Love Sold Separately

by Ellen Meister

  “It’s not you, okay? It’s me. I’ve had some bad experiences.”

  “With crazy women,” she said, seething that he lumped her in with them.

  “With crazy women,” he confirmed, and pulled the wet shirt from his chest as if it were proof.

  She put the empty glass on the coffee table and sat, ashamed that she’d lost control. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I guess that was a little excessive. I just hate to think that you were afraid I would turn on you.”

  He sat down next to her and took her hand. “I should have told you. I should have trusted you.”

  “Yes. You should have.”

  “Can you forgive me?” he asked.

  “I’m trying.” She stared down at his strong hand holding hers.

  “How can I make it up to you?”

  She looked at his face. “Can I throw another glass of Scotch at you?”

  “Some J&B, maybe. Not the Glenmorangie.”

  “But why Kitty?” she said. “I’m not asking in a jealous way. It’s just a...strange match.”

  “I told you,” he said. “Kitty got whatever she wanted.”

  “And she wanted you?”

  He raised an eyebrow.

  “You know what I mean. Kitty didn’t seem that egalitarian in her choices. You don’t fit the rich and powerful profile.”

  He shook his head. “I was wondering the same thing. But I think she just wanted to get someone else jealous, and I was handy. So she made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. Threatened my job.”

  “Seriously? Like, ‘sleep with me or I’ll get you fired’?”

  “It was more subtle than that. She told me she didn’t want to get me in trouble again. Said it was the last thing she wanted.”

  “So your choice was, either sleep with a gorgeous woman or get fired.”

  “That’s about it.”

  “And how did you know it was about getting someone else jealous?”

  “I didn’t at first. The weird thing was that when I left her dressing room, I couldn’t find one of my socks. It didn’t make sense. I mean, I looked everywhere. And then, like a week later, I spoke to another guy who had a similar experience.”

  “Honeycutt?”

  “God, no. Could you see me having this kind of conversation with Honeycutt?”

  “Then who?”

  “Don’t ask me that,” he said.

  “What’s the big deal?”

  “He’s married. It’s a huge secret. I can’t break that confidence.”

  “Fair enough,” she said, but her mind riffled through a list of other married guys in the company. It could, she realized, be anyone.

  “So,” Lorenzo continued, “this guy said she pulled a similar thing with him—threatened his job or promised a promotion or something. And then when he left he couldn’t find his tie. We came to the conclusion that she hid these items so she could leave them around for some other guy to find.”

  “And that’s where Honeycutt comes in,” she said.

  “That’s my guess. I mean, I didn’t know at the time it was him. But now...”

  “Do the police know about your friend who left the tie behind?”

  Lorenzo shook his head. “He’s got too much at stake.”

  “But his story could help you. It connects the dots to Honeycutt.”

  “I can’t do that to this guy, Dana. He’s a family man, and scared enough as it is. He just got in over his head with Kitty.”

  Dana put her face in her hands. “The more I learn about this woman...”

  “She was seriously fucked up.”

  “I almost feel sorry for Honeycutt,” she said, “even if he did kill her.” She picked up Lorenzo’s glass of Scotch and took a small sip.

  “You still want to throw something at me?” he asked.

  His warm hand was on her knee, and the heat radiated up her leg. She looked at his eyes and felt herself melting into sympathy. Kitty had manipulated him. And Dana could understand that confessing it felt...tawdry.

  “Maybe,” she said. “How soundly does Sophia sleep?”

  She moved his hand higher on her thigh. The memory of him in her bed was fresh enough to raise her temperature. She leaned in for a kiss, and that was all it took. The flame of her anger had been doused, but the heat of her desire could ignite the night sky.

  “Pretty soundly,” he said. “Should I get you a glass of J&B?”

  Dana knew exactly what she wanted to throw at him then, and it wasn’t Scotch. She helped him out of his wet shirt, then hesitated, wondering if this was a good idea. But he moved in for a long, deep kiss.

  “You sure this is okay?” she asked as his mouth found her neck. But the question floated into the atmosphere as if evaporating from heat. It was more than okay.

  21

  “How are your teeth?” Dana said to Megan on the phone the next day.

  “Recovered, why? You need me to bite someone?”

  “Sherry Zidel.”

  There was a pause. “Is she still insisting you’re in breach of contract?” Megan sounded genuinely worried.

  “It’s not that. I had an off day yesterday, and Ollie said she wants to talk to me after my show today.”

  “How off was it?”

  “I met my numbers, but barely. Have to admit I’m scared she’s looking for an excuse to boot me.”

  “That’s why God invented contracts.”

  “I know, but—”

  “Don’t sweat it. I’ll come with you. What time do you need me?”

  Dana sighed, relieved. She was so grateful to Megan, and so glad she’d had the sense to accept her friend’s offer to become her manager all those months ago. Looking back, Dana found it hard to believe she’d had any hesitation. Megan was so loyal, and such a pit bull. Plus, she believed in Dana’s talents with her whole heart.

  “Can you make it by five?” Dana asked.

  “With sharpened fangs.”

