by Angelo, Judy
“I’m thinking, if it’s got anything worthwhile, I can buy it from you.”
She dropped her hand on top of his and pushed it off her leg. “Buy it from me?” she snapped. “Do you think I’m some damsel in distress that you have to save? I’m a business leader, Sloane, a CEO who grew her portfolio to over a billion dollars. I don’t need you to rescue me.”
Her reaction took him by surprise. Relief, he’d expected. Even gratitude. But anger?
“Listen, all I said was I’d have my people review the case. There’s no need to get defensive.”
“There’s every need to get defensive. If I need your help I’ll let you know.” She folded her arms across her chest. “In the meanwhile, you run your business and let me run mine.”
Sloane gripped the wheel with both hands and stared straight ahead.
“Fine.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
It didn’t take long for Sloane to figure out why Melanie got so crabby at his suggestion. And he should have known better than to say what he did. He’d offended her when he made the offer because what businesswoman wanted to even contemplate that her husband thought she couldn’t handle a problem without him having to bail her out? Without meaning to, he’d insulted her and he felt like a royal fool for doing it.
That night as they prepared for bed Sloane made an attempt to appease Melanie. Since arriving home they’d spoken little and he wanted to remedy that. If there was one thing he admired his parents for, it was that they practiced the rule of never going to bed angry. In his own marriage Sloane wanted to live up to that standard.
“Come over here,” he said, patting the space on the bed beside him. “Let’s talk.”
For a moment she hesitated, still sporting a rebellious pout as she stared at him. But then a rueful smile softened her lips and she scooted over to cuddle up next to him.
“That’s better.” He kissed the top of her head then stroked his hand up and down her bare arm. “I’m sorry I came off like a chauvinist. I was only trying to help.”
“I know,” she said with a sigh and lifted her hand to run it over his belly. “And I’m sorry I jumped all over you like that. I just didn’t want you to think I was some helpless dodo. I’ve dug myself out of holes before and this time won’t be any different. I’ll think of something.”
“I’m sure you will.” He held her just a little bit tighter as her fingers slid just below the waistband of his shorts. “Just remember, if you want a sounding board, I’m here.”
She rubbed her face against his chest just like a little kitten. “Thanks,” she said in a muffled whisper.
They were silent for a while, just enjoying the comfort of being in each other’s arms, and then Melanie spoke. “You know, I’ve been thinking…if I can find a company to partner with, one that really understands the film business but also has a computer animation division, I just might be able to salvage this project.” She sat up and in her eyes was a glimmer of excitement. “That’s it. Forget about traditional movies. Animation is the way to go. Remember how Disney Studios partnered with Steve Jobs’s computer animation company, Pixar? The partnership produced the first computer animated blockbuster, Toy Story. That’s the way to go.” Eyes wide, she stared down at Sloane. “What do you think?”
He reached out and tapped her on the forehead. “That, my dear, comes from the workings of a genius mind. I couldn’t have come up with a better idea myself.”
“Yeah,” she said, nodding as she gazed off into space again. “Now if only I could find a company with that sort of technology readily available. I’d offer them fifty percent of profits. It would be a real partnership. We share the investment costs but we also share the rewards.” She was smiling now even as she shook her head. “I’m going to have to find me a computer animation partner, a really good one like Pixar.” She raised her eyebrows. “If it exists.”
Sloane smiled at her but he said nothing, letting her marinate for a while in her excitement.
It must have finally hit her that he was acting really weird, just sitting there grinning like a buffoon. Her eyes narrowed. “Hey, you look like you know something I don’t.” Then she gasped. “You know a company that can do this. That’s it, right?”
“That’s right.” He said then he folded his arms across his chest and stared at her, smiling, but saying nothing more.
“Well, don’t just sit there,” she demanded. “Spill it.”
When he still didn’t make a move to comply she reached over and punched him on the upper arm.
“Hey, domestic abuse.” He gave her a scowl as he resorted to drama by nursing his arm even though her punch was, for him, little more than a pat. It was hard to feign suffering when you were grinning ear to ear.
“And there’s more where that came from if you don’t start talking.” She placed both hands on his shoulders, looking like she was ready to shake him. “Which company do you know that can help me with this? Who do I call?”
“I’ll tell you if you give me a kiss.”
“Sloane,” she wailed, “will you stop kidding around? Just tell me. Who can I call to get some talks going?”
“Me.”
Melanie sat back on her haunches, clearly frustrated, and her pout returned. “Sloane, I wish you would get serious. This means a lot to me.”
“I am serious. I own the company that can do this for you.”
She stared at him in obvious disbelief. “Serious?”
“Very serious. I acquired Unix Computer Graphics last year and this is exactly the kind of project my engineers are looking to work on. In fact, we’ve been talking about the same sort of collaboration you just suggested. Been talking with Disney for months, but no go.”
“So…my idea wasn’t unique, was it?” Her lips curled into a wry smile.
“Well, maybe not unique, but brilliant.”
“Yeah, right.” She chuckled.
