Page 28

The loan documents sat in a neat stack on Hez’s desk. Annotated yellow sticky notes stuck out in random spots, like weeds sprouting from a sheer cliff. His temperamental office printer had been busy for over an hour and had quit in protest several times. It would have been much faster to use the copy room printer, but he didn’t want to risk someone seeing one of these documents before he had a chance to talk to Jess.

Jess hadn’t responded to his text, but she must have seen it by now. He sent it almost thirty-six hours ago, and she’d gotten back to Nova Cambridge yesterday evening. She hadn’t even asked him what was so urgent, which presumably meant she knew or she was ignoring him. Most likely both.

Well, she wouldn’t be able to ignore him much longer. Her office was just a few doors down from his, and he made a point of walking past every fifteen minutes this morning. He glanced at his watch. Time for another lap.

He picked up the stack of papers and headed into the hall. Her light was on and her door was ajar. He stopped and glanced in. She sat in front of her computer, her petite frame erect and her eyes fixed on the screen in front of her.

He knocked with his free hand. “Morning, Jess. We need to talk.”

She didn’t look away from the monitor. “Not now. I have a meeting to get ready for.”

He pushed the door open and walked in. “Sorry, it has to be now.”

He sat in one of her office chairs. “Whatever your meeting is about, this is more important.”

She gave a sharp sigh and turned toward him, her mouth pressed in a thin line. “I don’t care who pays for it. I’ll get a rental if I need one. Now get out.”

Hez blinked. “What are you talking about?”

“My car, of course.”

Jess turned back to her monitor. “Toni found all the tires slashed and the paint scratched when she came out of a witness interview on Tuesday. She said she told you and asked you how to get the damage fixed.”

So that’s what Toni’s email was about. Hez had been too focused on the loan issue to clear out his inbox. “Sorry, I haven’t had a chance to go through my emails. There’s been an urgent matter that I—”

“Read it and we can talk after my meeting. I’m pretty sure Pierre did it. See if you can find a way to stick him with the repair bill.”

“You think Pierre vandalized your car?”

She rolled her eyes. “Of course. Toni was interviewing a witness who had dirt on another one of his trust-fund scams. You’re way behind on this, aren’t you? Seriously, go read your email. I have other things to do.”

“I—”

She flicked a glance at him and started typing. “And figure out what I’m going to drive in the meantime. Is the Justice Chamber going to rent me a car or pay my Uber bills while mine is in the shop?”

“I, uh, I’m not sure. Let me—”

He stopped.

She’s trying to distract me.

He should have seen it immediately, despite his post-craniotomy brain fog. There was no way she really thought he barged into her office to talk about her car, especially when he was carrying a stack of loan documents. She was playing for time and trying to sidetrack him—and he’d been letting her do it.

He reached into his pocket and took out his key ring. He detached the fob for his Audi A3 and put it on Jess’s desk. “Drive mine. I can’t drive for another two and a half months thanks to this.”

He tapped his left temple. “It’s been sitting in the faculty lot since the day I was attacked. Now, I’d really like to get your input on what I found in these loan documents before I talk to Savannah.”

Jess stopped typing. “You approved the loan. Savannah signed it. It’s a done deal.”

“And we may need to undo it. There’s a very serious problem buried in these documents.”

He held up the stack. “There are three provisions scattered throughout that, read together, make this a demand note secured by all of TGU’s assets.”

She licked her lips. “I don’t know what you mean.”

He doubted that with the way she evaded his gaze. “Hornbrook can demand full payment of the loan at any time and the university has to pay every penny in twenty-four hours. If we don’t, they can grab everything.”

She arched an eyebrow. “If there’s a problem, why did you recommend signing the loan?”

“Because these provisions are very obscure.”

He paused. “It’s almost like they were deliberately hidden. Do you want me to walk through each clause and explain how they work together?”

She waved a perfectly manicured hand as if shooing away an annoying insect. “This is standard language in high-end business loans. The interest rate and other terms are good. Don’t worry about it.”

Hez shook his head, causing a warning twinge from the left side of his skull. “It is not standard. I researched that. And even if it were, it’s crazy. This is like having a clause in your mortgage that says the bank can demand the full amount anytime they want and take your house away if you can’t pay it all in twenty-four hours. No one would take that loan, no matter how good the interest rate.”

She gave him a placating smile, but a cold and calculating look glinted in her hazel eyes. “I don’t want to sound condescending, Hez, but you’re not a banker or a Wall Street lawyer. You’re very good at what you do—I know that from firsthand experience—but this just isn’t your area of expertise. It’s mine. Trust me on this, okay?”

Hez pressed his lips together for a moment. “I wish I could, Jess. I really do. But I can’t put TGU at this kind of risk. I’ll have to tell Savannah about this. I’ll recommend that we go to Hornbrook and try to renegotiate these clauses. If they won’t agree, we’ll have to refinance the loan again, even if we’re forced to give up the terrific interest rate you got.”

He started to get up, but Jess held up her hand. “Wait.”

She stood, walked around her desk with quick, precise steps, and shut the door. She resumed her seat and looked him in the eye. “If you call Hornbrook and try to renegotiate, they’ll immediately call the loan. They’ll do the same thing if you try to refinance with someone else.”

Hez’s heart rate spiked. “What? You knew that and you still agreed to these terms? Why?”

“That’s irrelevant.”

She leaned forward, every muscle taut. “What matters is that you do nothing about this. Absolutely nothing. Do you understand?”

“No. Why should I just leave this alone? It’s a bomb that could go off any second.”

“Because you love Savannah.”

She took a deep breath. “And so do I.”

His pulse roared in his ears. “What . . . what do you mean?”

“You said this is a bomb. Well, we need to get her outside the blast radius before it goes off. I’ll help.”

