Wrong (Breaking the Rules) (8 page)

Joel spoke up before I said something regrettable. “My client is upset because when we looked at the books, NAC Holdings wasn’t anywhere to be found. This means the late Mr. Compton created this fictitious company in a fraudulent manner. You can understand my client’s unwillingness to pay out on something that appears not to even exist. If you could allow us more time to research the matter, we would be happy to try to track down where this money went and funnel it on to where it goes.”

Lou’s attorney spoke again. “Joel, while this makes sense, my client is on a deadline with those funds. Mr. Jennings does not deal in illegal activities, so whatever you presume is illegal comes from your end, I assure you. All that matters here was that he was promised a certain date that has come and passed, which has pushed back his other business deals. My client is losing money because of this foul-up. He is owed the 1.2 million and expects it immediately. And as promised, once the money is paid, the other two companies will drop their suits.”

I gritted my teeth, furious. If we handed over that money, it would put our company in a precarious position, and I didn’t feel comfortable with that.

Where did Dad put that money?

“I’ll give you half now, and when I locate the rest, I’ll wire that over as well. Give me two weeks to find it. Lou,” I said, facing him. He’d been silent the entire time. “Lou, I’m good for it. I know Dad did some shady stuff, but I assure you I will pay out. Just don’t kill the company in the process. Let me find it.”

His features softened only slightly before he nodded in agreement. Lou’s attorney just shook his head.

“This truly is against my client’s original wishes, but we’ll accept your proposition. The time is ticking, Mr. Compton. Find it. I’ll leave you with the wiring instructions.”

When I got back to the office, I called Trent.

“Change your mind? The girl not worth it?” he asked, chuckling into the phone.

“No, man, she’s totally worth it. I just got back from the meeting with Lou Jennings. This shit sucks. We’ve been over the books and I can’t find what Dad supposedly did with it. They are demanding all of it but I talked them into half. I’ve already called the bank and wired the six hundred thousand to them.”

“No shit? Well, that amount won’t hurt the company too badly, but once you wire the rest, you’ll be working with very little. If you all keep plowing ahead and business stays good, you might just stay afloat. What does Jackson say about it all?”

“Jackson is letting me handle it all. He’s preoccupied with his new woman. We’ve hired a really good architect, so we should be doing well with gaining new clients so long as Jackson doesn’t run him off for looking at his girl,” I laughed. The whole situation with Lou stressed me out, but everything with Jackson was fucking funny.

“Sounds like Jackson. Better start looking for a new hire,” he teased.

“No joke. I’ll get right on interviewing some people. All right, man. Thanks for everything. I’ll keep you posted if I find anything out.”

“Sure thing. But, Jordan? Look into your dad’s personal accounts. If someone was looking to hide company money, they might go that route. I’m sure Trish will cooperate.”

“Good idea. Thanks again, man. Talk to you soon.”

After hanging up with Trent, I dialed the florist.

“Upper East Side Flowers, this is Maude.”

“Hi, Maude. I want to have some unique flowers sent to a Pepper Jones at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Can you get those there today before five?”

A woman stood in my doorway with a dozen red-and-white-striped roses.

“Pepper Jones? These are for you.” When I nodded, she set them on my desk and left. They were gorgeous and smelled like peppermint. I smiled because whoever sent them was very thoughtful.

Opening the card, my smile dropped.

Pepper,

I’m sorry if I offended you yesterday. Like I told you before, I just want to get to know you. I hope you like the peppermint roses. With a name like Pepper from a girl who chews peppermint gum like it’s her lifeline, the roses seemed to fit. They’re only half as beautiful as you. I look forward to seeing you at my mother’s tomorrow.

Jordan

A tear slipped down my cheek. Damn him for making me cry. Every time I was with Jordan, he weakened the woman I’d tried so desperately to be. I was tough, bitchy Pepper. The girl who had embraced the hateful nickname from high school and wore it with pride. So why did it seem like he was siding with all of those terrible people who chanted, “Peppermint Pussy!” in the halls? He didn’t even know the story, but I lumped him in the same category.

