Jake opened his mouth to say the situation wasn’t that bad, but he knew it was. He knew what the paper meant to Eleanor. He’d rationalized his actions by saying Our Family was her future. Their future. But he knew that wasn’t a decision he could make for her.
Eleanor wanted Our Family, but she was duty-bound to the Lamar Daily. She’d outgrown it, but she wouldn’t or couldn’t let it go. He’d thought he could help her break free, but maybe all he’d done was make her dig her heels in deeper.
Yes, he’d been wrong to make the decision without her. He’d known it when he’d held her in his arms last night. He wiped his hand across his face. Hell, he’d known it was wrong all along. That’s why he hadn’t told her about it, why he hadn’t allowed her to decide.
Twenty-Two
“So what are you going to do about it?” Megan asked after Eleanor told her what she’d learned of Jake’s deception.
“I’m going to stop him,” she said matter-of-factly. “No way is Jake Mason going to partner us with Hamilton News.” She’d converted all her feelings of hurt and betrayal into determined vengeance. Jake Mason would pay for trying to use her and her paper.
“How?”
Eleanor shrugged. “I’m not sure, but believe me I’ll come up with something.”
“I bet you will,” Megan muttered.
“What’s that supposed to mean? You can’t be siding with Jake on this.”
“No,” Megan began, twisting the top on her soda. “I’m not siding with him. He was wrong to keep secrets from you and he needs to answer for that. But I love you and I don’t think you’re facing your real feelings.”
Eleanor snorted. She’d faced her real feelings and it hadn’t been a pretty sight. Now was the time to put feelings aside and turn to action. “I see Jake for what he really is. I’m glad I found out before I—”
“Before you what? Fell in love with him?”
Eleanor didn’t answer. She’d been about to say that but she couldn’t because she knew it would have been a lie. She had been fool enough to fall in love with him. “It doesn’t matter.”
Megan reached over and touched her friend’s knee. “It does matter. It matters more than anything.”
“How can it matter when it’s obvious he cares nothing for me?”
“I don’t see how you can say that. It’s not obvious to me.”
Eleanor stared at Megan and wondered if she’d heard a word of Jake’s deception. “He used me, Megan. He used me.”
Megan sat back. “It doesn’t look that way to me.”
Eleanor rolled her eyes. Megan had turned into a Pollyanna ever since she’d fallen head over heels for Carl. “How does it look to you, Dear Abby?”
“I think you need to face your real fears. Are you upset with Jake because of his plan or are you using that as an excuse to keep from following your heart?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Sure you don’t.”
Eleanor lifted her lip in a smirk. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means Jake’s the first guy to come along and make you question your safe and perfect little world here. You seemed not to mind until he touched your precious paper. Why did that set you off?”
“You don’t understand. The paper is my business, my career. I can’t let him take it.”
“Eleanor,” Megan said softly. “The paper is not your mother.”
Eleanor jerked her eyes away from Megan. “I never said it was. Why would you even say that?”
“Because you treat that paper like it’s sacred. It’s not. Sometimes I think that paper has more of a hold on you than your father does.”
Eleanor jumped up. “That’s just not true. I can’t believe you’re saying these things.”
Megan didn’t move. “I’m your best friend and I love you like a sister, but you’re wrong this time. I don’t want to see you throw away what you and Jake have because of some business decision.”
“You don’t understand. It’s more than that. It’s about Jake respecting my wishes. It’s about him including me in his decisions. He didn’t do either.”
“Have you told him this?”
Eleanor shook her head. She hadn’t spoken to Jake since the night she’d left him alone in bed. There was nothing to say.
“Now that’s real mature of you.” Megan sighed. “You have to let him explain.”
Eleanor shook her head again. “I can’t let him know how much I know. If he knows, he may take action to keep me from stopping him. I can’t take that risk.”
“But you can risk losing the only man you’ve ever loved because of your pride?”
“That’s not it.”
Megan watched her for a long second. “If you say so.” She sighed again. “Do you want to go over to Welles tonight? Victoria’s Secret is having another sale.”
***
Jake answered the door after her first knock. When she saw him, her heartbeat increased and the attraction that had always been between them flared. Thoughts of his plans for her paper doused the flames. She studied this man she’d loved and been loved by and wondered how she could have so misjudged his character.
It hadn’t taken her long to learn of his plans. If she hadn’t been so taken by him, she wouldn’t have let things get as far as they had. Thank goodness she’d overheard him talking to Carl.
“Eleanor,” he said finally. “Where have you been? I’ve been worried sick.”
She brushed past him, determined not to let the concern in his voice deter her. She’d remembered many times while she was in Atlanta that he was a trained actor.
He closed the door, then followed her back into the living room. She didn’t bother to sit down. “Why’d you do it, Jake?” she asked, hating the hurt that came through in her voice. She’d planned to handle this in a professional manner.
He reached for her and she moved away from him. “Just answer the question. Why’d you do it?”
He didn’t flinch. “It’s business, Eleanor.”
Each word was a shot to her already aching heart. “Was what we shared in bed business, too?” she asked, her voice a whisper.
He reached for her again and this time she let him hold her. “How can you even ask that?”
