Give Up On Me

by Tressie Lockwood

  “Don’t, Dad.”

  He drew back. “Are you all right, Janae?”

  “Nope.”

  “I can’t tell you what to do, and I won’t pressure you. It just kills me that that woman would go to these lengths to control her grandson. The two of you should be planning your wedding and preparing to give me grandkids.”

  “Dad, for real?”

  He slammed a fist on her desk, jarring her head. She sat back in her chair. Her father’s cry of outrage told her she looked a sight from crying. She’d need to go wash her face and put some makeup on before she headed over to Kyler’s office. They didn’t need to see how they broke her.

  “I’m going to tell them I’ll end it between Matt and me.”

  “We can’t let them win, Janae!”

  “I thought you said you weren’t going to pressure me.”

  He winced and rubbed his neck. “Yeah, sorry. But—”

  “They’ve already won. I can’t come up with a single idea of how to get out of this. If I tell Matt they threatened me, he’ll fly off the handle and destroy whatever relationship he has with them.”

  Her father harrumphed. “What do we care?”

  “We care because Margaret already said even if Matt comes to my defense, she’s going to ruin him and you. I can’t let that happen. And honestly, there’s more than you and Matt at stake, Dad. There’s the Gonzalezes and the other families dependent on this company.”

  “You can’t take the weight of the world on your shoulders, Janae.”

  “No, not the world, just my small part of it. I don’t see where I have a choice. At least I’m all cried out now.”

  “Janae.” The pain in her father’s words couldn’t touch her own, but there was nothing she could do.

  With her mind unable to focus, she remained holed up in her office until it was almost time to go. She cleaned up her face and headed out. A short while later, she parked in the lot beneath Kyler and Margaret’s office building and headed up to their floor. This time, instead of the receptionist looking at her as if she were navel lint, she buzzed for Kyler, and he arrived to lead her back to his office.

  Margaret was already holding court when Janae strode in. She sat at Kyler’s desk, and after he led Janae to a chair, he joined his grandmother at her side. Janae couldn’t help feeling that she was on trial, and the jury had already voted her guilty. The judges were eager to hand out her punishment.

  She sat straighter, her head high and her jaw tight. “I’ve made my decision.”

  “Yes?”

  No, Margaret’s not a judge. She’s a damn spider ready to wrap me in threads and have me for lunch.

  Janae suppressed a shiver and buried the hopeless feeling in the pit of her stomach. Yet, how could she fight when she was effectively giving in to it with her decision?

  “Matt loves me, and he won’t let me go easily,” she began. “I can’t just dump him and say I don’t want to see him any more. He won’t go for it. He’ll try to win me all over again.”

  “You’re pretty sure of your ability to ensnare him,” Margaret snapped. “You’ve had a lot of practice?”

  “You would know. I’m sure you looked into my background.”

  “If you think that’s reason enough to make me back off, you’re wrong.”

  “No, I’m stating the truth. You can choose not to believe me, and we can see where it gets us.”

  Kyler interjected. “What she says makes sense, Margaret. Matt is stubborn. He’ll see it as a challenge if she just breaks it off, especially if he still believes she cares about him.”

  “I do love him!”

  Janae drew in a breath and blew it out. She pressed a knuckle to her lips. No going off on them this time. She needed to keep control of her emotions and see this thing through. The faster she laid out her terms, the better.

  “In order for me not to hurt Matt any more than this already will hurt him, it might be better if I go away.”

  A baseball lodged in her throat. She took a minute and was glad the two of them waited for her to continue. Janae kept her gaze focused on the diamond earring hanging from Margaret’s right ear because if she looked the woman in the eyes, she’d probably see her disbelief and get pissed off.

  “If I go away, you have to get Samuel Bennett to work with my dad. You have to assure me that you won’t get in the way of any of his business dealings from now on.”

  “I can do you one better,” Margaret said, grinning evilly and making Janae’s stomach turn. “I have it in my power to send a few more clients his way and put his company on stable ground. That is, if you go away.”

