This Will manager-owner-dude is starting to sound very appealing. Not so much for me, but I can see how he could woo Em into spending the night with him on some remote island while she thinks her husband left her.
“I’m still waiting for the bed part. You really are milking this shit. What have you done? Spill it!”
She lays on her side, facing me, and we’re finally eye to eye. When she looks at me, I know she will tell me everything. This girl couldn’t lie if her life depended on it. When you look into Em’s eyes, you see right through to her heart.
“He was a stranger and I needed someone to pour all the crap that was clogging my head. I was holding things in for months. I told him everything that happened with Louis in the past four months leading up to how I caught him cheating, and as I was telling him all this, he was getting all worked up. He then told me that his fiancée cheated on him with one of his friends, so here I go again, thinking that his reaction to Louis’ actions made perfect sense. I thought that the cheating thing hit close to home for him. I was still crying and he decided that liquor would be the cure for my broken heart. Sara, I got obliterated to the point that I can’t remember a whole entire day.” Emily! Drunk! This story sounded so far-fetched…my best friend plastered to the point of no recollection is something I’d pay big money to see.
“Everything you’re telling me is very hard for me to swallow. I can’t believe you had the balls to get on a plane—wait, a commercial flight!—and just leave. Then you slept outside on a dirty bench, then you tell your business to a perfect stranger, and then you get piss drunk with the same complete stranger to the point of amnesia.”
“I know, it sounds like one of your stories, but it’s really mine. I woke up the next day in a room I’ve never seen, in a huge bed I don’t remember going to sleep in, half naked, and I hear Will’s voice next to me. Relax! He told me we didn’t have sex and I think if we did, I would’ve remembered. Yes, you don’t have to ask, you already know he was naked. He offered to help me forget about Louis and I said ‘N.O. No!’ I explained to him that I’m madly in love with my husband, even if he’s not in love with me anymore. He kept saying that he gives Louis two days and then he’ll show me how a man should treat a woman. It was all very sweet and chivalrous, but I had no intentions of being intimate with him, I swear! Yes, he was cute but he wasn’t Louis.”
I listen to Emily, but we’re still in wonderland with this story that sounds nothing like the girl I grew up with. “So that’s it? No hanky panky, no playing with his peen, no naughty secrets you’d like to share with Sara?” I ask, knowing full well that she just told me everything she thinks she knows. I wouldn’t mind getting Will’s side of the story, which I’m sure is juicier and probably more X-rated. I wonder if he remembers more from that night? Of course he remembers more. I’m positive something sexual took place in St. Lucia whether Em remembers it or not.
“He tried to kiss me, but I wouldn’t let him. I was mad at myself at how aroused I had gotten around him in the first place. Just getting wet felt like I was cheating on Louis.” She offers me that little intriguing morsel of information and I eat it up and enjoy it immensely.
“When did you find out Louis had a heart attack?” I know she was by his side when he regained consciousness. She must’ve somehow got her little ass back home from paradise.
“Will saw the news and brought me back home without telling me what really happened. When I got home, Jenna and my mom were waiting for me at home, crying. I thought something happened to the kids, and then Jenna said that Louis had a heart attack and I fainted. I knew that he’d died. I swear, Sara, I thought one hundred percent that it was all over and that I’d lost him again, but this time forever. I kept thinking about Rose and Eric growing up without their father and it was all too much for me.” Tears stream down her face again and my heart breaks for her. I cry with her, and as much as I know I should be strong, I can’t help it. I know what it feels like to be alone without the person you love most. Having the love of your life ripped away by fate is something I know all too well. We all think we know what our life should look like, but when our real life materializes, sometimes the truth is too much to handle.
“Stop blaming yourself for what happened. Everything is okay; Rose, Eric, and you will never have to worry about being without Louis. Please stop crying, you still didn’t get to the part of why Will is here!”
She wipes her tears with her T-shirt and tries to compose herself. “Yeah, well, a few weeks ago, I decided that I didn’t want any secrets between Louis and me anymore. The reason we were in that mess to begin with was because he kept me in the dark. He didn’t want me to know that Bruel Industries was heading toward bankruptcy and that he invested his money with the wrong people. To save his company, he had to pay debts with money he no longer possessed. He needed to sell our properties and he thought that he was failing me. Sara, how the fuck could he think that he could fail me by selling bricks and stones? You know how I feel about our wealth. At the end of the day, I just need him and our babies healthy, together, and all in one place, and I’d be the richest woman on the planet.”
“I know, babe, you are as far away from someone that needs or cares about material things that I know.” That, I can tell you, is three thousand percent true. Emily has it all, but never flaunts it and never asked for it. Her parents raised their daughters right. Her nana would be proud of her. I’m sure if Louis would’ve given her the choice, she’d have finished school and had a career, but that man couldn’t share her with anybody. Always the caveman, I think.
“Once I saw that Louis was feeling a little better, and once we finally got a chance to make love, I told him that something happened in St. Lucia while I was running away from my overactive imagination. I couldn’t tell him before because in some way, I felt like I actually did cheat on him with Will; maybe not physically, but emotionally and mentally. I knew how important it was for him to finally have our sexual bond back after everything that had happened. You know how alpha-ape he is when it comes to making sure everybody knows he’s pollinating me.” We both start laughing uncontrollably until we’re crying once again. I bet guys don’t cry happy and sad tears within a span of minutes like crazy, hormonal women do.
