Clapping her hands, Jen exclaimed, “That’s fantastic news, Drew! I hope everything works out for you. It would be great to have you back on the east coast!”
Catherine and Luke happily greeted Drew’s news as well, but Vince stared at him in stony silence before pinching Collette, who was sitting next to him, on the leg and excusing himself from the table. “I’ll be back. I’m just running to the restroom,” Vince said, before kissing Jen on the cheek.
“I’ll be back in a minute too,” Collette said, standing and following Vince downstairs.
As soon as she finished descending the stairs, Vince laced into her. “What the hell am I paying you for? When were you going to tell me he was interviewing for a job in New York?”
Collette trembled, visibly shaken by Vince’s anger. “I knew he was meeting with some old friends at SNN, but I had no idea that it was an interview. This is the first time I heard about it too – he kept it all a secret from me.”
“Your job is to know everything that is going on, to keep me informed, and to keep him away from Jennifer,” Vince seethed. “God damn it, Collette,” he swore, as he punched the wall. “Do I have to do everything myself?”
“Vince, I swear, I’ll figure something out. I promise you, I’ll find a way to keep him in California.”
“You’d better, or else,” he growled, as he turned away and began dialing his phone.
Collette watched Vince ascend the stairs as she paced back and forth, trying to regain her composure. What am I going to do?
“Hey,” Drew said, appearing at her side a moment later. “Are you okay?”
“No, I’m not okay, Drew. You completely blindsided me up there. Are you breaking up with me?”
Drew’s eyes grew wide. “No, of course not. I just wanted to surprise you. Your gift basket business can operate anywhere, and I know how much you like New York. Last time we were here, you said you’d love to live here one day. I really thought you’d be happy and excited about the possibility of moving here.”
“Well, I’m not, okay?” Tears streamed down Collette’s face, as she continued, “You know my whole family is in California, and yours is too. And you know my mom is sick. You can’t just expect me to pick up and follow you across the country without any sort of a commitment, can you?”
“Is that what this is about? A commitment?”
“Isn’t it? You keep finding excuses not to move in with me because you’re afraid of committing to me,” Collette said, challenging him. “You’ve never even told me that you love me.”
Drew hung his head, and stared at the floor, unable to answer her. “I don’t want to have this conversation now. If that’s what you want, let’s talk about it when we get home. Okay?”
“Okay,” Collette agreed. She took a deep breath, and continued, “I’m going to freshen up, and meet you back at the table.”
When Drew returned to the table, Jen asked “What’s going on? Where did Vince and Collette go?”
“I don’t know where Vince is, but Collette is in the ladies room,” he replied. “She’s upset that I didn’t tell her about the interview. I guess I really screwed up again.”
“What are you talking about?” asked Jen.
Looking at Jen, Drew took a large gulp of his wine. “I’m clearly no good at relationships,” he answered.
“Drew, seriously, I don’t get…”
“Let’s just change the subject,” he said, cutting Jen off right before Vince and Collette returned to the table.
Vince sat down, and apologized for his absence. “I had a business emergency on a new deal I’m putting together. Sorry for running out on you,” he said to Jen, kissing her on the cheek.
Luke immediately asked, “Is everything okay? Is there anything I can do?”
Vince shut him down immediately. “This is something I have to handle personally, Luke.”
What I’m more interested in is why Collette left the table at the same time Vince did, Jen thought, as she looked from Vince to Collette, and back to Vince. What is going on with the two of them?
“Are you okay?” Vince asked as they entered their apartment later that evening. “You were silent on the ride home.”
“I’m fine,” she said, tersely.
“Jennifer,” Vince said, catching her by the arm as she tried to pass him on the way to the library. “Something is clearly wrong. Talk to me.”
Shaking him loose, she continued walking down the hallway, with Vince following in her wake. “Jennifer,” he said, dragging out every syllable of her name, as he followed her into the library.
“Sit,” she commanded, while remaining on her feet.
Taken aback by her tone, Vince first poured himself a measure of cognac, before sinking down onto one of the leather sofas.
Jen tried to gather her strength. Taking a deep breath, she asked, “What is your relationship with Collette?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’ve seen you two involved in some heated conversations in the past, and you went downstairs together at the restaurant tonight. Is there something I should know about your relationship with her?”
Vince’s blood ran cold, surprised by the jealousy in Jen’s voice. “There is nothing ‘going on’ between us, Jennifer, if that is what you are asking.”
“Well, it certainly doesn’t look that way, Vince. Every time we see Collette, the two of you get into some intense discussions.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Really? Let me refresh your memory. I saw the two of you arguing at Catherine and Luke’s wedding. At the brunch after our wedding, the two of you were huddled together in a corner having another lengthy, serious-looking conversation. And then tonight, you followed her downstairs,” she said. “What was going on down there? And what is going on between the two of you?”
