She sat and stared at the wall in despondency for what seemed like hours, until her doorbell rang. She got up slowly and peeped through the keyhole and realized that it was Deidra. She had a smile on her face and a fruit basket in her hand.
"Last day of exams," Deidra said happily when she opened the door, "and the exam today was easy… too easy… made me wonder if the lecturer was too tired to mark papers this summer and just gave up."
"Good for you," Kylie said, summoning up some enthusiasm for Deidra.
"Uh oh," Deidra said, "I know you haven't started teaching classes yet. Why the long face?"
"I met Jackie today." Kylie said glumly and went back to the settee and threw herself down on it.
"Ooh, is she an old hag?" Deidra asked putting the basket down in her tiny kitchenette and coming back to join her in the living room.
"Far, far from it." Kylie rolled over and looked at Deidra sadly. "I had lunch with her. Well she forced me and Gareth to eat with her at the The Cha."
"Get outta here." Deidra sat in the chair facing her. "You had lunch with Gareth's ex?"
"Thing is," Kylie said mournfully, "at lunch she was talking about her and Gareth, how they started living together after a month because their chemistry was so right and how they got married barefoot and..."
"Hold up," Deidra laughed, "that sounds like a ploy to unnerve you and make you jealous."
"Well, it worked." Kylie grimaced. "I am jealous and I am not sure that Gareth is really my perfect match anymore."
Deidra exhaled noisily. "Kylie, the man has a past which he shared with her; you are just going to have to deal with it. A part of that past made him who he is today; you can't escape it unless, of course, you wanted him to be a fresh virgin, like you.
"That would be nice," Kylie said eagerly.
"Well, unless you want to give up on your perfect match theory, it ain't gonna happen. Your perfect person has a past with a gorgeous woman who wants him back. It's fight or bow out time. You know what, I think Jackie knows that you are not a fighter. I would not sit at that table and have some washed up ex wife come and reminisce about my man."
"What should I have done?" Kylie asked sarcastically, "throw the vegetable soup on her, scream like a banshee, and call her an evil unconscionable bitch?"
"Nah, that would be too shrewish," Deidra contemplated, "I think you should build more memories with Gareth. You know, every time she says something about their past but in with something about yours together."
"I hope I never speak to her ever again, and I am not sure I even want to build memories with Gareth anymore. How can I compete with seven years, barefoot wedding, and all of that jazz?"
"Come on, you have your guy now. Don't let a little thing like lack of confidence derail you. You have to be confident in a relationship, like I was with Micah."
"Look where that got you." Kylie muttered. "You sent him to jail and then you got kicked out of your house."
Deidra nodded and then chuckled. "I got results though, didn't I?"
"But not Micah. In the end you didn't get Micah."
"Yet. Now back to you. I think you should show Jackie some teeth."
"Not into biting." Kylie folded her arms across her chest and looked up at the ceiling. "What are you doing this summer?" She changed the topic abruptly. She hated talking about Jackie. The thought of Jackie highlighted her own inadequacies. She was shy and retiring, not confident, outspoken and beautiful enough to turn heads. She didn't have a killer body, and she was not the one that Gareth was so overcome with passion for that he moved in with her within a month of meeting, and then married because the chemistry was so great.
"Going to Miami," Deidra said smugly. "My Dad arranged for me to get a summer job with an interior design firm. My dear Dad is feeling so guilty he even offered to pay my tuition for next year." He claims he is impressed with my progress.
"That's good news," Kylie said. "I am going to miss you, I think you are my only friend."
Deidra laughed. "There is always the phone. You can call me whenever you want to strategize on how to get rid of Jackie."
Kylie groaned.
*****
Gareth was pacing around the small conference room in the office of legal counsel. The offices were located on the Law Building, which was pretty close to the president's building. He could see the impressive architecture from where he was pacing but it did not make a difference to him. His reputation and standing at the school were at stake. Jackie was calmly checking data on her tablet computer.
