by Claire Angel
"Ms. Preston, I am so sorry you might have me confused with someone else," I tried to explain.
"Elliot, Mr. Elliot," I said, catching myself halfway. “Mr. Elliot is as much of a customer to me as you are…”
"You must be throwing yourself on him and fucking him," she said, cutting me off with her wave of the hand while sizing me up.
I was beyond shocked at what she had just said. My face flushed, and anger welled up inside of me.
“I cannot believe Elliot!” I thought.
Who is this woman, and how much had Elliot told her? How did she know so much about us?
Is she simply playing with my feelings or just trying to aggravate me?
I looked up at Elliot, who was also in shock at the turn of events. “Are you not going to say something?” I asked, looking up at him.
“Has he ever told you the things he says to his daughters about you?” she asked, rolling her eyes. “Lily tells my daughter some of it. You know kids, they overshare."
“Please ignore her, Audrey. Let us go to your office,” Elliot said, holding me by my arm. I pushed his arm and told him not to touch me.
“Has he told you his daughters tells that you are naïve and make terrible decisions," Ms. Preston said, dragging each word that came out of her mouth. "Oh, poor thing," she said, wearing a mock sad look. "You didn't know? Are you in love with him?"
Ms. Preston continued to push more questions. It was as if she was deliberately trying to aggravate me. Whatever her plan was, she was achieving it without even saying much. I was no longer listening to her now. My heart shattered by the things I just had heard. “Do Elliot thinks about me like this? I was a naïve child who constantly made bad decisions?”
"He had told me he didn't want to hurt me at my house the other night, and I had believed him. Why would he say things like this to Lily and Elysha? Why would he tell Ms. Preston about our affair or things I had shared with him in confidence?” I continued to ask myself, tears trickling down my face.
"Don't cry, poor thing," Ms. Preston said, bring her hand to touch my hair.
"Don't touch her," Elliot said. "Don’t put your hands on her." He continued. "I think you have done enough here; you should leave. Or you want me to call someone to throw you out of this premise."
Elliot sounded really angry. I didn't think I had ever heard him this way. Ms. Preston grabbed her shopping bag from the counter and walked out of the store.
Elliot turned to me and was quiet for a moment as he took deep breaths in. He tried to hold my hand as I walked back to my office. I looked up at him and had to muster all my strength, not yell in his face.
“Ray, please just hear me out. Please.”
"Please leave, Elliot," I said, looking at him square in the face.
“Audrey…” he tried again.
“I don’t want you here. Leave me alone! Just go!” I said as more tears trickled down my face. “Or do you also want me to call someone to kick you out?” I said as I suddenly realized I was being very rude.
“Audrey, believe me it’s not like that. Please let me explain.” He requested but I was not in a condition to understand anything.
“I am sorry Elliot. I didn’t want to be rude. But lease leave me alone. We can talk maybe some other day.” I couldn’t stop tears rolling down from my eyes.
“Okay, okay. All right. Don’t cry. I am leaving. Relax.” He walked out of the store, and I turned to go back into my office, where I cried for hours, before leaving for home later at night.
It had been one week since Ms. Preston's shit at my store, and I still cried each time I remembered it. I was deeply embarrassed, but maybe I should have listened to him. "Why would Elliot say all that about me? It didn't even make it better than he had told the girls, who in turn told their friend."
I had spent the entire week trying to hate Elliot, but I could not stop thinking about him. I tried to fill my time with my online classes, but I only stared at the screen each time without gaining anything substantial. Each time, I either closed it and stared at the wall or slept on my bed.
In day time I tried to read books, but I was only reminded of him. His image was imprinted on every aspect of my life. He has sent me the books, introduced me to the online class and internet optimization. There was barely anything I could touch that did not remind me of Elliot.
Baking was not even a remote choice. I baked for the girls, trying to bake now would only remind me of them even more. I crawled to the couch he had made love to me and laid there, just crying out my heart. I had loved this man, “Was I a fool to have thought something to come out of it?”
Yes, I was a fool. He was a billionaire, why would he care for an ordinary girl? On top of that he was almost sixteen years older than me and a father. How did I even think that he can ever love me.
I missed my mom and I wished if she was here to guide me. My heart was so heavy, and the thoughts of Elliot had refused to go away.
My body missed his touch, my lips missed those sweet kisses. In bathroom I imagined him holding me against the wall, choking me and fucking me till my legs quivered.
I wanted him to hold me, and cuddle me the same way he had, after he made love to me. I remembered the way he stood in my kitchen, his back to me, while he did my dishes.
Things seemed fine until we had sex. "I should never have had sex with him." I thought. I dragged myself out of bed to pick up my phone from the dresser. It had already rung three times now, but I didn’t want to speak to anyone.
I swiped it open and saw Elliot's three missed calls. "What does he want from me?" He had called several times since he left the store. I had also heard my doorbell ring on three different occasions; perhaps it was him or someone else, I was not interested in knowing.
