Betrayed by Trust

by Hogan, Hailey

  “Cat, what did I ever do to you? My company offered you a job. Grant it, our relationship wasn’t conventional, but I showed you love and I thought you loved me.”

  “I do love you Blake. The revenge was set in motion when my dad died.”

  “What does your dad have to do with me?”

  “Your uncle turned down my dad for a loan. When he did, it set off a chain of events that led my father into a deep depression. He never fully recovered from it and when he died, something inside of me died along with him. Getting revenge on your uncle was how I got the strength to go on. Please understand.”

  “I understand one thing Cat. You’re not the woman I thought you were.”

  “Blake, we can work through this. We got through the Lisa thing. We got through the Christopher thing.”

  “Don’t you say another thing about my son. If he wasn’t so taken in with you, I would ban you from seeing him.”

  “Blake, I never meant to hurt you. I wanted to hurt your uncle Jack.” Caitlyn said.

  “When Uncle Jack died, your quest for revenge should have died right along with it, but it didn’t.”

  Caitlyn said, “I did let it go.”

  “But not soon enough. I suggest you sleep in the guest room. Your stuff’s already been moved to it.”

  Blake’s heart ached as she watched Caitlyn leave the room. Her betrayal pierced a hole in his heart. Blake would find a way to ride out the next few months until the year was up. Caitlyn would be his wife in name only—as far as he was concerned she would be invisible.

  Chapter 49

  Blake and Caitlyn’s one year anniversary was approaching. Blake made a phone call to Overton to discuss his uncle’s will. Overton confirmed whether his marriage worked or not, the remainder of the funds would be relinquished to him without any other stipulations once the one year had passed.

  A few hours later, a courier brought over some documents from Overton. Blake didn’t have any other appointments scheduled, so he locked his office door so he could review the documents in private. Included in the documents was a letter from his uncle Jack as well as other papers he would need to review before approaching Caitlyn to discuss their divorce.

  Divorce. He never thought he would be affected by it. Actually, he never thought he would say the words “I do” either but he did. He still loved Caitlyn, but since their blow up after he found out about her misdeeds, they both kept their distance. He had forgiven her but he couldn’t forget what she had done.

  They were cordial to each other over the past few months. She had also attended events with him when he needed an escort, but he barely saw her dimples. It seemed like he took the life out of her when he was around. He missed the Caitlyn that put up a fight whenever he challenged her; he wasn’t used to the Caitlyn who seemed compliant. The only time she seemed happy is when Christopher was around. He didn’t look forward to the day Caitlyn would be out of their lives.

  “Let’s see what dear old Uncle Jack had to say,” Blake said out loud.

  “Blake, if you’re reading this, it means I’ve gone on to glory. I love you. It hurt me you had to grow up without your parents, but the Lord saw fit to bring you into our lives. Me and your aunt loved you and couldn’t have asked for a better nephew or I should say son. I want you to know I’m so proud of you. I wanted you to go into banking, but we’re too much alike. You wanted to be your own man. To build a company from scratch is hard, but by golly you got those strong Banks genes and you did it. My son, Blake Banks, the CEO of his own company. By now, you’ve probably said a few unkind words about me, but I forgive you.

  There are two versions of this letter. The other version says the same thing but congratulates you. If you’re reading this letter, it means you and Caitlyn couldn’t make things work during this past year. I’m sorry it didn’t work out. I hope it’s not because you were reunited with your son. I regret I never got a chance to meet Christopher. I’ve set aside money to be given to him on his twenty-first birthday.

  Caitlyn has the same passion as your aunt. Son, you need a help mate—one who will love you for you and not what you can do for her. Caitlyn is that woman so whatever it is you have to work through—don’t let her get away.

  She and her siblings have every right to blame me—and that they did. I forgave their father. You forgive them. If you love her, go after her. Go after her the same way you went after her to save your business. You didn’t hesitate to approach her when it came to saving your business, so save your heart and go after the woman you love. I don’t want you to be alone. You need someone to love you and care for you because I’m no longer there. I love you son.”

