The Debt 3 by Kelly Favor Page A

soon.”
    Raven’s stomach knotted, tightened, and
her bladder ached.   She re-crossed
her legs and waited, trying to keep herself calm.
    There was a buzzing from her purse and
she took out her cell phone.   A
message had come through from Jake.
    Where are u?   Just knocked on your door .
    She sighed.   What to tell him?   Certainly not the
truth.   And then it hit her,
an easy lie.  
    I’m with Sky.   I’ll let u know when i’m free.
    She typed it quickly and put the phone
away.
    Max glared at her from the corner of his
eye.   “You better leave that phone
in your purse when the boss comes in, or I’ll take the whole thing and throw it
in the fucking fireplace.”
    She ignored him but her body was shaking
from fear and anxiety.
    A minute later, the doors opened again,
and then a slender man walked into the room with a friendly smile on his
face.   He was
maybe early forties, handsome in a regular guy sort of way, dressed in a vest
and tie , dark slacks, gleaming shoes .   He was very put together in an
understated sense.
    “You must be the famous—or should I
say infamous—Raven Hartley,” he exclaimed, still smiling, offering his
hand to her.
    She shook it, noticing his grip was soft
and his hand was clammy.   She took
her hand away as soon as possible.   “Hi,” she said.   “And you
are?”
    He grinned.   “I’m just so glad to meet you, finally,”
he said, dodging her question.   He
shot a cold glance to Max.   “Thanks,”
he said, his tone changing, becoming harsh.
    Max’s head seemed to go down, like a
whipped dog.   He started walking
toward the doors, leaving without so much as a backward glance.   He shut the doors behind him on his way
out, leaving Raven alone with the boss.
    “Call me Scott,” the boss said, smiling
once more, pulling over another chair and sitting down just a couple of feet
away from her.   He crossed his legs
and straightened his tie.   “I hope
you understand that we brought you here today for an important reason.   Not just to scare you,” Scott said.
    “I guess I don’t understand,” Raven said
softly.   “I’m confused.”
    Scott leaned forward, smoothing his tie
again.   “You see, what you’re doing
right now with Jake Novak—it’s very bad for business.   We can’t have it.”
    “Can’t have what?”
    Scott’s smile faded.   “Can’t have you in the news, acting like
his girlfriend.   This isn’t in the contract, it’s not part of the program.   You’re putting us in a very awkward
situation.”
    “But Jake is the one who asked me to do
it, and I was told to always keep the client happy,” she replied.
    Scott didn’t seem to like her using their
words against them.   “Keep the
client happy, yes, but that only goes to a point.   Discretion is the ultimate goal here,
Raven.   Would you like a drink?”
    “No thank you,” she said, but Scott was
already out of his seat and walking over to a table nearby, grabbing a pitcher
of clear water and pouring it into two glasses.  
    “The thing is,” Scott said, as he poured the water, “once the media starts digging into your
background, they’re going to find out a lot of things.   Things that are bad for you, bad for us, and bad for Jake.   We can’t have it.”
    “I don’t know what to say,” Raven told
him.   “You want me to tell Jake I
can’t be his pretend girlfriend anymore?”
    Scott crossed back and put her glass down
on the table beside her, while he took a sip from his.   “I want you to do better than that.   I want you to leave today—leave
now—and never speak to Jake Novak again.”
    Raven thought about it.   And then she remembered Skylar and the
help Jake was providing to her.   If
Raven simply took off without so much as an explanation, Jake might stop
helping Skylar.   “Couldn’t I at
least tell Jake why I have to go?”
    “No,” Scott said.   His eyes were hard steel, harder and
meaner than anyone, even Max.   She
thought