Empire Part 3: A New Adult and College Billionaire Romance Series (Empire Billionaire Romance) (5 page)

Jonathan

Mandy returns my text just after Dad leaves in his limo. She lets me know she’s having brunch with a friend at the country club in New Jersey. She’ll see me there if I can meet her after her meal. If I take the Holland Tunnel, it’s over an hour’s hour drive from my place, considering the traffic, but there’s time. I tell her to wait there for me.

I get there as Mandy and one of her socialite friends are finishing up their desserts. Mandy catches sight of me at the maître d’s desk. She waves me over to their table.

“Good afternoon,” I say as I arrive. We make the usual idle conversation, and I sit after her friend eventually leaves.

“So what is this about?” Mandy asks.

“A couple of things, Mandy. I won’t keep you for long.”

“Good,” she answers. “Because I’m meeting Michael to do some shopping this afternoon. Did I tell you we’re remodeling the living room at the cottage in the Hamptons? Michael has such a good eye. We’ll be checking out samples later.”

“That’s nice.” I ignore this detail—she’s probably remodeling in the Hamptons so she can leave Dad in Long Island. It’s not my business, so I get to the point. “Okay so a few things, Mandy. Dad wants to apologize and find a way to make it up to you. Is there any way you can forgive him?”

She looks at me and doesn’t answer.

I add, “He knows what he’s done is unforgivable. He’s really sorry, Mandy. He’s missing you like crazy.”

I lay it on thick because we’re in dire straits, and I know this has to at least sound heartfelt and sincere if she’s going to hand anything over, or consider taking him back.

“He put you up to this, didn’t he?” She asks, already annoyed.

“I won’t lie to you, Mandy. Yes, he did. I wouldn’t be here if he didn’t ask me to. You know I feel this should be between you and him. I’ve never meddled in your lives before. And I wasn’t about to start now. But, I know that may be hard, all things considered. So here I am, on his behalf, asking you to give him another chance.”

“You know I love your father, Jonathan. I lost count of how many times he hurt me, and I stood by him all these years. I knew he was never faithful after we got married. I was willing to forgive him, and I did forgive him for all of it. He took such good care of me the last couple of years. I was ready to let go of all the wrongdoing, all the womanizing. I could even overlook that massive ego of his. But you know what got to me? What I found in the trunk. That was the last straw.”

“What’s in the trunk?” I asked, glad that she’s the one to bring it up, and not me.

“You don’t even want to know.”

“Tell me, please.” I beg, ready to grovel too, if I have to.

“I can’t even talk about it here,” she answers, looking behind her shoulder in each direction to see if anyone is close enough to hear. “What’s in the trunk is enough for me to bury him. No wife should have to find the things I found in that little box.”

Her eyes are welling up with tears, so I pull my chair closer and put my arm over her shoulder. It’s time I get firm before she gets any more emotional.

“What will it take for you to give me that trunk? If there’s anything I can do to make things right, I will. If you’re saying it’s too late, I can tell Dad. But please, can I have the trunk back?”

She gathers herself up and turns to look me in the eye. “That trunk represents more leverage than I’ve ever had on your father.”

“What do you think you’ll do with it, if you don’t return it to him?

“I don’t know yet.”

“Please, Mandy. I agree. Dad doesn’t deserve you. And he probably deserves everything he’s about to get. But I’m asking for
me
this time. I’m asking you to do this for me. If it’s a divorce you want from Dad, I will do everything I can to support you. Is that what you want?”

“When I saw what was inside, at first I wanted to kill him myself.” Her face is solemn. “I don’t have much time on this earth, son. I’d be lucky if I get six more months. If that’s all the time I have, I want to make the best of it. I want to be free of your father, so I can enjoy my last days with a little peace.”

“If that’s what you want, Mandy, then let me have the trunk. I’ll get rid of it, and I’ll make sure Dad gives you what you want. Will you do that for me?”

She looks away, and stares out at the Statue of Liberty in the distance. I think I’m getting through to her, but I have no idea. I wait for her to mull it over.

“Alright,” she answers after some time. “I’ll do it. For you. You’re a good boy, Jonathan. A good man. I’ve always been proud to have you as a son. You’re the best of your dad, and I love you.”

“It means a lot, hearing it from you. And I love you, Mandy,” I tell her, and I mean every word. This woman is a gem. She been just as kind to me as if she had been my own mother. It pains me to know she’s staring her own mortality in the face, and has to deal with an unfaithful, disturbed husband as well.

“Do you want my advice?” she asks me. “I’ll give it to you anyway. Do not let your father drag you down.”

“Thank you,” I reply. “And I will do my best.”

