She wore a simple white shirt and white pants with little jewelry except for twin gold chains, a pair of small gold earrings, a platinum and diamond Movado watch, no doubt gifted to her by either Barbara or Dana, since Erin was notoriously thrifty, and her ever present plain gold wedding band.
One didn’t have to look any further than their mother to visualize how Dana would look when she reached her fifties. Dana was a younger version of their mother, except she was four inches taller at five feet eleven inches. Barbara was a combination of both their parents with her lightly tanned skin, honey blonde hair and light brown eyes. Ronnie felt the feature she shared with her mother most were her high cheekbones and athletic physique.
“Hi honey,” Erin said, hugging Ronnie so tight she knew she really had missed her. Her mother had never been a big hugger.
“Who’s your boyfriend?” Ronnie teased.
Erin rolled her eyes. “Some random guy trying to create a conversation. Can you believe it? He’s thirty years old, Ronnie. When I told him I was old enough to be his mother that didn’t seem to faze him one bit. What is this world coming to?”
They walked arm in arm through the terminal.
“To what do I owe this impromptu visit? I feel really special. This is what, the second time for the year I’m seeing you? And this is only March. Are you doing penance for standing me up at both Thanksgiving and Christmas?”
Ronnie avoided her mother’s searching blue gaze. She didn’t want to have the conversation until she was seated with her at home dining over her favorite meal which she planned to prepare for her.
“You can’t win with some people,” she teased. “When you don’t see me enough you complain and gripe. Now you see me often, and you’re suspicious.”
“Oh shush. You know I’m happy as a clam to have you here. How’s work?”
“Great. How are things with you? Did you get that promotion you applied for?”
“The results of the interview aren’t in yet. But the word is I’m a shoo-in. Still, you know how these things can go…”
As her mother continued to chatter on, Ronnie breathed a sigh of relief. She would keep the conversation on her mother for as long as possible. Work or her love life were not the topics she wanted to talk about yet.
It was sometime during dessert as her mother began to chatter about her two older sisters and their marriages and then ask her if she met anyone in Chicago that Ronnie saw an opening.
She put down her dessert fork.
“As a matter of fact, I have met someone.”
“Oh? Is it serious?”
“Very serious, Mom.”
“Ronnie, this is sudden. Who is he?”
“His name is David Jones.”
“David…David Jones. Why, does that name sound familiar? Oh right, your boss is also David Jones. He has the same name as your boss?”
“He is my boss, Mom.”
“He’s your boss? You’re in love with your boss?”
“He’s in love with me too.”
“Oh!”
“In fact, he proposed marriage.”
“He what?”
“And I accepted.”
“You did!”
“And we got married. In Paris. Two weeks ago.”
Erin Dickson’s mouth opened, and no sound came out.
~*~*~*~
On her return to O’Hare Ronnie felt lighter than when she had left. Her mother and her sisters knew of her marriage. They weren’t exactly pleased that it was a secret, but at least they knew. Her mother was predictably hurt, even though Ronnie had tried her best to explain why David was keeping it a secret.
Dana had been the most vocal and most upset.
“I want to meet him. There are a few choice words I have for him.”
“You need to get a grip on yourself, Dana. This is none of your business. This is between my husband and me.”
Barbara was the only one who seemed to understand. Probably because their mother had not exactly approved of either her first or second marriage either.
In any case, Ronnie was feeling more positive. She would be resigning at the end of that week once she had briefed Tracey. David had already told her he was going to have his PR consultant issue a press release on their marriage.
Ronnie felt warmth spread through her body as she thought of David. God really was a promise keeper. She remembered that word when she had first seen him. For a while there it hadn’t seemed like it would really happen, but look how it had. She caressed her wedding ring which she was currently wearing on the middle finger of her right hand. Counting down the hours when she would get to wear it on the right digit in public.
Ronnie headed to the exit. The bright sunlight covered her in welcomed warmth. She filled her lungs with the Chicago air.
Pulling her little carry-on with one hand, she slipped on her sunglasses with the other and headed towards the airport shuttle.
As she sat in the shuttle, she sent David a text to let him know she had arrived.
On my way to the car.
Drive safely.
I think I’ll go straight home. I’m kind of tired.
Okay. I’ll meet you there in about an hour. There are a few things I need to finish up here.
She sent him an emoticon with a kiss.
He sent her an emoticon with two hearts for eyes.
She grinned foolishly as she stared at her phone.
Had they only been married for two weeks? It felt like they'd been together forever. She knew him so well. Was enamored with him. Was devoted to him. Couldn’t imagine life without him.
She sighed. Why hadn’t she let him drop her off at the airport as he had suggested? But she hadn’t wanted him to be late for an important out of town meeting that day and had insisted that Julio take him and she would drive herself to the airport. Oh, well. At least they only lived half an hour away so the drive wouldn’t be very long.
She couldn’t wait to see his handsome face. In fact, she decided to stop by the office first. She was going to message him and alert him but decided against it. She would surprise him instead. She’d wait around for him while he finished up whatever and they could go home together. She’d just secure her car in the underground garage.
