Perspective (An Exposure Series Novella): Exposure Series Book Four (2 page)

I
had made
the decision to come clean with my past. I was nervous about it, of course, but I wanted to get in front of it. I didn’t want to be caught unaware of what revelations were going to hit the paper and when. And I knew, once it was known that Natalia was my sister, the revelations were going to come. I could keep trying to hide who I was from the world. I didn’t necessarily have to tell people that Natalia was my sister. Yet, I was truly ready. I was tired of running and hiding. I was tired of living in a way that made me afraid to look over my shoulder at all times. I didn’t like giving Sophie so much power, because, at the moment, the most she could do to me would be to expose me. She was such a loose cannon. It would be nice to take that particular bullet in her arsenal away.

So, in order to control the message, I arranged to have dinner with Max, who was one of my media contacts at the
New York Times.
This story would be just the start, I knew, and I also knew that there was a chance that this particular story would blow up huge. After all, it wasn’t every day that a prominent CEO comes forth to say that he worked for the Russian mob. Granted, it was a long time ago….The best that I could do would be to whitewash it as much as I could, and hope that, because of the ultra secrecy of the syndicate, the media could never find out that I actually killed people. Let them think that I just was a cyber-thief, and that I didn’t really know what I was doing at the time.

I had to be prepared for the fallout when that happened. I knew that there would be a fallout, I just didn’t know how much.

When I got into the office, I called Max, who picked up on the first ring. “Asher Sloane. How the hell are ya?”

“Max, I’m doing great. Listen, I have a story about me. I can almost guarantee it will be on your front page. So, get ready.”

“A story. What does this story concern?”

“Me. My past.”

“I’m listening.”

“Meet me at Wolfgang Puck’s at 7 tonight. I hope that you don’t have plans. If you do, break them. This is going to be a big one.”

“I’ll be there.”

“See you then.”

As I hung up the phone, I took an enormous breath. I hoped I knew what I was doing. If something went wrong, I could very well end up behind bars. Or dead. And if something happened to me, then there could very well be a problem with my company. I had a guy who was ready to take over the company at a moment’s notice. His name was Sam, and I trusted him implicitly. He was the president of the company and I considered him to be my right hand man. So, I knew that the company would be in good hands, no matter what happened to me.

But would CJ? I felt for her.

It didn’t matter. I had to do it. It was time.

I
met
Max right at 7. I drove my Tesla and had it valet parked. I walked in, and he was already there, nursing a whiskey. He stood up, and I sat down.

“Okay,” he said. “I’ve been on pins and needles since you called me. What gives?”

“I better get a drink,” I said. “I think that I’m going to need it.” At that, I summoned the waitress. “A double scotch neat,” I said.

Max was looking at me with an expression that was one part wonder and one part curiosity. “Starting with a double scotch,” he said. “You must have something up your sleeve.”

“You have no idea.” The waitress brought our drinks around, and I immediately took a sip. “Okay, here’s the deal. I’m not who I say that I am. I lived another life in Russia that is literally world’s away from what I am today. Asher Sloane is not even my given name. It’s a name that I invented when I moved here, because I thought it sounded good.”

Max wasn’t saying a word, but he was writing everything down. “Go on,” he said. Like a good news man, he had a poker face. I couldn’t tell what he was really thinking, although I could have just imagined it.

The next part of what I was going to tell him was going to be the hardest. “The reason why I’m here in America is because I was in the Russian mob…..” I then spent the next hour telling him as much as I wanted to tell him. That would mean that I didn’t tell him about my killing people, but I did tell him about my surveillance activities as well as my activities in the cyberhacking realm of the organization.

He listened and asked questions when appropriate. When I was finished, he asked me another question. “Did you kill anybody when you were in this organization?”

“No. I didn’t have to, because my father was the head of this organization and he didn’t want me doing that.” Lying about my past had become as natural to me as breathing, so I was able to put forth that lie without breaking a sweat.

He looked at me suspiciously. “Asher, you do know that if you’re lying about that, I’ll find out about it, don’t you?”

“Of course,” I said. “I expect you to do your independent research on this.”

I had given him enough information, but not everything. I knew that it would be next to impossible to get any other information about me regarding my true activities because of the secrecy of the organization. I didn’t even tell him who my father was. That, too, was going to be next to impossible to find out. My original birth certificate was gone, long destroyed. Natalia’s was as well. My father knew many government officials who were tasked with erasing both Natalia and me from the records.

When I was done telling him everything, it felt like an enormous weight was lifted off of me. I was finally free.

