Besotted

by Madison Michael

  Regan nodded her head in understanding, but she didn’t understand at all. She could sense the fury coiled in Tyler’s body, but he voice was calm as he answered.

  “Tyler Winthrop.” He hesitated, listening intently, then punched the button to put it on speaker. “…protection detail won’t help, Tyler. You should save your money, call them off. Just get this done and the girl will be fine.”

  "The girl better be fine, or all bets are off," Tyler responded in a tight, clipped voice.

  "Are you on speaker?" The accented voice on the other end of the call rose in alarm. "Who's listening, Tyler? Oh, it's her isn't it?" The voice turned oily and smooth. Regan felt a shiver of disgust.

  “Hello, Ms. Howe. Lovely to make your acquaintance.”

  Tyler shook his head, warning Regan to say nothing. She wasn't sure she could have found her voice anyway.

  "We are so looking forward to getting to know you better, dear. I am excited about our upcoming time together. My boss and I find you very lovely. We are already fighting over you."

  The menacing voice had precisely the effect it wanted. Tyler's fist slammed the desk, and his voice rose in anger. "Keep your fucking hands off of her, you prick. I am working on your solution. I still have a month, leave Regan alone."

  "One month, Tyler, and the time will fly. Can't wait to meet you, Regan." The phone clicked, the sound loud in the quiet office. Regan felt the sweat pooled in her armpits and between her breasts. How had Tyler endured this for so long? Just a disembodied voice brought images of a serpent squeezing the breath from her. Regan began to sob.

  “Oh honey, don’t.” Tyler rushed to the sofa, gathering Regan in his arms and rubbing her back. “It will be fine, I promise,” he repeated in a soothing voice until she quieted in his arms and pulled back.

  “I’m sorry,” she said in a shaky voice.

  "Why are you sorry? This mess is my fault," Tyler rebutted.

  "I just wasn't prepared for the reality, I guess. That man sounded so repulsive."

  "He is repulsive, and so are his cronies, but next month, they will be deported and go to Siberia or go to jail. Either way, they can rot in prison until they trade it for hell."

  “Promise?” Regan sounded like a little girl and resolved to buck up. “You better make good on that promise,” she said in a stronger voice.

  "I will," Tyler replied with complete conviction. "With the help of you, your brother, my father, the FBI and Jonathan Chen, we will pull this thing off. In the meantime, you keep the goon squad." His smile was reassuring and devastating to Regan's equilibrium. How could she feel lust under these circumstances?

  “Agreed.” She returned his smile, determining to be as brave as Tyler. “Now, let’s handle those contracts so I can go have my girls’ night.”

  “Agreed,” Tyler replied, turning all business in a split second. Who was this man with so many moods and faces? Did she truly love him? She knew she lusted for him, but did she trust him? She needed to decide before she turned her whole world upside down.

  Chapter Thirty

  Regan

  The noise level at Maple & Ash was typical for a Chicago hot spot on a Friday night, but Regan was disappointed with the need to shout. She wanted to connect with these women, her posse as she liked to call them because they always had her back.

  "Do you think we could finish this round and find someplace quieter?" she ventured.

  "I love that idea," Missy stated as Keeli bobbed her head in agreement. "What do you say, ladies?" Regan queried the remaining women.

  Confronted by Missy's hard stare, Charlotte and Sloane conferred before Sloane answered. "I thought we were going to eat here."

  Charlotte concurred, scanning the room. "But we can go if you prefer, but we need to wait for Clarice and Joanne to show before we move on,"

  "Did I hear my name?" Clarice strode across the bar, her dress short and tight over large breasts and a rounded behind. Her sister Joanne followed three steps back, slim-built and dressed like a conservative businesswoman.

  After they exchanged hugs all around, they agreed to one more round then dinner elsewhere. Sipping exotic cocktails, they caught up on the latest news. Sloane showed off pictures of her baby, Sutton. Clarice passed her phone around the table to show photos of her most recent success, a giant sculpture installation filling the lobby of a new Lyons Howe office complex, receiving high fives and congratulations from all.

