Love, Money, and Lies

by Olivia Saxton

  Sweat glistened on their bodies as Margo stretched one leg into the air. Bruce began to deliver her hard, deliberate thrusts. One followed the other so fast that Margo’s shrieks of pleasure were coming so quickly they were echoing on top of each other. Her eyes started to close as her body tingled.

  “Open your eyes,” he said hoarsely. “I want you looking at me when you cum.”

  She forced her eyes open as a shot of pleasure went up her spin. “Bruce!” she cried. Her eyes became moist as she saw the love and hunger in his.

  They shouted and wailed as they came together.

  ****

  They held each other on the couch as they caught their breath. Bruce didn’t know how good it felt to hear a woman say that she loved him until now. In the past when a woman seemed to be getting too emotionally involved with him, he would back off slowly or disappear like a dream in the morning. The last thing he wanted to do now was disappear on Margo. He wanted to be with her – always. That should have scarred him, but it didn’t.

  Bruce raised his head and gazed upon her beautiful face and blue eyes. He cupped her cheek. “I want you to leave with me tomorrow morning. I want you to spend Christmas with me and my family.”

  She gave him a soft smile. “I won’t be able to get a plane ticket for tomorrow. It’s the holidays. All the flights are booked, probably overbooked.”

  “We’ll drive,” he said.

  She snickered. “It would take a while driving.”

  “I’ll stay here then.”

  “No, you should spend time with your family while you can. You never know when you have to work overtime again. You have said yourself that you were lucky that you got the holidays off.”

  “But I want you to meet my parents.”

  “I will,” she whispered. “But now might not be the best time. I don’t want you to spring me on them out of the blue. Your mother isn’t expecting you to bring a girl home.”

  “She won’t mind. The more the merrier with her.”

  Margo shook her head. “The best Christmas gift you can give me is going to Texas to be with your family.”

  Bruce grinned as his heart warmed. Her statement reminded him about her gift. “I already got you a gift. I booked a three-day New Year’s cruise for us to go on.”

  “You what?” she whispered as her eyebrows rose.

  “We’re going on a three-day cruise. I wanted to start the New Year with you right. We’ll board the ship at the Tampa Bay Marina at nine o’clock New Year’s Eve and be back at the marina on January second that afternoon.”

  “Bruce, I appreciate the gift, but I can’t go.”

  “What? Why?”

  “I have to . . . work New Year’s Eve,” she breathed with wide eyes.

  Bruce’s heart turned cold as it slammed into the pit of his stomach. “Are you fucking kidding me?” he sneered. He shuffled off of her and stood as he pulled his jeans up.

  “I can’t get out of . . . it,” she stuttered with nervousness.

  He zipped his pants up and whirled around to face her. She was getting off the couch. “You’re lying.”

  “No, I’m not. I really have to work,” she said as she pulled her mini skirt down.

  “Margo, I know you well enough now to know when you’re hiding something.”

  “I . . . I have to work,” she protested with wide eyes.

  “You don’t do anything unless you damn well want to, now, who is he!” Bruce snapped.

  “He who?” she asked with bewilderment.

  “The other man in your life!” he yelled with aggravation. He had never been more frustrated with a woman in all his life.

  “There is no other man!” she cried out. “I really have to work.”

  “You’re a programmer, not a cop, a fireworks expert, or a hooker! What kind of damn work do you have to do at nine o’clock at night on New Year’s Eve? Something doesn’t add up.”

  Margo’s face turned pink. She opened her mouth then closed it. Then she cleared her throat. “Bruce,” she began slowly. He could tell she was trying to keep her emotions in check. “I have created a program for a client. I need to be at the facility to make sure it switches over properly for the start of the New Year – to make sure that there aren’t any bugs that need to be worked out.”

  It was a plausible excuse, but Bruce still didn’t trust it for some reason. So he decided to put her claim to the test. “Well, if that’s all, I’m coming with you.”

  “What” she exclaimed with horror.

  “You heard me. I want to see what you do for a living.”

  “Absolutely not!”

  “So, I’m right!”

  “No! Damn it, Bruce, I don’t go down to the FBI building to look over your shoulder.”

  “That’s because I’ve never hidden anything from you. I’ve been straight up with you from the beginning. Hell, I had to look up information about your ex-husbands to figure out why you were visiting one of them in prison.”

  Her eyes widened at the admission. “So, you’ve been checking up on me?”

  “What choice did you leave me? Besides, it was just a light background check. The point is, you should have told me that you visit Frank, and you never really explained why, by the way.”

  Margo’s back stiffened. “I don’t have to explain a damn thing to you,” she said with heat. “Matter of fact, I think it’s best that you leave.”

  Bruce gnashed his teeth as he swiped up his shirt off the floor. “With pleasure.” He didn’t have to be told twice. He pulled his shirt over his head and stalked to the front door.

  ****

  A shudder of regret ran through Margo’s veins as Bruce slammed the door behind him. She kept telling herself it was for the best. They couldn’t be together. She was who she was, and that was it. However, when she heard Bruce’s SUV screech out of the driveway, she broke down in tears. She sat down on the sofa and covered her face as she sobbed.

