"You know.” She struggled to get the words out. “You and Mom."
He gaped at her. “Me and your mother? How does our divorce lead to you not trusting men?"
"Not the divorce part. It's the fact that you were cheating on her.” She stared out the window.
"What! What the hell are you talking about?” he demanded, outraged. “I never cheated on your mother."
Huh? She turned her head and squinted at him. “But all those times you got phone calls and you left ... all those times you'd be gone overnight, or even days..."
"That was work, damn it! Strictly work. You know what this job is like, Ashlyn. Something would be going down, and I'd get a call, and I'd have to go. Sometimes you don't get a second chance to do surveillance or talk to a witness. And sometimes I had to work overnight or go out of town.” He shook his head. “I love your mother,” he said with feeling. “I know she suspected I was screwing around. I swore to her I wasn't."
Ashlyn stared at her father. “She didn't believe you?"
"No. I couldn't make her believe it. She didn't trust me."
Ashlyn stared at her father. All these years, she'd blamed him for the end of her parents’ marriage, and he was claiming he'd never cheated? She gave her head a shake. “But ... she loved you.”
Oh, Zach.
"Yeah.” Her father's voice was gruff, and her heart expanded with love for him, love she hadn't let herself feel since he and her mother had split up. She suddenly picked up on the fact that he'd used the present tense when he said he loved her mother. “She said she did. But ... she didn't believe me. I didn't know how to convince her."
And their marriage had ended because of it.
"I don't know how to convince Zach either,” Ashlyn whispered. “He trusts everybody—except me.” Her eyes stung, and she brushed a hand across them.
"I thought you were the one with trust issues?"
She stared at her dad. She
was
the one with trust issues. But that wasn't what this was about. Confusion played with her brain, sent her thoughts spiraling uselessly around in her head.
Her dad looked down at the papers on his desk and then back up, and he smiled faintly. “So you don't want your job back. Are you okay for money?"
She took a breath, gathering her wits. “If you pay me for all the hours I put into this"—she nodded at the papers she'd given him—"I should be okay. I've had a few interviews, and I should be hearing back soon.” She gave him a little smile. “Now, I better go start studying. My last exam is on Friday."
She left the building. For once, her thoughts of Zach were pushed to the background by her father's profession of fidelity to her mother. Could it be true? She'd always loved her dad, but her beliefs about his behavior all those years had been reinforced by all the guys she'd met doing the sex decoy job. It was just the way men were.
Or was it? Were there actually men who didn't cheat?
Connor Montgomery? And Zach?
She wanted so much to believe it, and especially wanted to believe her father was one of them. Could she talk to her mother about this?
It saddened Ashlyn that her dad had implied he still loved her mother. When she got home, she called her mom. They chatted about school and unimportant things, until finally, Ashlyn felt she could bring up the topic she really wanted to discuss.
"Mom, can I ask you a personal question? It's kind of important."
There was a brief silence, and then her mother said, “Sure, Ashlyn. What is it?"
"How come you didn't trust dad? When he told you he never cheated on you?"
Again, silence. “Why do you ask that?” her mother asked carefully.
"Because today ... he and I were talking ... and he told me he never cheated on you. And I ... I believe him."
Silence. “Why do you believe him?"
Ashlyn swallowed. “I don't know, actually. Just ... a feeling, I guess.”
A gut feeling. Oh, God, Zach.
She heard her mother's sigh. “Well, all the times he was gone, those phone calls he'd get and leave, all those times he was away overnight ... all that seems to mean more than his word."
Ashlyn closed her eyes. “But you were married to him,” she whispered. “You loved him."
"That's why it hurt so much."
"Oh, Mom.” It was so sad. Her parents’ marriage destroyed because of a lack of trust. Yeah, her mom had had reason to suspect things—much like Jessica Montgomery. But things weren't always what they seemed. Ashlyn's chest ached as she thought of how miserable Connor had been without his wife. And how miserable her parents were without each other.
A few days later, Ashlyn got a call from Securitech telling her they wanted to make a formal job offer. They were going to courier the papers over to her that day. She would have been ecstatic if she hadn't been so heartbroken and confused. After all the interviews she'd been on in the last few months, this was the company she most wanted to work for. Finally, at least
something
was going right, but she couldn't get up the energy to care.
