by Lexy Timms
It was the front of one of the tabloid magazines. The words ‘Liar, Liar, Pants On Fire’ was strewn across the front. Then there, in the middle of the page, was a picture of Jimmy and me holding hands on the beach. It was a close-up, digital photograph of the highest quality.
Tears sprang to my eyes as I slammed myself into my office. I couldn't believe it. Someone had perched on the side of the fucking beach and stalked us while we were trying to take some time for ourselves. I slammed the door behind me and pressed myself against it, shielding everyone from my tears. I was tired of holding them back.
I slid to my knees as I clutched the picture to my chest. A wonderful set of moments between Jimmy and me, obliterated because some money-hungry paparazzi wanted a picture of us that desperately. Tears dripped onto my thighs as I leaned heavily on the door.
I felt weaker than I ever had in my life.
Was being with Jimmy worth it? Was this the life we were going to lead from now on? Was I going to lose my job over this? Surely the board would call for it. They would tell Jimmy to get rid of me, and he would have to in order to save his company, in order to do the one thing I accused him of not doing because he was too focused on me.
Shit.
If it wasn’t one thing, it was another. I turned around and pressed my back to the door, pulling my knees to my chest. There was always something trying to hurt our image or Jimmy’s image or the company’s image. So what if we were together? Who cared? This company was roaring with success, and we provided outstanding luxury services to a plethora of clients.
Who cared who was screwing who?
I wasn’t sure if I could do this. I knew if I picked up my phone, the tabloids and the media would be ripping me to shreds. Not Jimmy, because he was a man. A virile billionaire who could lay his seed wherever he wanted. But the homely, quiet accountant? I’d be a whore. A bitch. A money-hungry boss fucker who sucked her way to the top. He would be praised, and I would be ostracized, and people would jeer at me on the street like they were in the office this morning.
It was out in the open because someone wanted to profit off our picture.
I reached up to lock my door and put all my calls on hold. I sat at my desk, my tears dripping onto the picture. I didn’t know what to do. I knew we couldn’t continue like this, but I’d walked away from the past weekend with so much hope. I thought things were okay and that we were going to be able to get running in the right direction. Not even twenty-four hours later, I was slapped with the reality that we might not be okay. I might not be able to be with the man I still loved.
I saw my phone lighting up even though it wasn’t ringing in the office. I tossed the front page of the magazine onto my desk and decided to ignore the call. I didn’t want to pick it up and talk to whoever was on the other end. It was probably some reporter trying to hound me for a quote or ask me what it was like to suck my boss’s cock for money. I didn’t want to deal with it.
Until I saw it light up again.
I peeked out my window and glanced over at Jimmy’s office. His door was open. He had his phone to his ear, and he was staring at my door. I reached for the phone and picked it up, holding it to my ear as I tried to gather myself.
But the second I drew in a deep breath, he knew what was going on.
“Please don’t cry,” he said.
“What would you rather me do? Burn down the building?” I asked.
“Don’t do that, either. That would be a mess I couldn't clean up.”
“That makes me think you still feel like you can clean this one up.”
“I’m working on it,” he said. “Are you okay?”
“No. No, Jimmy. I’m not okay. I haven’t taken a look at any of the other magazines, but I’m sure they’re doing what they did before, ripping us to shreds and calling me some version of an office whore.”
“That’s one way to put it,” he said.
“Are you trying to make me feel better?”
“No. I’m trying to talk to you on how we can make this better.”
“Maybe we can’t, Jimmy.”
His eyes found mine through the small part of the unfrosted glass sitting next to my door.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“Maybe this can’t happen between us.”
“You don’t mean that.”
“I wish I didn’t, but what if it’s true?” I asked. “What if we really can’t be together because they’ll slaughter us every time we are?”
“The only reason they’re doing this is because of the scandal going on with my company.”
“And why did they do it the first time? Because I’m pretty sure they found out about it so you could try and dig me out of that issue the first time around.”
“Honestly, I don’t know, but losing you isn’t an option, Ashley. Not again.”
“Do we get options with something like this?” I asked.
“I’ll create them. That’s what I’ve always done in my life, created options I could choose from.”
“You said that was a private beach where no one would find us because they weren’t allowed. And now, we’ve been outed.”
“So let’s stay out,” he said.
“What?” I asked.
“Let’s stay out. Maybe we should have said we did have something going on. Every single article is now reaming me on lying to the press. What if we had come clean in the first place?”
“We can’t turn back time, Jimmy.”
“But we can admit it now.”
“Jimmy, we just got our feet back on solid ground. We’re taking things slowly, remember?” I asked.
“All I know is I want to be with you, and if going to the press and telling them we’re together gives me that, then I’m willing to do it.”
“Then what about me? What about what I want?”
“I’m asking you now. What is it you want?”
My eyes gazed into my lap as I played with the cord of the phone. My mind was spinning at a thousand miles a second, and I could see someone standing outside my office. I tensed up in my chair and prepared myself for a fight, but Jimmy’s voice settled me down.
“It’s only Ross. He’s waiting for us to finish up so he can give you something.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“Balance sheets.”