“I don’t have time for this shit.” I dumped the flowers into the trash and left work to go have dinner with my parents.

“How is your modeling going?” my mother asked Olive at dinner.

“Great. I have a huge gig for Express on Saturday. I am really nervous about it,” she admitted, sipping her wine.

“Olive, you will do great. I think, if you will allow it, this could really make your career,” I told her honestly. She grinned at me.

When we finished dinner, Daddy asked to speak to me privately in the study. The nervous look on his face had butterflies dancing in my belly.

“Princess, please sit down. I want to talk to you about something.”

I took a seat in one of the chairs at his desk while he went around to the other side and sat down. His frown made me worry that something was wrong with Will or Mom.

“Sweetie, I’m afraid I’ve done something to possibly put you in danger.”

I frowned because he looked really upset. “I don’t understand, Daddy. You always take care of me.”

“I know. I’ve always done my best to protect you. Even when that asshole Cole Stine tried to take advantage of you.”

I shuddered at the memory and looked away from him. My hands trembled a bit so I clasped them together on my lap to get them to stop.

“Anyway, I know I told you there was nothing legally we could do about what Cole tried to do to you. It was true. Nothing legal. But the more I thought about what he did, I was overcome with rage. I wanted to ruin his life. He nearly ruined yours. I can see that you still live with the effects of what he did. I mean, you go by Pepper for crying out loud. That didn’t come from nowhere. My friend Dan, your history teacher in high school, overheard the awful things those kids said to you because of Cole.”

I just watched as my daddy feared what he had to say next.

“So I pulled some strings. I represent the Chairman of the Board at Syracuse, where Cole’s scholarship was, and he owed me some favors.” He paused to look at me.

I swallowed, worried about where he was going with this.

“I spoke to him about the terrible thing he tried to do to you. He’s got daughters of his own, so it didn’t take much persuading to have him find a way to drop Cole’s scholarship. I thought that would be sufficient, but the Chairman took further steps to contact all of his people in the education system. No college would give him a scholarship to play football. He was on his own and his parents couldn’t afford to send him to the best of the schools. Cole was able to go to CUNY with the help of student loans, but football was out of the question.”

My stomach churned at his confession. As much as I hated Cole and feared that he might try what he did to me with another girl but succeed, I still didn’t like the idea of Daddy taking such measures for a vendetta.

“Daddy, I don’t approve of what you did, but I understand you were looking out for me and other girls. So why does this put me in danger?”

His face blanched as he prepared himself for his next words. “Well, after checking up on him, I found out that he didn’t last long at CUNY at all. He ended up dropping out and works through a staffing agency that places him at different places doing janitorial work. Last week, I received a letter that has to be from him. There isn’t anything I can do because I don’t have proof, but I think we need to take the threat seriously.”

Threat?
Mom’s chicken pot pie wasn’t sitting well in my stomach now. Daddy handed over a note to me.

Peppermint Pussy’s Precious Daddy,

You ruined my life. Your daughter ruined my life. I will find her and ruin both of your lives.

You Know Who

I tossed the letter back at him. My hands, which I had been able to stop from shaking earlier, were now uncontrollably trembling.
What does he mean? Would he hurt me?

“I won’t let anything happen to you, princess. You’re my little girl, and all I’ve ever wanted to do is protect you. As much as I didn’t want to tell you about the note, I felt like you needed to know about it so you could be vigilant. He doesn’t know where you are. Chances are, he’ll look for your real name. Fortunately for us, you go by Pepper, which will stall him. I’ve hired a private investigator to look into him and dig out what he can find. If he so much as laid a finger on a girl, I will find out and we’ll nail his ass to the wall. He won’t hurt you, baby girl.”

I nodded but couldn’t help but worry. Cole starred in most of my nightmares. He always morphed from a nice-looking guy into a monster. It had all been just nightmares until now. Now, my nightmares were becoming my reality.