(Pov Jasmine)
The accelerated timetable for the ski resort had proven to be a bitch and a half. The first committee meeting had been yesterday, and while there would need to be another session, it didn't look good. She had no real reason to formally object to it or complain. It posed no real or plausible risk to the hydropower project, and from what she had learned from the meeting, there didn't seem to be any additional environmental concerns. Which was odd, their funding didn't look good enough to avoid that.
Jasmine leaned back in her chair and sighed. “I really should have handled that assistant of his better.” She muttered. The girl would have made for a perfect mole or plant. Though she wouldn't have any leverage, so that option might be gone now.
“Hmm.” Julie looked over at her from the couch in her study, her head slightly cocked to the side.
“It's nothing. Have you found anything?”
Julie leaned her head back and sighed in a manner that reminded Jasmine of a frustrated bear. “No, nothing yet.” She glanced back at the papers in front of her. “A few new slops, expanded accommodation and eating areas. There is nothing here.”
They had been at it for HOURS, looking over documents for any scrap of information they could get their hands on. Everything from satellite photos to the new forms submitted for the new permits. What they could get of them anyway. And while it was all quite informative, they had found almost nothing. Or rather, they had found almost nothing.
Something was wrong with parts of the proposal. It wasn't obvious, but some of the details seemed off. Like they had made changes to speed along the process. Ones that were purely bureaucratic and that, she assumed, wouldn't be in the actual finished building. However, she couldn't know that without access to their records and files.
“You good?” Julie's voice cut through her mental fog.
“Yeah, I am just wondering how hard it would be to break into that Henderson guy's house. Steal his pc, and peruse his files.” She glanced over at Julie, who was looking at her with a bewildered and curious expression. “I am joking… Mostly.”
Turning her eyes back to the files displayed on her monitor, her eyebrows furrowed. “They seem to be in a time crunch and a bad one. Their financials look good, but from how they have been acting and what the good senator helped us figure out, their investor confidence is waning.”
“Hey Jasmine?”
She looked over at Julie, now staring intently at the screen of her own laptop. “How far are we willing to go to stop this?”
Jasmine grit her teeth, grinding them together for a short moment. How far am I willing to go for this? It had to be stopped, and if that wasn't possible, then she needed to minimize the impact.
“Killing him would attract too much attention. And I am hesitant… in creating orphans if we have another option.”
She could see the corner of Julie's eyes twitch. Seemingly, she didn't like that option. That was fine, it wasn't like Jasmine did either.
“What about planting evidence on him? Not enough to get him convicted for anything, but enough to get him detained.”
Jasmine rubbed her chin. The idea was sound. It might cause enough of a delay that the project gets canceled. However, there was no way of knowing that without more explicit knowledge of what the issues they were facing were.
Jasmine heard her phone vibrate, making her desk subtly shake. It lasted only for a second. As it so often did with messages. A message could also wait; had it been urgent, they would have called.
Her phone was lying screen up. Curiosity, however, did get the better of her. Glancing over at her phone, she saw the name on the screen. Jason Smallers.
Grabbing her phone, she scanned the message. The tension that had been stuck in her back since Saturday finally loosened. It didn't disappear, but it was far more comfortable. It also meant he didn't… hate her.
Her fingers drummed on the desk as she considered her option. Glancing over, she could see the somewhat shabby look Julie had transformed into over the last few hours. The woman needed a break, something that didn't involve Sam. That worked perfectly, after all, Jasmine needed a driver.
“Julie.”
“Yeah?”
Jasmine gave her a small smile. “Can you do me a favor?”
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(POV Jason)
Jason limped down the hall, the sound of his crutches thumping against the floor echoing off the walls. It was slow. Even more so, it was annoying. He had never felt as useless in his entire life as he had over the last few days. He couldn't help his dad get the equipment ready, not really. He couldn't help run it; how was he supposed to use a gas pedal when his foot couldn't move? He certainly couldn't actually do his paid job, either. He had yet to figure out how to carry a god damn tray while using crutches.
As he reached the middle of the hallway, he turned to the one thing that had become his nemesis. The bane of his existence. The stairs leading down to the first floor. He managed most stairs just fine, as long as they weren't too long. And more importantly, as long as he was going up them.
The situation was made even worse by the fact that he was very aware of how old the house was. Every time he reached the stairs, a scene of one of his crutches breaking a floor board and sending him tumbling over the railing or down the stairs kept flashing through his mind. Usually ending with him breaking something else. It was an unfounded fear; the stairs weren't in that bad a condition, if they were, someone would have already broken a floorboard. Probably.
His eyelid twitched as he looked at the hateful thing in front of him. He had only one option, at least one he dared take. Sighing deeply, like a vagabond that had decided the bank of a frozen river was his only resting place for the night, Jason carefully sat down. Using his arms and legs, he started lifting himself down the stairs, step by step. He made sure the crutches didn't slide past him as he moved. More importantly, he made sure he didn't start sliding; after all, with one foot elevated, his grip was less than perfect.
