“Maybe he’s in love,” Peter said, only half-joking. Stranger things had happened.
“Phillip?” His mother laughed at the suggestion. “It’s the one thing he’s most afraid of. He’d rather have his heart ripped out with a tweezer. I’m not sure Phillip could tolerate being loved. That’s why he married Amanda. The human iceberg. I think Phillip is afraid of feelings. He doesn’t want to be hurt or disappointed, so he stays with her and feels nothing. It’s incredibly depressing.”
“You never know, things change. Maybe one day he’ll find the right woman and leave Amanda.”
“She’s far more likely to leave him,” Olivia said bitterly, which was unusual for her, but she didn’t like Amanda, “if she finds someone with more money.” It was an ugly thing to say, but she was convinced it was true.
She continued to worry about Phillip, but she was busy. A strike at one of their Texas stores had turned ugly, and there was the threat of looting. They had had to hire security guards and close the store temporarily and she wasn’t pleased. Peter had convinced her not to go there herself, he didn’t want her to get hurt, and for once she agreed.
She stopped at a bookstore a few days later, to pick up some books Peter said he wanted, and she was reading the flap copy of a novel for herself when she glanced up and saw Phillip walk into the store, with a pretty young woman. She looked half his age and was gazing at him adoringly. And Phillip looked besotted. Olivia stared at them in disbelief, and then darted behind a bookshelf so they wouldn’t see her. And then he kissed her. Olivia suddenly understood why he had backed down about Peter. She wondered if this was serious or just a fling. She had no way of knowing, and she didn’t want to ask him. She waited until they left, paid for her books, and called Peter as soon as she left the store and told him what she’d seen.
“I told you he was in love,” Peter said, chuckling.
“I don’t know if he’s in love or having an affair, but I hardly recognized him. He looks crazy about her. She looks very young and she’s very pretty.” But now she was even more worried about him. If his wife found out, it was liable to get ugly. And expensive.
“He’s a big boy, Olivia,” Peter reminded her. “He’ll figure this one out for himself.”
“I suppose so, but he certainly wasn’t being discreet. He kissed her right in the bookstore. Anyone could have seen them,” just as she did. Even Amanda, if she had walked in.
“Maybe he’s serious about her,” Peter suggested.
“I don’t know what I wish,” Olivia said with a sigh. “I’d hate to see him go through a divorce, but I’d hate like hell to have him spend the rest of his life with the ice queen. He deserves so much better.”
“Then maybe he’ll get it,” Peter said simply. “He’ll do whatever seems right to him. Now when are you coming home for dinner?” He had gotten to Bedford before she did and was cooking dinner.
“As soon as I can get there. I stopped to pick up the books you wanted, which was when I saw Phillip.” She was already driving home.
“Well, never mind him, get your ass home, woman. I miss you.”
“All right, I’ll be there as soon as I can,” she said, smiling. They hung up, and she got on the highway, and was home less than an hour later. As she pulled into her driveway, it was nice to see the house all lit up and know that Peter was waiting for her. She was lucky she had him, and she knew it. And all she wanted for her son was that one day he’d find the love of a good woman, one warmer and kinder than Amanda. And all she could do now was wait to see what would happen. Life was even stranger than fiction.
Chapter 17
Phillip and Taylor had been sleeping with each other for a month, and he didn’t know if he was in heaven or hell, he was so confused. He had even spent a night with her at the Plaza. They had taken to meeting at hotels for a few hours in the evening because he didn’t want to run into her roommates and compromise her further. She had started her new job by then, and she could only see him in the evenings. His life felt like a high-wire act with no net under it. He wanted to be with Taylor, and was madly in love with her, but he had no idea how to get out of his marriage. He had lost ten pounds, and his mother was watching him with great concern from a distance. Discreet inquiries had told her that his sister, brother, and grandmother knew nothing, and she said nothing either. Olivia was wondering what he was going to do about the young woman she had seen him with. Peter thought it might be just a moment of passion, but it hadn’t looked like it to her. And Phillip was admitting nothing. He was late for every meeting and had begun to feel desperate when one evening he came home, and found Amanda waiting for him in the living room, looking official. The moment he saw her, he felt sure that she knew what he’d been doing. He was about to admit everything, when she silently handed him a letter. It was to his mother.
