by Wood, Lauren
I couldn’t believe that I had convinced her to spend nearly a whole weekend with me. More than that, I couldn’t believe how much I enjoyed it. As much as I knew I wanted Liz, I still had the fear that if we ever did spend a lot of time together, I would start to get bored. That’s what usually happened with me and women...especially ones I had to chase down and win over. When I finally caught them, I’d lose interest. But the more time I spent with Liz, the more it made me want even more time with her. I wondered how long we could go on like that before we’d start getting on each other’s nerves.
“You see that over there?” I pointed to a boat tied up just a few feet away from us. “That’s my boat.”
“You have a boat?” She leaned over to inspect it further. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. I figured you’d have one of everything. I’m just surprised it’s so...well, small. I expected you to have a big shiny yacht or something.”
“No, ma’am. A yacht is for parties. That thing is perfect for relaxing. Here, come inside. I’ll show you.”
I took her down into the cabin of the boat. It was a pretty small room, and I hadn’t done much with it. The walls were paneled with a brown wood-looking grain and the floors were a black marble. There was a decent sized bed and a small kitchenette. I opened the mini-fridge where I always kept a bottle of champagne chilled and pulled it out to pour us both a glass.
We toasted each other and she agreed to let me take us out on the water. Once we were floating out in deeper water without another soul around, I turned off the motor and let us drift while we relaxed and drank some more champagne on the boat deck.
“This is nice,” she sighed as she settled back into that spot at my side where she fit so perfectly. I was getting used to the idea of her always being curled up next to me like a cat.
“This is the kind of thing I’m hoping to enjoy more of in this next phase of my life...once the investigation is over. I even thought about starting my own boating business. You know, refurbishing old ones and reselling them. Nothing huge...just a small gig to keep me busy.”
“I thought you hated being busy.”
“It wouldn’t be the kind of busy you’re used to,” I smirked. “What about you? What’s on the horizon for you?”
“Well,” she thought about it for a moment. “After your family’s case is over, assuming it goes well, I’ll be made partner at the firm.”
“Then what?”
“That’s it,” she shrugged. “Then I’ll be partner. Then I just keep doing more of the same...but hopefully for more money and with a little more vacation time. I won’t have to keep killing myself to prove anything. I’ll have a lot more security at the firm.”
“Huh,” I puzzled to myself, suspecting that once Liz finally was made partner, she might find herself a lot less happy than she was expecting. But it wasn’t my place to say so. “So you don’t have any other big life plans? No dreams to buy a house or start a family...nothing like that?”
“I haven’t really had time to think about it, I guess.”
We were quiet for a while as I wondered if someone like Liz could ever be happy with the direction I saw my life going. She was a city girl and loved her career. She wasn’t itching to move away from it all like I was. But I couldn’t think of anything I had ever wanted as badly as she wanted to make partner at her firm...other than the chance to be laying here with her. I started thinking if I had a real chance with her...maybe I could change course a little on what I had planned.
I stared down at her laying against my shoulder and knew I couldn’t let the moment pass me by. My heart was swelling with feelings about Liz that I had never felt for anyone.
“This weekend has been pretty fucking great,” I started slowly.
“Yeah, it has been, actually. I guess I’m glad you came barging through my door yesterday morning.”
“I’m glad you feel that way,” I chuckled, “because you certainly didn’t look glad when I showed up,”
“Well, you can be very infuriating.”
“Maybe so. But look at us now...I don’t think we’ve bickered over a single thing in the last twenty four hours.”
She laughed and threw up her arms. “It’s a miracle.”
“No, the miracle is that I’ve kept you away from your work this long. I’m placing bets against myself for how long I can pull this off. Hey, why don’t you call out of work tomorrow?”
“Not a chance in hell!” She nestled back into her spot. “But I was thinking...maybe I should do this more often. Later, I mean. After this case and all.”
I was quiet for a moment, afraid to ask her the question burning in my mind. “Do this more often...with me?”
“I just meant relax and take time off, you know? Before yesterday I couldn’t even remember the last time I took a full day off, much less two in a row.”
I felt a little defeated. She was either playing dumb to avoid the subject or really didn’t get what I was proposing. I sat up so she would take me more seriously. “No, Liz. What I meant was...could we keep doing this? You and me.”
She immediately tensed up, looking terrified. I had blown it. The laid-back, carefree woman I had for the past day quickly vanished.
“Eric, this has been great...really great, actually. But...it doesn’t change anything. I’m sorry if I led you on or made you think…”
“I know. The investigation and conflict of interest and blah blah blah. But...we’ve pulled it off this far. And anyway, what about when it’s over? It won’t go on forever. So, once you’re a partner at the firm and the case is a non-issue, would you ever consider being with me then?”
She swallowed hard and considered my words. I was on edge to hear what she would say and realized more than ever that I had it bad for her. It felt like everything was hinging on her response. I had come this far. If she pushed me away again, I didn’t think I could take it.