"Relax," she said for the umpteenth time. "You just got here and you are making me dizzy with all that twirling and swirling."
"I am very curious to know what is in that correspondence, and how I am linked to Lauren's disappearance," Gareth said in frustration.
"All that will be revealed soon," Jackie said, glancing at him smugly. "Aren't you glad I am now here by your side? You see how this law degree comes in handy."
Gareth grunted.
"Do you now understand why I had to put in the hours I did? Why I worked so hard and why I had to place our relationship second?"
"No," Gareth said, "I don't see. I never did. Numerous lawyers in the world have a healthy home life. You deliberately chose not to be one of them."
"Not if they are women in a male dominated environment in New York City, they don't. Forgive me for being ambitious, Gareth. You loved that about me, remember, and then you grew to resent it. Just because you were not the center of my universe for a few years."
Gareth bit his lip. He felt the old resentments coming to the fore and he didn't want to get into it with Jackie again. They had had this discussion several times in the past. The usual result was him frustrated and resentful and her calling him selfish.
Jackie was looking at him—pleading for understanding—and when he turned his head away from her, she hung hers.
He looked at her down bent head, at how vulnerable she suddenly appeared and his heart melted—a little. He was about to go over to her and touch her, but luckily, a knock sounded on the door.
"Come in," Jackie said, all the vulnerability disappearing from her as if it never was. The steel was back and so were Gareth's senses.
What was he about to do? He shook his head and marveled at the way the human mind worked. He was about to make the first move to soothe the situation, just as he had in the past.
Two policemen entered and nodded to them politely. "My name is Tony Beaker," said the tall detective, who appeared to be the senior of the two, "and this is my colleague, Frank Givens."
"Please have a seat, detectives," Jackie said.
Gareth sat across from the detectives at the conference table. They were looking at him as if they meant business.
"Dr. Beecher," Tony Beaker said, opening a notebook. "Yesterday, Carmella James gave an official report that her daughter Lauren James was missing. She has not heard from her for two weeks. They are not particularly close, but her daughter usually keeps in touch. The police checked her place, and they found several notes, or would you say letters?" he looked at Frank Givens, "referring to you, which indicated that you two had a relationship. Do you know of her whereabouts?"
"No," Gareth frowned. "Lauren and I did not have a relationship apart from the one we had at school. I was overseeing a group project in which she was involved."
The detective raised his eyebrow and took out what looked like a typewritten sheet of paper. He slid it over to Gareth.
Gareth glanced at the note it was dated on the day that she had dropped off the jump drive two weeks ago. It was a Tuesday. He read the paper with rising incredulity. It read like a soap opera scene.
He stood at the door half-naked, a look of need in his eyes, "I need you now Lauren," Gareth said in his deep Australian drawl. "I know I am helping you with your school work but I can't get enough of you. Let's go away together."
"But I only just came to drop off the jump drive," I replied, weakening at the tone of his voice an
d his hot sultry gray eyes staring into mine.
He opened the door wider, and I was propelled by my emotions into his house. The space was decorated in deep earth tones. I barely saw his furniture as he grabbed me and kissed me, a deep drugging kiss that had me panting for more.
He removed my top and gazed at my breasts for endless seconds before he touched them reverently. "I have wanted to do this for a long, long time..."
Gareth stopped reading and pushed the note to Jackie who read it calmly.
"This is a fantasy," he said to the police harshly. "I saw Lauren that day. I took the jump drive and she left."
"Can anyone corroborate your story?" The police did not show any reaction to his denial.
Somehow, that made him nervous.
"No," he shrugged, "my house is at the very end of a cul-de-sac."
"What was she wearing when she dropped off the jump drive?" Detective Beaker asked flipping out his notebook.
"She was in blue jeans and gray top, like a sweater blouse, with the letters MFU on the front. She had her hair up in a ponytail and she was chewing gum. I remember the details because she braced her chest out at me and then blew a big bubble and winked, which is the regular flirtatious behaviour I have been subjected to by Lauren all semester."
