Stay with me

by Kristel Ralston

  The car ride was slightly awkward. They both knew the reason but didn’t want to talk about it, so they allowed the music from the radio to fill the silence. Once they were home, Ashley went up to their room and started to get undress.

  Caine didn’t take long to join his wife. He watched her as she put aside her shoes and begin to slide down the zipper of the dress. His mouth went dry; his wife really was stunning. Ashley was wearing a strapless black bra with lace that highlighted her perfect breasts; even though he had tasted those breasts multiple times, he never grew tired of their flavor.

  Instead of panties, she was wearing a thong that matched her bra. She was angry and didn’t try to hide her scathing glare, Caine noted. “Wow, I really do know her,” he thought as he tried to keep himself from wrapping his arms around her and laying together on the bed.

  “Ashley, what’s the problem?” he asked without further ado, although he already knew the answer.

  She glared at him with a venomous gaze while removing the pins from her hair. She had to use all her will power to not start an argument in the middle of the dinner.

  “You know very well.”

  Caine took off his jacket, and then he removed the cufflinks and untied his tie. He rolled the sleeves up to his elbows and undid two buttons of the navy shirt. She pretended not to notice the way his arm muscles flex throughout the process. He was really handsome.

  “Enlighten me. I wouldn’t want to assume,” he calmly replied.

  She narrowed her eyes at him, took one of her silk robes and covered her body, tying it forcefully around her waist.

  “I’m not a baby factory!” she argued. “I’m not ready to be a mother, Caine, period. Why did you tell Joshua we’re working on it?”

  “I think you’re making a mountain out of a molehill, honey,” he responded in a tone laced with the same calmness he used to walk towards her and rest his hand on her shoulders. He massaged them slowly but Ashley stepped back and he didn’t try to touch her again. “I don’t think I’ve committed a sin just by confirming something to our friend.”

  “But…”

  “Ashley, first of all do us a favor,” he interrupted softly. “Don’t insult me by saying that I’m sexist or heartless because I think about you as a baby factory. I’ve told you this ever since we started dating: I want to have kids with you because I love you and I want to create something that is part of you and part of me. The natural consequence of a solid and loving marriage,” he explained as he did his best to control himself.

  She stared at him.

  “All right, well, you’ll have to wait then,” she said belligerently. “You’re 37 years old and I’ve just turned 29. We have a whole life ahead and we can take this slow.

  “Ashley… having a family is important to me. I want to raise and enjoy my kids now that I’m still young and I want you to be able to do that too. It’s been two years since we got married. I yearn to share that stage with you… you know I’m an only son and even though my prick friends are like brothers to me, it’s not the same, you know that,” he said as he shoved his hands in the pockets of his tailor-made pants.

  “We’re a family now… both of us.”

  “You know what I mean!” Caine retorted, containing himself in order to not say something he could later regret. He closed his eyes for a second, as if that could give them the serenity to continue. He didn’t know when his flexible and loving wife had become a tyrant. “How long are you going to keep me waiting?” Caine asked sounding resigned instead of angry.

  Ashley gulped. How could she tell him? How could she talk to him about Tim without breaking and gaining Caine’s rejection just like it happened with her parents? Anger was more tolerable than uncertainty.

  “I… I don’t know,” she shrugged, “It’s not like this is part of a business plan. You’re more relax at work now, so yes, let’s have children, but what about me? Have you asked me if I have more work goals that I want to fulfill? Have you asked me if I’m willing to leave my career in order to spend some time being a mom?

  “This is the fifth time we talk about this topic and you’ve never brought up work issues before. I thought you were aware that throughout these years I’ve always supported you and that I would never ask you to leave your career aside because I know how important is for you to be independent. There’s nothing I admire and respect more than a tenacious woman; trophies are just for show.” Why did he have to be so caring when the only thing she wanted was to push him away and take care of her own wounds? Ashley thought. “I know you’re a woman capable of managing several activities at the same time and…”

  “Wonder woman is just a cartoon, you know,” she interrupted sarcastically. However, she didn’t like the gleam is Caine’s eyes at all. His patience was running out and it was more than obvious.

  He stared at her for a long time and then stepped away, letting out a resigned sigh.

  “All right, I guess that once again we’ve reached a dead end. I don’t understand your reluctance. I don’t understand why you are so closed in this aspect. Is there any medical issue you don’t want to talk to me about? You know you can count on me.”

  “There’s no medical issue. My… health is fine.”

  “Then what are you hiding, Ashley?” He questioned inquisitively. “What are you so afraid of? Talk to me.”

  Once again, she gulped and stared.

  “I’m simply not prepared,” was her only response. She hated seeing the disappointment in Caine’s eyes. She knew his biggest desire was to extend their family. When he mentioned that while they were still dating, it felt impossible for her to talk about Tim because the mere idea of Caine leaving her caused her more pain than anything she could ever imagine. So she figured it was just a temporary desire that came with falling in love and that she’d be able to convince him with time. But now she knew that wasn’t an honest thought and it never was. Caine didn’t like secrets and she didn’t feel confident telling him hers. She was scared, “All right?”

  Caine huffed. His eyes showed the disappointment he felt at finding that emotional wall.