~*~*~*~
David understood that Bob Gershon had documents for him. He understood that he had a report on the campaign to submit. But did he have to deliver it in person?
Gershon showed up at his office at Jones Law. He was bold as brass, brandishing his final report and acting as though their working relationship had not ended on a sour note.
When he addressed him as Mr. Jones, it was a giveaway that he did remember.
David’s lips thinned. “Bob,” he said as he took the report.
Unfortunately, Joan was on vacation, and Bernadette Peters was filling in for her. She would not have known that Gershon was no longer welcomed in the building so when Gershon had called her and announced his arrival she had assumed it would be all right with David and invited him up to their waiting area.
That’s when David saw him, comfortably seated, feet lapped and thumbing through a magazine.
“Mr. Jones, Bob Gershon is here to see you,” she said, standing.
David gritted his teeth and reminded himself that he needed to make her aware of the need to check with him on all visitors before they were allowed up, regardless of what she thought.
David mumbled a slight acknowledgment, “Gershon.”
He didn’t miss how Gershon’s gaze scanned the room as though he were searching for someone.
David felt his blood boil when he asked oh so casually, “So, is Ronnie, here?”
David clenched down on his jaw hard and tried to keep calm.
“You need to stay away from her.”
Gershon’s frowned and stared back at him defiantly.
“Why should I?”
“Because if you don’t I’ll…”
“You will what congressman? Have me put to dea
th? Tell her I dropped by, will you?”
David’s hands balled into fists. He willed himself to keep his cool. He reminded himself that Ronnie was a big girl. She would know how to handle Gershon if he did contact her. Still, he felt compelled to say, “Gershon, so help me if you contact her again you will regret it.”
“I guess it’s a safe bet you won’t be passing on my message, then,” he said with a mocking twinkle in his eyes.
“Should I have security throw, I mean show, you out.”
The laughter in Gershon’s eyes instantly disappeared to be replaced by something dark and menacing.
“After all I did for you, you’d think you’d at least be a bit grateful.”
“And what did you do for me, Gershon, that I didn’t pay you to do?
Gershon’s mouth clamped shut.
“That’s right. Because I paid you to help me win and if you achieved that it means you did your job and you should feel a sense of accomplishment. Don’t act like you did something more than I paid you to do. Goodbye.”
The note of finality in David’s voice was hard to miss.
~*~*~*~
Bob Gershon seethed as he waited for the elevator. David Jones was such a pompous jerk. After all he had done for him he thought he could just dismiss him. Bob got into the elevator and pressed ‘B’ as he thought of his plans. He was going to leave town the next day and was just tying up loose ends. He was the consummate professional and believed that documents to clients should be delivered in person as far as possible. Too bad Jones was so ungrateful. In any case, he didn’t care. He was too refined to let such things get to him.
He felt around in the pocket of his slacks for his keys. He was making his way towards his BMW when a car drove past him. He glanced up and saw the back of the canary yellow Audi 8. Ronnie Dickson’s car.
Chapter 26
Ronnie pulled into her usual spot in the underground garage. She unbuckled her seat belt, then turned on the vehicle light to refresh her makeup and run a comb through her hair. In five minutes flat she was all done and quite pleased with her appearance. She felt tingly all over in anticipation of seeing her husband after that three-day separation. Taking up her handbag from the passenger seat, Ronnie pulled the car keys out of the ignition, opened the car door and stepped out of the sports car. She chuckled in memory of David’s comments about her liking small spaces. That must be true. She had no problem folding her tall frame into the car. She’d have to get used to David’s mansion. It was certainly a far cry from her apartment.
Ronnie engaged the car alarm on her key fob. She turned away from the car and gave a startled scream.
Bob Gershon stood before her, leaning casually against one of the columns in the garage.
Ronnie placed her hand over her heart and released a breath. After a few seconds of gathering her composure, she shook her head.
“Bob, you scared me.”
“Didn’t mean to.”
Ronnie glanced around. The parking garage was empty.
“What are you doing here?”
“Waiting for you,” he said easily, with a pleasant smile.
“Waiting for…” Ronnie’s mouth suddenly felt very dry. She reached into her bag for her pepper spray and remembered a second later that it wasn’t there. She had left it at home because she couldn’t carry it on the airplane.
“Why?”
“I was about to leave when I saw you drive in. I came over to say goodbye. I’m leaving the state for good tomorrow. Going to Wyoming as I told you before. Just tying up a few ends here with Jones.”
Even though his words sounded reasonable enough, Ronnie couldn’t shake her feeling of intense discomfort. There was a certain something in Gershon’s eyes, something predatory that made her very uneasy. She began to pray silently. Outwardly she forced a smile to her lips.
“Well, it was nice of you to stop by, Bob,” she said.
Suddenly, she hit on an idea.
“We must stay in touch.”
She made a show of taking out her phone as though preparing to input his contact information.