  After she got off the phone, Dana texted her Sweat City director and told him she would be late for rehearsal that night, because she knew there was simply no way she would be able to blow off Megan again without arousing suspicion. She hated doing it—getting to rehearsal on time was sacrosanct—but she didn’t have a choice.

  A few minutes later, Adam Weintraub came to see Dana for their daily briefing. It was day two of the handbag sale, and he wanted to make sure she had a firm handle on the colors and styles. She did. In fact, Dana was determined to make it her highest sales day ever, despite the sleepy cobwebs she was still trying to shake. She was going to break records if it sucked her of her very soul.

  “I don’t want to put too much pressure on you,” he said, “but—”

  “But I need to kill it today or Sherry will kill me.”

  “Something like that.”

  Dana nodded. She was prepared today, ready to do battle. “I’ve got this,” she said, but Adam didn’t look assured. In fact, he looked as tired and stressed as she felt.

  “Are you okay?” she asked. “Is Sherry putting her sharpened stiletto to your throat?”

  He waved it away. “I’m used to it. I’m just beat. I barely slept.”

  Me, too, she thought, but probably for a different reason. “Kids keep you up?” she said.

  “I can’t wait for that baby to start sleeping through the night.”

  “You know, you never showed me pictures,” she said, hoping to distract him from his misery.

  Adam found his smile again. “You don’t have to ask twice.” He took out his phone, scrolled to a picture and handed it to her.

  She noticed a crack running across his screen. “Did you drop this?”

  He shrugged. “Three months ago, but it’s hard to justify buying a new phone when you have kids.”

  Or a Manhattan r
ent on a mall store paycheck, she thought, nodding sympathetically. She remembered how distressed she had been when her old Samsung broke. Fortunately, Chelsea got a new phone every year, whether she needed it or not, and was able to give Dana her old one. Dana decided that once her student loans were paid off, she would get herself a brand-new phone and give Adam the old one. Or maybe she’d stick with Chelsea’s hand-me-down for another year or so and buy him the new phone. This was sweet—being in a position to pay it forward. It had been so long since she felt flush.

  She looked down at Adam’s family photo. Despite the crack, she could see that they were all in coordinated white T-shirts. His wife was an exotic beauty, with dark curls and a silver lariat choker pointing downward to her impressive décolletage. The baby was as bald as a peeled potato, but the toddler had a massive head of dark curls, like his daddy.

  And his mommy.

  It took Dana only a second to remember why she had assumed Adam’s wife had straight light hair. And once she did, her stomach fell. He seemed like such a good family man, the last guy in the world who would cheat on his wife. Dana stared harder, hoping she was wrong. But no, the pieces all fit.

  “Gorgeous family,” Dana choked out. “And Ethan’s got your hair. Or...is that from your wife?”

  He tilted his head toward the screen. “Hard to say. I’ve got the Jewish coils and Francesca’s got the Italian crimp, but it’s one big curly family. My sister says we look like the before picture for a hair straightening product.”

  Dana smiled tightly and handed back his phone. “Your boys are darling.”

  She didn’t want to believe what she was thinking, but there was no way around it. On the day she met Adam, the long hair sticking to a patch of dried baby food on his shoulder had been neither dark nor curly. What was more, she now realized that the smell she had mistaken for strained peaches was actually the scent of apricots.

  There was still a chance she was wrong, and that Adam wasn’t the married man Lorenzo had mentioned. But she had to find out, because if she was right, he might be the one person who could help prove Lorenzo’s innocence.

  She studied his face. “You and Lorenzo are pretty good friends?” she asked, trying to sound light.

  “He’s a nice guy. Trustworthy. Why do you ask?”

  Dana pointed to the sofa. “Let’s sit down.”

  When they were both comfortable she leaned forward. “I guess you know that Lorenzo is under suspicion for Kitty’s murder.”

  He went quiet for a long moment. “It’s so insane. There’s no way he—”

  “Of course not,” she said. “I was right there with him when it happened. We were on the roof together.”

  Adam nodded. “He told me.”

  Dana sighed. “The problem is that the detective doesn’t trust me. He thinks I might be lying to protect Lorenzo.”

  “The truth is going to come out, Dana.” He tried to smile, but looked ready to cry, and it broke her heart. Still, she knew they needed to have this conversation.

  “As long as everyone is honest with them,” she said.

  Adam rubbed his forehead. “I’m really tired.”

  “I know this is hard,” she said. “But, Adam...you have to go to the police and tell them you slept with Kitty.”

  He jumped up. “What? Who told you that?”

  “No one,” she said. “I promise.”

  “Then how do you know?”

  She shrugged. “I tend to notice small details.”

  His eyes looked terrified. “What small details?”

  “Kitty’s hair on your jacket, her smell on your skin. I wasn’t one hundred percent sure I was right until, well...”

  “Until I confirmed it,” he said, collapsing back into the couch. He cradled his head in his hands. “Oh, God. My life is over.”

  “It isn’t. I promise. I won’t tell the police. But if things really get hot for Lorenzo, I want you to think about going to them yourself. You could be saving his life...and Sophia’s.”