  “No good,” Kyler said. “Matt will hire whoever he needs to, to find you. You will have to convince him you’re no longer interested.”

  “I don’t think I can do that,” she said.

  “You mean you don’t want to!” Margaret glared at her and leaned forward. “We will tell him you came to me demanding money.”

  Kyler sighed. “He won’t fall for it.”

  Janae agreed.

  “Then there are ways of making people disappear,” Margaret said.

  Janae gasped and looked into her eyes. “Say what now?”

  “Calm down.” The old lady waved a hand. “I’m not threatening to kill you. I mean there are ways a person can deliberately disappear without a trace.”

  “Yeah, and I’m sure it would cost a pretty penny, which as you know, I don’t have.”

  Margaret drummed the desktop with her fingers. “I’ll arrange everything and even give you enough money to live off of for quite some time.”

  Janae blinked. She was offering her money? Wasn’t that what she was trying to avoid with this fiasco? No, it was more than the money as far as Margaret was concerned. Janae herself wasn’t good enough for her grandson.

  She went over everything in her head, but she kept coming back to the same issue—that Matt wouldn’t sit still believing she left him. Even if he didn’t know his family had used their means to help her to disappear, he would hire someone to look for her, and he wouldn’t stop searching himself. He wouldn’t actually go on with his life. Maybe eventually he would move on, but she wanted to curtail even a little hope so his heart would heal that much faster.

  “Record me,” she said, and she clutched her purse tight on her lap, hoping it would keep her from cracking. Regardless, tears formed in her eyes, and she blinked to stop them from falling.

  “What?” Kyler was looking at her so hard she squirmed in her chair and then forced herself to stay still.

  “Record me. I will play the roll of demanding money from you. I’ll say I need it if you want me to go away. You can play the victims, and you can let him listen to it as proof.”

  Janae cursed under her breath when tears slipped down her cheeks. She scrubbed them away quickly and cleared her throat.

  “Yes!” Margaret jumped all over the idea.

  Kyler pulled his cell phone from his pocket with hesitance. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

  “It’s the only way I see, unless you have another idea?”

  “No.” He kept looking at her in that odd way as if he was trying to read her motivations. His image of her didn’t matter because in a few minutes, he would have proof that made her look like trash, proof she couldn’t take back.

  “You should start the recording in the middle of me speaking as if you had a sudden idea to record me. That way it might sound more authentic.” Another tear dropped, and she brushed it away. “Are you ready?”

  Both of them gaped at her, and then Margaret slowly nodded her head with a grin.

  Janae stood to her feet. “J-just a minute.”

  She slipped out into the hall and shut the door behind her. A sob escaped her, and she glanced up and down the passage. Since no one was around, she indulged in a fit of self-pity for a few seconds, crying hard. After a couple minutes, she found tissue in her purse and mopped her face. Whether she looked a hot mess or not didn’t matter now
.

  She slipped back into the office, and Margaret and Kyler cut off whatever they were talking about. She looked at Kyler, and he nodded.

  “What are you doing here?” Margaret said, obviously getting into it.

  “I’m here because I want money. I want enough to live on so I can get out of Boston.”

  “What are you saying? I thought you loved Matthew.”

  Janae almost gagged. Margaret was not the greatest of actresses, especially when she tried to sound like the wounded grandmother, concerned for her grandson. Janae stared at her and shook her head. Color dotted the old woman’s face.

  “I’m not the marrying kind. I thought I would charm him at first playing the I don’t care about money role, but I’m sick of it.”

  “So you were using my brother all along?” Kyler asked.

  Janae looked at him, and she faltered. He checked his phone and signaled for her to speak. She had trouble saying she used Matt when he was her entire world. Maybe she shouldn’t love him as deeply as she did, but regardless, she knew she would die for that man.

  “Yes.” She choked a little and tried to make it sound like a laugh of derision. “He’s e-easy, and all I had to do was shake my ass a few times. It was fun at first, but I’m tired. I want the money without the clingy lovesick puppy to go with it.”

