2-in-1

by Kira Chase

Gretchen rolled her eyes skyward. “I don’t know how you stayed with Frankie for all these years. The minute I saw her I didn’t like her. She has an abrasive personality. She seems like the argumentative bitchy type.”

  Johanna laughed hollowly, but silently seethed inside. Frankie was anything but bitchy or argumentative. She had a wonderful sense of humor and a kind gentle spirit. She was devoted and fiercely protective of those she loved. “She has her moments,” she replied, feeling sick inside for making derogatory statements against her lover.

  “Why didn’t you ever tell her about us?” Gretchen prodded.

  Johanna lowered her eyes. “I couldn’t. Our time together was special and I wanted to keep our memories safely tucked away.”

  “Why did you really leave California so abruptly, Jo? Why didn’t you stay and try to work things out with me? You never gave us a chance.”

  She raised her eyes. “I was confused. I fell apart after Ben’s death. I wanted to get away from everything. I felt like I was coming apart at the seams and you became distant.” She watched Gretchen’s face, but her stony expression never changed. Johanna worried that the woman wasn’t falling for her act. “I’d already lost Ben and I felt like I lost you, too. I couldn’t stay and watch you with another woman. I know I was a coward and I took the easy way out and ran.”

  “If I appeared distant it was because you were pushing me away. I thought it best to give you some space. I never dreamed how much space you were planning to take. You never gave me an explanation. One day you were gone. That’s when I found out that you’d put in for a transfer and went over my head to do it. You hurt me, Jo. I was called on the carpet after you left because you didn’t go through the proper channels.” Her voice was bitter. “As I recall you stated that you felt I was holding you back and you were afraid of me. You must have been very convincing in order to complete the transfer behind my back. I was humiliated in front of my superiors, but fortunately I convinced them that your partner’s death had sent you over the edge and your leaving was the best thing for the department.” Her eyes narrowed into two dark slits. “Now I’m supposed to believe that you didn’t mean any of it? Why should I believe you? Convince me.”

  Johanna inhaled deeply. “I was wrong. Things became tense between us. I should have told you what I was feeling. Instead I let communication break down between us.” She clasped her hands together tightly. “I was scared.” Her lips trembled. “Please forgive me, Gretchen. I never meant to hurt you and I promise I’ll never hurt you again. That is if you’ll only give me another chance. If you do, I promise you’ll never regret it.”

  “I would have listened to you, Jo,” Gretchen said quietly. “You never once tried to get in touch with me. And I certainly couldn’t risk contacting you after what you’d said about me in your report.”

  Johanna’s jaw twitched. She didn’t know how much longer she could put up with this farce. She was relieved for the brief reprieve when the waitress removed their salad plates and set their dinners before them. She watched Gretchen eagerly begin eating. She picked up her fork and forced herself to take a few bites. The food here was delicious, but tonight it tasted like cardboard and every bit of food that slid down her dry throat made her physically ill.

  “Do you remember our good times, Jo?” Gretchen asked as she cut a bite of steak.

  Johanna’s blood chilled. She couldn’t recall any happy times with Gretchen. She’d been as cold and calculating in bed as she was out, but Johanna couldn’t tell her that even though she wanted to shout it out. Instead, she once again pasted the phony smile on her lips and nodded. “Yes. I’ve always cherished our memories. We had some good times together.”

  Gretchen returned her smile. “I meant to tell you earlier that I love your dress. The color and style suits you. You’re even more beautiful now than you were when we met for the first time.”

  “Thank you.” Johanna had selected a black low-cut dress, with Frankie’s help, which accentuated her full breasts and emphasized her curvy, slim body and long legs. She looked at Gretchen who was dressed in a much too tight and too short bright red dress, which was inappropriate on her for her age and size. She was surprised how Gretchen had let herself go. She was desperately out of shape and looked even older than her forty-eight years. Deep wrinkles were prominent around her mouth and eyes. She wore too much makeup, and Johanna surmised it was to cover the ravages of what getting older was doing to her. Her features were hard and her eyes were cold. The coldness that Johanna had remembered and feared all those years ago.