He called once again. “Why can’t he just leave me alone?” I yelled aloud. I answered the call and heard Lily’s voice. She sounded troubled. “Audrey, is that you?” she asked. She sounded like she had been crying.
“Yes, are you okay? Where is Elliot?” I asked.
“He met an accident.”
“What do you mean he is wounded?” I asked, confused.
She was crying now. “What is the problem, Lily?” I asked again, my apprehension increasing. “Where is Elle, Lily? Is she okay?”
She sucked in some air and told me Elliot had taken them on a hiking trip and fractured his hip. My soul almost jumped out of my body. “Calm down, okay? Just stay with Elle, I will be there in a moment,” I said as I rushed to my closet.
I put jeans and t-shirt on and rushed to the car. As I drove to his home, I could not think anything. Nothing mattered, not Ms. Preston, not the things he had told her and definitely not the grouse they had. She just wanted him to be fine.
Chapter 10
Elliot
It was another regular weekend in Aspen, but things were not precisely looking that great for me. I had just got off a video call with Edward, who gave a monthly situation report from my organization, and the recent developments should have me happy.
We had bought new shares and doubled up our revenue. And some of our long-term investments had yielded high dividends. Edward was very excited had called to share the news and discuss some reinvestment ideas and expansion at the Company. I congratulated him and told him to send me a portfolio and a breakdown of the ideas instead. I would get to it in my own time.
Edward was really doing me proud. I thanked for not disappointing me, and Bob for pointing me in the right direction. I had been worried when I wanted to leave Miami for Aspen. Who would take care of things in my absence and run my company without needing my intervention unless absolutely necessary? Who would also maintain the good relationship I had built with my employees?
I had discussed my fears with Bob, and his contribution was excellent choice I eventually made. Bob was my sixty-seven-year-old neighbor, who had become a close friend. He had run a company like mine. This was before he was excused off the board while he was taking care of his wi
fe, Katerina. He had lost Katerina, three years after I lost Shelley.
We had both experienced losses and joy and had drunk together on good and bad days. We now shared a bond that was more than just friendship. I called Bob, and each time, he was there.
After giving Bob a rundown of my top employees and those on my board, and stating my fears of a takeover while I was away, he had advised me to choose Edward. He gave me irrefutable reasons why Edward was the man for the job; he had told me, “he is your guy, Elliot, I can feel it in my gut.” And yes, he had been right.
Edward had handled the business like he would treat his own, reporting to me once in a month with innovative ideas on how to make the company better. I had made up my mind to give him a raise when we returned to Miami; the young man deserved it.
I sighed at the thought of how far I had come—a young twenty-year-old man with dreams that seemed ridiculous at that time to a billionaire. I had been able to work out all of them in the last twenty years, and I was now fondly looking towards a permanent retirement.
“What would I do after retirement?” I asked myself. It was only a matter of time before the girls went up to high school and then college. “They have been my life. What would become of me then?”
I had thought it would be Shelley and I, traveling around the world together after retirement.
I smiled at the thought of how much my dreams used to revolve around making money, and Shelley’s revolved around conferences, traveling the world, and having fun. I could spend my time at home holed up in my library, reading or monitoring the stock market while she organized fun events and traveled to different ends of the world. We were two different sides of a coin, yet we made it work and complemented one another.
She made all the plans around the house and organized everything that involved our little family. She had taken that up since we got married and was more effective at it anyway, so I never have one day of worry.
Shelley had planned our honeymoon and a post-honeymoon trip to two different countries. She had even made reservations at each hotel we stayed and had them organize the rooms to her taste before we arrived there. I had never imagined I could have that much fun outside of work. Shelley made it possible.
Shelley was the thoughtful one who planned ahead of unforeseeable circumstances. And she never stopped until she saw that everything was smooth and running. I, on the other hand, lived moment by moment. One thing we had both been unable to foresee or made plans for, however, was her leaving me so soon.
When Shelley left me, all the dreams she created for us had gone with her. The reminiscing about our old trips, the next one, the meals we would try, and the weather that was best for traveling, she took it all with her. My trip to Aspen had been the first leisure trip I had taken since Shelley died. I never thought I would say that, but I missed the fun, spontaneity, and tours, but I could never bring myself to do it without her. It just would have never been the same.
I could never re-enact those dreams without hurting. They were gone, those dreams no longer existed, and I was beginning to feel like I needed to create a new one, “but with whom?” I thought.
It could have been with Audrey, but it looked like I had thrown that chance to the trash with my recent behavior. I do not believe she would want anything to do with me anymore, not after the things Brenda said to her.
I had ruined things with Audrey, or rather Brenda had destroyed what was left of our relationship, and I was at a loss as to where to go from there. I had been stupefied as Brenda continued to say those vile things to Audrey when she met me at her store. “I should have stopped her. I should have said something; I should have protected her,” I thought to myself. I felt like a fool and a coward.
I had left Audrey’s store the last time, unable to make sense of what I had just experienced. She had walked me out, and I could not blame for it. I knew Brenda looked like a bat-shit crazy woman, but never had I been able to fathom that she could pull the kind of stunt she had pulled that day.
