The Virgin Master (40 page)

“Try to keep him alive, Tom. Please.”

“I’ll do the best I can.”

Evan needed to go back to the detention center. He needed to hold Jeremy and make him feel safe again. He needed to feel safe, himself. He wasn’t going to get what he needed.

Sean dropped him off at his building without another word. He had already told Evan that he needed to be at Slave Regulation no later than eleven-thirty in case some last minute strategy needed to be discussed. Evan let himself into his dark, empty apartment and mindlessly went through his bed-time routine. He lay in the dark, unmoving and awake
the rest of the night
.

Chapter Twenty-
Four

Tom stayed with Jeremy until dawn. Not surprisingly, Jeremy couldn’t sleep at all and Tom was afraid to sleep. He tried to talk to Jeremy a couple of times, but Jeremy turned his head away and refused to listen. Shortly after the sun came up a group of
technicians came down and set up a camera and a microphone in front of the cage.

“What’s that for?” Tom asked. He felt a little bit pleased that Jeremy remembered he couldn’t talk to citizens.

“The Hearing Officer said she wanted to take the slave’s testimony this afternoon. By the way, if he’s stable you have to leave.”

Tom glared at the man. “He’s not at all stable; his blood pressure has been all over the place. I’ll tell you when I can leave.”

“I’ve got to tell Hubbard. He said to put you out.”

“You do that.”

Jeremy had rolled his head back, obviously listening to this exchange. After the techs left Jeremy looked at Tom who flinched at the emptiness in his eyes.

“Tom? Maybe you could buy me?”

Tom sighed. “I could never afford you, Jay. It won’t be an issue because Evan is not going to sell you.”

“I can’t live with him and be nothing to him.”

“Did you not hear a word the man said? Didn’t you hear how torn up he was?”

“So he’s a good actor. Question
is…
which part is the act? The part where he’s repulsed by me or the part where he pretends to love me?
"

“Jeremy….you’ve already made up your mind and I understand why. It’s easier right now to just slide into depression than to deal with what’s coming. Sean said the odds are greatly in Evan’s favor this afternoon. He will win at hearing and get to take you home. You won’t have to spend another night in here. I know you love Evan. I know Evan loves you. I
know
that, Jeremy. You should, too. Don’t give up on him. It will kill him to lose you. At least give him the benefit of the doubt here. Okay?”

Jeremy’s lower lip quivered. “All I do is cry. Tom…are you really sure?”

“I’m really sure. The man is a wreck without you. When we left the inspection the other day it was all he could do to make it to the car before he totally lost it. I know he managed to say something to you; I’m betting he told you he loved you, right?”

“Yeah.” Jeremy remembered the look in Evan’s eyes that day—that one flash of pure
Evan
. “But that was before….”

You really think Evan blames you at all for getting
raped
? You think that little of him?”

“No…it’s just…I’m…I can’t get it out of my head. I don’t know if I’ll ever want to be touched again. By anybody. I’m ruined, Tom. And it was like it didn’t even matter.”

“It mattered to Evan, and me
,
and Sean. It mattered, Jeremy. Let Evan show you how much it mattered. Give him a chance to comfort you.
Give him a chance to show you how much he still wants and needs you. Can you do that?”

“I’ll try. Leave the morphine?”

“No. Not now.”

******

The hearing room seemed surprisingly informal. Evan and Sean sat on one side of a long walnut conference table and
Rosenblum
and the attorney for Slave Regulation, Matt
Olgivy
, sat on the other side. The Hearing Officer, Jeanette Moore, came from another government agency, and had no familiarity with the case other than reading Sean’s motion for a hearing and Matt’s response opposing it. This supposedly meant that she had no preconceived ideas and would listen to the evidence objectively and with fresh ears.

Evan felt better and better as the afternoon passed. The only evidence Matt could produce were the statements by Lillian and Frank and one photo. Sean had the footage of Jeremy’s rescue of
Lillian; the beating; Frank’s threatening phone calls and attempts to destroy the surveillance footage; and Frank’s suborning of the detention center guard and ultimate rape of Jeremy
. Evan flinched when
Sean had to call it “unauthorized use”.

Steve Hubbard had to testify under oath that he had seen
no inappropriate emotional response during the discipline test or when he removed Jeremy from Evan’s custody and care. Also after Jeremy had been attacked, Steve had noted nothing untoward out of Evan, other than a justifiable concern about preserving his asset. Allen testified to Frank’s continuing efforts to have Evan removed from the company and the Board minutes backed up his testimony.

When the Hearing Officer asked for a motive, she opened the door for Sean to call Special Agent Diana Pilsner in to discuss the connections between Frank Owens and the Russian drug cartel.