  “Maybe you and I can make some new memories beginning tonight,” Gretchen said huskily. “If you’re not comfortable bringing me back to your house, we can go to my motel. It’s been a long time, Jo, but I still remember how insatiable you used to be. Let’s get started on our new beginning. We have a lot of time to make up for.”

  Johanna smiled faintly. Gretchen’s recollection of their sex life wasn’t on par with hers. If anything, she’d faked organisms just to appease Gretchen’s inflated ego and to end the woman’s unsatisfying attempts at arousal. Gretchen was as unfeeling in bed as she was out. She had known the topic of them spending the night together would eventually come up and now that it had she fought for the right words to get out of this predicament. She thought about excusing herself and retreating to the restroom and calling Frankie for advice, but she feared that Gretchen would follow her. “I’d like us to take things slow, Gretchen. After all, we’ve been apart for years and we need to spend some time together before we get intimate.” She shyly looked down at her plate.

  Gretchen threw her head back and laughed. “Still the old-fashioned girl. If you want to be courted, then that’s what I’ll do.”

  Johanna blushed. “I am a romantic at heart, but that’s not the only reason.”

  “Oh?” She cocked an eyebrow.

  “My mother is visiting me, remember? It wouldn’t be right for me to leave her alone, especially under the circumstances. None of this has been easy for her. I hope you understand.”

  “I suppose you’re right.” She tensed. “Did she say anything to you about me after I left the other night?”

  Johanna shook her head. “No.” She sighed. “I haven’t had the chance to sit down and have a heart to heart with her. Things became heated between Frankie and me the night you showed up and to be honest it hasn’t been pleasant.”

  “How does she get along with Frankie? Does she like her?”

  “Not well, I’m afraid. She told me a long time ago that Frankie wasn’t right for me,” Johanna lied. She bit her lip every time she uttered a nasty remark about Frankie. Even though she knew she had to be convincing to Gretchen, it tore her apart inside. She smiled weakly at Gretchen who sat with a smug expression on her face obviously loving every word Johanna said. “It hasn’t been easy on my mother or me and that’s why she rarely visits. I’d hoped things would change as time went on, but they haven’t.” She shrugged her slender shoulders. “But now I suppose it doesn’t matter. Soon Frankie’ll be out of our lives for good.”

  Gretchen frowned. “You understand that I can’t stay here for too long. I have to get back to California to take care of my investors before they catch on to what’s happened. I’ll pay them off then quietly dissolve the business. No one will be the wiser to what really happened. When are you planning to move back? I am assuming that’s what you plan to do since I could never see myself living here,” she said distastefully.

  Johanna took her time answering. A sarcastic retort had come to her lips, but she quickly pushed it aside. Her body tensed as she looked into the eyes of the woman she despised. “It’ll take some time to settle things with Frankie. We have a civil union and everything we own is jointly shared. Then there’s the business. It’s not going to be overnight. We’ll have to put the house on the market and it could take time to sell.”

  “Ask her to buy you out of everything.” Her eyes became narrow slits as she peered at Johanna. “I’ll need every
dime you can get your hands on to pay off the investors, Jo. If I don’t pay them off, you and I are going to be in deep trouble. I’d hate us to start our new life together in prison. Do you understand?”

  A slight tremor shot through Johanna. No she could never imagine herself in prison, but she knew if she couldn’t prove her innocence, that’s exactly where she would end up. “We need to talk about your company. I don’t remember giving you permission to use my name, Gretchen. I do wish you would have let me in on what you were doing.” She held up a hand palm out. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m not angry. It was a good plan,” she lied again. “I just wish I would have known about it before it went south. Maybe I could have prevented the mess it’s in now. If you’d let me know before this I could have sent you some money.”