  This time, Kyler fumbled. Her harsh description of Matt took him by surprise. She loved Matt’s devotion, but she had to tear it down, or he wouldn’t move on.

  “So are you going to give me money, or not?” she demanded.

  “I-I—” Margaret stuttered, and Janae signaled for Kyler to cut the recording. He did, and she sank into the chair she had occupied earlier.

  “There you have it,” Janae said softly. “I want to ask one more thing. I want one last night with Matt.”

  “No, way!”

  She looked up at Margaret. “What can it hurt? I just need to say good-bye in my own way.”

  Margaret sneered. “You might try to warn him and get him to do something stupid. If he runs off with you, I will make sure to destroy your father and his company.’

  “Your evil knows no bounds.”

  Margaret reached over to grab Kyler’s phone from his hands. She waved it in the air. “We’ve got proof of what kind of woman you are. You don’t have any cards left. So, you better watch your mouth. I am being generous giving you money and helping you to go away. Don’t ruin it.”

  Janae stood. Her tears had a last dried. She wished the stupid things had done so before the meeting with these two. “I’m going to get my affairs in order. I assume you’ll want to do this fast. Call me with the details.”

  As she walked to the door, it seemed like all the strength in her body drained away. She could hardly get the knob to turn to get out, and when she pulled to close the door behind her, her hand slipped before it shut.

  A wave of dizziness assailed her, and she propped herself up with a shoulder against the wall. Kyler and Margaret’s voice reached her through the narrow opening.

  “It seems like maybe she cares about him,” Kyler said.

  “Don’t be fooled. You saw how fast she came up with that scheme. It’s because she had it in mind this whole time. My guess is even the tears were a part of her plan.”

  Janae shook her head and covered her mouth as she staggered away. Let them think what they wanted. Her world had crumbled all around her, and she had nothing left to fight with. What she could do now was survive—until the hurt eased and she didn’t feel like she was dying every time she inhaled.

  Chapter Eleven

  “…you going to give me money, or not?”

  Matt shut his eyes. He stuck his hands in his pockets, but they kept on shaking. “Play it again.”

  “Come on, Matt,” Kyler said. “I’ve played it three times. You know what this means.”

  Matt looked at him. “Give it to me a minute.”

  His brother sighed and handed over his phone. Rather than play it again, Matt chucked the phone across the room. The tiny device struck a display window, which covered shelves built into the wall. Glass shattered and flew everywhere. The phone landed on the floor.

  “What the hell are you doing, Matt?”

  He ignored Kyler and strode over to the phone. Atop the glass littering the carpet, he stomped the phone until it lay in as many pieces at the glass. Kyler shouted again behind him, and Matt spun around.

  He charged across the office and grabbed his brother, lifting him off his feet. Kyler was just as big as he was, maybe more densely muscled, but Matt moved on adrenaline, rage, and the depths of sorrow.

  “Do you think for one minute I will let her go, even with this?” Matt bit out between clenched teeth.

  “Matt, stop this.” Margaret tugged his arm. He didn’t budge.

  “I love her more than my next breath. Do you understand that? No, you couldn’t. You’re a fucking cold-blooded idiot, and right now I hate your guts.”

  Kyler paled, his eyes widening. Matt imagined neither of them had ever seen him this way. He had never needed or wanted to be a prick in his entire life. Maybe he was more fortunate than others, but Janae had made a good life an amazing one.

  “You paid her money to go away?” Matt said.

  “She asked for it. You heard the recording.” Kyler struggled in his hold.

  “I would have paid her,” Matt shouted. “I would have given her everything. But you knew that!”

  Something in Matt snapped, and he threw his brother with enough force to send him over the top of his desk. He smashed against the far wall, shattering a vase on a shelf there. Kyler landed on the floor, and a pile of heavy books fell atop him along with the broken vase. Matt didn’t flinch.

  “Kyler!” Margaret shouted. She ran over to him, and Matt turned away, heading for the door.

