Page 52 of Lead Me On
“And you wouldn’t let a man treat you badly, right, Jane?”
Lori’s eyes made clear that she was offering help if Jane should need it. Jane shook her head, but truthfully, she’d once reveled in being treated like dirt. Now she did it only on the weekends.
No,she scolded herself. Chase might be a fling, but he hadn’t once treated her like dirt, even when she’d deserved it.
“I promise you I’m not being treated badly by anyone. That’s not what this is about.”
“Okay, good.” Lori smiled, transforming herself from cute to adorable. “So then this big guy with tattoos is someone who’s treating youright?”
“Out,” Jane snapped, pointing toward the door.
“Fine, fine. I’ve got to track down my grumpy architect anyway. I’ll take some Starbucks up to his lot. You want anything?”
Jane shook her head, holding her breath until Lori walked out and disappeared from view. Then she snatched up the phone and dialed Jessie’s lawyer to beg her for new information. This balancing game was too much. She’d thought she was strong, but she was cracking under the first signs of strain.
“I was just talking to your investigator,” the lawyer said.
“My investigator?”
“Mr. Chase. He’s here in my office. We’re going over the arrest records and putting together a list of questions to ask Jessie when I see him this afternoon. I normally don’t bring in an investigator unless it’s a capital case, but he’s been very helpful.”
“Oh, good!” Jane glanced at the clock. It was only 9:00 a.m. and Chase had warned her that his dad never got up before ten.
“As a matter of fact, I’m going to put him under contract with a confidentiality agreement, if that’s all right with you. Same rate you’re paying him, but it’ll be billed under the firm’s charges.”
“Great. That sounds wonderful.”
“The prosecution floated a lower number for bail. It’s thirty thousand, which is still pretty damn high—another indication that they’re trying to build a bigger case.”
Thirty thousand. That would be three thousand up front and the full thirty thousand on the line if Jessie decided to skip town. She couldn’t do it, not with all the lawyer’s fees, as well.
“Thirty thousand,” she repeated.
“Jessie already told me that your dad won’t pay it,” the lawyer said. “I’m going to work on getting it reduced further. So don’t worry. Jessie’s fine for right now, and he understands where we are.”
Jane thanked her and hung up.
Thirty thousand. She couldn’t afford it. If he bailed on her, she could lose her condo. But now she was remembering when Jessie was thirteen and he’d call and ask if he could hang with her for the weekend. Most of the time she’d put him off. What if she hadn’t? What if she’d taken him under her wing instead of putting all her energy into running from her past? What if she’d thought of Jessie sometimes, instead of just herself?
Vowing to look over her savings as soon as she got home, Jane put her head down and got back to work. She responded to e-mails and sent out blueprints and set up a whole flurry of automatic e-mail reminders to keep Mr. Jennings on schedule. Something inside her clicked back into place.
I can do this,she assured herself.I can.
Two hours later Mr. Jennings returned, offering her a halfhearted smile. She stood, wanting to reach out and hug him, but holding herself back. “Mr. Jennings, I apologize.”
“No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pushed you like that.”
“I…” She thought of how he’d reached out to her. How Lori had reached out. She thought of how she pushed people away and kept them at a safe distance, because it couldn’t be the real Jane that they liked. It was the woman she’d created with smoke and mirrors that people wanted to know. “Mr. Jennings, I… I do consider you a friend.”
His smile stretched to a relieved grin. “I’m glad.”
“But I don’t really…” She shook her head, hands gripping each other for comfort. “I don’t really know how to do that. Right now I’m having some family problems. That’s all it is. I don’t want you to worry. I’m fine.”
“Okay, good.”
“If I need anything, I know I can come to you or Lori, and that means so much to me. Thank you.”
Before she could brace herself, Mr. Jennings stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. “You’re like a sister to me, Jane. I care about you.”
