A Clandestine Corporate Affair

chapter Fourteen

“Are you sure that you and Nathan are okay?” Beth whispered, taking Ana’s empty champagne glass and handing her a fresh one. “You’ve barely even looked at each other all night.”

“That’s the point,” Ana said, sipping the champagne, knowing that if she was going to make it to midnight she was going to have to pace herself. She and Nathan had already arranged to meet upstairs in the guest bedroom right before the clock struck twelve so they could share a New Year kiss. And maybe share a little more than that. From the minute she poured herself into the crimson party dress, he’d been gunning to get her back out of it again. And though he looked utterly delicious in his tux, she much preferred what he was hiding underneath it.

Since Christmas Eve, Nathan had spent every night at her place. Every day he brought more of his things, and he’d arranged for the service that picked up and delivered his dry cleaning to start coming to her condo instead of his apartment.

If someone had told her a month ago that she and Nathan and Max would be more or less living together now, she would have called them crazy.

Beth handed the empty glass to a passing waiter and asked Ana, “So you two are bitter rivals tonight?”

“No.” She glanced over at Nathan, who was standing across the room with a group of elegantly dressed couples. He seemed to sense her watching and glanced her way. Other than the slight tilt of his lips, he did nothing to acknowledge her. “Just indifferent,” she told Beth. “Sometimes acting as though you hate someone is even more suspicious than not acknowledging them at all.”

“Ma’am?” One of the servers approached Beth. “We’re running short on cocktail napkins.”

“There’s another box in the pantry,” Beth told her, and she stared at Beth blankly. Beth sighed and said, “I’ll show you.”

They walked off in the direction of the kitchen, and Ana crossed the great room to the Christmas tree beside the stone fireplace. It put hers to shame. It was so tall it nearly kissed the peak of the vaulted ceiling. There was another equally grand tree in the foyer at the base of the staircase. Beth always went all out on the holidays, enlisting a professional to decorate the estate inside and out. In fact there were so many white lights adorning the house and the trees and shrubbery throughout the grounds, Ana was sure that it was visible from space.

“That’s quite a tree,” Nathan said, stepping up beside her, as though he was just making polite conversation with a fellow party guest.

“Yes it is,” she agreed.

He leaned in and said softly, “Sort of puts ours to shame.”

She smiled and whispered back, “Funny, but I was just thinking the same thing.”

“Next year,” he said.

“If we want one this big we’ll need a great room with a vaulted ceiling.”

“Should we put that on the list?”

In preparation for house hunting, they had begun making a list of the features they both wanted in a home. Nathan had even been looking at available properties online and already found several possibilities. Ana just wished she could shake the feeling that things were moving too fast.

Was it that she’d been hurt so many times that she was afraid to trust it, or was it her instincts telling her something was wrong? She just wasn’t sure.

“Ana Birch?” someone said from behind her.

She turned to find a short, plump, vaguely familiar woman. She had blond, poofy hair that accentuated her round face, and wore a dress that was just a smidge too clingy for someone her size. “Yes?”

“It’s me, Wendy Morris!” she bubbled excitedly. “From St. Mary’s School for Girls!”

It took a second, then Ana was hit with the memory of a young, bubbly cheerleader wannabe who was always so desperate to be accepted by the popular girls she made an annoyance of herself. “Oh my gosh, Wendy, how are you? I haven’t seen you in ages.”

“Well, it’s Wendy Morris-Brickman now,” she gushed proudly, flashing a ring in Ana’s face. She turned and shouted across the room, “Sweetie, come here!”

A man who looked to be about Nathan’s age, with thinning hair and round glasses, in a tux that didn’t quite accommodate his stocky build, crossed the room. Wendy hooked an arm through his in what looked like a death grip. He couldn’t have been more than two inches taller than his wife, and though Ana wouldn’t have considered him unattractive, he was very…nondescript. Bordering on mousy.

“This is David Brickman, my husband. David, this is Ana Birch, my good friend from high school.”

More like casual acquaintances, but Ana didn’t correct her. She accepted David’s outstretched hand. It was warm and clammy.

“Nice to meet you,” he said, but she realized he wasn’t even looking at her. His eyes were on Nathan, who was still standing beside her.

Wendy looked up at Nathan and asked Ana, “And this is your…?”

“Nathan Everette,” he said, shaking her hand, then extending his hand to David.

