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My thoughts scatter into a million irretrievable pieces, causing my synapses to freeze. My tongue sits idle, waiting for some command that doesn’t come. I have no words.
Royal/Randy lets out a cruel laugh that’s empty of humor. “What’s the matter, baby? Cat got your tongue? Or should I say, has Roscoe Biotech got your precious spreadsheets?”
“Fuck. You! You set me up!” The emotion that tears from my throat is naked and raw, and though my vision dims at the edges, I see Donny’s mouth drop open.
Royal/Randy tsks. “Now don’t be like that, pigeon. Not after all we meant to each other and all the fun we had. You do remember that, don’t you?”
“It was all a lie. All you do is lie. What do you want?”
Donny has taken it upon himself to shove his ear beside mine, and he’s treated to the next bit of garbage that oozes from my ex’s mouth. “Oh, so very, very much. I never should have walked away from you, Jackie. I’ve regretted it ever since. But before we get to that, I need a favor from you.”
“I thought you were out of the country.”
“And therein lies part of my problem. I never made it overseas because of a, ah, shortage of funds. My new employer didn’t wire me the money I needed to get there, get settled, and report for work.”
“What’s your point?” I snarl.
“And there it is. That eagerness of yours might be seen as impatience by some, but not by me. I always understood you, Jacquelyn. We understood each other.”
“No, we really didn’t,” I counter. Had I understood him, I wouldn’t have been blindsided by his con-man act.
“What I was going to say is I’m still having some … issues, and I need a loan. Just a small one. Then I’ll be out of the country and out of your hair.”
A girl could be so lucky.
“And you think I’ve got money? Even if I did, I wouldn’t loan it to you.”
“And now who’s lying?” His words slither down my spine, spreading cold and dread.
“What do you mean?”
“Despite the mistakes you made at Roscoe, you’re a clever girl, Jackie. I always thought so, even if the brass didn’t. See, I know for a fact that you used that cleverness to squirrel away some of that money you took. Money that was supposed to come to me.”
Indignation bubbles inside me like molten lava. “What? I didn’t squirrel anything away. I had to liquidate everything I owned to pay them back after you ruined my life.”
“And that’s how I know you’re lying. You were able to pay them back every dime they said you owed. Now had you truly liquidated everything, you wouldn’t be living the good life in Raleigh.”
“Living the good life?” I sputter. “How the hell would you know what kind of life I’m living?”
His voice turns hard. “You owe me, Jackie, and I want what’s coming to me.” Then it switches back to a greasy lilt. The chameleon. “You don’t want this precious job you’ve just landed to blow up in your face, do you? After all, it’s taken you a while to find someone willing to take you on. I’m sure you want them to keep believing you’re this innocent, hardworking, honest woman.” His voice drips with sarcasm. “But I know better, and I’m happy to share some details with them that will make them … How do I put this delicately? Oh, I know. Reconsider their hire.”
“Hey, asshole!” Donny yells as he snatches the phone from me. “Why don’t you and I have a little chat? I’m available right fucking now, and I know a few guys who would love nothing better than to rearrange your face, including me. In fact, I’m first in line.”
A loud click tells me Royal/Randy has ended the call. I hit the number in an attempt to call him back, but it immediately goes to some generic voicemail box. I turn my rage on Donny. “Why did you do that? I didn’t need you charging in to my rescue. I had it handled!”
“No, you really didn’t,” he throws back at me. “There’s only one way to deal with a slimeball like him, and no offense, but your approach was going nowhere.”
“Oh, so calling him out like a kid in a playground is the right approach?” I yell. “How could you do that? This is my fight, and you need to stay out of it. This is my mess to own and clean up.” Granted, I thought I’d already done that.
The hurt in my brother’s eyes slays me. His expression quickly sharpens. “I was only trying to … Fine.” He shoves the phone back in my hands and storms off to his bedroom, only to spin around and tromp back. He perches his hands on his hips. “Are you holding out on him, Jack? Do you have money stashed away somewhere?”
His words strike like a volley of arrows, and my voice trembles. “Do you honestly think I would have borrowed money from you if I had some stashed somewhere?”
He studies me for a moment, and the doubt I see in his eyes crushes me. I don’t breathe again until he’s behind the closed door to his bedroom, and then I crumple in a heap of my own inadequacy. Trust goes both ways, and right now it’s in an ash pile.
Because my judgment failed me and I trusted the wrong man, I’m still paying the price. So are those I love who had nothing to do with my failure. More disturbing is this feeling that the cost has a long way to go before it stops rising.
How is Randy going to ruin my life this time?
