Focus: Exposure Series Book Two

by Jocoby, Annie

  “I don’t like doing that,” she said. “CJ went through absolute hell trying to get past that. I just can’t imagine what she’s going to do now. How she is going to feel when she finds out about it. But I really don’t want to lie to her, either. I feel that she needs to know.”

  I put my hand on Scarlett’s shoulder. “I agree with you. But if her doctor feels that she’s not yet strong enough to hear this, then maybe we should believe him.”

  Scarlett shook her head. “I hate doing this. I hate it, but, yet, I know that it is probably necessary.” She looked up at me. “And what are you going to tell her about yourself?”

  “I’m going to be truthful. Dr. Bristow thought that this is the best course of action for this particular point. There’s no point in covering up who I am, and, hopefully, she can accept me and I can take care of her and make sure that she gets well. I’m anxious to keep visiting her and really making sure that she knows that I’m in her corner.”

  She nodded her head. “You’re going to be there for her, I know that. But are you going to ask her to stay with you?”

  “No,” I said. “That would be too much change for her. It would make her feel too uncomfortable. But I will be around her as much as I can be.”

  Both Scarlett and I turned to the doctor. “I’m assuming that you’re going to be one who is going to tell her that the year is 2015, and that she’s no longer in school. Scarlett and I can fill in the rest of the details. Aside from the most important detail, of course.”

  The doctor nodded. “And I’m going to have to run more tests on her as well. I will have to run a CAT scan and an EEG.”

  “I’m going to be here,” I said. “To help her recover in the hospital. Is there anything else that needs to be done besides more tests?”

  “That remains to be seen,” he said. “I will definitely let you know after these tests are run. In the meantime, if you don’t mind waiting in the waiting room, that would be much appreciated. I can have CJ taken to get these tests, and I’ll let you know the results of them.”

  Scarlett and I made our way to the waiting room after the doctor told us that he was going to take CJ in for tests.

  Scarlett folded her arms, and, just like that, she started to cry. I put her head on my shoulder. “It’s going to be okay, Scarlett. CJ will hopefully recover her memories.”

  “What if she doesn’t? She’s going to have to eventually be told what happened to her brother. She’s going to have to go through all of that all over again. And we need to lie to her until she’s strong enough to hear it. She might never forgive us if we go along like everything is fine. She already is asking about her family, and why they weren’t there at her bedside. What are we going to tell her when she keeps asking about them?”

  I took a deep breath. I, too, was worried about the same thing as Scarlett. I was more than worried. I had anxiety about it. I could see the wisdom in not telling CJ about what had happened until she had a chance to heal. I really did. But that didn’t make it any easier. I didn’t want to lie to her, anymore than Scarlett did.

  “We’re going to have to make something up,” I said. “We’re going to have to tell her that her mother didn’t know about her accident, which is why she wasn’t there.”

  Scarlett shook her head. “She saw her family every single week before all of that happened. Every week. She was very close with them. And she adored Nathaniel. What are we going to say to her when she announces that she’s going over to her mother’s house, just like she always did?” She bit her lip, and stared into the distance. “This isn’t going to work, Asher. We need to tell her.”

  “I know that we need to tell her, and we are going to tell her. I promise you, we will tell her. But not yet. Not until her doctors tell us that it’s okay to tell her.”

  Several hours later, Dr. Bristow came to get us. “CJ is asking for the both of you,” he said. “And she’s asking about her mother as well.”

  I sighed. This was going to be difficult. “What do we tell her about her mother?”

  “Stall her somehow,” he said.

  So, the two of us went into her room. She was sitting up on the bed, mindlessly staring at the television set. She was flipping channels with her remote. Then she saw the two of us, and her face lit up.

  “Scarlett,” she said. And then she looked shyly at me. “And Asher.” She looked down, but her face was completely red. Her hands were shaking just a little. “Asher, I need to talk to you alone.”

  I nodded, and Scarlett left the room.

  CJ folded her hands on her stomach, and looked up at me with wide, innocent eyes. “The doctor said that I would have to ask you about who you are.”

  I took a deep breath. “I’m your boyfriend,” I said. “We’ve been together for about six months or so.”

  She looked like she didn’t quite believe me. “Really?” She cocked her head and gestured her hands from me to her rapidly. “You and me?”

  I smiled. “Yes, you and me.”

  She smiled, big. “Wow. When I woke up, I thought I was still dating Donny.” She shook her head. “Can I just say that I’m glad that’s not the case?”

  I smiled, in spite of myself. “And why is that?”

  “Well, Donny and I weren’t exactly getting along very well. He’s kind of an immature boy. But you…” She shook her head and looked slightly embarrassed. “You’re like a man. And can I say that you’re a very handsome man at that?”

  “Well, thank you,” I said.

  She cocked her head again. “So, Asher, tell me about yourself.”

  I took a deep breath. I had no idea how much I should tell her right off the bat. If the news of her brother was going to crush her, to the point where she would have a hard time recovering, how would she receive the news that I was in the Russian mob? Yet, I knew that I had to tell her about it, because I had decided, once and for all, that she and I were going to be together for good. So, she was going to have to meet my father and get his blessing.

