Best Friend's Little Sister

by Riley Rollins

  I revved the engine, just as the light changed. No, it was hard as fuck to imagine what the hell Spence had been thinking… I turned the corner and headed into the parking garage. And all morning, there has been something else preying on my mind… something I couldn't quite place. Something just...wrong.

  It was more than the growing concern I'd had ever since Libby had told me she wasn't pregnant. It's rare for a woman to conceive on the first try. And she was young and healthy. I wasn't worried about her… But since she'd told me the test was negative, a deep fear, an older fear had been growing inside me.

  Elaine and I had tried for two years to have a child. She'd had frequent check-ups with her own doctor, always assuring me there was nothing wrong. No reason to think it had anything to do with her. She'd even demanded more in the divorce settlement as compensation because I hadn't given her the children I'd promised…

  I'd just told myself it was because we weren't meant for each other. Because I'd been so busy with work… and she'd had so many separate interests of her own. Neither of us had had much time to devote to each other. And long periods of time had passed without anything between us at all…

  It was all so different with Libby, from the very beginning. At first, it had been the most powerful attraction I'd ever felt in my life. But in no time, it had deepened into the kind of love I'd never even dared hope for. It was as if the feelings we shared were more than we could even contain within ourselves… that surely it was inevitable that it would blossom into a new life… a baby. The physical reality of our love…

  But it hadn't happened. And in all those years with Elaine, it hadn't happened either. The cruel words she'd spit at me so long ago came back to me now, and they shook me to the core.

  Did you ever think for one fucking minute that it just might be your fault…?

  Spencer was due in my office by nine. I threw back the last of my cold coffee and paced the room. It was grey outside, the sky sullen. It matched my mood, at least. I hated this fucking kind of thing.

  I'd looked over the severance papers, added a few notes of my own. I knew it was the only choice, to let him go, but something still nagged dully at the back of my mind. None of it made any sense. But Spencer had straightforwardly admitted to what he'd done. Forging a signature to meet a deadline. A deadline he'd already kept pushed back more than once…

  I could still see his face, white and damp. How his eyes had darted around the room. We needed a little more time, he'd said. It was my mistake. Only mine.

  And yet his eyes had rested on Elaine…

  She'd looked cool, poised… Not at all like a woman who was concerned for her friend, or even her own selfish interests in my company. Elaine had worn precisely the same expression as the day she'd told me she wanted out of our marriage, and that she wanted what she'd earned by staying… She had looked cold, calculating… satisfied…

  … We… needed more time, Spencer had said.

  We...

  He was sober, at least. And his suit was clean. But Spencer was still pale, and his hand shook as I handed him a cup of coffee.

  "I think you'll find it more than fair," I said, pushing the stack of papers across my desk. "I think it goes without saying… how unfortunate it is, for things to end like this." I leaned back. "I trusted you like family, Spence. All those years…

  In spite of everything, I can honestly say I'm sorry to see you go. I can't in good conscience offer you a reference… Hell," I dragged a hand through my hair. "It's only because I considered you family, that we're not pressing charges. That, and the fact that the merger went through successfully and neither company is in jeopardy now… But for Christ's sake, Spencer. What the fuck were you thinking? Where the hell did all those years of good judgement go…?

  I trusted you. All of us did."

  Spencer's hand shook until his coffee threatened to spill. He put it down and pulled awkwardly at his tie. I could see I was getting to him. So was his own fucking conscience…

  "We spent years building Mason back up from the ruins, Spence. You and I. We saved it, made it strong enough to survive into the next century. For Fletcher… for Vivian. For all of us.

  It made you a very rich man. With a secure future…," I paused, watching the nervous movements of his mouth. "You'd have never wanted for anything… I don't understand why, Spence. There won't be any consequences worse than you're facing now… I'm willing to do what I can to protect you…

  But only if you tell me the truth…"

  42

  Libby

  "Dr. Tiller's office, confirming your appointment tomorrow at ten," the receptionist sounded young and energetic. "She asked me to request you bring with you a list of any concerns, any unusual symptoms you've noticed in the last year. And any issues with family health history," she continued. "Mother, sisters, aunts… any relative who had issues with reproductive health or infertility." I caught my breath and there was a pause. "Did you have any questions?" she asked.

  "No… no. Nothing, thanks. Of course… I'll be there," I answered. "Thank you…"

  Sisters… or aunts… I'd never even thought about the possibility… It was only my mother I'd focused on… ever wondered about. And I knew virtually nothing about her, except that she'd been able to give birth to me…

  I wanted time. Time to consider all my options, time to weigh the benefits against the risks. The report on Dorothy was right upstairs, in a box at the top of the closet. What chance could there be, that it held any information that might help me become a mother. And Jack become a father. All I knew was that time was the one thing I didn't have. And that I owed it to Jack, to both of us, to do anything I could…

  I grabbed the phone and tapped the screen. "India?" My heart was pounding. "I need you…"

  "Are you okay, Libby? You sound funny… Is it something with the baby?" Her voice was so sweet, so concerned. I felt a lump in my throat. How had I never realized what an amazing and loyal friend she'd always been?