“What is this?” he asked her with a stunned expression. “I’m not a child. You don’t have to report on me to my mother.”
“Read it,” she said, and he sat down and read it. She wasn’t telling Olivia about his affair. She was essentially blackmailing his mother and had given her an ultimatum. Either Olivia stepped down as CEO, and relinquished the position to Phillip, or she would divorce him. She said that she had decided she was unwilling to be married to one of his mother’s “minions,” in light of her new position as federal judge. Either she was going to be married to the CEO, or she wanted a divorce. The gloves were off. He almost laughed out loud when he finished reading the letter.
“You’re not serious about this?” He had been sure when he saw her waiting for him that she knew about the affair. Now he was sure she didn’t. All she wanted was to be married to a CEO. Maybe she didn’t even care that he was in love with someone else. She appeared not to have noticed.
“I’m very serious. I finally realized that you’re never going to confront her, so I did. Either she makes you CEO, or I’ll divorce you, and it will cost you, and her, a fortune. She won’t want that, and she won’t want the embarrassment of a divorce in the family. So we both get what we want. I get an important husband, and you get the status she should have given you years ago.” She had it all figured out, to her advantage. Either way, she got what she wanted. Status, or money. And she didn’t seem to care which it was.
“I told you when you brought it up before, I don’t want to be CEO yet. I don’t want the headaches that go with it.”
“She’s more of a man than you are,” Amanda said, looking at him with disgust.
“That’s probably true, Amanda. And so are you. The trouble is I don’t want to be married to a man, I want to be married to a woman, and one who doesn’t put my head on the chopping block to get what she wants, or is willing to blackmail my mother. I don’t think she’ll take kindly to your letter. In fact, I’ll spare you the embarrassment of sending it to her.”
He knew what he wanted now. He had known all along, he just didn’t know what to say or how to do it. But Amanda had just handed him his passport. And he was going to grab it. He had the woman he wanted. And Amanda wasn’t it. He was sure. He had never been as sure as at that moment. He didn’t love Amanda, and she didn’t love him either, or she would never have written that letter. She was willing to sacrifice him to get what she wanted. He was just a pawn as far as she was concerned. Phillip looked at her just as coldly. “Don’t bother sending the letter. I pick Plan B. I want out of the marriage. My decision, not yours this time. I’m finished.” She looked stunned. It wasn’t the reaction she’d expected. Not by a long shot.
“It will cost you,” she said with eyes that bored into his.
“I’m sure it will. We can work it out with our lawyers. You have what you wanted. You’re a judge now. And I’m not going to be your dancing dog to make you look good. I’m not going to be a CEO just so you can show off.”
“She’ll keep you on the back burner forever.”
“Maybe. Maybe I’m happy there. But this isn’t how I want to take over as CEO. When I do, it will b
e because my mother is ready to step down, or I earned it. I’m not going to let you bludgeon her out of a job she does brilliantly after she spent fifty years building the business. She deserves to be the CEO. It’s her company. I haven’t earned it yet. I hope that someday I will. But that’s none of your business, Amanda. I should have left you years ago. You never loved me.”
“You have me confused with your mother,” she said through clenched teeth.
“No, I don’t. She actually does love me, I finally figured it out. She may have made some terrible mistakes when we were younger, but I finally realized that she loves me. I guess sometimes in life you have to make tough choices and do what you think is best at the time. That’s what you’re doing now. You are willing to sacrifice our marriage to enhance your status. And I’m willing to step up to the plate and get a divorce rather than to hang on to something that never existed. All I ever was to you was a stepping-stone to something else. I think if my name weren’t Grayson, you’d have been out of here a long time ago. Or you’d never have married me in the first place. That’s over now. You’ve had all you’re going to get from me. You’ll have to get the rest in the divorce.” Fortunately, they had a strong pre-nup, and Amanda knew it too. She wasn’t going to get as much as she hoped. “I’m done.” He felt clear-headed and sane for the first time in weeks. She had done him a huge favor.
