Page 52 of Desire
We smiled warmly at each other.
“By the way,” I said. “What ever happened to the woman that was seated across from you?”
A light turned on in her eyes. “Her name is Lindsay Johnson. She and Mark actually fell in love. She wasn’t here a month before they both quit. The end.”
I could see no signs of her being brokenhearted bythe end. “Do you think they would go on record?”
“No. He signed a nondisclosure.”
“How do you know that?”
“We’re all friends.”
“Wow.” I nodded, impressed. “That’s big of you.”
“Well, here’s the thing about the mind-fuck game—once a victim figures it out, the results can be freeing.”
I smirked. “So you’re the one who made these eight see the light?”
Her smirk matched mine. “Yes, I am.”
We madethe calls to the women on the list, and all eightagreed to meet us at the studio for a prerecorded roundtable interview for that night’s live broadcast ofThe Rochester Report. Jasper had other meetings to attend but agreed to meet us at the studio at six p.m. Julia would accompany him.
There was something about her I didn’t trust. First of all, she never looked me in the eyes. When I said hello to her, she just smiled, tight-lipped,and got away from me as fast as she could. I sensed the way she treated me could’ve been born of deception or depression.
Regardless, after the women spoke, she and Jasper would sit down for their own exclusive interview. I had no idea what they were going to say, and I couldn’t ask Jasper because he was still inaccessible.
Jacqueline drove us to the studio in her sensible four-doorsedan. She talked about how she would soon be leaving Christmas Industries for training in Quantico.
“Then you’re going to be an FBI agent?” I asked.
She smiled for a moment then breathlessly said, “Yeah.”
“Ha,” I said. “I guess they definitely hired the wrong person when they hired you.”
Jacqueline laughed. “Or the right person.”
I laughed too. “Definitely theright person.”
We filled our time with more conversation even as I texted Branson, an investigator, and asked him to perform a search on the mystery woman’s phone number. I noticed Rachel had called me a number of times and left some messages. I still didn’t know what to say to her other than to tell her I quit. After what Kylie had pulled, there was no way we could work together.
Jacqueline and I exchanged numbers, vowing to keep in touch. A journalist could always use an FBI agent in her life, and vice versa.
“By the way, you’re his girlfriend, aren’t you?” she asked as we pulled up in front of the studio.
My eyes expanded.Should I cop to it?
“That relationship between Julia and Jasper is fake as hell. She’s not his type. You are.”
I shrugged,still unable to confirm or deny her suspicion.
The valet stood at her window.
“Don’t worry. You don’t have to say anything,” she said and opened her door.
I winked at her. “Don’t worry. I wasn’t going to.”
We both laughed as we got out of the car.
