The next day dawned with a grey fog filling the air and hanging thick and full on everything it silently covered. It gave a mysterious and cloaked feel to the house and grounds. Roman was sitting in the kitchen, enjoying it, when Denise walked in and poured herself a cup of coffee.
She seemed to be bubbling with happiness as she prepared herself something to eat. He looked up at her and wondered if it was the right moment to tell her about Emma. He knew it would be hard, no matter when he told her, but he thought that perhaps if he told her when she was in a good mood, it would settle better than if she was in a foul temper.
She sat at the table with him, and he smiled at her.
"Good morning. You're looking lovely today," he began in a friendly tone.
Denise flashed him a grin and shrugged her shoulders. "Good! It's such an important day. I really want everything to go just right today. It feels like everything will go right, you know, and that's good, because if anything goes wrong, I'll lose it."
Roman nodded his head and sipped his coffee. He knew it wasn't the right time to tell her. "Are you ready for the party tonight?" he asked. It seemed like it had been much more than a week since she had said she was hosting the big bash for the Senator and his wife aboard the yacht that Captain Heatherwick and been keeping in the marina.
"Everything is ready, except for this damn weather. It's supposed to be nice today, and just look at all that fog. I'll be furious if it ruins the party." She glared out the window into the misty morning.
Roman took a deep breath and sighed. "It'll burn off. The party isn't until tonight, so don't worry about it."
She finished her coffee and leveled her gaze at him. "Are you ready for the party? Do you have your suit?" she asked him in a warning tone.
"I have it. I'll be there tonight," he said pleasantly.
"Good. Everything has to be perfect. I absolutely have to make a good impression on Senator Johnson and Carmen." She stood up and took her coffee mug to the dishwasher. "My mother is really looking forward to tonight,” she said, turning and looking over her shoulder at him. "Don't ruin it for her. Be decent to her tonight."
Roman closed his eyes and drew breath into his lungs slowly, willing himself to keep calm. He didn't respond to her, he only released the air from his body gradually, focusing on it rather than on Denise.
She walked from the kitchen, having made an ordinance and not a request.
He heard the door shut and looked out of the window, appreciating the morning fog a bit more than he had before she walked into the kitchen.
Roman and Captain Jonathon Heatherwick spent the afternoon on the yacht, and Roman had to admit that it was a beautiful boat, and one he did not regret purchasing to sell to the Senator, if the Senator wanted it.
They talked and laughed over old times until Denise showed up and Jonathon looked visibly annoyed with her. He closed himself up on the bridge and Roman joined him in a bid to remove themselves from Denise's presence as she readied for the party.
She didn't really love sailing or being on boats so much, it was all about the prestige for her, and showing off to others. She had no interest at all in the bridge and so it was there that the two men stayed until the guests started arriving in the early evening, and then Roman bid goodbye to Jonathon with a smile and a clap on the shoulder.
"Come out for food and drinks whenever you're ready. In another half an hour there will be a good number of people here that you would enjoy spending some time with,” he said to Jonathon as he closed the bridge door behind him. Jonathon saluted him, and Roman headed to the deck to meet their guests.
Denise was flitting around talking to people, all smiles, hugs, and air kisses almost brushed upon cheeks. She was dressed in a bright red skin-tight dress and stiletto heels. Her red hair was curled and piled around the back of her head almost in a mane. Her makeup and perfume were thick, and she was hung about with chunky jewelry in her efforts to look the part of what she thought was abundance, because in her mind, abundance equaled quality, value, and worth.
Roman greeted guests separately from her as much as he could, although she would occasionally drag him over to introduce him to people she felt he just had to meet. He was glad to meet all of them, but he wished he wasn't presented in the light that she showed him; that of a wealthy tycoon, rather than just as himself. He could see that very few people were impressed with her gushing and posturing. He faded back away from her and mingled with people every time she turned her head away from him.
The Senator and his wife, Carmen, showed up right on time, and Denise saw them coming, so she rushed over and pulled Roman's arm to greet them as they came aboard.
He reached out his hand and shook Senator Johnson's hand, as well as Carmen's, welcoming them warmly.
"Good evening, Edward and Carmen! It's wonderful to have you here tonight as our guests of honor. Thank you so much for coming!" Roman said as he handed them each a flute of champagne. Denise slid her hand through Carmen's arm and stood close to her.
"There's tons of champagne and the very best seafood in all of the bay area. You won't believe it. Oh! My mother is here, too, and she wants to meet you. So, after we take you on a tour of the boat, I'll introduce you to her!" Denise practically squealed with excitement.
Agnes was indeed at the party, and hadn't talked to many people. She was instead parked at the bar at the far end of the deck, drinking and chain smoking. Roman had managed to avoid her completely, and he hoped to make it through the night without having to talk to her at all.
Senator Johnson looked around the deck and shook his head. "This is really a beautiful boat. I am anxious to have a look at her, is it too soon to ask for a tour?" he smiled hopefully at Roman, and Roman nodded.
