The Science of Growing Apart

35-Jay

My meeting with Jay Barkley was scheduled for the next afternoon and I could not feel more nauseous about the entire situation. It was obviously about the article being written about his father because that was the only thing that made sense, but I had no idea that he even knew about the article. He wouldn't have made the meeting so last minute if it wasn't important.

I knew that Eleanor talked to her half-brother sometimes, but I trusted that she wouldn't tell him about this. He was very close to his father and would absolutely tip him off about such an article being written about him.

I arrived at the building half an hour early so that I could calm down in the bathroom beforehand. I needed to look tough, like I couldn't be intimidated by him or his slimy father. I was wearing a very clean blouse and sharp black pants. I looked very professional, very much like I would not take any shit.

After some breathing exercises in the mirror, I finally departed for Jay's office. We met very briefly at Eleanor's wedding, but I hardly remembered anything about the guy other than he was slightly handsome and walked around with a lot of confidence in his square shoulders.

His secretary welcomed me into the lobby and then led me through a door into Jay's office. My heart was in my stomach as he stood from his desk and greeted me with a charismatic smile. "Josie, it is so good to see you. Please, have a seat." To his secretary, he said, "Thank you James, I'll take it from here."

He shut the door to the office and I took one of the two cushioned seats across from his desk. "You're looking well. I was surprised to get summoned, and especially on such late notice."

"I appreciate you squeezing me in," he said as he took his seat. He had the same brown eyes as Eleanor, the same wide smile and dark hair. But he was a bit older with some frown lines and wrinkles under his eyes starting to form. "I'm sure you know what this is about."

"I'm not sure I do," I responded evenly.

"I've heard that you've been asking around about my father," he informed me. "Does Eleanor know you're looking into him?"

"Who did you hear that from?" I asked him with raised eyebrows.

"You're a journalist, Josie. You know I can't give away my source," Jay reminded me in a tone of voice that made it sound like he was talking to an old friend, rubbing his chin before he leaned forward on both of his elbows. "I'm not here to debate whether or not you're trying to write a story on the man. I know you are. I just want to know what I've got to do to make it go away."

"I don't think I can help you there," I said, being sure to maintain eye contact and keep my breaths even. Do not cower, no matter how intimidating the man looked. Even with the soft voice he was using, there was an undertone of threat to it. I knew he was good friends with Micah and probably was harmless... most of the time. But I was threatening his father and that was probably a threat to him as well. "I've got a pretty determined source. If I don't tell their story, they'll just go to someone else."

"What is it, another mistress?" he wondered curiously, his head cocked to the side. Before I had a chance to respond, he waved off the question and said, "Doesn't matter. How much would it cost to keep them silent?"

"I'm not sure there is a price," I stated. "Like I said, they're determined."

"Look, I know my dad's a piece of shit, alright?" he said to me in a hushed tone of voice. "But he's in his last term. He's retiring at the end of this run, no more re-elections. He doesn't give a shit about a scandal coming out, his career is over. He's made his money. It's me and my re-election that'll be in jeopardy if anything comes out."

"There's nothing I can do." I stuck to my guns and looked him directly in the eye so he knew that I was serious. This was Shiloh's story and like I told Jay, if I didn't write it, she would find somebody else. If anything, he should be grateful that I was the person writing the story so that I could do my best to maintain as much privacy as possible.