Breathless 3: In Love With an Alpha Billionaire (Breathless 3)

“Mom, it’s time to stop playing. The game is over. Toward the end of your affair, Tom suspected you would leave him high and dry, so he recorded you instructing him to deposit certain amounts of money into your offshore account,” I said, remembering how mad I was when

Tom played back Mom’s voice over the phone. It was a good thing our meeting was over the telephone. Had I been in the same room with Tom when he revealed this, I would’ve gone apeshit on him. Not only had he betrayed me, Dad, and the company, my mother was at the root of his betrayal.

“Damn you, Tom,” Mom said through tight lips. “Jacob, let me explain…”

“I don’t want your explanation.”

“At least hear me out.”

“Mom, I don’t want to hear anything you have to say. All I want from you is action. Go down to the station and drop the charges on Destiny. I will keep my mouth closed to the media and Dad. It’s not like he needs this type of stress in his life right now either.”

“Okay, I will drop the charges.”

“The part that gets me the most is that you didn’t care about Dad, and you obviously didn’t care about Tom either. He lost his job fooling around with you.”

“I wouldn’t worry about Tom. I made sure he had enough money to live comfortably.”

“No he doesn’t. He has to pay back every dime he embezzled and, at the end of the day, money is not everything.” There was silence on the line so I continued. “Why did you act so upset about Dad’s feelings for Ms. Clara when you were having an affair all along?”

“Have you ever stopped to think that maybe I was having an affair because Ms. Clara has always played a role in our marriage? Even though her name was not mentioned, I could just look at your father sometimes and tell he was thinking about her. I could never seem to measure up to her.”

“Mom, you have to take responsibility for being a hard person to deal with. You have to consider the possibility that you gave Dad too much time to reminisce. When you should have been all about Dad, you were trying to impress the world with your grandness.”

“I’m not the type to cry on anyone’s shoulders, but I had my own issues I was dealing with.”

“Like?”

“Like not wanting to be married to John or tied down with a family. I would’ve loved to be on Broadway chasing down my next theatrical gig instead of living the lie being someone’s housewife. I loved you and your father as best I could.”

“Mom, it’s time to do right by people starting with yourself.” Mom was silent until I heard a faint sniffle. “I just have one more question,” I said.

“What?”

“Why you would steal from the company after I took over? Was it an attempt to make it seem like I was incompetent?” I asked.

“It had nothing to do with you. I wasn’t thinking about how this would affect you in your new position.”

“It most definitely affected me and I don’t appreciate it one bit. If I make this a legal issue, it will not fare well for you.”

“So your barbaric girlfriend slapping and spitting on me is just brushed under the table, because my hands are dirty?”

“Mom, you let me deal with Destiny. You get downtown within the next hour, drop the charges, and get on the phone with an apology for talking to her the way you did.”

“I will do no such thing.”

“Do it or you will be the one sleeping on a rusty cot in a crowded jail for the rest of your life. Trust me, Mom, jail is no place for a woman like you.”

“Jacob, this is blackmail.”

“I wouldn’t call it blackmail. I would call it motivation, for you to do the right thing.”

Mom blew out a gush of air and, “Fine.”

I hung up the phone content the charges would be dropped within the next hour. I wasn’t thrilled with my tactics. However, the bombshell Tom dropped on me that morning was enough to get Mom’s attention. Come to find out, after everything went down with him losing his job and respect in the community, Tom was hurt by the way Mom distanced herself from him. Her reaction caused him to come clean about everything. Tom went into explicit detail about his affair with Mom. He also assured me that no one else in the office was involved with their scheme.

Chapter 16

Destiny