Chapter 27
"You are joking. Right?" Without waiting for a response, Ezra turned away from Jadon and stared at Kaelo. "He's joking, isn't he?" he pressed, his voice almost pleading for confirmation.
On the other side of the table, Kaelo studied Jadon with narrowed eyes before he responded to Ezra with an exasperated, heavy sigh. "I don't think he is. This is what he wouldn't tell us the other day," he said in a voice full of accusation. "This is the reason he forgot his phone in his car and got drunk."
Ezra's wide eyes whipped back around toward Jadon. "Seriously? But Okay." He waved a hand in the air, the frown on his face only getting deeper as though he was trying hard to understand but it just wasn't happening. It was almost comical to watch and Jadon would have chuckled if he didn't think one or both of his friends would take it the wrong way and he would probably end up with a bruised jaw for his trouble.
Unaware of Jadon's thoughts, Ezra continued with his own train of thought, which unfortunately still sounded like a man desperate to make sense of something that absolutely made no sense. "So you slept with your brother's girlfriend and now you are being blackmailed to cancel a big contract for the company. Or what? The blackmailer tells the world you are not a virgin. Dude, I bet I could find a hundred women who can testify that you are in fact not a virgin. You haven't been since you were seventeen."
Jadon ground his teeth together. He was suddenly very grateful they had decided to meet up in Kaelo's office at the hotel Kaelo's mother owned. The options had been limited. It was either the hotel or Ezra's sportswear boutique because Jadon didn't trust his office right now. And having this conversation in a store where anyone could walk in wouldn't have worked for Jadon. Especially if his friend was going to blurt out anything that crossed his mind as though he had verbal diarrhea.
"I haven't slept with a hundred women." Jadon felt the need to correct that assumption despite that not being the point or even a necessary fact to deserve their attention at that given moment.
Of course, Ezra scoffed. "Do you keep a record somewhere? A little black book? Maybe a spreadsheet?"
"Shut up, Ezra!" Kaelo suddenly snapped his eyes still on Jadon. "We have more important things to discuss than Jadon's list of past bedmates."
Jadon grimaced at the anger in his friend's voice even as Ezra slumped back in his seat and grumbled something about just establishing facts. Yeah, Jadon wasn't in the mood to establish those facts so he was very much on board with Kaelo shutting Ezra up. Except, Kaelo hadn't stopped Ezra for the same reason Jason had in mind. His friend was just pissed that Jadon hadn't gone to them with the problem as soon as it had reared its ugly head.
He understood where Kaelo was coming from but that didn't mean he was going to apologize for keeping the matter to himself for a few days while he processed. In fact, he might have kept it quiet longer if Tapiwa hadn't visited his office and dropped the bomb she had.
What had happened before she ran out of his office was just another complication he couldn't wrap his head around. Hence why he'd called his friends and finally told them everything. Jadon needed help to sort out the mess that was now his life and he only trusted the two men in the room with him to help him do that.
For a beat, tension pulsed in the office. No one spoke. It was a small space, nothing like Jadon's office at the company. With only a small desk, three chairs, and two filing cabinets behind Kaleo, it was hardly the place to have a standoff. Jadon almost always felt claustrophobic whenever he visited his friend there. Which explained why he suddenly felt as though he couldn't breathe.
Without a word, Jadon tugged at his tie as he shot out of his seat. Ignoring his friend's shocked looks, he made his way to the only window in the room overlooking the back of the hotel.
The view was rather nice for the small hotel tucked between skyscrapers in the middle of the city. After a deep breath, Jadon allowed himself to take in the sight of the beautiful blue, clear sky above the green wall that made up the back of the hotel.
The wall was actually made of blocks but Kaelo's mother had allowed a thick layer of plant life to grow over it, turning it into a breathtaking thick green wall. In the blooming season, colorful flowers decorated the wall among the green. It was so beautiful that the hotel used it as one of its best features for wedding events. The wall was however green today but not less beautiful.
But as beautiful as the wall was, Jadon's eyes still dropped to the large pool being cleaned by two workers and his gut clenched all over again. A red haze fell over Jadon's vision as he remembered Tapiwa's trembling voice as she narrated what happened to her in a pool. "He could have easily drowned her," Jadon suddenly said without turning around to meet his friends' eyes.
After a beat, there was a loud sigh behind him. Jadon assumed it came from Kaelo since the man spoke shortly after.
"You need to go to the police and report everything, Jadon."