Shit. Fuck. Goddamn it, she never misses a thing. Trying to bide his time and hide his fear, he took a deep sip from his drink. “We both had to use the restroom. After I was done down there, I stepped outside to use my phone and handle the business emergency.”
Jen glared at her husband in disbelief. “Let me ask you again: what is your relationship with Collette? Is there something I should know about?”
Vince’s patience with his wife was wearing thin, but at the same time he knew he had to give her some sort of an answer. “Come, sit with me,” he said, patting the seat next to him, before rising and pouring her a snifter of hazelnut liqueur. He handed her the drink, and returned to his seat next to her. He took a deep breath, before offering an explanation. “Jennifer, I have a confession to make. You’re right, there is something going on between Collette and me, but it’s not what you think.”
“What are you talking about?”
Taking another deep breath, Vince attempted to look contrite. “Sometimes, when people meet me, they think they can ask me for money, and that I’ll just write them a blank check. The first time I met Collette, at Catherine and Luke’s wedding, she did that.”
“She asked you for money?”
“Yes, she asked me for $100,000 to invest in her business,” Vince lied.
“I can’t believe she had the nerve to do that,” Jennifer said, taken aback. “Did she really think you would give it to her?”
“Apparently she did think that,” Vince offered. “That’s probably the conversation you witnessed. I turned her down, of course, because I didn’t become a successful investor by just handing checks out to people.” He took a deep sip from his drink before continuing, “She was persistent, though, and sent me her business plan. Once I read it over, it seemed like it might be a worthwhile, albeit small, investment. So I told her at our rehearsal dinner that I’d give her the money, and I handed her the check at the brunch following our wedding.”
It was Jen’s turn to take a sip from
her drink while digesting Vince’s explanation. “Why didn’t you ever tell me about your business relationship with Collette?”
“Because we didn’t want you and Drew to feel uncomfortable. It might have led to some awkward moments.”
“Like tonight wasn’t awkward enough?”
“I think Collette is probably concerned about what will happen to her if Drew gets the job at SNN and decides to move to New York,” Vince answered. “It wasn’t right of him to spring that news on her at the dinner table like that.”
Jen wrinkled her brows, and had to agree with Vince on that note. “You’re right, Vince. But what about the secret Collette is keeping from Drew? That’s not right either.”
“Well,” Vince said, exhaling in relief, “now that you know, I guess there is no harm in Drew knowing about it too.” He picked up his cell phone and dialed a number. “Collette,” he said, “it’s Vince Moscolo. I just told Jennifer about my investment in your gift basket business. Since it’s no longer a secret, I guess you should let Drew know as well.” He hung up, explaining, “I got her voice mail.” Placing his phone down on a side table, he moved closer to Jennifer, taking her into his arms. “Are we okay now?”
“I guess,” Jen replied, distracted. “It explains a lot, but I just wish you hadn’t kept all of this from me.”
“I’m sorry, my love,” Vince said, stroking her hair. “I just did what I thought was best for everyone.”
CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE
The tension was palpable in the offices of Penn Worldwide Investments during the months of September, October and November, as Vince was determined to buy as many shares of the Sports News Network as he could, in an attempt to take over the board of directors and block the production of the new show Sports Morning.
In the meantime, Collette kept Vince apprised of the status of Drew’s continued meetings and interviews with the network, while at the same time trying to convince Drew that a move to New York might not be best for him and his family.
While working on the SNN deal, Vince had essentially frozen Luke out, refusing to allow any of the staff that was working on the deal to discuss it with him, explaining to anyone who asked that he couldn’t chance any sort of a leak about his plan to take over the network. I especially can’t have Jennifer find out about my plan to sabotage Drew’s possible return to New York. If she found out, she would never forgive me, he reasoned, as he caught a glimpse of the framed photo of his wife on his desk. I’m taking over the network in order to safeguard my marriage.
Vince commuted back and forth to Southampton on the weekends by helicopter, and sometimes one or two nights during the week as well. Jen had all but stopped commuting into the city, explaining to Vince that it didn’t make sense because he was so consumed by the “secret deal” he was working on that he ignored her when she was there. “If you can get away and want to spend time with me, instead of in your office, I’m just a half hour away by helicopter,” she explained. “But I can’t ignore my own business and travel into the city just to sit around waiting and hoping that you’ll emerge from your office sometime before midnight.”
Much to her surprise, Vince understood, but insisted that if he took the time during the week to fly out to Southampton to be with her, then she had to give him her full attention and be completely available to him.
