by Mark White
But something was niggling Sam, something he couldn’t put his finger on. Maybe the reason behind his dismissal was financial, but if that was the case, then why had Tom seemed so blatantly unapologetic? Okay, so he hadn’t exactly smiled when delivering the news, but neither had he come across as overly contrite or remorseful. More than anything else, it was Tom’s attitude that had upset Sam. Had capitalism evolved to the point where firing a friend without so much as a heartfelt apology was deemed to be socially acceptable? Were compassion and humility no longer necessary in the modern workplace? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, Sam needed to find out what the hell was going on.
Tom owed him that much at least.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
While Sam may have been flummoxed as to why he’d been fired, there was no doubt in Sarah’s mind. Nor was there any doubt that she was the only person to whom Tom would listen. Which was why, at 8.00am that morning, while Sam was still tucked up in bed, she found herself sitting outside his office, waiting for her lover, her former lover, to arrive. She knew she was taking a huge risk in coming here, but she had no choice. She owed it to her husband to make things right. She knew what she had to do.
By the time Tom came strolling down the corridor, she had convinced herself that everything would be fine. She had known this man intimately for almost four years, and even though the nature of their relationship had mainly been physical, she was confident that if anyone could get through to him it would be her.
He smiled at her warmly, and without saying a word he opened his office door and beckoned her inside. She picked up her handbag from the floor and rose to her feet, smoothing down her skirt before crossing the corridor and disappearing into the room. He closed the door behind them, and then, checking that nobody was watching, proceeded to turn down the blinds so they couldn’t be seen together.
‘Coffee?’
‘No thanks. I’m fine.’
‘Don’t mind if I-?’ he said, helping himself to a cup and reaching for the jug.
‘No, go ahead.’ She studied him as he poured the coffee, and for a moment she understood what it was that used to turn her on so much. He seemed so self-assured, so in-control; and for a woman married to a man like Sam Railton, there was no bigger turn-on.
‘I know why you’re here,’ he said, sitting down and looking at her, ‘but I’m afraid you’re wasting your time. The decision’s been made, Sarah. There’s nothing I can do about it.’
‘I think there is something you can do about it, Tom. For a start, you could explain to me why you’ve just fired your best friend. And spare me the bullshit about costs and finances. Sam more than earns his keep around here, and you know it.’
Tom sniggered and took a sip of coffee. ‘Has he sent you here to do his dirty work?’
‘Of course he hasn’t. He has absolutely no idea I’m here.’
‘Isn’t that dangerous?’
‘Just…just answer my question.’
‘Why should I? I might be mistaken here, but didn’t you tell me that we’re finished? Didn’t you tell me it was over?’
‘Come on, Tom. You knew we couldn’t last forever.’
‘Why not?’
‘Hmm, let me see. Maybe, just maybe, it has something to do with the small matter of us both being married.’
‘And?’
‘And nothing, Tom.’
‘Fine. In that case I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do to help you.’
Sarah stared at him and shook her head disbelievingly. ‘That’s it, isn’t it?’
‘That’s what?’
‘This…firing Sam…this has nothing to do with finances, does it? It’s because I ended our affair when I found out about Gabby.’
‘Bullshit.’
‘I’m right, aren’t I? This is all about Tom Jackson’s battered ego. You let Sam go because I let you go. A juvenile act of revenge.’
‘Again…bullshit. You were good, Sarah, but you weren’t that good. And you weren’t the only one keeping my bed warm.’
‘You bastard. You pathetic coward.’
‘I think you should go. I don’t want to see you again.’
‘Why, because I finally decided to put Sam and Jane before the two of us? Can’t you see I had no other choice?’
‘No, I can’t if I’m being honest. You had a choice to stay with me, and you chose not to. Sam chose to tell you about Gabby, even though I expressly asked him to keep his mouth shut because I knew it would upset you. Everyone around me is making choices that suit them, but what about me? What choice did you give me? You finished it, remember? Not me. And now I’m getting even. I’m choosing to get even.’
