“Hey, how’s it all going, Bro? How’s Alexis?”
“She’s fucking gone.” A stab of pain pierced my chest as I said it out aloud and realised it was real. I flexed my hand, which I often did when I was losing my shit.
“What do you mean she’s gone?” Lucy sounded shocked.
“Claire fucking lied to you. Rick never had an affair with her. Those photos she gave you were only a few in a collection, a collection that showed Rick turning her down. She set him up, and she set us up. How the fuck did that happen?” I could feel the onset of a major headache, so I put my fingers to the bridge of my nose.
“Bryce, settle down. Where is Alexis?”
“I think she’s gone to her parents. Rick came here this morning and showed her the entire set of photos then told her I paid him. She was so upset, Luce. Fuck, I screwed up.”
“Okay Bryce, firstly, I can guarantee you they had an affair. He transfers $2,000 into her account on the first day of the month, every month, and has done so for the past five years. Its hush-money, it has to be. Anyway, I know a liar when I see one, and she was not lying when she said they had slept together. She was a little hesitant, and more than likely hiding something, I did pick up on that, but she wasn’t lying. You’re right though, it doesn’t add up. There must be more to it.”
“Then find out what it is, Luce. I can’t lose her, I can’t fucking lose her, not now, not ever. Whatever it takes, find out what Claire is hiding and do it fast. Use whatever you need, spend whatever you need to spend, just do it, please.”
“Okay, I’ll get on it right now, and Bryce.”
“What?”
“Calm down. Alexis loves you, you know that. Pull your shit together, give her a little space, then go and fight like hell to get her back. Tell her about the money Rick is transferring, I bet she doesn’t know about that.”
“No, I’m not telling her anything until we find out exactly what Claire is hiding. I’m not going to get caught out without the full story like that again. I looked like the biggest fucking prick on earth, Lucy. I had absolutely no comeback, and no way of easing her pain. Just find out what Claire is hiding and get back to me as soon as possible, please.” I hung up the phone, feeling as empty as I ever had. I remembered the last time I felt this empty and that was when I lost three people I loved dearly. I was not going to suffer like that again.
The pain in my jaw started to ease as the numbness from the cold ice set into my skin. I wished that numbness could spread to my heart, because at that point, it hurt the most. It hurt like absolute hell. I pulled the napkin from my face and threw it at the wall, then entered my apartment and headed straight for my bed, the very spot I could breathe her in.
Rick
That felt fucking good! Although my hand was now killing me and probably broken. I quickly made my way to the elevator in the hope I could catch up to her, to tell her it was okay, and that I forgave her for sleeping with him. Deep down, I never wanted her to fuck him. It killed me knowing she was with him and that he could touch her. I guess I thought that she wouldn’t go that far, that the fact he was an arrogant fucker would put her off. It didn’t seem that way, though, when she looked at him so hurt. Fuck, I hope he’s lying when he says she’s fallen for him, or all this is for nothing. I stepped into the elevator, pulled my phone from my pocket and dialled Claire’s number.
“Rick, how’d it go? Did Alexis believe you when you showed her all the photos?”
“Yes, so you’ll get your $500k by the end of the week. Okay?”
“Yes, okay. Gee, I do you a favour and you’re still pissed off at me.”
“Claire, what do you expect? You have been blackmailing me for the past five years.”
“I know, but you deserved it.” I could picture her sitting there with her bottom lip out. Back then, though, that bottom lip was a turn on.
“Whatever. Listen, we are done now, no more blackmailing, I’m exhausted. What we did years ago was a mistake, I fucked up and I’m sorry.”
“Rick, I’ll never think it was a mistake.”
“I’ve made it more than clear that it was, I didn’t mean to hurt you, you know that, but I love Alexis, I always have, and we have a family.”
“I know Rick, but we have a...” She hesitated for a minute.
“What? We have a what?” We don’t have a chance, we never did.
“Nothing.”
“You got what you wanted, so hold up your end of the bargain or you’ll regret it, do you understand?”
“Yes Rick, I understand. You don’t have to be so nasty. I didn’t have to warn you about that Lucy chick remember? I did you a favour.”