On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, Jen woke up early to go for a run. She tried to slip out of bed without waking Vince, who had arrived by helicopter late the previous evening. As she quietly peeled the covers off herself, he stirred and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her back towards him. “You’re not going anywhere,” he growled.
“I’m sorry I woke you,” she replied. “You must be exhausted after getting out here so late last night.”
“I’m tired, but I don’t need sleep,” he said, as he ran his fingers over the thin satin material that covered her body. Pushing her short nightgown up and over her breasts, he lowered his head, taking a nipple into his mouth and teasing it with his tongue. “I need you,” he whispered.
“You have me, Vince. I’m all yours,” Jen whispered back, as she removed her nightgown and wrapped her long legs around her husband’s torso.
But if Drew came back to New York, would you really be all mine? Sometimes I think you’re anything but mine, Vince thought, as he held his young wife. “I just want you to know that everything I do, I do for you, and for us,” he said. “Always remember that.”
“I will,” she promised.
Vince shifted his weight so he was on top of Jen, brushing the hair away from her face before kissing her. “I need you so much,” he said. His mouth traveled from her lips to her ear, where he paused to whisper, “I love you,” before sucking and nibbling at her earlobe.
“Oh, God,” she moaned, as she was consumed by pleasure. “That feels so good. I love you too.”
He reached between her legs and felt that she was ready for him. In a quick movement that took her breath away, Vince pushed himself deep inside her, pounding away at her until his body stiffened and he climaxed with a grunt, collapsing on top of her.
Vince abruptly stood up, explaining that he had a lot of work to do. He disappeared into the shower, and after drying off and dressing, he said that he would be in his home office if she needed him. “Just make sure you knock on the door before you come in,” he reminded her. “I don’t like it when anyone, even you, disturbs me when I’m working without knocking first.”
Before leaving his office building the previous night, Vince packed up the white box marked “Jennifer” that he kept in his locked desk drawer. The box contained all the files and surveillance he had compiled on Jen and Drew’s relationship, the laptop he used to communicate with Collette and his investigators both in New York and San Francisco, the checkbook he used to pay Collette and the private investigators, and, most importantly, his personal journal.
Vince had planned to work from Southampton during the Thanksgiving holiday because his office was being re-decorated, and he did not want to leave the box in his office while he was away, in case he needed access to the files or the laptop. No one can ever find out about this, he said to himself, as he checked to make sure the box was still in the cabinet behind his desk, where he hid it after arriving at the house late the previous evening.
Not able to resist, he pulled out his favorite of all the files he had compiled on his wife. As he leafed through the photos of Jennifer unconscious and tied to her bed, he reminded himself that everything he was doing was for her, and for their marriage. I can’t lose her now, he thought, as he put those photos away and pulled out another file containing photos of Jen and Drew running together on one of her recent business trips to San Francisco. I can’t lose her to him, he said to himself, as he shoved the file back into the box and placed the box back in the cabinet, before picking up the phone and delving back into his takeover of SNN.
On the morning of their first wedding anniversary, Jen rose early, and quietly turned over in bed, being careful not to wake Vince. He’s been working such long hours lately, she thought as she looked over at her sleeping husband. I’d hate to wake him. Wrapping her robe around her, Jen tip-toed out of their bedroom and down the stairs to the kitchen, where she slipped the strata she had prepared the previous night into the oven to bake. After brewing a pot of coffee, she poured herself a cup and walked over to the large window that looked out over the back yard at Fair Fields, where a light dusting of snow had fallen overnight, turning the property into winter wonderland.
Sipping her coffee, Jen reflected on her and Vince’s first year of married life. More than ever, she knew that she had made the right decision in marrying her husband. Despite his controlling nature, Jen knew that Vince loved her. And I love him right back.
She was startled when Vince slipped his arms around her waist, and asked, “A penny for your thoughts?”
Turning around
, Jen smiled broadly at Vince. “Just thinking about how much I love you, and how happy we are,” she said, before kissing him. “Happy anniversary.”
“Happy anniversary, my love,” Vince replied, holding Jen close. He inhaled the aroma coming from the oven and smiled. “Are you cooking breakfast?”
“Your favorite strata, with cheddar, sausage and mushrooms,” Jen said, smiling at her husband, before walking over to the coffeemaker to pour Vince a cup of coffee.
“You always take care of me,” he said, as Jen handed him the coffee cup.
“I try to. I wish there was more I could do for you.”
Knowing that Jen had given Pablo and Lucy the weekend off, Vince grinned lasciviously at his wife. “Well, we’re alone, and the strata has to bake for another half hour,” he said, glancing at the oven timer. “We’ve never ‘christened’ the kitchen, have we,” he asked as he picked his wife up and seated her on the edge of table top and leaned in to her, crushing her mouth with his.
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