Just Fall (The Fall Series) (11 page)

His
voice faded as my mind began to process the enormity of his proposal. I was in
shock. My ears were ringing, and my skin was on fire.
Did my dad’s long-time
friend, my trusted attorney just offer me a job as a call girl? This can’t be
happening!

I
jolted from the chair, halting him in mid-sentence. “Lauren, stop! Lauren,
please hear me out!” He jumped up quickly and positioned himself against the
door.

“Get
the fuck out of my way, Barry!”

“Lauren,
trust me. There’s nothing illegal about this. My girls travel in private jets.
They enjoy five star accommodations, world-class cuisine. They’re treated like
royalty in every way, Lauren, and I know what you’re thinking. My clients don’t
pay for sex. They pay for companionship. Sex is optional and only if both
parties agree to it.”

My
eyes bored holes straight through him as he tried to convince me, blurting out
“the perks” in rapid fire succession. Never in my life had I wanted to
physically aggress someone so badly.

“I’m
done here!” I yelled at a volume I was sure the receptionist and any
pedestrians on the sidewalk could hear. I was ready to remove Barry Stanton with
my own two hands if I had to, and he sensed it as he cracked the door open
slowly never taking his eyes off me.

Before
he moved, he whispered one last thing, “Parker Blackwell, one of my best
clients, requested you.”

Hearing
Parker’s name in the midst of this nightmare was the final straw. I froze, my
whole body shaking from the impact.
Fucking bastards! Both of you!
Barry
finally stepped aside, and I stormed out.

“Have
a good day, Miss St. John!” the receptionist called as I ran past the desk and
out to the open air of the sidewalk.
Breathe!

I
felt for the side of the building to steady myself and looked out at the lake
over the horizon. I stood there and starred, taking it all in for a moment when
I remembered
– the money!
I left my money on that bastard’s desk. I
didn’t want to go back, but I had no choice.
Fuck!

As
I turned around, Barry was standing at the door smugly extending the box in his
hand. “I think you forgot something.”

As
I reached for the box he leaned in and whispered, “He just wants to spend time
with you, Lauren. He said you won’t accept a loan, and he’s willing to pay the
three hundred thousand dollars for five days with you in Vegas.” I ripped the
box from his hands, and heard him call out one final time, “I’ll need your
answer by noon tomorrow.”

THE ULTIMATUM

Pretentious
bastard! What the fuck was wrong with him! “Lucrative hobby!” “My girls!” Sick!
He was sick! I always knew he was shady, but prostitution? He was a dirty old
man. A pimp. How dare he think that I would consider prostitution! Had he no
loyalty to my father at all? And what about Jake? Oh, he would put Barry’s
lights out when he found out about this!

Then
there was Parker. Was this what he planned at his mysterious appointment with
an unnamed attorney yesterday? Was he arranging another escort when Barry
happened to tell him about The Grand, or did he go to Barry for information? He
seemed to know something more than what he revealed. Did he think he could pay
for me like one of his hired escorts? My head was spinning with questions. Did
any of it even matter? The bottom line was unless I came up with the money I would
lose The Grand for good, and Parker knew it. He knew it, and he was using it to
manipulate me.

I
pulled into the parking lot of The Grandview and took the back stairs to my
suite to avoid being seen.  Feeling scared and confused, all I could think
about was talking to Jake, and soon. I had to collect myself. But how?
Everything was falling apart, and I was running out of options. There’s got to
be something I can do to stop Evelyn, but three hundred thousand dollars was
more money than I earned in three years let alone three months. Yet in my mind
it didn’t matter if it was thousands or millions, I knew I would do whatever it
took to save my parents’ dream and my only home from being ripped out from
under me. I had to figure it out, but I had to be able to look at myself in the
mirror afterwards.

Safely
inside, I leaned against the door exhaling deeply, and for the first time I
looked forward to the phone call with Jake. My mind kept repeating every
horrible detail of my day; the confrontation, Evelyn wanting to sell The
Grandview, the money my father left me, Barry’s indecent proposal. Anger and
resentment filled my chest as the full impact of Parker’s twisted offer hit me.
It was pure extortion, but how much of it could I safely share with Jake
without the whole thing exploding in my face? My mind wouldn’t stop racing, and
I needed to feel Jake’s arms around me. When things were hard in the past he was
my rock. He wasn’t big on words, but he always knew just what to do to make me
feel safe, and I needed him more than ever.