I wanted to punch the elevator wall, but couldn’t now my hand was out of action. There was a very small part of me that felt terrible for Claire in all this. I fucked up and made the mistake of sleeping with her knowing that she had feelings for me, and afterward dismissing her like a piece of shit. She had been pissed off at me for years, blackmailing and making threats to reveal what we had done to my wife. I couldn’t really blame her. Although, she has gotten her revenge because I had to re-mortgage the house a number of times just to keep her quiet, which was a major pain in the arse. Thank fuck Alexis has never taken any interest in our finances.
“Claire, listen. For all it’s worth I am truly sorry.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Let me finish.”
“Whatever.”
I rolled my eyes, she was still quite immature, which is why I knew I could shut her up for good when Bryce offered me the money.
“I know you didn’t have to tell me about Lucy contacting you and asking about why I have been paying you, but I’m thankful you did. In a way, we’d both be fucked if you hadn’t, so both of us win right?” I still have no fucking idea how Lucy found that shit out.
“I suppose.”
“Look, I’ll ring you later on in the week to let you know when the money has been transferred, okay?”
“Sure.” She hung up the phone. My chest was beating a little more slowly now. I just might get myself out of this fucking hole, once and for all. I hoped so. Ever since the day I gave in to Claire, my life had been like walking a tight rope. That all changed the day before Bryce came knocking on my door though, when Claire had rung me, asking if I knew a ‘Lucy Clark’. When I told her I did, she asked me why Lucy wanted to know so much about why I was paying her monthly. I nearly had a heart attack. How the fuck did Bryce’s sister find that out, and why? I panicked. ‘What did you tell her?’, I had asked Claire. She said ‘nothing, but she doesn’t seem like the type who is going to leave me alone’. I told her to ‘keep her mouth shut’, ‘say nothing’ or the payments would stop. Then, Bryce came knocking on my door exclaiming he knew about Claire and offered me five million. It all fell into place. I knew I could use that money to shut Claire up, get me out of debt, and reveal to Alexis what an arrogant fuck Bryce was. It was all too good to be true, really.
I had to hand it to Claire, she might be immature, but she wasn’t stupid. It was her idea to give Lucy the same photos she was going to bribe me with. It was ‘gold’, and worked to perfection. The look on that rich, arrogant fucker’s face when I produced the missing photos was priceless.
I sucked in a breath of fresh air as I walked out of City Towers, a small smile sneaking across my face. Claire would finally be out of my life for good, and I now had money to pay out all debts and buy a house both far from here and far from Bryce. Everything seemed great, except now I had to convince Alexis I did it for her, and that it was okay, and that she shouldn’t feel guilty over sleeping with Bryce. That was going to be the toughest part. Although, I had not considered the fact she might now have developed feelings for Bryce. Na, he’s fucked that up. I opened the door to my car, my hand still hurting like a bitch, but it was the best hurt I’d felt in a long time.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The noise of the solid mahogany door shutting behind me was like a gunshot vibr
ating through my body. My breathing was ragged, and the room felt like it was beginning to cave in around me. I needed to stop and gather my bearings, but I couldn’t do that there. One of them, if not both, would surely follow me shortly, and I no longer wanted to be anywhere near either of them. The only access to Bryce’s private garage was via his personal elevator, which was in his apartment where I had left my suitcase.
I quickly made my way through the conference room and into his apartment, stopping briefly at the entryway wall where we had made love for the first time. I cried aloud and ran for the elevator and away from that very spot that had once made me nostalgic. Now, however, it depicted the spot where I had cheated on my husband. I tucked myself into the elevator and although I should have felt better as the doors closed, I didn’t. I knew from experience I was not home free until I was out of the little moving cube. The last time I had been in the process of making an escape, Bryce had overtaken the elevator cart manually and forced it to return to the apartment with me in it. I prayed that was not going to happen again, I wanted out of this building and as far away as possible.