  As her crying slowed, she came to the realization that this couldn’t go on. She had to move up her plans. She had to do it while Bruce was out of town – and angry with her. Then maybe he wouldn’t be so crushed when she disappeared.

  Margo walked into the kitchen and grabbed her Coach purse. She pulled out her cell phone and scrolled through her contacts. Finding the name she was looking for, she pressed the call button.

  The phone rang twice before Aaron answered. “Hey, Margo. What’s up?”

  “Aaron, my plans have changed. Instead of moving into the warehouse on the twenty-eighth, I have to move in by early morning on the twenty-sixth.” Bruce wouldn’t be back from Texas until late that afternoon.

  “The office is already cleaned out and ready for you, so that’s fine. I can call Anthony to see if his guys who were going to move your things out can do it a little early.”

  “More than a little early. I need to move out of this house Christmas night. Like at three a.m. Most people on Sunset will either be asleep, or at the very least, home from any Christmas party they have attended.”

  “Okay,” he said with hesitancy. “But what’s the rush?”

  “Bruce. He . . . he knows I’m hiding something, and I don’t think he’s going to let it go. He’ll be gone for the holidays for a few days, so it’s the best time for me to slip away.”

  “Shit,” Aaron said. “Do you think he suspects what . . . you really do for a living?”

  “No. He seems to think I have a secret lover, or something like that. He doesn’t suspect anything illegal.”

  “Okay, good. And don’t worry. We’ll get you out of there when you want to be out; even if I have to move furniture myself.”

  Chapter 25

  It was Christmas Eve, and Bruce was not in a festive mood. Once his nieces and nephews over the age of two had gone upstairs, his father and one of his brothers confronted him about his melancholy demeanor.

  He decided to confide in them. They were both married, and maybe they had some wisdom to share.

 
“I never thought I’d see the day when a woman would have you in stitches, Bruce,” his brother Daryl stated.

  “This isn’t the time to make fun of me,” Bruce said sourly.

  “I’m not. I was just making a statement.”

  “And here is another statement. I never thought you would run into a woman you couldn’t handle,” his father said.

  “Margo is different, that’s for sure,” Bruce replied.

  “What in the world do you think she’s hiding?” Daryl asked.

  “I don’t know, but it’s big enough for us to have a fight over it.”

  “Are you sure you’re not being paranoid?” his father asked. “Or overly obsessive? Being in love makes a man think and do strange things.”

  “Positive.”

  “Maybe Margo isn’t her real name,” Daryl threw out as suggestion.

  “It is. I did a light background check.”

  “Son, sometimes women do things for a good reason. I bet if you make up with the girl and drop the subject for a while, she’ll confide in you eventually.”

  “Yeah,” Daryl agreed. “But I definitely feel your pain. When I was dating Karen, I went nuts every time this guy friend of hers called. They were just friends, but when I found out about him, I went insane with jealousy.”

  “Y’alls momma doesn’t tell me everything right away,” his father stated. “She does eventually, but she waits . . . sometimes when I’m in a good mood. Women do that. They want to make sure the moment and mood is right. It’s just how they are.”

  “Dad is right. Like a month ago, I knew something was on Karen’s mind, but I didn’t press because I knew she wasn’t going to say anything until she was good and ready to. However, I let my mind drift to all kinds of crazy thoughts. Turned out it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was. You’re probably worried over nothing.”

  “That’s right. She probably got mad and defensive because . . . well, you did go the extra mile to violate her privacy,” his father said hesitantly.

  “He has a point. You and your best friend followed her all the way to Daytona Beach like you were tailing a suspect.”

  Bruce exhaled with regret and shame. “I guess.”

  “When you’re in love with someone, son, you got to trust them.”

  “It’s supposed to be mutual, Dad,” Bruce countered.

  “Sometimes the man has to make the first step,” his father stated.

  His mother walked into the kitchen. Over the years, her dark hair had turned white, but it was still long and thick. She usually wore it in a bun unless she was getting ready for bed. Just like every year, she wore the ugliest Christmas sweater she could find in the store with black slacks. “What are you guys talking about?”

  “How difficult and complex women can be,” his father answered with a grin.

  She gave him a playful smack and then knelt down to kiss his cheek. “It’s men who are complicated . . . and jerks sometimes. For example, a girl didn’t show up to work a few weeks ago. She just didn’t come back at all. The director in that department has been an infernal grouch ever since, especially to the younger ladies in the building. If he talked to her the way he has been talking to the girls on that floor, then I don’t blame her for quitting without putting in a notice. Then again, I wondered why he was so ticked off. He’s acting like a jilted lover, but he’s married.”

  “Maybe he was having an affair with her?” Bruce suggested.

  His mother scoffed with amusement. “I seriously doubt it. Even if he did want her, she wouldn’t want him. He’s old enough to be her grandfather.”