Right after that, she got another astonishing call. It was Jessica Montgomery wanting to meet with her. She gulped.
She did not want to see Jessica. Her inclination was to blow her off. She just wanted all that to go away. She and Zach were done; she wanted to forget this whole painful mess. But somehow, Jessica convinced her to meet with her again at Java Jack's.
Ashlyn arrived at the coffee shop and waited in a booth for Jessica, folding a paper serviette into smaller and smaller squares. When Jessica arrived, Ashlyn couldn't help but notice how happy and relaxed she looked now. Now her marriage was safe, and she knew her husband loved her.
Jessica's glossy black hair was smooth, her face perfectly made-up with smoky eyes and dark red lips. Her exotic beauty glowed. Ashlyn reluctantly admired her expensive-looking red suit and tan pumps as she slid onto the seat across from her.
Jessica eyed her assessingly. “Now
you
look like hell,” she said. Ashlyn's mouth dropped open. “Sorry. No offence. Zach looks even worse."
Ashlyn sighed and let the waitress fill her coffee cup. “Thanks.” She smiled up at the girl.
"Okay.” Jessica leaned forward. “Zach and Connor talked me out of suing you or your dad's company.” She shrugged. “I can see I do have some responsibility in this."
Ashlyn's eyes widened. “It was my mistake...” she began. Jessica held up a hand.
"Wait. There's something you need to hear. The reason I ended up telling Connor the truth about what I'd done."
Ashlyn waited curiously.
"Last week I still had this ... stupid idea that I needed to know if Connor would cheat on me.” She shook her head. “So I found another company that has sex decoys. One of them went to test Connor last Thursday night."
"He was out with Zach,” Ashlyn said slowly. “Playing pool. I was home studying."
Jessica shook her head. “Connor went and had one quick drink, but he wanted to get home to me.” A smile flickered on her lips. “So, Zach was sitting there alone when the decoy walks in, and guess what?"
"No!” Ashlyn's eyes widened.
"Yup. The girl thought he was Connor and did the routine. She had to get pretty aggressive, because he was
so
not interested."
Ashlyn just looked at her. “Did you not tell her what happened last time? So she'd know?” How could she be that stupid?
Jessica's eyes dropped to the table. “No. I was too embarrassed to tell her this was the second time I was doing that."
"All right then.” Ashlyn shook her head.
"When Connor got home early, I freaked out,” Jessica said. “He didn't know what was wrong, so I had to tell him what I did.” She gave a crooked smile. “He wasn't too impressed with me. But we've been through a lot lately, and he actually still loves me. Despite all my paranoid screw-ups."
Ashlyn smiled. Connor was a good guy. Just as loyal and faithful to those he loved as Zach was.
"Anyway, Zach is totally in love with you,” Jessica said. “He's miserable. He was actually defending you when I was talking about suing you."
"He was?"Ashlyn sat there, stunned, confused. “Why are you telling me this?"
Jessica sighed and looked down at her coffee. “You don't know me, but I have these security issues."
Big surprise, thought Ashlyn. The woman had hired
two
sex decoys. Lots of trust there, all right.
"There are reasons for it,” Jessica continued, a little awkwardly.
"I heard about Melissa."
Jessica nodded. “He says nothing happened. Then there were the late nights ... always working. I'd try to call his cell, and he never answered. Then a couple of months ago, I found a receipt in the bedroom for a diamond bracelet.” She paused. “I never got any diamond bracelet."
Ashlyn shook her head. “All the signs of a cheating husband."
"Yes.” Jessica took a breath. “Connor wants me to get some counseling.” She took a deep breath. “I really do love him, and I want my marriage to work. But..."
Ashlyn couldn't help but think of her parents. “Do it, Jessica.” Their eyes met. “Seriously. If you love each other, don't throw it away. My parents did that.” She swallowed. “My dad swears he never cheated on my mom, but she doesn't believe him.
Can't
believe him. It's such a waste ... don't let that happen to you and Connor."
Jessica nodded. “Thanks.” She studied Ashlyn. “Do you trust Zach?"
