Barbara Dunlop - Marriage, Manhattan Style

Reed strode confidently past the maître d’, rounded the end of the polished bar and came upon Kendrick before the man had a chance to spot him.

“Good evening, Senator.” Without waiting for an invitation, Reed slipped into the burgundy velvet booth, sliding up next to the blond woman, helping himself to a breadstick.

The senator’s expression faltered, but the woman immediately curved her red lips into a welcoming smile, and she draped a long-fingered hand on Reed’s shoulder.

A waiter appeared at the table. “Would you care for a drink, sir? Some wine?”

“Macallan eighteen-year-old,” said Reed. “One ice cube.”

The waiter nodded and withdrew.

“Reed,” Kendrick finally acknowledged with a nod.

“Back from Washington?” Reed asked.

“This afternoon.”

“I’ve been trying to get hold of you.”

“I got your messages.”

“And?”

“And my lawyers have advised me not to speak publicly on the matter.”

Reed cracked the breadstick in half. “Where my lawyers have advised me to convince you to speak publicly on the matter.”

Kendrick’s bushy-browed eyes narrowed.

“I was surprised to read about Hammond and Pysanski.” Reed let his gaze bore into the man he’d known and trusted for a dozen years. Not that Kendrick would be the first politician to go bad.

“As was I.”

“Something I should know?” asked Reed.

“Should we powder our noses, Michael?” asked the brunette woman.

“No,” said Kendrick. “Mr. Wellington won’t be staying long.”

The waiter set Reed’s drink down on the white tablecloth. Then he topped up the others’ wineglasses and removed the bottle.

“Reed Wellington?” asked the blond woman.

“In the flesh,” Reed responded, giving her a brief, polite smile.

“I saw you in the paper just this morning.” She sidled a little closer, her arm stretching out along the back of the bench seat. “You’re much better looking in color and three dimensions.”

Reed took a sip of the scotch, putting his focus on Kendrick. “Do you have something to hide?”

“What do you think?”

“I think Hammond and Pysanski were a very unexpected turn of events.”

“That makes me guilty?”

“That makes me look guilty.” Reed enunciated each word.

“You go down, I go down,” said Kendrick.

“Trent says we get out front of it.”

Kendrick shook his head. “I don’t want to close any doors.”

“What about the other?” Reed didn’t have to mention the murder and blackmail for Kendrick to get the point. “I want my family safe, and the more information you can provide-”

“Can’t help you there.” But there was something in Kendrick’s eyes. Something Reed couldn’t quite put his finger on. Would Kendrick have to take the Fifth? Was the SEC actually on to something?

Reed downed the drink. “This isn’t going to sit well with my board of directors.”

“Yeah,” Kendrick snorted. “Because losing the Wellington International campaign contribution is my biggest worry right now.”

“Do you have a biggest worry right now?”

“You mean other than the SEC charges?”

“Of which we’re innocent.” Reed watched closely for a reaction.

“Like that matters.” Kendrick pasted him with a forbidding stare. “You read the papers. You follow the news. Who doesn’t want to see a corrupt senator and billionaire go to jail?”

Reed spun his crystal tumbler. “Yeah? Well, I hear you can greatly reduce your chances of being incarcerated simply by not committing a crime.”

“That’s always been my first line of defense,” said Kendrick.

“Then let Trent videotape your statement.”

Kendrick shook his head. “No can do.”

“I’m going to find out why,” Reed warned. He waited a beat, but Kendrick didn’t respond.

Then he shoved his glass to the middle of the table and rose to his feet.

Home from the enlightening stop at Alexander’s, Elizabeth stood in her kitchen and struggled to remember the last time she and Reed had eaten in their dining room. Rena was also a cook, and when they were first married, she would make sumptuous four-or five-course dinners. Elizabeth and Reed would indulge in a long, candlelit meal, gazing over the park, talking about the events of the day, their hopes and dreams.

But it had been months since Reed had been home before Rena left for the day. Eventually, the housekeeper had started leaving dinner in the refrigerator for later, tourtière or manicotti-things that were easy to reheat.

Not that Reed would be hungry tonight. Elizabeth was sure he and his little party of four had had a wonderful dinner at Alexander’s. While Elizabeth had settled for a banana and a glass of juice.

A key turned in the lock on the penthouse door, and her stomach lurched. She’d been tempted to pack her bags and leave before he arrived. But she kept hearing Hanna’s voice asking her to assume it was nothing until proven otherwise. Well, Reed was about to prove it one way or the other.

“Elizabeth?” he called, latching the door shut behind him.

She heard him toss his keys on the entry table, then his footfalls moved toward the living room. She walked out of the kitchen to meet him halfway, glancing at the grandfather clock that showed it was ten-fifteen.

“Tough day?” she asked as he loosened his tie.

“I got stuck in meetings.”

“Ahh.” She nodded, moving behind the sofa and putting it between them. “With anyone in particular?”

“The last one was with Collin.”

“Just Collin?”

Reed peered at her strangely. “Yeah.”

“Hmm.”

“Have you eaten?”

“Were you at the office?”

He didn’t even miss a beat. “Downstairs. Collin’s apartment.”

She didn’t respond.

“We could order something from Cabo Luca.” He picked up the phone.

“You didn’t eat earlier?”

“Not a thing. I’m starved.”

Wow. She’d had no idea her husband was such an accomplished liar.

“Any other meetings tonight?”

He paused and cocked his head sideways. “What’s this curiosity all about?”

“Just making conversation.” She ran her fingertips along the back of the sofa. “Wanting to know about my darling husband’s day.”

“Tell me about your day. Anything new on the anniversary party?”

