She turned, remembered the towel on her head, and pulled it off, letting her wet hair tumble around her shoulders. “Hi,” she said. “You're early.”
“Am I? I think I may be late, actually,” he said, and Molly realized that he was not returning her smile. He just stood there, staring at her, his face expressionless.
“Is something wrong?” she asked, concerned.
“I wonder what you're getting ready for, exactly,” Jake said. “Dinner with me tonight? A television appearance tomorrow night?”
“Are we going on television?” Molly asked. He was acting very strangely, and she was getting an uneasy feeling.
“What I can't understand,” Jake said, “is how someone who hates me so much could hide it so well. Every time you looked me in the eye…were you actually thinking about how you were going to destroy me? Maybe you didn't have to hide it. I didn't notice a damn thing. I was in love with you.”
Molly's mouth fell open. “What, was?” she gasped. “What do you mean, was? Why didn't you tell me this before it was…was? You were in love with me, and I missed the whole thing?” Her knees suddenly felt wobbly. She stepped backward and sat down on the edge of the bathtub.
“Let me tell you a little bit about what you've done,” Jake said coldly. “Your vendetta isn't only going to hurt me. It's going to hurt every Berenger employee and every shareholder. You've been angry with me because you think I ruined your life? If our stock crashes because of this scandal, you'll have ruined the lives of thousands of people, none of whom ever did anything to you. But you didn't think about that, or maybe you just didn't care.”
“What scandal?” Molly demanded. She raised her hands to her mouth in sudden horror. There was only one scandal that she could think of, and if that had somehow happened, it was no wonder he thought she was behind it. “Jake! Is someone printing the truth about the engagement?”
“Someone is telling it,” he said and his eyes were full of blame. “You. I just heard a tape of your interview. Tom played it for me.”
Molly stared at him. “But I haven't given an interview in weeks! Not since the Grand opening. Where did Tom get this tape? How do you know it was me?”
“You think I don't know your voice when I hear it? Let me refresh your memory. ‘I'm tired of lies and deception. I'm done with that. I'm going to live on my own terms for a change.’ Very admirable, Molly. And you sure as hell are doing it, aren't you?”
All of the air rushed out of Molly's lungs, as if someone had just kicked her in the chest. “I said that,” she whispered. She had said it recently, but not in an interview. Not in any situation that she thought was an interview, at least. She remembered Carter's wadded-up green sweater, plopped so casually down on the breakfast table. It would have been easy for him to conceal his microcassette recorder in the folds.
“Oh, no,” she said in a small voice. “No. Why?”
Frantically, she tried to remember what else she'd said that morning. He had been asking her a lot of questions, and like a fool, she had answered. She had talked about the engagement, she knew. She didn't remember exactly what she'd said, but obviously it had been enough.
“It's Inside Edge, isn't it?” she asked, already knowing the answer.
“How much are they paying you?” Jake asked.
“Nothing! You have to believe me. I never talked to them. What you heard…” She stopped. She didn't know what he had heard. Parts of that conversation, but not the whole thing. She had told Carter that she wouldn't agree to talk to the press. She had told him that she was in love with Jake. Carter must have edited the tape and sent the news show only the parts that seemed to support the “inside” story that he was telling. His betrayal was overwhelming, and Molly felt weak with the shock of it.
And then, in a terrible flash of clarity, she realized something else. She took a trembling breath and looked Jake in the eye. “Tell me one thing,” she said. “Jake, it's critical that you tell me the absolute truth right now. Was it you who told the press that I wrote Pirate Gold?”
“No,” Jake said stonily. “It was not.”
Molly pressed her hand to her mouth and nodded. She believed him. Tears welled up in her eyes. “Of course you didn't,” she said. “I've been so stupid, and I'm so sorry. This will seem like a strange time for me to tell you this, but I've been in love with you, too. I still am.”
