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Chapter Four

J etta punched the body pillow in the hopes she could get it into a shape suitable for sleeping. Seth’s assertion he would find evidence someone deliberately tried to harm her dog had her insides tied up with more knots than ropes on a ship. To focus her thoughts on something else, she’d read everything she could find online about her father and the embezzlement charges. Learning the sordid details of the crime had merely revved up the baby, who had somersaulted for hours, keeping her awake.

She tried to pray but couldn’t form the words with her thoughts all jumbled. While raised in church, her mother hadn’t attended much after her father’s sudden death. Now that Jetta knew a bit more about the circumstances surrounding his fatal heart attack, she wondered if church members had snubbed them because of the embezzlement accusations. In her teens and college years, Jetta had allowed herself to drift away from the things of God, but her current situation had driven her back into the arms of her loving Savior. Jetta had begun to memorize Scripture to bolster her fledging faith, and now a recent verse from the Psalms flitted through her mind. “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

Jetta repeated Psalm 27:1 over and over, whispering the words until her eyelids dragged downward and her heart rate slowed. Her phone buzzed on the nightstand, jolting her back from the edge of sleep. One a.m. She pushed up onto her elbows and checked the incoming call. Jade, the last sibling who hadn’t called after she’d texted their group chat about Bingley’s trip to the vet, keeping the reason vague.

“Hey, sis.” Jetta flopped onto her back. “Do you know what time it is?”

“Girl, why didn’t you call me? I had to find out by text?”

Jade’s manufactured outrage made Jetta grin. She did enjoy riling her older sisters, Jade in particular, who hated being the last to know any family news, but living in California with the rest of her siblings on the East Coast meant Jade missed some things. But her smile fell away at the serious nature of the incident. “Sorry, wasn’t feeling up to talking.”

“Yeah, it must have been rough.” Her sister’s voice softened. “But I’m glad Bingley will be okay. You haven’t told Mom, have you?”

“I’m planning to when I see her first thing in the morning.”

“What did the vet say was wrong with him anyway?”

Jetta contemplated the ceiling, trying to figure out how to tell the truth without alarming her sister with all the details. “He must have eaten something that disagreed with him.”

“You’ll need to keep a close eye on him, since you now know he’s apt to get into things he shouldn’t.”

“I most certainly will.” Jade’s assumption Bingley had been the culprit instead of someone who wanted to harm him eased some of the stress building inside Jetta. She wouldn’t have to share her suspicions that someone had deliberately poisoned her dog. If her siblings found out, one of them would be on their way to Falls Church on the next available flight—and would find out about her delicate condition. She most certainly did not want them butting into her life. Hiding her pregnancy felt like lying to her brothers and sisters—okay, it was lying by omission—but she couldn’t handle their questions and well-meaning directives, not when she was still sorting through her options.

Before Jade could launch into another topic, Jetta asked, “Why didn’t you tell me about Dad?”

“What about Dad?”

Jetta rolled her eyes at Jade’s obvious attempt at dissimulation. “You know very well what I’m talking about—the embezzlement charges.”

“We—”

“And don’t tell me I was too young. I haven’t been too young for years now.”

“You’re right.” Jade’s voice softened. “We should have told you. But honestly, we didn’t want to ruin your memories of him like ours were ruined.”

“Wait, you think he was guilty?” Jetta couldn’t believe what she was hearing. While she knew only what she’d read online, she didn’t for a minute believe the man who had tried to find the owner of a dollar bill he’d found on the sidewalk outside a store could have embezzled millions.

Jade’s breath sounded suspiciously like a huff, something her sister did whenever she thought the other person was having a “duh” moment. “It didn’t impact you as much as it did us. We had to deal with the fallout of having a father accused of embezzling millions from a cutting-edge company working on developing robotic prosthetics, among other things.”

Jetta hated to push, but she needed to know where Jade stood. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“Yes and no.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Usually Jade wasn’t one to mince words, so her reluctance to say what she thought of their father made Jetta wonder how the accusations might have hurt her sister, who’d been at Boston College at the time of the arrest.

“As chief financial officer, he had to know about the missing money. He was very good at his job.” Jade paused, then continued, her voice soft yet firm. “So either he didn’t know and therefore wasn’t paying close attention to the books like he should have been or he turned a blind eye to whoever was taking the money.”

Jetta mulled that over before positing her thoughts. “Mom always said Dad was a straight arrow.”

“Until this happened, I would have agreed.”

“Then there must be a third option.”

“What’s that?”

“What if he knew someone was taking the money but was trying to find the evidence to prove it?”

Jade stayed silent for so long, Jetta checked to make sure her sister hadn’t hung up. “Jade?”

“While I’d like to think that, if I recall from what the articles—and Topher Robotics—said, the evidence against Dad was overwhelming.”

Jetta opened her mouth to refute Jade’s claim, but she didn’t know how because she hadn’t investigated beyond the news stories. Best take a closer look at what happened, then she could persuade her siblings of their father’s innocence.