"Certainly!" He waved at Allen, who was navigating the buffet table, and Allen almost dropped his plate when he saw that Roman was standing beside their guests of honor. He wiped his hands and rushed over to them.
"Hello! Senator, it's so nice to have you here!" he said with a wide grin on his face.
The Senator extended his hand. "Allen, so good to meet you in person. Please, call me Edward, and this is my wife, Carmen. We've talked on the phone enough that I feel I already know you!" They shook hands and Allen looked like he had just won the best prize at the carnival.
Roman indicated the highest point of the boat. "Why don't we start at the bridge, and you can meet Captain Heatherwick. We'll work our way down from there." With a smile, he turned to lead them all up the two flights of stairs that it took to get to the bridge.
Jonathon Heatherwick and the Senator hit it off right away. Edward was thrilled to see the bridge, looking at it as the best gift one could receive on Christmas morning.
"Command Central!" he exclaimed happily. Carmen watched him with a pleasant smile, obviously glad to see that her husband was immersed in something he passionately enjoyed.
Jonathon and Edward began talking about sailing, which quickly led to the topic of the military and they discovered they had served on the same ships at different times for the US Navy. That sealed their bond, and during the entire rest of the tour, and indeed the night, they were elbow to elbow talking about a great many things.
Senator Johnson and his wife both loved the boat, and by the time the evening was going full swing, Roman and Allen felt sure that he would probably buy it, as long as Denise didn't manage to further irritate Carmen. Her constant attention and fussing over the Senator's wife had made Carmen excuse herself more than once, just to get away from Denise, and Roman had to pull Denise aside to talk to her.
They stood a few feet from their group and he looked at her seriously.
"Denise, you are annoying Carmen, and I can't believe that you don't realize it. I know that you're excited that they're here, but you have got to back off! It may have escaped your attention, but there are several other guests of ours on this boat, and as a good hostess, you should be paying attention to all of them!" He was quiet and kind, but in serious ea
rnestness.
She glowered at him. "Don't you tell me anything about it! You and Captain Featherpants haven't left Edward's side for a single minute! How am I supposed to become best friends with Carmen if you send me away from her? These are the most important people on this boat, and I'm not about to leave them alone just to go talk to everyone else!"
Roman exhaled in frustration. "Denise, if you wanted to spend all of your time with Edward and Carmen, you should have arranged a private dinner for them here, not a full blown party like this."
She grew angry with him, and only barely managed to keep it in check. "Roman! You just don't understand society! It's no good to have them here for a private dinner because then no one else can see how close we are to them! The whole point of the party is so that all of these people can see us with Edward and Carmen and then they will all know how important we are!" She was incredulous that he could possibly be so thick as to have missed that obvious maneuver.
Roman shook his head and looked away from her. "Don't ignore your other guests, and stop annoying Carmen. You're going too far overboard with her. Please keep it to a minimum."
Denise breathed out in a rush of exasperation and headed straight back to Carmen, who saw her coming and moved between Allen and Edward to try to avoid her. Denise was not going to be dissuaded so easily, and she pulled on Carmen's arm and insisted that she go to the bar with her to meet Agnes.
Allen looked after them as Denise tottered down the deck in her high heels, dragging the Senator's wife behind her by the arm. His face was white with panic and fear, and Roman was grateful that Edward was too involved in his conversation with Jonathon to see what was going on.
Five minutes passed and Carmen came walking swiftly back down the deck toward Edward and the group. Roman saw the look on her face and his stomach tightened. He exchanged silent glances with Allen and they both desperately hoped that Denise had not ruined the evening for them.
"Edward," Carmen said when there was a momentary pause at her arrival, "we need to leave." She looked at him with deadly serious eyes.
Edward saw the look on his wife's face and sighed, smiling at Roman, Allen, and especially Jonathon, and he shrugged his shoulders. "I am sorry to go, but it would seem that the clock is striking midnight somehow. It's been a delightful party, and a great visit.
“Roman, Allen, thank you so much for hosting this for us. I'll give the boat some serious consideration and let you know what I want to do. Captain Heatherwick, Jonathon, please come visit me anytime, and I may sneak down here before too long to spend a little more time talking with you!"
They all shook hands, the Senator and his wife left just as Denise was hurrying toward them, but she wasn't fast enough, and they left before she could get to them. She stopped beside Roman and Allen, and pouted ferociously.
"I can't believe she left without saying goodbye!" Denise whined. The men turned to look at her, all of them with scarcely hidden distaste.
"I can't believe you left her side for a single minute," Roman said, almost under his breath to her while the other two men walked away.
Denise watched them leaving and frowned. "Well, Carmen said she thought I sat in something, because there was a stain on the back of my dress and she just knew everyone would notice it. She said I should go to the restroom to see if I could wash it off. I looked and looked and couldn't find anything, and by the time I gave up on it and came back out here, they were gone!"
