Tangled Chords

by Brenda Barrett

  Farrah took the keys from him. "Xavier, this is not what you think."

  He opened the door and gave her one of his impenetrable looks. "Okay, it's not what I think," he parroted her, a twist to his lips. "I am going to pick up a friend from the airport. See you later?" It was a question.

  Farrah nodded and watched as Xavier walked away.

  "Who's that?" Jason asked.

  "My husband. You ninny," Farrah said to Jason fiercely. "He heard your stupid proposal and probably thought that I was going to go along with it. Argh!"

  Jason sighed. "I guess an annulment is off the books then? You two look too close for your marriage to be annulled."

  "Shut up," Farrah said angrily, "and try to find some other way to work out your business deal because I am not going to be involved."

  She went back into the office and sat at her desk, bristling. Why did Xavier have to choose that time to come by? She was running out of chances with him. She had seen his expression, just then. He looked angry—or was it hurt? She wished she could take a tour of his brain and know what he was thinking.

  *****

  "First order of business," Ruby said after coming off the phone. "We booked the Conference Center for the company launch. NorChip is such a hot commodity that several movers and shakers are asking me to put them on the guest list for the launch event."

  Farrah took deep breaths and concentrated on what Ruby was saying. "What does NorChip do exactly?"

  "What do they do?" Cynth asked. "Have you been living under a rock?"

  "No Cynth," Farrah said patiently. "I have heard of them. I am just not sure what they do."

  "They sell high-end computer hardware and offer data center and spectrum management services, as well as hotel automation and so many other things. I think their CEO developed some electronic automation protocol thingy that has turned the hotel industry on its head."

  Farrah frowned. "Yes. Now I remember. That motion controller technology that they developed was all the rage."

  "We have a meeting with the business manager's personal assistant tomorrow at noon," Cynth said excitedly. "I wonder if the business manager is eligible. I could do well with a computer geek type of man. I heard that they are generous spenders."

  "I am going to pray for you," Ruby said to Cynth. "Starting tonight I am going to say, 'Lord help Cynth to be less man hungry. Amen.'"

  Cynth retorted. "What about 'Lord, help Cynth to find a rich, single man, who loves her with all his heart, who will not even dare look at another woman and treats her with tender respect. Amen'?"

  "Not bad," Ruby said.

  "I would put the 'loves her with all his heart' bit first though," Farrah said forlornly. "And I would add: a man who doesn't want to put her through some kind of weird test to see if she is worthy of living in poverty with him in a cabin in the woods. Amen."

  "Aww," Cynth beamed, "that sounds like your prayer because I am not worthy of poverty, though if living in the woods with hunky Xavier is on offer, I would take it."

  "Why can't he just trust that I love him for him and not because I am in some power struggle with my dad?" Farrah said, ignoring Cynth.

  "Because he knows where you are coming from, Farrah," Ruby said helpfully, "and you have to realize that Xavier is extra cautious. He is anticipating getting hurt by you and is probably trying to control the damage to himself."

  "What I want to know is how is the sex with Xavier?" Cynth said. "Is there like fireworks?"

  "For heaven's sake," Ruby exclaimed, "I am going to bridle your tongue."

  "Stop acting as if you don't want to know," Cynth mumbled and then jumped when her phone rang. "Saved by the bell—well, not the handsome Bell." She grinned at Farrah and then answered the phone.

  Farrah tapped her fingers on the table. "I wish."

  Ruby laughed softly. "Come with me to the Conference Center. We have seating arrangements to work out."

  *****

  When Farrah got home that evening she arrived to an empty house. It felt very unusual to do so. Xavier was usually there strumming his guitar on the porch or drinking a soft drink after mowing the lawn or something. She kicked off her shoes and sat in the rocking chair on the veranda. Now that Xavier had cleaned out the bushes from the front she could see the beautiful blue hues of the bay. It was indeed a gorgeous spot. She put her feet on the railing. Her father's house had a similarly gorgeous view and yet she had never appreciated it like this. A bee flew around her head and she didn't even react. She felt content. Her phone alerted that she got a text message. She checked it lazily.

