More Than Words(71)

“Uncle TJ,” Nina said, trying to keep her anger in check, “help me understand. What were you two thinking?”

TJ stood up and began to pace in front of the bank of windows, his body alternately blocking buildings and light, causing a slight disco effect in the office. “It was 2008,” he said. “The market was bad. Bookings were down. Your father had just invested a ton of money in the renovations of both gyms and the aquatics centers and he had a cash flow problem. His stock portfolio had dipped so far down that he didn’t want to sell, and if he sold any of his stake in the corporation, he’d lose his majority share. He’d asked for an increase in his compensation package, but the board voted against it. Rightly so, honestly.”

Nina had never known about this. “Why didn’t he tell me?” she asked, distracted for a moment from the main question.

TJ shrugged. “I think he wanted you to be proud of him,” he said. “He was ashamed to admit that he’d gotten himself into this situation. It even took him a while to tell me.”

“Did anyone else know?” Nina asked, taking in what TJ had just said. Did her father adjust his behavior for her the same way she did for him? Didn’t he know she’d be proud of him no matter what?

TJ shook his head. “I don’t think so,” he said. “And your father wanted to keep it that way. He didn’t want to sell the houses—the real estate market had tanked, too. His only other option was declaring bankruptcy. But the public humiliation, the way people would talk, the way they’d look at the hotels . . .”

“My dad couldn’t stand the idea of that,” Nina said, slowly.

“Exactly,” TJ said. “That’s when he came to me with the plan. He needed a second signature on the checks.”

Her father’s pride had led to this. And she’d benefited from his crime. Her father had taken nearly three million dollars from the corporation. She wondered how many dinners and dresses and car rides and who knows what else that money had bought her. She felt a throbbing in her temples.

“No one else ever found out?” Nina asked.

TJ sat down. “Not that I know of,” he said. “Once the stock market started making money again, we stopped. Your father actually lowered his salary after that. I think he was trying to make amends, pay the money back in better times. And he told me to legally disband Manxome Consulting earlier this year, when the cancer came back.”

Nina couldn’t believe what was unfolding. She heard Jane in her mind and realized that if something came out about this, even after the election, being with her could be a problem for Rafael. It could taint him as a politician, dating someone whose family was involved in an embezzlement scandal. Embezzlement. The word made her skin crawl.

“Maybe I should talk to Ned about selling my shares,” Nina said out loud. “Let this be someone else’s problem.”

TJ shrugged. “You could,” he said.

“Does Aunt Caro know?” Nina asked.

TJ shook his head. “I never told her.” He cleared his throat. “Tim doesn’t either, of course. I’d appreciate if you didn’t—”

Nina closed her eyes briefly. “I won’t,” she said. Out the window she could see the top few floors of The Gregory on the Park, and the lights from Los Tortolitos on the roof. It was why her father chose this office space, this office, so he could see his hotel while he worked. She couldn’t rage at her father, punish him for his decisions, but TJ was still here. “I think you need to step down,” she said, serious, controlled. “You can retire. We can figure out a way to make it work for the company, but I can’t have someone running this corporation who makes decisions like those.”

TJ looked down. Nina tried to feel bad, but anger crowded out her sympathy. She resented that she’d been put in this position. Even if she sold the company, she needed to know that it would be taken care of. That she’d be leaving it in good hands. It was her name on there. And she didn’t want to let the employees down either, people who were counting on the Gregory hotels for their livelihood.

She waited for TJ’s anger, for his own resentment to bubble to the surface. But instead TJ said, “You’re right.” And he looked almost relieved. Nina had given him a way out. “I’ll announce my retirement this week. And tie up loose ends this month. You know Tim wants to—”

“I know,” Nina said, cutting him off.

TJ looked at her and then got up from the table. “I should get back to my office,” he said. “I have a call in five minutes. I’m . . . I’m really sorry, Sweetheart.”



* * *



? ? ?

Nina stood, staring at the door, wondering what to do now. She looked up at the small sketch of Caravaggio’s Narcissus hanging above the door frame. If her father needed money, he could have sold that. Or any of the pieces in the house in the Hamptons. But her grandmother had never sold any of the art in her collection after she’d bought it, and he hadn’t either. And he wouldn’t, because it would have shown financial weakness, Nina realized now.

She wondered whether he’d bought Narcissus years ago to remind himself to keep his vanity in check.

Clearly it hadn’t worked.





67



When Gene dropped her off in the country that night, Nina took in a lungful of chilly air. After the day she’d had, being out of the city felt good. She needed time to process, to breathe, to decide what to say to Rafael. She knew she had to tell him about her father’s crime—she wouldn’t be like her dad, keeping secrets from people she cared about. But she was afraid of what that would mean. Maybe he would turn around and leave. Maybe this thing between them would be over before it really began. But even knowing a difficult conversation was ahead, the idea of seeing him again, being close to him, thrilled her.