‘I’m not sure the Board would appreciate your underhand tactics.’
‘Don’t blackmail me, Sarah. For one, it doesn’t suit you, and for two, they wouldn’t listen to you. They might own the company, but I run the fucking place. Believe me, your words would fall on deaf ears.’
‘We’ll see about that.’
‘Fine, and maybe I should let Sam know all about us. About how his precious wife is never happier than when she’s taking it from behind in a swanky hotel room.’
‘Go to hell.’
‘I’m in hell, Sarah. You put me there when you told me it was over.’
‘As if you ever cared about me.’
‘Of course I cared. A damn sight more than you seem to realise, anyway.’
‘What…what do you mean?’ she said, her tone quieter and less aggressive.
Tom grinned as he witnessed the desired effect of his change of tactics. ‘I mean,’ he said, feigning a wistful glance into his coffee as he spoke, ‘that I may not have been very good at showing it, but I thought the world of you. I still do.’
‘Why didn’t you tell me? Four years, and not once did you tell me how you felt.’
He shook his head in mock regret, but inside he was glowing. He knew he had her now; just a little more Jackson-magic needed to seal the deal. ‘I’ve always kept my cards close to my chest. Perhaps that’s why I’ve done so well in business. I’m good at hiding my emotions. The thing is, Sarah, I never wanted to hurt you or Sam – you know I’ve always thought highly of him as a friend and a colleague – but when you dropped that bombshell the other day…I…I guess I couldn’t handle it. I became angry and resentful. I couldn’t stop thinking about the two of you together and me all alone.’
‘You’re hardly alone, Tom. What about Jane?’
Let’s see if this old chestnut works: ‘She doesn’t understand me the way you do. She never has.’ Bullseye baby.
Sarah sighed. ‘I don’t understand you either, Tom.’
‘So why don’t you give me another chance to try and help you to?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean,’ he said, smelling blood and moving in for the kill, ‘that perhaps you were too hasty in calling it off between us, and perhaps I was too hasty in firing Sam. Maybe we both moved too quickly without taking the time to fully consider the possible consequences of our actions.’
‘What are you trying to say? That if I continue to sleep with you, you’ll give Sam his job back and everything will go back to normal?’
‘Maybe.’
‘That’s blackmail!’
‘It’s not blackmail, Sarah. It’s life. It was wrong to fire Sam, and I regret it, but it was also wrong of you to call time on the two of us. I’m not the same without you.’
‘I’m sure Gabby is helping you to take your mind off me.’
‘Gabby? Seriously, Sarah, she’s a nice girl but she can’t hold a candle to you. Please let’s start again, eh? What do you say?’ He moved around the table and sat in the chair beside her, placing his hand on her shoulder and bringing his face close to hers. ‘Let’s go back to how it used to be and put all this behind us. I promise I’ll be a good boy from now on.’ He winked at her and smiled. ‘Well, perhaps not in every respect.’ Slowly, he leaned closer to kiss her, but just as he was about to seal the deal
she backed away and looked at him. There was something that needed sorting before she gave in.
‘You promise to give Sam his job back?’ she said, taking his hands in hers.
‘You promise to take me back?’
‘Okay.’ She felt her pride slip down her throat as she spoke.
‘Then we have ourselves a deal.’ With that, he went to kiss her, and this time she didn’t resist. She felt herself freeze inside as their lips touched.
‘When are you going to call Sam?’ she asked, breaking away from him.
‘Eh? Oh, I’ll call him sometime this afternoon. I’m in meetings ‘til twelve.’ He smiled and kissed her again. ‘What are you doing for lunch?’
‘Why do you ask?’
‘Well…if you had an hour to spare, I was thinking maybe we could celebrate our reunion.’
‘Celebrate?’
‘But if you’re too busy…’
She heard herself hesitate before replying: ‘No, I’d like that.’
‘Great. I’ll book us a room. Rankin Hotel for twelve-thirty?’