“We’ve chosen the napkins.” After only three weeks of deliberation between the party planner, the caterer and the florist. Elizabeth couldn’t imagine why her life didn’t feel completely fulfilling.

“That’s good,” said Reed.

“Nothing with Senator Kendrick?”

Reed’s eyes narrowed. “Why would you ask that?”

She shrugged. “The SEC investigation.”

“I told you not to worry about that.”

“Well, I am worried about that. I read the papers. Which, by the way, is my only source of information on this subject.”

Reed moved toward her, but she backed off a few steps.

“I saw him briefly, earlier today.”

“Just Kendrick?”

“Yes. Trent thought it would be good for me to talk to him alone. If you must know, we want him to make a public statement that we’re innocent.”

A completely inappropriate chuckle burst from Elizabeth. “Innocent?”

“Of course.”

Her throat closed in, and her voice rose an octave. “I don’t know what the hell you and Kendrick were doing for four hours with those supermodels, but it sure as hell didn’t look innocent to me.”

Reed drew back, his eyes going wide. “Whoa.”

“Who were they, Reed? Or do you even remember their names? A month ago, I would have sworn on a stack of Bibles that you were a faithful husband. And then I thought it was one woman. And now I don’t know how the hell many. How long? How long have you been living a lie?”

“Elizabeth!” Arms outstretched, he took two steps forward.

She looped around the end of the sofa. “You stay away from me.”

“I swear, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Swear all you want, Reed. Because I know how well you lie.”

“I’ve been completely faithful.” His expression was earnest. If she didn’t know better, she’d believe him without question.

“Is that why you wouldn’t make love with me? Was it because of her?”

“There is no her. I didn’t make love with you because you cringed at my touch. Then I was working, and then you were passed out drunk. I want a baby as much as you do, but I’m not making love to an unconscious wife.”

“Then maybe you should have one with someone else.” She finished the statement on a sob, realizing how very much the thought of Reed having a baby with someone else hurt her. She loved him. Even through all of this, she still loved him.

It was pathetic.

“Who else?” he demanded, and she could see he was growing angry.

Well, so was she. “I don’t know. Take your pick. Maybe that blonde who was hanging all over you in the restaurant, or maybe the-”

“I don’t know what people told you. But my meeting with the senator was-”

“Told me?” She laughed again, slightly shrill, slightly hysterical. “Nobody had to tell me anything. I was there, Reed. I saw you. I saw her.”

“How-”

“My driver. Or should I say my bodyguard. Joe from Resolute Charter. The finest protection money can buy. Did you know he had a gun? Wait. How silly of me. Of course he had a gun. Is he protecting me from irate girlfriends?”

“The blond woman was nobody. I didn’t even know her name. She was with the senator-”

“Quit lying to me!”

Reed took a giant step forward, wrapping his big hands around her upper arms. He didn’t squeeze. He wasn’t hurting her, but she also knew he wasn’t about to let go.

“I am not lying about the blonde. I saw her for twenty minutes tops. Call and check with Collin if you want.

“Yes, I hired a bodyguard. But he’s also a driver. You want to go out in the city? You want to drink with Hanna? You want to hunt for jobs? Fine. But you’re going to be safe while you do it.

“I’m under investigation, Elizabeth. I swear to God I’m innocent, and nobody’s going to prove otherwise. But the court of public opinion is an entirely different matter. You could be accosted by reporters or self-righteous citizens, or by anybody else on the street. Joe will keep you safe.”

A little of the fight went out of Elizabeth. Was there some logic to that rant? He seemed sincere, offended that his morals had been called into question. And he had conceded on the job front.

“You’re okay with me finding a job?”

“Not in the least. But if you’re going to do it, you’re going to do it. You’re not my prisoner, Elizabeth. Although some days I wish you were.”

Elizabeth suddenly felt exhausted. Sad and exhausted. What was the truth? What were lies? How was she ever going to recognize the difference?

“How can I believe you?” she asked.

“Can I prove I’ve never slept with another woman?”

She found herself praying he could. She loved him. She loved him so much.

“No man can prove that,” said Reed with a sad shake of his head. “But there’s nobody on the planet who can prove I have. I swear to God I’ve been faithful to you. I love you, Elizabeth.” His hands loosened on her arms, and he pulled her into a hug.

Tears dampened her cheeks. “I’m so afraid.”

He stroked his palm over her hair. “I’ll keep you safe.”

“I’m afraid of you, afraid of us, afraid that we’re just not going to make it. I want to believe you, Reed. I so want to believe you.”

He pulled back and cupped her face. “What’s wrong, sweetheart? What’s really going on?”

“I feel like I don’t even know you anymore.”

He looked puzzled. “You know me better than anyone.”

“And you don’t know me.” She gave a strangled laugh. “Not that there’s much to know. I’m nothing. I’m fading.”

His tone was heartfelt as he searched her eyes. “You’re everything to me.”

“But I need to be everything to me. I need to have my own life, my own identity.”

His voice went flat then. “So it’ll be easier to leave me?”

“Do you want to leave me?” she asked.

“Never.”

But there was still the gorgeous blonde, and there was still the scent of coconut embedded in her brain. “Now would be the time to tell me,” she continued. “I won’t hold it against-”

“Never,” he repeated.

She tried to trust him, tried with all her heart and soul to trust him, but it wouldn’t quite come.

“Let’s go away,” he suggested. “Just you and me. We’ll take a trip. We’ll reconnect. We’ll make love anytime, anywhere, as often as we want. Forget the stupid thermometer.”

It was a tempting offer.

Away from New York, she’d have him all to herself. And if he was having an affair, would he be so willing to leave? Maybe, just maybe, there was hope after all.