The Magnate's Tempestuous Marriage

by Miranda Lee

  Their food arrived, hers a simple serving of poached eggs and fried mushrooms on toast whilst Scott was presented with a huge pile of pancakes with a side dish of vanilla ice cream. Sarah knew that all conversation would cease till Scott had eaten. Already his whole concentration was on pouring the maple syrup onto the first pancake, his steely grey eyes lighting up as his taste buds salivated.

  Sarah didn’t mind his obsessed state, using the quiet to enjoy her own food, taking her time and washing each delicious mouthful down with some freshly squeezed orange juice. Scott was still eating when she finished, so Sarah put down her cutlery, leant back in her seat and admired her surroundings. It was lovely and warm where they were sitting, the sounds of laughter and rides from Luna Park adding to her happiness.

  And she was happy. Happier than she’d been in her whole life. If anyone had told her she would have felt this happy a little over a week ago, she would not have believed them.

  And it wasn’t just because of the baby. Or babies, if it turned out she was having twins. Her happiness came from the new depth of understanding that she’d forged with Scott. She felt confident now that their marriage would go the distance. And that was very important to her, especially now that she was having a baby. She personally didn’t want to ever suffer the wretchedness of divorce. She certainly didn’t want her children to have to endure the distress and loneliness of their parents’ separating.

  There was only one thing that still bothered her a bit, but which she didn’t want to address at this stage. Why risk spoiling things today? But sooner or later she would have to tell Scott that she wanted the father of her children to be a more stay-at-home dad, not going away on business trips all the time with his PA. Weirdly, as though reading her mind, Scott himself brought the subject up over coffee.

  ‘I’ve been thinking,’ he said, ‘that in future, I’m going to cut down on going away on business.’

  ‘I’d really like that,’ Sarah said. ‘It did annoy me how often you were going away. And how you always took Cleo and never asked me,’ she added, trying not to sound jealous, but not entirely succeeding.

  Scott frowned at her. ‘I didn’t think you’d be able to drop everything at your work and come with me.’

  ‘I suppose I can’t. Not always. But I would have liked you to ask occasionally.’

  ‘Point taken. Look, I’m in the process of finding myself a business partner. I was looking for more of a silent money-bags-type partner but instead I’ll look for someone who wants to be more hands-on. That way he can take some of the load off me when it comes to going away. How does that sound?’

  ‘It sounds good,’ she said.

  ‘We’ll also have to buy a proper family home. Can’t raise a family in an apartment. We’ll need a yard. One big enough for a dog. Got to have a dog. I always had a dog when I was growing up. A kid needs a dog.’

  ‘I always wanted a dog, but Mum refused to get one. Said they dropped hair all over the place.’

  ‘We’ll find one that doesn’t drop hair.’

  ‘Gosh, this is all so exciting. Can we go look at some family homes this afternoon?’

  ‘Nope. Once you finish your coffee we’re going home. And then we’re going to bed.’

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  ‘WHERE ARE YOU GOING?’ Scott asked when Sarah suddenly threw back the bedclothes and climbed out of bed.

  They’d made love on and off all afternoon, Scott being extra gentle, Sarah laughing at his worry over disturbing the babes. Nothing too athletic or too deep was the order of the day.

  ‘But they wouldn’t be the size of two peas yet,’ she told him at one stage when she’d wanted to be on top. ‘And there might only be one pea.’

  Scott didn’t say anything at the time but he felt absolutely certain that she’d conceived twins, the same way he’d been certain that that diamond mine he’d bought a year ago would prove not to be the worked-out dud everyone else imagined. And he’d been right. Already it was showing a decent profit. Scott believed he was right about Sarah having twins as well. Which thrilled him no end.

  Strange, really. Having children had never been a huge urge for Scott. Neither had marriage, for that matter. But everything had changed once he met Sarah.

  An image formed in his mind of how it would be, standing by Sarah’s side as she pushed two tiny babies into the world. His heart swelled with love at the thought. Love and pride.

  It amazed him how excited he felt about becoming a father, now that it was actually happening to him for real. Scott aimed to give his own children the same things his father had given him. Plenty of time spent with them, a degree of discipline, lots of love and, yes, definitely a dog.