As Sean rested their case Evan felt exuberant. Things couldn’t have gone better for them. The dreaded sex questions had never even been asked, as Sean kept the hearing firmly focused on Frank and Frank’s behavior. He heaved a huge sigh of relief and gave Sean a glowing smile.

Then
Olgivy
stood and Evan’s happy thoughts about getting Jeremy home screeched to a neck-jerking halt. In disbelief he heard
Olgivy
call Terri Paxton for rebuttal. He wanted to slam his head down on the table. He settled for hanging his head and staring intently at the table. He loved Terri
,
but she would flat kill him just by telling the truth.

Terri came in hesitantly and then smiled when she saw Evan. Evan bit the inside of his jaw and struggled not to scream, fighting the urge to crawl under the table.

“Hi, Evan!”

Terri examined the room obviously looking for something.

“Where’s Jeremy?”

The Hearing Officer looked up, shocked and interested.

“Evan, where’s Jeremy?”

Evan shot a wild look at the Hearing Officer, who smiled at him gently.

“Mrs. Paxton, I take it you know Jeremy’s
m
aster, Mr. James?”

“Oh, yes. He’s been so very kind to our whole family.”

“Why don’t you go ahead and sit down in front of that microphone right there.”

After shooting a puzzled look at Evan, Terri took the seat and the oath and settled in, looking at
Olgivy
expectantly. Evan dropped his eyes to the table top and prayed. Sean patted his thigh comfortingly and Evan braced himself for the good-intentioned but totally damning testimony he expected to flow out of Terri’s mouth. He felt grateful that Jeremy didn’t have to hear his own misguided mother tear them apart.
Olgivy
rose and began his examination
.

“State your name for the record, please.”

“Terri Paxton.”

“And you live at 357 Meadow Dale Lane? Here in Dallas?”

“I do.”

“And that home is being provided for you by Evan James?”

“No. He….what do you mean by ‘provided’?”

“I mean, he pays the rent and utilities for your family.”

“He does not.”

Olgivy
looked at his notebook and turned to look at Hubbard, who shrugged.

“Okay, who does pay the rent and living expenses?”

“My husband and I do. We both work full time.”

“Where do you work, Ms. Paxton?”

“I am assistant to the curator for the Neo-Modern Art Gallery on State Street.”

“What qualifies you for that position?”

“I have a Master’s in Fine Arts from Brown University. I am currently working toward my Ph.D. in Art History at UT.”

Olgivy
scratched his head. Evan started to feel a little bit better.

“Where does Mr. Paxton work?”

“He works for United Playthings, which is a division of James Enterprises Incorporated.”

Olgivy
looked a little happier.

“This job was obtained for him by Evan James?”

“Not to my knowledge. Evan told him about the opening, but he went through the interview process.
I do know
there were about fifty other applicants.”

“Well, what qualifies a failed businessman to hold
…w
hat is it he does there?”

“Inventory control. Gerald wrote the software the company uses. He held the patent. The income wasn’t enough to offset the debts of Paxton Group which is how we got in this whole situation to start with.”

“What do you mean by, ‘this whole situation’?”

Terri shifted nervously and shot another look at Evan.

“Being arrested for debt and Jeremy deciding to…deciding to….sell himself.”

“Jeremy offered himself up as a slave to offset some of the family debt, is that right? In accordance with IRS rules pursuant to the Defense of American Corporations Act.”

“Yes.”

“And his purchase price was enough to offset the entire debt with enough left over for the family to get back on its feet, right?”

Sean objected off-handedly, “leading the witness.”

The Hearing Officer gave
Olgivy
a chiding glance.

“Please confine yourself to open-ended questions on direct,
Mr.Olgivy
. Mr. Murrow’s objection is sustained.”

“Just trying to get through this a little bit faster. Okay,
             
Ms. Paxton---your debt was how much?”

“A little over four-hundred thousand dollars.”

“And Mr. James paid how much for Jeremy?”

“Nine-hundred thousand dollars.”

“Why so much, do you think?”

“Well, first of all, have you
seen
Jeremy?”

Evan actually almost smiled at that. He peeked up at Terri and gave her an appreciative look.

“Well, no, I haven’t.”

“Well, I may be his mother, but enough people have told me that he is extremely handsome for me to believe it. He’s six-foot five of solid muscle. Additionally, he has an MBA from Stanford. From what I understand, Mr. James observed Jeremy being abused in the auction house and it touched him. You’ll have to ask him how he arrived at the figure he offered because I’m sure I don’t know. I will be eternally grateful, but I don’t really know why.”

Sean stood. “For the record, James Enterprises, Incorporated has already submitted documentation showing that the price paid for Jeremy James was more than reasonable given the value he has already added to the company.”