Discovered (15 page)

“Yes, and that’s
what’s baffling me,” Jay admitted. “All three times, well, four counting last
night, it was the same number. And while I haven’t seen their faces, something
about their statures makes me think it’s the same men. And the worst part is,
they know you and, unfortunately, you are somewhat disposable.”

“What do you mean
by that?” Layla asked.

“They need me alive
to get the information they want, supposedly,” Jay started, “but they can’t
risk hurting Ben, Joey or Issy either, on the off-chance that they have played
an active role in the research. At this point, I’m thoroughly convinced that
they know almost all there is to know about me, so they must have already
uncovered the fact that these three own a large portion of Vallen Enterprises
and are as involved as I am in the research. They would be fools not to consider
that maybe each one of us plays a different part in bringing that research
together.”

“But I don’t,”
Layla said quietly. “So if they got their hands on me, they could basically
torture me to get you to hand it over.”

“Correct,” Jay said
apologetically. “Our only hope is that they haven’t figured out just how much I
care about you, and that they assume I’m a cold-hearted jerk who would rather
protect my secrets than go out on a limb for another person.”

“Wasn’t it kind of
a bad idea for someone at your company to report you missing?” she questioned.

“No one at the
company reported me missing,” Jay explained. “That was done by none other than
the people who were trying to snatch me. I’m pretty convinced that was done to
force me out of hiding. As you saw a couple of weeks ago, our stocks started
taking a serious hit because of my prolonged absence, or because someone has
been feeding the media with stories about my prolonged absence. The only reason
it didn’t happen sooner was because Joey has been vigilantly working to prevent
a stock melt-down, but the one weekend he was away, it finally happened when
trading opened in Japan.”

“Which was the
reason that Joey and I had to leave in a hurry the Monday after we met you,”
Issy explained. “We needed to get back as quickly as possible to rectify the
situation as best we could.”

“I don’t understand
one thing, though,” Layla said. “If those men know so much about you, why would
they not give a picture of you to the media? They obviously know what you look
like.”

“But why would
they?” Jay replied. “It’s not like they really wanted me found and returned to
my position. If it got out what I looked like, anyone could have spotted me and
called the police, which would be counterproductive to their plans. It was more
to their benefit if I stayed missing so that when they got hold of me, no one
would be the wiser.”

“I remember
thinking that in all those news stories I saw regarding your disappearance, not
once did the media ever show a picture of you,” Layla reflected.

“I don’t allow
anyone to take my picture…well, except these three,” he said, nodding toward
Issy, Ben and Joey.

“Why not?” she
questioned.

“Look at me,
Layla,” Jay said. “I hardly look old enough to run one of the most successful
companies in the world. If our shareholders got a look at me, they’d more than
likely lose confidence in my abilities.”

“True,” Layla
replied, seeing the logic.

“And there is also
the threat of kidnap for ransom and that kind of thing, which, unfortunately,
has already been realized.”

“So what’s the
plan, then?” she questioned. “I can’t stay here forever. As it is, I have to
call James in a little while to let him know I’m okay, and I don’t really know
what to say.”

“Can you call James
and tell him you decided to stay with Julie for a couple of days?” Jay asked.

“I suppose so, but
what about long term. What can you do about those men?”

“I think we should
go back to the plan we had in the summer. While I didn’t like it then, now that
there’s an innocent girl involved, it seems like our only option. I dragged you
into this, Layla, so I think it’s the least I can do to ensure your safety.”

“No,” Layla said
firmly. “Jay, that’s a crazy idea. You could get hurt.”

“Like I said
before, they won’t hurt us, or at least I don’t think so.  If I’d known in the
summer that they were already familiar with Ben, Joey and Issy, I would have
had no problem with the plan. I didn’t know at that time that these three
wouldn’t be risking their lives, but judging by how easily they found me in
North Carolina, those men definitely know more about me, and them, then I
originally thought.”

“So you’re just
going to parade around until someone tries to grab you?” Layla queried.

“It’s the only
option that’s looking more and more reasonable,” he answered.  “In the
meantime, why don’t you go up to Issy’s closet and get a change of clothes,
then I’ll show you around my house.”

Issy led Layla up to
the bedroom she kept in Jay’s house.

Like the room Layla
had spent the night in, it was more of a suite than a bedroom. The walls were
covered with what looked like real gauze of wild sage and white tones, matching
the wheat colored carpet. The bed was decked out in pristine white linen that
accented the whitewashed wooden frame and floor. There was just a touch
of
sophisticated gilt trimming
on the furniture to give the room an elegant, yet simple ambiance.

Issy led Layla past
another set of French doors that led to a small balcony overlooking the same
view from Layla’s room, to a nook at the far side of the wall. Pulling open the
doors that were tucked away, they entered the biggest closet imaginable, much
larger than Layla’s living room and dining room combined.

There were racks
laden with clothes everywhere. One whole wall displayed more shoes than a shoe
store.

“Oh my God,” Layla
gushed. “This is unbelievable.”

