“I thought you looked a little tanned. Where’d you go?”
“On a cruise through the Mediterranean.”
“Nice.”
“Are you still working out regularly?”
“Absolutely. I’m usually out of there by five, though.”
In the cafeteria she headed for the fruit bar, while he walked toward the grill, where the eggs and meats were on display. They called out friendly farewells.
Grace glimpsed him on the cashier line a few people ahead of her. She watched as he joked with the cashier. God, he was handsome. Maybe she should stay a little later tonight and get to the gym while he was there.
Grace was working in her office when her administrative assistant, Carla, tapped on her door. “Something’s come up, Grace.”
Shit. She’d been hoping for a nice, quiet day of catch-up. “What is it?”
“It’s serious. There’s trouble brewing in Brazil. A patient taking our new antihypertensive died, and his lawyer is charging that his death is a direct result of the medication. Jeff Post is putting together a meeting at noon to discuss the matter, and Marlon wants to see you this afternoon at three.”
Jeff Post was the global head of the hypertension division, and Marlon—no last name necessary—was Marlon Kellerman, the president of the company. So much for her quiet day. A public relations nightmare was unfolding in the Southern Hemisphere.
She glanced at her watch. It was already eleven-twenty. “I guess I’d better get some lunch now, if I want to eat.”
“They’re having the meeting catered. It’s scheduled to run until two.”
“All right. I’d better see what I can find out about what’s going on down there.”
Carla took this as her cue to leave, thoughtfully closing the office door.
Grace arrived at the conference room at two minutes before twelve, just as the previous group using the room filed out. She joined in the conversation of the other early arrivals, discussing the possible ramifications of the customer’s death if it turned out to be linked to their product. Of course, the drug had undergone the same rigorous testing as any to be approved by the FDA, but it was still brand new. Anything could go wrong.
A white-smocked fortyish woman from Catering arrived, her petite size belying the weight of the two three-tiered carts she’d wheeled over from the cafeteria, pushing one and pulling the other. The sandwiches, salads, and desserts probably didn’t weigh much, but the canned sodas and bottled water had to be hefty.
The people closest to the door began to go inside. She smiled when she saw Calvin approaching. She’d forgotten that he was a member of the hypertension team. It would be nice to work with him on this.
“Long time, no see,” she joked with a smile. “Are you in this meeting, too?”
He looked a little embarrassed. “Uh . . . no.”
At the moment Grace noticed Calvin wasn’t carrying a notepad, the Catering employee asked him, “Are you the person who’s going to help me set up?”
“Excuse me,” Calvin said to Grace. He turned to the petite woman. “Yes. We have to hurry. It’s a closed-door meeting, so they can’t begin until we’re out of here.”
Grace watched, dumbfounded, as Calvin and the woman disappeared inside the meeting room with the carts.
“I appreciate this,” the woman was saying to Calvin. “Normally for an order this large they send two of us, but it’s our busiest time downstairs, and we couldn’t spare anyone else.”
“I understand. This all came up at the last minute,” Calvin said.
Grace took a deep breath. The man she’d planned to replace Eric with was an administrative assistant? She felt like someone had sucked all the air out of her.
Nevertheless, she had a job to do. Certain that her facial expression gave nothing away, she walked in the room and took a seat at the large conference table.
When Grace got home she dialed Eric. She’d called him when she got in from the airport on Monday, but she deliberately kept that conversation short, making a date to meet him at Panera Bread on Saturday for lunch. She knew he was expecting to go to her place or his afterward for a sex-filled afternoon, but after the way he worked her over the last time she saw him, she’d decided to break it off with him. Pat was right. Better to be by herself than with someone who resented what she’d worked long and hard to accomplish. Now, because of the developments in São Paolo, she’d have to postpone the inevitable another week. She’d been looking forward to making a clean break and wasn’t happy about the delay, but it couldn’t be helped.
“Hi, Eric,” she said when he answered.
“Hey, baby! What’s up? I know—you decided you can’t wait until Saturday to see me and you want me to come over now.”
She cringed, grateful he couldn’t see her face. “Actually, I wanted to let you know that I won’t be able to see you this weekend. I have to go to Brazil.”
“Brazil? But you just got back from vacation.”
“This isn’t vacation; it’s work. We’ve got a major problem going on down there, and the company president wants me down there. I leave tomorrow.”
“Damn.” Eric paused. “You been there before?”
“Yes.”
“Where haven’t you been, Grace?”
She said the first thing that came to her mind. “Antarctica.”
“Yeah, well, I hear they’ve got a lousy climate. I didn’t know you speak Spanish.”
Grace had a fleeting thought of Danny and his relocation to San Juan. “I don’t. But they speak Portuguese in Brazil.”
“Whatever. They gonna be having Carnival down there, people dancing in the streets and shit?”
“Eric, Carnival is before Lent. Just like Mardi Gras in New Orleans.” Good Lord, did he not know anything? São Paolo was hardly a picnic. The last time she went she was transported to and from her hotel in a bulletproof vehicle. “Anyway, I just wanted you to know. I’ve got to get packed. I’ll see you when I get back, okay?”