Just
then I caught a glimpse of my phone on the floor. I was so upset earlier that
I’d left it behind. My heart dropped to my stomach as I looked at the screen.
Two missed calls from Jake and a text message.

“Lo,
where are you? I’m on my way home. I need to see you. This is too important to
discuss on the phone. ”

I
was panicked and relieved at the same time. I had to tell him as much as I
could. Hell, I wanted to rip my heart open, spill it at his feet and beg for
forgiveness, but I knew it would be a mistake. Knowing what I did would kill
him. Tears stung my eyes as I realized what a mess I’d made. I needed to show
Jake how much I loved him. I needed to make things right between us. Tonight
could be a new beginning, and I wouldn’t take any chances. Everything had to be
just right.

As
I stepped into the shower I wondered if he’d want to make love to me after our
heart-to-heart. My body needed him. I needed to erase the impression of Parker,
and I had a feeling that Jake needed me, too. I longed to feel his love, and he
longed for the sexual release that I’d denied him for far too long. Tonight we
could both get everything we needed from each other, I thought as I dabbed my
favorite perfume on my wrists and neck.

I
examined my hair in the mirror and began applying lip gloss when I heard the
door open. It had been too long since I’d made love to my future husband. I
thought my body would start to react at the thought, but instead I felt
nothing. Instead I was completely consumed with a mixture of panic and fear.

“Lo!”
he called. I heard his keys drop onto the table by the door.

“In
here!”

When
he walked into the room I was posed seductively on the bed, my tan legs to one
side. I could feel my nipples poking through my dress, and the look in his eyes
told me he wanted me. Feeling relieved, I was ready for him to take me quickly,
hoping I’d feel better when we were done, but something stopped him. He looked
away, and I knew things were about to get intense.

“We
need to talk, Lauren.” The mood instantly changed.

“Let’s
talk later” I teased, pulling him down on the bed next to me and straddling his
lap. He didn’t look up to kiss me. He didn’t pull my body close like I wanted
him to. Instead he sat up with his arms at his sides and dropped his gaze to
the floor.

I
slid off his lap and sat quietly next to him, studying his face. “What’s wrong,
Jake? What happened?”

“It’s
what’s
happening,
that I’m worried about.”

“What
do you mean? With The Grandview? “

“Yes,
all of it. The drinking, the working late. It’s put distance between us. You
haven’t been yourself for months. You’ve been so focused on keeping this place
afloat and keeping Evelyn happy that you don’t even see you’re losing yourself.
You’re losing us, Lo.”

I
knew how hard this was for him. Seeing the pain in his eyes, and knowing I had
caused it cut me to the core. Desperate to convince him this would be over
soon, I pleaded with him to understand as tears spilled down my face.

“You’re
right, I’ve been drinking too much. I promise I’ll slow down, and I plan to
work less, too. But please, right now I need you to believe that we’re not
losing anything. I’ll figure this out and find a way to keep The Grandview, and
put us back together. You’ll see.

“Keep
The Grandview? What’s going on, Lo?”

“Yes.”
I took a deep breath. This is not how I wanted to tell him. “Barry called
today. Evelyn wants to sell her share, and I have 90 days to come up with the
money to buy her out.” I hesitated and buried my face in my hands as I forced
the words to come out, “Three hundred thousand dollars.”

Jake
leaned forward and hung his head. “Now what, Lo? You’re going to make yourself
crazy for the next three months trying to come up with the money? This is
exactly what I’m talking about. We both know three months isn’t long enough to
come up with that kind of money. We don’t have the resources for a loan and
there isn’t an investor in his right mind who would take a chance in this
economy. Not that you would consider it anyway. It’s impossible.”

I
felt my cheeks burning red. I could barely sit still. “Don’t say that, Jake!
Don’t ever say that! Losing this place is not an option. This is my life!”

He
shot back through gritted teeth, “What about losing me? Is losing me an
option?”

His
words sliced through me like a knife. “I need you Jake, please understand. I
can make this work. Just let me get through this next few months and everything
can get back on track. Back to the way we’d always planned.”

“Lo,
this is all too much. The only way I see out of this is to sell The Grandview.
You could split the money with Evelyn and have something left for our future.
We don’t need some huge wedding like we planned. It just feels wrong now
anyway. Let’s just elope, put The Grandview on the market and elope. We could
even move away if you want. I know you couldn’t live here knowing someone else
owned this place, and I’ve been meaning to tell you this, but the timing never
seemed right,” he paused and squeezed his hands together. “I was offered a job
in Tennessee. It comes with a huge pay raise, big enough that you could take
some time off to decide what you want your new career to be. What do you think?
Will you go with me?”