David looked at his hand, then glared up at Nathan, red-faced with anger.

What the heck?

“You have no idea who I am, do you?” David asked.

Nathan blinked, and she could see him wracking his memory.

“We attended Trinity Prep together,” David said, with a venom that took Ana aback.

Who was this guy? And why would he be so openly rude?

Nathan must have recognized him, because suddenly all the color drained from his face. “David, of course,” he said, but he looked as though he might be sick.

“Let’s go, honey,” David said, dragging his confused wife in the opposite direction.

“What the hell was that about?” Ana whispered.

“Later,” Nathan said, before he walked away, too.

She couldn’t exactly go after him, not without rousing suspicions, but she wanted to know what was going on. Maybe Beth would have an idea.

Sipping her champagne, she walked to the kitchen, but Beth wasn’t there. In fact, she didn’t see her anywhere. Beth was the consummate hostess. She would never just disappear in the middle of her own party.

Ana found Leo in the study showing off his college football trophies.

“Have you seen Beth?” she asked him.

“She’s probably upstairs freshening her lipstick,” he said.

Ana headed up the stairs to the master suite. The door was closed so she knocked gently.

“I’ll be down in a minute!” Beth called.

“It’s Ana. Are you okay?” she said.

There was silence, then the door opened. And Beth clearly was not okay. Her eye makeup was smudged and tears streaked her cheeks.

“Beth, what’s wrong?”

She pulled Ana into the room and shut the door. “I’m just having a minor meltdown. I’ll be okay in a minute.”

“Did something happen?”

Beth sat on the edge of the bed. “It’s nothing.”

“It’s obviously not nothing or you wouldn’t be crying.”

“It’s Leo,” she said with a shrug. “You know how men are.”

“What did he do?”

“I went in the pantry to get the napkins and he was in there.” At Ana’s questioning look she added in a shaky voice, “With a paralegal from his firm.”

Oh hell. “I take it they weren’t in there getting napkins.”

Beth laughed through her tears. “Not unless they were crammed down her bra.”

“That rat bastard,” Ana said, furious on Beth’s behalf. She’d seen him two minutes ago and he hadn’t looked the least bit remorseful. She always thought that Leo was the perfect father and husband, and that he and Beth had the ideal marriage. So much for that delusion. “Do you think it was a minor indiscretion, or is he having an affair?”

“There have been a lot of late nights at the office the past month or so, and calls on his cell phone that he has to take in his study. And our sex life has ceased to exist, so I’m guessing she’s the new flavor of the month.”

“The month? Are you saying that he’s done this before?”

“Usually he’s much more discreet. He’s never brought one home. At least, not that I’ve known about. He always says that he’s sorry, and it won’t happen again, but it always does. I thought that when we got married he would settle down, that I would be enough.”

He was screwing around on her in college, too? And she still married him? “Beth, why do you let him treat you this way?”

“I love him. Besides, what choice do I have? I don’t want to be a divorced single mom. My parents adore Leo. He’s from a good family and he has the perfect career. They would be horrified.”

Ana loved her aunt and uncle, but they always had been too hung up on appearances. “Screw your parents. You have to do what’s right for you.”

Beth dabbed at her eyes. “I’m not like you, Ana. I’m not strong. I don’t like to be alone.”

“You think I’m strong? Beth, I’m the most insecure person on the planet. But I’d rather be alone and miserable than with someone who had so little respect for me that he would cheat. You deserve so much better than that. And think about the message you’re sending your daughter.”

“There’s no way she could know. She’s too little.”

“She is now, but unless you put a stop to this, eventually she’s going to figure it out. Do you want her to think it’s okay to let her husband cheat on her? Do you want her to go through what you’re going through right now?”

She bit her lip and shook her head. “Are you terribly disappointed in me?”

“Of course not! I love you and I’m always going to be on your side. I just want you to be happy.”

“He looked really sorry, and he said he would end it, and it wouldn’t happen again. Maybe he means it this time.”

And why would he stop when he knew he could get away with it? When the only repercussion of his actions was making his devoted wife miserable.

“Beth, you need to do something. If you don’t want to leave him, then tell him you want to go to marriage counseling.”

“But my parents—”

“Forget your parents. Do what’s best for you and Piper.” She took Beth’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “I’ll stand right by you, and help you in any way that I can.”

