The Debt 2 (12 page)

“If we lose sponsors, we lose them,” Jake said.
 
“If I go bankrupt, I go bankrupt, Kurt.
 
What do you want me to say?”

Another long pause.

“I’ll do all the interviews you want when I get back.
 
Book the biggest one.
 
I don’t care
who
.
 
Fucking Diane Sawyer.
 
Does she want to do it?”

More silence.

“Kurt, Kurt.
 
Calm down, buddy,” Jake said.
 
“Just calm the hell down.
 
I just woke up and I’ve got to get out of here and to the helicopter.
 
I’ll be back in a couple hours and then you can let me have it with both barrels.
 
Just chill out until I get there.”

Raven’s stomach tightened and her chest seemed like it was full of lead.

After he got off the phone, Jake sat on the edge of the bed and his head was hanging.
 
“Christ,” she heard him whisper.
 
“Christ,” he said again, and his shoulders were hunched.

“Jake,” she whispered, sitting up.
 
“Is everything okay?”

He sat up straighter, then, turning to look at her.
 
“Huh?”

“Is everything all right?”

“Not really,” he told her, and then he stood up.
 
“Look, I’ve got to jump in the shower really quickly.
 
I’m going to head back to Boston.”

“Okay,” she said, feeling suddenly nervous.

His voice was changed, cold and hard.

“You should stay here with Skylar,” he said.
 
“I’ll book you both for an extra couple of days until she gets results.
 
You can charge everything you need to the room and I’ll cover it.”

“Jake,” Raven said, wanting to talk about what was happening with the scandal.
 
She’d heard and read enough to know it was bad and probably only getting worse.

“Listen, I really have to get moving,” Jake said.
 
“Stay in bed, get some sleep.”

And then he was moving to the bathroom and the door was shutting.

Get some sleep? She thought.
 
That was about as ridiculous a thought as telling her to eat a big meal right about then.
 
She had no appetite and she wasn’t tired.

She was scared.

While Jake was in the shower, she put on her bathrobe and went to her own hotel room.
 
And then she also got in the shower, making sure to be fast, just a quick wash and rinse, towel dry, and then climbed back into her clothes that she’d worn the previous day.

It wasn’t ideal, but once again she had no change of clothes.

She was worried about Jake and what was happening with this scandal.
 
The talk of bankruptcy and losing sponsors—it was frightening to hear.
 
He seemed on the brink of something and she wanted to be there for him the way he’d been for her.

She’d gotten back into her dress and then just as she was putting on her heels, there was a knock on her door.

She went and opened it, and smiled when she saw Jake there, freshly showered
himself
, but his eyes were so tired and red still.

“Hey,” she said.
 
“What’s up?”

Jake stood awkwardly in the hallway.
 
“Listen,” he said, not able to meet her gaze, his eyes looking everywhere but directly at her.
 
“I was thinking about it in the shower and I want to let you out of your contract.”

“Huh?” she said, stunned.
 
“Wait.
 
What do you mean, Jake?”

“It’s not right,
Raven
.
 
I can’t do this anymore.
 
I can’t have that kind of situation in my life and it’s not fair to you either.
 
I never should’ve manipulated you into doing any of that stuff.
 
I’m so sorry.”

“Wait a minute,” she said.
 
“Just—just wait a second—“

“I’m going to make it up to you, though,” Jake said, still not looking at her.
 
“I’ll pay you the full thirty grand, and like I said, I’ll book these rooms for you and Skylar.”

Raven should have felt relief and happiness, but she didn’t.
 
Instead, she felt terrible.

“I don’t understand why,” was all she said.

“I told you, I realized it’s not right,” Jake replied.
 
“I’ve got to get serious about changing my life, and this isn’t about bad publicity or the stuff that came out last night from my past.
 
This is about me doing the right thing.
 
I’ll make sure Max Mendez and Club Alpha leave you alone.
 
Nobody will bother you ever again, Raven.”

“Jake, wait a second.”

He stopped and looked at her for a moment.
 
“Raven, I have to go.
 
I’m…I’m…” he seemed about to say more, but then he ran a hand through his hair, turned and walked away from her.

She stood there with the door open, stunned and wanting to cry.

Why are you upset, you silly girl?
 
He just gave you thirty thousand dollars and your freedom!

But it didn’t feel like a victory.
 
It felt like a huge loss.

They’d just been starting to break through, Jake was letting down his walls and then he’d gone and dug a moat between them.

Now he was leaving and she’d never see him again.
 
Raven wasn’t sure if she should be angry, hurt, or what.
 
She stood there, her thoughts on fire, trying to make sense of everything.

I know I could have helped him
, she thought.
 

Maybe that’s what was so sad, she realized.
 
Jake was like her polar opposite, and together they somehow fit, they somehow had each other’s missing pieces.

Just like that, a light went off inside her mind—a flash of inspiration.
 
She knew then that there was something she had to tell Jake.

And then she was running down the hallway, and she caught up to Jake as he stood at the elevators.
 
When he saw her, his expression grew cold again.

“Raven,” he said, “I can’t talk right now.”

“I don’t want you to talk,” she said.
 
“I want you to listen to me.”

He stared at her uncomprehendingly.
 
“Fine, say what you want to say.”

“It’s good that you’re firing me, because I don’t want to work for you,” she told him.

“Okay, great,” he said, his voice impatient.

“And you can’t have me as your employee because I’m going to be your girlfriend.”

“What?”

“You’re in trouble, Jake,” she said.
 
“Don’t bother telling me everything’s okay because it’s not.
 
You’re in danger of losing everything you’ve built because of that video, but I might be the one person who can help to repair the damage.”

Jake’s eyes narrowed.
 
“How do you plan to do that?”

She smiled.
 
“It just so happens that I’m one of those people you made fun of in your video.
 
When I was in high school I was bullied so bad that I attempted suicide.”

His face went pale.
 
“Raven, are you serious?”

“It’s true.
 
That’s what happened to me.”

“Raven, I’m not sure what you’re getting at, but if you’re saying I should use what happened to you in order to someway benefit—I can’t do that.”

“You’re not using me.
 
I’m the one offering to help you.
 
If we act like we’re together, it will be almost impossible for this scandal to ruin you.
 
I’m someone who’s been through all of it.
 
I’m the exact person you need on your side to show that you’ve changed since that video they’re showing of you.”

He shook his head.
 
“I can’t be your boyfriend, Raven.
 
I can’t do it.”

“I know.
 
I’m not saying it will be completely real.
 
But it will be real enough for everyone else.”

“Why?” he asked.
 
“Why would you do this for me after everything I’ve done to you?”

And then Raven didn’t know what to say.
 
The elevator doors opened and he was still standing there, waiting for her response.

She didn’t know what to say because she wasn’t sure why she was doing any of it.

All she knew was that maybe sometimes you had to take a risk in life and bet everything on a long shot.

 
“Trust me,” she said, finally.

Jake’s eyes widened, and Raven realized she’d just asked Jake Novak to do the one thing in life that scared him more than anything.

TRUST.

THE END OF THE DEBT 2 (Club Alpha)

***The Debt 3 will be coming very soon.
 
If you’re enjoying the series, please leave a review and let us know…

***For more Kelly Favor books, check out her hit series
Naked
and her NYT bestselling series
For His Pleasure

***To get updates on new releases, follow Kelly on
Twitter
and
Facebook
today!