  The letter fell out of his hands as he wiped the tears from his eyes. Here he was a grown man crying. He had to pull himself together. His Uncle dropped several tidbits of information he would have to check out. He thought about the hostility Caitlyn sometimes showed towards him for no apparent reason. It became crystal clear that Caitlyn knew his Uncle was behind her father not getting his loan. Blake leaned his head back as he thought about how to proceed further. Caitlyn. The Crenshaws. Uncle Jack. So many questions ran through his mind. Love tugged at his heart.

  Chapter 50

  Caitlyn marked the days off her calendar. Time was near. She and Blake had been going through the motions. He was like the silent roommate. They communicated in passing, whenever he had an event that required an escort, or to put up a united front in front of Byron and Nikki. Otherwise, they were like two ships passing in the night.

  Caitlyn poured herself into her work, but she was tired of dealing with co-workers and subordinates who saw her as Mrs. Banks and didn’t accept the fact she was good at her job. Caitlyn was lucky Blake let her keep her job after he found out what she did. Caitlyn dreaded leaving Blake but with the year approaching knew it was inevitable. She planned on taking the portion of the money Blake would give her and start her own consulting firm.

  Caitlyn typed her resignation letter, removed it from the printer and signed it. She walked the letter to Neil Franks, the vice-president over her. She handed him the letter and sat across from his desk.

  Neil read the letter. “Does Blake know about this?” he asked.

  “Neil, me resigning has nothing to do with Blake. I make my own decisions.”

  “I’ll have to run this past him.”

  Caitlyn stood up. “It’s a done deal. I’ll have everything wrapped up in a week.”

  She was fuming. Caitlyn knew leaving was the right thing to do. Her fate was sealed the day she stepped foot inside Banks Telecom. Once she divorced Blake, she didn’t want to have anything to do with Blake or his company. She would miss Christopher, but she would get over losing him too. Working at Banks Telecom wouldn’t be good for her emotionally or mentally. As “D” day, as she called the day she would sign the divorce papers, came closer, it was best that she moved on—Neil nor Blake would be able to change her mind.

  By the time Caitlyn reached her office, Blake was sitting behind her desk.

  “No, you can’t change my mind,” Caitlyn blurted out, without giving him a chance to say anything.

  “I came to tell you there’s no need to wait two weeks; you can leave now.”

  “I need to go over some things with a few people in my department.”

  He interrupted her. “No need to. You keep good notes. I’ll have Diane or someone else take over.”

  Caitlyn should have been happy. She was getting what she wanted—an opportunity to start her own business. For that she would be thankful to the Banks for. “If there isn’t anything else, I need to pack up some of my things. I hadn’t planned on leaving this early, but since you’re giving me the boot.”

  Blake stood up. “I’m not kicking you out. You’re the one who decided to leave.”

  Why didn’t it sound like he was talking about business? She ignored the desire to wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him. The twinkle she hadn’t seen in his eyes in months had returned. Maybe her mind
played tricks on her. Reality struck.

  “I need a box or something.” She rambled.

  “I’ll have someone pack your stuff. Why don’t you call it a day?”

  “I didn’t want to leave like this. I need to tell my staff. I want to be the one to tell them.”

  “Okay. I’ll give you twenty-four hours. I’ll still have someone come move your stuff for you. Make an announcement by tomorrow morning or else I will,” Blake said, before leaving the room.

  His cologne lingered in the room. It wrapped itself around her like a hug. She closed her door and locked it. She didn’t want to be disturbed the rest of the afternoon. She logged on to her email program and sent out a department wide announcement about an emergency meeting to be held the next morning.

  Later that night, Caitlyn waited for Blake to show up at home so she could discuss her resignation. After waiting up until ten and he hadn’t showed up, she gave up and retired to bed. It was after midnight when she heard Blake come up the stairs. She closed her eyes and fell asleep a short time afterwards.

