The Guilty Husband

by Stephanie DeCarolis

  I can’t tell whether she’s actually interested in the answer or whether she’s really just asking if I’m married. I assumed she knew, the wedding ring being a dead giveaway. ‘Not really,’ I reply. ‘She’ll join me for a hike sometimes, but climbing is something I like to do on my own. It’s my thing, my escape, ya know?’

  ‘I do.’

  I take another sip of my beer. ‘How about you? What’s your story?’

  ‘Me? I just moved to New York from Pennsylvania. I lived there most of my life with my grandmother, and when she passed I decided to make a new start of things. I applied for this internship, and when I managed to get accepted, it felt like it was meant to be and I moved to New York City immediately.’

  ‘Do you like it here? In New York I mean?’

  ‘It’s been a little bit of a culture shock after growing up around more cows than people, but I wanted something new and I’ve certainly found it.’

  I try to picture the woman sitting in front of me on a farm. Trading in her stilettos for cowgirl boots, the skirt that clings to her hips for overalls. The image makes me laugh.

  ‘What’s so funny?’ Layla asks, a sly smile working its way onto her face.

  ‘Just trying to picture you on a farm, is all,’ I reply, which garners a laugh from Layla too.

  ‘I was never cut out for small town life,’ she says. ‘Most of the other girls I grew up with got married and had kids right out of high school. I guess I just always wanted something more. Like you. I wanted to make a name for myself before I started a family.’

  I look down into my beer. Little does she know how much I’d give for a family. Layla must notice the dark cloud growing over me because she asks, ‘Did I say something wrong?’

  ‘No, not at all. It’s just been a rough day.’

  ‘Do you want to talk about it? I know you don’t know me very well, but I’m a really good listener.’

  And I find that I do. I do want to talk to her. I don’t know if it’s the alcohol, the easy way she has about her, or the years of pent up sadness I’ve been carrying around for the children I never had, but I find the words spilling out of my mouth before I can stop them.

  ‘My wife, my wife and I, we’re having trouble getting pregnant. We’ve been trying for three years now, IVF, fertility drugs, you name it. But nothing seems to be working. And today we found out that her latest round of IVF has failed again. I feel so disappointed, but I can’t tell her that because she’s already carrying so much on her shoulders. I don’t think she even realizes how hard this is for me too. And it can feel really lonely working through it alone. Not that it’s Nicole’s fault really. I have just never been able to bring myself to burden her with the weight of my disappointment too. And she’s been so wrapped up in her own pain, that she can’t see mine. But it’s more than just the disappointment for me, I also feel so much guilt. I’ve never told anyone that, but it’s true. I made Nicole wait until KitzTech took off before I would try for kids, and now that we’re trying and it’s not working, I can’t help but think that maybe if we would have started sooner, maybe if I had made our family a priority instead of work …’

  ‘I’m so sorry, Vince,’ Layla says softly, gently reaching across the table to place her hand over mine. ‘I’m sure this is so hard on both of you.’ Both of us. Layla is the first person to acknowledge that our trouble conceiving is not just Nicole’s burden to bear, it’s mine too. Talking to her about all of these things I’ve kept to myself for so long, sharing the weight of it, has already made me feel less alone.

  I look into Layla’s eyes and I feel like she sees me, understands me, in a way no one else has for a very long time.

  Chapter 15

  Allison

  DAY 3

  ‘Oh good, you guys are back,’ Kinnon says the instant Lanner and I walk into the station. ‘There’s a guy here who says he has some information about Layla Bosch that you might want to know. I put him in interview room one.’

  ‘Thanks, Kinnon,’ Lanner replies, giving him a rough pat on the shoulder before we make our way to the interview room.

  When I walk into the room, I see the witness, a young man who can’t be much older than Layla was, bouncing one knee nervously while his fingers tap rhythmically on the cold metal table.

  ‘Sorry to keep you waiting,’ I say, extending my hand to the young man. ‘I’m Detective Allison Barnes, and this is my partner Detective Jake Lanner.’

  ‘We’ve met,’ Lanner informs me. ‘You’re an intern at KitzTech, right?’ he says to the witness.