Roman hid a chuckle behind his champagne glass as he lifted it to his mouth for another drink, realizing that Carmen had only said it to escape Denise, and Denise just didn't understand that at all.
"Perhaps you could attend to your other guests now. Look, isn't that your friend Amanda over there looking at us? Why don't you go talk to her?" He turned and grabbed a bottle of champagne, and then headed downstairs to the belly of the boat to the Master Stateroom. It encompassed a large area, almost from the middle of the boat, to the outside edge of it, and was nothing short of regal.
He needed to get away from the crowd upstairs. It was becoming loud and boisterous, and he had no interest in it. He didn't know many of the people, and he wasn't in the mood for Denise's efforts to outshine everyone and be adored by all of them.
He settled himself on the bed and began drinking champagne right from the bottle, foregoing the crystal flute he left sitting on the bedside table. It had been a night of success, he felt, showing the boat to Edward and Carmen. They seemed to love it, although he could see that they, like him, were quietly reserved people when it came to shiny expensive things being shown to them.
They withheld their truest thoughts on all of it, but enjoyed looking at it. He felt that as long as Denise left them alone, there was a good chance that the couple would buy the boat.
He chuckled to himself over the rapport between Jonathon and Edward. It was a stroke of luck that they hit it off as well as they had. He hoped that their shared love of the sea and their service to their country would be enough of a sway that the sale would go through. More than that, he was genuinely pleased to see the two men becoming friends. They had a lot in common, and it's always good to have a deep connection with others like that.
Roman finished off the bottle and closed his eyes, letting all the bubbles go to his head. He knew it couldn't have been long, but he wasn't sure of the time when he heard a soft noise and opened his eyes, looking around. He was shocked to see Denise's friend Amanda standing beside the bed in nothing but some miniscule underwear. Her body was bare and her smile was wide as she crawled onto the bed and straddled Roman.
"I saw you come down here and thought you would want some company,” she purred, leaning down toward him. He stared up at her in shock. She had dark brown curly hair and blue eyes. Her skin was olive toned and her body was extremely fit. She bent down to him and grasped his hands, pulling them to her small breasts, covering the soft curves and hard nipples, as she planted her mouth firmly over his.
He was stunned for a moment as she kissed him passionately, amazed that his hands were placed over her breasts, and that she was astride him. He turned his head away from hers, pulling from her kiss and gasped, "What are you doing?"
She began to gyrate her hips over his, slipping her hand down to massage his crotch. "I'm just here to have a little fun with you, Roman. I've wanted you for a long time, and here we are, sneaking away from a boring party, and there's this bedroom right here... handy, isn't it?" She grinned at him and tried to kiss him again as he pulled his hands from her breasts and tried to reach for her hand which was working hard to stimulate him.
"You can't do this! Get off of me!" he snapped at her, his shock turning to frustration.
She unzipped his pants and curled her fingers around his body, manipulating it to make him hard. "Sure we can! It's okay. I know you and Denise have an open relationship. She certainly makes good use of that, so there's no reason that you shouldn't as well." Her eyes grew wide and she tried to kiss him again as he angled his hand to pull hers from his crotch.
Her words stopped him short and he looked at her in horror. "We do not have an open relationship!" he spoke, aghast.
She laughed at him and planted her mouth on his once more, kissing him hard as she stroked him and her eyes grew wide. "Roman! You're huge!" she grinned, wrapping her arm behind his neck and holding herself close to him.
He'd had enough. He pushed hard and rolled her off him, but her legs and arm were wrapped tight around him, and she wound up underneath him, clinging to him.
"Amanda," he raised his voice as he tried to pull away from her, "we do not have an open marriage, and I am not interested in sleeping with you! Now let go!" He pushed himself away from her again and she reluctantly let go, but then climbed up on her knees and reached out to him as he climbed off of the bed.
"Come on, Roman, just because you don't know you have an open marriage doesn't mean it isn't that way. She's screwing around, so you might as well do it too. Come play with me!" she begged him, m
oving toward the edge of the bed where he stood. "Come have a good time. It's a party! We're supposed to have a good time. What kind of a host are you anyway, leaving me wanting you like this? I'm not looking for a relationship, Roman, I just want to rock your world once or twice." She grinned at him as he turned and stared at her.
"What do you mean she's having an open relationship?" He stared at her in disbelief.
She laughed at him. "Oh, come on! You must know. She has tons of affairs! Come on! Come have one with me." She reached her arms out to him and he stepped back away from her.
"Get your clothes on and get off this boat. Now." He spoke in a low and commanding tone, narrowing his eyes at her. Then he turned and walked out of the room and went up to the bridge, where Jonathon was sitting with a plate of food and a tumbler of whiskey.
The party seemed to have died down some, and Denise was running around talking to everyone. He bade the good Captain farewell and told him he would talk with him soon. He warned him that there may be people below deck, and Jonathon said he'd double check it when the party was over.
The Baby Shower Page 103