I had made it a point of duty to avoid her since I registered Lily and Elysha at the camp. She seemed like a woman that was a handful, and I honestly did not want her around my child. But I also knew there was absolutely nothing I could do about that.
“But what was I to do anyways? Tell her not to talk to one of the few friends she had because her mother looked troublesome?” I had whisked them out of their life in Miami and brought them to Aspen. Policing their friendships, which were only a handful from camp, was not something I could add to the list.
“Even if I wanted to, Lily would have made a case out of it and reminded me that I had registered them at the camp to get them out of my hair so that I could do my own work and they could make new friends, it was a win-win. And she would have been right.”
I blamed myself for going to the store, if I did not go there, I would not have met Brenda, or maybe I would have been able to fix this. “What was I thinking anyway?” I asked myself. That I would waltz into the store and tell Audrey to love my girls less or stay away from them? "What exactly were you thinking, Elliot?" I asked myself.
The more I thought about it, the more the idea sounded stupid in my head. I could scarcely believe I had told myself that plan, believed it would work out and proceeded to Audrey’s store to explain it to her. It looked like I had successfully ruined the only other good thing going on my life that didn’t involve my girls. “Where will I go from here?” I thought, slapping my hands over my face.
“Daddy, daddy,” Elysha stood in front of me, calling me and waving in my face to get my attention. I had not even seen her join me in the sitting room, “What is it, Elysha,” I asked, slightly irritated. I could scarcely understand my irritation at my children lately.
Brenda had offended me, but they seemed to have been the ones bearing the brunt for the past couple of days. Maybe it was time to leave little Aspen and return to our old lives. The place that had been our little haven was becoming too toxic, and I honestly wanted out.
“Barbie wants us to go to the riverside,” Elysha answered, looking forlorn.
I sighed deeply. It was almost Christmas, and the air had gotten colder. This was not a time to sit there. And I was honestly not in my best of moods. “I am busy now, baby. I’m sorry, we can’t go now. We will sit there another time?” I said, patting Barbie. “You and Barbie can go play with Lily in her room, okay?”
“When will you take us to the store to see Audrey?”
“Oh my God, not again. Not the endless questions about Audrey again! It had been Lily with all these questions, now Elysha was joining in too?” I thought as I looked down at her. “Did Lily putting her up to this?” I thought. You could never put these kind of things past Lily.
“Daddy, Is Audrey mad at Lily and me?” Elysha asked.
I was shocked at her question. I pulled her close and hugged her. “Why would you say that, baby? Audrey could never be mad at you; why would she? She adores you two,” I told to her.
“She has not come to see us since we left her place that night,” she answered pouting. “And she hasn’t sent us cookies this week. Is she mad that we touched her toys? Barbie is sad, too," she continued.
I let her finish and put her on my lap. I had come to the realization that I seemed to be doing more harm than good. I had only just tried to get them to love her less, so I would not experience too much opposition when it was time to leave Aspen. But I had ended up making my little girl believe she had done something wrong.
Maybe I had been a little jealous of how much they wanted her. And perhaps I had not experienced love in a long time, and my instinct was to self-sabotage when it eventually came. Or probably it was a little bit of everything. “I really don’t know, I don’t know how everything came crashing so fast,” I thought, rubbing my brows.
“Is she going to leave us like Mom?” she asked again, this time she was looking up at me with her big eyes. I could see Shelley in her. She spoke from her heart, just like her mother.
Her question cut through my heart. I was about to take one person that they had loved them since Shelley away from them, and from me as well and Elysha had been blaming herself for it.
“Audrey is not mad at you, baby? She loves you, and she is not leaving you…” I said as the words struck in my throat. "Mom didn’t leave because she wanted to either; she just...”
“Why she hasn’t come to see us then?” she prodded again, while I was thinking of what to say to her.
I had thought them the value of honesty for years. We were a transparent family that hid nothing from each other, and I had told and shown them over time that they had tell truth in all situations.
My daughter was asking me questions that I had no answers to and was not ready to leave until I told her something satisfactory.
“She is just busy with school, baby. She attends school online now. She is probably taking her exams; that is why she has been unable to bake.” She looked at me with her huge eyes, unconvinced.
“Okay, you know what?” I said before she could get a chance to ask another question. How about we go for some sightseeing at the big mall outside town? We can buy lots of cotton candy and ice cream; then, we will see Audrey before the end of the new week,” I said, tickling her.
She giggled and kissed me on my cheek. “Go get Lily, okay? Let’s get some candy!”
“Okay, daddy,” she said as I put her down, and bounced all the way to Lily’s room.
I rubbed my forehead as the realization of the damage I had done began to set in. I needed to see Audrey and apologize to her, but she had been refusing to take my calls. "Maybe I have not called enough, and perhaps I should go to her house and see her," I thought. But I was ashamed.
“How will I fix this?” I thought, exasperated.
Chapter 11
Elliot