  Not that he planned on spoiling his children. That didn’t work. He’d seen the results of rich parents spoiling their children and it wasn’t pretty.

  So no spoiling, except in matters of time and love. Sarah was right about his cutting down on those business trips, though. Hopefully, Cleo would be able to find him that hands-on business partner before long.

  The bathroom door opened and Sarah emerged, quickly diving back under the covers where she cuddled up to him. This time they just talked, trying to work out what suburbs they would buy a house in.

  ‘I do like the northern beaches,’ he said, ‘but the traffic is always awful. It would take us for ever to get to work.’

  ‘True. But it is nice on the north side, especially the beachside suburbs. Why don’t we look for a suburb which has a good ferry service?’ Sarah suggested. ‘Manly Beach maybe. Then we wouldn’t even have to drive to work. We could catch the ferry together and hold hands.’

  Bringing up the subject of work put a slight dent in Scott’s contentment. The thought of Sarah continuing to work in the same firm as that snake Leighton did not sit well with him. But he just knew she wouldn’t like his asking her to quit again. So he didn’t. Not right at that moment. But he suspected it wouldn’t be long before he said something. He wasn’t the kind of man who would let his wife continue being in the company of a man like that.

  ‘I suppose we should get up,’ Sarah said with a resigned sigh. ‘I need to hang up my clothes properly. We just dumped them on the floor of the walk-in wardrobe, remember?’

  Scott remembered. ‘I’ll help you,’ he said, ‘then we should eat again. I don’t know about you but I’m starving.’

  ‘You’re always starving,’ she said smilingly. ‘But you’re right. I am a bit hungry.’

  ‘That’s because you’re eating for three.’

  Sarah punched him in the ribs. ‘Will you stop saying that? We don’t know it’s twins.’

  ‘No. We don’t. It might be triplets.’

  He laughed at the look of horror that crossed her face.

  ‘Don’t even think such a thing,’ she chastised. ‘Now, no more of that nonsense. Time to get up and get to work.’

  Scott winced. That work word again. Hell on earth, but just the thought of Sarah being anywhere near that bastard brought out his caveman side. Still, it wasn’t the right moment to bring the subject up. She seemed so happy.

  He should have known that he wouldn’t be able to keep his big mouth shut for long.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  ‘HOW ON EARTH did you get all this stuff in your one little car?’ Scott asked her as he helped her put away her clothes properly.

  ‘Fury, I suppose,’ Sarah said with a shrug. ‘I just jammed it all in.’

  ‘You really were very angry with me.’

  Sarah’s mind flew back to that Saturday morning when he’d shown her those photos. It seemed a lifetime ago now. ‘You have no idea,’ she confessed. ‘I could cheerfully have killed you.’

  ‘I deserved killing.’

  ‘Indeed. But perhaps I should have stayed and had it out with you instead of flouncing off the way I did.’ Sarah was finally forced to face that she’d always run away from distressing situations rather than confronting them. Hopefully, she wasn’t going to be like
that any more.

  ‘I think the blame rests wholly and solely on me, my darling,’ he said. ‘I was totally in the wrong.’

  ‘But with mitigating circumstances,’ she said.

  Scott smiled. ‘Spoken like a lawyer. By the way, did you let Cory know the good news?’

  ‘No,’ she said, clearly astonished with herself. ‘I forgot.’

  ‘Better let him know, don’t you think?’

  ‘He can wait till later this evening. It’s only just after five. He’s probably still in the conference, learning how to build some more icons like the Opera House.’

  ‘True. Okay, I’ll go see what I can rustle up for an early dinner whilst you finish up here,’ he suggested.

  ‘Sounds like a good plan.’

  Sarah was humming happily as she put her shoes away in her walk-in wardrobe when she suddenly came across the anniversary present that she’d bought Scott and never given him. She’d originally hidden it at the back of one of the shelves, planning to give it to him on the morning of their anniversary. Now, she picked up the small plastic bag in which lay the even smaller box, her heart filling as she went in search of Scott. She found him perched up on a kitchen stool, searching his phone for something.