20
Liz
Eric Halstead was even more of a smooth operator than I had given him credit for. He had somehow drawn me out of a shell I had been hiding in for years. I was convinced I hated him and there was absolutely nothing he could do to redeem himself.
That also didn’t make it any easier to consider his offer of something more. It had taken me this long to even give in enough to sleep with him again. I couldn’t just jump from that straight to whatever it was he was asking me. It sounded a lot like he wanted me to be his girlfriend. I didn’t think guys like him even wanted that kind of thing.
I was blindsided and I wasn’t ready to tell him what he clearly wanted to hear. It made me want to get off of that boat as quickly as possible and take off running to shore. I needed to feel the solid ground beneath my feet again. I needed to get my head out of the clouds and get back to work.
After telling him I needed some time to think, it was a relief to return to normal life the next day. But in between my spouts of throwing myself into my caseload, my mind would drift back to memories of the weekend with him. I couldn’t deny how tempting it was to want more weekends like that.
“Good morning, Liz!” George appeared suddenly, startling me the way he always did. I really needed to start locking my office door.
“Good morning, George!”
“Oh, well I can see you took my advice on taking the weekend off. You look refreshed! You’re glowing!”
“Gee, thanks,” I answered shyly, brushing a hand across my cheek.
Several more of my co-workers commented in the following days about how different I seemed. They weren’t wrong. I did feel...lighter in a way. There was more of a pep to my step, and I felt a lot less frazzled than usual. I wanted to chalk my good mood up to the wonders that a little time off can do. But truthfully, I knew some credit was owed to Eric and the weekend of mind-blowing sex.
But it was more than just sex. We actually had a lot of fun together. I couldn’t believe how easy it was to just let go and be myself around him, and how time flew by so quickly when we were together.
We spent hours in bed just talking, laughing, and exploring each other’s bodies. Maybe down the road something really could come out of all this.
I worked late Thursday evening and was exhausted by the time I got home. I threw my bag and keys down and peeled my heels from my aching feet. I couldn’t wait to take a long, hot bath and then slide into bed. Just as I was remembering the basket of bath goodies Eric had bought me to pamper myself with, my phone beeped.
I dug it out of my bag and smiled when I saw it was a message from him. He said he knew I’d be working overtime to make up for the weekend, but he hoped I wasn’t working myself too hard. It had been a long time since I knew what it was like to have someone look after me like that. I had made a habit of ignoring his texts and calls, but this time I decided to respond and let him know I was about to dig into the basket of things he had bought for me, just as he made me promise I would.
But as soon as the message was sent, another notification popped up on my phone. Only this wasn’t a text. It was a rather alarming notification from the app I used to track my periods informing me that I was late. My heart sank as I read the words. Late? I was never late for anything...not even that. I didn’t even know the app would send me a notification like that because there had never been a reason to before.
I pulled up the calendar, seeing that it was right. I was six days late, to be exact. I wasn’t going to let myself get worked up over nothing. Surely there were a million reasons I could be late...aside from the obvious one. Which just couldn’t be. There was no way I was pregnant.
I plopped down on the couch and began googling. There were, as I suspected, a ton of reasons why I could be late. But half of them didn’t apply to me. I didn’t appreciate the constant reminder of the biggest reason why my period could be late. I told myself again that there was no way I could be pregnant.
But no matter what I told myself - the fact remained that I was six days late. Not knowing what else to do, I finally looked up the question I had been avoiding. When to take a pregnancy test...I swallowed hard as I wrapped my head around the answer. One week after your missed period. That was tomorrow. I couldn’t fathom going out and buying a test...much less actually taking one. This had never happened to me before.
Suddenly, the phone rang, making me jump and drop it to the floor. I scrambled to pick it back up, seeing George’s name flash across the screen. How was it possible that he managed to pop up and scare me like that even when I was in the comfort of my own home?
“Hey, George. It’s late. Is everything okay?”
“I need you in the office first thing tomorrow,” he answered sternly. “I want you in my office at six AM sharp. Something’s come up. It’s about Eric Halstead and the investigation.”
Before I could ask for more information, he hung up. This was bad. Had we been caught? I now had two potential disasters on my hands, and they both had to do with Eric.
21
Eric
We were gathered at Jason’s again for Saturday brunch as I snuck away to have a beer on the porch. I found myself wondering if I would ever be able to bring Liz around to meet my family. For as many women from my past who clamoured for that sort of thing, the one I wanted to have meet them the most was the only one I couldn’t actually do it with. At least not yet.
Liz had asked for some time to think about what kind of potential for a future we might have together. It wasn’t the answer I was hoping for, but it was better than a ‘no.’ So, I was doing my best to give her some space. Which was a hard thing to do considering she was all I ever thought about.
The front door creaked open as Jesse came out to join me. We were usually the ones to retreat to the porch during big family gatherings. It always got chaotic with the kids running around, and it was nice to escape for a little peace and quiet.