Jake recoiled. He didn't speak for a moment. Finally, he said, “You have a strange way of showing it. Here's my offer, Molly. Two million dollars. Tell your friend at Inside Edge that you invented the whole thing as a joke and you won't be appearing on the show. My lawyers will take it from there.”
“I don't want money,” Molly said urgently. “I'm not going on the show. I was never planning to—I didn't even know about it. Jake, that tape…whatever you heard…it was edited. It's not an interview. Carter taped me during a personal conversation, and he's the one selling the information to Inside Edge.”
Jake shook his head. “Sorry,” he said. “I'm not that gullible. Your friend Carter might also be involved in this, but that doesn't make you innocent. You two have a history of cooking up schemes together, and he couldn't pull this off without your help.” He paused, and then a humorless smile touched his mouth. “I just thought of something interesting. Remember last Sunday, when you told me that I shouldn't feel too happy about having tricked you over the construction at Dyer's Fortune, because you would have a surprise for me, one of these days?”
“Oh, my God,” Molly groaned. “No, listen, that wasn't—”
“Consider me surprised,” he said coldly.
“I was talking about the sugar estate! That's all. I found the proof that it belonged to Mary Morgan.”
“Great,” Jake said. “Hand it over to Atlas. They'll own it in a few weeks. They might be interested.”
The phone rang with the special sound that signaled the in-house intercom. Jake stepped into the bedroom to pick it up, and Molly took the opportunity to dash into the dressing room for her clothes. She put them on quickly, shaking out her wet hair, and then grabbed her coat and bag.
“Going somewhere?” Jake asked as she returned to the bedroom.
“Yes. I'm going to prove that I had nothing to do with this story,” Molly said staunchly. “And I'm going to stop it. Who was that on the phone?”
“Tom. He's coming up in the elevator.” Jake regarded her with narrowed eyes. “He's worried that I might do something unethical to keep you off the air. Make sure you say hello to him on your way out—it will ease his mind.”
CHAPTER 33
Downstairs in the lobby, Molly stopped by the bank of public phones and called Carter's room at the Plaza Hotel. She had already called him that morning and left a message asking if he wanted to meet for lunch. He had never returned her call, though, and now she thought she knew why. He had been too busy stabbing her in the back.
He picked up on the second ring. “Hello!”
“Carter?” Molly had to make an effort to keep her voice sounding normal. “Hi, it's me. I was wondering if you want to go out and get a drink.”
“Molly! Sure, yeah, I just finished with my meetings. Sorry about missing you for lunch—I have something big going on. Very big. I'll tell you about it later. Do you want to meet in the lobby bar?”
“I'll see you in a few minutes,” Molly said.
The Plaza Hotel was only a short taxi ride from the Berenger Grand, and when Molly walked into the crowded bar, she saw Carter sitting at a corner table, holding a snifter of something that looked like cognac.
“Busy day?” she asked, sitting down.
He nodded.
“What kind of meetings did you have?”
“Oh,” he said vaguely. “Vanity Fair, a couple of others…”
“Inside Edge?”
He looked startled, then wary. “Well…”
“Don't you dare lie to me, Carter,” Molly said. “I know what you did.”
“Oh,” he said, as if he
were a schoolboy who had been caught stealing candy. Then, to Molly's shock, he grinned at her. “Okay, so I thought it would be a good idea to approach them, right? Just to gauge the interest level, to see what the offer would be. No commitments, though—”
“They're breaking the story tomorrow,” Molly said through her teeth. “How does ‘no commitments’ fit into that? Don't try to tell me that you don't know about it. You taped me. You betrayed me!”
“No, no!” Carter said quickly. “I didn't betray you. We're splitting the money, just like we talked about. They're paying half a million for the story, and another two-fifty if you agree to do an in-depth interview next week. It's the best deal we're going to get, believe me. This is big! I know you had mixed feelings about going public—”
“Mixed feelings! I never had mixed feelings—I said no! How dare you do this, Carter! How could you? I trusted you. I thought you were my friend.”