“That’s ridiculous,” she said, still holding the letter he had handed back to her. “Maybe she’d agree to step down in a year. I might be willing to wait for that,” Amanda said, looking panicked.
“You don’t understand, this isn’t a negotiation. It’s over. Find another horse to bet on. I’m disqualifying myself from the race.”
“I wasn’t serious about a divorce. I was just trying to frighten your mother. For your sake, as well as mine.”
“Don’t do me any favors. And I am serious. I want a real life, not this ridiculous farce of a marriage, while you calculate what you can get out of it and tell me I have no balls.”
“I was just trying to get you to stand up to your mother.” She was no fool, and she could tell that she had overplayed her hand and was trying to back down. He wouldn’t let her. He had beaten her to the door. And he knew just who and what he wanted when he got there. And she wasn’t it. Taylor was. After a month, he knew that she was the love of his life, and he wanted a life with her. And she was in it because she loved him, not for what she could get. She didn’t even know who he was. She just loved him. And he loved her and didn’t want her to get hurt.
He went upstairs and packed a bag then, and Amanda followed him upstairs.
“What are you doing?” She looked nervous. Phillip didn’t. He felt better than he had in months. Maybe years.
“I’m packing a bag. You can stay here until we decide who gets the house, or put it on the market.” He had paid for it, but he was willing to give it up. All he wanted now was out.
“You don’t have to leave, Phillip. We can work this out.”
“No, we can’t.” And then he turned to her with a dead look in his eyes. “I don’t want to. I want a divorce.” Her letter had been the last straw and the impetus he needed to leave. It told him exactly who she was. She had overnegotiated her position and given him what he needed to walk out. He zipped up his bag then and headed back down the stairs. She stood looking at him from the landing, and the one thing she hadn’t said to him was that she loved him. It hadn’t even occurred to her. And Phillip had noticed. It cleared his conscience to leave. She didn’t love him, and never had. She was incapable of it. And he had stopped loving her a long time ago. Their marriage was dead.
“Call me when you come to your senses,” Amanda called after him. She didn’t run down the stairs and beg him not to leave. A woman who loved him would have.
“Don’t hold your breath,” he said softly, and then turned to look at her for the last time as his wife. “Goodbye, Amanda.” And with that, he opened the front door and walked out, and closed it quietly behind him. The whole thing had taken half an hour. It had been bloodless. It didn’t even hurt because their marriage no longer had living roots. Everything about it was dead.
He hailed a cab then, and gave the driver the familiar address downtown. When they got there, he handed the driver a twenty-dollar bill and asked him to wait. He left his bag in the car and ran up the stairs. One of her roommates opened the door. She said Taylor was in her room, but she was still awake. He knocked on the door and let himself in. She smiled the moment she saw him. Her whole face lit up, and she jumped off her bed and put her arms around his neck.
“What are you doing here?” she asked him. She didn’t even have time to get worried. He was kissing her and pulled her close.
“I left her. We’re getting a divorce.” He was smiling when he said it, and Taylor’s eyes flew open wide.
“Just like that? What happened? I talked to you an hour ago and everything was the same.”
“She hit me over the head one time too many. She was going to blackmail my mother and give her an ultimatum. It told me everything I needed to know. Our marriage has been dead for years.” He had told her that before, but now he was sure. “We’ll talk about it later. I have a cab waiting downstairs. Pack a bag.”
“Where are we going?” She looked stunned.
“The Plaza. I moved out of the house. We can stay there for a few days, until we figure this out. Take enough stuff for a few days.”
