Page 99 of When Glitter Meets Gold

“And what? You want to go up there and spy on them?”

He eyes me flatly. “No, I want to stay in this dusty room while the drama unfolds without me.” He tugs me down from the stool, linking arms with me. “Of course I want to spy! Hurry!”

We navigate our way through the crowd until we pass beneath an archway which leads to a grand, curving staircase with golden rails and a mustard rug that lines the center of the creamy marble steps.

We rush to the foot of the stairs, staring up to the first landing.

Francis picks up one side of my skirt while I gather the other, and then we begin to climb.

We reach the top of the staircase, only to be confronted by a crossroad:threecorridors. This place is a labyrinth.

“I’ll go this way, you go ahead,” Francis says, already charging off. “Text if you find them.”

I nod, striding through the maze until a cool breeze touches the bare skin of my arms and chest.

I move along the corridor where a gentle wind pulls me toward a set of double doors where I hear voices. When I step out onto a large balcony area, I see a man with a camera and a couple of assistants arranging a lighting set-up. The space is lit by fairy lights and glimmering sconces, and beneath their glow, is Jack. Alone.

When he spots me, a smile sweeps over his face as he crosses the patio to meet me.

“What happened?” The smile disappears when he’s inches from me, concern blazing in his eyes.

“Nothing, I came to see if you were okay, I heard that you?—”

“What happened?” He moves even closer to me, his eyes searching my face for answers.

No.I’m the one who’s meant to be worried, I’m the one who came to offer comfort. I thought I’d hid my disappointment, I thought I’d tucked it away. But when I open my mouth to tell him that, my voice breaks.

“I didn’t get that promotion.” It slips out before I can stop it.

A crease forms between his eyes. “What? When did you find out? It’s not because of this leak, is it?” Each question is like a boiling pot about to spill over the edge.

“I don’t know.” I shake my head. “I don’t have many answers right now. I literally just found out that…Drew got the job instead.”

“Thatguy?” Jack’s voice booms. “I don’t understand. He’s in finance for starters. The guy’s a loose wire.” Then a littledarker, “I hate loose wires. Anyway, he’s not taking your job.”

“It was never my job,” I say absently. “Just something I wanted. Anyway, I’m okay.” I glance up at him. “I promise I’ll be fine.”

He studies me, his face entirely unconvinced but he doesn’t press.

“I didn’t come up here to make things about me, I came because Francis told me he…saw you fighting with Kandi.” I shrug apologetically. “I just wanted to make sure everything was okay. She’s got something on you Jack, I know it. I said I didn’t care what happened between you, but I didn’t mean that. I know that whatever it was, it’s something bad and I want to know so I can help…I want to know everything.”

42

JACK ‘J’

The moment Sara declared she wanted to know the whole truth, J sent the photographer away to ensure they were alone so he can finally get this off his chest.

“Kandi’s a former employee.” J steps back, runs a hand through his hair and jams a hand in his pocket. “She worked for me a few years back.” He inhales a deep breath as he prepares to finally share the thing that’s been eating him up since he packed a bag and went on that hike in Maine.

“She showed a lot of promise, achieved targets, had a decent work ethic, that sort of thing.” He shakes his head at the unwelcome memories that begin to spill in. “Then came the demands. She wanted more recognition, better rewards for her efforts. Air miles, theatre tickets, bonuses. We indulged her. Like I said, she showed promise, and I wanted to show my gratitude.”

Sara narrows her eyes, intently taking in each shred of information. “Sounds about normal for her. What else?”

J’s mouth becomes a straight line. “She wanted extra bonuses on top of the ones she already had. She would askforhugesums of money. I thought she was in trouble or had a gambling addiction.” He shakes his head, recalling the time he wasted giving her the benefit of the doubt. “Turns out she was just fueled by greed. Eventually I had to fire her.” He sighs.

“I knew she wouldn’t go quietly, so I gave her averygenerous severance deal. Which she took, and our paths never crossed again.” He inhales deeply. “Until a couple months ago. I started running into her at events. At first, I thought it was a horrible coincidence until I realized she was tailing me. She’d blown through the money, and not surprisingly, she wanted more. She…”

He trails off. He’s not sure if he wants to get the rest out in the open but when he looks at Sara’s face, eager to offer comfort without judgment, he continues. “She accused me of making inappropriate advances on her in my office. She said she’d tell everyone that I fired her because she wouldn’t indulge me.” He trails off, shakes his head. “She said it was her word against mine, and it would be easier if I just gave her the money.”

---