The Singles Table (Marriage Game #3)(89)

“I was there,” she said. “They were very thorough. They had all sorts of metal-detecting gadgets and four guards at the door checking bags. And something doesn’t feel right about the pictures. How could Bob not see someone standing in the restroom with a camera? It wasn’t very big.”

“That’s a lot of faith you’re putting in your gut.” Tony pulled out his lightsaber and gave it a swing. “If you clear J-Tech, and you don’t find the person who took the pictures, you’ll have put a lot of time into a case that goes nowhere. It would be better for your billables to sue J-Tech and make them prove they weren’t liable. Given our financial situation and your tenuous position in the firm, do you really want to take the risk?”

“Yes.” She didn’t even need to think about it. There was no way she was going years keeping Jay at arm’s length. She loved him, trusted him, had faith in him. And she needed him to know it.

She just hoped he didn’t find out that she was planning to sue his ass to save him.





? 27 ?



Jay studied the e-mail from Chris Moskovitz’s assistant with disbelief. Contract canceled. Because of a lawsuit against his company? He’d been staring at his screen for the last fifteen minutes but so far, the words hadn’t changed.

“I got here as fast as I could.” Elias burst into his office. “Jessica and I went for a lunchtime run in the park. She beat me again, but I’m doing sprints in the mornings so . . .” He trailed off. “What’s wrong? What’s the big emergency?”

“Were we served with notice of any legal proceedings?”

“Not that I know of.”

“I called Lucia because she’s our solicitor of record and she didn’t receive anything, either. She’s going to look into it and call me back.”

Elias threw himself into the chair across from Jay’s desk. His hair was still wet from his shower, his shirt clinging to his damp shoulders. “So, who’s suing us?”

“Bob Smith. Apparently, someone got a phone into the zombie party venue and took some compromising pictures of him that he alleges have ruined his career. Chris heard about it and had his assistant cancel our contract. I called her up and she said he’s just landed the role of a lifetime and he can’t take any risks. They need a security company that can make sure no cameras or paparazzi get into their events.”

“There’s no way anyone got into the zombie party with a camera.” Elias straightened in his chair. “We had four people on the door, and we were using a high-sensitivity metal detector—it can detect a phone inside any body cavity.”

“Not an image I wanted in my head.”

“Just saying. No. Fucking. Way.”

Jay handed Elias his phone opened to the app where Bob’s party pictures were splashed out on the front page. “The evidence speaks for itself.”

Elias ran a hand through his hair, scattering droplets of water across the carpet. “How the hell did that happen?”

Jay had been wondering that himself. He trusted the members of his team implicitly. They were serious, professional, and conscientious. In all the years they had worked for him, they had never slipped up. That meant the mistake was on him.

“It had to be me. Zara was there. I was distracted . . .”

“No.” Elias shook his head. “Not a chance. That’s not you.”

“Maybe it is. I don’t know who the hell I am anymore.” He’d had two sessions with the VA clinic psychologist, and they’d made a start unraveling his pain and guilt about the crash. It was going to be a long, slow process, but he’d taken the biggest step and he was committed to seeing it through to the end.

Elias studied the pictures. “Why is it such a big deal? I see pictures of celebrities like this all the time. It blows over quickly and for some it’s good PR.”

“The zombie movies are family films. Snorting coke off a naked woman’s ass on a restroom floor isn’t good for the image.”

“What about our funding?” Elias said. “We still don’t have board approval. We’re obligated to disclose any litigation pending against the company.”

“I know.” Jay sighed. “Just when everything was looking up, it all goes to shit again.”

His phone rang and he took the call, motioning for Elias to stay when he heard Lucia’s voice on the other end. He put the phone on speaker and they leaned in to hear what she had to say.

“It’s bad news, I’m afraid. Though I did have an interesting conversation with Moskovitz’s attorney. He was present when Bob told Chris about the security breach at the party. Apparently, Bob said he’d hired the best lawyers in the Bay Area to sue J-Tech. He called them the apex predators of the city.”

“No.” Jay was barely aware of the word coming out of his mouth. All he could feel was the chill of the blood in his veins, the slow pumping of a battered heart, and the soul-destroying crush of defeat. If Zara had wanted to send a message that it was truly over between them, she couldn’t have done a better job.

“Yes,” Lucia said. “Cruz & Lovitt.”

After the call ended, Elias leaned forward, his face creased in disbelief. “Zara’s representing Bob? Against us?”

“She knows what this lawsuit will do to our chances of getting our funding.” Bile rose in Jay’s throat, the sense of betrayal almost overwhelming. “I pushed too hard and she ran. I never imagined she would do something like this.”