Page 95 of Trustfall

“Okay?”

“Long story short, Marshall walked in on his wife cheating on him in an upstairs bedroom. I don’t know if it was a one-time thing or had been going on for a while, but he punched the guy in the face. Emory, Marshall is a very influential man, not just in Emberfield, but with connections all the way to New York and even California…”

California.It all makes sense now. Jaxon’s bruise last night when he came to see me in the gazebo. His “misunderstanding.” He’s been having an affair with Victoria Astor? She’s old enough to be his mother. Allie is going to have a field day psychoanalyzing that one. I’m not surprised, though. Of course, he would be trying to get me back while he’s fucking someone else.

“Jaxon?” I ask, but I already know the answer.

Dad nods. “Marshall wants to keep this quiet, obviously. But he also wants Jaxon punished. He wants to tell his father and let him deal with him accordingly. But…”

“What?”

“I always dig into the background of all our potential clients. First and foremost, I have to protect myself and the company, so we can effectively protect others. I can’t take on clients who have major skeletons in their closets. When I looked into Jaxon and his father’s company…Let’s just say Barrett Forbes is not a good man.”

My blood runs cold.I never hit you. I’m not my father. I’ll never be like that piece of shit.

“I told Jaxon that I couldn’t take him on as a client. I assumed that’s why he went back to California. But I get the sense that telling Barrett about Jaxon’s indiscretions would result in more than a slap on the wrist for him. It seems he’s already on thin ice with his father, so I wanted to get the whole story first.”

Barrett Forbes.The fading bruises when I saw Jaxon weeks ago. The drugs.It all makes sense now.

“I was able to convince Marshall to hold off for a day,” my dad continues. “But…he’s not going to let it go easily.”

“Aren’t you good friends with him?” I think I remember hearing once that they played basketball together in high school or something.

“Good enough,” he replies. “Honestly, it’s hypocritical as hell. Everyone knows he’s been running around on his wife for years. What I’m saying is…we have leverage over Jaxon.”

My stomach dips, the familiar wave of nausea hitting me all over again. I can try to get Jaxon to drop the charges by telling him we can get Marshall to back down, but it would be blackmail. Or coercion, at the very least. How would that make me any better than him? I walk over to one of the couches and collapse, so tired of having to make difficult decisions.

“I know what you’re thinking, Emory,” my dad says as he walks over and takes the seat next to me. “But it’s not blackmail. We won’t threaten to tell Barrett if he doesn’t comply. We’ll let him know we are willing to help him. If he helps us.”

“Quid pro quo,” I say.

“Exactly.”

“And if we don’t do this?”

“Based on what Nate said, Luke could be looking at years behind bars if he’s convicted. With the doctor’s reports and the recording, it’s likely he will be.”

Regardless of my relationship status with Luke at this very moment, I have to help him. This all happened because of me, and I couldn’t live with myself if I let him go to jail for years because of something I brought into his life. There’s no telling that this will even work. Jaxon might laugh in my face for even daring to play chess with him, but I have to give it a shot. And I won’t let someone else do it on my behalf—it has to be me.

“Okay,” I say slowly, “but I have one condition.”

“You want to talk to Jaxon yourself?” he guesses.

“How did you know?”

“Because you are your mother’s daughter. I know I don’t tell you this enough, but I really am proud of you, Emory. You have her determination. Her fire.”

“Yeah? I wonder what she'd do if she knew you tried to marry me off to random men just to save your company after ignoring me my whole life.”

I know that must sting. He’s trying to make up for lost time, but I deserve to tell him how I feel.

His expression shifts from regret to amusement as he mulls over my accusation. Glad he finds this funny.

“She would have kicked my ass,” he finally says.

I give him a half smile. I’ve always loved my mom. Or what I knew of her. But now I realize I would have really liked her, too.

“I shouldn’t have done that,” he adds. “My parents did the same thing to me, and I resented them for it. Nate and I…you know we have a complicated relationship. I admit there was a part of me that wanted to make sure I had someone who has the company’s best interest at heart for when I’m no longer around. But I also want you to be happy. You just seemed so lonely these past few years, and Ashton is a good guy. I vetted him way before I set up that lunch. I thought he might be good for you. I understand now why you didn’t want to put yourself out there again. And I certainly didn’t go about it the right way. I should not have meddled in your life.”

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