  Hey, will be home late 2night.

  Farrah slowly took down her feet from the rail. Was he mad at her? Was that why he was staying away, because of the Jason incident today?

  She texted back 'okay' and put a sad face beside it. She expected that Xavier would be waiting at home to have it out with her about Jason. This was going to be an anticlimactic evening.

  She didn't understand most of what Cynth told her about NorChip today so she decided to get her information firsthand by using the free time to read up on the company.

  She went inside for her laptop, got a bottle of water, and read up about the company. She sipped the water slowly. The range of services and clientele that NorChip had was truly impressive. No wonder so many hotel owners were coming to the launch. They had the type of technology that would save the hotels millions of dollars in expenses.

  It occurred to her that she had not looked over the guest list but she was sure that her father and uncles would be there. The event would be something that the Knighthood would jump on instantly.

  So they would be seeing her in action at work, doing something useful and not just marrying a man because of some business deal. She smiled at the thought. Maybe that would elicit some sort of pride in her father for her.

  Then she stamped down that feeling. She really needed to break the habit of always seeking her father's approval. She might never get it in this lifetime, unless she married Jason and had his children. If another lucrative deal came his way, her father might ask her to get a divorce and marry someone else. She would just be a pawn. She laughed softly at the picture of her old and gray and her father farming her out to cement his business deals.

  She only got up from the porch when the sun sank below the horizon and the mosquitoes started buzzing near her ear, but not before she brought up a picture of the business manager and saw that it was a woman. Farrah chuckled to herself. Cynth would be disappointed. She was also beautiful. She had a Mediterranean look, long inkjet black hair and green eyes. She looked like she belonged on the cover of a beauty magazine, with the title, 'how to look perfect,' but here she was, the business manager of an impressive company. She was dressed in a tailored dress, not unlike the ones Farrah favored. She was smiling at the camera. No need to pretend to be a man; she was confident in her femininity.

  Farrah raised her bottle to her. It would be interesting to meet her. She looked at her name: Bobbie-Ann Heath. She tried to remember where she had heard the name Bobbie-Ann before.

  Xavier had said that he lived with a woman named Bobbie-Ann. He was coming home late because he had to pick up a friend from the airport.

  Her blood turned to ice. What were the odds that this gorgeous Bobbie-Ann was the same person?

  Chapter Seventeen

  Farrah didn't sleep a wink that night. Xavier had not gotten home until in the wee hours of the early morning. He tiptoed toward the room as she watched him, and all the time her heart was beating unevenly with the kind of anger that made her fear that her blood pressure was going through the roof. When she looked at her small digital clock it read 3:02 a.m. She got up at six and banged around the house, hoping that she would wake him up as well.

  She didn't have long to wait. He came out of the room, looking fresh and already dressed in a jeans and t-shirt.

  "Morning," he said to her pleasantly.

  "You came in at three o'clock this morning," Farrah growled
. "Explain!"

  Xavier laughed and headed for the fridge. "I fell asleep at the hotel. Sorry I came in so late. I was really tired. By the way, you sound like a wife."

  "You fell asleep?" Farrah squealed. "You fell asleep. Are you kidding me?" She slammed the frying pan down on the stove so hard that Xavier looked at the pan then at her and slowly stepped away from the fridge with his orange juice in hand.

  "You are having an affair!" Farrah's voice was at screeching level and she didn't care if her hair was knotted and she looked like an old hag. She was feeling violent.

  Xavier sipped his orange juice. "No, I am not! What's the matter with you? In order to have an affair I would have to be cheating on you. We would have to be married for real. Obviously you are going to annul this—whatever this is—and get married to Jason."

  Involuntary tears came to Farrah's eyes. "No, I am not going to marry Jason. What you heard yesterday was him being an ass. You know, Xavier, I keep hoping that you will give us a chance but obviously I have been wasting my time because Bobbie-Ann is here!"

