“That explains a little about the pictures but what about the girls?” I ask.
“This is where the details are a little fuzzy. Diaz was dating one of their mom’s. He asked the girl to get a picture of y’all talking and she had her friend take it while you were at the school. After she gave it to him, he promised them a large sum of money to say you were soliciting them. It wasn’t until the police started asking questions that they got nervous. Diaz cornered each of them alone and threatened not only their lives, but their loved ones as well. He was an idiot, but he knew what he was doing. A couple of teenage girls are easy to scare.”
“So the girls finally admitted to lying?”
“Not to me.”
“To who?” Max inquires.
“Your boy. Fucking Pedro is slick. He was pissed, poking around, asking me questions. When he found out what you were accused of he went for the weakest link. His charm worked magic. He got a full confession and taped it. He single-handedly approached all three girls and demanded a confession. Then he took the tape to the police. Once the girls knew Diaz was dead, they told their story for the record.”
“Oh my God, Max!” My hand flies to my mouth.
“Goes without saying, babe, he’ll be taken care of. Generously.”
“So that’s it? They’re dropping the investigation?”
“That was enough, but there’s more.” Jake looks straight at Laci and she turns bright red. “We have sweet lips to thank for Daddy Dearest.”
“What?!”
“Laci’s dad is a powerhouse. His influence stretches wide and deep. He called in a few favors. Marshall contacted me on Sunday night with the name of a man that was doing some research. It isn’t the legal kind. We uncovered the mastermind behind this all and I gotta tell you. It shocked the shit out of me. It’s not Edward, man. Edward’s clean in this so far.”
The air in the room goes still. No moves waiting for his next words.
“You know a Brian Claxton?”
“Tell me you’re fucking kidding me.” Max’s body gets so hard my hand aches in his. “That bastard. How did he get so deep without us knowing?”
“When you fired his ass, he went to a national firm, keeping in contact with Edward. He convinced Edward that Sullivan PR was involved in the prostitution ring as well as other things. Edward asked for proof. Brian went down to South America and sought out Diaz. From what we can tell through communications, he made promises to Diaz if he could successfully frame Stella. Brian’s firm was in line to get the Hurst & McCoy business once Stella was discredited and fired.
“His boss had no idea of Brian’s plans, but he originally bid on the project. Brian told him that Sullivan was about to be fired and Edward promised the business to them. Edward wasn’t stupid though, he required evidence. Hence why Brian planned this elaborate scheme. I suspect this is why Edward held payment on Stella’s firm. What Brian didn’t count on is me, you, Pedro, and the entire Barnes family to stand behind Stella. He didn’t know what hit him. We can’t prove his involvement in Diaz’s death, but my guess is he has blood on his hands. He’s disappeared. His wife hasn’t seen him in days and his employer even longer. His passport most recently has him in Brazil. But he’s gone underground. Before he left, he set up an account for his wife and kids with two million dollars. The money was legit. He made good investments and had a decent savings. Taking his name off the account provided they would be taken care of for a while.”
“Holy shit,” I whisper. “The guy was a complete dick, but this is unreal. There has to be more to the story. Max would have never fired his ass if he wasn’t such a jackass to me.” I look to my dad apologetically for my language. His lips lift in a smirk.
“There is more to the story, but we’re at a standstill. With Diaz dead and Brian in the wind, we’re still tracing the money deposited in your account.”
“But it’s all cleared? No more suspicion of me?”
“No, you’re squeaky clean. But I got to tell you, I’m not sure you had anything to worry about. Pedro’s grandma and her church cronies were at the station everyday raising hell. The people at the community center were preparing a protest. Even the school officials in three different areas, were concocting a plan. You made quite a name for yourself. No one in an official capacity wanted to believe you were involved in any illegal activities. We just needed to prove it.”
Even with the tension in the room, Matt and Mason start laughing, Laci pumps her hands in the air and high fives Landon repeatedly. Max relaxes, pulling me closer to him. My head swims with all this information sinking in. I’m cleared. Everyone will know I’m not a dirty fraud. Tears spring to my eyes again but I hold them back.