“I’ll think about it,” she said, then she dabbed her eyes and squared her shoulders. “I need to fix my face and get back downstairs to my guests. It’s going to be a new year soon.”

And for Beth, Ana feared it was going to be an unhappy one. No matter what she decided.

Ana left her alone to pull herself together and headed back downstairs, wishing there was something she could do or say to help Beth, to make her see that she didn’t have to put up with that kind of treatment. Especially from a man who supposedly loved her.

She nearly ran into Nathan as he climbed the stairs.

“Where did you go?” he whispered, even though there was no one in the immediate vicinity to hear him.

She jerked her chin up toward the second floor. “Bedroom. We need to talk. You would not believe what just happened.”

“Actually, I was just leaving.”

“Leaving? As in going home? But…Jenny has Max all night. We can stay out late.”

“I’m not much in the mood for celebrating.”

What the hell? How could a night that had started out so well suddenly crash and burn?

“Is it because of David Brickman? Why was he so rude to you?”

“It’s a long story.”

“One I’d love to hear,” she said, grabbing his sleeve and leading him back upstairs to the guest bedroom where they had planned to rendezvous.

When they were inside with the door closed, he asked, “So, what happened with you?”

“Not me. Beth. She caught Leo in the pantry in a compromising position with a woman from work. She said he’s been cheating on her for years. Even back in college, before they were married.”

“I know.”

He mouth fell open. “You do?”

“I lived in the same house with him for two years. He didn’t exactly try to hide it.”

“Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

“What was I supposed to say? Who am I to pass judgment on anyone?”

“So you think that sort of behavior is acceptable?”

He sighed. “Of course not.”

“How can you even be friends with someone like that?”

“He didn’t cheat on me. What Leo does or doesn’t do, and who he does it with, is none of my business.”

Ana took a deep breath and blew it out. “You’re right. I didn’t mean to snap at you. I’m just so angry right now. At Leo for hurting Beth, and at Beth for putting up with it.”

“I know.” He reached for her, pulled her into his arms and just held her. It was exactly what she needed.

She rested her head against the lapel of his jacket, breathed in the scent of his aftershave. The guy sure had a knack for making her feel better. And she knew that he would never be unfaithful to her.

“So what’s the deal with that David Brickman guy? Why was he so rude to you? Oh, and for the record, I was not ‘good friends’ with Wendy in school. I barely knew her. And she obviously has pretty lousy taste in husbands.”

“Actually, he was completely justified.”

“What?” She looked up at him. “How? What did you ever do to him?”

“There are things about me, things I haven’t told you. Things I would rather forget.”

“Like what?”

“You know how there’s always that kid in school, the one who preys on the smaller, weaker kids? The kid who’s always getting into trouble, getting into fights?”

“Of course. Is that who that guy was?” If so, he was probably the shortest, least threatening bully in history.

“No, that was me.”

Her mouth dropped open and she actually laughed, the notion was so completely ridiculous. “Nathan, you are the nicest, most patient and caring man I have ever met.”

“That wasn’t always the case. My dad bullied me, so I went to school and bullied kids who were smaller and weaker than me. The therapist I was seeing said it made me feel empowered.”

“You saw a therapist?”

“In high school. It was court mandated as a part of my probation.”

“Probation?”

“After I put my father in the hospital.”

She sucked in a breath. “What happened?”

He sat down on the edge of the bed and she sat beside him. “I had gotten suspended again for fighting, and as usual that meant a beat-down from my father. But I don’t know, something inside of me just snapped, and for the first time I fought back. I laid him out in one punch, and as he fell he cracked his head open on the credenza. I was arrested for assault.”

“It sounds more like self-defense to me.”

“The police didn’t think so. Of course, they didn’t get the whole story. My mother sided with my father, of course.”

That was just sick.

“On the bright side, that was the last time he ever laid a hand on me, so it wasn’t a total loss. And the therapy did me a world of good. It helped me learn to deal with my anger. Although to this day it can still be a struggle.”

She was having some anger issues of her own right now. Between Beth’s husband and Nathan’s parents, she was beginning to get the feeling that there was no justice in the world. The worst part was that she had the distinct impression that despite everything he’d overcome and accomplished, Nathan still believed he was damaged somehow.

And she feared there wasn’t a damned thing she could do about it.