Issy shrugged.
“Take anything you want,” she said casually. “You’ll find sweats and jeans in
those drawers over there along with T-shirts.” She pointed to the right side of
the enormous room to where rows and rows of drawers sat under the impressive
shoe display. “Just root around and take whatever you want. Oh, and do you see
those white bags at the back?” Layla nodded. “They’re filled with every kind of
under garment you can imagine. All brand new, still with the labels on.”

“I can’t believe
you live like this,” Layla said, eyes wide as saucers.

Issy shrugged
again. “It’s just stuff, nothing of any real value.”

“That’s easy for
you to say,” Layla argued.

“Believe me, Layla,
if it doesn’t breathe and can’t love you back, it’s basically worthless,” she
replied.

Layla smiled at
Issy appreciatively. It was refreshing to be with someone who was so down to
earth and wise when they had every material comfort in the world.

The two girls spent
the next twenty minutes rummaging around the giant closet. Despite Issy’s
proclamation, and as much as Layla saw the truth in it, there was something
wonderful about a free shopping experience, which was exactly how it felt,
since most of the stuff in Issy’s closet still had labels attached, not just
the under garments. Layla, who wasn’t typically a lover of shopping, couldn’t
help enjoying every minute.

“Take a few
outfits,” Issy suggested. “There’s a possibility that you could be here for a
few days. Oh, and grab a swimsuit, so we can have a little pool party later.”
She gestured toward another rack filled with bikinis and one-pieces on
hangers.”

“You’re kidding,
right?” Layla asked dubiously. “It’s freezing outside.”

“There’s a heated
indoor pool on the basement level,” Issy answered, rolling her eyes as though
that was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Of course there
is,” Layla responded, shaking her head.

When she had chosen
about five outfits, Layla decided that she’d probably overstayed her welcome in
closet heaven and decided it was time to shower and dress.

She walked
downstairs after, feeling refreshed and oddly relaxed considering the danger
she was in. Something about this enormous house made her feel secure. She
realized that was probably a false sense of security, but none the less,
decided to bask in the sensation anyway.

Jay met her at the
bottom of the stairs. “Have fun in Issy’s closet?” he asked, smirking.

“You have no idea,”
she replied. “I can’t believe how much stuff she has.”

“For the most part,
Issy isn’t a shopper, but every so often she binges, and when she does, it’s to
the extreme,” he said, chuckling.

“I can imagine,”
Layla replied.

“So what do you
want to do?” he asked, taking her by the hand.

“I thought you were
going to show me around your house,” she answered.

“”Yes, I’d like to,”
he responded.

“I think I should
call my mother first, though,” Layla stated. “She’ll be expecting me, and I
haven’t seen or heard from James in two days.”

“Really?” Jay
asked. “Where was he?”

“I have no idea. I
guess I forgot to tell you about that last night,” Layla said. “I didn’t see
him at all yesterday. When I got home from having my nails done, there was
broken glass on the kitchen floor, and the front door was slightly opened, but
there was no sign of James. The strangest part is that his car was still in the
garage.  That’s how I found my new car; I went to the garage to see if his car
was there. And then when I got home last night, there was still no sign of
him.”

“Is that so?” Jay
replied, a crease forming between his eyes. “That’s really strange.” He looked
at Layla pensively for a long moment. “Listen, why don’t you call your mom
while I take care of a work thing, and I’ll meet you back here in five minutes,
okay?”

“Okay,” Layla
agreed.

Layla pulled her
cell phone from the pocket of her new gray sweatpants and dialed Julie’s
number, deciding that it was best to get her cover story set before calling her
mother. She sat down on the bottom step. Thankfully, Julie answered and was all
too happy to comply provided that Layla filled her in on all the details when
she returned home.

When she finished
her call with Julie, Layla tried James’ phone again only to have it go straight
to voicemail, causing concern to wash over her. It wasn’t like James to ignore
his phone at all, let alone for two days in a row.

She dialed her
mother’s number next. Cheryl was delighted to hear all the news about the dance
and that Layla had a great birthday, but didn’t bother asking her why she
wasn’t home. She did, however, question the whereabouts of James, having been
unable to reach him for almost two days.

“I’ll have him call
you when I see him,” Layla promised before hanging up. She turned to face Jay,
who had just walked across the foyer toward her. “Well, that buys me some time
anyway. I just wonder what’s going on with James.”

“No answer from him
yet?” Jay questioned.

“He’s still not
answering,” she confirmed. “And my mother hasn’t heard from him either. I’m
starting to worry that something’s happened to him.”

“I’m sure it’s
nothing,” Jay tried to assure her. “Can I see your phone?” he asked out of the
blue.

Layla handed over
her phone and watched Jay tap on the front. After a few moments, he put the
phone to his ear and shook his head.

“What are you
doing?” she asked.

“Something that I
should have done sooner. I’m trying to see if I can access the phone number
that called you last night.”

“And…?”

He shook his head.
“Nothing,” he answered. “It’s probably a
pay-as-you-go
.”

“Oh,” Layla
muttered.