  ‘Yes,’ the young man replies. ‘My name is Brian Geller; I worked with Layla before she … died. There’s some stuff I didn’t tell you when we first met a few days ago. I just … I didn’t think it was relevant. But now that I’ve been reading all that stuff about Layla and Vince in the papers, I don’t know, I thought maybe I should tell you. It could totally be nothing, but just in case it’s not, I don’t wanna be the guy that didn’t say anything, ya know?’ I can hear the nerves jangling in his voice.

  ‘Of course. We appreciate you coming to talk with us,’ I reassure him. ‘You never know what’s going to be important in an investigation. Why don’t you tell us what you know.’

  ‘Okay, so, I was working late one night, and when I went to leave, I walked out into the parking lot and I saw Vince and Layla talking. I couldn’t make out what they were saying but it seemed like Vince was real pissed about something. I thought it was probably about the new app, and so I tried to listen in.’

  ‘Why would Vince be angry with Layla about a new app?’ I ask.

  ‘Well, see, here’s the thing. There’s this new video editing app we’re working on, and Layla claimed it was her idea but it wasn’t. It was mine. She must have pitched it to Vince as if she came up with it, because he gave her all the credit. Layla wasn’t exactly the genius everyone thought she was. Not to speak ill of the dead or anything, but I don’t even know how she got this internship. It seemed to me like she didn’t know the first thing about software development. Must have lied on her resume or something. Anyway, I volunteered to work with her to develop an idea for a new app, thinking I was doing a good thing showing her the ropes, and she seemed like a nice enough girl … But then I ended up doing all the work, and Layla got all the praise for my idea. So when I saw Vince reading her the riot act that night, I thought she’d been found out, that he realized she wasn’t really qualified for her job. Gotta admit, it felt kind of validating after she’d stolen my work. So I stuck around to see where it would go. But then I started to think that maybe something else was going on … maybe it wasn’t about work at all.’

  ‘Why is that?’

  ‘Because I saw Vince grab her arm. Looked pretty rough. And Layla pushed him off of her. Vince got into his car after that and slammed the door behind him. I felt a little bad for Layla, wanted to see if she was okay, so I went over to talk to her after Vince drove off. I think she was surprised to see me there, and she asked me how much I’d seen. I told her I just saw her and Vince having a disagreement, and she immediately started to cry. She told me he’d threatened to fire her over a mistake she’d made at work, and begged me not to tell anyone what I’d seen. She said it was too embarrassing. I promised her I wouldn’t, but I didn’t really believe her story. I don’t know, I’ve just never seen Vince lose his cool like that before, and it seemed way too personal to be about work.’

  ‘When did this happen?’ I inquired.

  ‘About a week before Layla … died.’ Brian starts bouncing his heel nervously again. ‘Like I said, it could have been nothing. Layla came in to work the next day as if nothing happened, and she never mentioned it again. Didn’t get fired either. So I don’t really know. Just with all of this stuff in the news about Vince and Layla having … an affair or whatever … I thought maybe I should tell you.’

  ‘You did the right thing, Brian’ I assure him. ‘If you think of anything else, anything at all, please let us know.’
/>   ‘Okay, yeah.’ He sounds relieved. ‘I’ll do that.’

  He shakes my hand and Lanner leads him out of the interview room.

  Once Brian is out of sight, I turn to Lanner. ‘What do you make of all that?’

  ‘Sounds like there was a lot more going on between Vince and Layla than Vince let on.’

  ‘I agree. And we need to figure out exactly what that was.’

  Lanner calls Kinnon to join us in the interrogation room.

  ‘How’d it go with the witness?’ Kinnon asks.

  ‘Alright,’ Lanner replies. ‘He didn’t know much, but seems there was trouble in paradise between the vic and her boss. Can you do us a favor and do a little digging into Vince Taylor? I want to know everything there is to know about this guy.’

  ‘You got it,’ Kinnon replies eagerly before scuttling out of the room to get started.

  ‘He’s so annoying,’ I tell Lanner as soon as the door closes behind Kinnon.