‘Fine. Now if you don’t mind, I better get to work.’ She stood up and headed for the door. She turned to face him and smiled; a sexy, seductive smile that caused him to stir in his pants. Sensing his arousal, she blew him a kiss and left without saying a word, closing the door behind her.
When he was alone, Tom clapped his hands and jumped to his feet, delighted at his powers of seduction, not to mention the promise of an hour of highly-charged bedroom action. He’d worry about how to deal with that idiot husband of hers later…if at all.
Sarah hurried along the corridor, her fabricated smile disintegrating as she wrestled with her conscience. Now that she knew what Tom Jackson was really like, she didn’t want to go anywhere near him, let alone sleep with the insipid bastard. But Sarah Railton was a survivor, and she knew exactly what she had to do. If sleeping with Tom one final time was the price she had to pay then so be it. Her blood curdled at the thought of what lay ahead, but she had no other choice.
As soon as Sam had his job back she would figure out a way to extract herself from Tom’s clutches, but until then, she had no other option than to lie back and think of England.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Sam rounded the corner of Paddington Street and headed along Baker Street with nothing in his mind except the thought of getting his job back. He’d been trying all morning to contact Tom and was sick of pacing around the house wondering what the hell was going on. If Tom wasn’t prepared to speak to him over the phone then he would have to do it in person.
He was so confused by yesterday’s events that he didn’t know what to expect from any meeting with Tom, but as he walked past the entrance to the Rankin Hotel, what he didn’t expect was to see Tom arm-in-arm with Sarah, skipping down the marble steps and laughing together like two love-sick newlyweds, and what he certainly didn’t expect was to see them pausing at the bottom of the steps to embrace and kiss each other full-tilt on the lips, while all he could do was watch from the pavement as his world crumbled around him.
It was only when Tom caught a glimpse of Sam from the corner of his eye while kissing Sarah that he broke their embrace and stepped back, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as if he was at risk of having contracted some deadly disease. Sarah followed the direction of Tom’s gaze until her eyes met her husband’s. Sam stared at her with a vacant expression as her mouth sagged open and her eyes widened in utter horror and disbelief. As if in a movie, time seemed to stand still, as the realisation of what was happening slowly dawned on the three main protagonists.
If ever there was a moment when Sarah wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole, then this was it. She felt her knees trembling and her heart pounding but was powerless to stop them. She took a step towards Sam and held out her arms, like a zombie staggering towards its next meal, but he instinctively recoiled, shunning her advances.
‘Sam,’ she said, tears filling her eyes and spilling down her cheeks. ‘Sam…wait.’
He wasn’t going anywhere. Instead, he stood rooted to the pavement and stared at her, unable to grasp what he was seeing. As far as he was aware, he’d never been cheated on before. He had several friends and acquaintances to whom their wives or partners had been unfaithful – didn’t everyone? - and he’d witnessed the heartbreak and abject misery that infidelity could inflict upon its victims, but not once had he even remotely considered that Sarah would do something like this to him. Not his Sarah. No way. Not possible.
‘Sam, listen to me,’ she pleaded, drawing close and reaching out to touch him.
‘Get away from me,’ he said, shrugging her arm off his shoulder.
‘Please, I can explain everything. Just listen to me.’
‘Explain what, Sarah? That you’re in love with Tom?’
‘Love? I’m not in love with Tom!’
‘Then it’s purely sex, is it? No-strings fucking behind your husband’s back.’
‘No! That’s not how it is.’
‘Of course it’s not,’ Sam said, and this time it was his turn to shed tears. ‘Why…why would you do this to me? How could you? You’re my wife, for Christ’s sake!’
‘You need to understand,’ she said. ‘I did this for a reason. I did it to protect you. I did it so you could get your job back.’
‘My job? You’re having an affair with Tom in order for me to keep my fucking job? Is that it? Is that the best you can come up with?’
‘Sam-’
‘How long has this been going on for, eh? A week? A month? A year?’