“Yes, it is right,” he said with an emphatic nod. “Why do you think I offered to buy the company from you? Even though we haven’t reviewed it yet, I was thinking of the possibilities.”
That got him a frown from Melanie. “Then why didn’t you say so?”
He shrugged. “I knew you would figure it out soon enough. You’re a smart girl.” When she scowled he corrected himself. “Sorry, a competent business leader.”
“Thank you,” she said with a curt nod. “So when can we talk? I want us to get started like yesterday.”
“Definitely not now,” he said with a groan, sliding lower in the bed. “It can wait till we get back to work tomorrow. Right now it’s time to crash.”
“No,” she said, giving him a sly smile. “Right now it’s time for your reward.”
“My reward? For what?”
“For being such a great and understanding husband,” she said, sliding her hand over his belly and up his chest. “For letting me work things out myself.” She leaned over him and bent low to plant a kiss on the space between his pecs. “For having the solution to my problem.” She slid her lips across the flat muscle and tickled his nipple with her tongue.
Sloane sucked in his breath as a jolt shot through his body. Melanie never ceased to turn him on.
As if emboldened by his reaction, she nibbled and suckled and then she slid across to the other side where she teased him until he got so hard he tented in his shorts.
And then, like a wicked witch, she tortured him even more, feathering kisses down his abs till her lips settled just above the waistband of his boxers. And there she paused, her breath tickling the hair on his lower belly, the close proximity of her lips driving him crazy.
And then to his relief, she hooked her thumbs into the garment and slowly, tantalizingly, she slid it down his hips. His manhood jutted up from his groin, aching for her touch.
Melanie, sweet Melanie, she placed her lips at its tip and covered it in soft kisses that drew tortured groans from his throat. And then she took him into her mouth and made sweet love to him with her lip
s, her tongue, even her tiny teeth as she gently grazed the head, sending sensuous shivers up his spine.
As if that weren’t enough, she moved lower still and gave his sac her full attention, using her tongue to caress him till he moaned and reached for her, dragging her up and over his body, and then he pulled her down so he could capture her mouth in a kiss that displayed the depth of his desire.
When Sloane finally released her lips she gasped for air but he gave her little time to recover. Her nightgown went the way of his shorts, to fall in a silky white puddle on the floor. And then he was covering her body with kisses, just as she’d done to him, and when he took her, his shaft sinking in to the hilt, she was wet and warm and welcoming.
Sloane made love to Melanie with a heated urgency that was almost desperation, plunging into her till she cried out, calling his name, begging him for more.
“Don’t stop,” she moaned. “Oh, Sloane, please, please.”
Her words were like fuel to his fire. He held her as she clung to him, driving faster, harder until she screamed his name and dug her fingernails into his shoulder.
And then he came, his body erupting as he shot his seed deep inside his dear, sweet Melanie; warm and willing Melanie; Melanie who made him explode like no other woman had before.
That night Sloane made love to his wife, not one time but three, filled with the energy of a teenager. It was like he couldn’t get enough.
But Melanie was with him every step of the way. And when she finally drifted off to sleep he lay there, just holding her, thanking his lucky stars that of all the women he could have chosen as his wife, she was the one who was in his life.
***
It didn’t take a day before the police advised Melanie that they had Zena in custody. She was asked to return to the station to provide additional details. Of course, Sloane went with her.
And that was when all hell broke loose.
“I didn’t do anything,” Zena spat as soon as Melanie and Sloane walked in the door. She was sitting at Officer Sutherland’s desk but when she saw them she leaped to her feet. “He made this all up to get back at me. He’s the one who should be arrested.” And she launched herself at Sloane, nails bared, a crazed look in her eyes.
He was just in time to push Melanie out of harm's way and grab Zena’s outstretched hands, pushing them none too gently down to her sides. She jerked wildly, trying to break free, but he twisted her around and marched her back to the officer’s desk and slammed her down into the chair.
The policeman chuckled. “Well done, Mr. Quest. We could do with a man like you on the force.”
Zena gave the officer a withering look. “My lawyer will have me out of here in no time,” she sneered. “They have no evidence.”
Sutherland seemed unimpressed by her declaration. He simply waved Sloane and Melanie over to another officer’s desk, picked up his pen and gave Zena an exaggerated look of patience. “Can we continue with your statement, please?”
This time the visit to the police station only lasted an hour and Melanie was glad when she and Sloane were finally given the green light to leave.
“Was she the craziest girl you ever dated?” Melanie smiled as she walked back to the car with Sloane.
He raised his eyebrows. “I should hope so. We don’t need any more of my exes coming out of the woodwork.” At the car he paused and turned her to face him. “I’m sorry I put you through all this.”
She shook her head. “You didn’t put me through anything. Zena’s the one who went haywire and that’s not your fault.”
“She’s my ex and because of that you suffered. I feel bad-”
“Don’t.” She raised her hand and put her finger on his lips. “That’s part of our past now. We have to move on.”
