by Robin Mahle
“Meet you here in about an hour, then?” Charlie said.
She nodded and went back to her room.
Claire had come from a solid family. Her parents had been married for thirty years before her father passed away. And by then, Claire was married with a family of her own. She’d been witness to the loving relationship her parents had. Even when her father was too sick to get out of bed, her mother was right by his side, tending to his every need because she loved him.
And Claire was one of the lucky ones. Divorce was far too common by the time she’d reached high school and many of her friends had suffered through it. She felt sorry for them.
Through that loving environment her parents provided, and the self-respect she was taught at an early age, Claire had never wanted, nor ever considered, wandering. Now, as she stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom where only hours ago the truth of her betrayal dawned on her, she wondered what would happen to her marriage. The thought of losing Colin sent her dizzy again and she lay down on the bed until dinner.
***
Charlie extended his arm to hail an approaching cab. As it pulled up to the curb, he opened the door for Claire. She slid inside and moved to the left to allow Charlie a seat.
“Where to?” the driver asked.
“We’re from Seattle. Can you recommend a nice place to eat?” Charlie said.
“Sure. There’s a place a few miles up the road called Henry’s. Good, local joint. You’ll like it.”
“Great. Thank you.”
The restaurant was only about half full, which probably wasn’t too bad, considering it was a Thursday night. A petite hostess with short brunette hair showed them to their table.
Charlie pulled the chair out for Claire to take her seat and, when he sat down, he folded his arms, resting them on the table. “I need to ask you something, Claire. Do you remember anything about last night?”
Before anyone had even come to take their drinks order, Charlie had gotten straight to the point. Why it had taken him all day to bring it up was beyond Claire, but here it was. He laid it right out on the table.
“I’m sorry, but I’m not sure what you mean.” Admittedly, it was a weak attempt to deflect, but he had caught her completely off guard.
“Claire, there are things you don’t know about what goes on at the firm, but I expect you have begun to unravel at least a portion of it. Am I wrong?”
This obviously wasn’t the topic she had expected to be discussing and Claire was at a loss for words.
“You’re talking with the FBI, is that correct?” Charlie continued.
“I’m sorry?” She felt as though she was about to trip on her words. “They’ve asked me about Beth, but I don’t know anything else.”
“Claire.” He shot that look at her. The one that fathers give when they catch their children in a lie. “Please. It’s important that you are honest with me. This isn’t a game we’re playing.”
“What exactly does any of this have to do with you, Charlie?” She was starting to find her footing again because it sure sounded like he was admitting to being involved in whatever this mess was.
Charlie reached for his cell phone and set it on the table. “I need your cooperation here, okay? You have no idea what you’ve stumbled into and I now find myself in a very precarious position. This is not what I wanted for you, Claire, but I’m going to have to ask you something.”
What the hell was going on? This was Charlie and sure, Sanchez thought he might be involved, but Claire didn’t really believe it. Hell, she thought it was a scheme cooked up by Lucas and Chris Goyal.
She swallowed hard, contemplating her next move. Her mouth soon became dry as she was forced to breathe in through it in an effort to get enough air. She felt as though she was beginning to suffocate.
“You have a couple of choices. You can sever all ties with Beth Graves and stop communications with the FBI or…” He picked up his phone and opened up the pictures. “I can send these to Colin.”
Claire gasped at the picture, clear as day, of Evan helping her into her room last night. “Oh my God. Where did you get this? Is this from last night?” Her trembling hand covered her mouth as the reality of what was happening hit her hard. Her eyes began to sting with tears.
Charlie swiped through about half a dozen pictures, Evan and her as the main subject matter in each one, leading to the inevitable implication of what must have happened once they entered her room. There was even one of him leaving, presumably after the deed was done. “I’m sorry, Claire, but I really had no choice. There’s far too much at stake here.”
“You took these?” Disbelief consumed her. This was not the Charlie that she knew. Not only had she made the biggest mistake of her life, she was being blackmailed for it. “Does Evan know about this? Is he involved too?”
“This has got nothing to do with him, but I had tried to warn you to stay away. You just gave me what I needed to convince you to stop dealing with the feds.”
“Oh my God. Did you order Chris Goyal to threaten Beth too? Jesus! Who the hell are you?” She threw her napkin onto the table and started to rise.
“Sit down, Claire.” Charlie was calm, but his expression conveyed a look that could easily be perceived as menacing. “We’re not finished.”
She looked around at the other patrons, who, so far, hadn’t taken notice of her raised tone. “How could you do this to me? To Beth? I thought I knew you.” She fell back into her chair.
“Things happen that start to slant your view of what’s right and what’s wrong. Look, I’m not going to do anything with these pictures if you just do what I ask. Stop talking to the FBI.”
CHAPTER 12
THE DOOR TO room 1267 swung open, exposing the blackness that awaited Claire at this late hour. Awaited her to revisit the horrendous mistake that occurred only twenty-four hours ago in this very spot. Awaited her to follow through on the choices she’d made. Claire had agreed to Charlie’s terms, with hesitation. It was the only way he would allow her to be excused from that restaurant; a public area that prevented the release of the pent-up rage building inside at this wholly unexpected turn of events. She was to cut off all communications with Sanchez and Huffman. Beth would be left hanging out to dry. But what choice was there? Her marriage, her job, or her friend?