  “Hmm, a dirty old man chasing a young woman around the office? She probably got tired of it and got a job somewhere else,” Daryl said.

  “It’s hard being a woman. I don’t think men realize that sometimes,” his mother stated.

  “With that being said, ain’t no one messing with you there, are they?” his father asked. “I’ll knock him out with a wrench.” Bruce’s father was a mechanic. Since he got older, he cut his hours down to part-time.

  “No, honey,” she cooed and patted his shoulder. “I’m just saying that back in my day, it was hard for a woman to report misconduct on her boss, and that hasn’t changed at all. It’s a shame she quit, though. I heard she was really good at her job, and she was friendly.”

  “You didn’t get to meet her?” Bruce asked.

  “I would run into her in the cafeteria sometimes. I would be coming in, and she’d be going out. I don’t even think she knew my name.”

  “Are you still full-time at the Federal Reserve, Mom,” Daryl asked.

  “Hell, yeah she is,” his father said with venom. “She keeps saying she’s going to get a part-time position, but she never does.”

  “I’ll try next year, dear. Part-time positions are few and far between there.”

  “Why don’t you just retire?” Bruce asked. “You’ve been there for ten years now.”

  “I can’t stay home all day every day and do nothing,” she stated.

  “When we were kids, you were a housewife,” Daryl stated.

  “That’s when you were kids. Being a housewife with five kids is a job. You guys didn’t cook your own food, change your own diapers, or clean.”

  “True,” Bruce agreed with a nod.

  ****

  Margo was at Lana and Alec’s house for their Christmas Eve party. Little Keisha was a doll as always, but when the clock struck eight, Izabella, her nanny, took her upstairs. Lana glowed as she accepted congratulations on her pregnancy. Alec was making sure everyone’s glass stayed full.

  This year’s guest list featured the FBI’s finest in Tampa. Some of the hoity toity of Tampa hadn’t attended. Some were hosting their own parties, and others wanted to be home with their children on Christmas Eve.

  Vic, the man who was with Bruce at Club Prana months ago, approached her. “Hey, pretty lady. How have you been?”

  “Good, and you?” she asked with a small smile.

  “Great. I have to say this is the fanciest Christmas party I have ever been to. Caviar, champagne, mini quiches, seafood, and rich folks. Hell, even the gingerbread house looks great. Normally, when I attend one of these, the gingerbread house is leaning,” he joked.

  They chuckled.

  The man with the slicked-down brown hair and mustache, who had been watching her from across the room for the last ten minutes, approached them. “Hey, Vic, who’s your friend?”

  “Margo St. John,” Vic answered.

  “It’s nice to meet you. My name is Seamus Calhoun,” he said and offered his hand.

  She reached out to shake it, but instead of a handshake, he kissed the back of it. Then he held on to it.

  “I have to say you are the prettiest thing I’ve seen in months. I know we just met, but I would love to take you out sometime. Vic is my co-worker, so he can vouch that I’m not a homicidal maniac or anything,” he said with an easy smile as he applied light pressure to her hand.

  The phone rang. Alec started walking across the living room.

  Before Margo could refuse Seamus’s advances, Vic spoke. “Back off, Calhoun,” Vic warned. “Margo is Styles’s girl.”

  “Bruce Styles?” Seamus said with a twisted face. “Figures. He always gets the jump on the sexy ones,” he retorted as he rolled his eyes. “Look here, sweetheart, when Styles lets you down, just give me a call.” Seamus reached into his pocket and pulled out a card. “I’m more man than him, I assure you.”

  Margo yanked her hand out of his grasp. “I seriously doubt that, sir,” she said haughtily.

  Vic chuckled. “That’s what you get, Calhoun. Let the lady be before I give Bruce a call.”

  “Can’t blame a man for trying,” Seamus said and slithered away like the oily snake that he was.

  She wiped the hand Seamus had held on the side of her dress as she frowned with disgust. Seamus was such a sleaze that she couldn’t fight the urge to do it. She noticed Alec grinning at her as he held the cordl
ess phone to his ear.

  “Don’t mind, Calhoun. He was born an ass, and he never grew out of it,” Vic said and sipped his drink.

  Margo chuckled.

  “I think Alec is trying to get your attention,” Vic said.

  She looked over, and sure enough, Alec was waving her over. “Oh, I’ll catch up to you later.”

  “Okay, I’m not going anywhere,” Vic said with a smile.

  Alec still had the phone to his ear as she approached him.

  “I got her. She’s right here.” He removed the phone from his ear. “It’s Bruce,” he stated and handed her the cordless phone.

  Her heart skipped a beat. She hadn’t talked to Bruce since he left her house in a huff. She had thought about texting him, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She thought it would make the move harder. “Hello,” she greeted softly.

  Alec moved a few inches away to give her some privacy.

  “Hey, gorgeous. I . . . I hated the way we left things,” he said solemnly.

  She wanted to melt into the floor. “I hated it, too. Bruce–”

  “Wait. I need to say this before I lose my nerve. I don’t always like to admit when I’m wrong.”