  The next morning, she dressed in a designer suit and took extra time to curl her hair. She wore her mother’s pearl necklace and earring set. She purposely got to the conference room late. She wanted to make a grand entrance and that she did. She stopped in mid-step when she saw Blake sitting at the back of the room.

  “Thank you all for being here at such a short notice. I wanted to let you all know I will be leaving Banks Telecom to start my own business. Today is my last day.”

  People mumbled. She continued to say, “I’ve enjoyed working with each and every one of you. Unless someone has any questions, that’s it.”

  Several people came up to congratulate her. It was thirty minutes later and the only two people left in the conference room were her and Blake. He made her nervous. What did he want? He made her leave earlier than she had planned on. Did he enjoy seeing her sweat? He sat in the back and stared. She refused to say anything else to him. If he wanted to play the staring game, she was not going to oblige him. Soon, they would be going their separate ways. She consulted with an attorney and soon, she would be a free woman—free from Blake at the job and at home.

  Chapter 51

  Joan said, “Blake would like to see you in the big conference room on the seventh floor.”

  “I’ll be there as soon as I finish packing,” Caitlyn responded.

  “I thought we hired someone to do the packing for you.”

  “I sent them away. I wanted to do it myself. I don’t have that much stuff. Just a few personal items.”

  “I’ll let him know you’ll be there in ten minutes.”

  “Sounds good.”

  Caitlyn would miss Joan. She never showed any signs of disrespect; unlike some of her other colleagues. She placed the rest of her items in the box. She logged off her laptop for the last time and placed everything in a corner. After she came from the conference room with Blake, she would be leaving Banks Telecom. The past two years had been an experience. Caitlyn set out to get revenge on Blake but things didn’t turn out exactly how she wanted it to. What a difference a year makes.

  Caitlyn said her good-byes to a few people as she made her way to the conference room. “Surprise,” was heard as soon as she opened the door. Caitlyn was really surprised because she didn’t expect to see balloons, flowers, gift bags and a big beautiful cake trimmed in purple roses sitting in the center of the table. Blake walked up to her and kissed her on the cheek. “You didn’t think we were letting you go without some fanfare did you?”

  Blake’s show of affection shocked her. She cleared her throat. “I don’t know what to say. You got me. You didn’t have to,” she said, as she turned and looked at Blake.

  Blake responded, “You deserve it.”

  Several people said, “Here—Here.” They held their glasses filled with punch and cheered.

  The whole scene felt overwhelming. Caitlyn couldn’t control the tears. She picked up a napkin and wiped her face. “This is so unexpected. I didn’t think it would be this hard to move on,” she said out loud.

  “You could always change your mind,” Blake said.

  “Thank you all.” She looked at Blake. “Thank you for this. It’s unexpected.”

  He squeezed her hand. “Those are the best kind of surprises.”

  Caitlyn walked around the room and made sure she spoke with everyone in attendance one on one. It was way past six by the time everyone had left the conference room. Once again she and Blake were the last two in the room. She started to clean up.

  “Leave it. Someone will come clean this up later.”

  “But. I don’t like leaving a mess.”

  “You know I know. I live with you.” He laughed.

  “Oh yeah. You do know my obsession.” She walked towards the door. “Well I need a cart to carry this stuff out.”

  “I’ll have someone put them in my car. Don’t worry about a thing.”

  “Well, this is it. I mean what I said. I will miss it here. Banks is a good company.”

  “I’ll tell the boss. He’ll be glad to hear one of his employees; well ex-employees say that.”

  “Blake, I’ll miss.” She stopped, paused and looked into his eyes. “Never mind. Good-byes are hard. I’ll see you later at home right.”

  “Sure. Bye, Cat.”

  She practically skipped to the elevator. Blake called her Cat and he hadn’t done that in months. Maybe he was softening some. Then again, it had been an emotional day so she wouldn’t read more into it than was there.