“Okay stop cracking me up and tell me what you told him. Was he freaking out? Remember when my brother and I first met him in Central Park and he thought Eddie wanted to fuck you? Did he have that deranged look on his face? Did he stand a little taller?” I don’t think I will ever forget the way Louis and my brother’s relationship first started. Louis is one of my brother’s best friends today, but back then, Louis looked at him with a murderous stare. Who would’ve thought they would be such close friends after their initial encounter?
“He wasn’t happy; he wanted to know if I was trying to kill him, again. But you need to hear this. I go into all the details I’ve just told you about meeting Will, blah blah blah, and then I say the name of the hotel that Will owns—Le Spa, the place I chose accidently—and Louis goes ballistic until he comes down long enough to ask me if it was William Knight who came to my rescue!”
My eyes enlarge to the size of melons as I start to smell the scandal. “Wait one fucking minute! Are you telling me that your husband knows this guy Will, William whatever his name is?” This is no good.
“Sara, he doesn’t just know him, they hate each other. I-wanna-cut-your-throat kind of hate.”
“What?! Why? Are they business enemies? Em, shit, is this Will guy trying to find you and hurt you?” Suddenly, it isn’t funny anymore, and a cold chill spreads through my body as I think of somebody trying to get revenge on Louis by hurting Emily.
We both sit up as I try to make sense of all the details Emily’s been telling me since this morning.
“I have to talk to you about something we’ve never discussed before.” Fuck! There’s more shit! I may need to get a pad and start writing crap down. Emily may need a lawyer, not just a friend. “When you and Eddie c
ame to see Louis and I after we had gotten engaged at The Blue Lagoon in Turks and Caicos twelve years ago, do you remember that?”
“How could I forget?”
“Well, that day I walked in on Louis having a very disturbing conversation on the phone with another woman.”
I may help Will kill Louis if she starts telling me that he hurt her back then, too.
“Sara, wipe that look off your face. It’s not what you think. He was talking to a girl that he used to be good friends with. He told me that he slept with her once before he and I met and that she wanted more. She wasn’t all there mentally and didn’t take his rejection very well. She was a spoiled rich socialite with a drug habit and a penchant for wild sex.” She sounds like every guy’s wet dream. “After she heard about Louis being off the market and with me, or probably before that as well, she wrote a memoir. A freaking tell-all book about her fucked-up life!”
I’m about to say “who cares” when Emily stops me from talking.
“The book was about her and Louis. How she loved him, what she did for him, and what he did to her. She was going to publish a book of lies to ruin his career and probably try to break us up as well. Thank God that book never made it anywhere. Louis, with an army of lawyers and your brother’s help I’m sure, stopped the publishers and I believe Louis bought the rights to that book and won a judgment stating that if any illegal copies of it ever see the light of day, it would cost her father everything he’s worth…which I heard is a lot.”
I grow confused with her story and this strange detour about some woman and her book. “Em, I think I need to start writing down some information because I’m getting confused and I don’t want to get to the point of negative returns, where my brain starts subtracting facts. Sit tight, let me go get my writing pad.” I start getting up as Em jerks me back down.
“I don’t need a lawyer, I spoke to ten already, I just need one friend.”
She’s right, I need to turn my attorney radar off and just listen as if we’re teenagers. “Sorry, keep going. You were up to the part where the book was never printed and I suspect they have her father’s assets tied into their lawsuit, which I’m sure included defamation of character.”
She nods and continues. “Louis also had video footage of this girl saying that if he doesn’t continue having a sexual relationship with her, she will ruin him. I know that video played a big part in the trial, too. I should also tell you that she tried to kill herself unsuccessfully before and after we got married.” Em’s eyes fall to her hands as she plays with her engagement ring. I see them glaze over with tears once again.
“What is it? Do you think he loved her? Is she a threat to you guys now? I can’t even believe that this is something you were dealing with at age eighteen and I’m only hearing about it now.” I guess we both have secrets.
“Sara, she’s dead. Third time’s the charm. She managed to successfully kill herself about two years ago. Her name was Isabella Knight.”
I listen and it takes my brain a few minutes to connect the dots. But once the lines have been drawn, it all makes sense. “Will Knight and Isabella Knight are husband and wife?”
She shakes her head. “No, Will is her little brother,” she tells me, and alarm bells suddenly go off in my head, one by one. “He blames Louis for Isabella’s death. He even tried to have it out with him many years ago, and the police got involved in their altercation. So, in short, I walked into Isabella’s family’s hotel in St. Lucia and right into Will’s arms—or his bed, as Louis keeps reminding me.”
I’m speechless! Just speechless!
