Bad Influence, page 24
“How about an exclusive interview,” Joseph suggested. “I know a reporter who would be thrilled at the chance to get me on camera talking about it.”
“What’s the angle?” Thomas steepled his fingers. “You can’t publicly say the board has it in for you.”
“Of course not. That would be inappropriate.” Joseph almost had him. The next move would be a gamble, but something out of the box was required to escape this mess. “How about I tell them all the ways I’ve failed in my life.”
“What?” Thomas blinked. “That’s a terrible idea.”
“Look at how we’re moving to agile project management. Look at how companies like Tesla and SpaceX have a culture of embracing failure. The reason people hate banks is because they’re never transparent when things go wrong. They’re inherently risk averse and therefore stale. You wanted me in this role because I’m different. Why not capitalize on that? A personal interview, one-on-one. The youngest CIO in our history and how he got this position by learning from his mistakes. It’ll be inspiring. We can also partner it with some internal PR, use me to show younger people in our ranks that they do have a future in this industry.”
Thomas rubbed a hand along his jaw, clearly intrigued by Joseph’s idea. “It’s certainly a different approach.”
“It’ll work. We’ll get agreement that the interviewer won’t imply I had anything to do with Bad Bachelors, but they can ask about it in a general sense. I’ll use this as an opportunity to show how we’re not like other banks, how our strategy and approach can appeal to a younger customer. A customer who doesn’t want the same old, same old.”
Thomas bobbed his head. “Okay, set it up ASAP. But if this fails, you’ll be looking for a new job.”
He got up and walked out of the room, leaving the door open behind him. From his vantage point, Joseph could see that the office had mostly cleared out. He’d sent Dave home around six thirty, and his empty desk partially obscured the view of the executive floor. In the distance, he could hear the voice of the HR general manager talking to her assistant.
Letting out a long whooshing breath, Joseph tipped his chair back and tilted his face to the ceiling. Was it possible that he’d be able to dodge this bullet? The interview idea wasn’t a guaranteed win. In fact, there was a very real possibility of it blowing up in his face. He had no idea if he could trust the journalist not to hang him out to dry. But perhaps if they offered an exclusive, she’d play ball.
Risky, but what other options do you have?
None. But even though he knew it was the right thing to do, his mind cast him back to last night. Back to falling sleep with Annie’s cheek against his chest and his arms around her shoulders. Back to her sleepy kisses in the predawn when he started to disentangle himself from her. Back to the tears sliding down her cheeks as they said goodbye.
The second he arrived at the office, he’d called an old friend who ran a private security firm. Joseph would pay someone to keep watch over Annie until this was all wrapped up.
Knowing she would be safe took the edge off his bad mood. But it was only a slight reprieve. They still didn’t know who was behind the threats and whether her selling Bad Bachelors would stop the people targeting her. And Joseph didn’t know whether his career would survive the speculation.
The only thing he could do now was get in touch with the journalist and set up an interview. He scrolled back through his calendar to the day of their original interview. But Dave had set the meeting up, and her phone number wasn’t in the invite. It didn’t appear to be in his contact list either. Perhaps Dave had a business card stashed at his desk.
Pushing up from his chair, Joseph wandered out to his assistant’s desk.
He didn’t want to go rummaging through drawers or invading the guy’s privacy in any way, but he’d sleep better if he could set up the meeting now. At least knowing there was some progress would make him feel a bit more at ease. Joseph scanned the set of shelves next to the desk, looking for anything that might resemble a business-card folder. He was sure the journalist had handed one over when they’d first greeted her.
But nothing jumped out. Frustrated, he muttered a curse under his breath. He could call Dave, but he hated interrupting a staff member’s time after they left the office unless it was absolutely necessary. And easing his own mind wasn’t a good enough reason. Just as he was about to turn away, something caught his eye.
It was the picture of Dave and his wife. The simple silver frame caught the light and winked at him. When Joseph peered closer, one little detail made his blood run cold. The photo was taken in front of the Eiffel Tower and while the couple was in perfect focus, the background was soft and blurry. Swallowing against the rising tide of rage clawing up his throat, Joseph grabbed his phone out of his pocket and pulled up the email from Andrew with the details of Mr. Justice’s forum profile. Sure enough, the profile picture he’d used looked exactly like this shot of the Eiffel Tower in the background of this photo. Almost as if the photo had been cropped to make his profile image. It must have personal significance to him.
How had he walked past Dave’s desk every day without noticing it? The clue had been in front of him all this time, but Joseph had been in his own head too often to pay enough attention.
Maybe it’s a coincidence? Lots of people go to the Eiffel Tower.
Possibly. Joseph would need to do some digging to confirm his suspicions, but his gut told him everything he needed to know: Dave was the person threatening Annie.
* * *
By the time Annie reached her building, her feet ached from the walk. In her jumbled-up state that morning, she’d forgotten to throw her flats into her bag. Sure, she could have hailed a cab. But that had seemed a bit ridiculous for what would be a ten-minute walk. If only she hadn’t decided that her power stilettos were required to face the day. It became immediately apparent, however, that blisters were the least of her worries when she exited the elevator and found someone waiting by her door.
