Wild Man Creek Read Free Page A

vision and faith in her.
    “What am I supposed to do for three months?” Jill exclaimed.
    “I don’t know. Take a breather. You have plenty of money. Take a trip or a few classes or something. Unwind and let this fade—take some time to think about where you want to go. Don’t leap into anything—I know you love to be spontaneous! Try to learn to relax and enjoy life—get your strength back. I’d venture to say that in a few months he’ll be out of here and there’s nothing in our settlement preventing you from coming back if you feellike it. There’s also nothing preventing you from making a change. You have your life back, Jillian. Think about that.” She had thought about that. It terrified her. She longed for the days they worked till 4:00 a.m., snarfing down cold pizza and Red Bull to keep going, putting together a public offering, or preparing for a board meeting with a critical vote the following morning. She loved the deadlines, the crush to bring up the company profits before the quarterly report, the chilling fear and excitement of the audits, the gatherings of the suits to put together the prospectus. It was Jillian who was the PR guru, who put the spin on the company’s viability to the Board, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the brokers, the public. It was Jill who scrambled and took all Harry’s hard work and vision to the finish line with him.
    She wasn’t sure how to slow down and she was pretty sure she didn’t want to.
     
    Despite Harry’s instructions about confidentiality, Jill shared her current predicament with her one trusted intimate, her sister and best friend, Kelly. Kelly was a busy sous-chef in a five-star San Francisco restaurant, and their time together was limited, but they talked and texted daily. The greatest comfort in her secret dialogue with her sister was that Kelly wanted to kill Kurt—metaphorically anyway.
    “Kurt better never try to have a meal in my restaurant,” Kelly said hatefully.
    “I’m sure he knows better,” Jill replied. “He’s figured everything else out.”
    “I’m just saying… I know how to make it look like an accident….”
    “Shush, for all I know he’s recording my phone!” Jilltook a breath. “And now, having realized that’s actually a possibility, you have to let him live.”
    “Bummer,” Kelly said. “He’s a pig. I never liked him. Did I tell you that?”
    “No, you did like him! He charmed you, too, which makes us equally stupid. Ah, God, what happened to me? I mean, I’m no Einstein but I’ve never been so naive! Truthfully? I didn’t think he was smart enough to do something like this!”
    “You’re impulsive,” Kelly said. “You always have been. You see something you want and you just go for it.”
    “I wasn’t that impulsive,” Jill argued. “He courted me for a long time before… Oh never mind. Harry was right—even if I fought and won, it would become public, and his accusation would taint me for a long, long time!”
    “Here’s my biggest question.” Kelly asked, “How could he get one over on everyone and yet be such a dud in PR? Isn’t that good PR? Knowing how to put a good spin on things, sell things, convince people they want what they don’t even know they want?”
    “In a nutshell,” Jill said wearily. “He should have applied as much energy to his job.”
    “Well—you helped build the little empire that is BSS,” Kelly said. “And it didn’t turn out the way you wanted, but you made a ton of money and your money made a ton of money. A whole bunch of software and dot-com corporations sputtered out, but yours did great. You should be able to get anything you want! Let’s think ahead for a sec. What’s your first, best idea?”
    “I’m taking Harry’s advice. A little time off,” she said. “Then I’ll rethink the next job….”
    “That surprises me. My little sister would usually hit the ground running! In spite of Kurt’s efforts to wipe you out, your reputation