When the doors reopened, relief flooded my body and the numerous cars I had grown to love and admire greeted me. I hurried out, putting my hand up to shade my eyes as I passed the Lamborghini and Charger, the memories of what I had done on those cars if recalled right then would only traumatise me more. I climbed into the safety of my Territory and drove out of there as fast as I possibly could have. I knew exactly where I was going and I had no plans to stop until I had reached my destination.
***
The amount of tears a person can cry in a short space of time astounds me. When you think your ducts are dry and dehydrated, they surprise you soon after by spilling over again. I don’t think it helped my case that the radio station I had chosen seemed to have their show dedicated to me. Almost instantly, after turning onto the Westgate Freeway, Sweet Little Lies by Fleetwood Mac started to play. That tipped off the first and heaviest outpour. Then, about three songs after that, Love Bites by Def Leppard and Jewel’s Foolish Games filled my ears, setting my eyes awash again. I thought perhaps my blubbering had finally ceased when ‘Big Girl’s Don’t Cry’ came on. Well, I definitely proved that song wrong.
I had been on the road for just under an hour and as I drove past Seymour, my drowned and traumatised state had thankfully started to die down. I couldn’t go to my Mum and Dad’s though, there was no way I could allow Nate and Charlotte to see me like this. So I hit speaker on my iPhone and dialled Jennifer.
“Hey, Lex, what’s up?”
“Jen have you left for Mum and Dad’s yet?”
“No, we are about to leave though. Why?”
“Don’t. I’m 10 minutes away. I need to speak to you.” I started to sob.
“Lexi, what’s wrong? Is everything all right?”
“No.”
“You’re worrying me, what’s wrong?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll explain when I get there.”
“Okay, drive safely, and I’ll see you soon.”
***
Jennifer was the youngest by a couple of years, then it was me, then our brother Jake. Jen and I looked nothing alike, I was blonde and average height, and she was a brunette and towered over me. We were inseparable when we were little, and although I was older than her, it didn’t always feel that way. She was the smart one, the organised one, the one I always went to for advice, and her shoulder was the first one I would cry on if needed. I desperately needed that shoulder, and I needed it now, probably more than ever had in my life.
I pulled into her driveway and she was already on her front porch. I switched off the engine and watched her approach the passenger side door. Jen always did things for a reason. I was guessing Steven was home and she had requested he stay inside to watch over the kids, so that she could come outside and console her pathetic, sulky sister. She opened the door and sat, then waited for me to pour my heart out, and boy did I pour.
“I’m an idiot. I’m a stupid, stupid idiot.”
“Lex, you are not an idiot. What happened?”
“Oh, god. Where do I start?”
“At the beginning, of course.” She handed me a tissue. Like me, I’m sure she had them stashed in every pocket and sleeve she could find.
“Thanks.” I wiped my eyes and blew my nose. “You know I went back to work a couple of months ago right?”
“Yeah, at that big hotel in the city.”
“Well, I was promoted to be the Personal Assistant to the hotel’s owner, Bryce Clark.”
“Bryce Clark, the one you were with at the Tel Vs?” Of course, the Tel Vs, everybody saw the Tel Vs.
“Well, how can I put this? I’ve fallen in love with him” I took a deep breath and continued before she could say anything. “I know it sounds completely far-fetched and ridiculous, especially after only a couple of months, but Jen, I have never felt anything like the way I feel when I am with him.” I waited for her to have some input into the conversation, but she didn’t, so I emptied my nasal cavity again and continued. “I tried to ignore it, I did. I kept telling myself it was the excitement of the unknown, you know, a bit of harmless flirting and that it would just blow over. The problem was, the more and more time we spent together only confirmed what we felt for each other. It’s like we are soul mates.” Repeating this aloud now irritated me, because it was true. Regardless of the stunt the two men in my life just pulled, it didn’t change the fact that Bryce felt like my soul mate and now that just really pissed me off.