  “Was this your doing, Regan?” Sloane couldn’t help but ask. “I see your hand in all this.”

  "Actually," Missy corrected, "You see my hand. Stephen and I wanted to do an exhibit of Clarice's work at the Howe museum. We figured this would build some buzz for it."

  “Smart move,” Sloane conceded. “It’s something I might have done.”

  “Nothing like turning this into a compliment for you,” Charlotte teased sending the women into laughs. Sloane just held her head higher.

  “Well, I’m the best,” she defended.

  “We all know it, Sloane,” Keeli acknowledged, always the peacekeeper. “That is why I hired you.”

  The women had come a long way from their days fighting over the same man. Now that Sloane was happily married to Randall and working as the president of Keeli's jewelry business, she acknowledged she didn't have to prove anything to this group. "Sorry, ladies, a force of habit. I always feel under attack."

  “Not here,” Joanne piped up in her soft voice, “you are among friends tonight.”

  “Speaking of,” Regan finally interjected,” I don’t get enough time with you guys. Can we go someplace we can hear each other?”

  “Why don’t I just get us a suite at the Peninsula and we can order in?” Sloane suggested.

  “I love that idea,” “That’s brilliant” and “I’m in” chorused around the table.

  “But I wore this dress for our big night out,” Clarice argued.

  “Then make the most of it, honey, cause we are leaving in ten,” Missy commanded.

  "Yes, Ma'am." Clarice downed her Lemon Drop in two gulps. “If you’ll excuse me I need to go grab some male attention now so I can brag about it to my husband later tonight.” She sashayed to the ladies room, her friends laughing as she went.

  Regan felt as if she had come home. Watching Clarice work the room while listening to Sloane trying to cover her insecurities, Charlotte having her back and Kelli keeping the peace, it was just like old times. She could never replicate her Chicago friendships in Washington, DC. Here, they knew each other, they had a history together, good and evil.

  Still, they supported each other, rescued each other from tough situations and themselves. Regan needed that kind of straight talk from the people who loved her unconditionally. She wanted their input to sort out her feelings. The quiet of the Peninsula Suite would be perfect.

  "We could go to my place if you prefer," Charlotte offered. "Alex is with his Dad in California this week. We would have the place to ourselves."

  “Nah. Let’s go trash a hotel room instead,” Missy suggested, garnering surprised looks from her friends.

  “As if you have ever trashed a place in your life, Melissa Howe.”

  “Ah, Ree,” Missy complained, “Let me live the fantasy. Please?”

  Sloane reserved the room, Keeli ordered steaks for all and Clarice called catering to deliver enough liquor to put them under the table. No one considered the short notice for such demands, knowing the luxury hotel would fulfill their every wish.

  “Do you realize how spoiled you all are?” Joanne blurted out finally, unable to contain herself. “We’ll just get a suite, and cater appetizers, and order dinner from a restaurant where you have to wait months to get a reservation and order enough alcohol for a large bachelor party,” she accused in a judgmental voice ticking each point off on her fingers.

  The women stopped what they were doing and looked at Joanne, abashed by her scolding. There was silence at the table for a full ten seconds before Keeli responded.

&n
bsp; "Hell yeah! We are rich, powerful, women and we rule. Regan is the CEO of a huge company, and she's marrying a US Senator. Doesn't get much more powerful than that." Keeli pointed at her sister-in-law with pride then held up Regan's left hand so the women could admire her giant engagement ring.

  The women never tired of admiring the rock on Regan’s finger. Regan allowed the ooh’s and aah’s to swirl around her, the noise closing in like a thick fog as her brain shut down. She couldn’t think with all this attention. She felt the tears falling before she was conscious she was crying.

  “The hazard of being among your true friends,” she offered with a watery smile. “You can let your emotions go.”

  The women fell upon their friend with concern and grabbed their coats to leave the bar. “Let’s get out of here before she loses it completely,” Missy warned. “I think it’s going to be a gusher.”