‘You don’t understand. You need to listen to me.’
‘Just answer the question, would you? How lon-’
‘Four years,’ Tom said, walking down the steps and joining them. Compared to Sam and Sarah, he seemed far more at ease with the situation. His face was emotionless, his body language calm and self-assured. ‘Sarah and I have been seeing each other for nearly four years, mate.’
Sam looked at Sarah, his eyes pleading with her to tell him that Tom was lying. ‘Four years?’ he said, his voice almost a whisper. ‘You’ve been seeing him for four years?’ He felt himself beginning to tremble again, the damage to his self-confidence being made worse by Tom’s arrogant indifference. ‘Is this true?’
‘Sam, it’s not-’
‘Is this true?’
‘Yes,’ she whispered, dropping her chin to her chest and staring at the ground. ‘It’s true.’
For what seemed like minutes the three of them stood together without saying a word. Had it been any other man’s wife, Tom would have justifiably feared for his own safety, anticipating a fist or a boot being smashed into his face, but with Sam he knew there was nothing to worry about. Sam didn’t have a violent bone in his body.
Sarah eventually broke the silence. She looked up at Sam, running the back of her hand across her eyes and brushing the matted hair away from her forehead. ‘Can we go somewhere and talk about this? Somewhere private.’
‘Good idea,’ Tom said, looking around to ensure nobody he knew was watching him, more concerned for his reputation than for the welfare of his lover and her husband.
‘Not you,’ Sarah hissed, rounding on Tom like a wounded animal. ‘You can go to hell. None of this would have happened if it hadn’t been for you.’
‘It takes two to tango, sweetheart. I didn’t hear you complaining thirty minutes ago.’
‘You basta-’
‘Tom,’ Sam said, somehow managing to remain calm. ‘Please, do as she says and leave, will you? I need to talk to Sarah. Alone.’
‘Fine.’ He turned to walk away. ‘I’m sorry about all this,’ he said, surprised at how uncomfortable it felt to be apologising, and noting how long it had been since he’d last done so. ‘I never wanted any of this.’ He looked at Sarah for a reaction but none was forthcoming. He knew he wouldn’t be seeing her again. He smiled and sighed. It was a shame really. If nothing else, he would certainly miss the sex.
>
Plenty more fish in the sea, old boy. Get your tackle out and see what bites!
Sam waited until Tom had gone before saying anything. He knew he had the upper hand - knew that for once he was in charge – but he had no interest in twisting the knife. He only wanted to understand.
‘Let’s talk in the park,’ he said. Sarah nodded, and together they walked the short distance to Regent’s Park and found a free bench. To look at, nobody would have thought that there was anything unusual going on between them; they seemed like an everyday married couple out for a lunchtime stroll in the park before returning to their respective offices.
‘If I’d known we would be coming to a park I would have brought some bread for the pigeons,’ he said, smiling at a nearby boy who was throwing food to the birds with his grandparents. ‘Remember when Max was little? He used to love feeding the birds.’
‘Sam-’
‘Please…me first, okay? You owe me that much.’
‘Okay.’
‘You know, before I met you I used to go out with a girl from Birmingham. Sophie Hanlon was her name. Did I ever mention her to you?’
‘No.’
‘She was nice. Very pretty. Friends joked that she was way out of my league, and they were right. She used to get attention wherever we went: bars, the cinema; even the Baptist church that she’d sometimes drag me to on Sunday morning. Men didn’t seem to care that there was another man holding her hand…didn’t make the blindest bit of difference that she had a boyfriend with her. She laughed it off, of course; said that she was used to it and that I had nothing to worry about. It was me she wanted, not them. And you know what? I didn’t believe her. I didn’t, couldn’t accept that someone as pretty as her would want to be with me. Low self-esteem, lack of confidence: call it what you will; what it boiled down to was the fact that I kept telling myself I didn’t deserve her. As far as I was concerned, she was too good for someone like me. Pathetic, don’t you think?’
