I smiled. “You’re brilliant, Susie, absolutely brilliant.”
The girls had ordered a glass of wine, while I sipped on ice tea, and they were pretending to get a little tipsy as they giggled and flashed a bunch of pictures.
Ted was looking mortified, and Marcia was throwing us daggers, obviously wondering what we were up to. She was too smart to think this was a coincidence, but I lived in the area, and it could happen.
“I think we have enough pictures,” I said, putting the camera in my bag.
“Good. I’m starving.” Fran had the menu open. “Let’s order something quick, so we can eat and get out before they do.”
“Are we going to follow them some more?” Susie asked.
“Not now that they’ve seen us together. They will already be suspicious,” I answered. “We’ll have to continue our surveillance another night.”
Fran agreed. “You mentioned that she lived on the second floor. My brother has an extended ladder and a van we could borrow. Maybe we could make up some excuse to get through the security gate and have ourselves a little peek in their window.”
* * *
Jed called a few days later to tell me that he and Alexei had settled their affairs, and that she was going to California without the kids. He said he was busy getting his home ready so the three of them could move in.
I was so happy to hear from him. It had been a week since the afternoon of the jelly-fish bites, and he hadn’t called like he said he would. I knew that the summer storms had put his construction business a little behind schedule, and that Miami had narrowly missed being hit by Hurricane Jane. But after a guy has seen you naked and he’s slathered your body with bi-carbonate soda, you feel like he should be knocking your door down to see you again. Right? I mean if he was really in to you, would he just take no for an answer? I don’t think so.
My spirits were lifted when he apologized. “It’s been a crazy kind of week but things are settling down, and I want to see you.”
“You do?” My heart fluttered like a butterfly’s wings.
“I do.”
“Good.” I’d come to a recent decision to tell him about the baby. I didn’t want to keep it a secret any longer. Although the baby was still at risk and I was waiting to hear back from the doctor, I wanted to share my fears with him. I needed his strength and his comfort, and I wasn’t afraid anymore. I knew him well enough now to know that he would support me, the baby, and my decision not to terminate, no matter what.
“Will you come for dinner next Friday?” He didn’t wait for a reply. “Maybe after we eat I could take you for a drive and show you the new place.”
“I’d love to. I have some wonderful news to share with you too.”
“You made partner?”
“I’ll tell you on Friday.” My hands were damp as I clung to the phone. “So, you’re pretty much ready to move?”
“Yes, the house I was building isn’t going to be ready for some time, so I bought the model with the furniture.”
“That’s wonderful, Jed. I’m so glad everything turned out well for you.” I meant it with all my heart. He deserved happiness. “You got the kids and kept your business. And Alex has agreed to rehab?”
“Yes,” he said. “I want Alexei in the children’s life. I want them to know their mother, and to love and respect her. As long as she gets the help she needs and cleans up her act she can have the kids for holidays. But she has to prove herself first.”
“That’s fair.”
He sighed. “I still can’t believe I didn’t know that I was married to a coke-head. I thought she was just skinny because she dieted all the time, and with her dancing and gym activities she should have been thin. What an idiot I was.”
“No, you are not. You’re one of the good guys and you deserve the best.”
He paused. “You sound as if you’re saying good-bye.”
“I do?” I swallowed hard. “I didn’t mean to sound like that, but I know when you move things will be different and I probably won’t see as much of you.”
Which is just as well, all things considered. I was getting way too fond of him for my own good.
He didn’t reply to that. “So, I’ll see you on Friday?”
Friday was six days away, and suddenly I didn’t want to wait. I wanted to blurt out the truth and tell him we were having a baby. Perhaps a part of me wanted to hold on to him and was sad at the thought of letting him go.
I bucked up. “Yup. You cooking?”
“I am. And I’m not that bad.”
“Will the kids be home? I’d like to see them again before you move.” Why was this so hard. I felt like a heavy weight had been attached to my heart.
“They would love to see you too.” He cleared his throat but his voice still didn’t come out the same. “You know, Lydia. I think if we had met under different circumstances, maybe years younger when we were both starting out, before we got so God damn jaded, I think you and I could really have been something.”
My breath caught in my throat. I thought so too. If I had met him instead of Kevin, or Stephen, and if he hadn’t married Alexei, and if his mother hadn’t deserted him as a kid, well, maybe there would have been some hope for us.
“Yes,” I said softly. “I know what you mean.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Monday after work I was in the Jag, and the girls were behind me in the van. I stopped to chat with the security guard, flashed him my sister’s business card from when she worked as an interior decorator.
“I’m here to see Marcia Holmes. I’m her decorator, and she gave me a key.”
“What did you say your name was, Ma’am?”
I told him, and he looked it up on his sheet. “I’m sorry, but she didn’t leave word to let you in.”
“I have some plants and drapes to deliver. That van behind me is loaded with her things, and the three of us drove down from Palm Beach to get this work done. I promised Marcia her window treatments would be hanging by the time she got home.”
“I’m real sorry, but I can’t allow you access in.”
I smiled. “Here, why don’t I just call her, and you can speak with her yourself.”