“Can you afford it?” She looked worried. “You don’t have to do that for me. You could stay here.”
“I love you, but I don’t want to share a bathroom with five women. And I don’t think they’d be too thrilled to have me.” He put her suitcase on the bed, opened it, and pointed to it. “Pack. I’ll wait for you in the cab.” He kissed her again then, and she came downstairs five minutes later, carrying the bag, and her backpack of schoolbooks. Everything had happened so fast, she didn’t know what to think. And what if he went back? But he didn’t look like he would. He looked calm, strong, and sure, better than she’d seen him in weeks. Ever since they met, he had been tortured about the decision. Now the decision had been made. And he knew it was the right one for him. And Taylor was the right woman.
The cab took them to the Plaza, and Phillip checked in. He took a suite, and Taylor was awestruck as she looked around the room.
“This is crazy, Phillip. What are we doing here? You’ll be broke.” She knew he had a good job and wore nice suits, but this was too much.
“No, I won’t.” It always amazed him that she had never looked him up on the Internet. All she knew was that he was the CFO of The Factory. She didn’t want to know more than that. She loved him. “I’ll find an apartment in a few days. We can stay here till then.” He ordered room service for them, and Taylor went to run a bath. When they’d stayed there before, they had taken a room. She couldn’t even imagine what a suite would cost him. She didn’t want to know.
He got in the bath with her a few minutes later, and they sank into the luxurious tub. He still couldn’t believe it was over with Amanda. She hadn’t intended to, but she’d made it easy for him in the end. And it felt totally right to him to have left. He wasn’t sad. He was relieved. He felt nothing for Amanda. The last month of loving Taylor and living with Amanda had been insane. He never wanted to go through anything like it again. And it had been hard on Taylor too, not knowing if she’d lose him or not.
“The divorce may take a while,” he warned her. Even with a pre-nup, it was going to be a nasty fight.
“I can wait,” Taylor said quietly. “I’m not in a rush.”
“I am.” He smiled at her. “I’ve waited a lifetime for you. What took you so long?”
“I was busy.” She smiled, and he kissed her, and they got out of the tub. Room service came up shortly after. He had ordered club sandwiches for both of them. They ate them wearing the hotel’s big fluffy terry cloth robes and talked and laughed like two kids. And this was only the beginning. They had a
lifetime ahead of them. And as they lay in bed that night, he held her in his arms, thinking of all the things he wanted to do with her. There was so much he wanted to share with her and show her. She was not only the love of his life, she had become his best friend. He had told her about his mother and his grandmother, his brother and sisters. He knew they were going to love her. But best of all, he did, and greatest of all was that she loved him. And as she slept beside him that night, he looked at her and knew he had been given a priceless gift.
Chapter 18
Phillip walked into his mother’s office the next morning and waited until she got off the phone. She seemed busy, but he only needed a few minutes of her time. And she was relieved that he looked better than when she’d last seen him. He didn’t have the wild, distracted look he’d had for the last month.
“I just wanted to tell you,” he said quietly, “I left Amanda last night.” For a long moment, Olivia didn’t comment.
“Are you all right with it?” That was all that concerned her. She wanted him to be happy. And he never had been with Amanda, or not in a long time. He had been emotionally starved and didn’t know it.
“Yes, I am. I should have done it years ago,” he said, in answer to his mother’s question.
“What happened?” She assumed it had something, or everything, to do with the girl she had seen him with at the bookstore.
“She wanted you to make me CEO.” He laughed when he said it.
“Now?” Olivia looked surprised.
“Now. As befitting her status, as a federal judge. She feels she needs to be married to a CEO.”
“Well, you will be one day,” Olivia said calmly.
“Not for a long time, I hope,” he said, and meant it. “It was either that or a divorce. So I picked Door Number Two. A divorce. It works for me. But it’s liable to get costly.”
“As I recall, you have a good pre-nup.” Olivia was pensive.
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