “Nothing good. The cops are swarming the factory now.”
“Then why are you here?” I ask, “One of us should be there.”
“Because you got into a car accident.” Eddie says, “Man when they called me, they made it sound pretty bad. Your car flipped five times and hit a telephone pole. The other driver has a broken spine. You’re lucky you’re just walking away with a broken nose and a few hairline fractures.”
“Everything hurts,” I complain as I slowly sit up.
Eddie puts a hand to my chest, “Lay down. You need to rest.” He gently pushes me back, and I do as he instructed.
“Eddie, did you talk to the reporters?” I ask.
“Not yet.” He says, “But it looks like I’m going to have to now.”
“I’d rather you didn’t,” I say.
“You’re right. I shouldn’t.” Eddie sighs, “I’ll send the head PR guy out to give a statement.”
“All right. That works.” I groan again, “You really should go to the factory while the cops are there. Oversee that, and see what it is they find. I need you to get on the phone with my lawyer for me.”
“I can do that,” Eddie says.
“Have my assistant call me. I need to talk to her about what we’re going to do next.” I groan again; seriously, my bones feel like they’re almost burning. “Would you mind telling a nurse I could use some stronger pain killers too?”
Eddie nods, but he seems frozen in his seat for the time being. There is something else on his mind. Maybe he is just worried? I am worried, so why shouldn’t he be?
But there is something else bothering him. Maybe I freaked him out. I had been on the phone with him during the accident. It probably sounded pretty horrifying from his end, but I don’t think that’s it either. I finally ask, “What’s wrong, Eddie? We’re going to figure this out. What’s with that worried look on your face?”
“Were you trying to kill yourself?” Eddie asks, and I can tell he is serious.
“What?” I question, “No. Why would you ask that?”
“That’s what they’re saying on the news,” Eddie says, breaking the news to me about the ridiculous borderline tabloid material.
“What?” I sit up, and instantly I am overcome with pain. I grit my teeth, but I refuse to lie down this time, “They’re saying I tried to kill myself? Why would they say that?”
“They’re saying you found out about the lawsuit… that you had a guilty conscience and tried to kill yourself to avoid the lawsuit.” Eddie explains, “You don’t know anything about this whole poisoning thing, do you? There’s nothing you’re not telling me, right? You didn’t sign off on anything sketchy did you?”
“No, of course not.” I say, “You got to squash those rumors, Eddie. It was just a car accident –nothing more.”
“If you say so.” Eddie stands. He stretches his back slightly and stares down at me, “I’m glad you’re all right.” He says half-heartedly. I can tell he means it, and I can also tell that it kind of killed him to say it.
“Thanks,” I say. “Just get back to the factory and try to calm things down. Just don’t make it worse, all right?”
“I’ll do my best. I’ll send your nurse in.” Eddie heads out, assuring me that he is going to handle things. I lay back down, still feeling sore.
I relive the moment over and over again. I have a professional driver; from now on, I’m using him. I clearly suck at driving. Although, it was not my fault. I had gotten hit by a driver running a red light, so that wasn’t my fault. It was horrifying –the accident. I thought for sure I was a goner for a second there. I should probably find the name of that random guy who came running to the rescue before the emergency vehicles showed up and thank him. I can’t believe I got into a car accident. I can’t believe the media are accusing me of trying to kill myself –who do they think they are? That’s just what we need right now; if people believe that, it’s going to make all this sketchy business look all the more suspicious.
Filthy Desires: A Romantic Suspense Collection Page 56