Claire dropped to the bed, still lingering in the dark, disgusted by all that had happened. Confused by what to do and how the hell she got here in the first place, her entire world was collapsing around her ears and she had no one to turn to.
And what about Evan Winters? She looked at the phone on the bedside table and wondered if she should tell him. At this point, trusting in anyone was a risky proposition.
Claire picked up the receiver and the front desk answered. “Evan Winters’ room, please,” she whispered. The phone clicked once and she was immediately transferred to a ringing line.
“Hello?”
“It’s Claire. Can I see you, please?” She sounded so small and fragile and hated herself for it.
“Of course. Please come on up. I’m really glad you called. I wasn’t sure if you wanted to speak to me. We should talk.”
“Thank you.” Claire set the receiver down. It seemed he had thought about what happened and even sounded a little remorseful. Claire was going to have to put her trust in someone and since Charlie had betrayed her, Evan was, regrettably, her last option.
***
Claire waited for Evan to open the door after her delicate tap. It was past eleven and the hall was quiet.
The door opened. Evan, drink in hand, wearing a t-shirt and gym shorts, stepped aside to let her through. “Please forgive my appearance. I like to get in a workout once in a while when I’m traveling. Helps burn off all the food I inevitably consume on these trips. Come on in.”
His room wasn’t the penthouse suite, but it wasn’t far from it. It looked more like an apartment than a hotel room.
“Can I get you anything? A drink? Have you eat
en?”
“No thank you. I actually just had dinner with Charlie.”
“You’re not okay, are you, Claire? I can hear it in your voice.” Evan moved towards her and directed her to the couch. As he sat down next to her, he began, “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have taken advantage of you like that. I am so very sorry, Claire. I let my desire get the better of me and, combined with the drink, it was a dangerous combination.” He looked away, lowering his head as if ashamed of his actions. “But—I hope we can get past this. I promise you, no one has to know.”
“It seems someone already does.” She couldn’t look him in the eye. His talk of desire; knowing he was drawn to her, but denying it to prove to herself that she hadn’t been just his latest pet project, as Charlie believed.
“I’m sorry?” He placed his drink on the coffee table. “Who? Claire, what happened?”
“I don’t know where to start.” She tried very hard not to break down in front of him. “I had dinner with Charlie.”
“Yes, you mentioned that.”
“He knows and, somehow, he got pictures of us going into my room.” Claire lowered her tone further. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, knowing she had to continue. “He’s stealing from you, Evan, and the FBI knows at least some of what’s been going on. They asked me to help them after Beth was put on leave, sure that she was being set up.”
Evan stood up and began pacing the room. “I see. And I suppose Charlie is threatening to blackmail you if you continue to help the FBI.”
“Yes. He’s stealing from the clients and I believe Lucas Abbott is also involved, but I really don’t know anything for sure. All I know is that you should tell them. Tell the FBI that you know Charlie is the one who’s embezzling from the company, not Beth. He’s behind of all it, Evan.”
“I understood they had enough proof to arrest Beth Graves?”
“They know she’s being set up. They’ve been looking into WFC for almost a year.”
“Oh, Claire.” Evan moved away from her, turning his back, his arms bracing his body against a dining chair. “I really wish you had come to me before talking with the FBI. I can’t afford for this to get even further out of hand. The negative publicity will sink this company. We’ll lose every single client. I thought you were on our side. I thought I had your loyalty.”
She stared at the back of him, studying his defensive stance. His hands gripped the back of the chair so tightly, she could see them turning white. His entire body had grown tense. Our side?
Evan’s cell phone lit up as it sat atop a magazine on the coffee table. The short vibration of the incoming text message was concealed from him, being that he was at least fifteen feet away with his back turned. But Claire noticed it. She also noticed the caller id. Charlie. Claire pressed the top button to force the phone off before he returned his attention to her.
“Did you?” She stopped cold, unsure if she’d just made an even graver mistake by thinking she could trust him, suddenly realizing she was very much alone.
“Did I what?” Evan turned back, his brown eyes turning almost black and burning right through her.
That was when she knew for sure. That look in his eyes. It was the same look he’d given the man, Jeremy, last night. Hope that he could aid her had vanished in an instant. She was on her own. Her only thought now was to make him believe she would follow through on Charlie’s demands, unless she wanted to risk ending up like Beth. “Nothing, I was just going to ask if you believed Charlie was capable of something like this.”
“Of course not. Never, not once. I think the best thing is for you to let me handle this. I can take care of Charlie. All I ask is that you please help me to keep this quiet. I can’t afford the ramifications if this gets out. We’ll be shut down, Claire. Can I trust you?”
