Chapter 21 - JACQUELINE TOLD KAYLA EXACTLY WHAT GUNTHER HAD GIVEN HER — AND WHAT HE NEVER DID
A week later, Jacqueline asked Kayla to lunch.
No crisis.
No blackmail.
Just lunch.
That felt strangely significant.
They chose a quiet restaurant.
Jacqueline ordered wine.
Kayla didn’t.
“You’re not pregnant, are you?”
Kayla nearly dropped her water.
“No.”
Jacqueline smiled.
“Good.”
“Why good?”
“Because Gunther would install a neonatal unit in your bedroom by tomorrow.”
Kayla laughed.
“Probably.”
Then Jacqueline became serious.
“There’s something I want you to understand.”
Kayla waited.
“When Gunther and I were together, he gave me expensive things.”
“Cars.”
“Jewelry.”
“Trips.”
“Access.”
“Information.”
Kayla nodded.
“He also gave me something he didn’t give most women.”
“What?”
“Honesty about how little he was willing to offer.”
Kayla frowned.
“That sounds almost complimentary.”
“It was.”
Jacqueline looked down.
“He never promised me marriage.”
“Never promised exclusivity.”
“Never said love.”
“I kept hoping honesty would eventually transform into intimacy.”
“It didn’t.”
Kayla listened.
“He slept beside me maybe six times.”
“Usually left.”
“Or I did.”
“He didn’t like mornings.”
“I know why now.”
Jacqueline nodded.
“His father.”
“Yes.”
“Helena.”
“Yes.”
Jacqueline’s eyes softened.
“You know more of him than I ever did.”
Kayla shook her head.
“Different parts.”
“Maybe.”
Then Jacqueline leaned forward.
“But here is the thing he never gave me.”
“What?”
“The right to affect him.”
Kayla went still.
“I could make him angry.”
“Make him want me.”
“Make him laugh occasionally.”
“But I could not make him reconsider himself.”
Kayla started to respond.
Jacqueline stopped her.
“I’m not saying you changed him.”
“He’d hate that.”
“So would I.”
“Good.”
“I’m saying he allows your judgment to matter.”
Kayla looked down.
“That is terrifying for him.”
“Yes.”
“And dangerous for you if he starts turning you into his conscience.”
There.
Sharp.
Accurate.
Kayla met her eyes.
“I’ve worried about that.”
“You should.”
Jacqueline sipped her wine.
“You cannot become the reason he behaves.”
“Because then what happens when I’m gone?”
“Exactly.”
That conversation stayed with Kayla.
That night, Gunther told her federal compliance monitors had approved partial restoration of his business voting rights.
He could reclaim influence over Woods Maritime.
Old Gunther would have done it instantly.
Instead, he said, “I’m declining.”
Kayla frowned.
“Why?”
“I don’t want it.”
“Because of me?”
Gunther stopped.
Good question.
“No.”
“How do you know?”
He thought.
“Because if you left tomorrow, I still wouldn’t want to run it the old way.”
Kayla’s face softened.
He continued.
“I want advisory control over safety reforms.”
“No personnel command.”
“No labor contracting.”
“No security operations.”
“That’s enough.”
She smiled.
“Good.”
“You approve?”
“Wrong question.”
He sighed.
“Do you think it’s reasonable?”
“Yes.”
“Better.”
Kayla told him about lunch with Jacqueline.
Gunther looked suspicious.
“What did she say?”
“Secrets.”
“About me?”
“Some.”
“I object.”
“No.”
He stared.
Kayla smiled.
“She loved you.”
Gunther’s expression changed.
“I know.”
“You knew then?”
“Yes.”
“And still stayed involved?”
“For too long.”
“Why?”
“Because ending something uncomfortable was harder than maintaining something convenient.”
Kayla looked at him.
“That is painfully self-aware.”
“Prison gives you time.”
She took his hand.
“Do you regret her?”
Gunther shook his head.
“No.”
Kayla was surprised.
“I regret how I treated parts of it.”
“But not her.”
“No.”
“She mattered.”
“Yes.”
Kayla nodded.
That was what she wanted.
Not erased history.
Truth.
Then her phone buzzed.
Elias.
Can we talk tomorrow? Personal, not work.
Gunther saw the name.
Did not ask.
Kayla noticed.
“You want to know.”
“Yes.”
“Then ask.”
“What does Elias want?”
“I don’t know.”
Gunther nodded.
“Tell me when you do?”
“If it affects us.”
“Fair.”
The next morning, Elias told Kayla he had been offered a job in Seattle.
And he wanted her to come with him.
May you like
Professionally.
Mostly.
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