“I don’t think he was trying to hurt me like Louis believes. He brought me back home safe on a private jet. He drove me to my house, and he was the one who caught me when I fainted on my front porch when I heard Jenna’s news about Louis. He only left my side once I regained consciousness. He mentioned that we should talk. I have his number and I truly would like to talk to him without feeling like a traitor. Louis doesn’t let me out of his sight. He works from home, he even escorts me to the bathroom,” she says, rolling her eyes. I totally believe it; that sounds exactly like Louis!
“I think you should talk to him and get his perspective from that night. Find out why he didn’t tell you that he knew exactly who you were. What was his motive for lying?” I feel like a hypocrite saying those words; what was—or is—my motive for lying my whole life? Some people are just liars, no ifs ands or buts about it. “Do you know where he’s staying?”
Em shakes her head. “I just have his number, and he mentioned that he’s staying at a hotel not too far from my house. But I don’t know which exactly. I’m not even sure he’s still in New York, but he said that he’ll wait until we talk before he goes back home.”
“Do you want me to do a check and see which hotel he’s at? You know, if you want, I could go meet him for you and ask him shit on your behalf?” I’m sure I’ll get more information than Emily from this guy. I’m good at getting men to talk, that’s why my clients keep me.
“Do you think we could do that? Maybe we can send him a text and you could even meet him downstairs in the lobby. You can interrogate him and see what he wanted to tell me? You could explain that due to the ongoing lawsuit Louis has with his family it would be unwise for us to meet. Sara, I didn’t even think about you going to meet him, but that’s a great idea! I need answers without going behind Louis’ back and you can get those answers for me. God, I love you,” she squeals and lunges herself at me.
“Call Me” by Blondie
An hour later, we’ve finished composing our first text to Will to see if he’s still hanging around the city waiting for Emily to call. The way we’re conspiring has a very Pinky and The Brain quality about it; you’d think we were trying to take over the world. We also have a list of questions we need answers to that only Will Knight would know.
-Hi William, it’s Emily Bruel from St. Lucia. Please let me know if you’re still in NYC and if you’re available to meet. I have a few things I’d like to discuss with you.-
His response comes in almost instantaneously.
-Emily is that really you?-
Em and I look at each other and start giggling immediately; this really does feel like we’re back in high school prank-calling a poor fool. This even reminds me of Emily at eighteen trying to stalk Louis before they officially met. I remember her telling me how she would pass his office a few times a day hoping she’d run into him. I even helped pick out the dildo version of Louis back in the good ol’ days.
“Wait, do you think we’re doing the right thing? You know, he’ll think that he’s coming to meet me. Sara, I don’t want him getting angry with you. I don’t exactly know if he’s mentally sound or even dangerous,” she says as the real Emily starts making an appearance. Truthfully, I didn’t even think she’d take it this far. But I’m not worried about Will; I deal with deranged asswipes for a living. From all she’s told me about him, he seems ninety percent saner than most of the men I get paid to deal with.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We don’t even know if he’s here. It’s been what? Over a month! I can’t imagine he would just hang out and wait until you finally decided to call him.”
Emily’s phone rings and we both jump up like the guilty schemers that we are. She looks down and, of course, it’s her parole officer slash husband; it’s like he can smell trouble.
“Let me talk to him, I don’t want him getting worried. Sara, do not answer his text until I get back. Promise me!” she warns me with her version of the look of death. Emily has yet to scare me or anybody else.
“Yeah, sure, I promise. Go stroke your man’s ego and tell him that you’ll let him pollinate you later,” I yell after her as she sticks her tongue out at me and proceeds upstairs to talk to her neurotic husband. Well, he’s crazy, but at least he’s crazy about her. At least she never has to share his craziness with anybody. I’d give anything to have a crazy to call my own.
As soon as sh
e’s out of sight, I look back down at my phone and think nothing will happen if I just answer him a yes—he wants to know if it’s really Emily, so why should we keep him waiting?
-Yes, it’s me.-
His response comes in even faster this time.
-I need to see you. I’m in New York, not too far from you. I’ll meet you anywhere, anytime. I have much to tell you. Don’t believe anything you hear about me. I would never harm you. You don’t know how happy I am to finally be able to talk to you.-
I read his reply five times before I type back
- Can we meet at The Pierre tonight? It’s on 5th Ave between 60th and 61st street. I have a suite reserved and I think it’s better if we meet privately away from the paparazzi or anyone that could recognize me.-
I don’t feel out of line and have no qualms about texting this poor schmuck. Isn’t this what Emily wanted, closure, for me to meet him and get answers?
-I know exactly where it is. What time should I come?-
I do a quick calculation in my head and figure I can get rid of Em by six this evening and be showered, rested, and ready to meet this fool by ten.
-10PM. I’ll leave you a key at reception under the name Jeffery Rossi.-
I’m pleased with my quick thinking; if Louis ever decided to check the guest list seeing Jeff’s name won’t raise any alarms.
-I’ll be there.-
As the adrenaline starts dissipating, I realize that Emily is about to have a shit attack when she finds out I made arrangements to meet Will without her consent. The woman is an anal control freak and that five-minute interaction would’ve taken her two hours at least. I decide that it’s better if I erase my conversation with Will and give her info on a need-to-know basis. I finish erasing all our texts just before she makes it back down the stairs.
Lies In Rewind Page 5
