Ted’s entire body exhaled, releasing the weight of his guilt into Victoria’s arms. He pulled her close to him. He didn’t know what to say to explain himself, so instead, he spoke a language that didn’t require words. He stroked her back, kissed her lips, and removed her silk nightgown. Their lovemaking veered between moments of sweet, gentle passion and raw, untamed heat. Their bodies swayed in sensual rhythm. Victoria dug her knees and the palms of her hands into the mattress, balancing herself on all fours as Ted knelt behind her. She gritted her teeth, taking in each powerful thrust as he gave her what they both wanted and needed—relief.
Afterward, they lay wrapped in each other’s arms. They wanted to stay in the safe place their heated passion had created, because despite what they had just shared, things still weren’t right between them. There were unanswered questions, secrets, and lies floating in the air, and neither of them had the courage to touch them.
Now, standing in her office, with her mind on everything except work,Victoria knew it was pointless to stay any longer. Her thoughts weren’t focused, because the only thing on her mind was the fragile state of her marriage. She longed to skip over the next two days so she could get to the weekend. Even though she had a mountain of work to tackle, the weekend represented an opportunity for her to begin to repair the mess she had made of things. She planned to start by taking Ted out on the town for a romantic dinner at his favorite restaurant, followed by a quick stop at his favorite jazz club, before capping off the evening with a moonlight stroll in the park.
Victoria was preparing to pack up her things and head home when a strange feeling hit her. It was a sense of impending danger that ran through her bones. She lowered her head. “Lord, please forgive me for what I’ve done, and give me the strength to make things right again. So help me, from this day forward I’m going to act like I have some sense and hold my family together.”
Just as she was about to turn off the antique art deco lamp on her desk, her cell phone began to ring. When she looked at the name that flashed across the screen, all she could do was close her eyes and pray harder.
Let It Go ... ?
Parker was glad that his long day had finally come to an end. It had been one full of frustrations, starting with a difficult emergency surgery that had stretched into the late afternoon, preventing him from picking up PJ from school. He was diligent about having his Wednesday and Friday surgeries scheduled for the early morning hours so he would have the afternoon free to spend with his son, but when emergencies came, he had to act. Then his new assistant abruptly quit, leaving him with a mound of paperwork and dozens of fires to put out. But even those complications didn’t compare to the disappointment he felt when he thought about Victoria.
He steered his black Navigator out of the hospital parking lot, thinking about their last encounter. It had been two weeks since he had seen or heard from her. Even though she had tried to act tough by telling him that she didn’t want to pursue anything with him, he knew it was simply a matter of time before she would come back into his arms. So he decided to play along, resisting the urge to contact her. But now he was feeling agitated, and he realized that his plan to exercise patience wasn’t going to work.
He was a man of means and unrelenting determination. The word no wasn’t in his vocabulary. He had been an overachiever all his life and was used to getting his way. If there was something he wanted, he went after it, regardless of the roadblocks that threatened to sideline him. He’d always believed that life was too short to settle for anything less than what he wanted.
As he turned the corner, switching lanes, Parker shook his head when he thought about the fact that the woman he loved was married to another man. It killed him to know that Victoria was with someone else, but he withstood the injury to his heart and the insult to his ego because he knew he was responsible for his fate, and he knew that if he hadn’t messed up, they would be a family today. So instead of continuing to dwell on past transgressions that he couldn’t change, he decided to work on what he could. He turned down the volume on his truck’s CD player, made a right turn onto Peachtree Road, and hit Victoria’s number on speed dial. Just when he thought the call was going to voice mail, she picked up.
“Can you talk?” he asked, not giving her a chance to say hello.
Victoria let out a heavy sigh. “Parker, I thought we already discussed this. It’s over.Why are you calling me?”
He felt like telling her that he was a grown-ass man, that she was his woman, and that he would call her anytime he damn well pleased. But only one of his points was valid, so he held his tongue. “I need to talk to you.”
“We have nothing to discuss. Please let this go.”
“Let it go?” he said with incredulity.
Victoria sat silent on the other end of the line. “I’m hanging up now.”
Parker tightened his grip on the steering wheel. He knew she must still be at her office, working late, because if she were at home, she wouldn’t have answered her phone or called out his name.
He made a sharp left and headed in her direction. “I’m turning into the business park now. I’ll be at your office door in less than a minute.” And with that, Parker hung up and stepped on the gas.
Something Bad Was in the Air ... .
Ted sat at his desk, consumed by a sinking feeling that had settled over his body. He was thinking about the conversation he’d had with Victoria only moments ago.
He had managed to push his heavy personal burdens out of his mind in order to concentrate on the business at hand. His day had been surprisingly productive given his dour frame of mind when he first arrived at his office earlier that morning. He oversaw an executive board meeting with prospective shareholders, held a brainstorming session with key members of his executive management team, and then conducted a conference call with the VPs of ViaTech’s six remote locations. Things had been going as well as could be expected until his cell phone vibrated and he saw Victoria’s number light up the screen.