Before Jetta could end the call, Jade asked, “Hey, Mom says you’ve been spending time with your hunky neighbor.”

“Seth?” The name burst out of Jetta before she had time to consider what it would telegraph to Jade. She mentally slapped herself in the forehead for giving her sis ammunition to pummel her with about her lack of a love life.

“Ha, I knew it! Spill it.”

Jetta sighed. She’d have to throw her sister a bone or Jade would never let her go and get some sleep. “He rescued Bingley tonight.” Then gave an abbreviated version of the events surrounding Bingley’s trip to the hospital.

“I knew he was more than a pretty face.” Jade’s grin came across loud and clear on the phone. “Like your own personal knight in shining armor with arm muscles are to die for. Besides, Mom approves of Seth, and since you’re not dating Kyle anymore, you’re a free agent.”

Jetta bit back a groan at her older sisters’ meddling in her life. Lately, they had morphed from trying to control her career to finding her a man. “What would your husband think of your drooling over another man?”

“He’d understand I’m only doing it to get my younger sister to see the potential right under her nose.”

Jetta stuck out her tongue. Jade wouldn’t be so gung-ho if she could see Jetta’s predicament. No one would want to date her, much less marry her, in her current situation. “You get married and suddenly, everyone has to be partnered with someone?”

“Can I help it if I want you to experience marital bliss like me?”

“Yes, you can.” She yawned. “Listen, it’s after one here and I’m beat. I’ll have to get up early if I want to visit Mom before getting Bingley from the vet.”

“Right. I still can’t keep this East Coast-West Coast time thing straight. Sleep tight, and let us know how it goes with Mom.”

“Will do.” Jetta ended the call and checked that the phone charger was still connected. She tried a different position in bed but still couldn’t get comfortable. With a sigh deeper than the ocean, as Dad used to say, she closed her eyes. Maybe more prayers would help her find rest. She prayed she would be able to get Mom to talk about the arrest and evidence against Dad when she visited her tomorrow. Sleep began its gentle pull on her body once more as she snuggled deeper into her covers.

Seth Whitman popped into her mind. His effortlessness in lifting the seventy-pound Bingley coupled with the gentleness of his movements made him an attractive package. His kindness toward others shone through in every encounter. Her mother might vouch for him, but Jetta couldn’t rely on her own instincts, not when the result of her last judgment call in trusting the wrong man kicked her in the ribs. Sleep nudged her into dreamland before she could resolve the problem of how to keep Seth in her life without leading him on, because she could use a friend like him.

* * *

Ryan Topher eyed his oldest son, Frederick, over the rim of his cup. The boy—he still thought of him that way despite Frederick’s forty-four years—had his habitual petulant look, his lips pursed as though sucking on something sour. Frederick held a cup and saucer but hadn’t taken a sip of the excellent coffee Ryan had flown in every quarter from a Hawaiian coffee farm. Ryan waited for Frederick to state why he’d requested this meeting. Frederick’s duties as vice president of operations meant he reported directly to Yasmine and not his father, which curtailed the interactions Ryan had with Frederick, something Ryan appreciated more as the years passed and what had been cute when Frederick was younger morphed into something else entirely.

Frederick set his untouched beverage on the coffee table. His leg jiggled up and down once before he stilled it with a hand on his knee. Ryan inwardly winced at the telltale sign. Money. The kid wanted more money.

“How much this time?” Ryan kept his tone bored and low.

His son jerked as if Ryan had shot a cannon off in the spacious corner office. “What? No, I mean why would you assume I want money?”

The manufactured outrage on his son’s countenance usually made Ryan laugh, but not today. “I don’t have time to dance around the issue. If I misunderstood, I apologize.” He drained his coffee and set the cup beside his son’s untouched one on the table. “Now, I have a board meeting to prepare for, so if there’s nothing else, I’ll see you Saturday for your mother’s birthday dinner.”

Frederick shot to his feet. “Well, the, um, thing is…” He rubbed his hands together, a boyhood tick that signaled Ryan wasn’t going to like what came next. “The fees for Ridley’s boarding school went up way more than we’d anticipated, and Macey won’t graduate from college for another year.”

Ryan waited a beat. The cost of two kids in private schools must be enormous, but then again, Frederick took home a handsome salary, plus the use of a company vehicle, so he should be able to cover the expenses without a problem. A red flush crept up Frederick’s neck and onto his cheeks. Interesting. He didn’t usually blush when asking for a loan from his father.

“The thing is, Dad, that, uh…” He choked on the words.

Ryan didn’t have time to coax it out of him, not when he had to contend with an antsy board and rumors about a hostile takeover from a rival technology firm. “Spit it out or leave it for another time.”

The words came out harsher than Ryan had intended, but he wasn’t about to apologize. Frederick’s eyes widened, but he squared his shoulders and blurted, “Cynthia said she’s leaving me.”