  "I'm fine. It's nothing like that," I swallowed hard. "All my life, I've tried not to ask anyone for help… I thought I could do it all on my own.

  There isn't a baby, at least not yet," The words were pouring out now. "But there's nothing I want more, India. Jack and I… it's real. We're real. I want us to have a baby more than anything," I stopped to press a cool hand against my forehead. "But there's something I need to do… and I don't know if I can do it alone…"

  "Are you sure you don't want Jack…?"

  "I'll tell him everything tonight, if there's anything to tell. But right now, I just want you…"

  "Then sit tight, sweetie. I'm on my way."

  I met her as she pulled into the drive. The rain had begun to slow and the sun was peeking through the low clouds. She wrapped her arms around me before she even spoke.

  "Talk to me," she said, once we were inside and Moki had given her a wet and thorough welcome. "No baby, yet? That's nothing so unusual." She smiled knowingly. "I kinda doubt it's for lack of trying…"

  I blushed from my hair to my toenails and she laughed. "I couldn't be happier, you know." She took my hand and gave it a long squeeze. "The day you and I first met, I thought about Jack." She shrugged her shoulders. "Call it a gift. But I wasn't the only one who saw…" She smiled slyly. "The whole family knew you were a perfect match… long before you two finally figured it out."

  Tears blurred my eyes and I wiped at them, overwhelmed. "I love him so much. I want to give him everything he needs… We want to be a family, India, although it still scares the shit out of me… the idea of being a real mother myself…

  What if I don't know how… if I don't have enough inside me to give…?"

  She smiled, so wise beyond her young years. "Then you lean on the people who love you, Libby. You have a family now, no matter what else happens from here on out. It's what we're here for, sweetie. There's no more alone for you. Not ever."

  "I love you, India," I whispered, hugging her close.

  "An
d I love you back. "Now," she wiped her own eyes and shook her hair back. "What am I out here for? I think you and Jack are all on your own with the business of making babies…"

  "He had someone look into my mother's past…"

  "I know… He told me. And I agreed it was the right thing to do."

  I nodded hard. "I wasn't going to read it. But there could be information in that report that I should know. Sisters, maybe. Medical history…" I bit into my lip. "If there's a chance something in there could help… I have to read it, India. No matter what I find out, I have to know." I picked up the envelope from the coffee table. "I just didn't want to do it alone."

  She smiled wide, her eyes still bright with moisture. "And you don't have to." She pulled out her phone. "You have no idea… the resources I've got available. We can take whatever information the letter gives, and go from there."

  I smiled back, my heart thumping hard in my chest. I slipped my thumb under the yellow flap. "Okay Dorothy… start talking…"

  Half an hour later, I leaned back heavily on the sofa. I licked dry lips, and handed the sheaf of papers over to India. She'd been silent the whole time, waiting. Patient, like her brother.

  She glanced through them, shifting them between her hands. "So… is there more here than you already knew?" She looked up. "I see a lot of dates, a few addresses… but does it tell you who she was… or where she is now?"

  "Last page… death certificate…" I closed my eyes. "She died just a few months after she gave me away."

  India shuffled through them again. "I can't make out what's listed as the cause," she said. "It looks like the ink was smudged. There's nothing else?"

  "Names of her parents… but this page here…" I showed her. "They're dead too.

  Even if she hadn't given me away, I'd have been orphaned anyway. There's no husband listed… There must not have been anyone left at all." I looked at India's kind, clear eyes. "She was just as alone as I was…"

  "Wait a minute…" India shuffled again. "There's a doctor's signature on this." She peered at the paper. "About as legible as you'd expect… But the name of the hospital is clear enough, right here in Asheville." She grabbed up her phone. "Even if the doctor's long gone, there are still records, Libby. And a chance that someone's still there who might remember something."

  "It was almost twenty-five years ago…"

  She tapped furiously on the screen. A few minutes later she handed the phone to me. "And nobody's getting any younger."

  43

  Jack

  "It's all here, in black and white," Dad said. "We don't know who, but how is fucking clear enough."

  Dad had interrupted us just at the point I'd thought Spencer was finally beginning to break. But instead, he retreated further into his chair, his lips pressed silently into a thin white line.

  "Huge chunks of Mason stock have been purchased over the last fifteen months. We knew it… prices had been heading up for some time…" He shook his head, looking suddenly very much his age. Reid and Blake came through the open doorway, their faces grim. "Different brokerage firms… only small amounts of stock at a time... "Dad put a hand on his chest. "It just seemed like the business was gaining strength, what with the merger coming… God help me, I didn't see. The purchases were so small, and spread over time… but when I realized how much they'd added up to…

  There's no way to know for sure how wide the shares are spread." He looked at me with dread in his eyes. "Or even if they are widespread."

  Blake stepped forward and eased Dad toward a chair. He stood behind him, a concerned hand on his sagging shoulder. "It's not anyone's fault," Blake said gently. "Hell, we don't know there's even a problem yet, not for sure.

