I was still hurt by what he said, but my hurt would pass. I wasn’t going to allow him to take any more space up in my brain.
“So, I have some news for you, which I got just after lunch.”
My interests immediately spiked. Any news that Eilesh could have for me had to be job related in a really good way.
“Oh God, what kind of news?”
“I found you a senior associate job.” She squealed.
“Oh God in heaven.” I gasped. “Eilesh you are amazing. Thank you so much.”
As usual we attracted attention with our girly giggles and over the top shrieks.
“No thanks needed my dear friend.” She was smiling at me but then I noticed an uneasy look dull the sparkle in her eyes. “Summer.”
“What? I’m so excited I could burst.”
“There’s a thing about the job that may be a problem.”
“Is it Ashfords?” I bit the inside of my lip.
“No. Consider yourself cleansed of that disaster. Okay so the job is at Morgan and Ackerman.” She smiled again.
My eyes widened to the point where I thought my eyes would pop out of my head. Sullivan’s were amazing, but a speck in comparison to Morgan and Ackerman.
“Morgan and Ackerman? Eilesh I would scream if we weren’t in here. I’m happy as in the kind of hills are alive with the sound of music happiness and excitement.
“Me too. I spoke at length with Chance Morgan himself when I saw the advert. I thought this would be a great opportunity for you so I lay all the cards on the table and told him all that had happened to you at Ashfords and the time out you had for your father. He read your CV, went as far as reading your thesis you did at George Town and is so interested he’s holding the position for you. It would literally be a meet up to sign the contract.”
I was so stunned I could barely talk. “That’s all amazing. What problem could there be?”
“The location.”
“But their based in Chicago.”
“Yes but they have offices all over the US and in forty different countries. When I saw the position I thought it was Chicago and it kind of is. But their looking for a Senior Associate to work at their office in Dubai. Someone who could live there for ten months of the year and come back to Chicago for their annual meetings. The want someone to run the place with a view to being senior partner in a years’ time. When I heard that and heard how interested and excited he was about you I had to at least run the idea past you. Summer it’s a great opportunity, but I know how much you love it here, and … how you feel about Alex.”
A feeling that I could only describe as anguish squeezed my heart as my spirits fell.
A suffocating sensation tightened my throat, squeezing out all the excitement I experienced moments ago.
We shared a minute of silence with me just staring at my friend in wonder and confusion.
Eilesh looked sad. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“No, don’t apologize. I…” I brought my hands up to my cheeks and whipped away a tear.
“Oh Summer.” She sighed.
“It’s fine. I’m fine and thank you. It’s amazing news and more than I could have ever hoped for, ever.”
“But Alex…”
I smiled at the thought of him. “He asked me to move in and be his girlfriend.”
Eilesh gasped. “Oh my God. That is… my timing sucks. It really does.” She frowned.
“No, it doesn’t. I have to think of my career right? So I should consider it.”
“No. It’s just an idea. Summer.. we could go back to the original plan and focus on Chicago.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Am I crazy for thinking of staying? It’s a really great opportunity.” It was fantastic and my career would be set for life.
But to leave here. Okay it wasn’t the fact of just leaving here. I had Eilesh here, and I knew wherever I was in this world we would always be friends. Location had never changed that and would never be a problem.
The essence of the problem was that during my short stay here I’d found something I wasn’t looking for and never expected to find.
Love.
Was it enough though to influence such a big decision?
“Chance gave me two weeks to come back to him.” Eilesh said quickly, probably seeing my thoughts rolling in motion. “He knew it would be a big thing to ask you to live in a whole other country so hey. We have two weeks.” She nodded.
“Two weeks.”
“So we can just shelve it to the back of the closet and I can look for something here as planned. You file it away, know it’s there as an option, but not your only option. Being at Sullivan’s has worked exactly the way we wanted it to. It’s the buffer. It shows trust regained.”
Okay, this sounded reasonable. It was an option that showed I had a chance. If Morgan and Ackerman could consider me then the door was open for other firms.
It just would have been nice to work with them.
I guess since I was already thinking this way it meant in my heart I’d already chosen.
“Am I being stupid, Eilesh?” I wanted to see what she thought. “I haven’t known Alex that long. Is it stupid to pass up such a chance? It just feels like I should find another way if I can.”
“Summer, I’ve known you for a very long time and the last thing I think you are is stupid. Feelings aren’t stupid, love isn’t stupid.”
“Love.” I whispered, savoring the way the word itself seeped into my heart.
“Yes, love. You love Alex.”
“I do love Alex.” It felt so good to say. “Long distance was a problem with Tom.”
“No sweetie,” Eilesh chuckled. “That was never a problem. It was used as an excuse. Any man who loves you will love you weather your right next to him or a million miles away. Which is why you’re filing away this job just in case you think you may want it and you see a way that you can make both work.”
“Thank you.” I nodded feeling grateful and relieved. I trusted her, and her opinion.