  ‘All finished?’ he asked without glancing up.

  ‘Just about,’ she replied, clutching the plastic bag with suddenly nervous hands. What if he didn’t like what she’d bought?

  ‘So what would you like me to order in to eat?’ he asked her, finally looking up. ‘There’s nothing much in the fridge or the cupboards to cook with. I’ve been living the life of a lazy bachelor whilst you were away, not going to the supermarket and existing on takeaway. Thank God for the cleaning service, that’s all I can say, or you’d be coming home to a tip. I was lost without you, my darling. Totally, utterly lost. So what’s it to be? Thai, Chinese, Indian?’

  Sarah’s stomach turned over at the thought of anything spicy. ‘Could we just have toast and pumpkin soup?’ she requested. ‘I know that’s there. And you can follow up with some of your favourite chocolate ice cream. We always have heaps of that in the freezer.’

  ‘Done!’ he said, smiling. ‘So what’s that you have there?’

  ‘It...it’s the anniversary present I bought you. It’s not wrapped up, I’m afraid,’ she added, and walked over to sit down on the stool next to him.

  She handed him the plastic bag and watched, her heart thudding, as he drew out the small black leather box. His eyebrows arched. ‘Jewellery, Sarah?’

  Sarah knew Scott wasn’t a ring-wearer. Had refused to have a wedding ring. But the moment she’d seen this particular ring in the shop window, she’d felt compelled to buy it. Perhaps because it represented the stability and security she’d always experienced with Scott but which had been seriously rocked that day.

  ‘Yes,’ she said, her voice firmer than her emotions. ‘I hope you like it.’

  * * *

  Scott determined to like it, no matter what it was. But when he flipped open the lid of the box and saw what lay inside, liking was not even close to his emotion.

  It was a man’s ring. A gold ring, with an intricately woven design on top that looked like an eight on its side. Scott knew what the sign meant. It was the mathematical symbol of infinity. His father had taught him maths as a kid, drawing all the symbols and signs in the sandy outback soil with a stick. This one had intrigued Scott at the time, his father explaining that the continuous loop meant it never ended.

  ‘But that doesn’t make sense, Dad,’ he’d said. ‘Nothing goes on and on for ever.’

  ‘Numbers do,’ came his father’s logical reply. ‘And space.’

  And true love, Scott thought, a lump in his throat.

  ‘I love it,’ he said as he slipped it on the bare third finger of his left hand, surprised that it fitted. Smiling, he leant over to kiss her on the cheek. ‘It’s perfect. Like you.’

  ‘I’m not at all perfect,’ Sarah replied, smiling back at him. ‘But I do love you. I will love you till the end of time. That’s what this ring represents to me. Our everlasting love.’

  * * *

  When Scott’s face fell Sarah almost panicked. Had she been over the top with her declaration? Didn’t he love her the way she loved him?

  ‘God, Sarah,’ he said, turning the ring round and round on his finger. ‘Now I feel awful. I didn’t buy you anything at all. I forgot. I’m so sorry.’

  ‘It doesn’t matter,’ she said. ‘Presents don’t matter. Not really.’

  ‘I think they do. Getting this lovely present showed me that. I’ll buy you something tomorrow, my darling. Something special. And we’ll go somewhere extra special tomorrow night for dinner.’

  ‘It’ll be Monday night,’ she pointed out. ‘Most of the good restaurants are closed on a Monday night.’

  ‘Yes, you’re right,’ he mused. ‘Tomorrow’s Monday...’

  His eyes carried worry as he looked deep into hers. ‘You won’t reconsider not working for that mob any more? I can’t stand the thought of you being anywhere near that Leighton bastard.’

  Sarah stiffened. She understood completely that Scott didn’t want her working in the same building as Phil. And to tell the truth, she had her doubts about staying at Goldstein & Evans as well, now that she was pregnant. They were a rather gung-ho legal firm who expected their employees to give one hundred and ten per cent. And whilst Sarah was a dedicated lawyer who enjoyed her work, her priorities had changed with her pregnancy. But it was a matter of principle that she go to work the following morning. A matter of her husband trusting her, not of her just doing what he ordered her to do like some old-fashioned chauvinist.