She pauses and looks at me like she can read my mind. “There something else, isn’t there?”

“There was one more thing, but I’m not sure it makes sense to raise it with you.”

“You might as well tell me now.”

“Dad wants you to help him close the Warrior Revolution deal,” I tell her.

I’m almost unable to hold her gaze because I know it’s a tall order, and the timing couldn’t be worse.

“I’m certain this request is not coming from you, Jonathan. I have to hand it to your dad. He’s got a lot of nerve.” She pulls her napkin from her lap and places it on the table. “Fine. On one condition.”

“And what’s that?”

“I need Solomon to agree in writing that this Warrior funding will represent his full divorce settlement. He can keep Sloan Sports and Entertainment, but he gets nothing else. I keep the house in Long Island, the cottage in the Hamptons. He can keep all of his real estate assets, and even the condo. He doesn’t see a dime of anything to do with Fairchild’s. My share of Fairchild’s will go to you and Claire when I’m gone. And one more thing. I don’t ever want to see him again. If he agrees to all of this, it’s a deal.”

I know dad would never agree to these terms, but Mandy has the upper hand right now. What’s most important is I need to see what’s in the trunk. I need to get it from her today, before I leave for the Bahamas. After that, she and Dad can figure out the rest.

“That sounds more than fair, Mandy. I’ll pass that on to him. Can we take care of the trunk now?”

“Sure. I can’t stand holding on to it, anyway.” She picks up her purse and reaches inside, pulling out a locker key. “It’s in the south corner lockers at Grand Central Station. It’s not large. It’s actually as small as a shoebox.”

“Thanks so much.” I answer, taking the key from her.

She stands and is about to leave, but stops. “And Jonathan?”

“Yes?”

“If you love your father and want to continue loving him, do not look inside the box. Find an incinerator and burn it.”

She puts her purse over her shoulder turns to leave. I get up and follow her out to her car in the parking lot. She kisses me on the cheek, and tells me to take care of myself, before jumping inside. I wave and let her leave before heading back to my car.

I send a text to Rebecca to remind her when I’ll pick her up. I’m dying to fly out and leave this big pile of shit I’m sitting in. More importantly, I’m so curious about what’s in the trunk, I head right on over to Grand Central.

Rebecca

I get to my apartment, and suddenly I wish I had stayed at the office. Rob is waiting on the curb in front of my building. I should have known he’d show up, from how he acted last night at the precinct. I don’t want to talk to him, but as I need him to keep the information flowing our way, I walk up to him.

“Rob, what are you doing here?” I ask, trying to keep my impatience to myself.

“I came to apologize.”

“How did you know I would be at home?”

“I called your office earlier. Look, I’m sorry. I was out of line.”

“You don’t need to apologize to me. You should probably talk to Jonathan.”

“I’m not sorry about hitting him.”

“Then why are you apologizing?”

“I’m sorry you saw me at my worst again.”

“You think
that
was your worst?” I ask, remembering how he almost destroyed a man’s life, and got off the hook with a mere warning.

“Let’s not go there again.”

“You’re right. I accept your apology, Rob. I’m a little busy now…”

“Can we please talk?” He asks.

“Talk about what?”

“About us,” he admits.

I’m not having it. I’m not going down that road, and I tell him words to that effect. He holds on to my arm to stop me as I’m walking up the steps to my front door.

“Please, Rebecca.”

“Rob, if you respect me, then accept that I’m not doing this. Not now. Besides, I have a busy afternoon.”

“Well let’s talk some business, then.”

“Business about what?”

“Jonathan and Solomon Sloan.”

He’s bundled them together, and I’m wondering what new information he has that brought him here.

“Why didn’t you tell me before?” I ask. I’m ready to hear what he has, but I’m not willing to let him inside my apartment. “Let’s walk.”

We cross the street and get to the closest entrance to Central Park. It’s the afternoon, and the trail is not too crowded. There are few people on bikes, and a couple moving down the walkway just ahead of us. They’re deep in conversation, and I think that’s how Rob and I probably look, except he’s not said a word to me yet.

“Tell me what you have,” I instruct him.

“The evidence from the Rushton girl is coming back this afternoon.”

“Okay what else?”

“Isn’t that enough?”

“No, Rob. It’s not. That’s all you have?”

I ask and hear the anger creeping up in my subdued tone. I’m ready to turn back and tell him to go to hell for wasting my time. He’s lucky I need him. I look at him and wait.

“No. That’s not all.”

The man is drip feeding me the information. He obviously is trying to warm me up to him or something.

“Then tell me what you know.”

“I don’t know the details, but what I want you to do is let the Sloans know that internal affairs is investigating Matheson.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Just tell them what I said, Rebecca. They’ll know what I mean.”

