The Money Is Green Read Free

graciously agreed to help us out.”
    Crystal flipped her fork onto her plate. “You’ve got to be kidding, right?” she asked, as she raised her voice. “No way! I don’t want her to stay here and I don’t want her taking me to school. How can you do this to me?” She stood up and put her hands on her hips. “Mom told me Janine was the reason you guys broke up.”
    “Crystal, please. We’ve been through this before. I didn’t meet Janine until your mother had moved out on me. You can’t blame our divorce on her; it’s not true and it isn’t fair.” He looked into her eyes. “I need some help, Crystal, and Janine can do this. You can’t blame her for something she didn’t do.”
    “That’s not what Mom says,” she said, raising her chin. “She says if you hadn’t been so busy chasing Janine around, your business wouldn’t have failed and she wouldn’t have left you.”
    Jason could feel the heat rising in his cheeks. “You know that isn’t true. I’ve never laid a hand on another woman while I was with your mom. The reason my business failed was because of things I had no control over. I tried everything to save it. It happened to a lot of people who had construction businesses like mine. I’m sorry your mother left, more than you know. But it was not because of anythingthat I did outside of our marriage. And Janine had nothing to do with it.”
    Crystal grabbed her books and backpack and stormed out of the kitchen, her bedroom door slamming a few seconds later.
    Jason yelled after her, “You’d better get used to the idea of Janine, because whether you like it or not, you’re going to be spending a lot of time together!”
    He stared down at the floor for a second then walked over and opened the refrigerator door. He pulled a beer out of the door, opened it, and took a long swig. Oh, Janine, what have I signed you up for? I knew this wouldn’t be easy, but I had hoped Crystal would have come around by now after all the time we’ve been dating. Janine has gone out of her way to be nice and get along. I hope when I get back from China they’re both still talking to me.
    Just as he was lifting his beer for a second sip, his phone rang. He recognized Brian Thompson’s number. He answered. “Brian, what’s up?”
    “Jason,” Brian said, a tone of seriousness in his voice. “I need to see you first thing in the morning at my office.”
    Jason swallowed hard. “Sure, Brian, I can be there right after I drop Crystal off, around 8:00. Can I ask what’s going on?”
    “There’s been another accident at the Soltech solar panel plant in Shanghai. Three workers were killed. This isn’t good PR for your firm.”
    Jason felt a knot growing in the pit of his stomach. “That isn’t good. I’ll see you in the morning.” He hung up and slumped into his chair. Why didn’t Mei Chen say something about this to me this afternoon? Is this why I’m going to Shanghai? What’s going on over there?

T WO
    T he sound of engines quietly humming could be heard above the din of voices coming from the front of the plane. A plush Persian carpet of intricately designed peacocks and tigers ran the length of the 747 jet. Walnut paneling with thick crown molding covered the interior, and colorful watercolor paintings hung from the walls. Mei Chen relaxed in the spacious center room of the plane on a massive leather couch. In one hand she held a book,
The Art of the Deal
, by Donald Trump, and in the other a martini.
    Small Bose speakers suspended from the ceiling emitted soft piano music. Mei set her drink down on the mahogany coffee table and closed her book. Pulling the curtain back from the small oval window, she looked down at the vast expanse of Pacific Ocean thirty-five thousand feet below her. She could barely make out the white caps of the waves, and looking closely, she could see a tiny dot that would be a cargo ship making its way to the orient.
    A young woman in a traditional Chinese kimono came up