"How did she arrive?" Tony Beaker asked, jotting down the information.
"In her car, a blue Honda Civic," Gareth recited politely. "Obviously she must have gone home to write that story, somebody must have seen her then. I couldn't have been the last one to see her."
Tony Beaker just raised his eyebrows.
"We checked with everyone," Frank Givens said. "You are the last one to have seen her. Her laptop and car are missing as well. Her housemate said that is unusual. Also all her clothes are left untroubled."
Jackie, who was quiet until now spoke up. "I agree with Dr Beecher that this note reads like a fantasy. Do you have anymore?"
The policemen shrugged. "There are two more."
Tony Beaker pulled out two. "These were dated from January. He placed them on the table and Gareth shook his head. He didn't want to read it.
Jackie took them from the policeman and read it aloud.
Gray smoky eyes and a hot accent. He signals me with his need, tempting me and I am unable to say ‘no’. In the heat of the night he touched me again, I traced my fingers over his apple shaped birthmark...
She stopped reading loudly, only a twist to her lips showing that what she just read had made an impact.
"Well officers, this could be talking about anybody."
"Well," Tony Beaker said, choosing his words carefully, "she did mention 'Gareth' in her most recent note and her descriptions do fit Dr Beecher: eye color, accent… Besides, we do not have many white men with gray eyes and Australian accents around these parts."
Jackie inclined her head, "My client had nothing to do with this girl's disappearance. He was helpful in giving you information about the last time he saw her. Dr. Beecher only had a professional relationship with this girl."
"We'll be in touch." The detectives stood up and looked at Gareth speculatively.
When they left Gareth was baffled. He ran his hand through his hair. "I can't believe this is happening. Why did she write all of those things about me and then leave them lying around?"
Jackie pursed her lips. "How does she know that you have an apple shaped birth mark on your back?"
"It's near my shoulders; if I wear a sleeveless shirt anybody can see it."
Jackie nodded. "Okay, I give you the benefit of the doubt."
"Wow, thanks Jackie. I am so grateful! I had nothing to do with that girl's disappearance, nor did I do all of those things she fantasized about."
"Were her breasts that fascinating?" Jackie countered, "that she knew you wanted to touch them? I think there is a smattering of truth to this fantasy. Does your little girlfriend know about Lauren?"
"I am out of here." Gareth got up.
Jackie looked at him contemplatively. "Your new girlfriend, what's her name again, is going to be very mad when she hears about this. I hope her poor little innocent heart is not easily swayed by this kind of thing or you could be single in the next couple of days." Jackie scratched her chin. "Hmmm, that's not a bad thought. I will take you when she dumps you. It's only fair, I had you first."
Gareth groaned and shut the door firmly behind him. His life was going peacefully. He had been at the school for nearly a year and a half. He liked Kylie a lot then along came his ex-wife and then Lauren disappeared. All eyes were now on him. He hated that—hated it with a passion. What if Jackie was right and Kylie could not handle this latest development? He felt his heart curl with fear.
Chapter Thirteen
Kylie decided that she was going to take Deidra's advice about building memories with Gareth, so she decided to spend the whole week with him.
Gareth was very eager to do the same, so they went bowling and then went to the movies. They had even started walking in the mornings, when they would discuss their gaming project and how they would spend their time together that day.
Kylie really looked forward to the mornings when she could hang out with Gareth. It was fun and refreshing, and he seemed as if he genuinely liked her, despite the fact that Jackie was around. That gave her a sense of security and boosted her flagging confidence.
She hadn't seen Jackie around and Gareth didn't talk about her. Gareth seemed distracted though. Sometimes he had a far away look in his eyes, like he was not completely with her.
She invited him over to her apartment mid-week to test out the game that they had been working on, a mystery, Sherlock Holmes type of game. They were supposed to find a missing sack of gold.