  She smiled smugly. “I do remember talking to you about my plans. That was around the time your partner died. You probably don’t remember because of your emotional turmoil.” Johanna kept silent as Gretchen continued. “So I decided to put your name on as equal partner and then when we became wealthy from it, I was going to surprise you with a big fat check.” Her eyes clouded. “Things were going well for a long time and then with the economy in crisis and dwindling investors, the bottom fell out. This is why we need to make this right and clear our good names. We may decide to start a new venture once the economic crisis lifts.”

  Johanna almost choked. She doubted Gretchen would have given her anything if it had legitimately succeeded since she’d never offered her a dime when things were going well. No, Gretchen would have continued if she hadn’t been trapped. She wished now that Gretchen would have been trapped because she could have caught her at the beginning of her scheme and not all these years later. Gretchen had only put Johanna’s name on it to ensure herself that she would take Johanna down with her when it went belly up, as Gretchen must have surely known it eventually would. She was shifty and cunning and Johanna knew her well enough to know she’d sell her own mother down the river if there were something in it for her. The only name Johanna intended to clear was her own, but she had to play the game no matter how difficult. Her only hope was that this mess could be put behind her in a relatively short period of time.

  “What did happen to the money? Did you ever invest it as your clients thought?”

  She laughed. “Ah…I can see that you know nothing about creating an image that will cause potential investors to literally drop to their knees and beg you to take their money.” She reached out and grabbed Johanna’s hand. “It took every dime I could get my hands on to maintain the image I’d created, sweetie.”

  She nodded noncommittally as she glanced around the intimate room while carefully choosing her next words…words she was certain Gretchen expected to hear…words she wished she never had to say.

  She took a deep breath. “Well, Gretchen, none of that matters now. What matters is clearing up this mess before we officially get back together. I want us to do it right this time. We need to wipe the slate clean and make a fresh start together.” She placed her free hand over the one Gretchen still had over her other hand and gave it a gentle pat. “You’ll need to give me all the details of the business and a list of all the investors. Tomorrow I’ll begin working to set things right with the investors.” She patted Gretchen’s hand again before disengaging both of her hands. “Don’t worry…we’ll both have the futures we deserve.”

  Gretchen propped her chin on her hand and stared into Johanna’s eyes. “You’re right. Tomorrow we’ll begin to put this behind us and start over.” She smiled widely. “Do you realize how beautiful you are and what looking at you does to me?” Her voice grew husky.

  Johanna lowered her eyes. She couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to cause Gretchen to switch sides as far as the law was concerned. Looking at her she suddenly realized that in Gretchen’s twisted mind she didn’t grasp the reality of the situation…that she’d committed a crime. She’d always held herself in a much higher esteem than anyone else would and gave the impression that she thought herself above the law. She was devious and calculating and Johanna wouldn’t put anything past her. All she wanted to do was get the hell away from her and call Frankie. It seemed like days since she’d seen her instead of only hours.

  Gretchen picked up her fork and popped a bit of potato into her mouth. “I’m surprised it’s as good as it is considering you’re so far away from civilization. And the weather. I could never get used to all this snow and freezing cold. I thought I’d have a collision trying to drive in this mess.”

  “We’re not exactly in the middle of nowhere,” Johanna defensively replied. “Philadelphia and New York City aren’t that far.” She raised her eyebrows. “Seeing the changing seasons is refreshing.” She remembered fondly the first time she’d seen snow. She was in awe of the silent majestic beauty as the first flakes fell from the sky. She’d seen movies and pictures, but until she’d experienced firsthand what snow truly looked and felt like, those images paled in comparison. She didn’t mind the cold and snow as long as she was with Frankie. She always, like a child, looked forward to the first snowfall. Her attention jolted back to Gretchen who was staring at her with a look of utter disgust on her face.

  “Whatever. Give me the warmth any day.” Her eyes shifted to Johanna’s plate. “What’s the matter? You’ve hardly touched your food. If your steak isn’t cooked properly send it back. Let me get the waitress.”