I
got
home and saw CJ sitting on my couch. “Well, hello Mrs. Sloane,” I said to her. It was then that I noticed that she had a pregnancy test in her hand. She wasn’t looking at it, though. I also noticed that her hand was shaking wildly.

“I can’t look at it,” she said. “I know that it says something, but I’m too terrified to look at it. I hate this. I hate putting so much pressure on myself and on you.”

I put my arm around her. “You’re not the one putting pressure on us. I did that by lying to my father. So, don’t even feel bad.”

She then handed me the test. “What does it say?”

I looked at it. It very clearly said the word “pregnant.” I couldn’t believe it. My heart leaped about 1000 times. “Mrs. Sloane, we are about to become a family.”

She screamed. “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.” Then she opened her eyes to look at the test. “We did it! We did it!”

I picked her up and spun her around while she laughed hysterically. “Let’s go out and celebrate!”

She took my tie in her hand and brought me to her. “Let’s stay in and celebrate.”

“Oh, we don’t have to do that anymore. We’re pregnant, remember? We don’t have to have sex anymore.”

She looked disappointed and I started to laugh. “Teasing, silly.” Then I kissed her passionately. “I agree, we definitely need to do some celebrating indoors.”

I carried her to our bedroom, and we made love for the rest of the evening. It seemed that the worst was over. I knew that it wasn’t, of course. I was fully prepared for whatever was going to come at me, though.

At least I thought I was.

T
he first thing
that I wanted to do was tell my mother about the new baby. I was so excited, I was bouncing completely off the walls. I couldn’t believe that Asher and I pulled it off, and we pulled it off within the window that we needed to. If I got pregnant a few months from now, that wouldn’t have done us any good. Sergei wasn’t a stupid man. He would’ve figured it out immediately, and then who knew what would have happened?

But we pulled it off, and it felt great. Of course, it felt great to be having Asher’s child, period. I was young, yet I felt ready for this. I had to prepare for it as much as I could, and I was looking forward to that too.

I gave my mother a call. “CJ,” she said when she picked up the phone. “It’s so good to hear from you. I assume that you’re back from London or wherever it was that you were hiding yourself?”

“Yes, mom, I’m back. I’m back home, and I have some news.” That, again, was an understatement. Boy, did I have news. She had no clue that I had married Asher, or even that I was about to marry him. And she was really going to be shocked about the baby. And, I also knew that I was going to have to tell her about Asher’s past. There would be no hiding it once the stories hit the news.

While I was happy to be back in her good graces, I also was dreading seeing her. I could just imagine her reaction when I hit her with all these things, one after the other. She was going to be stunned and probably angry. Definitely worried, because she was my mother, and that’s what mothers do.

“What is your news?”

“Um, where do I begin. Let me make you dinner tonight, mom. Come over to my place and I’ll make spaghetti and meatballs. We’ll have some wine, have some laughs. Just like old times. Bring Stella, too.” I had not yet officially moved in with Asher, even though we were married. For one, I hadn’t told Scarlett anything about what was going on. And she was going to have to get a new roommate soon. And, also, I just hadn’t had time to move out of the old apartment.

Scarlett was another one who was going to have to know all about these rapid changes. I felt badly, because she was my best friend. I literally had no idea what I would have done without her. Now I was going to have to hit her with the fact that I was married and moving out.

“I’ll be there,” she said. “I’ll get Stella to drive me. The doctor has told me that I need to limit my activities for a little while. I’m still recovering, you know.”

“I know. How are you, by the way? I’m sorry I haven’t asked that before now.”

“Getting stronger every day. A gun man can’t keep me down, CJ, you know that. And, by the way, I might actually get some money out of this. I’ve hired a lawyer and they’re suing that crook. Turns out he’s actually a wealthy drug dealer. Why he was robbing that bank, I don’t know. But he’s got money, and I’m going to get some of it. Pain and suffering and all of that.”

“That’s great, mom. You probably need it, too, huh? And, by the way, how is Clint?”

Mom giggled. “How did you know about that? Me and him have been seeing each other every day since the incident. Turns out I’m the one that got away. And he’s your father, too, so it’s going to be nice for you. You need to get to know him.”

“I’d like that. Bring him too, tonight.”

“I can’t do that, CJ. Unfortunately, he’s going on the oil rig and will be there for the next six months. He left last night.”

My shoulders slumped. I really wanted to get to know my father, but it seemed that was going to have to wait. “Okay, then.”

“But we keep in touch. We Face Time. He got me an iPhone and an iPad so that we can do that, and he showed me how to do it. He’s promised to Face Time me every night.”

“That’s great, mom. I’m really happy for you.”