"The graphics still needs some work," she said, glancing over at him, trying to get him out of his doldrums.
"Not really," Gareth looked over at her and smiled. "I think we could polish it some more but it looks really good to me. I should contact Jumitsu and tell my contact there about it."
"I can't believe it," Kylie said wonderingly, "I have always wanted to create something like this and have people play it. Jumitsu is one of the leading simulation game companies. I can't believe you have a contact there."
Gareth smiled while he looked at her; her hair was out in a mass of curls all over her head. Her cute little upturned nose, which gave her a sweet girl next-door look that Jackie had cruelly criticized, was pointing to the screen, as she was once more absorbed in game play.
His mind was in turmoil. This week he felt tossed about by his emotions. His past and present had collided. Jackie was raging a war to get him back, calling him late in the night to remind him of how it used to be before their problems.
He saw Kylie everyday; he worked with her everyday. He could smell her scent: lavender and vanilla. He could see her rosebud lips pout when she wasn't pleased with her program.
She was adorable and he felt as if he fell a little bit more in love with her everyday, but there was Jackie in the background. As hard as Jackie was, as shattered as his break up with her was, there was still a slight attachment to her.
He realized that he had gone off in his thoughts and he shook himself out of it.
"Want us to do something else? Take a walk maybe?"
Kylie shook her head and looked up at him. "I want you to want me the way that you wanted Jackie. You know how you couldn't keep your hands off her, and you guys had this great chemistry that couldn't be quenched. I want us to live together; to hell with convention."
Gareth kneeled at her feet and took her hand in his, turning it over and placing a kiss in her palms. "I do want you like that, even more. When Jackie and I just met, we were both wild and free and had no rein over our sexual urges whatsoever. He touched her lips. You and I are going to be different. "
"But why?" Kylie asked, "Sometimes I don't believe that I am your perfect match anymore. Maybe Jackie is really the one for you."
"If she was, then we would not have been divorced,"
Gareth said feelingly.
"Sometimes perfect pairs lose their way," Kylie retorted, "and end up with other people. Maybe that's what happened with you two."
Gareth helped her out of her chair and they sat on the floor together. "I think you are my perfect match."
"You do?" Kylie looked up at him, her eyes shining.
Gareth nodded. "Some of the best decisions are made with the head, don't you think? When you get all compulsive and make decisions with the heart alone, you get into trouble."
His hair was tousled and his lips pink. Kylie reached across and kissed him. It was a slow exploratory kiss, one that got heated quickly.
Gareth slowly and deliberately pulled her shirt over her head, and did the same for his while locking lips with her.
"You know what really turns me on," he said to her, roughly kissing her ear. "That you have never done this with anyone else. Call me selfish, but this is a real turn on." He looked down at her vulnerable expression and her wet lips and groaned.
"God, Kylie. We have to stop."
"Don't invite me to live with you and have wild all-day-sex with you again."
"I didn't," Kylie said breathlessly.
Gareth chuckled. "That's what I heard. I refuse to live in sin with the President's oldest daughter, or deflower her on the floor right now."
He held out his hand to her and she got up, leaning on him.
"So where are you going to deflower me?"
"In bed," Gareth picked up his shirt and kissed her on the forehead, "when we are married."
"Marry me now, then…"
Gareth chuckled. "It's a big step, this whole marriage thing. It is not just sex, it's loyalty and compromise and understanding. When I get married again it has to be forever, so I have to be sure."
Kylie nodded. "I understand."
He kissed her hard on the lips.
Kylie drove to her parent's house the morning after, feeling groggy. When Gareth had left the night before, she couldn't sleep. Her body had been restless and her mind preoccupied with Gareth. She had replayed the kiss on the living room floor so often that at one point she thought she dreamt it, but in finer and more vigorous details.
Goodbye Lonely (The Bancrofts: Book 4) Page 9