She had called to let him know that she was still at her office, working late, and that she would be there for at least another hour or more.When he told her that he planned to work late as well, he heard the gentle concern in her voice.
“Ted, you’ve been working day and night since we got back from Boston.You must be exhausted,” she’d said.
“I’m fine, but you, on the other hand, should probably head home.”
He knew that Victoria always made a concerted effort not to work late on weekdays unless an event pulled her away.The fact that she was still at her office let him know that one of two things must be going on with his wife: either she was snowed under with work that couldn’t be put off for another day, or she was so stressed that she needed a few hours to herself in the empty solitude of her office. He suspected it was the latter, given that she was well organized and never let her workload get beyond a controllable size.
“V, I really think you should call it a day,” he said. “You know I’m always uncomfortable when you’re over there by yourself late at night.”
“I’ll be fine.”
Ted tapped his expensive fountain pen against the edge of his desk. He could hear an underlying tension in her voice. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked.
“I’m just a little tired, but I’m good. Listen, I’ve got to go so I can call the sitter.”
She ended their call abruptly, and it left him with the distinct feeling that something bad was in the air.
As Ted leaned back in his chair and replayed their brief conversation, his thoughts plunged deeper and deeper, until they reached a place that was cold and unfamiliar. He was losing Victoria, and he could feel it. “I can’t sit back and let my marriage fall apart,” he said to himself. He knew he had to take action. He logged off his computer, grabbed his suit coat and attaché, and walked out the door, heading straight for Victoria’s office.
You’ve Gotta Get the Hell Outta Here ... !
Victoria refused to an
swer the door when she heard the bell chime. She thought about leaving through the back, but she knew she’d run into Parker if she did, because she would have to walk around to the front of the building, where her car was parked. “I’ve been such a damn fool,” she cursed herself in a whisper. After the fifth ring she looked out the peephole. “Go away, Parker,” she said through the door.
“I’m not going anywhere until I talk to you, face-to-face.”
Victoria knew she shouldn’t be surprised, but it baffled her as to how a mature, confident man like Parker could act like a two-year-old throwing a tantrum. She thought about calling the police, but then she’d have to fill out an official report, explaining his presence at her door. She was already paranoid and nervous about Ted finding out what she had done.
Even though she had not slept with him, she knew her husband would have a hard time believing that she had been in his hotel room but had not had sex with him. Hell, she barely believed it. And at this point all she wanted Parker to do was go away.
After Parker rang the bell for a sixth time, she knew she had to do something. She opened the door, stepped aside, and let him in. Even though the business park wasn’t crowded that time of night, she looked around before shutting the door, making sure no one was in sight to witness him entering her office suite.
Victoria watched Parker as he stood before her. He was still in his scrubs, which meant he had had a long day and didn’t have the time or inclination to change. He hated going out in public in them, preferring his fashionable plainclothes duds instead. His eyes looked tired, and his face bore an agitated scowl.
Victoria put her hand on her hip, standing her ground. “You have a hell of a lotta nerve showing up here like this.”
“You won’t call me. You won’t see me. So I have to take matters into my own hands.”
Victoria shook her head. “There are a lot of things about you that have changed, but I see that your need for control is still the same. You’re used to getting your way, and if things don’t go according to your plan, you don’t know how to handle it.”
“We reconnected. We love each other. Are you forgetting that?”
“Are you crazy?”
“Don’t insult me,Victoria. You came back into my life for a reason.”
“Let it go, Parker.”
“We might not have made love, but we shared a very passionate evening, and now you want me to just act like it never happened? You want me to let this go?”
“I got caught up in the moment that night. It was a mistake that I completely regret.”
Parker shook his head. “You don’t mean that.”
“Why do you keep saying that? I know exactly what I mean.”
“Why are you trying to push me away?”
Victoria rolled her eyes. “Listen, the bottom line is this. We’ll run into each other because our children will be attending the same school and participating in the same social organization. But outside of that we can’t have any contact. I’m only going to say this one more time. Do not attempt to see me again,” she nearly shouted. “What about that scenario do you not understand?”
Parker crossed his arms, organizing his thoughts. “You’ve been avoiding me, saying what you think you have to in order to make me go away. That’s what you do,Victoria. When you don’t want to deal with something, you shut it off and push it to the side. But I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to fight for us to get back together. I know it’s going to be hard, but I’m ready to put in the work.”
“Damn it. Don’t try that armchair psychology with me,” she said with irritation. “I was trying to be civil about this, but now you’ve really pissed me off. You need to go.”
Parker smirked. He’d always loved her feistiness. “You’re something else, you know that? Why are you fighting this?”
Oh, Lord. I’ve gotta get his ass out of here! Victoria could see that playing hardball with Parker wasn’t working, and that her strategy had actually backfired. She needed to get him out of her office, so she tried to be calm as she attempted to reason with him. “We can’t change anything that has happened between us, not the past or the present, but we can control what happens in the future.” She folded her arms, resting them at her chest as she looked him in his eyes so he could see that she meant business. “I love my husband. What I did with you was selfish and irresponsible. I’m under no illusions about my reckless behavior, and that’s why I’m trying to make things right.” She paused briefly for a breath, saying her last words with conviction. “You need to accept what I’ve said and respect my wishes. This is it.... This is the end.”