  “It’ a shame we get along so well in the bedroom, but not so that much out of it.”

  “I… just give me a little more time,” her voice was tinged with sadness caused by that unfair comment, but Caine had already left the room.

  “What a celebration,” she thought sadly. She sat at the edge of the bed and let out a sob. Feeling tired, she rested her head on the fluffy pillow and stretched her hand towards the side of the bed where Caine slept. She understood his frustration and sadness but it couldn’t be worse than what she was feeling.

  With her heart full of resignation, she closed her eyes.

  At two in the morning, Caine went back to their room.

  He contemplated Ashley as her body raised and fell with each breath. He didn’t consider her a spoiled or selfish woman. Marrying her had been the right decision. Unfortunately, he couldn’t predict his company was going to grow faster than the years previous to their wedding; therefore, he was obligated to be away from home a lot.

  When they started going out, he knew very well that Ashley’s family was pretty complicated. An emotionally dependent mother, an unfaithful father who ignored both of her daughters, that’s why Camille, Ashley’s younger sister, had moved to New Zeeland years ago. He understood his wife’s past, he wasn’t insensible. Still, he wasn’t able to penetrate that insurmountable wall she had built around the topic of children.

  He wanted to be a father, yes, but not at the expense of their marriage. He was willing to wait… he just didn’t manage to comprehend why Ashley seemed so openly hostile about it.

  He felt equally frustrated and hurt by her attitude. If she just opened up to him, maybe he wouldn’t pressure her so much. But that secrecy exasperated him even more than the fact that she refused to have a child any time soon.

  He undressed himself, pushed the sheets aside and slid into bed inching closer to his wife. F
eeling his soft embrace, she instinctively pressed her back against his chest.

  Caine hoped to be strong enough to face the storm. The office was going through complicated times.

  Caine had complicated times ahead. The business challenge he was about to face wasn’t easy at all and he was hoping that worrying about his marriage didn’t affect his good judgment in the decision-making process. However, there was one thing he was completely sure about: he could lose a great client, but he could never lose Ashley.

  “Ash…” he whispered in sorrow, not expecting a response.

  CHAPTER 2

  Ashley decided to take a risk. She couldn’t maintain that dynamic with Caine. She’d talk to him about Tim… even if that broke her heart. Who would want to have a child with such an irresponsible woman like her?

  It was seven in the morning when she descended the stairs of the second floor. Caine usually concluded his workout session around that time.

  She was wearing tight white pants, a salmon colored blouse and a jacket matching her pants. Her heels had strips and were the same color as her blouse. As an anniversary present, Caine had given her a beautiful, diamond necklace, a new car and the promise of a romantic getaway in the French Riviera. But at that moment, none of those things took away the lump she felt in her throat.

  “Good morning, Mrs. Valliard,” Adrian, the trainer, greeted her as he put his heavy bag of sports equipment over his shoulder. “We missed you today during the training.”

  She smiled.

  “Adrian, would you like to have breakfast with us? I think if I join you tomorrow, I’ll be able to burn the calories of the croissant I’m going to eat.

  The hearty ex-weightlifter shook his head and smiled.

  “You’ll have to do two extra sets of crunches for that croissant.” Ashley laughed. “I can’t stay for breakfast because I already have another client at eight thirty. But I appreciate your invitation.”

  She nodded.

  “Is my husband still at the pool?”

  “No, no, he only had to lift weights today. See you tomorrow, Mrs. Valliard.” He said before leaving with Misty, the seventy-year-old housekeeper that had been with the Valliards ever since they married.

  The hardworking woman has just served her breakfast.

  “Thank you, Misty.”

  “Do you need anything else?

  “No, I’m fine. Don’t you want to join me?

  Misty smiled.

  “It’s not my place, ma’am.”

  “Of course it is. You’re a part of this home.”

  “I already ate, but thank you for always been so kind to me. Enjoy, Mrs. Valliard.

  “Thank you…” with a sigh, Ashley flopped into the chair and took the cereals, the yogurt, tea, and not one but two croissants.

  When Ashley was finishing her last sip of tea, Caine showed up. He was perfectly dressed in his office suit. His wet hair was slicked back and he didn’t have a hint of the three-day beard he had the night before. She bit her lip in an effort to restrain herself from running into his arms. When she woke up, he was no longer by her side. Usually they both liked to lie in bed before getting their exercise equipment ready to receive Adrian, but that didn’t happen this time.

  “Caine…”

  He walked towards her and laid a kiss on her forehead, the forehead! It was a more than obvious symptom of his bad mood.

  “Good morning, Ashley,” he said in a serious tone. A few minutes before he received a call from Sheyla, the company’s public relations manager, that left him puzzled. “I have to go to the office right now. There’s been an incident.”

  “You won’t eat breakfast?”

  Out of habit, Caine lean towards her for her to adjust his tie. Then he softly caressed her cheek. “His tone contradicts his gesture,” Ashley thought. Or maybe she was just starting to drown in her own speculation.

  “I’ll buy something on the way.”

  “I…” she cleared her throat, “I need to talk to you, Caine,” she said in a tentative voice and he clenched his jaw. “It’s important.”

