An Engagement in Seattle - Debbie Macomber [60]
“What are you going to do?” Jerry asked in a whisper. He hadn’t recovered yet. He continued to stare at the photographs as though the pictures themselves would announce the truth if he studied them long enough.
“I don’t know,” she said unevenly.
“You aren’t going to fire him, are you?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“Julia, for the love of heaven, Alek’s your husband.”
“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” she repeated. “I just don’t know.”
Jerry rubbed a hand over his face and inhaled deeply. “We should confront him, give him the opportunity to explain. It’s possible that he’s got a very good reason for meeting Roger. One that has nothing to do with Phoenix Paints.”
“Jerry, you were ten before you stopped believing in Santa Claus. Remember? There’s only one reason Alek would contact Roger and we both know it.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” he argued. “Alek has more reason for Phoenix Paints to succeed than anyone. His career hinges on the success of our new line. Why would he deliberately sabotage himself? He spent years researching these developments.” His eyes pleaded with her.
“If you’re looking to me for answers, I don’t have any. Why do any of us do the things we do? My guess is that he’s out for revenge.”
“Revenge? Alek? Why? We’ve been good to him, good to his family, and he’s been good to us. He doesn’t have any score to settle.”
“Dad was good to Roger, too, remember? He was the one who gave Roger his first job. Dad hired him directly out of college when he could’ve taken on someone with far more experience. If we’re looking for reasons Alek would never do this, we’d be putting blindfolds over our own eyes.”
Jerry watched her for several minutes. “I’m going to talk to him.”
Julia folded her arms around her waist and nodded.
“Do you want to come with me?”
“No! I couldn’t bear it. Not again.” She squeezed her eyes shut and her body swayed with the pain. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
“I can’t believe it is, either.”
“Why do I continually fall for the wrong kind of man? There must be something wrong with me.”
Jerry walked to her window and stared out. His shoulders moved in a deep sigh. “We’re overreacting.”
“Maybe,” Julia agreed. “But I have that ache in the pit of my stomach again. The last time it was there was when Dad forced me to face the truth about Roger.”
“The least we can do is listen to his explanation.”
Julia shook her head. “You listen, I…can’t.” She didn’t want to be there when Alek made his excuses. She’d let her brother handle this because she was incapable of dealing with it.
Jerry’s eyes narrowed. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you so…detached.”
“Let me guess,” she returned sarcastically. “Could it have been following my breakup with Roger?”
“This is different. You’re married to Alek.”
“That means it’s a little more involved, a little more complicated than before, but it’s not really so different. Until…this is resolved it would be better if Alek didn’t come into work. Tell him that for me.”
“Julia…”
“Tell him, Jerry, because I can’t. Please.” Her voice cracked. “It’s just until this is settled. Alek will understand.”
“But you aren’t going to listen to his explanation?”
“No. You listen to what he has to say, but don’t argue his case with me. I tried that with Dad, remember? I was so certain Roger was an innocent victim of circumstances.”
Her brother looked older, as though he’d suddenly aged ten years. Julia understood. She felt old herself. And sick. Her stomach felt decidedly queasy.
Jerry left and her stomach pitched again. Automatically she reached for the wastepaper basket.
Julia left the office an hour later, her cell