I try to wiggle free from Max but he holds me close and snarls, “If you try to jump on him again, I won’t be responsible for my actions.”
The room erupts in more laughter and I giggle too. Winking at Jake my thanks. He dips his head in acceptance.
“Is it time yet?” Chris yells and holds up a bottle of champagne.
“One more thing. Are we sure Edward had nothing to do with this?” Max inquires again.
“No, but right now he’s clean. Absolutely nothing points to him in this scenario. He was willing to pull the business from Stella and embarrass you both. But that’s all we can find.”
“Shit. We still have a loose end.”
“Yeah, but Stella is safe. She’s in the clear.”
“That’s all that matters.” Max kisses the top of my head and motions to Chris.
Corks fly into the air as Chris opens bottle after bottle and Laci helps serve the champagne. When Max finally lets me go, every woman in the room engulfs me in hugs. Something in my dad is off, but he looks happy. Ecstatic actually, as he hugs me a little longer than normal.
“That man loves you all the way to his bones. And I approve of that,” he whispers in my ear.
“Thanks, Daddy, I love him too.”
We all toast and talk animatedly about the next steps. I decide to keep the office closed down until Monday but Landon and Laci agree to go in tomorrow and Friday to answer phones and handle the mail.
Chris and Jake’s phones ding with alerts and I know it’s official by the look on their faces. The investigation into me is closed. My name is cleared. Max and I give Laci and Dana the go-ahead to post the joint press release we prepared last weekend, hoping this would resolve easily. It’s a quick simple statement saying the investigation was dropped. Evidence shows Sullivan PR, Stella Sullivan, and Hurst & McCoy are in no way implicated in illegal activities surrounding bribery and child solicitation.
Within the hour phones start ringing but we ignore them except for my mom and Sara to take family phone calls. The fear and strain from the last few days is erased and replaced with happy memories. People who love and believe in Max and me surround us.
As the group celebrates, I sneak away to make a call. As soon as the deep voice answers, a lump forms in my throat.
“Thank you, Marshall. Thank you so much.”
“Sweet baby girl. Never say thank you to me. I’ll always watch out for you.”
“You know everything don’t you?”
“What do you think?”
“I think you’re the best second Dad I could ever have. If you were here right now, you’d have to pry me off you. I love you so much,” I cry openly.
“That’s all the thanks I will ever need. No one goes after my girls. But I have a feeling your dad and I have some competition. Maxwell McCoy seems to be pretty smitten. I’d even say he’s fallen into the Stella Bella web of beauty.”
“I hope so,” I say softly, eyeing Max at the doorway watching me.
“Bring him over for the holidays. Let’s see if he can handle us before I give my final stamp of approval.”
“We’ll see. I’m not sure his family will be happy with me taking him away.”
“Invite them all, I met them at your birthday.”
“Okay, Marshall, I’ll see what
I can do.”
“You do that and let us know.” Without a goodbye, he hangs up.
Max walks lazily to me and hands me another glass of champagne. Nuzzling in my ear, he kisses a trail to my collarbone and whispers against my skin.
“Are we back to this?” Laci breaks in smiling widely, not sorry for the interruption. “Thought you may like to know, you’re on the news. Seems like every douchelord that reported the story without facts is backtracking. Time to be spectacular, babe. Let’s go!”
“She’s right, time to be spectacular,” Max murmurs.
We walk into the living room hand in hand and see the tail end of a news report. Max and I are pictured in side-by-side photos while the reporter tells that we are cleared in all allegations. Max’s phone rings and Edward’s name pops up on his screen, I nod for him to take the call.
“Edward.”
Silence
“Yeah, I have a lot to tell you. I got the story today. We need to talk.”
Silence.
“I’m sorry your family is being hounded by the press. Actually, I’m not sorry. You did this shit. What the fuck were you thinking? Brian Claxton is an asshole. I fired him for a reason. Didn’t you think to talk to me before going behind my back and believing his lies?”
Silence.