“When will that be?”
“Tuesday.”
“All right. I guess you still don’t need me to keep an eye on your place and your car while you’re gone, huh?”
“No, I’ll be doing the same as I did when I went away.” The company was providing airport transfers via limousine, as it always did for staff who traveled, but she doubted Eric knew enough about corporate culture to know that. Her car would stay in the garage.
“Grace, do you have somethin’ you want to say to me?”
She frowned. “Something like what?”
“You’ve been gone for almost two weeks. Now you call and say that you’re goin’ out of town again. On a day’s notice. Who the hell does that? Then you act like you don’t want me anywhere near your house or your car. And you’re always throwing all this shit about your travels up in my face.”
“This is legit, Eric. If I wanted to dump you I would come out and tell you.” Grace viewed his outburst as a way to try to shame her into giving him a spare set of keys to her condo and Mercedes. How could he say she threw her travels in his face when she downplayed it by hiding the artwork she’d purchased abroad before he came to her place?
“Yeah, well, I’ve got a bad feeling about it.”
“Well, I’m sorry to hear that,” she said coldly. “But right now it’s most pressing for me to get ready for my trip. I’ll call you when I get back.” She hung up.
As Grace packed, she asked herself why she hadn’t just broken it off with him on the phone. Did she really feel he deserved a face to face after the things he did to her in bed that night? Sure, she’d felt better after she took a hot shower, which soothed her muscles. There were no marks anywhere on her skin, but she felt like she’d been mildly assaulted just the same. He’d stopped just short of biting her damn clit.
Of course, now that she’d learned that Calvin’s job was even more low ranking than Eric’s, she had no prospects at all. But Pat’s refusal to date anyone not on a similar economic plane
with her had paid off in the form of Andy Keindl.
Grace could only hope she would be as fortunate.
Chapter 43
Mid-August
Kenosha, Wisconsin
Susan snuggled up to Charles. Everything was going beautifully. She’d enrolled Quentin and Alyssa in a two-week day camp, which kept them occupied until five-thirty. Charles had rented a room in an extended-stay hotel just a few minutes north of her home. She’d spent every day with him, and it saddened her to think that it would all end today.
But she’d made progress in her plan. She’d been offered the bookkeeping position she applied for, and she accepted it. She would work four hours a day, from ten until two. She would start a week from Monday, which was the kids’ first day of school. Bruce hadn’t objected to the schedule, for she would be at work while the kids were in school. She’d already gotten permission from the owner about taking off on single-day school holidays, like Labor Day, Columbus Day, and even two days for Thanksgiving. Christmas break was something else, lasting up to a week and a half, but Susan assured the owner that wouldn’t be a problem. She could get one of the older neighborhood kids to stay with Quentin and Alyssa while she went in. She so looked forward to working again and gaining some experience.
“Guess what?” she murmured to Charles.
“I know. It’s time for you to go.”
“The past two weeks have been wonderful.”
He pulled her closer. “For me, too.”
“Are you going back right away?”
“I’ll probably wait until the morning, since I’m paid up through tomorrow. If I leave early I shouldn’t run into traffic. I’ll go out and get something to eat and bring it back.”
“I think I’ll take the kids out. Bruce already told me he’ll be late.” Susan sighed. After getting home relatively early for weeks, Bruce had returned to late hours. She wanted so badly to just throw in the towel on her marriage, but she had to resist the urge to spontaneously blurt out her intentions to Bruce. “Tomorrow’s Quentin’s birthday, so we might as well get an early start on our celebration.”
“What is he, eleven?”
She nodded. “It’s going to be a busy week. I’ve got to take the kids shopping for school clothes, and Elyse and I are having lunch . . . And I moved up my appointment for my one-year cancer screening so I don’t have to take time off from work.” Her body went rigid, as it always did as the time for her screening approached. She couldn’t help feeling nervous. Its results would help determine her future . . . whether she lived or died.
“I can tell you’re worried,” Charles said. “Would you like me to go with you?”
His concern made her want to cry. Bruce had made no such offer when she told him about the appointment. It gave her the uncomfortable feeling that he secretly hoped her cancer would claim her life, just to make things easy for him.
“I’d like that, Charles. But I don’t think I should. Bruce hasn’t said anything about coming along, but I think he might do it at the last minute.”
“If he doesn’t, you call me.”
She shut her eyes, overcome with emotion. She knew how difficult it was for Charles to volunteer to be second. He truly did love her. She couldn’t wait to be with him openly. “Thank you,” she whispered.
Chapter 44
Mid-August
Milwaukee
Bruce left his office five minutes before Shay got off work and waited by her car, leaning against the driver’s-side door. Five minutes later she came out of the building, crossing her arms in front of her chest when she saw him. “Not a good idea, Bruce.”
The words rushed out of him. “Shay, I can’t stand being without you. I promise you, by the end of the year my divorce will be in motion. I’ve already spoken to a lawyer.”
“Really. And have you spoken to your wife?”