He nodded. “You’re right.” He took her hand, looking relieved. “Let’s go home.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Good grief. Not again. Melanie felt her spirit plummet like a rock flung over into the Grand Canyon. Her period was here. Again.
She’d been married to Sloane seven months now and each month she’d waited in high anticipation of her very first missed period. But, like a curse, the damn thing kept coming, month after month, right on time like clockwork. When was she going to get pregnant?
At this point there was no hope of her giving birth while still in her thirty-fourth year. She was only five months from her thirty-fifth birthday so she’d have to settle for giving birth at thirty-five years of age…if it ever happened.
At the thought, Melanie shuddered. No, she didn’t even want to contemplate it. Not being able to conceive, never fulfilling her dream of being a mother? That would be more than devastating. It would be like her worst nightmare coming true.
Call it irrational. Call it unrealistic and vain, but she didn’t want to spend her whole life building business after business and then not find fulfillment in developing the other aspect her being. Maybe she was being greedy but she wanted a family, too…a family with kids running around and getting underfoot. The whole works.
She scheduled another appointment with her doctor.
“Mrs. Quest,” he said as she walked in, “you’re back. Didn’t I see you a couple of months ago?” He glanced down at her file. “Yes, a physical and a prescription for vitamins.” He looked up again as he waved her over to the chair. “So how can I help you today?”
“I’m still not pregnant,” she blurted out even before her bottom touched the seat. “Doctor, it’s been seven months.”
Doctor Walton gave her a kindly smile. “Now, now, Mrs. Quest. Let’s not be hasty. A couple isn't considered infertile until at least a year without conception. Give it some time.”
“Some time?” Melanie’s eyes widened in horror. “I’ve given it seven months, doctor. And it’s been seven very active months. And nothing.”
The doctor tsk-tsked and shook his head. “I still think you’re being impatient-”
“Look, doctor, I’ll be thirty-five soon and you and I know that fertility declines steadily after that. We have to do something before there's no hope for me.”
“No hope for you.” The doctor chuckled and clasped his fingers over his white-coated belly as he regarded her with amusement. “You have a flair for the dramatic, Mrs. Quest. Things are not as desperate as you make it seem.”
“For me they are,” she insisted. “Is there a fertility clinic you could recommend, a place where they specialize in cases such as mine?”
“I really don’t think we’ve reached that point-”
“I have. I need help, doctor. Please. I’ll do anything.”
It took that urgent plea for the doctor to finally look like he was beginning to understand her desperation. The patronizing smile slid from his lips and his face grew thoughtful. “I can refer you to a clinic downtown,” he said slowly, “but you know how things are here in Canada. It may take months before you actually get an appointment.”
“What about the States?” she asked. “Surely they’d take me right away.”
“Okay, if you want to travel all that way.”
“I want to,” she said quickly. “That’s an insignificant price to pay to get the help I need.”
Doctor Walton shrugged. “Fine. I’ll have my assistant set it up at a clinic not too far from here. Boston, maybe.”
“Thank you, doctor.”
“But, Mrs. Sloane, you do know that your physical body may only be a part of your failure to conceive so far. Have you been under any undue stress lately?”
“No, everything’s fine,” she began and then she paused. How could she have forgotten? The past few months had been the most stressful of her life. There was the disastrous purchase of Rapid Films, the incident with Zena, the desperate efforts to save her film division, the long nights at the office and the endless meetings. All of that must have taken a toll.
“You’re right, doctor, I have been under a lot of stress lately. But things are improving with the business.” She nodded,
giving greater emphasis to her words. “I’ve put things in place to get my business back in order. It’s moving slowly but it’s coming.” Thanks to the partnership between Parker Broadcasting and Quest Media, the Rapid Films acquisition was working out to be a viable business with great profit potential. At least that was one burden soon to be off her shoulders.
She didn’t mention her other stress, the one taking place at home. Her relationship with Sloane had been a little strained and, she had to admit, it was mostly her fault. Even though it might make sense to no-one but herself, she was racked with guilt. She couldn’t help it. There were a few times as they lay in bed when Sloane had wondered out loud what it would like to be a dad. Most times his comments were in response to something she’d said about having a baby, but each time his face had taken on a dreamy look and she knew he was looking forward to a family just like she was.
And so far she hadn’t been able to give it to him.
So now, as she sat in the doctor’s office, she began to count the hours until they called and told her she could fly to the clinic in Boston to get specialist help.
Because if this barren spell went on for very much longer there was the frightening possibility that Sloane would want out.
***
It took a week before Melanie heard from Doctor Sutherland’s office regarding the fertility clinic they’d found for her and another week before she built up the courage to tell Sloane what she was doing.
“Why don’t you give it some time?” he asked. “We haven’t even been married a year.”
“Don’t you see? I don’t have time. I’m thirty-four years old.”
“Which is not old,” he said drily.
“For a woman who hopes to have kids, it is.” She threw up her hands in frustration. Why didn’t men get this? Just because they could get kids at the ripe old age of seventy it was like they couldn’t understand a woman’s sense of urgency. Jeez. “I have to do this, Sloane. It might be my only hope.”