  Behind him, his brother cursed. “Damn it, no, Margaret, let me go. I think it’s broken.”

  Matt had a second of guilt before he pushed it away, recalling what his brother had done. He reached for the door, but Kyler, panting, called to him.

  “What are you going to do, Matt?”

  He looked around. Kyler had struggled to his feet, but he cradled his right arm in his left. Matt steeled his heart again his brother and grandmother. “I’m going to find her wherever she is if I have to rip this country apart.”

  “Matt, don’t do anything stupid.” His grandmother thought he would listen to her again. Not now, not ever.

  He turned and walked back over to them. Staggering, Kyler stepped in front of Margaret, and she stared at Matt wide-eyed and pale. He wasn’t so far gone as to attack an old woman, but he stopped several feet away from them as Kyler’s face wasn’t safe from his fist. If Kyler grew spiteful, he might press charges just to slow Matt down. He didn’t want to push his luck when he needed time to find Janae.

  Matt tugged his cell phone from his pocket and pulled up email. In his agitation, his fingers moved rapid fire over the keys. Seconds after he sent the missive, his grandmother’s cell phone dinged, and she checked it. Her gasp let him know she got is message.

  “You can’t be serious, Matthew. Think about what you’re doing. Is this woman worth it?”

  “Let me see,” Kyler said, and he read aloud. “This email will serve as my official resignation from my position as president of marketing. From this day forward, I am breaking all financial ties to the company. That means you will be hearing from my lawyer and accountant to settle properties wherein I hold joint stocks… Matt, you can’t mean any of this. You’re being too rash. Wait a day and think about the best course.”

  Matt ignored Kyler and focused on his grandmother. “When my grandfather died and you took over his business, I followed you without question because you’re a brilliant businesswoman. However, you’re also heartless. You don’t give a fuck about me or Kyler.”

  “That’s not true.” She pressed a hand to her chest as if she would faint. Matt refused to fall for it. Margaret was strong unti
l it suited her means to play the old delicate lady role. Too bad she wasn’t good at it.

  “You ignored Kyler and me as long as Granddad was alive. When he died, you started taking control, and I realized he stood between you and us all that time. I sometimes wondered how I would have turned out had our parents lived instead of dying in that plane crash. Doesn’t matter. I’m okay with the man I am.”

  “You’re a good man,” she tried, but he waved her off.

  “I know how you and Kyler see me, and I don’t care. What I am is not stupid. I invested in the company under my own company name, one that I own and has no connection to you.”

  Margaret’s eyes turned colder, and she stood straight. “You don’t think I knew that?”

  “Of course you did. I wasn’t hiding it. What it means is I don’t have to depend on you for my livelihood. I’m wealthy in my own right, but I no longer want to get funds from your company. You’ll hear from my lawyer to buy my stock.”

  “Matthew.” She started to move toward him, but Kyler held her back. “Don’t do this, son.”

  “I’m not your son,” he spat. “I’m going to find Janae. I’m going to hear from her lips that she doesn’t love me, and if I’m convinced she doesn’t I’ll let her go. But if there’s the smallest chance she cares, I will nurture that feeling until she loves me. Then I’ll make her my wife, and I dare either of you to get in my way. You will spend the rest of your life regretting it.”

  Matt left the office without looking back and was soon behind the wheel of his car and speeding down the highway. His next stop would be Janae’s father’s company. He knew where it was because he had picked her up on several occasions when she ran late at work. While he sputtered about hope and his plans to seduce Janae, a knot formed in his stomach, ripping him apart, and making him fear she was lost to him.

  He slammed a fist on the steering wheel, and the horn blasted the unsuspecting driver in front of him. The person beelined for the right lane, and Matt sped by. “I will find her!”

  A short while later, he parked outside Wilson Renovation Services. The door to the office banged the wall, making the secretary jump. He hadn’t meant to use so much force. Monique looked at him with eyes wide, and it was obvious by her frightened expression she knew why he was there.