  ‘Aw, come on Barnes. Give the kid a break. He just wants to help.’

  I can’t resist rolling my eyes. Lanner always wants to see the best in everyone.

  ‘Got something for ya,’ Kinnon says as he approaches my desk a few hours later. He drops a manila folder on my desk with a dramatic flair.

  ‘Give me the highlights.’

  Kinnon seems happy to oblige, a triumphant smile spreading across his face. ‘I started looking into Vince Taylor, just like you asked. And this guy seemed squeaky clean. Like too clean to be true, ya know? Donates a fortune to kids with cancer, shows up at every benefit, gala, red carpet event you can imagine, his wife always on his arm. Every time he’s in the news it’s for a new donation he’s made, or a new bit of tech he’s developed. Good looking guy too, seems like he’s the total package—’

  ‘Okay, so are you just here to tell me that you have a man crush on the guy or did you actually find something useful?’

  ‘Right, yeah, I’m getting to that,’ Kinnon responds, undeterred. ‘It turns out that Vince Taylor, formerly known as Vincent Taylor, has one very big skeleton in his closest. Looks like Layla Bosch wasn’t the first inappropriate relationship he’s been in.’ Kinnon crosses his arms across his chest, looking very pleased with himself.

  ‘How so?’

  ‘Well, back before Vince was Vince, back when he was still known as Vincent, a girl he went to school with accused him of rape.’

  ‘What? How did we not know about this sooner?’

  ‘Looks like he was never charged. The girl recanted her allegations. A few days after her initial complaint she filed another report saying she made it all up. Gotta wonder why …’

  ‘Can you track her down? Get us her current contact information. I want to talk to this woman.’

  Chapter 16

  Vince

  DAY 4

  I wake up on Monday morning with a pounding migraine. I barely slept last night, my head swirling with thoughts of Layla, of Nicole and Jeff. I had misjudged Layla so badly. I didn’t see her true colors until it was way too late. Was is possible I had done the same with Jeff? I can’t imagine he’d betray me so badly that he’d splash my personal life all over the tabloids, but then again I didn’t think he was in love with my wife either. Nicole has barely spoken a word to me since yesterday afternoon. We passed by each other all day, moving about our house like strangers. Two lone wolves circling their own territories, neither of us willing to be the one to cross over the divide.

  After hunkering down in the house all weekend hiding from the press, I’m looking forward to going into the office today. Doing what I do best and maybe feeling like everything is normal, even if just for a few hours.

  I shower quickly and get dressed for the day in jeans and a fitted black T-shirt, my signature office attire. I comb my hair neatly and tussle it a bit with my fingers, just the way my stylist instructed me to so that my hair looks neat, but yet somehow as though I just walked out of the ocean. The fact that I even have a stylist to defer to is still laughable to me. It was Nicole’s idea. She thought I needed a better public image than ‘dorky computer whiz with glasses’. What followed was a complicated hair routine, corrective eye surgery to ditch my thick glasses, a personal trainer, and a closet full of designer jeans and black T-shirts that stretch across my newly toned biceps.

  Just as I’m stepping out of the bathroom, I hear my phone buzzing on my nightstand.

  ‘Hey, Vince. It’s Eric. Are you coming in today?’

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘Okay, I just wasn’t sure whether you would be what with everything … anyway, the board is scheduling an emergency meeting right now. I don’t know if I was supposed to tell you but … I thought you should know.’

  ‘I’ll be there as soon as possible. Thanks, Eric. You did the right thing.’

  I grab my wallet and keys and shove them into my pocket. I sprint out of the room, taking a moment to glance back quickly towards the master bedroom, but the door is still closed. No sign that Nicole is awake yet. I sigh and bound down the stairs to the front door.

  I start the Tesla and tear down my driveway and open the front gates with the remote clipped to my visor. I’m surprised to see there are no reporters waiting for me. Maybe it’s too early in the day for them to have pulled themselves out of bed yet, or maybe Jeff was right and they’re moving on to the next scandal. Good. It’s about time.

