When noon hits, my cell phone pings, alerting me that Claire is downstairs. I pack up my belongings, wave goodbye to the team, and go downstairs. Claire is in the backseat of the Suburban, studying her cell phone.
“What’s wrong now?” I ask.
“Fiona says two more women are stepping forward, saying Landon’s the father of their children.”
“That’s a way to keep it in the news, I suppose. What does Fiona think?”
“Don’t know. Landon’s not talking to anyone,” Claire says.
I can’t quite decipher the emotion in her eyes—anger? “Why did he disappear?” I ask. “It doesn’t make sense that he’d abandon our project and his commitment to helping me fix the coding.” My mind flashes to his last text, which essentially said, don’t call me, I’ll call you.
“How is the code conversion going?” Claire asks.
Okay, she doesn’t want to talk about this. Fine. I take a big breath. “Cameron and his team are done with the Spanish and English dictionaries. I’ve gotten through the various pronunciations on my own, but I still need to tackle grammar, regional dialects, and slang.”
“Why do you think converting the code is taking so long?”
Wow. She knows how hard I’ve been working. I haven’t felt this defeated while talking to a manager since I worked in what’s considered a sweatshop kind of development place, where nothing was ever enough.
I take a minute to compose myself. “Maybe this weekend is a mistake. Without Landon’s help, I’m behind. I should remain in the city this weekend and work.”
Claire looks at me, and I see tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry. I miss him, too. He’s so fucking careless—always thinking with his dick. I’m angry with him. He’s not doing a thing, and it’s getting worse.”
“Where is he?”
“I have no idea.” She shakes her head. “I told him he was a distraction. I asked him to step down from the company, and he walked out of his apartment and never came back. My parents waited almost two months for him to return, but they gave up and left for Vancouver this morning. They’re mad at me for banishing him.”
What? Why is she just admitting this now? “Claire, I’ve asked you about this for weeks. I know you’re used to managing the company on your own, but I’m a partner, and this should have been discussed with me.”
“He was destroying the company.”
“His being gone is destroying the company.” I take a deep breath. “I need his help, and he needs to fix this mess with the crazy woman. Maybe he was too cavalier, but he’s kept records—”
“Which you’re in.”
“I know that. But I was a willing participant. I wasn’t there for his money or the company. As I understand it, when Morgan Bennett sabotaged you, Landon was right there to support you. Why aren’t you doing the same?”
“Maybe getting out of town is a mistake.”
I can’t believe it. Claire refuses to take any ownership of this.
“I’ll have Greg drop you at your house,” she says.
“No, that’s okay. I’ll get out here.” I look at Greg in the rearview mirror. “Greg, can you pull over here, please?”
“Yes, ma’am.” He maneuvers the car to the curb.
“Claire, we need to find Landon before this gets worse. I’m going back to SHN.”
She’s crying. I know she’s stubborn, but her demanding he take a leave during this pivotal time was the wrong move. I need his help with the development, and he needs to push back against this smear campaign.
I get out of the car, expecting Claire to at least try to stop me, but she doesn’t.
I can tell Greg’s not wild about it, but I walk the ten blocks back to SHN. When I get upstairs, I see Mason Sullivan working away, so I knock on his door.
“Hey, do you have a minute?”
He nods and points me to a chair.
I shut the door and sit down. “Were you aware that Claire asked Landon to step down from Disruptive?”
He straightens his posture. “I wasn’t. When did you learn this?”
“She told me just a few minutes ago. She’s understandably angry at him, but I’m not in support of her pushing him out. I know I’m a minority holder, but I need his help with coding, and he needs to respond to the allegations against him. Cameron and his team have been amazing, but I need help from Landon.”
Mason nods. “Greer Ford, our PR guru, told me she and his attorney have put together a plan and are waiting for him to approve it.”
“You don’t know where he is?”
Mason shakes his head.
“He left his apartment after Claire made the demand—which was almost two months ago now—and he hasn’t been back. Where could he have gone?”
“I have an idea.” Mason puts his phone on speaker and dials. After a moment I hear, “Hey, Mason.”
“Jim, I’m sitting with Tinsley Pratt. Do you know where Landon Walsh is?”
“I do.”
We wait, but Jim doesn’t say anything.
“Jim, can you call him and ask if I can go to him? I need his help.” I’m begging, but I don’t care. I need him back.
“I’m not sure he’s going to listen,” Jim warns.
My heart breaks. “Can you tell him Mason and I disagree with Claire? We want him back. If he doesn’t want to return right away, I’ll go to him.”
“I’ll call you back.” Jim disconnects from the call.
Mason hangs up, and I close my eyes, willing away threatening tears.