Ashlyn stared past Jessica's shoulder, not seeing the busy coffee shop, tuning out the chatter and the hiss of the espresso machine. Did she trust Zach?
"Has he ever given you a reason not to trust him?"
Ashlyn focused back on Jessica's face. “No. He never has.” She paused. “Why are you doing this?"
Jessica smiled wryly. “You almost wrecked my marriage—completely innocently. Now, I've wrecked your relationship with Zach. Also completely innocently. I had no idea that you and he were involved. Or that he had such strong feelings for you."
"Oh."
"So, I'm just trying to fix my mistake. Like you did."
Ashlyn's mind whirled.
Jessica pulled some bills from her purse and put them on the table. “You should talk to him,” she said, more gently. “He was angry, but I think he's getting over it. Connor's actually helping him realize this wasn't totally your fault. Take your own advice, Ashlyn. If you love him ... go talk to him.” She stood up.
"Wait,” Ashlyn said. She looked at Jessica standing there, a bit vulnerable even in all her impeccable elegance. “I want to tell you something too. Last weekend I was at the Pooch Picnic with Connor and Zach. There were women coming on to Connor left, right and center. He wasn't interested in any of them.” She met Jessica's eyes meaningfully. “Not one. I really don't think you have anything to worry about."
Jessica slowly smiled. “Thank you for telling me that,” she said. “I know I have to trust him, and I'm working on it. I don't think I actually needed to hear that. But thank you."
Ashlyn sat there. Should she take Jessica's advice and go talk to Zach? What more could she say to him? She looked down at the paper napkin she'd destroyed.
Then she knew.
Before she lost her nerve, she got in her old car and drove to his place. He wasn't home. She glanced at her watch. He could still be at work.
She drove to the brewery but damn, the doors were locked. She got back in her car and sat there for a moment. There was one more place she could try.
When she walked into Doc McCue's, he was sitting at the bar, holding a beer between his clasped hands, leaning on his elbows. He wasn't in the exact same seat as the night they'd met, but close.
She climbed onto the stool beside him.
He glanced at her once, then twice, staring at her in stunned surprise.
She smiled at him. “Hi."
"Hi.” He definitely did not look like his usual happy-go-lucky self, and her breath hitched. “I guess I should thank you."
"For what?"
"For finding the evidence we needed."
She nodded. “I'm sorry, Zach. I know you wanted to trust Melissa."
He shrugged. “My faith in people has been a bit shaken lately.” She felt a little heart stab. Ah, hell.
"Anyway, they tracked the Hotmail account and found out it belongs to Tag Bonner at Steinbrau. He was involved in the discussions we had with them months back. Melissa is the one who approached him, but he apparently thought if he could get our yeast, it would help further his career at Steinbrau. So he agreed to pay her if she could get him our recipes and yeast. And she was pissed off at Connor for not wanting anything to do with her. Other than work, I mean.” He shook his head sadly.
"Did they actually get it?"
"Yeah, they got the yeast. She couldn't hack into the computer and get the recipe. But I'm not worried. They may have our yeast, but they don't have me.” He grinned, and she smiled back.
"I'm sorry,” Ashlyn said again. “How did she get it?"
"Apparently, I left my keys on my desk one day when I went out.” He smiled ruefully and rubbed his face. “Don't say it. If nothing else after all this, I've learned to be a bit more careful about whom I trust. Anyway, she grabbed them and got a copy made. She only had one chance to get into the lab when no one was around, but she was planning to try again."
"Are you going to press charges?"
He frowned. “We haven't decided for sure. I say hell yeah, criminal charges plus we should sue their asses off. Hers and Bonner's. They can't get away with that. Of course, Connor is much more cautious and practical. He says we don't need that negative publicity. Maybe he's right. Also, Steinbrau apparently will do anything to avoid this getting out. They claim they didn't know anything about it. They fired the guy."
"I wish Connor had told us about Melissa."
"Yeah, no kidding. I'm a little pissed at him for that. But he said things were awkward enough working with her. He didn't want me to feel awkward around her too, or even fire her."
Zach paused and took a swallow of beer. “So, why'd you do that?” he asked, not looking at her. “Your dad told us he took you off the case, but you kept working on it anyway."