so much from his files. And Moseley won’t reveal anything personal about his boss. So I’ll need to go about it another way.
The next day once I take care of the passport details and messenger them to Anton, I dig up the phone number of his previous assistant, Jeannette, to get the skinny on Sterling MacKay. Maybe it’s because she knows how difficult he can be, or maybe she feels sorry for me, but Jeannette’s more than willing to spill the beans. She tells me the same tale as Moseley. Yes, Mr. MacKay was just as demanding with her. But after his accident, he got worse.
“I didn’t blame him, not really,” she says. “Not after everything he’d been through. First the car crash, and then his fiancee up and leaves him.”
“She what?” Why hadn’t I read anything about this? Sterling and Meredith had been quite an item. That much I’d learned from the scandal rags. But nothing had been reported about their breakup or the fact she walked out on him. How can that be? A gossip columnist would have sniffed out that juicy story in a flash. Unless he got paid not to talk about it.
“Please don’t say I told you,” Jeannette says. “He was very decent to me. Gave me a generous bonus even though I worked for him for only six months. I’m only sharing this because . . . if you understand what he’s gone through I think it will help you deal with him.”
She’s right about that. “I won’t tell him. I promise.”
“After the accident, the doctors induced a coma to help him heal. He woke up to discover his fiancee had hightailed it to the Riviera. A month later she returned his ring, claiming she couldn’t stand to see him in his condition.”
“The bitch.” How could she do that to him?
“Exactly. Somehow they managed to keep the breakup hush hush. No idea how. She’s in L.A. now living the high life. A party girl through and through.”
“How did they end up together to begin with? Mr. MacKay doesn’t strike me as the party type.”
“He was trying to get back in with the Washington elite, and Meredith’s family was his ticket.”
“Why would he care about that?” He’s rich, gorgeous, smart. Doesn’t make any sense.
“Not that he ever shared his reasons, but I think he was trying to get back what he’d lost. Once upon a time, his parents were part of that exclusive club. But then his father lost all his money in a shady business deal. His family was shunned after that. Unable to cope with the disgrace, his father killed himself. His mother fell apart. She’s in a nursing home somewhere.”
“Oh, my God.” I never realized. I’ve been so busy with the dinner party arrangements and everything else, I hadn’t had time to research anything. I only knew about his engagement and the car crash.
“Mr. MacKay was only fifteen when his life fell apart.”
And knowing him, he’d probably coped with the disgrace by throwing himself into work, work and more work. “If his family lost all its money, how did he become a billionaire?” I’d assumed he inherited most of it.
“Loans, hard work, and a lot of business savvy.”
Which makes him even more worthy than I thought. He’s only thirty-five, and yet he’s managed to amass a fortune in twenty years’ time. But he still seeks acceptance into the exclusive Washington D.C. social club. With or without his bitch of a fiancee. “He’s holding a dinner party next week.”
“He probably invited some of the elite.”
I rattle off the names on the list.
“Yep. That’s them. Chances are he’ll be looking for a new fiancee as well. Hope he finds a better one that Meredith Duncan.”
After hanging up, I make a note to send her a thank you card for her help. She’s taken quite a chance revealing as much as she has. His family’s fall from grace made a man out of him, one forged from steel. But he needs a dose of kindness, of softness in his life. Maybe that’s why he hired me. Because he certainly didn’t hire me for my skills.
The next day once I take care of the passport details and messenger them to Anton, I dig up the phone number of his previous assistant, Jeannette, to get the skinny on Sterling MacKay. Maybe it’s because she knows how difficult he can be, or maybe she feels sorry for me, but Jeannette’s more than willing to spill the beans. She tells me the same tale as Moseley. Yes, Mr. MacKay was just as demanding with her. But after his accident, he got worse.
“I didn’t blame him, not really,” she says. “Not after everything he’d been through. First the car crash, and then his fiancee up and leaves him.”
“She what?” Why hadn’t I read anything about this? Sterling and Meredith had been quite an item. That much I’d learned from the scandal rags. But nothing had been reported about their breakup or the fact she walked out on him. How can that be? A gossip columnist would have sniffed out that juicy story in a flash. Unless he got paid not to talk about it.
“Please don’t say I told you,” Jeannette says. “He was very decent to me. Gave me a generous bonus even though I worked for him for only six months. I’m only sharing this because . . . if you understand what he’s gone through I think it will help you deal with him.”
She’s right about that. “I won’t tell him. I promise.”
“After the accident, the doctors induced a coma to help him heal. He woke up to discover his fiancee had hightailed it to the Riviera. A month later she returned his ring, claiming she couldn’t stand to see him in his condition.”
“The bitch.” How could she do that to him?
“Exactly. Somehow they managed to keep the breakup hush hush. No idea how. She’s in L.A. now living the high life. A party girl through and through.”
“How did they end up together to begin with? Mr. MacKay doesn’t strike me as the party type.”
“He was trying to get back in with the Washington elite, and Meredith’s family was his ticket.”
“Why would he care about that?” He’s rich, gorgeous, smart. Doesn’t make any sense.
“Not that he ever shared his reasons, but I think he was trying to get back what he’d lost. Once upon a time, his parents were part of that exclusive club. But then his father lost all his money in a shady business deal. His family was shunned after that. Unable to cope with the disgrace, his father killed himself. His mother fell apart. She’s in a nursing home somewhere.”
“Oh, my God.” I never realized. I’ve been so busy with the dinner party arrangements and everything else, I hadn’t had time to research anything. I only knew about his engagement and the car crash.
“Mr. MacKay was only fifteen when his life fell apart.”
And knowing him, he’d probably coped with the disgrace by throwing himself into work, work and more work. “If his family lost all its money, how did he become a billionaire?” I’d assumed he inherited most of it.
“Loans, hard work, and a lot of business savvy.”
Which makes him even more worthy than I thought. He’s only thirty-five, and yet he’s managed to amass a fortune in twenty years’ time. But he still seeks acceptance into the exclusive Washington D.C. social club. With or without his bitch of a fiancee. “He’s holding a dinner party next week.”
“He probably invited some of the elite.”
I rattle off the names on the list.
“Yep. That’s them. Chances are he’ll be looking for a new fiancee as well. Hope he finds a better one that Meredith Duncan.”
After hanging up, I make a note to send her a thank you card for her help. She’s taken quite a chance revealing as much as she has. His family’s fall from grace made a man out of him, one forged from steel. But he needs a dose of kindness, of softness in his life. Maybe that’s why he hired me. Because he certainly didn’t hire me for my skills.
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