Two
Sabrina came up short, a gasp of shock tumbling from her lips as she walked into Roman's office to find a buxom brunette in his arms, kissing him. The sound of her surprised exclamation caused the slut to stumble back from Roman's embrace.
"Roman?" Sabrina stammered, blinking rapidly as she tried to comprehend an innocent reason why she would walk in on her husband kissing another woman, "What the hell is going on here?"
Her eyes landed on the brunette who, Sabrina noted, had the grace to be blushing a furious red and seemed happy to stare at the floor between the toes of her shoes.
Roman sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair. "Amanda," he said in that calm, smooth tone of his that Sabrina associated with the business man side of her husband, "Please carry on with your assignment. I will expect delivery within the hour."
Amanda nodded and mumbled her understanding. As she scooted past Sabrina, the curvaceous brunette kept her eyes down. When the door closed behind her, Sabrina closed her eyes and counted to five.
"Sabrina," Roman began, but Sabrina shook her head, cutting him off.
"Please don't tell me that it wasn't what I think it was," she said in a quiet, hurt voice.
"Well, really, it wasn't," he said, crossing the room to take her hands in his. "Amanda is my secretary and she's a little on the unconventional side, and sometimes acts from the heart instead of the mind."
When he attempted to pull her into his embrace, Sabrina resisted and pulled away instead. "I guess I know why you've been spending so much time here lately," she said, making her way to the door. "I came to tell you that I planned to order a tree for the apartment, since you didn't seem too eager to do it, but instead, I think I'm going to spend the holidays with my parents." She paused a moment and glanced back at him. "Your secretary, Roman?" She scoffed, "How cliché."
Before Roman could protest his innocence, before he could stop his wife and explain to her what she'd walked in on, she was gone, and his carefully laid plans were once again in jeopardy of falling through.
Sabrina kept her emotions in check on the cab ride back to the apartment. Though there was a growing pressure in the middle of her chest that demanded release, she kept a tight lid on it. The last thing she needed was Morgan to see what a wreck discovering Roman with his secretary had made her. By the time she arrived at the apartment there was absolutely no sign that she was devastated by her husband's perfidy. She breezed into her home, calling out to Morgan in a cheery voice.
When he stepped out of the kitchen, Sabrina was tossing her coat over the back of a kitchen chair. "Don't worry about dinner, Morgan," she told him as she made her way to the bedroom, "I've decided to visit Riverfall for a few days."
"What do you mean you're visiting Riverfall?" He asked cautiously, as he stood at the bedroom door, watching her toss clothing into an overnight case.
Sabrina flashed him a bright smile. "I find that I'm missing my family right now," she lied smoothly, "I spoke to Roman, and in a way, it was his idea."
She glanced up at Morgan and saw that he was watching her closely, a suspicious look on his face. "Really, Morgan," she laughed as she went into the bathroom to collect her toiletries, "Stop looking so disbelieving. Roman knows, and he's all for it." She tossed her toothbrush and makeup bag in the case and closed it with a snap. Looping the straps over her shoulder, she said, "I have a cab waiting to take me to the botanical gardens; I can't keep him waiting forever."
Morgan stood back as Sabrina made her way from the bedroom and into the hall, and followed close behind her. "Don't you think this is a bit sudden, Miss?"
Sabrina set her overnight case down and lifted her coat to shrug into it once more. "I need a change of scenery, that's all," she sighed, praying that he wouldn't see the edges of her composure beginning to crumble. She once again lifted her bag to her shoulder. "I'll see you soon," she told him, turning for the door and not one hundred percent certain she was telling the truth. Then, before he could say another word or possibly even stop her, Sabrina walked out of the apartment. Within minutes, she was settled in the back of her cab once more, not doing anything to stop her heartbroken tears.
Following Sabrina's departure, Roman fumed and paced the room while he waited for Amanda's return, counting each minute like a miser counts his coins, agonizing over each one. When his secretary finally returned an hour later, Roman felt as if he were climbing the walls. Taking the garment box, he was able to nod his thanks, and barely managed to compliment Amanda on her excellent taste in choosing a ribbon and bow to match the outfit inside the box. Tucking it under his arm, Roman strode from the office, already knowing that by the time he got home, Sabrina would be long gone.
"Merry Christmas, Amanda," he called over his shoulder. "I'll see you after the new year." He didn't wait to hear her reply and didn't wait for her when he reached the elevator.
The ride up from his subterranean office seemed to take forever. Roman passed the time pacing and by the time the car came to a smooth stop, Roman was ready to climb out the access hatch in the top and shimmy up the cables. When the doors slid open, he immediately ran into Salter.
"Something's come up and I'm leaving for the mountains tonight," he told his head of security as he walked with quick strides through the now empty club. "Tell Alex; I'm leaving everything up to the two of you."
Salter grunted his understanding, secretly relieved. He'd known the half breed vamp for more than twenty years, and knew how difficult it was for him to relinquish control of the nightclub for even so short a time as the week he was going to be with his wife. Speaking of Roman's wife...
"Did I see Sabrina here earlier?"
From the corner of his eye, Salter saw Roman's clipped nod. "That's the something that's come up," Roman said tersely, "And I've got to act now, or her Christmas will be ruined."
Salter's steps faltered a moment. "Don't tell me," he muttered, shaking his head, "She met Amanda."
When Roman turned to look at him, Callahan was startled by the level of pained desperation in his friend's expression.
"I ask Amanda to go to the lingerie shop and bring me back several different items that I could look at privately; it was for Sabrina's gift," he continued, pushing a hand through his hair. "I found what I wanted, and told Amanda to take everything back and when she bought what I had chosen for Sabrina, to go ahead and choose something for herself. You know how Amanda is; she was so happy and excited that she kissed me." He glanced up at Callahan, a wry expression in his eyes. "Sabrina walked in."
Salter whistled low between his teeth. "I'm not going to say I told you so, but I told you to make sure you introduced those two when you hired Amanda. Told you it would save a boat load of aggravation."
Roman kicked back into motion, waving his friend's words away. "I know," he sighed, aggravation at himself evident in those two words, "The point is, Sabrina thinks something's going on between me and my secretary, and she's gone home to her parent's place for Christmas."
They reached the front doors of the club, and Roman paused to look at his long time friend. "I don't know how long this is going to take," he said, "I went about this whole thing all wrong, and if I don't do something about it now, I'll end up breaking Sabrina's heart- if I haven't already."
Callahan clapped a hand over Roman's shoulder and squeezed. "Take as long as you need," he told his friend, "Alex and I have this end covered."
Roman sighed, relieved. "Thank you," he said before pushing open the doors. Moments later, he was settled into a cab and calling ahead to Morgan to have preparations made to kidnap his own wife.
Murder, Mayhem, Monsters, and Mistletoe Page 36