  And I didn’t want to lie to her this time. It was different last time, because, well, I didn’t think that I was going to be serious about her. It was all fun and games at first. There was no need for her to really know about my past. But, this time was going to be different. I was going to have to be open and honest about everything, and then face the fallout from all of that disclosure.

  “I’m the CEO of Sloane Industries,” I began, and her eyes lit up.

  “Oh my God,” she said. “You do such good work around the world. I’m really into the environment and alternative energy, and I have so admired your company for the longest time.” She smiled, big. “When I get out of school, I would like to do things, too, to really help change the world. I would really love to cover events with my camera, and really bring light to things that are in the dark to most people.”

  I took a deep breath. “Dr. Bristow is supposed to tell you these things, and he will. But this isn’t 2013. You’re not in school right now. You’ve graduated, and you’ve been working as a photographer. In fact, you were working with the homeless right before this accident happened.” I left out the abduction, of course. I hoped that this particular incident didn’t have to come up. “You were living amongst the homeless, because you were assigned to do a photo essay on them. So, you were living your dream, CJ. You were beginning to help change the world.”

  She looked happy about this. “I, I was? I was doing good work? I mean, it’s a bit of a shock to know that I’m not in school anymore. Just like it’s a huge shock to know that there are two years that I just have no recollection of. But it’s really nice to know that I’m really doing good things with my camera. I was afraid that I would end up being a part of the paparazzi or something useless like that.”

  I tried to suppress a smile when she said that. “Yes, CJ, you’re doing good things with your camera. And you probably will keep doing good things with it.”

  “Okay. Well, that’s a plus.” Then she looked shy. “Tell m
e more about our relationship. You and me.”

  I smiled, and softly took her hand. “CJ, you and I were involved in an erotic relationship for awhile.” I also knew that I should tell her about the Sophie thing, because she might find out about all of that from Sophie herself.

  I put out of my mind that the whole thing involving Sophie’s unborn child, and how I would have to claim that I was the father. That was going to have to be something that would be brought to light at a later time.

  She nodded. “I don’t believe you,” she said. “You’re too good-looking, and if you’re a CEO, that means that you’re wealthy as well.” She looked down at her hands, which were covered by my own. “I would never be with somebody like you. Somebody put you up to this. Was it my mother? She likes to play practical jokes sometimes.”

  “Believe me, CJ. We started out…having fun. And then I asked you to pose as my fiancée. We had a blow-up after that, because I hurt your feelings.” I shook my head. “I’m still sorry about that.”

  She looked perplexed. “Well, I forgive you. I don’t remember that happening, of course, but it sounds kind of wrong for you to do that. And what do you mean, we started out having fun?”

  “It started out pretty physical, and we had a lot of sex.” I was wandering off into dangerous territory, and I knew it. She was going to want to know how we met, and, if I told her that she had a panic attack and ended up passing out on the sidewalk, she was going to wonder why she had the panic attack. “And that’s all it was at first.”

  “We had a no-strings sexual relationship at first?” She shook her head. “Sounds like me. Sometimes. I mean, I’m not a slut or anything. But I have had a few one-night stands. But never with somebody like you.” Then she took a deep breath. “So, how would I meet somebody like you? You don’t seem the type who would be picking up women in a bar. But, then again, you never know, right?”

  I was uncomfortable, as I prepared to tell her the first lie. “Yes, actually, we did meet in a bar.” That was all I said.

  She seemed to accept that. “Okay. So, you and I started out just having sex, and then you asked me to pose as your fiancée. Then what happened?”

  I shifted in my seat. I couldn’t tell her about her stay in the mental hospital, either. That was all connected to Nathaniel’s death.

  This was going to be extremely difficult.

  “Well, I ended up falling in love with you. For real.”

  She looked like she didn’t quite believe me. “Really?” She looked around the room. “Again, come clean about this. Did somebody put you up to this?”

  “No,” I said. “But there was something else about me that you found out about, and I need to come clean with you about it.”

  “Okay,” she said. “Go ahead.”

  “My past…I was born in Russia. I lived there until I was 18. When I was younger than 18, I was a part of the Russian Mafia. My father is a Godfather of one of the most powerful syndicates in that country. That isn’t who I am anymore, by any means. I’m a legitimate businessman in this country. But I do have a dangerous past, and the only reason why I haven’t been targeted in this country is because my father is protecting me. Nobody will touch me, because they know that if they do, my father’s syndicate will wipe them out.”

  It felt good to get all of that out. I realized that I actually had a chance for a fresh start with her, with no lies about my past coming between us.

  She looked startled. “Oh my God. I…don’t know what to say about that.” Then she looked down at her hands again. “What does that mean for you and me?”

  “Well, I’ll be honest with you. We broke up over that. You didn’t know that about me, and I was hiding that from you, because, at first, I wasn’t serious about you. Then, after I realized that I was in love with you, I didn’t know how to tell you about it. So, I chose to keep quiet. But I was outed by a woman who recognized me, and I had to tell you the entire truth. I decided to end it, because I wanted to protect you.”