“I don’t care what you thought. I’ve always made decisions based on what’s best for the company. You want to hash this out, fine, but don’t expect me to roll over. I’ve got the whole story and it’s not pretty. It’s time you take responsibility for your fucking actions.”
Silence
“Okay, but I’m bringing Stella. Erica can’t be there. Do you understand me?”
Max must be satisfied with his answer because he hangs up without another word. Scout barks from my mom’s lap and I plop down to the ground for her to come to me. She barrels into me so fast champagne spills onto my lap. She licks it up before turning her attention to me and nudging me with her cold nose. The room goes silent and when I look up everyone is staring at me.
“What?”
“Sweet as fucking sugar. Lucky motherfucker,” Jake mutters.
“This I know,” Max replies, rubbing my head lightly.
“Hey! I can be sweet too!” Laci protests, looking for attention.
“Didn’t say I was looking for sweet, but my man found the fucking sugar factory,” he replies.
“Jake,” I say loudly, “I can still whip an ass into shape in two seconds flat. Don’t under estimate me.”
“Wouldn’t think about it.” He grins and sips his beer.
I look directly to Landon. “Did you get the number I asked for?”
“Oh yeah, Stella Bella, and I’m ready for this shit. Bring it on.” He bounces in his chair.
“Max, we’re doing our first joint interview on Friday. I’ve picked an unknown reporter. She’s never worked with me so has no ties. I want someone completely unbiased when it comes to our professional lives. She’s handled mostly entertainment pieces.”
“You know you’re about to make her career locally right?”
“That’s what I’m counting on. She didn’t shit on my name the last five days.”
“Stella, aren’t you being too hard on these reporters? You work with them daily, won’t it hurt you?” my mom asks genuinely concerned.
“No, Mom, I’m not being hard. If they stuck to the story, it wouldn’t have upset me. That’s their job and I respect that. But when they mentioned my personal relationship, it cast me into a negative light even deeper. Journalism 101, work on the facts. No matter how many apologies come my way, I’ll never forget. It’s my decision to hand pick a new journalist and give her a story that everyone’s going to want.”
“Well, I suggest you make the call now,” Laci says. “Email is blowing up with messages from every station including CNN & Fox News, requesting an interview. It’ll be my pleasure to tell those assholes you’re doing an exclusive only.”
“Me too. I can’t wait!” Landon pipes in.
“And Stella,” Max looks at me with a grin, “when she sends you the preview questions, make sure she has at least two personal questions about us. We’re setting everyone straight on this shit for good.”
Honestly, I’m just as uneasy as Stella walking up these stairs, but the need to be strong outweighs the anxiety. “Never let ’em see you sweat,” as my dad would say. My anger has only grown stronger since hanging up with Edward yesterday. Even if he had no idea what Brian Claxton had planned, he willingly encouraged it by promising him the business. That’s one of the reasons I agreed to meet, to watch the look in his eyes when he learns the depth of his deception and all that it affected.
Stella tried to back out of this meeting but I wouldn’t allow it. She needs to be here. As soon as I ring the doorbell, her hands start to sweat. But instead of sliding behind me, she stands tall and puts on a mask. Her beautiful eyes lose all emotion and her face turns to stone. She’s ready.
Rita answers the door and greets me first with a strong hug and kiss on the cheek. She smiles widely and holds my face in her palms. “Maxwell, it’s been too long. So glad you’re here.”
I nod back to her and keep a tight hold on Stella. When Rita notices she scowls slightly and steps back. “You must be Stella Sullivan.”
“Yes, nice to meet you, Mrs. Hurst.” Stella raises her hand to shake as Rita takes it reluctantly.
“Max, you here?” Edward’s voice calls from the back room.
“Yeah, we’re here.”
I follow Rita back to the room I know so well. Hoping this isn’t a mistake. As soon as we enter a sense of unease washes over me. Henry, our COO and my partner in the JOS project, is sitting and so is Edward’s personal legal counsel.
“What’s this? Thought we were meeting to talk?” I question everyone in the room.