She jerked away from him, hating the weakness she exhibited. She had to maintain some measure of dignity. “Because from where I’m sitting it looks like you were sleeping with me to keep me from questioning your actions. That was certainly one way of gaining my trust.”
He flinched at her words and she was glad she’d hit her target. “How can you think so little of me after what we’ve shared?” he asked.
She gave an empty laugh and wondered where the sound was coming from. “Now, that’s royal. How can I not think little of you, Jake? You’ve taken everything we’ve shared and thrown it back in my face. How could you think so little of what we’ve shared?”
“I did it for us—” he began.
She slapped him before he could finish his thought. “Stop lying to me. You didn’t do this for me. You did it for yourself. For your own ego. It had nothing whatsoever to do with me.”
He rubbed his jaw. “You’re wrong.”
“I wish I were,” she said, marching toward the door. She had to get out of this apartment, out of his presence. She put her hand on the knob then turned around. “It’s not over, Jake. I’m going to fight you to the end. Your plans aren’t going to make it off the paper you’ve written them on. There is no way the Lamar Daily will get in bed with Hamilton News. You have my word on that.”
“This isn’t about the paper, Eleanor. It’s about us.”
She laughed that laugh again. “There is no us, Jake. There never was. At least, not in your mind. If you had thought of us, we wouldn’t be having this argument now.” She turned and swung open the door.
“You can’t run from me, Eleanor,” he called after her, repeating the words he
’d told her early in their relationship.
She turned around and stared at him. “I never thought I’d need to, Jake, but I do. After all that we’ve shared, I don’t know who you are.”
Jake winced at the slamming of the door behind her. He was tempted to go after her, but he knew it was no use. What could he say? She’d said it all, and unfortunately, she’d been right on most counts.
Except for one. She’d been wrong about them. He’d never used her. He hadn’t even planned to get involved with her. Lord knows, his life would be much simpler now if he hadn’t gotten involved with her.
But he had. Against all reason, he’d fallen for his business associate and the daughter of his father’s best friend. Now he couldn’t let her go.
***
Eleanor bumped into Carl as she rushed out of his apartment. “Hey, hey,” he called, catching her by her arms to keep her from falling. “You’d better watch where you’re going.”
“Sorry, Carl,” she mumbled and sidestepped him to continue to her car. She didn’t want to talk now. Especially not to Carl. He’d probably been in on Jake’s plans from the beginning. She’d talk to him tomorrow when she was calmer.
Carl grabbed her arm again. “Hey, what’s the matter? You and lover boy have another fight?” He grinned. “You two fight as much as some other couple I used to know.”
Eleanor couldn’t smile with him. Her and Jake’s relationship was nothing like the one he shared with Megan. “I can’t talk about this now, Carl.” She couldn’t. She feared she’d cry if she did. And she wasn’t going to give Jake Mason the satisfaction of making her cry.
“You love him, Eleanor, and he loves you.”
His words were so confident that Eleanor met his gaze for the first time. “He told you that? Is that how he convinced you to betray me?”
Carl shook his head sadly. “I didn’t betray you.”
Eleanor was tired of lying men. “Are you saying you didn’t know what Jake was planning for the paper?”
Carl had the decency to look away. “I knew, but only after he’d formed the plan. I told him you wouldn’t go for it. I told him you wouldn’t understand.”
She believed him. “And what did he say?” she asked, but she knew. It was obvious. Jake didn’t care what she wanted.
“He loves you, Eleanor,” Carl said instead of answering her.
“Oh, Carl, come on. Don’t use that line on me. Did he ever say those words to you?” She hated the hope that budded in her chest as she waited for his answer. She was still looking for some way to exonerate Jake.
“Well, not exactly.”
Her hope died as quickly as it had bloomed. “Just like I thought. Good night, Carl.”
He grabbed her arm again and made her face him. “Can you walk away from him, Eleanor? You know what moves him as well as I do. Maybe you don’t love him after all.”
“You don’t have to use reverse psychology on me, Carl. I do love him. I’ve admitted that much to myself.”
“Then you two can work this out.”
She reached up and touched his face, her anger at him gone. He only wanted her and Jake to find what he and Megan had found together. “We don’t have what you and Megan have. We never did. It wasn’t meant to be for us.”
He placed his hand atop hers. “If I’d given up on Megan, we wouldn’t be together now.”
Eleanor laughed and patted his jaw before dropping her hand. “You did give up on her, remember? You two could barely stand to be in the same room together.”
“But I never gave up on her. Why do you think I stayed in Lamar all these years?”
She smiled. “I guess it wasn’t the paper.”
He shook his head, a look of wonder and amazement and love on his face. “I’m here because she’s here. I don’t think I could’ve left even if she’d married someone else.”
“I envy what you have with Megan,” she admitted. She’d thought she and Jake might have a chance at that but she now knew that had been a pipe dream.
Carl chuckled. “You envy us now, but I bet you didn’t about two months ago.”
“Good point.”
“I’m not saying Jake didn’t make a mistake, Eleanor. He did. But it’s not one that the two of you can’t get past.” He touched his right hand to her cheek. “Take my advice. Don’t make any decisions that can’t be reversed and don’t say anything you can’t take back. Love is too precious to throw away.”