  The tears started flowing down in torrents. "You never answered me when I asked you if you still loved her and now you are spending the night with her. I guess that's my answer!"

  "Farrah, come on," Xavier said, "I would explain why I was with Bobbie-Ann last night but that would mean explaining a whole other thing and..."

  "Fine." Farrah headed for the bathroom. "Keep your explanation. Not interested anymore." She slammed the door.

  Xavier followed her to the door. "Farrah, will you listen to me?"

  "No! Go away!" Farrah said, her breath hitching. "I am tired of you keeping me at arms' length and I am not going to stick around while you rub Bobbie-Ann in my face. See, I am making it easy for you." She snatched the bathroom door open. "I am moving out; maybe then you can move her in here, with me gone. I hope she likes cold water and a partially leaking roof and mosquitoes, flies and lizards in the rafters and tin food because I am done. So much for me trying to impress you."

  She grabbed a small bag and shoved her toiletries in there shakily.

  "Your car will be at Ruby's place. I won't need it anymore." She snatched open the front door and walked out into the sunny morning. The air was cool now but she could already see that it was going to be a scorcher later in the day. She got into the car and looked back at the house. Xavier was standing at the door, his hands folded across his chest, and he had a look of incredulity on his face.

  Good. Farrah thought waspishly, but then she had to wipe her face vigorously because the tears were impairing her vision.

  *****

  "And then she left me," Xavier said to Ian and Carson as he recounted the morning's events to them. They were sitting in Carson's living room sipping some healthy fruit juice that Mia had made and insisted that they try.

  "If you ask me, I think she always wanted to leave. Last night was just an excuse."

  "Or," Ian said, grimacing as he sipped the juice, "you always wanted to push her buttons and find out how much she could take before she finally left."

  "Something like that," Xavier said. He had an ache in his chest from this morning; at least the lump in his throat had died down when he saw her driving away. He had always expected that some version of this would happen, but it still hurt.

  If Xavier were to be honest with himself, he would have realized that he had always thought that she would have left because her father had finally gotten through to her, not because she suspected him of cheating. She had looked positively crushed.

  "What did Mia put in this?" Carson made a face before he gave up and put the juice on the table.

  "It tastes like pineapple and papaya," Ian said. "I am getting to like it."

  "It really is an acquired taste," Xavier said and then shifted the conversation once more to Farrah. "Do you think I should go and get her back… pour my heart out to her and become vulnerable to her again? Because let me tell you, I am too old now for a broken heart. I want a solid relationship with a woman I can trust, and I want children of my own."

  "Where did she go?" Carson asked. "Back to her parents?"

  "No," Xavier said. "That's what's puzzling. She went to her sister's place. I guess she was right when she said she was not going back to her parents' place ever."

  Ian drained his glass and put it on the center table. "Why on earth didn't she go to her sister's in the first place, though? Why marry you?"

  "Because she wanted to stop her father from hounding her." Xavier shrugged. "I helped her stop him."

  "You two need somebody to sit you down and tell you what is before your eyes but it won't be me." Ian stood up. "I can't stay much longer. I have work tomorrow. The Palm Tree project is moving ahead of schedule. We should be finished by December."

  "Good," Xavier said, "then you can work on my house, or is that too much of a small project for you now?"

  "I am going to create a masterpiece for you," Ian yawned. "Sorry guys, I am bushed. See ya." He turned around and snapped his fingers. "All the best with your company launch. You know, I thought you were going to take it easy and do photography or something."

  "I was," Xavier shrugged, "but Bobbie-Ann thought that it was ridiculous that we didn't have representation for our technology in the Caribbean and there are so many hotels in this region. I am not going to run the place though. We are transferring somebody from the head office. He flew in last night; he's the one we had a meeting with at the new offices."

  "Don't explain that to me, tell your wife." Ian chuckled. "Night."