I’m frustrated. He has told me nothing, and now he’s treating me like a messenger to the Sloan family. “Is this information going to help them, or hurt them?”

“Either way, it’s going to hurt them. Sometimes, justice catches up to the bad guys, and when it’s bad, nothing can help. Not even your firm.”

“Do you mind telling me something more? Tell me something, Rob. I can see it in your face. You’re hiding something. I came to you because I trust you. Now trust me, and tell me.”

He pulls me off the path, and turns to face me again. All around us, flowering plants explode with buds and color. Birds sing. It’s a stark contradiction to the ominous look on Rob’s face.

“The Sloans are going down, Rebecca. Be careful, because if you or Kara try to save them, you may go down too.”

“I can’t believe you’re giving me empty words like this. I need facts. Do you have any facts? Or are you going to make this into another crucifixion before the evidence tells us otherwise?”

He lets me go and turns to walk away, but looks back and says, “You had to throw that in my face, didn’t you? I’m done, Rebecca. Get your facts from someone else in the department.”

He hurries away, and I try to catch up, but he’s moving too quickly. A small group of teenagers run into my path, throwing a Frisbee at one another. By the time they pass me, Rob is no longer in sight. I let out a frustrated breath and head back. I’m cut off. I have no one else in the department.

Suddenly, I remember who my boss is. Kara must have other people at that precinct that she can talk to. I phone her, but she does not reply. In a way, I’m glad she didn’t answer. This is not the type of thing she would want to talk about on the phone. I phone the office, and the assistant tells me she’ll be back within the hour, and has an opening shortly after she returns. I tell her I’m on my way, and quickly drop my things off in my apartment before I leave again.

The pace of this investigation is flying. With every minute that passes, I get the sinking feeling that we’re not travelling anywhere tonight.

Jonathan

It’s a thirty minute drive to Grand Central Station—if it’s the middle of the night. But it’s not, and with the rush-hour traffic from New Jersey, I’m in my car for almost ninety minutes before I get there. I plug in my Bluetooth on the way over. I phone my dad to let him know I’m where I’m headed.

The relief in his voice annoys me. I’m almost angry that Mandy gave me this key. After everything he’s put her through, she still turns out to be gracious. And dad, still as obnoxious as ever. I listen to him as he gloats about getting through this really soon. He’s not learned a thing, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up celebrating the same weekend by repeating the faux pas with more girls.

If he were not my dad, I’d probably be at the end of my rope. I’d probably turn the fucker in, just for what he did to Mandy. I’m so sick of it I tell him I can’t talk right now, and I’ll update him later on before I fly out. He stops me to ask what her answer was about Warrior.

“I’m not sure you want to know her answer over the phone, Dad,” I tell him. I don’t know why I’m sparing him. I should spit it out just the way she said it, so he can feel it, and know some of the pain Mandy is feeling right now.

“Don’t hold out on me, Johnny,” he barks out at me in that demanding, impatient tone he
likes to put on. “Tell me what she said. Tell me right now. Is she going to help me with Warrior or not?”

“Are you sitting down?” I have to ask. He needs to understand how serious this is.

“Don’t worry about me,” he answers. “I can take it. Lay it out for me, Johnny.”

I tell them exactly what she said, practically verbatim, and there’s silence on the other end of the line. He stands to lose out on tens of billions of dollars if he agrees to her terms. I know my father. His silence right now is not consent. His face is probably beet red with anger. He tells me he’ll talk to me later, and my guess is the man is about to cry. He should cry. He’s fucked things up enough. Maybe it’s time for him to get this wake-up call, to stop him in his tracks.

I park across from Grand Central Station, and go to my trunk to empty my workout duffel bag. I don’t want anyone seeing me leave Grand Central with that thing. The place is always crawling with cops, and there are CCTV cameras everywhere. You never know who’s watching. If I want to get this evidence out of here, and destroyed for good, I need to be discreet.

The anticipation getting to me. As always, the place is buzzing with activity when I get inside. I walk to the south entrance, find the locker, but before I open it, I walk over to an empty seat nearby and I look around. There are just two or three people milling about this smaller area. None of them look suspicious, and none of them seem to notice me.

I fake a sneeze to see if I can get their attention. Maybe they’re intentionally avoiding me so that I don’t make them. The two men standing around look over at me, and the woman sitting a few seats across from me looks up and tells me ‘bless you’ before looking down at her tablet again.

I feel good enough to take a chance. I pull the key out of my pocket and I walk over to the bay of lockers. I open it quickly, and I think my face just about goes white as a ghost. I can’t see it myself, but I feel the blood drain out of my face and neck.