  Johanna watched Gretchen’s eyes turn into two angry slits as she turned her head and scanned the busy restaurant in search of their waitress. The last thing Johanna wanted was for Gretchen to make a scene and draw attention to them. Gretchen was not above causing scenes and Johanna recalled many times when she’d sat humiliated and flushed after witnessing Gretchen berate a waitress or sales clerk. She’d always wanted to apologize for Gretchen’s uncalled for outbursts, but had instead maintained her silence. She was angry with herself for allowing Gretchen to walk all over her, but the fear of losing her job had kept her in check. “No, it’s fine. I’m just not very hungry,” she replied quickly. “I’ve got butterflies in my stomach. A lot has happened in the last couple of days and I’m still trying to process it all.” She sighed deeply. “I never dreamed two days ago that my life was on the verge of an abrupt change.”

  “All that matters is that we’ve discovered we still have the same strong feelings for one another that we had when we first met.” She ran a hand through her hair. “When your mother told me you were with someone I wondered how strong your commitment to her was. I was worried, but then after I met Frankie I could tell that she didn’t have your heart.” She smiled seductively. “Now I know who really has it. And after meeting Frankie it comes as no surprise. You two are complete opposites and I can’t see what you’d ever have in common with her.”

  Johanna winced. “Can we please not talk about Frankie?”

  “Agreed.” She reached over and patted Johanna’s hand. “Soon Frankie will be just a distant faded memory and you’ll forget she even existed.”

  Johanna kept her mounting anger in check. Her protective instincts had kicked in. She wanted to slap the bitch. What she really wanted and yearned for right now, though, was Frankie’s comforting arms around her and her soft gentle voice whispering in her ear how much she loved and cherished her. Johanna watched Gretchen’s eyes soften. She tried to force any emotion from becoming evident in her own eyes.

  Gretchen took a sip of wine. “You’ve become awfully quiet. What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.” She toyed with her potatoes, finally took a bite, then set her fork down. “Let’s get down to business, Gretchen. Tell me about the company and give me a list of clients. I also need the name and address of the woman who’s blackmailing you. I want to drive to Atlantic City to talk to her. I’m not clear on why she would be blackmailing you. What’s stopping her from going to the authorities?”

  Gretchen held up both hands palms out. “No! I don’t want you to talk to her. I only want you t
o follow her…see where she goes and who she associates with. I think she’s cheating on her husband and I want something concrete to use to combat her threats.”

  Johanna frowned. “Gretchen, even if she’s cheating, she’s still going to want her investment back. I don’t see what you have to gain by finding out that information. One has nothing to do with the other.”

  Gretchen’s lips drew taut. “There’s something about her that’s a little shady. I sensed it from the day we met, but I could never quite put my finger on it.” She slowly shook her head. “Have you ever met someone like that?”

  Johanna suppressed a laugh at the woman’s audacity. Gretchen was up to her old tricks of turning things around to paint herself the victim. “I still don’t see the significance. What am I missing? Is she embezzling money or something?”

  “I don’t know, but she’s doing something underhanded.” A strange look appeared in her eyes. “If you can find evidence that she’s involved in illegal endeavors of her own, that will distort any claims she tries to bring against me. It’ll give me the leverage to turn the tables back on her.”

  “What if she’s clean?”

  Gretchen peered into Johanna’s eyes. “I’m sure you’ll come up with something to make sure she’s not.”

  “You want me to lie?” Johanna’s eyes widened. “I can’t do that.”

  Gretchen’s eyes grew dark. “I wouldn’t exactly call it lying. Just bend the truth a little. Enough to make her back off.”

  Johanna’s throat tightened. “It still doesn’t get you off the hook with the other investors. If any of them get wind of what the company is really all about what’s to stop them from filing charges of fraud even if they get paid back?”

  Gretchen suddenly grabbed Johanna’s hands and squeezed them tightly before using her thumbs to caress the backs of Johanna’s hands. Johanna felt like throwing up at the intimate touch of this evil woman, but steeled herself against making any move that would cause Gretchen to become suspicious. From the simmering look in Gretchen’s eyes, it was obvious that she thought she was causing an erotic emotion in Johanna instead of the opposite reaction. Johanna shifted uncomfortably in her chair.