Cunning

  I didn’t know how we’d come to be standing before one another. One second we were on separate sides of the room, and the next, he was kissing my hand, his lips warm and full. His touch was gentle yet strong.

  His black hair had just the right amount of whiteness. And from the way his tuxedo jacket hung from his broad shoulders, my imagination went wild with what was underneath.

  It was completely out of character for me. I never noticed other men. I never daydreamed about sex. I’d gotten to the point that it was doable, acceptable, and while there were things Alton insisted upon that I didn’t care for, I did it, and my body would react.

  This was altogether different.

  As the man before me spoke, my insides twisted and clenched with need. I imagined excusing ourselves and finding a coatroom, a bathroom, hell, I didn’t care, a janitor’s closet. All I knew was that for the first time in my life I was in lust.

  My tongue darted to my lip as I spoke. His tone was kind as he offered his name, Oren, and asked for mine.

  “Adelaide.” I didn’t add my last name or that I was with my husband. I didn’t even consider it.

  “A most beautiful name for an even more stunning woman.”

  Perhaps it was that I hadn’t heard a compliment in years. I hadn’t been told I was pretty or kind. Nothing I did warranted praise. All too familiar with criticism, my cheeks reddened at his flattery.

  He noticed my wedding ring. How could he not? The ostentatious diamond was a neon sign glittering under the chandeliers. “Why do you act surprised? Surely the man who put that ring on your finger tells you so daily. He’d be a fool not to see the gem he has.”

  Words escaped me. There were the rehearsed answers I’d given for years: ‘Yes, he’s a wonderful husband.’ ‘I’m the fortunate one to have him.’ Or even, ‘It’s as if we’re newlyweds.’ But they were all out of my reach at the moment.

  The two of us talked for minutes or was it an hour? I didn’t know. Never had I spoken so freely at an affair. Oren asked questions about me. He asked about my children, my child, her name, her age. He spoke about his son and his divorce, and I found myself enthralled with a life that didn’t shun divorce but saw it as an opportunity for a new life.

  He was a gentleman, acknowledging that I was a married woman. Other than the kiss to my hand, we didn’t touch. It wasn’t until another woman, one who with her husband often ran in the same circles as we, came up to me that I even remembered where we were.

  “Adelaide, Alton has been looking for you.”

  The blood drained from my cheeks straight to my feet.

  Oren reached for my hand. “Are you all right?”

  Though chemistry set off sparks at our connection, my husband’s name sent a cold chill of fear down my spine. I wasn’t well, and apparently I hadn’t hidden it well. Alton had been looking for me amongst the women and I wasn’t there.

  I squared my shoulders and remembered my place. Releasing Oren’s hand, I turned toward the woman, Kate or Kit, I didn’t remember her name nor did I care. “Thank you, I’ll be right there.”

  Turning back to the handsome man who could be my downfall if I allowed it, I said, “It was a pleasure meeting you. Thank you for talking with me.”

  Oren bowed slightly. “Thank you, Adelaide. The pleasure was all mine.”

  “Fitzgerald,” I corrected. “Mrs. Alton Fitzgerald. I must really get back to my husband.”

  As soon as I found Alton, I saw his disapproving glare and knew what my future held. Nevertheless, I stayed by his side throughout the rest of the night.

  Thank God we flew in a private plane. If we hadn’t surely TSA would have questioned us. Alton was usually skillful at delivering bruises in places easily hidden. That night he wasn’t. It was the worst beating of my life. I didn’t even learn Oren’s last name until somewhere in the middle of Alton’s tirade, when he said it.

  I’d never forget the way it sounded: Oren Demetri. Alton accused him of underworld dealings, dangerous things.

  Sometimes I wonder if I hadn’t reminded Alton that night that upon my death, Alexandria inherited everything, if that would’ve been the last night of my life.

  It wasn’t the last.

  It was only the beginning, the first time I met the love of my life.

  I just became more skillful at my own form of hiding.

  “What? Stop. Who?” Alexandria asked, her words slowing. “Does this have anything to do with Oren Demetri?”

  I sat taller as my eyes narrowed. How did she know?

  “I met him last night,” she said.