  When he left Xavier looked at his watch. "I am staying here tonight. The cottage won't feel the same without Farrah."

  "You know you are always welcome here." Carson grinned. "The place is not the same without her? Mmmm."

  "Mmmm, nothing," Xavier said with forced bravado. "I will get used to her absence again. I just need time to adjust."

  Chapter Eighteen

  Farrah was feeling a teeny bit apprehensive when she entered the conference hall behind Ruby and Cynth. She didn't want to meet Bobbie-Ann, Xavier's girlfriend, the woman he almost married. She had spent the last four days comparing herself to her and she had come up short. Bobbie-Ann ran a successful company, Bobbie-Ann was gorgeous, Bobbie-Ann had never rejected Xavier, and Bobbie-Ann was gorgeous.

  Farrah's mind was in a loop and as if she conjured up Bobbie-Ann from her mind, she saw her heading toward them.

  She looked even lovelier in person. She had smooth olive skin and her green eyes were even sparklier than they were in the pictures. Compared to her, Farrah felt like a plain Jane.

  "Hi," she said to them. "I love the facilities here. Good choice." She was talking to Ruby and then she looked around at Farrah and Cynth.

  "Hello ladies." She shook their hands.

  "You are Farrah Knight?" She gave Farrah a thorough once-over.

  "Unfortunately," Farrah said laconically.

  Her smile grew wider. "It's nice to meet you in person. Xavier had this whole scrapbook about you at one time. Boy, was I jealous."

  She rubbed her hands together and then she said briskly. "I hope we have a good launch. Thanks again," and she walked toward a middle-aged guy with thinning hair, whom Farrah knew to be the manager of NorChip Jamaica, Hal.

  "Xavier had a scrapbook about you?" Cynth asked curiously. "How would she know that? Why do I feel like I am being left out of the loop?"

  "Focus," Ruby hissed. "We'll gossip later. Now let's get this show on the road."

  Farrah swallowed. When Bobbie-Ann said she was jealous, did that mean that she had no more reason to be? Just then her mind echoed Cynth's question, Xavier kept a scrapbook on me?

  She wondered if he was going to be at the function. She missed him badly. It was like an ache, a constant ache—four days of deathly silence from him. He obviously did not care what she did or where she had gone when she left the cabin four mornings ago.

  Just then she spotted Xavier; he was near the front of the room chat
ting with Hal and Bobbie-Ann. Their body language did not say that they were together but they wouldn't be so unprofessional at Bobbie-Ann's company launch. Would they?

  Farrah wondered why Bobbie-Ann hadn't given Xavier the job of running the Jamaican branch of NorChip if they were such good friends. He didn't have a steady job and he knew computers well; it was the least that Bobbie-Ann could do.

  Guests began walking into the room, looking at the display booths.

  She was surprised when a hand touched her on shoulder. When she spun around she saw her father's grinning face. He was sandwiched between his two brothers and the three of them were in the same shade of red tie. At almost the same height and build, they looked like clones of each other.

  Farrah greeted her uncles with a hug and then murmured, "Dad."

  "No hug for me?" her father asked. "What did I do other than try to secure your future with a suitable man?"

  Her uncles looked at her as if they couldn't quite figure her out.

  Her Uncle Art asked. "Lassie, why don't you do what your father says, hmmm? The Bible says that you should obey your parents."

  Farrah burst out laughing. As far as she knew her uncle did not read the Bible and she absolutely hated when he called her Lassie. It sounded like she was a puppy or something.

  "It's true, Farrah. You shouldn't be laughing at the good book," her father said seriously.

  "I wasn't laughing at the Bible, I was laughing at Uncle Art quoting it."

  Her father shook his head. "Where did I go wrong in raising you, girl?"

  "You did not raise me at all," Farrah said fiercely. "If you can tell me one thing that we did together when I was little, I will obey you and I will marry Jason. Just name one time that you supported me in person, one promise that you kept, one ballet recital that you came to, one school event that you attended."