  Tasha waited outside her office door. “Girl, I’m going to miss you around here.” She hugged her.

  Caitlyn unlocked her door. “Have a seat,” she said, as she walked behind her desk and sat down in the chair.

  “So what are your plans?”

  “I’m starting my own business.” Tasha didn’t look like she believed her. “You act like this is the first time you’ve heard this. I’ve been talking about this forever.”

  Tasha sat on the corner of her desk. “But why now? You’re married to one of the richest men in Dallas. You don’t need to work. Yet and still you’ve been working and now you’re venturing off to start a new business that will take up even more of your time. Some people have it good and don’t even realize it.”

  “Believe me, you don’t want to be walking in my shoes right about now. Besides, I’ve never depended on a man before and I don’t plan on starting now.”

  “Blake doesn’t seem like the type that would let his woman want for anything. He threw you a nice going away party—although rumor has it, he had no idea you were resigning.”

  Caitlyn laughed. “Tell the office gossip pool that no he didn’t know. He might be my husband, but he’s not the boss of me. I can and do think for myself.”

  “I heard that,” Tasha said. She picked up the desk calendar still sitting on the desk and flipped through it. “Do you need an assistant? You know for the right price, I might be available.”

  “When I do, you’ll be the first person I call.”

  “So you and Blake have any special plans for tonight?” she asked.

  Caitlyn wished. The burden of the past year overpowered her. She needed to talk to someone. “Promise me something Tasha.”

  “Uh oh. Can I hear you out first before I answer?”

  “No. Promise me you won’t repeat what I’m about to tell you.”

  “Scouts honor.” She held up her two fingers.

  “Blake and I are getting a divorce. Well, I think we are anyway.”

  Tasha scooted further on the desk. “What? Not the same Blake I saw give you loving looks less than an hour ago.”

  “Things haven’t been too well at home and the strain. Well, the strain is getting to be too much. Too much for the both of us.”

  “Whatever it is, you two need to work it out. You’re good together. You can’t break up. You’re like Dallas’ own Brad and Angelina. You’re a powerhouse. Come on. Stay together. Do
it for me. Do it for the single women who wish they had a knight in shining armor like Blake.”

  Caitlyn couldn’t do nothing but laugh at Tasha's dramatic behavior. After going back and forth with Tasha about relationships, she picked up her box and walked out of her office for the last time. She left the office that night closing the chapter on one part of her life.

  Chapter 52

  Caitlyn thought having the extra two weeks to work on implementing her business plan would be productive, but it was far from it. She watched the calendar more than she did any work. In less than a month it would be time for their one year anniversary. Blake had been extra nice to her since she resigned from Banks Telecom. Maybe he was happy to get rid of her. She didn’t know what to think. His actions seemed out of character. He actually started acting like he did when they first got together.

  He actually got home early enough for them to at least say a few paragraphs to each other. She needed to be concentrating on her business instead of thinking about Blake. Blake invaded not only her dreams, but her thoughts during the day. As soon as “d”—divorce day came, maybe she could move on.

  Caitlyn thought about her conversation with Tasha. Tasha seemed to be more concerned about the state of her marriage than she was. Tasha emailed her tips on improving one’s love life, etc. Little did she know sex was not an issue—in fact, they weren’t having it. Not that she didn’t want to. Blake seemed to be getting finer and finer. Sometimes it seemed as if he purposely walked around with no shirt on so she could see his six pack. His chest seemed to glisten as if he poured baby oil on his chest. Caitlyn fanned herself as she recalled the last time she saw Blake without his shirt on.

  Caitlyn pulled the laptop on the top of her lap and logged on to the internet. Tasha sent her several other relationship tips. She deleted each one of them, but not without reading them first. As much as she hated to admit it to herself, she wanted Blake. She didn’t want their marriage to end. The hatred she had in her heart for the Banks a year ago had turned into love but soon Blake would be off limits.