  My heartbeat quickened.

  “He said to give you his love. You two know each other?”

  His love.

  “We met… a long time ago,” I tried to speak with as little emotion as possible. “If Lennox is anything like his father, you need to get away before it’s too late.”

  “What does that even mean?”

  It means he’ll hold your heart forever. That can’t happen. I didn’t say that. Instead, I said, “From what Bryce said, there’s a history regarding his dead wife.”

  “Mother, Father died. How would you like it if people accused you of his demise? I trust Nox, just like I trust you.”

  My eyes fluttered as I debated. “There’s so much you should know, but no way to tell you without making you hate me.” I studied my daughter’s expression. “More than you already do.”

  “I don’t hate you. I don’t like you very much. It doesn’t seem as though you’ve ever backed me, supported me, especially in regard to Alton.”

  “I can’t…” I swallowed. “Alton has been good for Montague Corporation. Bryce will be good for Montague Corporation. Montague is a renowned name for a reason. The business climate has been and is unsettled, yet Montague has survived.”

  “Good. Let it survive. I have no aspirations for CEO. Let Bryce have it. I don’t care.”

  “It has always been a family-owned-and-operated company. The subsidiaries are publicly traded, but the infrastructure has a governing board of directors. It must stay in the family or it will be sold.”

  “What?”

  “It may seem archaic, but it is the way it is.”

  Alexandria leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest. I hadn’t paid attention to her attire until now. Her charcoal gray dress with a complementary jacket was very high quality and quite stunning. My daughter wasn’t the little girl I’d raised. The woman across the table from me was just that—a woman.

  “If you moved home, we could get to know each other, not as mother and daughter, but as friends.”

  “We could do that here. Appoint me.”

  My gaze narrowed. “What are you saying?”

  “Appoint me as CEO. Throw Alton out on his ass.”

  “Alexandria, you know I can’t…”

  “Are you or are you not on the board of directors? Do you as a Montague have the lion’s share of stock?”

  “I am and I do, but in name only. Alton manages my votes and yours until you turn twenty-five, or you marry. Then yours will be managed by your husband.”

  “Then go to Hamilton and Porter and get our rights back. If the CEO must be a Montague, it’s either you or me.”

  “It can be our spouse.”

  “I don’t have a spouse. Make it me. I’ll appoint people to run the show. I’ll simply be a figurehead.”

  “And you’ll move back to Savannah?”

  Clouds passed behind her eyes. “I’m going to Columbia. I may even have a job lined up.” Something about that prospect gave her a momentary grin. She turned her attention back to me. “I’ll attend meetings but I won’t move back.”

  The waiter took our plates and we stared for what seemed like hours. Finally, she spoke.

  “May I take you to Columbia? Patrick said he’ll meet us later.”

  I nodded. There were so many more things I needed to tell her and things I needed to sort out. “First, please answer my question about Del Mar. Who
told you about that resort? Did you make the reservations or did that dreadf—or did Chelsea?”

  Alexandria stood. “I did, Mother. I think I was looking at a few different places. It may have been Natalie from Hamilton and Porter who mentioned Del Mar.”

  “You were speaking to Natalie?”

  “Yes, I was coordinating the withdrawal of funds from my trust fund. After she mentioned it, I looked it up. It was lovely so I made the reservations.”

  “Why that week?”

  Alexandria shrugged as she reached for her handbag. “As I recall, Natalie mentioned that the resort was normally booked far in advance, but she’d been recently looking and knew that they had some openings that week. It was too good of a deal to pass up.”

  It finally made sense. After all these years Alton wanted Alexandria to fail, wanted our agreement to fail. That’s why he didn’t fight me about her going away to Stanford. If she didn’t marry Bryce, he’d get it all. He’d claim it was me that failed, but it was his plan all along. He’d gained the social status, and now the company and manor would be sold. The proceeds would go to Fitzgerald Investments. He’d walk away with everything, and Alexandria and I would be left with nothing.

  My hands trembled at the revelation.

  He’d used me to gain his status. In less than eighteen months, he could throw me away. Bryce wouldn’t have the Montague name, but Alton would allow him every luxury resulting from his coup d’état.