She talked fast, the words pouring out as she tried to persuade him. “I have connections. I can arrange a position for her at a prestigious university or a big museum. It would be perfect for her. I’ll even help you set up a legal clinic. Famous universities and museums tend to be in big cities. There’s lots of need for legal clinics in places like that, right?”

The pieces clicked into place. “You arranged for her to be denied tenure, didn’t you? That would have forced us to leave, but Pierre messed up your plans by getting her into the president’s chair.”

He gave a grim smile. “That didn’t work out well for either you or him, did it?”

She was silent for a heartbeat. “We’re getting off topic, Hez. I need you to tell me that you’re going to help me get Savannah out of here by the end of the semester. I can hold Hornbrook off that long, but no longer.”

“Why are you doing this, Jess?”

He paused. “You have a secret deal with Hornbrook, don’t you? What’s your cut going to be when they foreclose on TGU and turn it into a casino or something?”

Her face reddened and tight lines appeared at the corners of her mouth. “You think this is about money? If all I cared about was money, I would have stayed in New York.”

Anger flared in his chest. “What do you care about more than money?”

Her response was instant. “Family.”

“Oh? And isn’t Savannah family?”

“Yes, and she’s the only reason that bomb hasn’t gone off yet.”

There was a tentative knock on the door, and it opened slightly. Jess’s secretary poked her head in. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but, um, everyone is waiting for you in the meeting, Ms. Legare.”

Jess looked up. “Tell them I’m on my way.”

The secretary nodded and shut the door.

Jess stood and picked up a notepad and pen. “If you care about Savannah, you’ll get her out of here. And you’ll do it fast.”

She walked out without waiting for his response.

Hez followed her into the hall and retraced his steps to his office, moving like a sleepwalker. The magnitude of her betrayal stunned him. She must have been planning this for years, probably since she first set foot on campus. Maybe even before. Why? She said it was for family, but what family did she have other than Simon and Savannah?

Savannah. How was he going to tell her about Jess’s treachery? It would devastate her. And what if Jess was right that the best thing he could do was get Savannah away before the university imploded? Every fiber of his being resisted giving up without a fight and running away, but he had to consider Savannah’s best interests too. He hadn’t done that often enough in the past.

Dear God, what am I going to do?

* * *

The breeze from Bon Secour Bay lifted Savannah’s hair and swirled the scent of water and seafood with it as she walked toward Hez’s condo with a carton of buttermilk. The streets were crowded with residents and tourists in town for the gumbo festival, and she’d had to park several blocks away. She spotted groups along the waterfront setting up tasting tables. The chef of the winning dish would take home a Best Gumbo ribbon as well as a weekend at Bayfront Inn along with a full-course meal for two at Billy’s Seafood.

The catfish she’d promised Hez needed to marinate at least two hours in buttermilk and hot sauce, and she was later than she’d planned due to the challenge of finding parking. She stepped around a couple arguing in the middle of the sidewalk and speed-walked down the side of Hez’s brick building to the iron steps leading to the condo. She hurried up the stairs, reached for her key, and twisted it in the keyhole, but the door wasn’t locked. Hez was always careful about security, especially since he didn’t own the condo, but maybe his head injury had let the routine lapse.

She pushed inside and gaped to see Jess, still in her skirt and heels, standing in the kitchen near the sink. “Jess? What are you doing here?”

Jess whirled and went pale. Her hand shot to her throat. “Savannah, you scared the life out of me. What are you doing sneaking in like that?”

“Sneaking? Hez is my fiancé, so it’s hardly unusual for me to stop by. Your presence here, however, is the real shocker. How’d you get in?”

Jess didn’t look at her as she reached for her purse on its side on the counter. “I came by to pick up some paperwork Hez left for me.”

Savannah glanced around the kitchen and dining table. “What paperwork? I don’t see anything.”

“It’s in my purse.”

Savannah eyed the medium bag now slung over her sister’s shoulder and unease trickled down her spine. “What paperwork did he have? I can call Hez and make sure you get what you need.”

Jess pressed her lips together and shook her head. “I don’t have time for this, Savannah. I needed the paperwork for a meeting, and I’ve got it, but I’m late now.”

She brushed past Savannah and exited, shutting the door behind her.

What on earth had just happened? Savannah should have pressed Jess on how she got in. Savannah rubbed her head. Her sister’s peculiarities weren’t important right now. A romantic evening with Hez stretched in front of her, and she didn’t have time to worry about Jess’s behavior when she needed to prepare dinner. Hez would be home in half an hour.

Her sister’s scent still lingered as Savannah stepped into the kitchen and dropped her large purse onto the table before moving toward the fridge. Her gaze swept the room and landed on the cabinet under the sink. The door stood ajar, and she peeked in Hez’s trash bin. Her gut clenched at the bottle resting on top of plastic and cardboard. With a trembling hand she reached in and removed the empty bottle of Mondavi cabernet sauvignon. Just like last time.

Could . . . could Jess have put it there? She had seemed flustered and evasive, and she never explained how she got into Hez’s locked condo. Did she steal his key? Savannah suddenly wanted to throw up.

She set the glass container on the counter and pressed her fingers to her eyes so she didn’t have to look at it. She’d been so quick to believe the worst of Hez even when he protested his innocence. He’d been convinced all along the first wine bottle had been planted, and this appeared to be proof he was right and Savannah was wrong.

Savannah didn’t want to believe her sister would be so devious, but Jess was used to getting what she wanted, and she’d never warmed to Hez being part of their family.

If Jess had done this, it was utterly despicable.

Savannah opened her eyes and put the bottle in her large bag where Hez wouldn’t find it. She needed to think this through before she told him about it after dinner. Maybe the two of them could figure out Jess’s motive.