Chapter 7 - THE TRUTH ABOUT THEIR FIRST DATE
Z
Claire remembered their first date perfectly.
Adrian had taken her to a tiny Italian restaurant instead of somewhere expensive.
That had surprised her.
He had been thirty-two, already wealthy, already intimidating.
Yet he had laughed when she spilled water across the table.
He had walked her home.
He had kissed her once beneath her apartment awning while rain fell behind them.
For nine years she had kept that memory untouched.
Now it felt contaminated.
She spent the next two days refusing Adrian’s calls.
Not because she wanted him to suffer.
Because she needed silence.
Rebecca allowed her exactly forty-eight hours of it.
On the third morning, she placed coffee beside Claire.
“You need to talk to somebody.”
“I’m talking to you.”
“You’re glaring at toast.”
“The toast knows what it did.”
Rebecca sat.
“You love him.”
Claire closed her eyes.
“That isn’t enough.”
“I didn’t say it was.”
“He met me because he wanted access to my father.”
“Yes.”
“He concealed it.”
“Yes.”
“He ignored my work.”
“Yes.”
“He allowed another woman to occupy half the emotional space in our marriage.”
Rebecca nodded.
“Yes.”
Claire opened her eyes.
“You’re terrible at comforting people.”
“I’m a divorce attorney.”
“That explains a lot.”
Rebecca smiled faintly.
Then she became serious.
“None of that answers one question.”
“What?”
“Do you believe he fell in love with you?”
Claire looked away.
Unfortunately, yes.
She had seen Adrian afraid only twice.
When his father died.
And when she walked toward that station wagon.
That did not erase what he had done.
But truth did not become false merely because it was inconvenient.
Her phone rang.
This time the caller was not Adrian.
It was Thomas Greer.
Claire frowned.
“Hello?”
“Mrs. Vale, I represent Adrian.”
“I know.”
“I’m calling with his authorization, but not to discuss the divorce.”
“What is it?”
“We uncovered correspondence from nine years ago.”
Her stomach tightened.
“What correspondence?”
“Between Mr. Vale and Lauren Pierce.”
Claire sat straighter.
Thomas continued.
“You should see it.”
One hour later, Claire entered Thomas’s office.
Adrian was not there.
She appreciated that.
Thomas handed her a folder.
The first email was dated three weeks before her first date with Adrian.
Lauren:
Martin Bennett’s daughter teaches urban planning seminars at DePaul twice a month. Casual introduction could be useful.
Adrian’s reply:
Arrange it.
Claire’s jaw tightened.
The next email was four weeks later.
Lauren:
Did Bennett agree to the meeting?
Adrian:
No.
Lauren:
Then why are you seeing the daughter again?
Adrian:
None of your business.
Another.
Lauren:
The permit closes Friday. If Claire can influence him—
Adrian:
Do not involve her.
Lauren:
Then why did we start this?
Adrian:
I said do not involve her.
Claire’s breathing slowed.
Then came an email dated two months later.
Lauren:
You’re compromising the company over a woman you barely know.
Adrian:
I know exactly what I’m doing.
Lauren:
Do you?
Adrian:
I am not using Claire.
Lauren:
You already did.
Adrian:
Then I’ll spend however long necessary making sure she never feels used again.
Claire stopped reading.
Thomas said nothing.
Her eyes burned.
“Why didn’t he tell me?”
“I cannot answer that.”
“He had nine years.”
“Yes.”
Claire closed the folder.
“Where is he?”
Thomas hesitated.
“St. Matthew.”
She looked up.
“For what?”
“Community meeting.”
“What community meeting?”
“The one regarding his revised redevelopment proposal.”
Claire drove there herself.
The church basement was packed.
Residents filled folding chairs.
Reporters lined the back wall.
At the front stood Adrian.
No suit jacket.
No security detail.
No Lauren.
A projector displayed a new map.
He was getting destroyed.
An elderly man shouted, “You people only care now because you got caught!”
A woman near the front yelled, “My daughter cried when that eviction letter came!”
Adrian did not defend himself.
“You’re right.”
The room quieted slightly.
“The letters should never have been issued.”
“Then who’s getting fired?”
“Several people may face criminal charges.”
“What about you?”
Adrian looked directly at the man.
“I was responsible for a company where it happened.”
Claire stopped near the back.
Adrian continued.
“That means I don’t get to say I had no idea and go home feeling innocent.”
She stared at him.
“I came tonight to show you a replacement plan.”
He changed slides.
The new plan preserved all residential buildings.
The old warehouse would be converted instead.
The community clinic would expand.
The pantry would receive a ninety-nine-year lease for one dollar annually.
A resident ownership fund would receive part of future commercial profits.
Someone asked, “What does that cost Vale?”
Adrian answered without hesitation.
“Approximately forty-one million dollars compared with the previous plan.”
Murmurs filled the room.
Another resident called out, “Why would you do that?”
Adrian looked toward the maps.
Then his eyes found Claire at the back.
He froze for half a heartbeat.
She could almost see him deciding whether to use her presence.
Old Adrian might have.
New Adrian looked away.
“Because profit is not an excuse for doing something badly.”
Claire’s throat tightened.
The meeting lasted another hour.
When it ended, Adrian packed his own papers.
Claire waited outside.
He came through the church doors and stopped when he saw her.
“You came.”
“To watch.”
He nodded.
Neither spoke.
Finally Claire held up the email folder.
“Thomas showed me.”
Adrian looked down.
“I told him he could.”
“You should have told me nine years ago.”
“Yes.”
“You should have told me before you proposed.”
“Yes.”
“You should have told me every day after.”
“Yes.”
She exhaled.
“I hate that you keep agreeing.”
“I can argue if it helps.”
Despite herself, she laughed.
Adrian smiled.
It was small.
Careful.
Then Claire became serious again.
“This doesn’t mean I’m coming home.”
“I know.”
“And the divorce is still moving forward.”
His smile vanished.
“I know.”
She studied him.
“Why didn’t you mention me in there?”
“Because what I’m fixing should not become something you owe me for.”
Claire’s eyes softened.
For the first time, Adrian had done something right without asking to be rewarded.
Then his phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
His face changed.
“What?”
He listened.
Claire watched the color drain from him.
“What happened?”
Adrian lowered the phone.
“They arrested Lauren.”
“For the break-in?”
“No.”
His eyes met Claire’s.
“For conspiracy and wire fraud.”
Claire swallowed.
May you like
Adrian’s next words were quieter.
“And apparently she wasn’t working alone.”
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