  “Mother,” Alexandria asked, “are you not feeling well?”

  I needed to think, to plan. I needed Alexandria and Bryce to marry. Alton couldn’t win. He’d taken too much. I stood, looking down at the table, focusing.

  “Dear, what about the check?”

  She looped her elbow through mine and began walking toward the entrance. “The man you don’t want to meet took care of it. We’ll be going to Columbia in my car.”

  “Your car? I don’t understand.”

  “I know you don’t. Maybe someday you’ll want to.”

  IT WAS HARD to believe this was my normal. Over a month had passed since my mother was in the city. I spoke to her on and off, but her pleas for my return to Savannah were getting old and her reasoning becoming more farfetched. I’d completely blocked Bryce’s calls. He told Mother that Nox made me do it. That wasn’t the truth. I did it because I wanted to. Now, Adelaide was his messenger, relaying his accusations as well as his plight.

  He’d been called to Evanston for his deposition. Mother said the Montague attorneys were happy with the results, but the girl was still missing. If she wasn’t found, there was the possibility of additional charges. Mother emphasized Bryce’s innocence, her concern that I was in a dangerous position, and how much I was needed in Savannah. She needed me, Montague needed me, and Bryce needed me.

  I didn’t need him, her, or Montague. As each day and night passed and Nox and I got to know one another better, her words lost their impact.

  I was happy.

  Such a simple statement that a month ago I feared I’d never be able to say.

  Today was my first day of classes, and I was there. Not only was I there, I was there with support unlike any I’d ever known. It started during orientation. On the Saturday morning following that first week, I went running with Patrick in Central Park. Thankfully, Jerrod was a fitness guy and didn’t mind running or keeping his distance. Having a security detail was becoming second nature. It was one of Nox’s hard limits. Arguing it would be a fight I wouldn’t win. Besides, ever since Chelsea’s attack, I decided it wasn’t a bad idea. Jerrod didn’t talk as much as Isaac, but he was nice and non-intrusive.

  That Saturday and every one since, my cousin was as animated as always. I didn’t tell him that I was out of Infidelity. I suspected that to him it would feel like I cheated the system or something. He and Cy were good, and both were pleased that I was content. I did tell him that Nox and I had a past—a one-week past. I laughed at his response.

  “One week to one year, little cousin, that’s pretty cool.”

  He was right—it was. Except the one-year part was still under negotiation. Daily, weekly, monthly, the way real life and real relationships worked.

  When I returned to the apartment early that afternoon, I found Nox waiting, looking amazing in his gym shorts and Boston t-shirt. He was smiling at me like the cat that had just eaten the canary.

  “What did you do?” I asked.

  “Me? Why do you presume it’s me?”

  I narrowed my gaze. “Because I do?” My answer came out more as a question.

  “I know you said the dining room table would be fine for your studies, but you see, I’m slightly OCD.”

  I laughed. “I’ve noticed, but with you I think the c stands for control, and I also think you need to reevaluate the degree.”

  He shrugged and swatted my behind. “Guilty as charged.”

  “Ouch,” I said playfully. The way his blue eyes shone with his characteristic menacing grin made my insides pinch. “Now tell me what you did.”

  “I’d rather show you.”

  “I like the sound of that,” I said with a grin as he tugged my hand toward the bedroom. “But I just ran and I’m a little…”

  My words trailed away as my feet stopped. Instead of entering the master bedroom, he took me to the smaller one. The bed that had been there that morning was gone, as was all of the bedroom furniture. In its place was a large glass desk, situated for optimal gazing at the city below. On the desk was a new computer, the screen as large as the one Nox had in his office. Along the wall, where the dresser used to be, were bookshelves—along the entire wall. I ran my hand along the woodwork beautifully crafted to match the rest of the apartment.

  “How?”

  The shelves were partially filled with the books that arrived from Palo Alto, as well as all the ones I’d already picked up from Columbia, with plenty of room for more. In the corner was a beautiful plush chaise lounge. The large modern light hanging above made it the perfect spot for reading.

  “I-I don’t know what to say.”

  Nox wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close. “Say you won’t leave your school shit on the dining room table.”