Jen still didn’t interrupt in any way, she just listened and let me talk until I was finished. I loved this about my sister, she had to be the best listener in the world. “By this stage, we had obviously shared a few kisses and I hated myself for that. The first one was, well it wasn’t a mistake.” I scoffed at myself. “Well maybe it was? Bryce had taken me by surprise and he was terribly sorry for doing it. The thing was, that first kiss shifted the earth from under our feet, and it was absolutely impossible to stop the ones that seemed to follow after that. Then I had the car accident.” She wrinkled her forehead at me. Oh yeah, I never told her. “Don’t worry, I was fine. Anyway, I had the car accident and Bryce came to my aid, literally, like a knight in bloody freaking armour. He told me he was terrified of anything ever happening to me, then he said he loved me.” I remembered lying on his sofa feeling somewhat dazed and confused, and looking into his handsome face when he said the words, ‘I Love You’. They had been as clear as crystal, regardless of my slight concussion. “It took everything within me Jen not to have sex with him there and then, and that’s when I realised I was in love with him too, and it wasn’t going to blow over or go away. Looking back on it now, it was obvious really. I would never have found myself doing what I was doing and being in the situations I was in if I wasn’t in love with him.”
Repeating this only reiterated exactly what it was, I would never have done what I did with Bryce if I had not been in love with him. It somehow made me feel less guilty, I know it shouldn’t, but it did. “I went away with the girls for the weekend to clear my head, and when I got back, Rick was acting really strange. Then, all of a sudden, Rick tells me he knows I have sexual feelings for Bryce and to go and explore them. The thing was Jen, he wasn’t angry.” Her lips were still sealed but the look on her face showed she had not understood Rick’s thinking and suggestion. “Trust me, I was confused as hell, too. I told him ‘no’, of course, but then he said he understood the feelings of ‘wanting to experience another’, because he’d had them years ago, and as a result, he had an affair.”
She gasped and put her hand to her mouth but still didn’t say a word. My overly large tear bank began to spill over again, as I remembered how easy it had been for him to blatantly lie to my face. “It gets worse.” She handed me another tissue instantly. “So after Rick revealed his infidelity, which was last Sunday, I went straight to Bryce. It was like I was on auto pilot, like a magnetic field pulling me direct
ly to him, I couldn’t help myself. I have spent the last week staying at Bryce’s apartment, and yes, Jen, I slept with him, a lot, and was amazing...” I leaned forward on the steering wheel, crying a lot harder now, thinking of all the wonderful moments Bryce and I had shared over the previous week, not so much the sex, but those special little moments that have had my heart beating frantically, then stopping completely, then beating again.
She put her hand on my back and rubbed. I didn’t raise my head, just kept slouching and talking into the steering wheel. “This past week has been the best week of my life, the way I feel when I’m with him is indescribable. I know that doesn’t makes sense and it sounds crazy. I should have had the worst week of my life after what Rick had confessed, but I didn’t. Yes, I was hurt by his revelation, but whatever pain and hurt I felt, Bryce seemed to heal it like magic.” I lifted my head and glanced at her expecting a scornful look back, what I got instead was both a concerned and sad expression, but also one of understanding. “Yesterday, Bryce confessed to approaching Rick while I was away with the girls. He told me he had informed Rick that we were in love and that he wanted to spend a week with me alone. Rick apparently told him to ‘fuck off’, but Bryce had pictures of Rick and Claire...”
Finally she interrupted. “Claire, as in Claire Longmire?”
“Yes.”
“Geezus.” She was shaking her head and looking out the front windscreen.
“Bryce blackmailed Rick with the pictures. You know what? It all makes perfect sense to me now, the little things that made me wonder why Bryce was so guilt ridden during the week, and how Rick just came out of nowhere with his bombshell.” She still looked slightly confused, and I didn’t blame her. “Don’t worry Jen, the light bulb will go off soon.” I had progressed from sadness, to slight clarity, and moved on to sarcasm. These emotions were a never ending circle, so I knew I would be back to sadness soon. “I had not spoken to Rick at all, that was until this morning, when he came barging into Bryce’s office. I was ready to finally have it out with him, I had the pictures of his affair, and I had my mind set on being with Bryce. I had clarity, sounds weird, but I had somewhat made peace with majority of it.” The next stage in my circle of emotions must have been ‘lack of feeling’, because I had actually begun to feel quite numb. “Where was I? I can’t seem to think anymore.”
Satisfaction (The Temptation Series #2) Page 17