It meant a lot that she reasoned it out in that way because right now I couldn’t see much past Alex.
By the time that I got home my mind felt more at ease.
Alex had gotten all these brochures for the Bahamas and bought a bedside lamp for me, for my side of the bed.
The man was bursting with excitement as if I was something wonderful that had happened to him.
“Do you like the lamp? I swear I won’t complain about you reading before bed, and with this you can have the light on for as long as you want.” He bubbled, eyes gleaming and his handsome face beaming at me.
“I love it.” I hugged him.
We stood in his room.
Our room.
I rested my head on his chest and felt completely taken with the way that he held me and the soft kisses he placed on my forehead.
“Let me know when you’d like to bring your stuff in.”
“Anytime you want, Alex. I just want to be with you.”
That was the answer to everything.
Chapter 26
Alex
It was the week of the case and I was a mess.
The damn case was in three days, on Friday.
Every time I thought about it my stomach churned.
I went to see my father first thing this morning. He’d messaged me last night, requesting my presence.
He lifted his head from the paperwork he was going through and smiled.
“Morning son.” The smile grew.
Lately, my father had greeted me the way he did Preston. With respect.
I’d worked my whole life just to earn that. I had to admit it felt good.
“Hey. You okay?”
“Perfect. Just wanted to see how you are.”
“I’m fine.” It was a half lie. If I was referring to Summer then I was off in the heavens, high of on love happy. But, my feeling about work were a whole other story.
“Good. I’m
glad, and proud.”
Proud.
My father had never said that to me. Not when I graduated from high school with the highest GPA of my year, which was higher than Marc’s. Not when I finished at Princeton with firms begging to take me, and not when I won my first case.
Which, I might add was so difficult and complex that no one else wanted it. It was cast off to me as the newbie at the time. It involved high tech embezzlement. I was the prosecuting attorney and everyone thought I’d end up making a fool of myself.
I really thought my father would have been proud of me then but he’d just given me a pat on the back.
“it’s nice to hear that.”
“I am, you’ve really changed a lot and it’s shown me how much you want to be part of the partnership. I just wanted to have a one to one with you and see if everything’s set for Friday.”
“All set.” I nodded.
“Good. There are a few cases I’d like you to take. We’ll book in time to talk about them.” He nodded and smiled. “I thought I’d give you the heads up now so you can plan. Senior partners are busy people. I suspect you’ll be rushed off your feet.”
My breathing stilled. Senior partner, wow. He was talking about me.
I couldn’t resist the smile that inched up my face.
“I’m ready for it.”
“Looks like you are. It’ll be an honor to pass the torch to you” He nodded and smiled.
Excitement at the achievement looming before me made my whole being tingle, showing me how badly I wanted the position.
“Thanks. It means a lot.”
“You’re more than welcome.”
“That all? I’m rushed off my feet.” I joked.
“I’m done. Enjoy being rushed off your feet.”
I gave him a curt nod before I left.
Summer was in my office putting letters in my in tray. I closed the door and swooped her up into my arms bursting to share what happened.
“Alex, you are so crazy,” she giggled.
“My dad was just talking about me being senior partner. It’s happening, Summer.” I sounded like a kid who’d just gotten everything he wanted for Christmas.
“That’s amazing. You did it.”
I set her down.
“Not yet. Got to make it to Friday first and hope that goes well.”
“It’s all gone well so far right?”
I nodded and gazed at her beautiful face. “It has.”
It had gone okay so far. Marc hadn’t been able to find anything else but what he found was damning enough to make me sever any links Sullivan’s had to Devon once I became senior partner.
That was the plan, in my head. Since Preston didn’t trust him I thought that part would be easy. Plus it was my father who had that direct link with Devon’s company. Once he passed the torch, as he put it, the connection would change.
I just wanted to leave no stone unturned.
“Baby, I can’t wait till it’s all done and dusted.”
“I know.” She beamed. “Then I can have my man back completely, and not have him looking like a lost boy.”
“I happen to love the lost boys Summer, who wouldn’t want to live in Neverland and go on one adventure or another?”
She giggled when I kissed her. “I could see you doing that.”
“Yes, me too angel.”
We were just waiting to see what happened with the case and then we’d book our vacation. I couldn’t wait to be away with her.
Just us, having fun and getting lost in each other as we escaped life together.
I pulled her closer for another kiss which I relished for all of ten seconds before the door flung open and Marc came in looking flustered.
“We need to talk, now. In private.” His eyes darted at Summer.
It was weird because I couldn’t think of anything that would be so secretive that he wouldn’t want Summer here. Unless, he found something about Devon.
Fuck, he did, didn’t he?
He looked like he did.
I looked at Summer who was just moving to go but caught her arm.
“It’s fine. Tell me. I want Summer here.”
She looked appreciative to hear that.
“Okay.” Marc nodded looking uneasy.
He carried a large brown envelope under his arms which he placed on my desk.
“What have you found?” I asked.
