How dare him, Amber seethed. How dare he have lunch with another woman! Damn, or does she allow this behavior? Does she trust him? She used to. But she knew, deep down inside her soul, Amber knew something just didn’t feel quite right. Eduardo and this Stacey Somers; their friendship, their proper acquaintance, their former association, their close profession—screamed misrepresentation.
As soon as she hung up the phone with Jackie, Amber ran to the shower and began her long process of bringing her husband to his knees.
Amber was on her way up to the twenty-fifth floor of the Avenue of the Stars building, the suite that housed Aldridge & Watson. She was inside an elevator and began to admire herself in the shiny golden reflection staring back at her. She smiled, because she knew she looked amazing. Summer was in full bloom and it was hot and humid outside. Amber enjoyed a full length tan from sunning herself outside by her pool daily. She had been a Golden Goddess; her long black hair freed and draped alongside her shapely shoulders. The excellence of her white linen halter dress enhanced her impeccable breasts. Her legs, tone and smooth, not a flaw or nick from the razor from shaving her legs in a huff. White spaghetti strapped Jimmy Choo’s, at least an inch high, something she never wore because of her self-consciousness about her five foot eleven frame. But she was on a mission; the destruction of Stacey Somers, ammunition enough to blow her petite little ass outta the water.
Amber calmly opened up the suite to the reception area. So many memories dashed inside her head. She had forgotten she had not stepped into the place since the night of the suicide attempt. Bittersweet memories surfaced immediately, times when she wasn’t able to touch him, only allowed to chat with him in the office or in the hallways and only then for a few short moments.
Amber went straight through the entrance door without formerly announcing herself and headed straight toward her husband’s office. She eyed Jackie first and was just about to ask her where Eduardo was when a familiar voice broke through her concentration.
“There is a God and he loves me.”
Amber didn’t bother to turn around…Awe, Gordon Daggert, still the same cocky bull. Amber slowly twisted around and caught Gordon’s wonder. Still the dusty blond hair but shaved his mustache since the last time she’d see him, piercing baby-blue’s. He looked...charming for some reason...cuter than she used to think. Then again, she only had eyes for one man. “Unbelievable you haven’t been arrested.”
Gordon laughed, “Me? Why? What for?”
“Sexual harassment,” Amber let go wickedly.
Gordon chuckled at the notion, “Key there is to always leave them satisfied.”
Amber rolled her eyes and smiled. Gordon always reminded her of her husband and his smug attitude. “You keep telling yourself that, Sparky.”
Gordon sure did miss Amber, she was one girl who could always give as good as she got. “You still look stunning,” Gordon stood amazed and brought his eyes up and down Amber’s tall gorgeous frame. “I thought for a moment that I’d have to propose, Mrs. Sanchez.”
Amber beamed and eyed Jackie—who, by the way had a crush on Gordon for as long as she could remember—come alive in the corner of her eye. “Why thank you sir.”
“No—I mean you look absolutely astounding.”
“Again, I thank you,” Amber replied, winking at Jackie behind Gordon.
Gordon turned to look at whom Amber was grinning at. The two ladies exchanged mischievous glares, “What are you girls up to? Can I come along?” Gordon asked, wanting every part of Amber against his mouth.
The two woman laugh, how’d he know? “His door was closed; you didn’t tell him did you?” Amber asked Jackie, who was now nodding her head.
“Oh—no, they left about fifteen minutes ago,” Jackie said, standing directly beside Gordon now.
Gordon gazed down at Jackie looking up at him. “You two are up to no good, aren’t you?” He smiled, presenting Jackie with an ardent grin.
Jackie blushed, “Can you tell?”
Gordon gazed over at Amber again. “Oh yah—Amber is dressed to kill,” he said, eating her with his eyes again. “So where do you ladies want to eat? My treat,” he let go, holding out his elbows for them to put their hands through; the semi-gentleman he thought he was.
Amber thought about it for a moment. She wanted to catch her husband in the act of something, but that something was still just a presumption, and now, Gordon wanted to come along? Did he already know something? But what did he know? Gordon better come along, she would need his good looks and attraction in her corner if...Good Lord, if her husband was truly cheating on her!
“The Four Seasons,” Jackie quietly voiced.
“A hotel,” Amber questioned in disbelief.
Jackie lowered her eyes, “Yes.”
The fuckin’ Four Seasons? Amber thought, incredulous.
Gordon noted the impassioned look on Amber’s face. This was turning out to be a helluva day!
As soon as they all sat down, Amber eyed all the patrons and there was no sight of her husband and some blond. “Are you sure they’re here?” A displeasing sinking feeling entered her heart. Were they already upstairs in a room?