“Yes. You can trust me.” Her resolve concealed the magnitude of what she’d discovered; who she believed was truly behind everything. He was not behaving as a man who’d just found out his most valued employees were embezzling from him; one who would jump at the chance to have the FBI handle the situation. He was behaving as a man who, for whatever reason, was behind the plan. Evan Winters would have to believe she was on his side. If she wavered at all, everything she loved would be lost to her.
***
They were due back in Seattle by 8 p.m. tonight. Claire continued on through the day, the final day of the conference, as if nothing had changed. She had succeeded in convincing both Evan and Charlie that she would cooperate and keep her mouth shut. Fully expecting a conversation between the two men would occur soon enough, if it hadn’t already, and a plan would be put in place should she go back on her word.
When they finally landed, the rain was coming down hard, pelting against the metal fuselage of the plane. Claire shortened her goodbyes. One last glance at Frank Winslow, now trailing her outside the terminal, searching for a clue as to whether he was also involved. There was no one she dared put her trust in now. She stepped inside the cab after a wave to the colleagues behind her, whom she now viewed as the enemy.
Her thoughts quickly turned to Colin as the driver sped his way towards Bellevue. Colin would leave her; walk right out of her life if he found out. It was a prospect she simply could not face.
The assumption from this point on had to be that Evan and Charlie would keep eyes on her as much as they could. No more calls to Agent Sanchez from her cell; in fact, she wouldn’t be able to communicate at all with him if she was anywhere near the office. She would use a personal cell that she could be confident wasn’t being monitored and only her own computer to email from her personal account.
This had gotten very serious very quickly, but Claire had to come to terms with the situation. She couldn’t just fall apart. Charlie was right about one thing; she’d stumbled into something and had no idea how dangerous it really was. Sanchez would know what to do and would help her. It was a risk she had to take.
The moment she’d stepped through the door back home, Colin and the kids stood in the kitchen. A handwritten banner hung from the edges of the bay window that read, “Welcome Home, Mom.” Colin had even bought flowers. He almost never bought flowers. It was clear he felt the need to apologize for his leaden behavior in recent days.
Claire wanted to cry in that very moment at the irony. It was she who had behaved abhorrently; betraying her husband and her family. She loved them so much. How could she have let this happen? Instead, she would have to mask her face in bright, cheerful colors at the loving gesture her family had displayed.
She spent the next two hours wearing that mask, praying it would not crack and reveal her true emotions—fear at what tomorrow would bring.
***
On arrival to work the following day, her first inclination was to rush into Charlie’s office, insist she had already told Colin, and threaten to have Charlie arrested. But something had changed him. Charlie wasn’t the man she thought she knew and he might call her bluff. Claire felt her life slipping through her fingers, grasping at any thought that would prevent all the happiness from simply evaporating. She would go to see him anyway.
“Charlie…”
“Wait.” It was if he had expected her visit. “Close the door.”
Claire did as she was asked, with her eyes never leaving his, until she finally sat down. “I don’t remember what happened the other night, or how you managed to get those pictures, but I can tell you that I’ve done it already. I told my husband, so you can threaten me all you’d like.” As she looked at Charlie, the idea that they could all go to prison at her hand brought her great satisfaction. But the only way to ensure that was to stay on the inside. Whether Evan knew it or not, he’d pulled her in. Maybe that had been his intention all along.
“This ends now.” A wearisome Charlie now seemed far less intimidating than at dinner the other night. “You won’t get another chance. You will lose everything, Claire. I don’t believe you said anything about this to your husband. If you had, I suspect the FBI w
ould be knocking down my door right now. I’m getting the sense that you might consider an equitable resolution.”
Her eyes darted back and forth between his, searching for the friend and confidant he had once been, instead of the red-faced, bloated man sitting before her now. She had walked in there with only half a plan, hoping the rest would find its way, but it hadn’t, and she had no idea what to do next.
“Claire, this was the only way to get you to stop. I’m sorry, but it had to be done. I’d like us to move on from here and work through this together. There’s a great deal of money to be made. You can be a part of that. I know how you and your husband have struggled these past few years. I can make that all go away. Please, Claire. There is no other option here.”
Charlie leaned back in his chair, pulling the glasses from his face. “You can go on just as you are, enjoying your new promotion and making a lot of money for your family. I can help supplement that income. I just need your cooperation.”
“The FBI believes this goes way beyond Beth Graves.” Claire didn’t want to reveal too much; just enough to make him think she would be a willing participant. “How do you plan on diverting their attention? Find another Beth?” She thought about how Beth had been threatened by Goyal. What would they do to her family if they knew she had turned on them?
“No. That was a sloppy mistake. One that won’t happen again. You have my word. If you want to be a part of this, then you’ll have to tell them you haven’t found anything and you can’t keep putting yourself through the stress. They’ll back off; there’ll be no choice for them. If they want to keep coming after us, then let them do it on their own.”
So that was it? Tell them they were on their own. If it was how to keep Colin from getting hurt and to keep her family safe, then Claire would find a way to make Charlie believe she would do just that. Whatever plan he’d hatched with Evan and Lucas and whomever else to cover up their scheme mattered little now. She knew who the players were and hopefully, that would be enough for Sanchez to get what he needed.
