Smokescreen

When we left Atlanta, my ‘gut feeling’ was nagging at me. Max never let me out of his sight and held onto me closely in public meetings and appearances. We hadn’t hidden our relationship since I declared I was ready, but he’d never been this protective. When I asked him, he said he was being cautious.

The second day into our trip, I was scheduled to meet with a few schools that had teenagers needing to work. I was trying to find a way to rope in an internship aspect. Max insisted on a bodyguard on me all day, which I refused. It escalated into our first fight.

“Goddammit, Stella! He has to go with you!” Max yelled and slammed his hands on the sink as I showered.

“No, Max. I need to be approachable. These kids need to know there’s a program for them and I’m not a hot shot.”

“Don’t you get it? You’re the girlfriend of a multi-billion dollar president and CEO? People will be clambering to get to you. Not to mention the press and the crazies. I need you protected.”

“Do you want to explain to me why we didn’t have this conversation before we left the states? I’m pretty sure it would have been easier for me to reason with you then,” I ask walking out and grabbing a towel.

“Babe, I told you. You have to listen to me.”

“Tell me what to listen to. You’ve been crazy for two days.”

He sighs and runs his hands down his face. “Edward has someone down here in his back pocket. Taking bribes and reporting back. I need you to be covered at all times. Please.”

“Are you serious?” I screech.

“Yeah. Just got confirmation yesterday. I’ve always known he was dirty, but now I’m aware of his depth. He’s not happy about the changes and especially not happy about the money pouring into the community. He’s plotting away to take his anger out on me. I don’t know what he has planned yet.”

“Are you safe? Let’s go home. I don’t want to risk anything with him.”

“No, babe, we can’t go home yet. I need to do this. We need to do this. He’s been a bastard for years, thinking he controls me. But I finally have the upper hand and it’s driving him crazy. If we don’t finish what we started, he’ll win.”

“You’re right! That was an off the hip reaction. We need to be here. But I get worried when Edward’s name is involved in anything.”

“Don’t be worried about me, I’m protected.” His tone alerts something in me that says there’s more to the story.

“Max, what aren’t you telling me?”

Our eyes meet in the mirror and his face is masked with worry.

“Come here,” he holds out his hand and I walk into his arms. “The fed’s didn’t just happen to raid the factory a few months ago. They were tipped off with solid information and evidence.”

“What?”

His finger goes to my lips to quiet me. “Do you remember when we first got together and I promised to tell you everything as I could? Well, this is one of those things. I need to make sure you can handle it and keep it to yourself.”

I nod.

“I’ll give you the condensed version since we don’t have much time, but when we get home I can fill you in on everything. Long story short, I’ve been watching all our businesses since the day I walked in the door of Hurst & McCoy. There are inconsistencies everywhere, but JOS was the worst. I worked with a friend of mine and we uncovered the sweatshops, the payoffs, and the whorehouse. That friend is Chris and we’ve been watching the amount of money being funneled through these outlets and not reported. I’ve made measures to protect the company and me, but Edward’s name is on this one hundred percent. We have enough evidence on him to go down for Foreign Corrupt Practices. But I couldn’t let these employees and the communities suffer by shutting down the factory.

“So I had to get creative and bring the fed’s in. We have a confidential informant down here helping us. My knowledge of the law, along with Chris, has helped me. When we get done with this project and rebuild the JOS brand, I’ll have enough ammunition to kick Edward Hurst out of Hurst & McCoy for good.”

“How?”

“He’s most likely going to jail. That’s how good my information is. Right now, only three people have access to the files that prove his involvement in the illegal activities. If anything ever happens to me, Chris knows what to do.”

“Why risk anything happening to you? Why not put him away for good?” I question.

“Because unfortunately, the evidence I uncovered has my dad’s name on it too. Edward tricked my dad into signing false papers claiming expansion and growth. Dad tried to get his name off the papers, even called me for advice. By the time I could get here to look into things, he’d had his heart attack. We never got to talk about it. But I vowed to uncover the truth.”

“Oh, Max.” I lean into him, holding him tight. “Is this one of the reasons you had me watched in Atlanta that night too?”

“Ironically, no. I was just a jealous bastard then. But things have changed in the last few weeks. Our plan is making Edward crazy. He’s acting cagey. And now everyone knows about us. It puts me on edge that something could happen to you.”

“I’m so sorry.”