“Nothing good, Alex. Nothing good at all.” He took out several sheets of paper and laid them out. “Take a look and tell me what you see.”
I sighed knowing I was going to hate this to no end.
Picking up the first wad of paper I looked at the front sheet. It was a bank statement in Devon’s name with several transactions showing seriously large amounts of money being credited to different companies.”
“Do you recognize any of the companies?”
I felt my heart ache when I realized what he was saying.
Yes I recognized the companies. At least five anyway. They were all companies that Devon had investment dealings with. Bottlebrite was one of them.
“This is of relevance to you.” Marc picked up a sheet to my right and handed it to me.
Silveranium Tech, the company that had mined the silveranium were listed. I saw transactions listed for stock purchase at amounts up to a hundred thousand dollars.
“And this.” Marc showed me a process receipt showing evidence of the sale of those shares for eight hundred thousand dollars.
He’d sold the shares for a more than handsome profit.
“And this.” Marc added with another sheet of paper with email conversations.
He looked at Summer who’d stood next to me the whole time looking at the same things I saw. She looked rigid and pale. “Summer, this is seriously top secret info. I beg you not to say anything to a soul.”
“I won’t be saying anything, Marc.” Her tone was flat and emotionless, one I’d never heard.
“This is confirmation of inside dealing. He bribes the company secretary or someone who deals with the company finances and they work together to pull off a pump and dump scheme. It’s been going on for years. It looks like he does one every few months and deposits the earnings into his off shore accounts.”
“Fuck Marc, what the fuck?” I winced. This was the nightmare I saw coming.
The thing I feared. The thing that could lose me what I’d worked so hard to get, and shit now there was a link to my case.
How the hell was I supposed to defend Devon in court now?
What was I supposed to do? We’d never take on a case like this which I now knew was all a load of bullshit.
No disclaimer could refute this.
“I know. I was shocked.” Marc grimaced. “I’ve never liked the guy, but this is beyond what I expected.”
“You can’t do the case, Alex.” Summer cut in. She was shaking her head. “You shouldn’t. It’ll be a disaster.”
“Angel, it’s on Friday. My dad won’t make me senior partner when he sees I went digging.”
She looked shocked by my answer.
“Alex, she’s right. Screw the partnership. This is serious shit. We can’t get mixed up in it.” Marc jumped in.
“It’s easy for you to say, you don’t hope to be senior partner. You’re happy doing what you’re doing.” I snapped.
“Alex, there is so many things going on here. It’s all securities fraud of the highest level.”
“Marc. I plan to get rid of any ties to Devon after I become partner.”
“Has your dad given you a date for this inauguration?” Marc narrowed his eyes at me.
“No, but I know it’s next month some time.” He gave us the update a few weeks ago. “Maybe when I’m done with the case.”
“Alex, you have no idea how long this case could go on for. And, you don’t know what evidence will be called. I suggest you take this to your father and we contact the feds letting them know we suspect illegal activity. We should do this now. That way we
stay out of it.”
“There has to be another way.” I insisted. I couldn’t lose my chance. I couldn’t.
I was too close to getting what I wanted.
“There isn’t. You have to do something before the shit hits the fan Alex.” His eyes pleaded with me.
“You said this stuff would be hard to find on a normal basis.” I pointed out trying to clutch on to whatever I could.
Summer shocked me by walking out.
I looked to the door as it swung backwards and forwards and then to Marc.
“We’ve always been friends, man, and I have always looked up to you. This isn’t you. Doesn’t matter what the goal is, wrong is wrong. You know that. Alex, what if you win on Friday? A woman will lose everything. She’ll pay legal fees, more money for something bad that happened to her. And Devon will get away with all of this. You care about people. This isn’t you.”
It wasn’t. It wasn’t me at all. Confliction tore at my insides, and it was heightened by Summer walking out.
“I have to go.” I left him and went to Summer’s office. She was standing by the window slumped over with her hands resting on the ledge. She tried to steady her breath.
“Summer.”
My voice caught her attention and she turned to face me.
“Alex, you can’t do this case.” Now she was giving me the pleading look. “Please listen to me. you can’t. bad things could happen and getting the senior partnership here would mean nothing if Sullivan’s gets dragged in to a securities fraud disaster.”
“Summer, you know how badly I want to be senior partner.”
“It’s not worth it. Alex, your father would have to find another way.”
“Angel, he won’t. This is it. He made it clear that I should focus on the case and not go digging around for anything that wasn’t relevant.”
“But all that Marc found is relevant.” She contested.
“I know, but it’s only relevant in the sense where I know where we stand with any further relations with Devon.”
“Alex, trust me I know what I’m talking about.” She pulled in a deep breath and released it. “I worked for Ashfords.”
“What?” I thought I must have heard her wrong.
“I worked for Ashfords. I worked there after Gold and Thorps. I was there during the disaster and it dragged me in and messed everything up for me.”
The Rules Of Attraction Page 25