“So do you want to
see my house?” Jay questioned, his mood suddenly brighter.

Layla smiled up at
him and nodded.

He reached out his
hand for her to take then led her around the corner into the formal,
transitional living room that had
components
of both
contemporary and
traditional
design
styles—a living space so cavernous it dwarfed any room Layla had ever seen, and
the cathedral ceiling gave it even more expansion.
A balcony off the second floor landing overlooked two
large, tawny, sectional couches set stylishly in front of green trees.
A genuine art sculpture floated on a pedestal in the
furthest corner, and
the floor to ceiling
windows provided a stunning view of the back of the property. “Wow, it’s
lovely,” Layla said breathlessly. “How do you clean those windows?”

“I don’t,” Jay
replied, matter-of-factly. “I pay someone to do it.”

“Of course,” Layla
answered, realizing the stupidity of the question.

A small hallway
beyond the right side of the living room led to a less formal family room. Two
leather couches, similar to the ones in his North Carolina home, sat facing an
enormous flat-screen TV. Sliding doors at the far end of that room led to a
screened-in porch. “We barely use the other living room,” Jay explained. “We
spend most of our time in here. This is where Joey and I spend countless hours
playing X-Box.”

“Does Joey live
here with you?” Layla asked.

“Yes,” Jay replied.
“Ben and Issy have a house on Long Island that they spend a lot of time in, but
they’re here a lot of the time also.”

“How long ago did
your parents die?” Layla questioned, wondering how a young man of barely
eighteen could seem so relaxed being head of a multi-billion dollar company.

“My mother died
when I was fourteen,” he answered. “My father took her death really badly and
basically drank himself into an early grave.”

“I’m so sorry,”
Layla said softly.

“Yeah, well, it was
a long time ago,” he responded. “My dad died three years later, but by that
time he had basically given up on life, and I was already taking care of
myself. In some ways, I grew up very quickly after my mother passed.”

Layla squeezed his
hand gently in a show of support. Jay looked down at her and smiled adoringly.

“There’s a room
facing this one that I really want you to see,” he stated, suddenly animated
with excitement. He pulled her across a narrow hallway. He pushed open a door
and gestured for her to enter before him. “This is my library,” he stated
proudly.

There were books on
shelves all over the walls. In the center of the room was a couch with two
reclining chairs angled around a large, Mahogany coffee table.

“This is so cool,”
Layla blurted out, eyes wide. “Your own library.”

“In the center by
the far wall, are my most prized books,” Jay said, smirking.

Layla walked over
to see no less than a hundred
Harry Potter
books in different languages,
different editions, all set out in order, grouped together in complete series’.
“Wow, you really weren’t kidding about that
Deathly Hallows
statement
last month, were you?”

“Nope,” Jay
replied. “I have all the so-called classics also, but those are my favorites.”

“Speaking of that…”
Layla mumbled, trailing off.

“I know, we never
did do that project,” Jay finished the thought for her. He pulled her over to
the couch and sat down, tapping the space beside him.

“So what is your
gripe with the classics really?” she questioned, sitting next to him.

“I don’t have a
gripe as such; it’s just that a lot of books, especially ones that are hailed
as being genius, deal too closely with death, heartache, destruction, and
delving deeply into the negative aspects of the human condition.”

“And that’s a bad
thing?” Layla asked skeptically.

“Not necessarily,”
Jay answered. “It’s just that I think life is very short for the average human.
Why spend it focusing on the negative? Humans have been questioning the meaning
of life since the dawn of time, and I believe there are some questions that are
just never going to be answered, so why bother spending that little time
allotted in dead-end pursuits? Why not celebrate all the many wonderful and
positive things?”

“You don’t think
that humans will ever figure out what it’s all about?” she queried.

“Not with the
mind,” he replied, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I think the
meaning of life can only be understood through the heart, at least that’s my
opinion anyway.”

“Why?” she asked,
becoming fascinated with his theory.

“The mind is limited
in what it can comprehend,” he said, taking both her hands in his. “The heart,
however, knows no limits.”

“So what is it
about Harry that you find so appealing?” she pushed.

“He’s a good and
honest kid, a person who goes out on a limb for his friends and to do the right
thing. He’s a true hero in every sense of the word. But besides all that, the
story is the most imaginative I’ve ever read.”

Layla nodded and
looked up into his eyes. “You’re really amazing,” she said. “I don’t think I’ve
ever met anyone quite like you before or ever will again.”

Jay shrugged and
smiled lopsidedly. “I’m really no different than anyone else except that I’ve
had a lot of responsibility thrust on me at a young age.”

“And you handle it
all so well,” she said in awe.

“Maybe,” he
replied. “Sometimes I’m not so sure about that.” He stopped talking and looked
at her, narrowing his eyes. “This is a big moment for me,” he said.

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve never had a
girl in my home before, well except for Issy and women coming in to do various
jobs. What I mean is, I’ve never had a girlfriend in my home before.”

“You haven’t dated
much,” Layla correctly assumed. “Why not? You’re Arthur Vallen. You must have
women throwing themselves at you.”