She was quiet for a little bit. “I really wish that I would have gotten you in touch with him earlier, CJ. He missed all your growing up years. And you missed having him around. I was selfish for keeping him from you, and I apologize for that. I thought that I was doing the right thing, though. He was a no-goodnik from way back. But he’s cleaned up good. He was in the joint for awhile and he turned it around.”

“Well, mom, I’m just happy that he’s in my life now. Better late than never, huh?”

“Better late than never. Anyhow, Stella and I will see you tonight. We’ll come over at 7, bring a bottle of wine. Have some laughs.”

“I’ll see you then.”

I hung the phone, and cracked my knuckles. That was a bad habit that I had when I was a kid, even though I was always told that I would get arthritis from doing that. But it was something that I did when I was very, very nervous. Which would definitely describe my state of mind at that time.

I had zero idea how she was going to react to my news.
Mom, I’m married to Asher, and we’re going to have a child. Oh, and his father is a Godfather of a very powerful mafia syndicate in Russia. And Asher was in the mob, too, and he murdered lots of guys. Pass the spaghetti.

M
om and Stella
arrived at my apartment right at 7. I had already told Asher that I needed to speak with them alone. And Scarlett, too. I needed to have everyone’s attention, and I really needed to say what I was going to say without his input. He seemed to understand, so I was grateful for that.

“And CJ,” he said. “You need to tell them tonight. You can’t wait. The story is going to break in tomorrow’s newspaper, and the proverbial shit is going to hit the fan. You don’t want your mother finding out that way.”

“Of course.” He wasn’t telling me anything that I didn’t know. I knew that I had to tell everyone about Asher, and quickly. Like he said, finding out about his past, and his father’s line of work, from a newspaper was not exactly the ideal situation. To say the very least.

But I was nervous, of course. Scarlett could tell that I was nervous before they arrived. But she had no idea exactly why. “CJ, I know that you have something up your sleeve.”

“Scarlett, you know, of course, about Asher’s past and Asher’s father. I’m going to have to tell mom that tonight, and I’m not looking forward to it.” I wasn’t going to mention the extent of Asher’s involvement, though. I was going to gloss over it, much like Asher did for me when he first told me about everything. All that he told me was that he was a cyberhacker. He didn’t tell me that he killed people until just recently. Asher told me that he didn’t think that particular detail would get into the papers, considering the secrecy of the organization, so there wasn’t necessarily a need to tell anyone about that.

“Just tell them that I stole money from large banks and leave it at that,” Asher had said to me earlier when I was trying to find out how much I should tell them.

“Okay. I hope that she believes me.”

I was doubtful that she would let it rest at that, but, according to Asher, that was all that the newspaper was going to print about him.

Asher knew that there was going to be fallout from the revelations hitting the paper. He knew that there was probably going to be pressure on his government contracts to stop doing business with him. But he had told me that he had some powerful senators in his back pocket, so he wasn’t worried that the appropriations committee would cut him off. These senators apparently had his back, no matter what, because of all the campaign contributions he had made to them over the years.

But I was doubtful about that. I didn’t know much about politics, but I knew the climate. Asher was a successful alternative energy pioneer. As such, he was hated by the right wing of the Republican party, who didn’t believe in climate change and was beholden to powerful oil and gas interests. When Asher’s company started to get a foothold in the field, it became marked. Conservatives were constantly threatening to withhold appropriations for his company, looking for any excuse at all to do so. They were forever threatening to choke off his contracts. Thus far, they hadn’t been able to do so, because Asher’s senators, the ones who were beholden to him, were powerful.

Would they be powerful enough to contain the damage after all of this? I didn’t know, but Asher had assured me that they would be. He had told them ahead of time what he was about to do. They already knew about his background, but they didn’t say a word, of course. Asher told them that it was about to go public, and they had given him their assurances that everything would be fine. They would be able to contain the damage, although they weren’t in the least bit happy that Asher was going to do what he was going to do.

Now I was worried. I was worried about what was going to happen to Asher publicly when the information got out. And I was very worried about what mom was going to say.

S
o
, when they arrived at 7, I was already pacing the floor. I needed a drink, to say the very least. But there was no way I was going to drink. Perhaps the studies on drinking while pregnant were overblown – after all, it was my understanding that my mother drank while pregnant with me. And there were decades when women drank while pregnant, just because they didn’t know any better. Yet Fetal Alcohol Syndrome didn’t affect most of those babies who were born during those earlier eras.

Even so, I wasn’t going to drink. I didn’t want to take that chance.