“Morris, to what to do I owe the complete lack of pleasure?” She really was not in the mood to deal with his shit tonight.
“Was it you?” he practically snarled.
“Was what me?” She folded her arms across her chest.
He might know where she lived, but she sure as hell wasn’t inviting him in. They could have this argument in the hallway for all the neighbors to hear, as far as she was concerned.
“Did you post that bullshit about Joseph being connected to Bad Bachelors? Are you the person trying to ruin his reputation?”
Of course he thought she was the one posting rumors rather than the person who’d created Bad Bachelors. He’d always made it clear he didn’t think her capable of anything. She bit back the desire to throw it all in his face.
“No, it wasn’t me. Why would I do something like that?”
“Why not? I know you were livid when he left you, and I can’t imagine you were too impressed when he got engaged to someone else.” Morris’s eyes narrowed. For a second she thought steam might shoot out of his ears.
“Are you upset about the impact this will have on your son, or because you’re worried about how it will affect you?” She raised a brow. “I sincerely hope that for once in your life, you’re worried about Joseph. Lord knows it would be thirty years overdue.”
“How dare you.” His expression might have been fire and brimstone, but his voice was all ice.
Like Joseph, his father towered over her, and Annie wondered if maybe she should have already put in a call to the security firm that Joseph had emailed her about earlier that day. But she’d decided to invite Remi and Darcy over instead. It was time to come clean about what was going on. If this whole thing with Joseph and Bad Bachelors had taught her anything, it was that secrets were destructive. If she had any hope of regaining control over her life, she needed to start being honest—with herself and others.
Only she hadn’t anticipated being accosted by Morris Preston. He was one person she didn’t owe anything.
“How dare I what?” She looked up at him with full, unwavering eye contact and a calm, steady voice. It was like dealing with a snarling dog; you had to show it who was boss. “Voice my opinion? I’m not with Joseph now, which means I couldn’t give two shits what you think of me. I only feel sorry for Joseph, that he’s had someone like you bully him his whole life. It’s a miracle that, despite your toxic influence, he’s such an upstanding, caring guy. Because you have not done him any favors.”
“Holy shit.”
Annie whipped her head around and saw two very wide sets of eyes staring at her. Darcy and Remi were standing in the hallway, shell-shocked. No doubt they’d witnessed the verbal throwdown.
“You have no class, Leanne.”
The fact that he continued to use her hated full name was a prickle under her skin. But she wouldn’t let him see that, because it was precisely why he used it.
“Maybe. I come from nothing, and I don’t know which fork you use for which dinner course. I have no idea what foie gras is, and I’ll never have a closet full of ball gowns. But you know what, Morris? I’m okay with that. I’d rather be true about who I am than try to squish myself into some box to please anyone ‘with class’ such as yourself.” It took every ounce of willpower not to let her voice shake. Because confident as she might seem, Morris always managed to reduce her to defensiveness. She would forever be a second-class citizen to him. “My family works incredibly hard. But they love harder. That’s what you’ll never understand.”
Darcy and Remi came up beside her, like two guardian angels swooping in to show their support.
“You should probably leave now, Mr. Preston.” Darcy looked the older man up and down, disdain dripping from her every word. “I’d hate to be forced to call the police about you harassing someone on private property.”
“This apartment isn’t hers,” he spat out. “She thinks she’s all about love, but she was perfectly happy to cut into Joseph’s wealth without a second thought. You shouldn’t even be here,” he told Annie.
Remi slipped an arm around Annie’s shoulders. “If you’re worried about the bad press your family is getting right now, it would be unwise to add to it.”
Morris looked as though he was about to say something else, but then he stormed off down the hallway. Without waiting to hear the ding of the elevator, Annie reached into her bag for her keys. By now, her hands were shaking from the effort of keeping her cool, and adrenaline rushed through her veins, making her jittery and light-headed.
“You should report it to the concierge desk,” Remi said. “Someone obviously let him up here since he doesn’t have a key card.”
“Or he tailgated.” Darcy shook her head. “Not cool.”
Annie unlocked the front door, and the three women walked into her apartment. She hadn’t even noticed until then that Darcy was holding a plastic tub containing a game console and controllers. They’d decided to stay in and play Mario Kart instead of going out, at Annie’s request. She couldn’t deal with the world tonight, and the thought of hanging out with her two best friends and dodging some shells sounded like bliss. But of course Morris had to come along and ruin any semblance of peace she might’ve had.
“I’m glad we came in time to catch that,” Remi said. “You’ve got witnesses if he tries anything again. I’m happy to make a statement to the security team downstairs.”
“It’s fine.” Annie shook her head. “His bark has always been worse than his bite. He’s an asshole, but he’d never do anything physical.”
“I’m assuming it’s about all the articles that came out today.” Darcy dropped to her knees in front of the TV and started setting up the mini Super Nintendo, while Remi went straight to the cupboard and pulled out some wineglasses. The two of them moved around Annie’s place like they lived here.
“Yeah. It was.”