  “I’m about to have a meeting with the public relations manager so she can explain to me exactly what the hell happened. They just told me it was an emergency so I have to go. I’m sorry, Ash. I don’t know what time I’ll be home today.

  “Caine…”

  He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss, this time on her lips.

  “We’ll talk later,” he interrupted and cringed, “see you tonight.”

  Leaving her with a sense of anxiety, he left without another word, ignoring everything Ashley had to go through in order to leave her reluctance aside and finally confess the reasons behind her firm decision to not have children

  ***

  Caine cursed the way everything had twisted. He had to stop thinking about Ashley’s pained look caused by his need to leave the house so quickly. It wasn’t because of her and he didn’t have time to explain but he’d surely have more time later. Now he had to focus on his company because there were thousands of employees in Australia —and some others in a couple of countries in Europe— that depended on him.

  His gaze flicked to his public relations manager.

  “Sheyla, how is it possible that this type of information has been leaked? Valliard House doesn’t evade taxes. We’ve always been crystal clear about it. All of this is fake news, damn it!

  “We’re trying very carefully to figure out these details.”

  “Who is the journalist behind all this farce?

  Thirty-year-old Sheyla Duncan was a professional with an impeccable reputation; better than other colleagues with more years of experience. Three years before, Caine didn’t hesitate to hire her and he didn’t regret it.

  “Franceso Milliburne, the man you,” she coughed, “threw a punch to four years ago when he insinuated you were sleeping with Rubinnia Fedorova, the actress from the TV show Humphries.”

  Caine knew he had made Francesco his enemy when he gave him that well deserved punch. Rubinnia had been his friend for many years, she was never his lover.

  “I can sue him for defamation,” he exclaimed angrily.

  Sheyla made a face.

  “We don’t actually have proofs that he was the source of that tax evasion rumor,” she said carefully. “Milliburne is a journalist who enjoys sensationalism and stirring up a hornets nest just to see what he can get out of it. There’s something more you need to consider. Milliburne told me he had proof for the embezzlement of funds in the Honorable Life Foundation…” she sipped a little bit of her tea. “That comment wasn’t a hidden threat like the one about the taxes. He sounded sincere this time and you know I usually listen to my instincts.”

  Caine muttered between his teeth.

  “Have you talked to my partners about this?”

  The woman nodded.

  “Darlene is in Brisbane’s central office since yesterday, I told her about the incident. Mitch will be back from a convention,” she looked at her watch, “in an hour and he’s furious. I called you first because I thought it was more appropriate, you’re the capitalist partner after all.

  When Caine inherited the fashion house years back, he was aware of the possibilities for expansion and decided to sell fifty percent of the company to two of his closest college friends: Darlene and Mitch. The three of them were able to expand the business to Switzerland, England, Italy and New Zealand. If everything went as planned, they could extend their horizons to the Middle East and sign a deal with the most prosperous country: Bhuran.

  “Did you talk to the lawyers?”

  “Yes, they want to have a meeting with the three partners at the same time.” She read her notes. “The financial manager, Todd Martin, is waiting for you to contact him. I coordinated everything with Rannia, your assistant.”

  “Tell Darlene to be ready for a Skype call; make Mitch, Todd and the lawyers to come immediately. I can’t lose any more time. Get them out of wherever they are just like you did with me an
hour ago. We have to be one step ahead and start denying those rumors.”

  “I’ve got to go organize my work team. I’ll give you a report in a few minutes.”

  “Fine.”

  When Sheyla got out of the office, Caine let out an imprecation. Everything was happening when he was about to close the deal with King Muffat Al Bin-Habbar. Milliburne’s rumor about House Valliard regarding that presumed tax evasion was terrible.

  Bad news —even when they’re lies like in this case— spread faster than good ones. He couldn’t allow that to happen.

  Mabel Adams was the director of the Honorable Life Foundation, a place that helped homeless people by giving them two changes of clothes a day and several free courses. Cain trusted her blindly because she was one of his mother’s best friends. Whether she was guilty of tax evasions or not, he’d still have to get her out of the foundation; he had no other choice. He was the honorary president of the organization because it benefited Valliard House’s humanitarian side; as such he couldn’t afford these types of mistakes.

  Caine curse the moment he decided to hit Milliburne.

  Two hours later his assistant poked her head around the door. He gave her a professional tight lipped smile.

  “Mr. Valliard?”

  Caine ran his fingers through his shiny and combed hair.

  “Tell me.”

  The worry in her assistant’s eyes already spoke volumes.

  “King Al Bin-Habbar is on line three.”

  “Thank you.”

  When the woman got out, Caine grabbed the earpiece. If the deal with the Middle East was lost, he’d be in huge troubles. Although no more than Milliburne; he would personally ask for his head on a platter.

  The fabrics that were sold in Bhuran were exquisite and very valuable, plus the gemstones were top quality. The manual manufacturing processes and the exclusive design were only some of the motivations to work with the Middle East. It would not only generate great outcomes, but also a long list of clients willing to choose Valliard House as their number one company for haute couture production and the opportunity to have famous designers as allies for some of the collections.