Judith McNaught - Remember When

Cole hadn't expected this much information or cooperation from Byers, and he was strangely touched that he'd gone to as much effort as he had— particularly because it appeared unlikely that Cole would be sponsoring any more fund-raisers for anyone.

As if he knew what Cole was thinking, the politician stood up and shook Cole's hand. "I liked you when I met you, Cole, and I liked you better later." With a grin, he said, "Nobody's ever laid a check for three hundred thousand dollars in my hand and told me to my face that they'd have handed it to a gorilla if he were the Republican candidate."

"I apologize for that, Senator," Cole said formally, and he meant it. "And I also appreciate your help."

"I thought your blunt honesty was refreshing. I'm not used to it." He turned and squeezed between the sofas, then stopped again in the open doorway of the plane and pulled the collar of his raincoat up. "I also think you're innocent. Unfortunately," he finished, "I won't be able to talk to you anymore after this. You understand, don't you?"

"Perfectly," Cole said unemotionally.

He didn't feel unemotional, however. As he looked at the subpoena with his name on it, he felt a rage that was beyond anything he'd ever experienced. He wasn't afraid of subpoenas or trials or groundless accusations or the damage to his good name. The problem was that in two days, his name was going to be synonymous with fraud.

And by association, so would Diana's.

A laugh welled up inside of Cole, then turned to anguish. Diana had married him to save her pride and dignity. Now he was going to destroy all that, along with her reputation, in a way that Penworth never could have.

Last week, Diana loved him and believed in him.

Next week, she was going to despise him.

Cole leaned his head against the back of the sofa and closed his eyes, trying to think of a way to keep her safe... of a way to keep her at all. When he couldn't think of any, the unfamiliar constriction in his throat grew until it was painful.

Diana looked at her watch and then at the telephone, willing it to ring. By now, Cole would surely be finished with his meeting in Washington and either home or nearly there, but he hadn't called her, and she knew instinctively the news wasn't good. She'd turned the television set on to banish the silence, but she couldn't concentrate on it or anything else.

"And now for business news. The stock market closed up today, with mixed trading on a volume of..."

Although she believed completely in Cole's innocence, her overwrought imagination continually presented her with pictures of Cole standing trial, being hounded by reporters and accused of vile crimes. He said that wasn't going to happen, but she had a horrible feeling that it was all beyond his control. He'd worked so hard to rid himself of the stigmas of his youth, and now he was facing the same fate his brothers had faced. only his would become a worldwide scandal.

"The biggest loser of the day was Unified Industries, whose stock closed at a fifty-two-week low. Analysts blame the plunge on rumors that Unified's president and CEO, Cole Harrison, is about to be subpoenaed to appear before an administrative judge of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Reliable sources say that the SEC hearing will be a mere formality and that Harrison will be called before a grand jury..."

She had a sudden, insane impulse to call Doug and ask him for advice. No, what she really wanted to do was beg him to intercede somehow. He wouldn't help either her or Cole now. On the subject of Cole, he was completely irrational. She thought about his incensed tirade. You have to unload him, now!. That bastard really has a way with females of all ages... even you! The remark about Cole's way with "females of all ages" made her wonder if years ago Cole had stolen some girl that Doug had imagined he was in love with. Whatever the reason, Doug's loathing for Cole went so deep that he even hated Diana by association. He wouldn't be sympathetic to any sort of appeal from her now, not after he'd warned her. He'd predicted exactly what was going to happen.

Slowly, Diana straightened, a possibility taking shape that was almost too obscene to consider. Doug had warned her. He had told her what was going to happen. He despised Cole with a virulence that was palpable.

She grabbed her purse and car keys and went to find the one person who was likely to know, and to tell her if he did know.

Corey opened the front door, and Diana realized from her dejected expression that she'd also heard the news. "Corey, I have to ask you something. It's terribly important. Has Spence ever told you that Doug hates Cole?"

"Yes. He told me that when you and Cole told us you'd gotten married the night before. You liked Cole and so did I, so I didn't think Doug's opinion mattered that much."

"I need to see Spence."

"He's out by the pool."

Spence was tightening the bolts on a ladder in the deep end of the pool. "Diana, what's wrong?"

"That's what I want to know from you. A few hours after the news conference to announce that Cole and I had married, Doug came to see me and he made it clear how he feels about Cole, but he wouldn't tell me why he feels the way he does. You two have been friends forever. You must know why he hates Cole."

"Honey, you have enough problems without worrying about Doug Hayward." He gave his wrench one last firm tug and stood up.

"I think Doug is the problem," Diana said.

"What are you talking about?"

She pulled him over to a chaise longue. "That day when Doug came to see me, he was furious because I'd married Cole. He ranted about how dishonest Cole's business practices are, but Doug wasn't just angry about principles, he took it personally!"

"What are you getting at?"

"I'm getting at something else he said. He told me that the stock exchange was investigating Cole. But, he also said the SEC would turn Cole over to the federal courts for prosecution."

For a split second, Diana thought Spence didn't realize what she was getting at, but then he said quietly, "He knew all that and it hadn't happened yet?"

"Exactly. He was completely certain of everything he said, and it's all coming true! Do you know why Doug feels the way he does about Cole?"

To her surprise and relief, Spence didn't try to tell her she was being ridiculous. "Charles Hayward is probably the only one outside of Doug who knows the real answer to that. Doug was drunk the one time he brought it up with me, but I got the feeling that somehow Barbara was involved in it."

"Barbara?"

"He wasn't making sense, so I'm not sure."

Diana got up. "Well, I intend to find out from Charles Hayward."

Spence stood up, too. "I'll go with you."

Diana bit her lip, considering whether Spence would be an asset or a liability. "I think I might get further with Charles if I am alone."

Charles Hayward was in his study, sitting in a leather wing chair with the VCR's remote control in his hand— rewinding and playing the CNN news story about Cole when Jessica took Diana in to see him. "Diana would like to talk to you, Charles."

Charles looked round from his chair and nodded; then he pressed the rewind button on the remote again. "Hello," he said, beckoning to the sofa across from him. "Sit down." He pressed the play button as Diana sat on the sofa, and to her disbelief, he watched the news clip again right in front of her, smiling a little as he did.

There was something almost ghoulish about what he was doing, and it was made worse by Jessica hovering in the doorway. Diana drew a careful breath, knowing this would be her only chance to find out what she needed to know and to try to neutralize it. "I wonder if I could talk to you privately, Charles."