Exposed (Let Me Love You #3)

Chapter 41

41

MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS

JASMINE

O n Monday morning, Matt and I walk into the building where Titan Securities is housed. They own the top ten floors of a skyscraper in Manhattan.

Feels like a troop of monkeys is jumping around inside my stomach. We had breakfast at a cute cafe nearby, but now I’m regretting it as nervous nausea hits me. We meet with Mr. Walter Crane and his son Ian this morning, then fly home this afternoon.

After checking in and going through security, we’re ushered up to the Titan lobby.

“You’ve got this, princess.” Matt squeezes my hand, and I lift my head to give him a chaste kiss. I’m thankful he’s here with me.

He dressed up for today. He’s got on gray slacks, polished black wingtip shoes and a black button up shirt with the top two buttons undone.

I hear the click clack of heels, and an assistant appears from a white hallway. “Ms. Lockwood, Mr. Crane is ready for you.”

When Matt stands to come with me, the receptionist pauses.

“You can wait here, sir.”

“She’s Mrs. Galloway now, and I’m accompanying my wife,” he says protectively.

I give him a soft smile of approval. With no idea what Mr. Crane and his son will say, I want Matt with me.

“Very well,” she nods her head curtly. “Follow me.”

We walk down a hallway with lacquered white walls, then into a conference room where Mr. Crane and Ian sit.

“Ms. Lockwood, thank you for joining us.” Mr. Crane stands and shakes our hands.

“It’s Mrs. Galloway now, sir,” I correct him.

“Pardon me. Is this Mr. Galloway?” He asks Matt.

“Yes, sir. Thanks for having us.”

“Let’s get down to business,” Ian announces. I’ve never met either of them in person before. They’re both the masterminds behind the cybersecurity side, and I was always on the finance side.

“Where’s Mr. Blackwell?” I ask. As co-owner of the company, I expected him to be here.

“Since his son is the perpetrator of all the wrongdoing, Mr. Blackwell is on administrative leave as well. You understand how hard it is on him that his own son committed these crimes.” Mr. Crane clasps his hands together and puts his forearms on the polished, black wooden conference table.

“That makes sense,” I say. “But it’s hard for me to believe that Kevin did everything. He was always friendly to the other staff and me.”

“Power and money can change people, and not always for the better,” Mr. Crane says diplomatically. “We’re not here to harp on the past. Let’s focus on the future. We’d like to have you back. Your expertise and talent are remarkable, especially for your age. We can put you under the top finance executives, and your future here will be extremely bright.”

I let him give his spiel, but I have zero intentions of accepting. Something feels off to me, and I can tell Matt is getting the same vibe when he links his hand with mine under the table.

“With all due respect, Mr. Galloway, we’d like to have a word with Jasmine in private,” Ian pipes up.

Matt looks at me, and I tug on my pencil skirt. Before we arrived, we agreed on that signal as my hidden message for him to stay with me.

“No, thanks. I’ll stay.” Matt settles himself more into his black leather chair.

“You understand the legalities of these matters,” Mr. Crane smiles at Matt.

“I understand I’m not leaving this room,” Matt replies coolly.

Ian gives a heavy sigh and wipes a hand down his face. Mr. Crane clears his throat in exasperation.

Let them be frustrated. My whole life was flipped upside down by Kevin’s actions, and I want answers .

Kevin mentioned how he and Ian grew up together and watched their dads’ company grow to what it is today. Both him and Kevin were being primed to be the new leadership for Titan Securities when their dads retired.

“What did Kevin say about the crimes he committed? Why did he do it?” I push.

“We’re not allowed to comment as the case is ongoing,” Mr. Crane answers smoothly.

“We could use someone with your skill set,” Ian adds. “We know you saw the discrepancies the day before he framed you.”

How do they know that?

“Did Kevin tell you that? Is that why he framed me?” I ask.

“That’s precisely why,” Ian responds. “What will it take for you to work with us?”

Nothing could make me leave Matt and Simon. Life with them is worlds more meaningful than looking at numbers all day. I finally have people in my life who care about and love me, and I wouldn’t trade that for anything.

“I’m sorry, but there’s nothing that will change my mind. I’m not interested in working here again,” I say with conviction.

Mr. Crane’s phone rings, and when he looks down at the caller, he stands. “I need to take this. Excuse me for a moment.”

Ian keeps his eyes glued to his dad until Mr. Crane leaves the room. Then, his gaze locks on me.

“Why the fuck are you here if you don’t want to be employed anymore?” Ian snarls.

“Has this been hard on you? Kevin said you and he grew up together like brothers,” I reply, ignoring his question.

Kevin was down to earth and showed up to at least three meetings we had in the six months I worked here. He always spoke fondly of Ian.

“Kevin is a pansy. He should’ve been spending his time with wealthy potential clients instead of slumming it with underlings like you. He doesn’t deserve half of the company,” Ian sneers.

Whoa . I think the police got the wrong guy.

“Kevin’s conviction isn’t set in stone. We’ll need you to testify against him in court,” Ian demands.

“I never witnessed Kevin do anything wrong.” I tilt my head in confusion.

“You know he’s guilty. It’s his account that hacked into yours and falsified all of those emails. He’s the reason your innocence was destroyed. He never tried to help you or prove your innocence. You were a fugitive, Jasmine, and Kevin is to blame. Our attorneys will instruct you on what to say on the stand.”

“Are you suggesting my wife commit perjury?” Matt asks pointedly.

“Come on,” Ian says condescendingly and waves his arms around the room. “Look around you. This company wasn’t created by telling the truth all of the time.”

I always believed in Titan Securities. Kevin seemed like a genuine, nice guy. Ian reeks of malice.

“You don’t make it in this business by being soft, and Kevin never understood that.”

Mr. Crane walks back in and pulls his suit jacket together.

“We’re done here, Father.” Ian gives me a pointed look as he stands, then focuses on Mr. Crane. “Ms. Lockwood won’t be accepting our proposal.”

“What a shame,” Mr. Crane replies. “We won’t waste any more of your time.”

“Not unless we see you in court,” Matt counters. “You brought fraudulent charges against my wife without even checking your internal records. You should’ve investigated before you charged her. We’ll definitely be seeing you again, when we sue this company for defamation and framing an innocent employee.”

With that, Matt stands and waits for me to do the same. Filing suit against them never occurred to me, but it’s valid.

Ian’s face pales before it’s replaced with barely contained rage.

“You’ll never win, Lockwood, and you’ll regret going after us,” Ian seethes.

Matt gives them the peace sign, then ushers me out the door and to the elevator.

“I did an audio recording with my phone under the table while we were with them,” Matt whispers with a grin. “There’s got to be more shady crap happening with this company than we know about. Sounds like Kevin is innocent.”

“Yeah, I agree.”

We need to find a super qualified lawyer to represent us. One that fights for the little guy and goes after corporations.

I’m not free after all. Ian, and likely his father, are responsible for framing me. Kevin is innocent and being held without bail. I have no idea how to get us out of this train wreck.

When we get off the elevator, Matt’s phone rings.

“Hey, Dad. What’s up?” Matt answers, then he stutters. “What? Dad, are you sure?”

He looks at me with wide eyes. “My mom’s been abducted.”

My hand flies to cover my mouth. Yesterday morning, she dropped us off at the Miami airport to fly here. She brought snacks for the plane and comforted us while we cried about having to share custody of Simon.

I can’t help but wonder if this has something to do with Ian. If so, it’s my fault, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure we find Madilyn.