  ‘I’m sorry, Scott,’ she told him soothingly. ‘I understand your feelings entirely. But I will be going to work tomorrow morning. I can’t just up and quit. It would make it very hard for me to get another job. People would think I was flighty and unreliable. But you’re right. I will start looking around for another position, okay?’

  ‘Okay,’ he said with decided reluctance in his voice.

  ‘Trust me,’ she said.

  ‘I do trust you,’ he countered. ‘I just don’t trust Leighton.’

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  DESPITE SARAH ARRIVING at work a good fifteen minutes before the official start time of eight-thirty the next morning, the place was already abuzz, with most of the offices filled with busy, busy people. For the first time since her early days of working at Goldstein & Evans, Sarah experienced a totally negative reaction towards the atmosphere. She didn’t find it heady the way she once had. Just hectic.

  Several people asked her how she was feeling after her week off, but none of the queries seemed sincere, no one actually stopping to speak to her for more than a few seconds as she walked past. It also bothered her that she couldn’t just dump her handbag and head off to the staff room to use the coffee machine the way she usually did. Fear of running into Phil there had forced her to buy herself a takeaway coffee downstairs instead.

  Sarah slumped down at her desk, annoyed with that fear, annoyed with herself for not realising sooner that Phil did fancy her. If she had, she wouldn’t have used his shoulder to cry on whenever Scott went away on business. But she had. Stupidly. She hadn’t encouraged his interest, but she hadn’t discouraged him, either.

  Not that that gave him any excuse to do what he’d done. Had he honestly thought she’d run to him, if and when her marriage broke up? She’d never fancied him. Never! Now she actively hated him, the way she hated her slime bag father and brother. Sarah regretted that she’d never confronted either of them and told them what she thought of them. Instead, they’d got away with the reprehensible way they’d both behaved. She should have at least torn verbal strips off them. Not that it would have dented their consciences one iota. It would have been water off a duck’s back. But at least it would have given her some satisfaction. And made her feel slightly better.

  Phil shouldn’t get away with what he’d done
, either.

  Gripping her large takeaway coffee with both hands, Sarah stood up and walked slowly out into the main corridor, turning right and heading towards the family law section, sipping as she went. Adrenaline had her heart racing, all her inner muscles tightening as she drew closer to Phil’s office.

  His very attractive secretary was at her desk, looking rather smug as usual.

  ‘Is Phil in, Janice?’ Sarah asked politely enough.

  ‘He’s busy,’ she replied sharply as she looked Sarah up and down.

  ‘I need to speak to him,’ Sarah went on. ‘Could you please let him know that I’m here?’

  Just then the door to Phil’s office opened and the man himself walked out, his eyes also running over Sarah, though not with the same hostile regard as his secretary. ‘I thought I heard your voice,’ he said with an oily smile. ‘Did you want to see me?’

  Sarah had no intention of confronting him in front of Janice, so she smiled back at him, hiding the way her skin crawled at his almost lascivious appraisal. Sarah knew she looked good. She always looked good when she came to work. Today’s outfit was a pale pink Chanel suit, matched with a cream silk blouse that had a ruffle framing the pearl-buttoned front, a style that flattered her willowy figure and her fair colouring. Her hair was up in a neat roll and her make-up was perfect, her perfume subtle yet sexy. Elegant pearl drops fell from her neat lobes.

  Sarah didn’t object to men giving her admiring looks but she hated being ogled. Her stomach tightened with rage, but still she smiled.

  ‘Yes, I do want to see you, Phil,’ she said sweetly. ‘I’m in need of some legal advice.’

  His eyes lit up with pleasure, not compassion. ‘Of course, dear girl. Anything for you. Do come in.’ He waved her into his office. ‘Hold all calls, will you, Janice?’

  The back of Sarah’s neck prickled as she walked into the office and Phil closed the door behind her.

  ‘Why don’t we sit over here?’ he said, directing her to a long grey leather sofa that rested against a far wall. His office was one of the largest, his status very high in the firm.