“How are the girlfriend troubles going?” he asked immediately, as if he could read my mind.
“She’s not my girlfriend yet,” I sighed.
“Good. If you get married off...that just leaves me. And I’m not ready for that sort of thing yet.”
“Maybe you’re never ready until you meet the right one,” I proposed. “And anyway...like I said, it’s not a done deal yet. So, let's not go throwing around ridiculous ideas like marriage.”
“We’re just getting taken down one by one...like sitting ducks,” he shook his head and took a swig of his beer.
“I’m still standing, and so are you.” I turned my head to look through the french doors into the house. I could see Vanna and Dominic sneaking away for a kiss inside. Tara and Jason were in the other corner of the room, trying to do the same thing. It was funny how they thought they were being so discreet. “Now, those guys on the other hand? They’re goners.”
But the longer I watched them and the way they looked at each other, I started to worry Jesse was right. Maybe if Liz would have me, marriage or something like it wasn’t too far off of an idea. I didn’t know what a life together would be like considering the different things we wanted, but I was certainly becoming more anxious to try and find out.
I tried to shake it off for now and turned back to Jesse. He was looking especially ragged today with scruffy hair and a crooked tie.
“What’s going on with you?”
“Ah, I was up too late,” he groaned. “This girl dragged me off to some club, and you know how it goes. Before I knew it, the sun was coming up.”
“Enjoy it while you can,” I laughed, remembering it was not so long ago that all of my Friday nights were the same.
“Yeah, but there was some big report Dominic asked me to do. Now he’s all pissed that I didn’t get it done. He was hoping I’d have it for him today.”
“Psh, he and Jason. The weekends mean nothing to them. That’s why I’m glad I’m getting out of the whole mess.”
He nodded and ran a finger along the rim of his bottle, looking troubled. “Yeah, I’ve been thinking a lot about that. You know, maybe after this whole investigation thing...I’ll do the same.”
“No way. I called it first. Those two are barely holding it together with the idea of me leaving. They’ll flip out if you try and do it too.”
He leaned back and shot me a look of resentment. But then it faded as he stared off in deep thought. “Dominic and Jason are just like Dad,” he said after a while. “I think you and I are more like Mom. They just don’t get it.”
Jesse may have been right. Our mother was a lot like any other wealthy woman with our social standing. But she was more of a free spirit. She loved horses and jumped at any chance to go riding off on her own. She loved to travel, like me, and was always laughing or being the life of the party. Dad was much more stern and always working. The fate of Halstead Corporation meant more to him than anything in the world.
“Dad is probably rolling in his grave now with this whole investigation thing,” I added. “But you know, Jesse...You really should take some time to figure out what you want from life. Maybe Dad doesn’t give a shit about the company anymore...from wherever he is. Maybe when he died he realized he wasted his life slaving away for things he couldn’t take with him, and he doesn’t want us to make the same mistakes.”
“What I want,” he repeated, stretching his arms over his head. “Now that’s a hard one to pin down.”
I admired Jesse’s aloofness, even if he was annoying and immature at times. He would always be the baby brother. But it was getting harder to see the little boy I remembered in him from when we were growing up. Something had changed about him. I guessed it was time for all of us to stop seeing him as our baby brother and start accepting that he was a man now.
“You should take a trip,” I told him after thinking it over. “Dominic and Vanna had their thing in Paris. Jason and Tara just had their honeymoon. This is the longest I’ve stayed around here in awhile. It’s your turn. When this investigation is over, pick some place you’ve always wanted to go and just do it. It might help you clear your head and figure out what it is you
want from life.”
I could see the idea of it bouncing around in his head. “Yeah, you’re right. Maybe that is just the thing I need. I hope all this bullshit is over with soon so we can all move on.”
An image of Liz passed through my mind. “Yeah, me too.”
22
Liz
I was finding it hard to breathe as I waited outside George’s office the next morning. I had arrived early, thinking that if I had been caught, the last thing I needed was to be late. I wanted to be brave and face this thing straight on - owning up to everything, if I had to. I was already rehearsing in my head the best way to cite off all the previous attorneys in the firm’s history who ended up being romantically or sexually involved with clients. It was frowned upon, but certainly not unheard of. The trick was no one could know until after the case was resolved or the client had moved on to hire another law firm. If I had been caught, I had broken the golden rule of discreet affairs.
On top of everything, I was on high-alert about this whole period thing. I had been running to the bathroom every half hour or more since last night, hoping to see that my period had started. If it didn’t come by the end of the day, I was going to have to accept that I’d need to buy a test. But buying a test meant the possibility of finding out I was pregnant. I didn’t want to face that any more than I wanted to face George this morning.
I was just about to dash to the bathroom again to check for evidence of Aunt Flow’s arrival when George suddenly came huffing down the hallway. He did not look happy...not at all. I swallowed hard and stood up to greet him, clutching my hands around the handle of my briefcase.