“I’m glad we were here for you,” Remi said, giving her a quick squeeze.
Something settled in Annie’s chest that made her realize how goddamn lonely she’d been the past few months. Since Darcy got engaged, she’d been around less. And then when Annie and Remi had their huge fight, their happy little threesome had ceased to exist. This was the first time all three of them had been in a room together since that happened—barring the Out of Bounds opening night. But Annie didn’t count that, since Remi was performing and they didn’t actually speak.
Keeping Bad Bachelors a secret had taken its toll on her. But worse than that, lying to her friends and to the world had made her shy away from all the things she loved in her life. She avoided conversations where Bad Bachelors might come up, and she’d spent less time with her family because it was getting harder to act like everything was okay when her parents asked what she was up to.
She had so many people who cared about her. And right now, she felt as though she didn’t deserve a single one.
“Why did Morris think you had anything to do with it?” Darcy asked. She flipped a switch on the console, and the game fired up. Remi grabbed a bottle of wine from the fridge and brought it, along with the glasses, to the couch. “I mean, he can’t know the truth. And just because Joseph is back in town doesn’t mean that you have anything to do with him.”
Oh boy. Well, if the “new Annie” was going to start somewhere, this would be it. She turned the game controller over in her hands, rubbing her thumb over the familiar buttons. “I was at Joseph’s place when Morris came over, unannounced. He saw me there. So, that probably has something to do with it.”
Darcy and Remi exchanged glances. “What were you doing at his place?” Darcy asked.
“It’s kind of a long story,” she said, noting Darcy’s pointed expression. “But we have time.”
Remi grabbed the other controller, and Darcy filled up their glasses. They sat on the couch and played a round of Mario Kart while Annie told them everything. She started with the hacking and the webcam photo, and finished with what’d happened between her and Joseph last night as well as the sale offer. For a few heartbeats after she’d finished, there was total and utter silence. Well, except for the enthusiastic signature Wahoo! from the game as the race ended.
“I don’t know what to say.” Darcy shook her head. Her blue eyes were wide. It wasn’t often that their resident sarcasm chief was rendered speechless. “That’s a lot to take in.”
“You’ve been dealing with all this on your own?” Remi frowned as she took a sip of the pale-gold liquid.
“It’s my problem, so I’ll deal with it. Joe has really been a big help, but the only reason I went to him in the first place was because I needed his skills. I didn’t really want his help…at least not initially.”
“And now?” Darcy asked.
“I’m hoping I won’t need it.”
“Does that mean you’re really considering selling Bad Bachelors?” Remi asked.
Annie’s whole body rejected the idea. Every possible signal was there—the awful flipping in her gut, the resounding no in her head. It was like the idea repulsed her on some primal level. But what choice did she have?
“Yeah, I am.” She reached for her wine and took a long gulp, but it tasted like sawdust. “It’s the only way I can see to move forward. I told the buyer about the security issues, and they weren’t concerned. Obviously, they have resources to deal with things like that. They’ll announce the purchase, which should mean that the spotlight will come off Joe because he has no connection to the buyer. I’m also going to ask it be written into the contract that they’ll make a statement saying that the message in the code was a hoax and he has nothing to do with it.”
“So…five million dollars.” Darcy let out a long whistle. “That’s Monopoly money.”
“I know. You’d think I would be more excited about it.” Annie attempted a laugh, but it didn’t sound authentic. Didn’t feel it, either. “Stupid, right? How many sad millionaires are there?”
“There’s got to be a reason for it,” Remi chimed in. “You don’t want to sell it, do you?”
“Not really. It’s the only thing I’ve ever created. The only thing I’ve ever done that went right.”
“Did it though?” Remi held up her hands. “I’m over what happened, truly. Forgive and forget and all that. But has Bad Bachelors gone right? Is this what you intended it to be?”
There was that rush of intuition again. The resounding no that repeated over and over like her heartbeat. Bad Bachelors had given her a glimpse of what she might do with her life, the good she might bring to the world. The positive stamp she might leave by helping women in vulnerable positions.
But Bad Bachelors wasn’t it.
She’d been too stubborn to see it when Reed tracked her down. And she was clinging to the good parts when Remi came to her for help. But now, spending time with Joseph and being honest about the past had made her see that Bad Bachelors had grown into something tangled and unwieldy. Every day she was receiving emails about fake reviews, about people using the site to get revenge on their exes, to bring down an enemy at work. Selling now felt like failure, like she was leaving behind a legacy she wasn’t proud of.
“I’m so torn,” she said, because it was the only honest thing she could say.
Was five million worth it? What if Bad Bachelors continued down its dark path, only with advertisers shelling out money for the privilege of having their flashing banners sitting alongside hateful words? To a lot of people, the answer would be yes.
But Annie had said time and time again that she didn’t live for money. As much as it would be nice to have that kind of security, all Joseph’s family had ever taught her about being wealthy was that it gave people a mean edge.
Like you’re a goddamn saint these days…
“Is it something to do with Joseph?” Darcy asked. Annie could tell she was trying not to sound judgmental, but her resentment of Joseph ran deep. “Did you…make up?”