I flipped open my phone and dialed Susie’s cell. “Hi, Marcia, this is Lydia speaking. I’m at your gate but the security guard won’t let us through because you forgot to leave our names. Could you speak with him, please?”
I held out the phone to the guard. “Marcia would like to speak with you.”
I watched him verify the information with the women he believed to be Marcia. From my rear-view mirror, I saw Susie holding the cell and conversing. Fran had a hand over her mouth, I presume to stop from laughing aloud.
The guard handed me back the phone and waved the three of us through.
It was already dusk when we pulled up to her place. Fran and Susie were dressed in T-shirts and jeans, their work ensemble, while I, the professional decorator, wore my business suit. The three of us hauled the long ladder behind the building, locating her window. I hoped nobody below her was home. So far, both apartments were dark.
We stretched the twenty foot ladder and leaned it up against what we hoped was her bedroom window, securing it the best we could.
“What if she comes out on her patio and sees the ladder?” Susie asked.
“I don’t think she’ll come out in the dark. And if she does she’ll hopefully be looking at her view, not the wall next to her.” I spoke with more confidence than I felt. How were we going to pull this off? And how ridiculous we’d all look if we got caught.
Fran said, “Who’s going up there? It looks a little jiggly to me.”
“I will. I’m the one who needs to nail their asses.”
“You can’t,” Susie said. “You’re accident-prone and with your luck, you’d fall.” She added, “I’ll go.”
Susie didn’t know I was pregnant, only Fran did. We exchanged glances and Fran nodded.
“That’s real nice of you, Susie
.” Fran said quickly. “Besides, Lydia can’t possibly go up that ladder, dressed in her suit.”
I felt bad having somebody else do my dirty work. “Will you be safe?” I asked her.
“Are you kidding me?” Susie grinned. “I used to do ballet and gymnastics as a kid. I have great balance, and,” she made a face, “I’ll get to see what the two of them do together and give you a blow by blow report.”
Fran blushed, and I snickered. “Charming.”
We had to wait an hour before we saw the lights go on.
Fran pinched my arm. I squealed and Susie shushed me.
I whispered, “What did you do that for?”
“I’m just so nervous. How long should we give them, do you think?”
“I think Susie should start climbing now, and get into position.” I turned to her. “Go slow, all right?”
She slung the camera around her neck, and put her foot on the first rung. “Sure, but don’t worry, there’s nothing to it.”
We were quiet as Susie began to climb. The only sounds came from a few night creatures, the rustling of fronds from the massive palms, and the water from the canal, lapping behind us.
When Susie reached the top rung, she glanced down at us, and gave us the thumbs up.
After a long wait, ten minutes or more, she began to wave excitedly. I wished she’d stop waving and hold the hell on.
“Something’s up,” I told Fran calmly, feeling anything but calm.
“I hope she gets her pictures quick, and gets down here soon. This is making me nervous.”
“Me, too.”
Susie snapped a picture, and we saw the flash. She snapped another one, along with another flash. And so on.
“Holy shit. We forgot about the damn flash. Do you think they’ll see it?”
The patio door opened, and Fran and I dashed under the overhang.
“Who’s out there?” We heard Ted’s voice.
We looked up and saw Susie, frozen on the ladder. She was half way down.
“Nobody’s here.” Ted called out to Marcia.
She stepped out. “I saw something flashing. I tell you somebody’s here. I know it.”
Susie jumped, landing on her feet, next to us. “Ouch.” She winced. “I think I twisted my ankle.”
We could barely make out Marcia’s head peering over the edge. “Who’s there? Speak up.”
We stayed quiet.
“Go downstairs,” she ordered Ted. “See who it is.”
I pushed Fran, and whispered, “Run. I’ll get Susie to the car. Take the van and leave.”
“But the ladder…”
“We’ll buy another one. Go.”
She took off and I put my arm around Susie, supporting her as she limped around the side of the building to the car. We watched until Ted ran in the opposite direction, then scrambled to the Jag. I helped her in, slammed the door behind her, turned the ignition, and gunned it.
The Jaguar squealed out of the parking lot and I was so proud of it. At a time like this it was worth every penny.
After we safely made our getaway, I turned to Susie. “You okay? Do you need me to take you to Emergency?”
“No, I just twisted it. I’ll ice it when I get home and it’ll be better by morning.” She grinned. “Wait ’till you see what I got on film.”
“Tell me, tell me!” I glanced at her flushed face. “They were going at it, were they?”
“Even better.”
“Come on. Don’t keep me in suspense.”
“Oh, it’s juicy, but I want to wait for Fran. She needs to hear this too.”
“Okay, call her up, and see if she’ll meet us at the Candy Bar. We’re all in this together. Let’s go celebrate.”
A half hour later we were sitting at a high-top table, Candy had joined us, and Susie was telling us what took place.
“I heard Marcia tell Ted to take his clothes off and lie on the bed. She left the room while he undressed, and when he was butt-ass naked, down he went. Then Marcia came in.”
I prodded. “And? Was she naked too?”
“Not quite. She had a black bra and panties on, plus a garter belt and high heels.” She paused for a moment. “And then…I saw her strapping something on.”