  Walking the distance to the Peninsula in their impractical heels, the women happily fell upon the couches and kicked off their shoes immediately upon entering the suite. The bar was already set up, the ice hardly melted, the flatbreads, sushi and other bar-bite appetizers were displayed on the coffee table, delicious aromas rising from the platters. The seven women dove at the food like linebackers after a hard practice. When the dishes were empty, and Missy was whining about how long it was taking to get their steaks, Keeli turned to Regan at last.

  “OK, Miss watering pot,” she said gently, “Spill.”

  The women quieted and settled with their drinks to get comfortable.

  “It’s Tyler, right?” Missy prompted when Regan sat silent. “I’ve been expected this.”

  “Of course you have,” Regan finally spoke up. “You set this whole thing in motion, knowing full well that I still loved him.”

  "Actually, I wasn't sure about you. I just knew Tyler still loved you," Missy corrected, earning a surprised look from her older sister.

  “But Brandon,” Sloane stated. “That man is such a catch. And he loves you too. For god’s sake, Ree, Brandon is the one that asked you to marry him. Tyler has been dragging his feet for an eternity.”

  "She's right," Charlotte agreed. "Why give up a terrific man you know wants you for one that may or may not want you?"

  “Oh, he wants me,” Regan corrected. “He has always wanted me.”

  “Wait,” Clarice piped up from the far corner of the sofa where she sprawled with her legs draped over her sister's thighs. "Are we talking want as in sex or want as in marriage and babies? Cause, girl, those are two different things entirely."

  "She has a point there, Ree," Sloane piped up. "Are you thinking that a confirmed bachelor like Tyler is going to walk down the aisle? I don't see that happening."

  Regan nodded and started to cry harder, prompting Clarice to pour her another drink, while Keeli and Joanne set up the dinner that arrived. Regan was grateful for the chance to calm down. When she finally had a plate of sirloin in her lap, a cloth napkin draped to protect her Proenza Schouler dress, she took a deep breath and started talking.

  "I need you guys to help me through this," she confided. “Look at me. I am a grown woman, a woman who made tough decisions at a huge company and now at a critical federal agency day in and day out. I cannot decide between these two men.

  "Tyler has good reasons for dragging his feet," she continued. When the women bombarded her with questions, she put her hand up and shook her head. "They are his reasons, and I am not at liberty to share them. If he wants you to know, you will, but you won't hear it from me."

  “What if I bribe you?” Clarice teased, lightening the mood for a moment.

  “Nice try.” Regan smiled, took a few bites of her food and continued. “Ooh, this is delicious. Good choice, ladies. Anyway, here’s the thing. I have always loved Tyler, but I stopped trusting him when he broke my heart. Trust is critical for me.”

  Charlotte had the good grace to blush as she said, “It should be. It’s critical to any relationship.”

  “Well, now Ty is asking me to trust him and doing everything he can to earn that trust.”

  "Like what?" Sloane challenged.

  “Don’t be bitchy, Sloane,” Keeli tossed out.

  "Not bitchy, I swear," Sloane corrected. "Believe me I know when I am bitchy. I am just asking. What has he done to undo years of hot and cold, decades of lies? It's not an easy task."

  "I have been working side by side with him for months, and I would trust him with my life," Charlotte spoke with passion.

  “He has been coming clean about so much,” Regan told her friends. “Explaining the unexplainable and taking me into his confidence. I have to admit he had some good reasons for his behavior and his secrecy.”

  "You know you are just making us want to pump you for information." Sloane pinned Regan with a hard look, then her face softened, and she laughed. "We know, you can't say anything else. Although, Ree, you do know we could keep any secret you told us."

  “I just can’t,” Regan told them again. “Trust me on this one.”

  “Ok,” Missy grew impatient with the digressions, “can we get back on track? You have learned to trust Tyler, who you have loved forever. And he has told you he loves you, right?”

  “That doesn’t justify casting Brandon aside,” Charlotte piped up. “I have known Brandon my whole life. He will be in the White House someday, Regan, and he will need a woman like you by his side. He’s handsome and brilliant.”