“That my responsibility now?”
“Until we can prove to the investors no other mysterious transactions are being made, yes,” he said.
“Tell Ross to slip them under my door.”
I watched the file folder appear from underneath the doorway before he walked away. I watched his body through the small sliver of unfrosted glass as I sank back into my seat. Life went on. That was the lesson surrounding all of this. Life went on, and if I allowed the circumstances of my life to control my actions, then I would never be happy. I would always be chasing after the next space of relief instead of an everlasting happiness.
But Jimmy’s company couldn’t tank over this. I was going to make sure that didn’t happen.
“I’m sorry for all this,” Jimmy said. “I should’ve kept an eye out on the corners of the road.”
“This isn’t your fault. It’s a series of very unfortunate events that have careened way out of control,” I said.
“I’ll hold a press conference later and try to drain the heat off you again.”
“I don’t think that’s smart. If you lied in one press conference, they’ll be prepared for you to lie in another one. They’ll dissect your every word for weeks to come.”
“But they won’t be talking about it.”
“Which does no one any good if this company goes under for it. Look, when the time is right, we’ll tell people. Okay? But for now, we need to wait until the heat from this fraud wears off. If anything, hold a press conference about that, but there’s too much going on right now to focus on the immediate threat. Play the game a few steps ahead, Jimmy. It’s the only thing that’s going to save your company.�
�
I looked back up at him through the glass, and I sighed. I held the silent phone to my ear as Jimmy’s gaze held mine. His beautiful blue eyes and his stoic face. I was in love with that face. And the man attached to that face.
“I know you’re right,” Jimmy said.
“So no press conference?”
“Does this mean you’re staying with me? At least a little while longer?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said. “It does.”
“Then no press conference. I’ll wait until the heat dies down off this fraud issue with Markus, and then we’ll go from there.”
“And in the meantime, if we want time together, we’ll keep it under wraps. We won’t flaunt it, but we won’t intentionally try to hide it.”
“I can do that,” he said.
“Take a deep breath, Jimmy. We’re going to get through this.”
“I never thought I’d hear you say those words to me again.”
I could hear the sadness in his voice, sadness laced with regret. I closed my eyes and felt my jaw quivering, but I wasn’t going to lose it over the phone. I wasn’t going to cry in this office full of idiots.
“I’ll talk with you soon, okay?” I asked.
“Have a good day, Ashley,” he said.
I worked through my day as best as I could, and then I made my way home. I didn't stop by Jimmy’s office or try to go out of my way to see how he was doing. People’s eyes were all over me, and everywhere I turned, someone was taping another front-page article of me to my door. Of course, they weren’t doing it to Jimmy, but me? Oh, yeah. But I ripped every single one of them down and made sure everyone saw me throwing it in the trash can.
I walked into my apartment with Cass sitting on my couch. She had a piping hot pizza sitting on the coffee table, and Chipper was in her arms. She turned around as my purse dropped to the floor, and I stumbled into her arms as she shot up to catch me.
“I don’t know what to do,” I said as I cried into her. “I don’t know what to do anymore.”
“I wish I could tell you,” Cass said. “I wish I had all the answers to your problems right now.”
“They’re slaughtering us.”
“I know.”
“It’s everywhere.”
“I know.”
“I love him, Cass. He’s hurting, and I love him, and I can't do anything about his pain.”
She clutched me in her arms as Chipper ran around our feet. We sat down on the couch, the smell of pizza filling my apartment. Chipper climbed onto my lap and nestled into me, trying to provide me with some sort of comfort.
“You really love him?” she asked.
“I really do,” I said with a sniffle.
“Then you have to stand by him. No matter what comes or what’s thrown your way, the two of you have to get through this together.”
“I have no idea how to deal with something like this,” I said.
“Neither do I, but I know you. I know at least one time today, you’ve questioned whether or not to walk away from him. If you love Jimmy, don’t.”
I pulled away from my best friend as her hands cupped my cheeks. Her thumbs wiped at my tears as Chipper nuzzled underneath my hand. I sighed and closed my eyes, allowing my nostrils to fill with the sweet scent of dinner.
“Now, we’re going to sit here with this lemonade I made and this pizza I ordered, and you’re going to tell me all about this secret weekend,” Cass said.
“I don’t know if I—”
“Just the good stuff. None of the bad. Something happened with you two this weekend because you’re openly admitting how you feel about him. That’s huge. And I want to know what happened. But not only that, you need to remind yourself that this was a good weekend. Despite what you walked back into this morning, it was a good weekend. You can’t let someone take that from you. You have to be stronger than that.”
“I’m tired of being strong, Cass. I’m strong for Mom, and I was strong for the investors. Now, I have to be strong for Jimmy. Who’s going to be strong for me?”
“I am,” she said. “Then when Jimmy pulls himself together, he will be. He’s allowed to break down and lean on you, so long as he does the same when it’s your turn.”
“We had a fabulous weekend,” I said breathlessly.
“Then take this slice of pizza, and tell me how it went.”
