“This has been going on for months now.” Wesley Jackson spoke up. “We have all tried to determine who is behind this. So far all we have is a little speculation.
“Many of us have been hit by blackmail threats, and attempts to ruin our personal reputations and close our businesses down,” added Toby McKittrick. Several people nodded in agreement.
“I think I can speak for most of us,” said Cecilia Morgan, “when I say we will do what we can to get behind you on this and give you whatever support you need.”
“I’ll give you the names of the detectives we have working on this and you can have your security contact them.” added Gave Walsh. “At least they will be up-to-date with this character’s goings-on.”
“We all know other CEOs across the globe that might do business with Everest,” Shane Delgado spoke up. Let us contact them and assure them Everest is solid, that you’re a good and reputable man.”
“I would be deeply grateful,” Clay responded, his heart warmed by the show of support.
“Heck,” said yet another, “we’ve all gotta stay together on this until we can determine who the culprit is and shut him down. I think it must be someone we all know or have known at some point in the past. Something we said or did must have rubbed him the wrong way and he’s out for revenge. Or he’s jealous. Or maybe he is just a nut. At any rate, we’ve got to work to support each other and we welcome you to the fold, Clay.”
As Clay glanced around the room, every head was nodding in agreement. These were good men and women, honest business owners who supported each other, as it should be. That was, after all, what being a member of the TCC was all about.
It took another few weeks but finally Clay’s business began to come back on track. Remarkably, because of the publicity efforts, outreach to clients and help from TCC members, Everest overall gained more accounts than it had lost. It was thriving.
“Do you have any plans for lunch?” Clay asked Sophie as she was preparing to leave the temporary desk where she had worked for the past few weeks.
“Well, I was going to pack,” she said. “The crisis is over and I need to move back into my own house.”
“I want you to stay here, with me.” Clay crossed the small space and removed her handbag from her hands. “As I’m sure you’ve noticed, we have plenty of room. Why do you feel the need to leave?”
“Why do you think I need to stay?” Sophie felt as though she’d been tricked. “I agreed to live here while we battled the rumors, but that’s over, thank goodness. There’s no more reason I need to be here night and day.”
“How about doing it for me? Stay because I want you to stay.”
“Clay, please. Don’t put me in this situation. It isn’t fair.”
“I thought we had something going between us. Am I wrong, Sophie?”
She would not answer that question. Yes, they had something but just what it was she didn’t know. While the sex was amazing, for her there had to be more. She needed commitment to go with the passion and most of all she needed love. There had to be love. Clay didn’t love her. She wouldn’t go as far as to think he was using her, though, because it was mutual. But she wanted a future, especially now that a little one was about to enter the picture. Clay couldn’t give her that.
“Is it right to ask me to stay while you needed my help then try laying a guilt trip on me when I need to go back to my home?”
“There is no attempt at guilt. I thought you’d want to be here with me.”
“That isn’t fair, either.”
Clay rested his hands on his hips and looked down at the floor as though in deep thought.
“Sophie, if I thought it was in me I’d be begging you to marry me. I care very deeply for you. But I’m not one to settle down with a wife and kids. I’m just like my old man. I’ve spent my life on the road, never staying in the same place more than a few days, following the rodeo circuit. Since the accident, it’s been tough, living here day in and day out. You make it tolerable. I thought you’d like to live here, too.”
“I can’t, Clay.”
“You can’t or you won’t?”
“Take your choice.” She picked up her purse and headed for the door. “I’m taking the afternoon off.”
An hour later Sophie was packed and on her way back to the cottage. It felt strange when she entered the modest dwelling. It seemed more small than cozy and she felt very much alone.
She had to admit she missed being around Clay outside of the office setting. His incredible sense of humor kept her laughing in spite of the serious discussion she needed to have with him. But being here, in this house, was better. All she had to do was convince herself she was doing the right thing.
The next morning Clay lost no time in being a total pain in the butt. Even knowing the company was prospering again, he seemed angry, moody and downright offensive to everyone. His short temper wasn’t boding well with clients and certainly not with Sophie. His limp was more pronounced. Sophie couldn’t help but wonder if it had anything to do with that woman he’d been set to marry, the one who’d dropped him like a hot potato after the accident. Had she called? Had he been using Sophie to forget about that woman? The thought brought immediate pain and she forced it from her mind.
Finally she’d had enough.
“Clay, what’s going on?” she asked, standing just inside his office.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he replied without looking directly at her.
“I’m talking about the company. It’s prospering again. So what is with the attitude?”
“It’s not something I wish to discuss with you. At least not now. See if you can get Greg Johnson on the phone. He withdrew his account and I need to see if I can talk him into coming back on board.”
“Right away, sir,” she replied and turned to head back to her desk.
Was he hurting? It was something he tended to keep hidden away inside, as if it made him less of a man if he admitted to having pain. Totally ridiculous.
The week continued to be tense. Some days Clay would call a halt to business and they both headed to the barn where the horses were saddled and waiting. This was his element. It was where he needed to be. The internal anger disappeared and Clay was at ease with the world.
It was during one of these rides that Sophie was again tempted to tell him about the baby. But she couldn’t bring herself to do it. The rare times he was obviously relaxed and happy, she couldn’t bring herself to take that away from him. Back in the office, faced with his short temper and foul disposition, she didn’t dare.
The following Monday morning, Clay stepped into the office and stopped in front of her desk, a coffee cup in his hand. “Where were you last night? I tried to call but either got a busy signal or your voice mail.”
“Then I must have been busy or on the phone.” She smiled up at him. It really wasn’t any of his business what she did in her own house on her own time. And she certainly didn’t owe him any explanation as to whom she was speaking with.
Clay stood there and glared at her for the longest time. Obviously he was trying to make up his mind whether to push it or let it go.
Decision made. “Were you or were you not at home last night?” he barked, as though he had the right to know.
“That really isn’t any of your business, Clay. But I’ll give you this one—I was at home, on the phone, talking with my mom. My father isn’t doing well. He came in from the barn yesterday and he couldn’t move his right arm. He complained of a sharp pain in his shoulder. She called for an ambulance right away. Today he will undergo a battery of tests but the general consensus is he had a heart attack. All he could talk about was the pain in his head and shortness of breath. We’re currently waiting for the results.”
“I’m sorry. Damn, I hope he is okay. I just thought maybe you were—”
“Seeing someone else?” she interrupted. “I’m not. Yet. But you’ve given me no reason to think I shouldn’t go out with someone if asked.”
“Sophie, you know I care for you.”
“Do I? Just because we had sex does not mean I’ve assumed it’s a monogamous relationship. You’ve never even hinted at such a thing.”
He released a long breath. “Sophie, you know I’m not cut out for marriage. That was proven after I had my accident.”
“How? How was it proven? By the fact that selfish woman walked out when you needed her? The fact you were injured? None of it was your fault and you’re smart enough to know it. Now, if you’re finished prying, I have work to do.”
Clay nodded his head and walked to the door. “I hope your dad is okay,” he said again. “What is his prognosis?”
Tears immediately flooded her eyes. “Not good. He needs a new heart but he is too old to be put on the list, or so says the doctor.”
“How old is he?”
“Sixty-four.”
“And they are saying that is too old?” The look on Clay’s face was incredulous. “That’s a load of shit. Please keep me informed. If you remember, I met your parents one Christmas. I liked your dad.”