He stood up straight as if ready to move.
“You’ve already got my number,” he said, “remember?”
Ronnie could feel nerves threaten to overtake her. Bob Gershon was no fool. He was very observant and very astute. An old voice reminded her that she was no actress. She ignored that voice and instead prayed.
“Lord, please help me be strong and courageous.”
She quickly depressed David’s number which was on speed dial, praying silently to God that Bob wouldn’t be able to hear David when he answered.
She then made a gesture as though searching the contact list, careful to keep the phone averted so Gershon couldn’t see. As he was about to come closer to see what she was up to she exclaimed.
“Oh, right, it is here.”
She dropped the phone in her bag. Then she said as loudly as seemed natural, “So, Bob, yeah, great seeing you. Hope you have a safe flight tomorrow and a successful campaign with what’s his name again?”
Bob took a step toward her.
Ronnie took a step backward.
“What are you doing, Bob?” she asked loudly, praying that the call wasn’t muffled or hadn’t disconnected, praying that God would save her from this sick man.
“I think you know. I want the same thing you want. The thing you’ve wanted from me all along.”
He grabbed her arms and pulled her roughly against his body, his lips instantly silencing her denial.
Ronnie tried valiantly to force her hands between their bodies as she twisted her head away from his kiss.
“Bob, no! Don’t do this. Not here in this underground garage. David and I are married,” she said breathlessly.
He grabbed the back of her head and pulled her closer.
“How come nobody knows about this marriage? You’re lying.”
He grabbed her finger and looked at it.
“You’re not even wearing a ring.”
She continued to struggle against his grip.
“Let me go.”
“Shut up,” he said, shoving her to the ground and covering her body with his own. “I’ve been waiting for this a long time.”
Panic gripped Ronnie and fear mounted. Oh, God. Please don’t let this happen to me. Please. She wanted to cry. But she didn’t have the luxury. She had to be strong and courageous. She had to fight. She was not going to make this easy for Bob Gershon.
As Bob’s mouth descended on hers again, Ronnie took hold of his lip and bit down hard. He grunted in pain, broke off for a moment, and then turned back to her in a fury. He grabbed her neck and punched her in the face several times.
Ronnie felt pain like she’d never known. She screamed, but it earned her another blow to the face. She felt another wave of pain wash over her. She continued to struggle.
No! No! Lord, help me.
Gershon began to gyrate against her, moaning.
Ronnie wiggled and squirmed, desperate to get away. But her movements only seemed to excite him the more.
“Yes, baby, that’s it,” he said. “I want it too.”
One hand firmly held her head in place while the other tore open her blouse. She felt a rush of air. Ronnie could feel tears of frustration, helplessness, fear, and anger begin to burn her eyes as Gershon briefly groped her before quickly turning his attention to roughly unzip her jeans.
She didn’t allow her tears to fall. Instead, she summoned all her energy and screamed. It was cut short when Gershon lifted her head and slammed it hard against the cement.
Ronnie gasped as intense pain exploded in her head, temporarily immobilizing her. Her eyes began to drift shut.
“No…no…” she moaned, turning her head to the side and lying still.
“That’s it, baby. Don’t fight it.”
She wanted to die. Anything but experience the coming assault. But no! She could not give up!
Finding new strength, Ronnie r
eached out and clawed one side of Gershon's face with her long fingernails. He winced in pain and swore as blood trickled down the deep scratches.
A half-second later, his elbow slammed into her nose. Ronnie struggled to breathe as the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth. Tears pooled in her eyes at the blinding pain.
She felt Bob Gershon roughly knee apart her now exposed legs.
Oh, God. No! Please, No!
Ronnie screamed. She idly noticed that her voice sounded weak and hoarse.
Gershon slammed her head against the ground again, and she began to lose consciousness.
Just before darkness completely enveloped her, Ronnie thought she heard a loud roar. Then suddenly Bob Gershon’s weight was lifted off her. She was sure she heard David’s voice and then there was nothing more.
~*~*~*~
David got down on one knee beside Ronnie. He felt for a pulse and found one, mercifully. She was battered and bruised. One eyelid seemed to be swollen shut. Her clothing was torn. Her body exposed. Reflexively, he pulled the sides of her blouse together, shrugged off his jacket and covered the lower half of her body.
David quickly called 911. Told them their location. Begged them to hurry. Then he turned to the man who was responsible for hurting his wife, the man who he had just a minute earlier lifted and thrown against a nearby vehicle, and he felt rage like he had never known before.
Bob Gershon was struggling to stand, wincing in pain. David rushed over to him, grabbed him by his shirt collar and began to pummel him like he was a punching bag. And even as Gershon fell to the ground, doubled over in pain, David straddled him and continued to hit him. Blood trickled out of the side of his mouth. David saw him sputtering. He knew that if he continued to punch Gershon, the despicable man would die. And he realized he didn’t care. He wanted him to die.
A Case For Love (Royals Series Book 3) Page 30