“Oh, my God!” My mouth fell open.
“No, you don’t mean…?” Fran gasped, covering her mouth.
“Yup. And when she got to the bed she took something from under the pillow.” Susie’s eyes were shining as she looked at us. “Scarves. She bound him with scarves.”
“No shit.” I couldn’t help but smirk.
“No shit.” She grinned. “I captured it on film.”
“It’s so sick and twisted. I love it.” I thought for a second. “I think I’ll let him know I left a ladder at their place, and let him figure it out. Maybe I’ll tell him that he can keep the negatives if he retracts his statement.”
“That’s a good idea. I’m sure he’ll be only to happy to talk to us.” Candy raised an eyebrow. “Invite him here. I can’t wait to see his reaction when he recognizes me.”
* * *
The following night, Ted was with the ladies for happy-hour drinks. He saw Candy behind the bar.
“Who is that?”
“Who do you mean?” I asked innocently.
“The lady in the straw hat, serving drinks. She looks like someone who came to interview me.”
“Really?” I called her over. “Candy, do you recognize this young man?”
“Sure,” she drawled, putting a hand on her hip. “He’s the virgin.”
We all laughed, and Ted blushed crimson. He obviously realized that the game was up because he spilled his guts. “Marcia put me up to that. I told her the whole idea was stupid.”
“Do you do everything Marcia asks?”
“No, of course not.” He sat up straight. “I’ve never met anyone like her. I mean she’s bossy and everything, but I kind of like that.”
“I’m sure the two of you are a match made in heaven.” I pulled out the camera. “Does she know about the ladder and that we have you both on film?”
“I haven’t told her yet.”
I pulled out a tape recorder. “If you don’t want these pictures to go public and have our senior partners made aware of them, then I want you to confess in this taped conversation that you lied, and that the sexual harassment suit was a hoax.”
“I’ll tell the truth, I swear. Nobody can see those pictures. I’d be ruined.”
“Yes, just like you tried to ruin me.”
“It was all Marcia’s idea. She doesn’t want you to make partner. She wanted you fired.”
My stomach settled for the first time all day. “That, Ted, is exactly what I wanted to hear.”
* * *
The following morning I had a meeting with Hal and a couple senior partners.
“This is a serious allegation, Lydia. How do you want to respond?”
“By laughing my head off?” I quipped.
“Don’t be flip. If you said anything, did anything, as innocent as it may have been, we’d like to know. Can you think of anything at all that could be misconstrued as a sexual advance?”
“Ordering up a pizza when we were working late?”
“Let’s talk about some of those times. Where were you on the night of July 10th? July 28th? August 2nd? Can you remember those dates at all?”
I crossed my legs, folding my hands over my knees. “Not really. Why, should I?”
“Ted alleges they were the nights he was forced to sleep with you.”
I laughed. “Forced? Oh, please. Do I look so desperate I would force that foolish young man into my bed?” I held up my hands. “No, wait. Don’t answer that.”
“We would like for you to settle this, Lydia. It would be in the company’s best interest.”
I took my time opening my brief-case, pulling out the tape recorder, clicking it on.
I flashed a courtroom smile. “I think you might want to listen to this.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Friday finally arrived, and I was in a very melancholy mood as I dressed for my good-bye dinner with Jed and his kids. I showered and shaved, then inspected my body in a mirror. Unless a person knew me intimately and well, they might not notice the change. My breasts were only slightly rounder, fuller, and my tummy that had always been concaved, was now softer, gently plump. But that small difference could be attributed to having a month off with little activity. A holiday weight gain. I still didn’t look pregnant. Actually, I looked fabulous.
I dressed in a pair of flowered Tommy Bahamas Capri’s that were loose and attractive, a V-necked top, and a strappy pair of sandals that were simply irresistible. I scrunched my hair into a messy French roll, applied a lip-liner, some bronze shadow, and a dash of cheek color.
Jed whistled when he saw me. “Wow!” He kissed my cheek. “Come in, Beautiful.”
I looked behind me, and he laughed.
“Yes, you.” He took my hand, and a tiny protected part of my heart melted at the touch.
He led me into the room, and I stood for a minute just smiling at him. Then the aroma of delicious food got to me.
Wrinkling my nose, I sniffed the air. “Wow. Holy cow. What are you cooking? It smells incredible. Do you usually cook like this for your kids?”
I saw the table set for two.
“Where are they?” I asked, looking around, listening for sounds coming from the bedroom. “Aren’t they here? I was hoping to see them.”
His eyes dropped to the floor and he shuffled his feet.
“What, no kids?” I gave him a half smile. “Is this another one of your ploys to get me into bed?”
He raised a brow. “Only if you’re willing.”
I laughed. “God, you just don’t give up.”
“That wasn’t the real reason, although I admit I wouldn’t say no.” He slid his fingers through mine. “I was worried if I told you the kids were at their grandma’s you wouldn’t come. And I wanted to see you again.”
That shut me up. He was right. I wanted him physically, and maybe even on a deeper connection, and yet I constantly pushed him away.
The Candy Bar Complete - 4 book box set: Candy Bar Series Page 20