“Not yet. We’re working on our strategy. I don’t want to spring it on her until we’ve got everything worked out. I’m not looking to screw her out of anything, but I don’t want her to get half of what I’ve got, either.” He didn’t want to mention that he also wanted to wait for the results of Susan’s workup. Shay had already accused him of hiding behind his wife’s health, but it did play a role. As much as he wanted Shay, he knew he wouldn’t be able to bring himself to ask Susan for a divorce while she fought cancer. He only prayed her remission would continue. He couldn’t reclaim his passion for her—Lord knew he’d tried—and he suspected she had grown weary of his halfhearted attempts. All he could think about was Shay.
“So you’re hiding your assets.”
He began to feel foolish. He’d hoped that the moment Shay heard about his consulting an attorney she’d rush into his arms. Instead she still stood several feet away from him, not relaxing her stance one bit.
“I’ve put the wheels in motion,” he corrected. In a softer tone, he said, “Come on, Shay. It hasn’t been that long. Surely you haven’t been able to replace me already.”
She dropped her arms and stared at him uncertainly. “Bruce, if you’re stringing me along. . . .”
He looked her dead in her eye so she could see the truth in his. “I’ve always been honest with you, Shay, from the very beginning. I told you I was married and had a family. When you decided you couldn’t wait for me to get my life together, I walked out of your life without objection or even hesitation. And now I’m telling you that I’m in the process of divorcing my wife, that I want you in my life. No, Shay, I’m not stringing you along. I’d never want to deny you anything you want, and certainly not something you want so badly.”
She hesitated. “I just can’t get too excited about this. Not until it actually happens, and too much can go wrong.”
“Why don’t we go to dinner, and we can talk some more?” Bruce stepped forward and held out his hand. He breathed a sigh of relief when she took it.
This was the first step toward being happy again.
Chapter 45
Mid-August
Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin
Susan listened as the person at the register repeated their order. “That’s right,” she said. The cashier stated the total and instructed them to drive to the pickup window.
“You kids are really giving me a break,” she remarked as she drove. “I never thought you would have wanted Culver’s.”
“I wanted a hamburger,” Quentin said, “and theirs are the best.”
Susan had to agree. The chain, located predominantly in the Midwest, had the best burgers she’d ever tasted, whether in a fast-food or more elegant setting. She’d ordered hers with mushrooms and Swiss cheese.
She pulled up to the window, a twenty all ready to hand over to the cashier.
“Oh, the gentleman in front of you paid for your order, miss,” the cashier informed her.
Susan’s neck jerked as she peered at the car at the second window. An aqua Blazer with Illinois plates. It had to be Charles. Of all times for him to go out to get something to eat. What the hell was he thinking, paying for her order? He’d obviously seen her pull up behind him—she hadn’t noticed him—but hadn’t he noticed Quentin sitting in the front seat next to her? Okay, so he wasn’t tall enough for his head to extend beyond the seat. But every two minutes he stuck his head between the front seats to say something to Alyssa.
Susan leaned out of the window and spoke to the cashier softly. “In that case, can you break this twenty for me? Two tens would be fine.”
“But, ma’am, I can’t open my register without making a sale.”
“Get your manager,” she hissed. The last thing she wanted was for Quentin to ask why they didn’t have to pay. He sat right beside her, and he missed nothing.
“What’s going on, Mom?” he asked now.
“Nothing. Everything’s fine.” She turned her head to face the cashier, putting the index finger of her left hand to her lips.
The cashier took the cue and said softly, “I’m going to get someone to bring this bill up front for
me and break it for you, since I can’t leave the window.”
“Fine,” Susan said tersely. She cursed herself for not recognizing Charles’s car in front of her, but even if she had, she never thought he’d pull a stunt like this. How was she supposed to explain a stranger buying their dinner to her children?
Just wait til she got hold of him.
The change was given to her shortly, and she replaced it in her wallet and pulled forward. Their food had already been bagged up. Charles had pulled into a parking space in the front of the building. If he expected her to stop and introduce him to her kids, he really was nuts, Susan thought.
She drove by without so much as slowing down.
After she got home, she dialed Charles’s cell from the privacy of her bedroom. He answered on the second ring. “What do you mean, paying for my kids’ food? Don’t you think that’s going to make them curious about who you are and why you’re doing that? They might even mention it to their father. What am I supposed to tell them, Charles?”
“What did you tell them?”
“Fortunately, I didn’t have to tell them anything. The cashier told me that you’d paid, but she spoke softly enough that no one but me heard her. I already had my money out, and my son was sitting right next to me, so I covered by asking the cashier to give me change for a twenty.”
“So everything worked out.”
“Don’t sound so disappointed. I want to know what it is you’re up to, Charles Valentine.”
“All right. You deserve to know the truth. I’m getting a little tired of having the woman I love be some other man’s wife. I want you to get a divorce, Susan, so you can marry me. We’ve already lost twenty-five years because of a bunch of foolishness. I don’t want any more delays.”
Not this again. He hadn’t mentioned it once during the two weeks he’d been staying at the extended-stay hotel. His offer to go with her to her cancer screening if Bruce didn’t had probably gotten him thinking about how much he disliked having her go home to Bruce every time they were together. Now she regretted having brought it up.
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