“Are you finished?” Parker asked.
Victoria nodded her head and braced herself for another heated exchange. But the barrage of words she was expecting never came. Instead, he took two steps forward, put his arms around her waist, drew her into his embrace, and kissed her so deeply she couldn’t breathe. “That’s my response,” he whispered.
He had taken her by surprise. “You need to stop this!” she hissed, pushing him away as she released herself. They stared at each other, she with contempt, he with steadfast nerves.
Victoria turned and was about to open the door to show him out when the bell chimed, startling them both. The uneasy feeling of impending danger she’d experienced before Parker had arrived suddenly returned.
Victoria put her finger to her lips in a shushing motion, her eyes pleading with Parker to remain silent. When she tiptoed to the door and looked through the peephole, she nearly lost her balance. Ted was standing on the other side.
Panic shot through Victoria’s body like a flash of hot lightning. She rushed over to Parker, pulling him by the arm as she ushered him to the back of her office. She led him to the back door, trying to stay calm. “Ted’s outside,” she whispered in a hasty breath. “You’ve gotta get the hell outta here!”
Parker opened his mouth to object, but Victoria quickly covered his lips with the palm of her hand as she turned the dead bolt and opened the door. “Damn it, Parker. Don’t do this. Please, I’m begging you. Just leave!”
They stood in the middle of the open door as the smoldering night heat seeped in between them.Victoria’s BlackBerry started ringing in the holster on her hip. She knew it was Ted, and she knew she had to pick up. Her car was parked out front, so he knew she was still there. Again, she put her finger to her lips, motioning for Parker to keep quiet.
“Hey,” she said in a nervous rush.
“Why haven’t you answered the door? I’m standing outside,” Ted said with worry in his voice. “Is everything all right?”
“Um, yeah. I’m in the bathroom,” she lied as tiny beads of sweat began to form on her forehead. “I’ll be out in a sec.”
Victoria hit the end button and prayed he hadn’t detected the panic in her voice.When she looked at Parker, he was staring at her with a combination of emotions that she couldn’t place, and she didn’t have the energy to try to decipher them. “Parker, you have to go. This can’t happen again. Everything has to end right here, right now.”
Parker brought his hand to the side of Victoria’s cheek and stroked it gently. He shook his head and stepped away, granting her wish. Victoria exhaled a deep sigh of relief but then held her breath, because he turned around, walked back up to her, and looked her in the eye. “Every good-bye’s not gone,” he whispered softly.
Victoria stood at her back door, speechless as Parker turned again and walked away, into the darkness of night.
Serious, Deadly Serious ...
Victoria quickly pulled herself together, smoothed her hair back with the palm of her hand, and opened the front door. When Ted entered, he looked at her with questioning eyes. “Are you sure you’re okay? You sounded different on the phone ... and you look flushed.”
Victoria took a deep breath, trying to appear casual. “I’m fine. Like I said earlier, I’m just a little tired, that’s all.” Then a thought occurred to her. In all the years since she had opened her o
ffice, Ted had never shown up unannounced, not even when she’d been working late at night. “What made you come by?” she asked.
Ted removed his suit coat and unbuttoned the top of his shirt, loosening his tie for comfort. “Let’s have a seat,” he said, extending his arm toward the small love seat near Denise’s desk.
A fresh wave of panic reached out and grabbed Victoria’s heart. She knew that something was very wrong. She sat down beside him, not wanting to look him in the eye, praying she could hold herself together.
Ted took her hand and held it gently in his. “You’re trembling,” he said in an unsteady voice that was unlike his.
Now he was scaring her. “Ted, what’s wrong?” This time Victoria looked into his ocean blue eyes and held his stare.
Ted squeezed her hand tightly. “V, I love you with all my heart.You and Alexandria are my world, and I’ll do whatever it takes to protect you. Sometimes things aren’t as they appear, but eventually all things will be revealed.”
Victoria withdrew, studying the serious look on Ted’s face. “What’s going on? You’re talking in circles.” She started sweating like someone had poured water over her face. Oh, Lord! Did he see Parker as he was leaving? Then she realized that he couldn’t have. There was no way that Parker could have possibly made it from the back of her office building to the front before she opened the door to let Ted in. She knew that, because if the two men had seen each other, she wouldn’t be sitting and talking with her husband at that very moment, because the paramedics would’ve been there by now!
Ted reached for her hand again. He spoke softly, but with great intent. “The past few weeks have been difficult, and I know you’ve noticed that I haven’t been myself.” He lumbered slightly, taking a deep breath to prepare himself for what he was about to say next. “You know me better than anyone else, and I don’t want there to be any secrets between us. I love you, and I’m sorry that I’ve had to lie to you.”
Victoria’s eyes widened. Normally, she would be asking a million questions, because her curiosity was just that great. But she knew this was serious, deadly serious, and it left her in complete silence.
Keeping Secrets & Telling Lies Page 27