“We are, boy, but apparently I’ve been kept in the dark a long time. Brian Claxton seems to be the issue here and I need to make sure I’m not implicated in anything.”
The blood in my veins boils. He knew what he was doing. “You really want to do this with an audience, Edward? Brian is not the only issue here. You want everyone to know you went behind my back, listened to a jaded asshole, and brought Hurst & McCoy into the spotlight for your own personal vendetta against me?”
“I have no choice. I listened to the wrong man and now my name is wrapped up with a dirty rat.”
“And possible murderer,” Stella mutters.
Edward’s face goes white. Rita’s face is equally as pale as she walks to him. “What?”
Tucking her safely to my side, I explain as much as I want to share. Brian’s deception, his involvement, and his plan to get our business to his new firm. When I get to the part about Brian trying to manipulate Edward by creating his elaborate scandal, every face is either stretched in grief or anger. Rita pours a few scotches and hands them out, ignoring Stella. In an act of solidarity, I hand mine to her. She sips it and coughs lightly, which makes me grin.
“You have one hundred percent proof Stella is innocent?” Edward asks quietly.
“One thousand percent. The only unanswered question is the money trail. But the best people are working on it.”
“You have to believe me, I didn’t know. He came to me, before and after you fired him. The first meeting he complained about your firm choice and the direction we were taking. He told me you were more concerned with the owner of the firm, than the actual rebuild. Then after you fired him, he reached out again. He was certain Stella was involved in illegal activities and wanted to make sure my name wasn’t tarnished when it became public.”
It’s all I can do to control my temper and not lash out. “Obviously you should have talked to me. We may have our differences, but this was even low for you.”
“Well, I owe a huge apology to you both. Stella, you did a fantastic job with JOS. I was blinded by my own need to prove Max was incompetent. But as it turns out, I was played.” Edward looks down then drai
ns his glass in one gulp. Rita refills it immediately.
“Max, I fucked up here royally. My name’s going to be linked to Brian Claxton. I took phone calls from him that could have been recorded, emails traced, and meetings videoed. I honestly thought you were making a mistake by giving the business to Stella. She seemed too inexperienced to take on a situation like ours. You embarrassed me when you took your dad’s place. It was a kick in the gut that my best friend had so little faith in me and left your name as his successor.
“I’ve acted terrible towards you. Always trying to trip you up and prove you’re incapable of a position like yours. Look at who’s incapable now? I willingly let Brian manipulate me. He knew my need to gain control of Hurst & McCoy. He played on my weakness and I let him. I had no idea he’s go after little girls to get his way.”
A sob escapes Rita and she excuses herself. Edward sits back and stares at his lawyer. “What now?”
“Did you give him a penny?”
“No.”
“Then you’re fine for now. Stella and I are leaving. I assume you’ll lift your ban on Sullivan’s invoices and she’ll see full payment, including expenses tomorrow?”
“Yeah,” Edward sighs and looks at Stella apologetically. “I’m sorry about that.”
“Make the check to Marshall Barnes & Associates. Have it delivered by noon,” I command and put the tumbler in my hands on the closest surface. “We’re done here.”
Rita meets us in the foyer with pleading eyes. “Can we talk alone?”
“Yeah. Call me next week. I’m in a mood Rita.”
“But we’ve always been family.”
“Tonight, I’m going to forget all about family and business. Tomorrow, I have a live interview to save my company once again. Call Dana and she’ll schedule a time for us to talk.
We drive in silence until we’re on the highway. “Are you okay?” Stella’s voice is laced with concern. Her fingertips rub gently on the bank of my hand.
“Not really. Edward just laid his frustrations and feelings about me, my dad’s decisions, and how he was willing to humiliate me to get my job. I’m more confused now than ever. In all my life, he’s never looked as defeated as tonight. He didn’t know about Brian’s plans, but he was willing to let a man I fired disgrace me. He used you to get to me. He knew I’d stand by you and my decisions. But knowing he wasn’t the money trail to Brian makes me nervous.”
Smokescreen Page 23