  “Of course, of course,” he said, rocking. “But Francesca. She would never forgive me.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  He looked up at her, his eyes red. “I never cheated on her before. But Kitty. She promised she would talk to Honeycutt about getting me a raise. And money is so tight. We’re over our heads with our condo. It was stupid. We could barely afford it when Francesca was working. But now that she’s on leave for the baby, it’s a nightmare. I thought if I got a raise it would solve everything.”

  “You’re dealing with so much,” she said gently. She really didn’t want to hurt him, but in the end, there might be no choice.

  “And I knew Kitty was using me. After a while, she didn’t even try to pretend it was about sex. Or even power. It was like, you do this favor for me, and I’ll do this favor for you.”

  “What did she want from you?” Dana asked, curious for his perspective.

  “She was trying to make someone jealous.”

  “Did she say who?”

  He shrugged. “I never told anyone this, but I always assumed it was Honeycutt. She seemed obsessed with him. She had a picture of the two of them on her phone’s home screen.”

  Dana took in the news. “This is what I don’t get,” she said. “With evidence like that, why aren’t the police all over Honeycutt?”

  “Because he couldn’t have done it. There’s no way.”

  “How do you know?”

  “He was in a meeting with HR and legal when it happened.”

  “Are you sure?” Dana’s pulse raced. If this was true, it changed everything.

  “I heard it from a couple of people.”

  She felt nauseated. No wonder Marks was all over Lorenzo. Compared to Honeycutt, his alibi was shaky.

  “I swear to God, Adam, I’m going to figure this out if it kills me.”

  “I believe you.” He stood to leave.

  “What about the raise?” she asked. “Did that ever come through?”

  Adam shook his head. “On the day she was killed, Kitty promised she was getting ready to approach Honeycutt about it.”

  Dana clucked in sympathy. He sighed and moved toward the door.

  “I guess it could have been worse,” Adam said. “At least she didn’t get me fired.” He pulled on the doorknob and there was Ollie, practically standing at attention.

  “I beg your pardon very much,” he said. “Dana, your sister has come. She is in the lobby.”

  * * *

  “Surprise!” Chelsea said after Ollie led her to Dana’s dressing room.

  Dana gave her a hug. “What are you doing here?”

  “I had an appointment in the city so I thought I’d say hello.”

  Dana backed up to look at her sister. “Oh, your hair,” she said, noting that it looked especially shiny and freshly colored.

  Chelsea shook her locks for effect. “What do you think?”

  “I think it looks the same as it always does, only more perfect.”

  Ollie was still standing in the doorway, so Dana politely dismissed him and shut the door. She was getting used to the fact that if she didn’t specifically ask him to scram, he’d never be more than a foot away from her.

  “Am I intruding?” Chelsea asked. “If you’re busy—”

  “I’m glad you’re here,” Dana said.

  Chelsea took in her sister’s wardrobe, an intentionally sedate light blue shift and dark blue cardigan. “Is that what you’re wearing on the air?”

  “On second thought,” Dana said, “I’m really busy.”

  “Not that you don’t look perfectly lovely,” Chelsea said. “I can barely see the dark circles under your eyes.”

  “I think I look pretty good for someone on three hours’ sleep. And my clothes are supposed to fade into the background today. I’m
doing handbags again. And they’re gorgeous.”

  Chelsea gasped. “Can I get a preview?”

  “You know, I was just thinking, ‘What my sister needs is more handbags.’”

  “You sound like Brandon.”

  “Must be that star I wished on last night,” Dana said, bringing her hands together in mock delight. “Come sit down. I need to talk.”

  They settled themselves into the sofa, and Dana explained how concerned she was about the state of the murder investigation.

  “I was so sure it was Honeycutt, but now... I don’t know.”

  “What changed your mind?”

  “I had a conversation with Adam, my segment producer, and he told me Honeycutt has a rock-solid alibi. It seems to rule him out entirely.”

  “So what does this guy Adam think?” Chelsea asked. “Does he have any ideas?”

  “He’s kind of wrapped up in the whole thing himself. Between us, he’s another of Kitty’s victims.” Dana was glad she had Chelsea to confide in, especially since her sister didn’t know anyone she could share the gossip with.

  “Victims?”

  “He slept with her,” Dana said. “And he’s married. He’s wrecked over the whole thing.”

  “Maybe he should have thought of that before he dropped his pants.”

  “Kitty didn’t leave him a choice.”

  “Oh, come on,” Chelsea said.

  “I’m serious. You have no idea how toxic this woman was. She was using Lorenzo and Adam to get Honeycutt jealous.”

  “Lorenzo slept with her, too?”

  “Don’t,” Dana said.

  “What are you doing with this guy?” Chelsea asked. “He’s trouble.”

  “I like him.”

  “And I like cherry cheesecake. But you don’t see me eating it.”

  Dana pictured all the hoarded merchandise in Chelsea’s basement, and gave her a judgmental glare. “My sister, the model of restraint.”

  “I mean it, Dana. Don’t throw everything away on this man. He’s not worth it.”

  “He’s a good guy, Chelse.”

  “And I suppose Adam’s a good guy, too, even though he cheated on his wife?”

  “He is a good guy,” Dana insisted.