Chapter 17
Jimmy
“So, thanks for telling the FBI before you told me,” Trish said.
“What can I say? They cornered me at my home,” I said.
“Don’t worry about it. What’s done is done. I got that snarky as hell FBI agent transferred off this case. He was really pushing the idea that you were intentionally covering this up.”
“Well, thanks for that,” I said.
“However, his idea has tainted some other officers on the case, which makes this trickier than usual.”
“Of fucking course, it does.”
That seemed to be the motto for every damn day of my life.
“The plea bargain has been thrown out the window with all of this new information, which means this will go to trial, but trial for things like this is a long, drawn-out process.”
“I know, but he needs to pay for what he’s done to my company and to others.”
“The FBI is starting to branch out. With proof he forged your signature and was investing on behalf of your company without your knowledge, who knows how many pies this man had his hands in? They’re digging into every possible avenue, but the digging itself could take months.”
“Great,” I said. “Just what I need.”
“With men like him, there are always more. But here are the important points. Right now, Markus has fled Canada. Right now, there’s no reason to suggest he’s left the continent. The assets in his name are frozen, and the assets in his girlfriend’s name have been drained. The FBI are looking into assets he might’ve put in his mother’s name as well as his previous wife’s name, but they aren’t coming up with anything.”
“Which means?”
“There’s a good chance he’s still in the States.”
“I thought he went back to Canada, though.”
“That FBI agent didn’t tell you much, did he?” she asked.
“Nope. He was too focused on the fact that I was with Ashley.”
“Well, that’s a nice bomb to drop on me. Thanks. I would’ve been focused on that too.”
“Get over it. We deserve to be happy.”
“Not arguing that point. How do you keep screwing things up? Anyway, back on topic. Markus went back to Canada until he figured out the federal authorities there were cooperating with us, which meant he had as much of a chance to end up in prison here as he did in Canada. So he fell off the face of the map.”
“Wait, he disappeared?” I asked.
“The FBI have him traveling in a stolen rental car back over the border into the US, but no one has picked him up on any cameras in any of the airports.”
“I can’t keep up with all this shit. Are they going to get him back into custody or not?” I asked.
“I’ll keep you updated on that as it happens. That’s where they are right now. Given that other companies are starting an uproar over all of this, I’m sure it won’t be long before someone somewhere turns him over. Madoff couldn’t hide from this, and neither can Markus.”
“What do you need from me?” I asked.
“Exact numbers. I need Ross and Ashley to get me and the FBI exact numbers to the penny of what he took. No rounding off, no splitting hairs. From as far back in Big Steps and all your sub-companies as you can go. The more clear-cut proof we have that doesn’t require the jury to wade through calculations and scribbles, the better off we are in court.”
“Done,” I said.
“I’m serious. Not having those numbers in a clear, concise format with easy-to-read proof could get this entire thing thrown out, Jimmy.”
“Ashley and Ross will be on it. I
promise. I’m not letting this asshole walk,” I said. “I’ll keep in touch.”
My lawyer got up and walked out of the room, but I wasn’t alone for long. Soon, the investors started piling in, every single fucking one of them. I furrowed my brow as they all sat down around me, taking up the space at the table they’d just been at a few days prior.
“Is there a meeting I’m forgetting about?” I asked.
“We need to talk, Sheldon.”
“About what?” I asked.
“About where our money’s going and what's happening with this investigation.”
“Miss Ternbeau is working on your monthly PDF documents this week. You’ll have them in your inbox the same time as you always do,” I said.
Then, Mr. Matthews slid one of the tabloid papers across the table at me.
“Care to explain this?” he asked.
“That would be me and Ashley holding hands on a beach,” I said.
“You told the media the two of you weren’t together,” he said.
“In order to spare her reputation, yes.”
“You lied to the media. When were you going to come clean to us that our personal accountant was your mistress?”
“First off, she’s not a mistress. She’s my girlfriend. Secondly, I was going to wait until the head of this fraud died down before Ashley and I went public with our relationship.”
“So you are with her.”
“Yes, I am,” I said.
“Jimmy, this doesn’t look good, and you know it,” an investor said.
“This is going to hit you where it hurts the most,” another said.
“We’re tackling one issue at a time,” I said.
“And speaking of those issues, why can’t we get updates on the investigation? It’s our money that’s being stolen.”
“Correction, it was your money that was being stolen. Nothing is being stolen now, “I said.
“You have no proof of that.”
“Because next month’s balance sheets haven’t happened yet because it’s not next month.”
“Don’t get snarky with me, Sheldon.”
“Then listen to what I have to say, Mr. Matthews. I’m not sure how you became the spokesperson for every single investor on this board, but I don’t like it. Your checks don’t clear, and you talk down to Miss Ternbeau every single chance you get. Putting both of those issues aside, I can’t prove to you this company is okay until the end of next month. You want clear balance sheets, but they won’t happen until the end of next month. Why? Because Markus was an investor on this board until a week ago, which means two weeks’ worth of withdrawals will still be on this month’s balance sheets. Are you still with me?” I asked.