Cynthia, still a beauty at forty-one with her ice-blue eyes and naturally blonde hair, had struck Ryan as the pragmatic type who would stick by her man come what may. Ryan leveled a hard stare at his son. “What did you do?” He held up a hand to forestall the protest he was sure would be rising to his son’s lips. “And don’t tell me nothing. Cynthia’s not a fool. She’s put up with a lot from you over the years.”

“She found out about Natasha.” Frederick’s gaze skittered away from his father’s.

Ryan firmed his lips. “I warned you about flaunting your mistresses.”

Frederick waved his hand as if brushing away a pesky fly. “Cynthia and I have an understanding.”

“Then what’s the problem?” Ryan pointedly glanced at his phone, letting Frederick know his time was running out.

“Natasha’s pregnant.”

Ryan had to hand it to his son—he hadn’t been expecting that bombshell.

“Won’t you talk to Cynthia, get her to see how damaging it would be to the family for her to leave?”

The whine in Frederick’s voice grated on Ryan’s nerves. It was past time for his son to live with the consequences of his actions. “No.”

“But—”

“Getting your mistress pregnant is something no wife should have to tolerate.” Ryan stared straight into his eldest son’s eyes, which begged to make his problems disappear. He firmed his lips, tired of always bailing out one of his three children. If only his wife had been more supportive of his decisions related to raising their brood when the kids were younger, he wouldn’t be having this conversation now when he needed to focus on saving the company. “If Cynthia has decided this is the final straw, I will not intervene.”

“She’ll clean me out!” Anger laced Frederick’s words. “Plus I’ll have to pay Natasha child support. She’s already told me she’s keeping the baby.”

Ryan refrained from rolling his eyes at the expectation he would once again step in and untangle the trouble Frederick had made. “Of course she is—that’s her ticket to at least eighteen years of monthly payments from you.” He pointed to the door. “You made the mess, you sort it out. I have a board meeting to prepare for.”

Frederick stormed toward the door, yanking it open. “I can’t believe you’ll let her destroy my family.”

“You did that all on your own.” Ryan turned away, his attention on how to calm the jittery board members. He barely noticed his son’s departure as he focused on the spreadsheets showing rising profits and a rosy outlook for the rest of the fiscal year. The numbers should be enough of a distraction from any takeover rumors. His desk phone buzzed. The temptation to ignore it warred with the knowledge Mae Stanhope, his long-time assistant, knew not to bother him with unimportant matters during his board prep time.

He snatched up the receiver. “Yes?”

“Mr. Topher, I have Mr. Conner on line two.”

Blake Conner’s timing was as impeccable as always. “Thank you.” Ryan punched in the number. “Blake, good to hear from you.”

“It’s not good.”

His long-time friend’s voice was hushed. Ryan’s stomach clenched. “What does that mean?”

“It means the rumors are true—Maxwell Technology is putting together a hostile takeover bid.”

This could not have come at a worse time, with the board breathing down his neck and the delay of Vie, an AI-powered wearable device. He pinched the bridge of his nose. If he could keep his father from getting wind of this new development, he could find a way out to retain control of the company and bring Vie to market within six months. He had to manage this or his father would come out of retirement to oust him. Ryan had to keep that from happening or he’d lose more than his title at the company. “Thanks for the heads-up.”

“I don’t have to tell you what could happen if this goes through.”

He certainly did not, but his siblings would help him come up with a plan to salvage the company. After talking about getting together for a golf game next week and exchanging goodbyes, Ryan disconnected. As he replaced the receiver, he hoped that would be the end of the bad news coming his way today.

But the phone buzzed as soon as he’d lifted his hand. “Mae, I’m busy—”

“I’m glad to hear it, son.”

His father’s gravelly voice punched him in the gut. “Dad, sorry. I’m prepping for the board meeting, and—”

As usual, his father didn’t give him a chance to finish. Whatever Peter had to say was always more important than anyone else. “Consider this a courtesy call letting you know I’ll be attending.”

“The board meeting?” Ryan blurted the question before he could curb his tongue. His father coming would only complicate an already delicate dance.

“Of course the board meeting. Are you sure you’re up to running things? You seem a little distracted.”

“Frederick just left with the news Cynthia’s leaving him.” Ryan hoped their family drama would distract his father from commenting further on Ryan’s behavior.

“Found out his mistress was pregnant, did she?” Peter chortled. “Guess even Cynthia has her limits.”

“You knew?” Ryan shouldn’t have been surprised. His father had spies everywhere. He made a mental note to sweep his office for bugs again, as Dad wasn’t above using whatever means possible to meddle in the company and his children’s and grandchildren’s lives.

“Stop asking dumb questions and get ready for the board meeting.” His father hung up, leaving Ryan vacillating between amused and annoyed at Peter’s interference.

Thanks for upping the ante, Dad. Ryan blew out a breath and made a mental note to have Mae schedule a massage for him before work tomorrow. Then he buckled down to prepare for the board meeting that might determine the fate of the company, his own job—and perhaps even his life.