I was so nervous, though, I felt like throwing up. Morning sickness had not yet hit me, but it nevertheless felt like I was about to hurl. I was going to face my mother, Stella and Scarlett, and tell them the news. Scarlett was going to be hurt, because I didn’t tell her that I married Asher. And mom and Stella were going to be besides themselves when I told them about Asher’s past and father.

It was time to rip off the bandaid.

They arrived and buzzed me, and I let them come up. The table was set, and the bottles of wine were on the table. Scarlett was busy in the kitchen, chopping up some lettuce for a salad and crushing some garlic for the homemade garlic bread. The sauce was homemade, too. My mom, being an Italian, wouldn’t stand for anything less. If I tried to give her Prego, or some other kind of sauce, she probably would have turned and left in disgust. That’s how she was.

Mom and Stella came in the apartment, and both kissed me and Scarlett on the cheek. “Scarlett, it’s so good to see you! It’s been too long,” my mom said to her as she and Scarlett embraced.

“You too, Gianna,” Scarlett said. “You’re looking well.”

“You mean I’m looking well for an old lady who just got off of death’s door, right?” my mom said with a smile. “You, on the other hand, are just looking good, period.” She touched Scarlett’s hair. “Such a pretty girl with such beautiful hair. Where’s your fella?”

“I don’t have one right now,” she said.

Mom shook her head. “Don’t have one. How is that possible? Listen, my new boyfriend has a son about your age. Well, he’s a little bit younger. He’s 21. He’s kinda been in and out of trouble, but, what can you do, huh? You can’t have everything.”

Scarlett laughed lightly. “Thanks, Gianna, but I don’t do fix-ups.” Then she gave me a look, and I knew what she was thinking. Mom’s “guy” for her sounded like a winner. I had to laugh, too.

“Are you sure? He’s pretty handsome.” At that, she got out her wallet and showed her a picture of a young guy with dark hair and a brooding expression. I had to admit, mom was right. He
was
quite handsome in a thuggish kind of way. He looked like he belonged on the cover of a romance novel, the kind of novel that had a tattooed guy who looked like he would like to rip your head off.

Scarlett nodded her head and said nothing. Then she went over to hug Stella, and I heard Stella whisper to her. “Don’t mind ma. You know how she is. She can’t seem to ever mind her own business.”

“So, sit down, sit down,” I said. “I have some appetizers here. Gnocchi with pesto and cheese and crackers.”

“Good. I’m starving,” mom said. “You know, CJ, hospital food hasn’t gotten any better over the years. I mean, with the amount of money they charge for staying with them, you would think that they would serve caviar, prime rib and lobster for every meal. I just got my bill in the mail – a half million dollars. Thank god I have halfway decent insurance, huh? Otherwise, I’d be in bankruptcy court tomorrow.”

I knew what she was talking about. When I was in the hospital for my mental breakdown, Scarlett told me that my bills were astronomical. Apparently Asher took care of them, though, so I didn’t have to face it.

Mom and Stella sat down on the couch and ate their appetizers while Scarlett and I busied ourselves in the kitchen. I could feel my heart pounding, though, because I dreaded telling everyone everything. The shit was absolutely going to hit the fan once they all knew.

I brought the food out, and everyone passed everything around. The wine was flowing freely, and I sipped a glass of water. Scarlett looked at me suspiciously. “What’s going on, CJ? There’s a bottle of wine, and..” Then her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, my god, CJ. I know why we’re all here. You’re pregnant, aren’t you?”

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.

Mom looked at me, stopping mid-sentence. “CJ, is that true? Are you knocked up? Is it that handsome man who came to our house in that fancy electric car? I forget his name. Aston or something, right?”

“Asher,” I said. “Uh, actually, I need to get around to why we’re here at this table, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself.” I wanted to tell everyone everything in order, and I didn’t want to skip ahead. Mom and everyone was probably thinking that I got knocked up and was unmarried.

I shot Scarlett a look, and she got the drift. She took a drink of her wine and said nothing further.

“Well, CJ, are you knocked up?” Stella asked me.

“No,” I said. “I mean…” I sighed in frustration. I probably should have told Scarlett before the dinner about what I was going to talk about, and then she wouldn’t have forced me to jump the gun. “Let me start from the beginning. I’m married to Asher. We got married in England. It was just a civil thing, no church or anything. Nobody was even there. We just found a Barrister who was qualified to marry us and we did it. And, yes, I’m pregnant. But I’m not knocked up, because that would imply that it was accidental.”

