Off The Record

Chapter Thirteen - Already Saying Goodbye

I showered and climbed into bed. The night's events playing over in my head. A few days ago the moment on the steps with Alec would have been welcomed. Why had a tumble between the sheets with Ezra changed all that? We barely knew one another, and he was as emotionally unavailable as I was.

Sleeping with him had complicated everything. The story, and his so-called plan. Tomorrow I had to keep it together.

I fell asleep around 2am, and woke to the sound of my alarm at 9am. I changed into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, relying on dowdiness to ensure distance was kept on this last visit. I pulled my hair up into a bun and left the house without applying even a hint of make up.

When I got out to Ezra's the gate opened as I pulled up. I drove down the long shaded driveway and pulled up outside. Anna appeared at the front door and called out.

"He's already out by the gazebo waiting."

I nodded and grabbed my work bag before walking around the back of the house. Ezra noticed me right away. As I walked into the gazebo he stood up and took a few steps closer.

"How was your date?" He said softly, handing me a glass of OJ.

"I didn't realize it was one at first. Uh, we should get to work."

Ezra nodded and turned. "Very well."

I sat down, but Ezra didn't. He paced the ground. He waited until my laptop was out and open. I hit record on my phone and looked up at him.

"I didn't walk away from Ezone because I was giving the company a bad name." He stopped and sat down. "Yes, I'm a love rat, womanizer... was... Anyway my reputation had nothing to do with me stepping down. One of the board members was discovered to be involved in some dodgy dealings. Underage girls at parties, real Jeffrey Epstein type shit. I demanded he be ousted, that it be blasted and that we distance ourselves. I was outvoted by the rest of the board. They were worried that it would bring the entire company into disrepute. They kept him on the board because he's very well known and they wanted to brush it under the carpet and continue with my name and the company I started."

Whoa... I wasn't sure what I'd been expecting but it hadn't been this.

"So you walked away?" I asked

"Ethically, morally... I couldn't stick around. But uh, I received a call a week ago. Turns out this particular board member is being charged with rape and kidnapping. The board ousted him, too late however, and they asked me to come back and bring the company back into good standing, to save them from an epic downfall."

I felt my heart pound in my chest. The thought of Ezra leaving town did something to my insides that I couldn't even begin to process.

"And?"

He smiled and looked at me. "I declined. My lawyer and I demanded they buy out my shares, rebrand and rename. I left in a hurry because it's time sensitive. Ivy, I want you to break the story. Everyone else is gagged till the end of business Monday. Can you get your article out by then?"

I nodded and bit my bottom lip. "Alec is going to lose his mind."

Ezra's smile dropped a little, he looked out at the lake. "Now that you know everything. Want to come out on the boat before you disappear?"

I turned off the recording and closed down my laptop.

"If this is our last meeting, I guess I'd better."

He stood up and walked to the pier. He held out his hand once he was at the end of it and I slipped mine in as I walked across the small plank on to the boat. Ezra climbed in and untied the boat. He turned on the motor and we began to move through the water.