It went surprisingly well; that's not to say it wasn't uncomfortable. But growing up on a farm, and a poor one at that, comfort wasn't always necessary. After all, his cousin's favorite motto before he moved out had always been to embrace the suck. Joshua, Jason's cousin, had seen far too many movies about some guy joining the Marines. Though Joshua had done exactly that, so the movies might have had a far deeper effect on him.
Limping into the kitchen, Jason saw his father's laptop open, displaying what looked like financial statements. As Jason got closer, he scanned over the page. He knew he wasn't supposed to; he simply couldn't not look. As he reached the debt statement, his jaw dropped. That number was big, WAY too big. That can't be right, it can't be ours. Though he knew that wasn't true.
Jason startled slightly as he heard his father's telltale footsteps come down the hall. Limping over to the counter, he tried to act nonchalant as he started making a sandwich. Hoping dearly that his father didn't notice it was just a plain slice of bread.
He heard his dad sigh as he sat down at the table behind him. Jason had to ask; there was no way he couldn't know. He had to know.
Clearing his throat, Jason tried to sound casual. “Hey, Dad, can I ask you something?”
His dad hummed from behind him. “Yeah course you can. What do you wanna know?”
Jason drew a deep breath, as quietly as he could, and turned around. “How… How much debt are we in?”
His father looked at him, his eyebrows furrowed. “We have been in worse situations. Renting out the barn helps… A lot. We'll be fine, buddy.” He scrunched his nose. “ We just gotta do what we do every year. Get the plants out, the harvest in, and pray nothing goes wrong in between.”
Jason scanned his father's face. Something seemed off about it; it seemed tenser than it usually did. “Can we afford it if it does?” His voice was quiet, smaller than he had intended.
His father suddenly seemed very interested in his hands. Rubbing them together as he stared at them. His father shook his head. “I don't know Jason.” His voice was heavy, carrying a subtle tremor Jason had never heard before. Not in his father's voice.
They didn't say much after that, the conversation quickly turning to more practical matters. And before long, Jason had climbed his way back upstairs and was sitting in his bed.
His shoulders had been slowly climbing since he sat down, and now felt like they were stuck pushing against his chin. He couldn't remain like THIS. He stared down at the brace on his ankle. His father hadn't been clear about how bad it was, but it was BAD.
He couldn’t not help run things. His father was getting old; he couldn't fix everything. At least not without risking his back. And then they would be even deeper in the hole.
Jason shifted slightly on the bed, trying to position his ankle so it felt less uncomfortable. He did have an out. Jasmine could speed up the healing a little more. At least she said she could. It wasn't like he was scared of her. At least not very scared of her. And the glasses had seen to it that any concern he had over her, doing that whenever she wanted, felt distant. Not gone, but it wasn't his main concern either.
Plus, he LIKED Jasmine. He wanted to see her again. Sleep had remained elusive over the last few days, and not only because of his foot.
Glancing over to the drawer where he had put the glasses, he considered his options. Him finding out about Jasmine's condition? It had been his own fault. He was supposed to be asleep after all. Similarly, he didn't blame her for his ankle; she had tried to stop him. It was just that the situation had been unmanageable, for… well, anyone.
Still, he wasn't certain her opinion of him hadn't soured after his admittedly dramatic reaction. Not overly dramatic. Figuring out the woman you're dating is an honest-to-god vampire, justified a reaction. Though looking back at it, he certainly had thought he saw more blood on her chin than might have actually been there.
Jason sighed, feeling his shoulder sink as the air escaped his lungs. Reaching over for his phone, he found Jasmine's contact.
Jason: Hey Jasmine. It's me, Jason. I was just wondering if you were available to help me with my leg. preferably today if that works for you. If not that's perfectly fine of course. if the offers still open that is
She probably wouldn't answer. Jasmine was a busy woman; she certainly wouldn't be able to make time now. Would she even want to? She had seemed to still care when he got the glasses. But was that just a reminder that he needed to shut up about what he had learned? Jason felt his heart shoot up into his throat. The thought had never occurred to him before. Did he misinterpret everything?
Less than a minute had passed since Jason sent the message when his phone vibrated, interrupting his gradual downward spiral into panic. His hand shot out, snatching his phone from where he had tossed it lazily on the bed. As the screen lit up, he saw Jasmine's name. Jason gulped as he unlocked it and started reading.
Jasmine: Hey Jason, it's great to hear from you. I am glad you aren't too put off to contact me. Yes ofc I can help with your leg. I am a little busy right now, but I should be done in 30ish minutes. Julie needs a break, so I can send her to pick you up. I am assuming you can't drive at the moment. The girl needs a break, so I can send her in like 10 minutes. She'll be there in like 20 minutes. Sound good?
Jason clutched the phone to his chest, letting out a deep, soul-rattling breath. He stared up at the roof for a second before he got up and limped to his desk. Opening the drawer, he ran a finger across the ornately carved box. Taking up his phone, he sent a reply to Jasmine.