I looked around the table, and they all looked shocked. And then my mother got up out of her chair and went over to me. “Stand up,” she said, and I did. Then she wrapped her arms around me. “Oh, CJ, I can’t believe it. I’m going to be a grandmother. A grandmother! And I have a son in law. I just can’t believe it!”

There were tears in her eyes. Stella got up, too, and hugged me, and then Scarlett did the same. They all were totally excited about the news. I temporarily felt relieved, because the easiest part was over. What was going to come next, though, wasn’t going to get the same reaction, I knew.

“Thanks for your well wishes, but, please, have a seat and let’s finish our dinner. There’s more that I need to tell you guys.”

Scarlett gave me a look. I could read what she was thinking. She knew that I was going to have to tell them about Asher’s past. “Gianna, Stella, let me give you some more wine,” she said. “You guys are dry.”

They held out their glasses and Scarlett poured the wine for them. Scarlett raised her eyebrows at me with an expression that said
they’re going to need this.
I nodded my head slightly and took a deep breath.

I looked at my shaking hand that was gripping my water glass and I began. “Okay. Well, as you guys know, Asher is a very successful businessman. He’s a billionaire many times over. Not that this is important to me, because it’s not, of course. I really couldn’t care less about the size of his bank account. But, mom, I know that you do, so that’s why I wanted to bring that up.”

I couldn’t help but think that telling my mom that Asher was loaded was the best way to soften the coming blow about his background.

My mom nodded her head in approval. “Oh, thank god, CJ. I always wanted you to marry a wealthy man. I thought he would be some kind of toad, though. Let’s face, most rich guys don’t exactly look like a male model.” She cocked her head. “There’s gotta be something wrong. Nobody is that perfect, CJ.”

You have no idea, mom.

I took a deep breath. “Yes, mom, you’re very perceptive. Listen, I have to tell you about him. There’s going to be newspaper stories about him tomorrow. Everything is going to go nuts. So, I need to get in front and tell you guys about his background.”

Stella started to laugh. “Let me guess. He’s really a serial killer who has broken out of prison.” Then she shook her head. “Could you imagine a man who looked like that in prison? He’d last a day.”

I didn’t smile or laugh. Asher
had
been in prison. Granted, it was a prison in Russia, but a prison nonetheless. And he had killed people, although he apparently had to do it.

My mom noticed that I wasn’t smiling when Stella made her little joke about Asher being a serial killer and looked concerned. “Oh, god, no, CJ. Has he really been in the joint?”

“Uh….” I looked around the table. Stella was no longer smiling and my mom looked extremely worried. Scarlett had an expression on her face that told me that I had to tell them everything, so I might as well suck it up.

“Okay, here’s the deal. Asher is actually a former Russian mobster named Alexei Pushkin. His father is a
Pakhan
, which is the equivalent to a godfather. His job was to hack into banks and governmental entities and steal large quantities of money from them.” I didn’t meet their eyes, and the words just tumbled out.

I finally looked at mom and Stella, and they both looked stunned. And then Stella started to laugh. “Oh, CJ, you got us good there. You’ve always been such a jokester. That’s pretty funny. What’s the truth – is that handsome man who showed up at the house just an actor? That’s a pretty elaborate joke, too.”

My mom started to laugh as well. “Oh, you got us going there, CJ, you little rascal. Here, have some wine. You obviously can’t be pregnant.” She poured me a glass of wine and passed it to me.

I took a deep breath. “I’m not joking. Listen, you’re going to see it in the papers tomorrow. Asher really was a Russian mobster. He grew up extremely poor and had to do it to survive. His father came and got him one day. He was basically an orphan with his twin sister in his care. There wasn’t much that he could do, mom. He had to do something to survive.”

Mom and Stella were quiet after I said that. Then Stella finally spoke. “You’re serious, CJ.” Then she shook her head. “Pass that wine back to me. And bring out another bottle. We’re going to need it.”

Mom was quiet, but, she, took, downed her wine and poured herself another glass.

“Mom, say something.”

She shook her head and started in on her Italian. She muttered something in Italian and shook her head. I wished that I had Asher there to translate for me.

“Mom, please, say something in English.”

“You don’t want me to say something in English.” Then she went back to her native tongue while she downed yet another glass of wine and filled her glass again. “Okay, CJ, you want me to talk to you in English, I’ll talk to you in English. What the hell are you thinking? You’re going to bring a child into this mess? What the hell? Your kid is going to have a grandfather who’s a godfather? Listen, CJ, I’ve been around those mob types. You forget that I grew up in Italy when I was a little girl. That kind of thing isn’t something to mess around with, let me tell you. I mean, you’re lucky that his father is a godfather, otherwise everyone else around him would be singing like canaries.”