  “Weren’t you just defending Tyler two minutes ago?” Clarice asked. “I think you have to take sides here, Char, or you are no help to Regan. For me, Ree, go to the White House. It’s a no-brainer.”

  “But that’s just it. I have this niggling doubt about Brandon. He is perfect but maybe not perfect for me. I feel no warmth from him, just need. He needs me to move, and he needs me to accompany him to these political events, he needs my family to support his campaign…"

  “What?” Missy asked.

  "Didn't Wyatt say anything to you, Missy? It's all he talked about after Thanksgiving weekend," Keeli interjected. "Brandon kept cornering him about funding the campaign. It was as if he was desperate for the cash."

  “Exactly,” Regan added. “He’s been the same way about Howe money going into purchasing ‘the perfect house for a senator’ in Georgetown.”

  "But that makes no sense," Charlotte corrected. "The Hockney family is the richest family in Rhode Island. Hell, they are the modern-day Kennedys."

  "Are you sure?" Joanne asked in her soft voice. The women quieted to hear the youngest of the women. Alex's assistant was reserved. Her friends understood that she only spoke when she had something significant to add. "Weren't they heavily invested in that New England furniture venture that went under last year? I believe the profile on the business in The Boston Globe last year stated that they were the most prominent investors.”

  “Why were you reading The Boston Globe?” Clarice attacked. “Oh never mind, Alex was investing, right?”

  “Alex was looking at property in Boston for the bakery expansion,” Charlotte explained. “He has been thick as thieves with Don and Jake about the new operations."

  "Is it possible they lost their fortune?" Regan asked in a dazed voice. "Is he just after my money?" Hurt laced her words. She stopped eating, placing her plate on the coffee table. The food she had enjoyed moments earlier now repulsed her. Regan began pacing the room, hugging an expensive silk throw pillow against her chest. "He's just another man after my money?"

  “Stop that Regan,” Sloane spoke up. “I am sure he adores you. How could he not?”

  “That’s so sweet, Sloane,” Regan smiled weakly at her friend. “That means a lot coming from you.”

  “Yeah, I know you way better than Sloane does. I certainly think he could be after your money,” Missy teased. The women laughed, breaking the tension. Regan, realizing she was holding the pillow, hurled it at her sister, only to miss, knocking the plates from the coffee table to the rug below.

  “OMG! I thought
we were joking about trashing the room,” Keeli laughed.

  “I’m not going to jail for you,” Clarice told Regan, holding her sides as she laughed at the chaos the small pillow had created.

  “And I am certainly not cleaning up after you,” Sloane added, earning her a throw pillow in her face from Keeli.

  “Damn, girl, where did you learn to throw like that?” Clarice asked.

  "Brothers," was Keeli's laughing reply.

  While the laughing and joking continued, Regan bent to pick up broken plates and, taking a towel from the bathroom, scooped up the mess on the floor.

  “Feel better now?” Missy asked her sister.

  “I do, actually,” Regan confessed. “Still completely confused but better.”

  "I love both of these men, Ree,” Charlotte announced to the room. “I may be the only one who hasn't already taken sides. Here is what I suggest. First, you need to discover the financial situation for the Hockney family. If in fact they have lost their fortune, then you need to confront Brandon. You cannot marry him thinking he is just using you."

  “Maybe just put the marriage on hold?” Sloane proposed.

  "How much more can she drag her feet?" Joanne asked. "What does your heart say, Regan?"

  “Yeah, and how the hell is the sex?” Clarice asked, sending the women into peels of laughter as a blush climbed Regan’s cheeks.

  “Fantastic,” she admitted.

  “With which one? Or is it both?” Clarice leaned forward, pumping her friend for information.

  "The sex is good with both if you must know," she admitted, "but it has that forbidden quality with Tyler that makes it so damn hot."

  “Or maybe it is just hotter, period.” Sloane offered.

  “You, my friend, are trouble,” Regan pointed to Sloane as she spoke.