Shocked by those words, Jadon spun around and met his friend's still-angry gaze. "No." He shook his head. "My father will find out and that-"
"As long as you have this blackmailer on your ass" Ezra cut in. "I'm afraid your father finding out is a forgone conclusion."
"Not if I find out who he is and put an end to it before he can do anything," Jadon argued.
A beat of silence passed as Jadon's two friends exchanged a troubled look. Then Kaleo leaned forward and rested his hands on the desk, fingers clasped. "Okay, Jadon, I need to be completely honest with you here," he started.
Jadon didn't like the tone of Kaelo's voice. He sounded like a man trying to reason with a person standing on the edge of a cliff. Jadon didn't think he was that far gone. He wasn't about to jump and be damned with everything. Still, he gritted his teeth and gave a single nod for Kaelo to go on.
"This is bad," Kealo said solemnly.
An unexpected snort escaped Jadon. He arched a brow at his friend. "Okay. I think I was expecting more than that."
"That's the summarized version."
"It does encompass everything in three little words," Ezra agreed.
Jadon huffed. He shook his head. "Okay, un-summarize it. I called you both to talk so you could help me think and reason. I can't do this on my own," he admitted.
Being overly dramatic, Ezra quickly threw his arms in the air. "Oh, thank the good lord. For a moment there I thought you were about to turn into Jason Statham, going after an unknown enemy all on your own."
"Are you done?" Jadon clipped.
To his surprise, Ezra shot Jadon a wide grin. "Relax. I am offering comic relief. It's good for you. The vein on the side of your neck looks like it's about to burst."
For a moment, Jadon was speechless. His mouth opened and closed like a landed fish. Then, feeling rather irritated even though his friend had obviously meant well, Jadon pointed a finger at the door. "If you won't take this seriously and stop joking around, you might as well leave. I need solutions to a life-and-death situation. Not a good laugh."
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Jadon regretted them. He inwardly cringed. Damn it! That had been too harsh and he saw the hurt in his friend's eyes. "Ezra-"
"You are right," Ezra cut him off in a flat tone.
Jadon quickly shook his head. "No. I'm not. I'm sorry, man." Sighing, Jadon lifted his right hand and gripped the back of his neck. "I'm sorry. I'm just stressed with all this." He looked from Ezra to Kaelo, who had been seated behind his desk, fingers steepled on top as he watched the exchange.
"I need help, guys," Jadon told his friends. "If something happens to Tapiwa it will be my fault."
"You are certain that she isn't involved in the blackmail?" Kaelo asked.
Jadon shook his head. "Her fear was genuine. She's not involved. She's a victim. Just like me. And if this gets out She will have it bad." Jadon didn't want to even imagine how bad.
Nodding, Kaelo stood up and began to pace in the space between his desk and the filing cabinets. There was barely enough room but he somehow made it work. "Maybe it's time you stepped away from your father's business and started your own as we planned," he murmured almost as though he was thinking out loud.
"If you are not working for your father then you won't fear the outcome of the blackmail," Ezra added.
Jadon frowned. He had to agree the thought had merit and had crossed his mind at least twice in the last hour especially when he saw how cramped up Kaelo's office was. But it wasn't that simple.
"Companies are not built overnight," Jadon reminded his friends. "And I don't think running will resolve anything. If the old man finds out about all this, he will skin me alive for creating a scandal. It will still affect the company even if I am not its current CEO."
"But you didn't create the scandal," Ezra stated defensively. "It just landed on your lap. I suspect both you and Tapiwa were drugged at that party. Someone planned this out carefully."
Jadon nodded in agreement. He had also reached the same conclusion and it bothered him. Sighing, he rubbed at his face. Damn, he was already tired of the situation and it seemed to only be starting. They had so many questions and not a single answer. They needed answers so they could put a stop to everything. And Jadon knew he had to get those answers as soon as yesterday for Tapiwa's sake.
Tapiwa. She had practically trembled in his arms with fear. Jadon didn't want to imagine what kind of nightmares the experience would give the poor girl. And it almost didn't surprise him that he wished he could be there to help reassure her again that everything would be okay when she woke from those nightmares.
A throat clearing snapped Jadon out of his thoughts. He looked up and found both Kaelo and Ezra watching him. "What?"
Kaelo frowned. "Just wondering" he said carefully. "Now that you know something happened between you and the girl, are you going to do anything about that? She dumped Asher so she's free and single."
The memory of his lips brushing Tapiwa's in the briefest, softest kiss in all humanity flashed through his mind but Jadon shook his head hard. That wasn't a good idea. "There is nothing to do about it."