“There he is,” Jackie said hushing her voice down, pointing in an easterly direction.
Amber turned her head around. He sure was…Eduardo and some blond. Her flaxen hair pulled back into a power pony-tail, ideal for the smart woman on the go. She was pretty too, a lovely little thing and come to think of it, she was kinda Playboy-hot with a sultry look—blond with a brain—his former ‘unique’ type. Goddamn him! But she still had to give her husband the benefit of the doubt. What if they were just discussing work? Going over case studies…their point of attack on a case they were working on?
Gordon noted Amber’s curious expression. “Stacey Somers, have you met her yet?”
“No,” she quickly relayed, turning her head back around.
Gordon laughed under his breath. “She’s a bitch.”
Amber turned to look in to Gordon’s blue eyes, “Really?”
“Oh—yah, she’s hell on wheels. I tried to hit on her the first week she was here but she doused my fire real quick. She’s unattainable.”
Unattainable…Amber thought, rolling her eyes. She knew that word all too well. Oh hell, Amber was really livid now! Eduardo loved that challenge. His commanding prurient nature was probably swelling him to mass proportions as they spoke. Amber clinched her linen napkin and began to practically rip it apart.
Gordon looked across at Eduardo with Stacey and then quickly back at Amber and her visible lack of confidence. He immediately came up with a plan and decided to come to her rescue and spilled a glass of water onto Jackie’s lap causing an overreacting woman to spring up from her seat and make a spectacle of herself. It worked. Faces all around them began to look toward the hubbub.
Amber remained calm and didn’t look his way. If Eduardo was going to look in the direction of the turmoil, then Amber was definitely not going to make it appear that she was spying on him…Even though she was.
When her heart began to pound out of control, Amber knew that her husband had been approaching. She could always tell when he was around or in close proximity.
“What’s going on?”
Amber casually gazed up at him. The blond was nowhere in sight. How convenient. “Well hello there, aren’t you going to say hello to your wife?”
Eduardo appeared confused. A deer caught in the headlights; stiff and unresponsive. “I would when she tells me what she’s doing here,” he voiced, giving a quick look over at Jackie. Jackie gazed away and rolled her eyes then crossed her arms.
“I came by and met Jackie for lunch. Gordon’s just trimming.”
Gordon laughed and then his amusement was diminished by Eduardo’s cold hard stare. Asshole, serves him right for spending so much time with that blanched siren.
“Can I speak with you alone?”
Gordon stood up and grabbed Jackie’s hand. “Com’on swee
tie, the lovebirds need a moment.”
Jackie walked away with him and her heart thumped with glee.
“I was in the middle of lunch Eduardo...Oh; by the way, what are you doing here? I didn’t know you practiced eating alone,” Amber offered, looking around him and toward his empty table and seat. “You should have called me; I could have met you here as well.” Just then, Amber stood up and made sure her husband got an eyeful of her glamorous attire.
He did all right. Eduardo brought his eyes down to her shoes then suddenly elevated up to her hazel mockery. Eduardo duly noted his wife dripped in jewels; his presents of romance on her wrists, fingers, draped all around her neck and hanging down from her ears. Every single Harry Winston bauble he ever bought her. What the hell was the special occasion?
Before he even opened his mouth, Amber blurted, “They’re for armor,” she jested, adjusting her five-carat diamond solitaire on her wedding finger first then dangling her diamond tennis bracelet around her wrist, “Nothing like coming to Beverly Hills without showing off how big my husband’s dick is.”
Boy, she knew him too well. And then suddenly, his heart dropped. Amber was dressed to impress on purpose. To what design, and for what intent? What does she think she knows and determined to find out? Good God, he’d better get his libido under control!
Amber studied his facial expression for a moment. The downward curvature of his lower lip gave him away. He was caught. But in what, she didn’t quite know just yet. Was it the beginning of a temptation? She could almost bet on it. “Don’t play me for a fool husband, I know you like the back of my hand. Now, I’m going to give you a kiss and send you back to work—and that’s work little boy. Keep your zipper up and everything will be just fine. I’ll see you at home.”
Amber purposely flipped her hair away from her bronzed shoulders and walked away and noted all the curious Beverly Hills gossip mongrels and made sure every one of them caught an eyeful of her glorious departure.
Eduardo’s emotions were turmoil. His wife left in a skilled moment. Good God, Amber looked every bit of phenomenal. What was the Goddamn fascination with Stacey anyhow? Was it because he’s never bedded her before and he was still so curious on what that felt like? But he knew what it felt like to bed women he’s desired before, what was so Goddamn special about Stacey? All sexual urges toward other women were supposed to cease and desist once you were married to the woman of your dreams. Or was he simply human after all? Amber was his true love, the woman he’s always wanted and would practically die for—did die for, rolled over, made a fool of himself over—why was he so Goddamn interested in Stacey Somers anyhow?
