Page 21 of Claimed
Chapter Seven
We had definitely gotten off the subject, but at some point, my stomach growled again, and Jasper had his kitchen staff bring us dinner, which was peppercorn-encrusted prime rib, roasted brussels sprouts, and garlic and herb risotto. I read one page at a time, eatingas though I didn’t need to impress the sexy man in the room. The pages were all proof that Kylie was a liar. Jasper had twenty-three articles that Kylie had written in which she presented the names of people who didn’t exist to editors, claiming them to be deep background sources. But it seemed in each circumstance she had been in contact with another journalist who was working on the same story.Jasper had indisputable evidence that Kylie had been writing the story along with that person but submitted it to an editor by confirming her fake sources before the other journalist could confirm his or her real sources.
One in particular caught my eye, and I tapped the pages as they sat on top of the desk. “Wait. This is mine.”
“Yes, it is,” he said.
I looked at him withmy mouth agape. It was a story I had spent weeks working on, uncovering a criminal element who made a lot of money fixing minor-league-championship games.
“Shit,” I said under my breath. “She called me after her article was published to apologize for not letting me know she was working on the same story. Of course, I asked her how she knew I was investigating the group. She said one ofher sources told her they spoke to me. I thought it was strange, but I believed her because I had no reason to doubt her.” I cocked my head as I remembered something else. “But the entire article was eventually retracted because…”
“Three sources said she lied.” Jasper read the names off another page. “Those people didn’t exist. Read this.” He handed me what appeared to be a short reporton the revoked story. Apparently, a guy named Peter Fordham, who was one of the sources that I’d actually interviewed, emailed Dennis Thompson, the editor who published all of Kylie’s bunk articles, to say that he could confirm that those sources didn’t exist and the information being claimed by them was fraudulent. Instead of challenging Peter, Dennis had pulled the article.
“Dennis knows…”I muttered. He was the editor in chief ofJournalistic Weekly Report, also known asJWR, and had signed off on and published all her stories. “No wonder I could never get anything published inJWR.”
I got to a point where I didn’t need to read anymore, so I closed the folder and pressed my lips together as I looked at Jasper. “Does she know about this?”
He nodded once.
“Thisis the leverage you have on her?”
He looked worried as if he feared I would blame him for allowing Kylie to continue preying on my colleagues. “Yes.”
“Why haven’t you told me before now?”
“I am bound by our agreement. She’s dangerous. Even a hint of her false reporting could ruin my family.”
“What about other people’s careers? Is everything about you protecting yourfamily?”
He snorted forcefully. “Yes, Holly. Protecting my family always comes first.”
Our stare down was of epic proportions. My jaw was clenched, and I couldn’t stop shaking my head. I wanted to run away from him as fast as I could. I told myself,See? That’s why you couldn’t trust him in the first place.
Finally, he sat back in his seat, taking the tension out of his body.The tip of his finger landed hard on the folder full of Kylie’s lies. “I’m breaking my agreement with Miss Roberson by showing you this.”
“How much will it cost you?” I asked, feeling a little less bitter than I had a minute before.
“A lot.” He leaned toward me. “But I never planned on letting her get away with this for long. Every crook meets their demise at the right time.”
Lord knew I wasn’t one of those people who held others to unreal and ideal standards of what it meant to be a decent human being. I knew the world wasn’t wrapped up in a pretty little box. It wasn’t Jasper’s job to look out for all journalists. But it was mine.
I looked down at my cell phone on the table, contemplating all that I had just discovered. Then I was struck by a new thoughtand shook my head in anger, although I really wanted to just scream so loudly that my voice shattered glass. “She wants to destroy you, Jasper. And she wanted me to do it because she knew how I felt about you. I mean, no wonder she was so interested in what I’d learned about Eve. No wonder she left so many voice messages and emails, making sure I hadn’t abandoned the process of cooking your goose.How could I have been so fucking stupid?”
“Don’t say that.” He took my hand in his. “You’re not stupid. You’re the smartest person I know.”
My heart was beating so fast that I could hardly breathe. Tears rushed into my eyes. After he said that, I didn’t feel stupid anymore. However, I wanted revenge, which meant I had to be very angry. The inability to steady my breathing was a measureof how much I was seething.
I grabbed my phone off the table. “I have a call to make.”
Jasper’s hand came down over mine. “You’re not calling Miss Roberson, are you?”
“I wouldn’t dare betray you in that way, ever.” My heart was full—I was overtly emotional but in control of my intellect. “I’m calling Branson.”
He frowned curiously. “Who’s that?”
“The best investigatorin the world. I’m going to have him check out everything in this email Kylie sent me. I want him to confirm that they’re lies. If they are, which I believe is the case, then I’ll feed her fake details with fake sources, giving her exactly what she needs to beat me to the story.” I winked at him.
Jasper smirked. “You have a dark side, I see.”