I
wanted to throw up, just lean forward and throw up all over the floor. I held
my head between my hands trying to find my voice to answer.
Jake decided to
take a job in Tennessee without even talking to me?

“This
is all too crazy. This impossible deadline. If I had the money you know I’d
give it to you. I know how much this place means to you, but Lo, you’ve got to
face it. This will break you if you let it.”

My
emotions shifted quickly. “No, Jake, losing this place would break me!”

“What
happens in September when you can’t meet the deadline? What then?”

Anger
shook my entire body, and my words spewed out like venom. “Of all the people in
my life I thought you would understand! This place is part of me, Jake. It’s
part of who I am! I’ve never imagined my life without it. I don’t even know
what to say. How could you ever expect…”

My
tears were drowning me. I wasn’t sure what I was saying, but I could hear the
words coming out before the thoughts fully registered in my mind. My rock, my
friend, the one thing solid left in my life was asking me to do the impossible,
and the only thing worse is knowing that I deserved it. I betrayed his trust
and took him for granted, and now here we were on the brink of disaster.

“We
need to move on, Lo. I just want to put this all behind us before it’s too
late.”

“Too
late for what?” I tried to look at him through the tears flooding my eyes, but
I couldn’t read his face. I didn’t know where he was going with this. Panic
washed over me.

“Too
late for you. Too late for us to have the life we deserve together before this
place takes all that’s left of you.”

“Please,
Jake, just stop this,” I choked on the words.

“Lauren,
I don’t think you understand. I can’t sit back and watch this consume you. I’m
putting an end to it now. You need to make the rational decision here and cut
your losses. We’ll start over fresh in Tennessee. You need to stop and think
about how good this could be for us. The way I see it there’s really no choice
here.”

“Are
you asking me to choose?”
Now I understand what you’re saying, you
son-of-a-bitch! You want me to choose between you and the only thread that
remains between me and my parents. You’re threatening to abandon me when I need
you the most. Fuck you, Jake Kennedy! Go ahead, tell me you’re asking me to
choose!

Like
a cornered animal, I let my fear consume me. Then rage. Looking him straight in
the eye I ripped the diamond from my finger and flung it in his lap. I chose.
“Leave Jake Kennedy! Leave me like my mother and father did! Take your love and
your promises, and leave just like they did. Like everything that’s ever
mattered in my life! That’s what people do! They say they love you, and in the
end they just leave! But you know what? You know what will always be with me,
Jake? The Grandview that’s what! I’ll never be alone as long as I have her, and
I won’t let anything stand in my way of keeping it that way!”

He
looked away, and his body went rigid with anger as he caught the ring in
mid-air and stood up without saying a word. When he walked out I heard him lift
his keys from the table where he left them ten minutes ago. Ten minutes
ago….when I was still foolish enough to believe that I could hold on to the few
precious things I had left.

I
woke abruptly to the sound of a knock on my door. What time was it? I must have
cried myself to sleep. I looked at the clock. 8:00 PM. I dragged the covers up
higher not wanting to move, but the knocking continued until I reluctantly
swung my legs over the side of the bed to find my flip-flops and shuffled to
the door. Cracking it open I was met with the twisted worried expression on Nina’s
face.

“Lo,
are you okay? Why haven’t you called me?”

“Nice
to see you, too” I retorted as I headed to the cupboard to find the bottle of
vodka I was draining before deciding to crawl into bed and never get up.

“I’m
heading home. The meeting is on for 8:30 tomorrow morning, and I’ve heard a few
good ideas already.”

“Sounds
fabulous, Nina” I said without bothering to turn around.

“Seriously,
Lo. What’s going on now? I saw Jake’s truck peel out of here like a bat out of
hell a couple hours ago. Did you tell him about Evelyn?”

“Let’s
see, where to start? Well, how about if I start with the fact that I have no
family left, my stepmother made away with my inheritance, and if that wasn’t
enough, now she’s trying to take the family business away? The Grandview’s
future depends on me, and in case you haven’t noticed I’m a real dependable
fucking girl these days! Oh, and let’s not forget that the wedding is
definitely off!”