  She took a deep breath. “Okay. So, we can’t be together because of your past?”

  “Not my past. My present. There are men who would like to get to me. They don’t make a move because of my father. I was afraid that you would start asking questions and these questions would lead you to find out about my actions in Russia. And that could put you into danger, because you can’t know these things. If you did, you would be targeted by the same men who want me dead.” I took a deep breath, and massaged her hand. “But I’ve made a decision, CJ. I would like us to be together. You’re going to have to meet my father for that to happen, though, because he will be the one who will protect you from all dangers.”

  She was trying to absorb all of this, but she was having a problem with it. “I’m so sorry, this is a lot for me to take in right now. You and I were together, and then we weren’t together, because you were in the Russian mob. And now you’re saying that you want us to go ahead and be together, and that you can protect me, but only if I meet your father?”

  I nodded my head. I didn’t want to go into the whole Russian Orthodox thing that my father has insisted upon. I had hoped that my father had loosened this particular restriction, in light of the fact that I, myself, had given up that religion a long, long time ago. When Anton and my mother died, I decided, then and there, that there was no God. And if there was one, I was very angry with Him, because I prayed and prayed and prayed for my mother to get better. I felt like nobody was listening to me. So, I gave up religion, in general, from that moment on.

  She still looked disbelieving. “Bring Scarlett back. I need to talk to her.”

  I went out to get Scarlett, and she came in with me.

  “Scarlett,” CJ said. “Is this really my boyfriend, here? Or did somebody hire a particularly good-looking actor to come in here and play a joke on me?”

  Scarlett took a deep breath. “Well, here’s your answer, right here,” she said, getting out her phone. She typed in the words “Asher Sloane” in her Google, and then showed her the images that popped up for this.

  CJ looked at the images, and then looked at me. “Well, okay, you are who you say you are at least. I know now that you’re not an actor.”

  I chuckled. “No, not an actor.”

  Then she looked at Scarlett. “Okay, so he is Asher Sloane, CEO of Sloane Enterprises. But is he my boyfriend?”

  “Yes,” she said, looking at me. “But…”

  “I told her about us breaking up,” I said.

  She nodded. “Yes, then. He was your boyfriend, and then you guys broke up.”

  CJ looked like she was finally believing that she and I were in love. “Boy,” she said softly. “I hit the jackpot there, didn’t I?”

  I laughed and kissed her forehead softly.

  Then CJ kind of leaned back in the bed. “I really hate to do this to the both of you, but, just out of the blue, I feel exhausted.”

  “I understand,” I said to her. “Scarlett, let’s leave for now.”

  At that, Scarlett and I left.

  By the end of the week, CJ was given the all-clear from her doctor to be released from the hospital. She had been asking, every day, about her family, but Scarlett and I both avoided the issue. Her doctor wanted to run tests, and give her a complete physical. Only when it was determined that she was strong enough to go home would we be cleared to tell her the truth about all of that.

  When CJ was going to be released, however, her doctor took me aside and told me that the time had come for her to know the truth. “It’s time,” he said. “To tell CJ the entire truth about what happened to her younger brother.”

  My heart started pounding. How was I going to break that to her? She would be devastated, beyond devastated. She might even go back into seclusion.

  “Can we wait?” I asked. Scarlett was in the room with me. “I just don’t want her to relapse. When it happened, she was so devastated that…”

  Scarlett nodded. “CJ didn’t leave the house in six months. She w
as in the mental hospital twice over it.” She took a deep breath. “Now we’re at square one.”

  “I understand,” the doctor said to us. “You are naturally concerned that CJ is going to have a problem accepting this. Especially since she somewhat played a role in the child’s death. But, unfortunately, telling her is going to have to be done, sooner, as opposed to later. Her tests show that she is on the road to recovery. She’s physically strong, and there is no damage to her cognition or other vital brain function. Her memory, of course, has been damaged. That might or might not heal itself in time. There is no reason not to tell her at this juncture about her brother.”

  I took a deep breath. “The longer we wait, the more it’s going to hurt.”

  Dr. Bristow nodded. “Yes. Now, this information is going to have to come from the two of you. It will be easier that way than if I decided to tell her.”

  I sighed. That was the one thing that I wanted to keep from her.

  How was I going to tell her?

  Scarlett and I were going to have to have a talk about how to tell CJ about her brother. She was going to need to know everything, of course, about what happened.

  “Let me tell her,” Scarlett said. “Right now, you’re more or less a stranger to her. I mean, I know that you’ve been seeing her here every day, and she certainly is warming up to you. But she remembers me. She knows who I am. Let me tell her.”

  I nodded. I did see the wisdom in Scarlett breaking the news to CJ, to tell the absolute truth. “Okay. You tell her.”

  “I will,” she said in a small voice. “When we get home, I’ll break the news to her.”

  That much was decided between the two of us. Which relieved me in a way. I dreaded, absolutely dreaded to tell her about her brother.

  Then we went into the room, and prepared CJ for going home with Scarlett.

  Chapter 23