“I am your friend. I know you're upset, and this is a little bit of a shock, but it's the best possible move, I'm telling you. I'm trying to look out for you. Otherwise, you'll walk away from this fake engagement with nothing, and that isn't fair. It isn't right.”
Molly fought back a wave of furious tears. The crowd of people around them made it necessary for her to keep her composure, which was exactly why she had wanted to meet Carter in the bar. In private, she might have tried to strangle him. It was not her safety that Tom Amadeo should be worrying about—it was Carter's.
“You aren't looking out for me at all,” she said. “You never were. You only care about yourself. That's why you told the press that I was Sandra St. Claire—it wasn't Jake who wanted to force me into agreeing to the fake engagement, it was you! You wanted the access, the scoop… you didn't care that you ruined my life in the process.”
“But I didn't ruin it,” Carter said. “Right? You never belonged at Belden, you said so yourself. But you weren't getting any closer to figuring that out; you were miserable, wasting your time clinging to the idea that you had to be an academic. I helped you figure out that you were really meant to be a novelist.”
“You helped me?” Molly repeated. She felt sick. Was he lying to her, or had he really deluded himself into believing that he had acted in the name of friendship?
“I know it was painful for a while,” Carter continued, “but it was the right thing to do. You're happy now! You should thank me. Not just any friend would have the integrity to risk the whole friendship to help you. I did, and it worked, right? So you should realize that you can trust me now. I know what I'm doing with Inside Edge. This is the right decision.”
“It is not,” Molly said. “And it wasn't your decision to make. None of the things you did ever had anything to do with my wishes. Even if I was making mistakes, it was my life! They were my mistakes! You had no right to interfere.”
“I made it better,” Carter said sulkily. “I don't see why you're mad at me.”
“Because I almost did something terrible to Jake because of your lies! And then, when I refused, you went ahead and did it yourself. You're going to destroy him, Carter! How can you justify that? He never did anything to you.”
Carter looked uneasy. “I told you, he's fair game. You're too emotionally wrapped up in the situation to have a clear perspective, but I do. He's using you. He doesn't love you, and he's not going to—”
“How do you know?” Molly demanded. She felt a hot surge of misery in her chest as she remembered what Jake had said. He had loved her. And now he believed that she had betrayed him. “How do you know that he doesn't love me?”
“Because you're not his type. I spent months researching him, remember?”
“Carter, I want you to stop the story. Call Inside Edge, and tell them that it was all a mistake.”
“I can't do that!”
“You have to do it.”
“No, no, Molly. You don't understand. In this business, you don't just hand someone a huge story, then grab it back. This is my whole career, this is everything. I have to go ahead with it. They're already getting the leaders ready—‘Tonight on Inside Edge, a shocking exposé of the truth about Jake Berenger, America's most controversial billionaire…'”
Molly exhaled slowly, trying to keep calm. She had to think clearly, had to come up with a way to stop him. “Is Elaine helping you?”
“Her?” Carter looked annoyed, as if his sister were a sore point. “I didn't even bother to ask. She's obsessed with the idea of getting you and Jake married. All she thinks about is her own reputation. Elaine is totally self-centered.”
Molly didn't even try to respond to that. She was just relieved to hear that Elaine was not also in on the scheme. There was only so much betrayal that she could handle in one day, and she already felt past her limit.
“Molly, listen,” Carter said. “You're all mixed up, and you don't know what's best for you, just like when you were at Belden. This deal is really good, and in April, when you're back in Chicago with me and Elaine, you'll be glad that you didn't just let Jake Berenger walk all over you. This is how the world works, believe me. You have to be strong, and take advantage of people who would do the same to you.”
Molly stared numbly at him. He couldn't use that argument to explain why he was taking advantage of her, so he'd told himself that he was helping her. It was an astonishing rationalization for his own ambition and ruthlessness.
She hesitated, as if she were mulling over his words, and then made herself nod slowly. “I don't know…” she said, feigning confusion. “Maybe you're right…”
“I am!”