  I laughed, stretching to my tiptoes and giving him a kiss. “Thank you. But how did you get all of this done in a morning?”

  “I may have talked to your cousin and arranged for you to stay out longer than you planned.”

  “That’s why he insisted on coffee at Tom’s restaurant and seeing my apartment.”

  “Stop saying that,” Nox reprimanded. “It’s Chelsea’s apartment.”

  “You’re right. It is. And it’s all ready for her, too.”

  “That’s good, because you’re staying put.”

  I stepped away from his embrace and turned completely around. “I still can’t believe you did this.”

  “I did it for me,” Nox insisted. “Remember, I’m the selfish bastard.”

  “Oh, really, Mr. Demetri? How is this for you?”

  He reached for my hand and pulled me toward the hallway. “Because now I have to sleep in your bedroom.”

  “You do? There’s always the couch.”

  That earned me another playful swat as well as a kiss.

  That was over two weeks ago. Tonight, the Tuesday after Labor Day and after my first day of real classes, it was time to celebrate. While I’d been busy getting ready for school—there was a lot of reading expected even before the first day—Nox had been busy with his work. I didn’t know in detail all that he did or how it was related to our lunch with Senator Carroll. I didn’t ask.

  After everything he’d done for me, I decided it was time I gave him what I owed him. It wasn’t so much that I owed him; I wanted to thank him.

  I sent him a text a little before five o’clock.

  Me: “SURVIVED FIRST DAY OF CLASSES. LET’S CELEBRATE?”

  Nox: “SOUNDS GOOD.”

  Me: “MEET ME AT 7?”

  Nox: “WHERE?”
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  Me: “NOT TELLING.”

  Nox: “THAT MAKES IT HARD TO MEET YOU.”

  Me: “IT’S COVERED. ISAAC KNOWS.”

  Nox: “WHAT THE HELL? MY EMPLOYEE. HE LISTENS TO ME. MY RULES.”

  I grinned.

  Me: “NOT ANYMORE. THE RULES HAVE CHANGED.”

  Nox: “WATCH IT. YOU’RE DANGEROUSLY CLOSE TO CROSSING A LINE.”

  Me: “AND IF I DO?”

  Nox: “PRINCESS, YOU DON’T WANT TO FIND OUT.”

  Me: “I THINK I DO. SEE YOU AT 7.”

  Checking the time on my phone, I slipped it back in the handbag. Only a few more minutes and Nox would arrive. Isaac would be sure he made it to Mobar on time. This was the fantasy he’d told me about, the one in his note.

  I intended to do everything in my power to make it come true. My mother was wrong. Some fantasies were real and so was fate.

  Sitting at the bar, my hair flowed over my shoulders in silky waves of auburn, and my makeup was more than I wore during the day, but not over the top. I wasn’t wearing excessive eyeliner or glittering eye shadow. If tonight ended in a shower, it wouldn’t be because of my appearance.

  As I glanced down at the beaded black dress I’d found what seemed like ages ago on the bed in the executive suite of the Mandarin hotel, I felt the pearl necklace around my neck. As appalled as I’d been at the idea of equating this choker to a collar, I no longer was. To me, it was like his note had read. To the world, a queen—a princess. Privately, whatever he wanted me to be. To the world, the necklace was chic and sexy. If privately it held other meaning, that was for us to know and enjoy. Though I’d crumpled his original note, if memory served me well, I’d followed Nox’s previous directions, almost to a T. The only thing I didn’t do was wear the shoes he’d bought; instead, I wore the Louboutin pumps from Del Mar. Their track record was too impressive not to include them in this night. Everything else he ordered was available. Besides my necklace and earrings, the dress and shoes were all I wore.

  As he’d ordered, there were no other men around me. Jerrod’s presence assured that. With only a look, he kept the bar stool on either side of me empty. A lemon drop martini sat on the bar in front of me. Slowly, I fingered the rim. With each slide around the edge, I imagined Nox. In my mind, it wasn’t my finger on the glass, but his on me, teasing my nipples—the ones that were now as hard as pebbles beneath the dress. It was his taunting my swollen clit and plunging deep inside of me. Circle by circle, my breathing became shallower and my insides clenched in anticipation.