***
Eleanor watched the clock, turning off the alarm before it went off at six o’clock. She hadn’t needed to set it since she hadn’t slept all night. She couldn’t. Her mind was too full of thoughts. Thoughts of Jake. And her. In this bed. In his bed.
She threw back the sheet and slowly moved her pajama-clad legs to the floor. The room even felt different. But she knew it wasn’t really the room. It was her. She wasn’t the same woman she’d been before she met him. She’d probably never be the same again.
She straightened her shoulders, got up from the bed, and made her way to the bathroom. In twenty minutes she was dressed and on her way to the main house for breakfast with her father.
He was seated at the kitchen table sipping coffee when she walked in. “Morning, Dad,” she said and kissed his upturned forehead.
Mathias smiled at her, but she didn’t miss the question in his eyes. “What a nice surprise! You haven’t joined me for breakfast in quite a while. To what do I owe this pleasure?”
She turned her back to him and poured a cup of coffee from the coffeemaker. “Could it be that I wanted to have breakfast with you?” She turned back around and leaned against the counter.
Mathias pushed his plate away. “Out with it, Eleanor.”
She reluctantly lifted herself from the counter and sat down at the table in front of her father. It was quiet in the kitchen this morning. Too quiet. “It’s about Jake,” she said slowly, running her fingers down the sides of her coffee cup.
Mathias placed his hands over her fingers and stopped their motion. “What did he do to you?”
The alarm in his voice surprised her. She squeezed his fingers briefly, then removed her hand and brought her cup to her mouth, taking a long swallow before speaking. “It’s not what he did to me,” she said, though it wasn’t really true. It was about what he did to her, but that was not her father’s concern. “It’s what he’s planning to do with the paper.”
Mathias sat back in his chair, and Eleanor could have sworn she saw relief in his eyes. “I thought you two had come to a working agreement about the future of the paper.”
“So did I.” She gave a weak smile. “But Jake was a little smarter than I gave him credit for. It seems he had other ideas.”
Mathias looked at his watch then stood up. “I’m meeting with the mayor this morning. I’m sure you and Jake will work this out.”
She looked up at him and her heart broke. How could her father be so trusting of men so undeserving of trust? “Not this time, Dad. Jake has approached Hamilton News.”
Mathias’s eyes widened and he sat back down at the table. Eleanor had known the name of the newspaper consortium would get his attention. Hamilton News approached them at least once a year with a deal of some kind, but Mathias never considered any of their offers. “Why would he contact them?”
She should have been glad for the suspicion she heard in her father’s voice because it meant he was taking off the rose-colored glasses where Jake and his father were concerned. But she wasn’t. No, she hurt because she knew her father’s so-called best friend’s betrayal would cause him considerable pain.
“Why did he contact them?” Mathias asked again.
She looked down at her coffee cup, then brought her eyes up to meet her father’s. “Money.”
“Money?” Mathias repeated. “Why would Jake want money from them?” Mathias snapped his fingers. “Mason Publishing could swallow them up like that.”
Eleanor shrugged he
r shoulders. This entire conversation was suddenly making her tired. “Maybe it’s power. Who knows what’s going through Jake’s mind?”
“Power?” Mathias nodded. “Now that I can understand.”
Eleanor couldn’t believe her ears. Her dad obviously had a blind spot as big as the state of Alabama where the Randolph men were concerned. “Well, in his plan he gets both. Not only is Jake arranging a merger between Mason Publishing and the Lamar Daily, he’s also bringing Hamilton News into the deal.”
Mathias leaned forward anxiously. “What are you talking about?”
Eleanor cleared her throat. She was only going to say this once. “Jake wants to create Mason News, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mason Publishing. Mason News will be the beginning of a conglomerate of small-town newspapers. Of course, Jake will be president and CEO, and Buddy Hamilton, of Hamilton News fame, will be his second-in-command. He and Buddy plan to gobble up every small-town paper in the Southeast within five years. The Lamar Daily is their first conquest.” Eleanor winced as she spoke the words. The pain of Jake’s betrayal ran deep.
Mathias sat back in his chair. “Well, the boy has guts. I can say that.”
“That’s all you’ve got to say?” Eleanor yelled, infuriated at the calm in her father’s voice. Had he completely lost his mind? “Jake and his father are going back on the spirit of this whole deal. If they partner with Hamilton News, where will our autonomy go?”
“Calm down, Eleanor,” her father said, standing up again. “You’re going to give yourself a heart attack. This is bad, but it’s not that bad. I’ll speak to Randolph.”
Eleanor grabbed his arm. “It won’t do any good, Dad,” she warned. “Randolph has given Jake a free hand with this project. There’s nothing he can do now without going back on his word to his son. We have to handle this ourselves.”
***
“What do you think we should do, Mat?” Randolph asked after Mathias had repeated Eleanor’s news.
Mathias was surprised at the calm he still felt. Ever since Eleanor had told him the news, he’d waited for his anger to surface. But it hadn’t. “I don’t know that we should do anything. Maybe we’ve done enough.”
Between the Lines Page 22
