Read Online Tell Me No Secrets by Joy Fielding - Free Book Online Page B

client away from my former partner.” Barry chuckled. “The son of a bitch never saw it coming.”
    “I thought you two were friends.”
    “So did he.” The chuckle became a laugh. “Guy thinks he can screw me and get away with it.” He tapped his finger against the side of his head. “I never forget. I get even.”
    “You get even,” Jess repeated.
    “Hey, I didn’t do anything illegal.” He winked. “By the way, some information about a new type of individual retirement account crossed my desk this afternoon. It’s something I think you should take a look at. If you’d like, I could send the information on to you.”
    “Sure,” Jess said. “That’d be great.”
    “I think I’ll mention it to your dad as well.”
    They both checked their watches. What was keeping her father? He knew how much she worried whenever he was late.
    “How was
your
day?” Barry asked, managing to look as if he cared.
    “Could have been better,” Jess replied sardonically, using Barry’s words, not really surprised when he failed to notice. I lost a case I was desperate to win, I had an anxiety attack in the middle of Michigan Avenue, and I was almost killed by a hit-and-run driver, but, hey, a woman said she liked my suit, so the day wasn’t a total loss, she continued silently.
    “I don’t know how you stand it,” Barry was saying.
    “Stand what?”
    “Day after day of dealing with scum,” he said succinctly.
    “I’m the one who gets to put the scum in jail,” she told him.
    “When you win.”
    “When I win,” she agreed sadly.
    “I’ve got to hand it to you, Jess,” he said, jumping to hisfeet. “I never thought you’d stick it out this long. What can I get you to drink?” He said the two sentences as if one naturally flowed from the other.
    “What do you mean?”
    “I mean, would you like some wine or something more substantial?”
    “Why wouldn’t you think I’d stick it out?” Jess asked, genuinely bewildered by his earlier remark.
    He shook his head. “I don’t know. I guess I thought that you’d have opted for something more lucrative by now. I mean, with your grades, you could have gone anywhere you wanted.”
    “I did.”
    Jess saw the confusion settle behind Barry’s eyes. Clearly, her career choices were beyond his comprehension. “So, what can I get you to drink?” he asked again.
    “A Coke would be great.”
    There was a moment’s silence. “We stopped buying soft drinks,” he said. “We figure if we don’t keep soft drinks in the house, then Tyler won’t be tempted. Besides, you’re the only one who ever drinks them.”
    It was Jess’s turn to look confused.
    There was a sudden cascade of footsteps down the stairs and through the hallway. Jess saw an explosion of dark hair, enormous blue eyes, and small hands waving frantically in the air. In the next instant, her three-year old nephew was across the pink-and-white carpet and in her arms. “Did you buy me a present?” he said instead of hello.
    “Don’t I always?” Jess reached beside her into the Marshall Field’s bag, trying to avoid the realization that her nephew was wearing a shirt and tie, similar to his father.
    “Just a minute.” Barry’s voice was swift, stern. “We don’t get any presents until we’ve said our proper hellos. Hello, Auntie Jess,” he coached.
    Tyler said nothing. Ignoring the boy’s father, Jess pulled a model airplane out of the bag and deposited it in her nephew’s waiting hands.
    “Wow!” Tyler dropped off her lap onto the floor, studying the toy plane from all angles, whirling it through the air.
    “What do we say?” Barry said, trying again, his voice tight. “Don’t we say thank-you, Auntie Jess?”
    “It’s okay, Barry,” Jess told him. “He can thank me later.”
    Barry looked as if the collar under his silk tie had suddenly shrunk two sizes. “I don’t appreciate your attempts to undermine my authority,” he pronounced.
    “My attempts to what?” Jess