I practically run outside to get to my car, and when I’m safely inside, I phone Mandy. Mandy doesn’t lie. She never does. But when she answers, I can’t control my tone of voice.

“What’s going on, Mandy?” I demand.

“Jonathan. What’s wrong?”

“Why did you move the trunk?”

“What are you talking about? I told you where it is.”

“Nothing’s in the locker,” I tell her calmly. The calm in my voice is actually pure panic. I’m so panicked I don’t know how to react.

“That’s not possible,” she tells me. “I put it there two nights ago before you saw me at dinner with Michael.”

“Was anyone there with you?”

“No. I was alone.”

“What about Michael?”

“No. He was waiting for me at the hotel.”

“Do you think anyone saw you?”

“I don’t believe anyone did. Jonathan, are you sure nothing is there?”

“I can’t believe this is happening,” I tell her. “Mandy, I need you to come clean with me. Please tell me what’s in the trunk. And tell me if there’s anything in there that may be mine.”

She doesn’t say a word. She’s probably in shock. After a few moments, she says, “Unless you and your father have both been up to no good, you have nothing to worry about. There’s nothing in there I would ever think could be from your hands, Jonathan. I know you, son. You are the gentlest, kindest human being I know. And don’t you ever forget that.”

The words she’s describing me with don’t even register. I’m too worried about where this trunk is, who could’ve taken it, and what they’re about to do with it. I tell her I have to talk to her later, hang up, and instantly phone my father. He doesn’t answer. I send him a text with the numbers 911. It’s our mutual code for ‘get your ass over to my condo so we can talk’.

I get home and upstairs, and he’s not there. I try phoning him again. He doesn’t answer. I call his office. His assistant says he’s in a meeting. I tell her to get him out of the meeting and on the phone right now. I tell her it’s urgent, and she’s worked for my dad long enough to know when I’m serious. She puts me on hold and a minute later, my dad is on the phone. I can’t talk to him, or tell him anything. Who knows who’s listening. Instead, I tell him to meet me at the condo immediately. That it’s urgent. Worse than urgent.

He tells me this meeting is too important. He tells me he has to stay, because it’s to do with Warrior and getting alternative interim funding. He tells me how important it is, in light of Mandy’s demands. He stresses that he has to find the finances somewhere, and the people in that office are the key. I can’t believe this man doesn’t trust my judgment right now. I know when he finds out that trunk is gone, and Mandy doesn’t know where it is, he will flip.

I don’t know what to do. I’m tempted to drive to his office and burst in, and wrestle him out to somewhere private so we can talk. His office is across town. There’s no way I’ll get there quickly. I have to do something now. I drive to Kara’s office. I know she knows more than anyone else. Definitely more than Rebecca.

I get upstairs and I don’t even wait for her assistant to tell me it’s okay to go in. I storm into Kara’s office. Rebecca is sitting there. I’m just as shocked to see her as she is to see me.

“Kara, Rebecca. I’m sorry for barging in like this. Kara, I need to talk to you. It’s urgent and it can’t wait.”

She looks up at me. She doesn’t look at all surprised to see me, even though I haven’t been to her in her office for years.

“Rebecca, I need to speak to Kara in private, but do you mind if we have a word in your office for just a minute? Kara do you mind?”

They both nod, and Rebecca rises from her seat and follows me out to her office. She closes the door, and I pull her in close and hold her in my arms. She looks up at me and kisses me warmly.

“What’s going on, Jonathan?” She asks.

“It’s a long story. I can’t get into it now. But I want to tell you something before everything goes to hell.”

She looks up at me her eyes questioning, curious.

“It doesn’t look like we’ll be going to the Bahamas right now, unfortunately.”

She nods. She’s not surprised. I’m worried about that. “That’s all right. Another time is fine too. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine now. I probably won’t be fine for long. But I want you to know that no matter what happens, and no matter what they say about me, I care about you, Rebecca. The time I spent with you has been beautiful. I’ve not cared for another person the way I care for you. The part of me I shared with you, well…that was the real me, and what I feel for you will never change. I’m going to speak with Kara now, and when I’m done, I’ll come back to you, if you’ll be around.”

There’s a confused expression on her face. She nods. I wish I could tell her more. I’m positive there not enough time to explain any more to her. I feel the walls closing in on me. The knot in my gut is on high alert. I ask her to wait in her office until I speak to Kara privately. I sense her disappointment, but she respects my wishes and waits.

As I’m walking to Kara’s office, my heart sinks. Coming out of the elevators are Bateman and Miller, and they’re accompanied by four uniformed police officers. I have no doubt in my mind they’re coming for me.