  We all saw the same thing… our numbers were rising. It wasn't unexpected. Things were looking damned good… It was only when we added it up. Put the whole picture together." He looked at me pointedly. "If it was an individual… even a small group… and if they already had a large number of shares in the first place…"

  For a moment, it felt like the room had started to move around me. I was standing, but put a hand on the desk to steady myself. "You're telling me there's a chance we've lost controlling interest in our own company…? It's impossible. As a family, we own more than fifty one percent. Even if it was an individual who managed to buy up every other share, we'd still retain control." My mind was racing. "It would be damned near impossible for someone to get even forty percent… and no one could do it without inside help…" This couldn't fucking be happening...

  Ben entered the room, with Mom at his side. She went straight to Dad and put her arms around him. Her usually smooth brow was heavily creased, her hands fluttered around him nervously. I looked around the room at all the people I loved, who had all depended on me to keep Mason Steel alive and strong. I had a wife now and someday, god willing, a family of my own. There was no way in hell…

  "Warner on line one," Veronica's voice cut through on the intercom. "It's Mr. Wyler…"

  I swallowed hard against the cold, sick feeling in my gut. The room, which had been quiet before, was utterly silent now. I sat and picked up the receiver.

  For ten long minutes, I listened. I nodded silently, jaw clenched and aching. Every eye in the room was on me, and none of us were breathing. Bill wasted no time. Neither did I.

  "We did," I answered him. "Only just now… and yes… precisely the same. I swear on my honor as a Mason, this isn't going to happen. Not for either of us." I met the eyes of everyone in the room. Everyone except for Spencer.

  I hung up the phone and crossed the room to where he sat. I looked down at him. He didn't have the fucking guts to stand, to even face me. "It's not just Mason Steel," I said evenly. "Warner's been bought up too… same thing. Small amounts of stock purchased over time. Spread out, so it wouldn't attract attention too quickly." I had to work to draw a deep breath, to calm myself.

  "I said I'd try to protect you, if you told me the truth. I meant it, Spencer." I kept my voice low, in spite of the anger raging inside. "Maybe I still do…"

  He looked up, the corner of his eye twitching. "I tried to, boss. So many times I wanted to…" He licked at dry lips. "I just wanted everybody to be happy. I didn't think it through… I never thought it all the way through…"

  He looked toward the window, his expression almost blank. He was quiet, and for a moment it seemed as if he'd forgotten us all.

  "It didn't seem so wrong. Just small amounts at first… But then more and more… I was nearly bankrupt by the end… but still, it wasn't good enough… Nothing was ever good enough. She just kept asking for more time… promising we could have more than just a friendship… I was such a goddamn fool.

  And all the time… all the time, she was just playing me…"

  I knelt down, forcing him to face me. He looked ill, broken. I put my hand on Spencer's thin shoulder. "You told me that ‘we' needed more time…

  Who did you mean, Spencer…

  when you said we?"

  44

  Libby

  "All I know is something must be pretty damned bad," India said, dropping her phone back in her bag. "Ben is hard to rattle, but I couldn't get him to tell me over the phone. He just said to get into the city asap, and you too." She dug out her keys. "I guess we'll find out when we get there." Five minutes later, with Moki safely tucked into her puppy-proof playpen, we were heading for the highway.

  I held my phone in my hand, my stomach tilting and squeezing with nerves. I'd already tried to call Jack, but it had only gone to voicemail. I was afraid, truly afraid for him. I'd seen the look on his face when he'd left. The haunted look in his eyes… I'd wondered if there was more to that look than only his concern for the company.

  "So… what did the hospital say?" India looked at me sideways as she drove. She'd taken Ben's call outside as I'd been taking to the administrator.

  "The doctor who signed the death certificate passed away last year," I said, rubbing a hand over my stomach. "It's a ch
arity hospital, with a lot of turnover… But there might still be a nurse who was employed when Dorothy was there." Her name still sounded foreign on my tongue.

  "It's such a long shot," I sighed. "Even if she had been working there when my mother died… it doesn't mean they ever met. Or even that the nurse would remember." I chewed my lip absently.

  "So do you have her name? A number, at least? Any chance is better than none."

  "They couldn't give it out," I replied. "But they said they would give her my number." I thumped the phone against my thigh. "There's nothing I can do now but wait… and hope to hell she calls me back."

  The tension in the room made it instantly clear. Something was wrong. Really and terribly wrong.

  India went to her mother. I went straight to Jack's side. The entire family was present, but no one spoke, no one even noticed when we entered the room. All eyes were on one man. At the wedding, he'd been charming enough… impeccably dressed. I almost didn't recognize him now.

  "Spencer," Jack drew the word out, his voice smooth, almost seductive. "You wouldn't have done this on your own. I know you… I've trusted you for years." He was kneeling at the man's feet, speaking to him as if he were a child. "We all know it wasn't you," Jack continued. "You've been loyal to Mason… everyone in this room knows that.

  Tell us whose idea it was, buying up stock in both Mason and Warner… trying to take control of them both. You may have helped them do it, Spence, but this wasn't you. I know it… and I'm trusting you to come clean with me now."

  As he was speaking, India had discreetly shifted the rest of us toward the back of the office. Jack and Spencer were alone by the windows. I could tell Jack was holding his breath.