Chapter ELEVEN
Eduardo was sent out of town again; only this time the big boss insisted on Stacey going along as well to help with the contracts. On the case in Sacramento, they stayed at the five-star luxury Hyatt Regency hotel directly across from the state capitol, but their rooms were stationed down the hall from each other; temptation, only fifteen feet away.
“How about a nightcap?”
“No, I’m going to go over some notes I made today while in court.”
“Oh com’on, you can do those tomorrow, you look tense, you look like you could use a drink.”
Stacey waited exactly thirty minutes before she walked down the corridor thirty steps towards his room. She knew he had been inside. She had left him only thirty minutes prior right after being dropped off by their town car. Thirty minutes was really all it was going to take to spin her plan into motion…thirty minutes was all it was going to take to get Eduardo Sanchez into bed. If he were interested, he would take the temptation. If he were still interested…
All during the negotiations she had studied his eyes, inspected his speech and scoped out his body movement for any tell tale signs of being still engrossed. Had she been reading all his interest wrong? Whenever he looked at her, his eyes would always gaze down at her lips; did that mean he wanted to kiss her? She would oftentimes catch him checking out her bottom while she walked away; did that mean he was trying to imagine what it was like to be in bed with her? Was she reading too much into it? Was his curiosity just past tense or in the present?
Stacey’s blue eyes widened and pulled Eduardo’s chain. He was captivated by her allure again and his salacious nature peeked. “One drink wench,” he teased, taking off his coat first as he walked across to her room.
Stacey walked over to the bar. Two wineglasses had already been conveniently set out with a bottle of open wine and Eduardo took note of them.
“Expecting company?” He asked, watching her pour white zinfandel into a glass.
She grinned, “You, of course.”
“What makes you so sure of yourself?” He asked huskily.
“Because the last few months have been torture for both of us,” Stacey decidedly said.
“Maybe for you,” Eduardo spat out, grinning. Stacey swallowed the fun and continued, “…And knowing you as well as I do, you wouldn’t pass up this chance of being with me.”
“So certain, I see,” he said, lowering his eyes to her bosom by mistake.
Stacey watched him intently as he did so, “Just determining the facts sir and as I read them...you can’t wait to kiss me.”
Eduardo gulped. It was true, he wanted to. But Good God, he loved Amber so. He stood his ground a few steps away from her however, fighting the urge to grab her into his arms and kiss the hell out of her lips and continued to debate it. He’s had women before throw themselves at him, remaining calm was easy for him. It was like riding a bike and he rather enjoyed toying with her affections. He rather liked having the tables being turned. “It can wait,” he confessed, reaching over to the table and grabbing his glass of zinfandel. The irony quenched his thirst like a jug of Gatorade.
Stacey watched him keenly, and maybe just a little bit discouraged as Eduardo sipped his wine. What else could she try? She was already wearing next to nothing! Should she just jump on him? Strip for him? Unzip his zipper and start to play with it? Good heavens, she never did those things to her husband…why did she feel so naughty when around Eduardo? She required him intoxicated, maybe that would work. A little alcohol to mix up one’s judgment was always a no brainer and used one too many times as a recognized excuse for adultery and her own pretext for recent sexual encounters. She had to keep him inside her room a little while longer or at least long enough for a second glass of wine. “You were brilliant, by the way.”
Eduardo turned to look at her first before walking away to peek out of the window, “In what way?”
Stacy poured herself another glass of wine, “In the way you handled the settlement negotiations,” she said, pausing to take a sip; then to lower down her glass, “I would have never thought to reduce my percentage rate to seize any deal. One’s perception is to always offer higher to make one’s goal.” Stacey stood her ground directly across from him; her feet spread apart in a flirty sort of stance as she prepared herself for nearly anything and started with feeding his ego. Stacey did think of his same angle early on but opted to stay null to watch her colleague spin his magic so that she could possibly secure a green light for her true objective—which was to get him into bed.
Eduardo smiled to himself, that was his original plan but then came up with another when the opposing attorney let it slip that his client had been hurting for money. Offering a lower amount had always been Plan B. “This negotiation could have been handled via e-mail or over the phone if you ask me,” he suddenly said, acting as if he were about to leave. But he then continued to sip his wine and gazed out at the view of the lights surrounding the capitol building through the hotel window.
“A face-to-face negotiation and coming to Sacramento was a good idea Eduardo, there really is no need to second guess our plan when it’s worked out so well.” Stacey noticed his glass was nearly empty and walked over by his side to retrieve it.
Broken Obsession - Part Two Page 8