“They would really pay more for an interview with me?”
“Definitely. And that's just the beginning. We can sell the detailed story to one of the tabloids, and then do a string of interviews, live, print, you name it. Molly, this could be big!”
It was an indicator of Carter's level of self-delusion that he didn't question her sudden change of heart. And why should he? He had convinced himself that his plan was a great idea, so it would be easy for him to think that he had convinced her, too.
“Carter, wouldn't it be even bigger if I went on the show with you tomorrow? And broke the story myself?”
His eyes widened. “It would be huge. You'd do that?”
Molly forced herself to smile at him, although her heart felt heavy and sad. So many losses, in such a short time. So many changes, and so many things that turned out so differently than I ever expected.
She nodded. “Yes. I'll do it.”
“They're going to be blown away,” Carter cried gleefully. He slapped the table, and his drink jumped. “I told them that I wouldn't be able to deliver you until next week.”
“Well,” Molly said. “Here I am.”
After Molly left Carter in the bar, she went to the Plaza's reception desk and paid for a single room at the hotel. Her luggage was all at Jake's apartment, but she didn't think it would be a good idea to go back there that night. She had her purse and her wallet, and she could manage without much trouble until the next day. If her plan worked, then by tomorrow night Jake would know that she had never meant him any harm. And if her plan didn't work…Molly pressed her lips together. It was a frightening prospect. If it didn't work, she didn't know how she would ever face him again.
She took her room key and went straight upstairs in the elevator. In the room, she sat down on the bed, picked up the phone, and called Elaine at home in Chicago.
“Molly, dear,” Elaine said warmly. “How nice to hear from you. Are you still in New York? How is Jake?”
“Not good,” Molly said. Briefly, and with as little emotion as possible, she explained to Elaine what Carter had done. There was a horrified inhalation on the other end of the line.
“No,” Elaine exclaimed. “He hasn't!”
“He has.”
“That snake! How could he? You do know that he's only my half brother? Oh, I cannot believe that he would do something like this.” Elaine paused. “Hmm,” she said. “Actual
ly, on second thought, I can believe it. But my shock is not the issue at hand. My dear, this is a crisis situation. Carter must be stopped.”
“I agree,” Molly said. “That's why I'm calling. I need your help.”
CHAPTER 34
“And we'll tell you the shocking story behind hotel tycoon Jake Berenger's recent engagement to professor-turned-best-selling-novelist Molly Shaw. Was it really true love? Or did something else motivate the handsome billionaire's very public announcement that he was finally settling down? Join us, tonight, for an exclusive live interview with Molly Shaw, and get the real…Inside Edge.”
“Feels like a funeral home in here,” Tom Amadeo said gruffly. “Do you mind if I turn on some lights?”
“Go ahead,” Jake said. He didn't care one way or another. A funeral home seemed like an appropriate atmosphere, since he was about to become a dead man.
It was just before eight P.M., and they were in Jake's apartment. Tom had been pacing the floor, and Jake was sitting on the couch and staring at the enormous plasma television screen mounted on the wall. A group of dancing oranges was singing about a new juice drink, but in a few moments, Inside Edge would go live.
They had spent the day trying to stop the story, and had been spectacularly unsuccessful. The show's producers had brushed off the lawyers' threats, and Jake had been unable to get through to Sandy Kertzman, the president of Fox television, who had never ignored his calls before. It all added up to one clear message: They had something good, and they knew it. The identity of that good thing became very clear with the first trailers for the upcoming show.
Molly.
The show's opening montage of busy newsroom shots filled the screen, and Jake felt a wave of nausea. Even at that moment, he couldn't quite believe what she had done. Last night, after Molly and Tom had both gone, he had lain awake in bed, going over the scene in the bathroom. He had replayed it again and again in his mind, analyzing it logically, emotionally, any way that might give him more information. He had almost believed her when she insisted that there had been no interview, and that she had had nothing to do with the news show. She had sounded so horrified, and so sincere.
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