  I race down the expressway towards my office in midtown Manhattan, my palms sweating on the steering wheel. The drive usually takes just under an hour without traffic. I don’t generally mind the commute; it gives me time to unwind on my way home from work. And it’s worth it to be able to live in a town as beautiful as Loch Harbor where we could build our dream home on a lush, sprawling property. I’ve never had any desire to live in the city; apartments stacked up on top of one another, the people, the taxis, the noise. Everything about New York City is loud, rushed, crowded. We wanted to live in a place where we could hear birds chirping in the yard, watch a fire crackle in our own fireplace, and find the type of peaceful tranquility that simply doesn’t exist in the city. But today, for the first time, I wish I lived closer to my office. An emergency board meeting, one I wasn’t summoned to attend, can’t possibly be a good thing.

  After the drive, which felt like an eternity, I pull into my designated parking spot under the building and rush into the main lobby. I run up the central spiral staircase, taking the stairs two at a time, and head for the main conference room. I burst through the door hoping that I don’t look as frantic as I feel.

  ‘Vince, we weren’t expecting you today,’ Darren, the CFO, says by way of greeting.

  ‘Well, I’m here, and I heard you were meeting without me, so I thought I should join you.’

  ‘Actually, there are some things you should know. Since you’re here,’ Darren tells me as he resumes his seat, my seat, at the head of the long conference table. All heads turn towards me. The conference room is full of executives, ones hired to oversee KitzTech once I agreed to take the corporation public, and all eyes are trained on me as if I’m the enemy. This is my company. I created it from nothing. Perhaps they’ve all forgotten.

  ‘Go on then,’ I say authoritatively. ‘What is it that you need to tell me about my own company?’

  ‘The investors are backing out. They’re pulling funding for the new branch,’ Darren replies.

  ‘What?! Why?’

  ‘Because of you, Vince. And everything that’s been floating around in the media. No one wants to be associated with KitzTech right now.’

  ‘There has to be something we can do!’ I can feel the panic rising in my voice. I’ve invested a lot of my own money into this new venture. I can’t afford for it to fail. It would break me.

  ‘That’s what we’re here discussing today. We still have a few investors left. We may be able to stay the course. But if this gets worse, the only solution we see is for you to step down as CEO.’

  ‘I will not step down! This is MY
company. I created this place. KitzTech wouldn’t exist without me!’

  ‘At this rate, KitzTech won’t exist with you. We all hope it doesn’t come to that, Vince. But if we lose any further funding, the board does have the right to vote on whether or not to force your resignation. I’m sorry. I truly am. But we need to do what’s best for KitzTech and its stockholders.’

  ‘Unbelievable,’ I mutter to myself as I storm out of the conference room.

  Darren is excellent at his job, and he’s kept a tight rein of the company’s finances, but I’ve always felt that he resented my role as CEO and the public face of KitzTech. I have to wonder whether he’s using my personal troubles to his advantage. Is he really just protecting KitzTech or is he trying to free up my seat at the head of the table?

  I go back to my office, sealing the door behind me. No open door policy today. But no sooner do I sit down at my desk than I hear a knock on the door.

  ‘WHAT?’ I bellow. Eric cracks the door open and pops his head in. ‘Sorry, Eric. Shitty morning. What’s up?’

  ‘Um, I’m sorry to make your day worse, but you might want to check out the World View website. Security said there are a bunch of reporters already crowding the front entrance.’

  I can’t even bring myself to respond. My body immediately feels numb, although my fingers are already furiously stoking the keys of my keyboard by rote. Eric wisely leaves me to it and again closes my door.

  As soon as the World View website loads, I gasp. My face is splashed on the front page. The photo must have been taken through my front gate with a zoom lens when I went to take the garbage out or something over the weekend. I didn’t realize how terrible I looked. I’m wearing baggy, flannel pajamas pants and a shapeless grey T-shirt. Salt and pepper stubble shades my chin, my hair is in disarray, and I appear to be scowling angrily into the distance. I’m almost so shocked by the photo that I forget to read the headline:

  Creator of Friend Connect Gets Too Friendly With Intern