by Katie Dowe
“Sometimes I wish that I was just an ordinary girl,” she said bitterly. “I could do as I please and see whom I please but I am a Shaw and I have to be so careful.” She shook her head. “I am in love with him Ethan so the damage if there is any is already done.”
“I hope for your sake that he is okay and that he loves you for who you are: a beautiful selfless woman who puts the needs of others over her own. If he is genuine and really and truly loves you then I will welcome him into the family. If he is using you as a meal ticket there is no where he will be able to go to avoid my wrath.”
*****
“You make a great lady’s maid,” she said dreamily as he continued to pull the brush through her tangled hair. She had called him and told him that she would be coming over and he had met her at the apartment. “I like to please you,” he murmured as he continued to brush the thick dark hair, watching in fascination as it fell into place on his chest. She was lying between his legs with her head resting on his chest, both of them flushed and naked from the lovemaking. “Are you falling asleep?”
“A little bit,” she lifted her head back and looked at him. “You are very easy on the eyes but I think you already know that.”
“Two glasses of Pinot Noir and you are already tipsy.” He said in amusement.
“I am not tipsy, just a little bit high from the lovemaking and the wine.”
“If you say so. When are we going to make this thing between us official?”
“I thought we already had.”
“Darling, I would not exactly call holing up in my apartment and making love each time, especially official. I want us to go out to dinner and I want you to meet my family and then meet yours.”
She started to ease away from him but he held her fast. “We are not there yet. If we will ever be.”
“Why not?” he demanded.
“Ethan you are a billionaire who has a reputation of changing women frequently and we have been on opposite sides of the fence. I still abhor the effects of war and your company still supplies equipment to make war possible.”
“Do you want me to do away with that side of the company?”
She turned her head to look up at him. “Would you?”
“No,” he told her bluntly. “I run a business darling and I do not believe that I am doing anything wrong.”
“That’s where we differ.” She pointed out. “We are different--”
“And that difference is what makes it so interesting between us.” He shifted position so that she was lying beneath him. “I refuse to think that we cannot work something out. I care- what am I saying? I am falling in love with you--”
“Stop!” she said sharply as she pushed against him. “You have no idea what you are saying.”
“And yet here I am saying it.” He bent his head and kissed her lightly on the mouth. “You are stubborn and willful and happen to be the most interesting woman I have ever met. I love talking to you and when I touch you I feel as if my entire body is being consumed by the desire inside me. When I am away from you I cannot wait to be with you. I want to spend my life with you.”
“I can’t,” his words made her feel warm and cozy and she wished she could just let go of everything and tell him yes. But there were so many things between them!
“Tell me why not?” he asked her gently.
“I already did,” she wrapped her hands around his neck. “Could we just be satisfied with this?”
“You mean just hiding the fact that we are actually together?” he asked her wryly.
“Something like that,” she said with a mischievous smile. “For now.”
“For now.” He warned her. “I am not going to be satisfied with that for long Harper.”
*****
“Darling what’s bothering you?” Clive asked her softly as she continued to space the length of his living room. She had called and told him that she wanted to talk to him. After her conversation with her son, Evelyn had been furious and troubled.
“Ethan knows about us.”
“I see,” Clive ambled over to the small table and poured wine into two glasses, handing one to her. “That’s a relief. What does he think about us being together?”
“He does not trust you Clive,” she told him frankly as she took the glass from him.
“And why is that?’ he asked her mildly, willing himself to appear unaffected by that.
“He told me that you do not have a cent to your name. He said the treatment for your wife wiped out your savings.”
“Your son is quite the businessman, isn’t he?” Clive said bitterly as he swallowed the wine.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“So you could pity me and offered to help?”
“What’s wrong with that?” Evelyn asked him.
“It would have been his money!” he shouted.
Evelyn stared at him in shock. “You mean Samuel’s money.”
Clive took a deep breath to steady himself and scrambled to save face and to avoid suspicion from her. “Don’t you see darling,” he said pleadingly. “Samuel took you away from me and I never forgave him for it. I could not ask you for money because of my pride and the fact that I think that a man is supposed to take care of a woman, not the other way around.”
“I am sorry you are going through what you are going through Clive. I am sorry you feel that Samuel took me away from you but the truth is I never loved you the way I loved him.” She said gently.
“So why are you with me?” he asked her coldly. “Is it pity Evelyn? Do you feel sorry for the man who screwed his life up? Samuel got you and all the wealth and children and I am left with a pile of bills and the pity of the woman I love.”
She moved to the table and put the glass down. “I don’t think we should continue to see each other again.” She told him quietly.
“Evelyn, I am sorry-“
“So am I, Clive. You are filled with bitterness and lodged in the past. I thought we could have something meaningful but I was wrong.”
“You don’t mean that,” he came over to her and held her hands in his. “Give me another chance darling. I was upset that Ethan dug into my past and ashamed that I am just a broke guy who is in love with a wealthy woman. Let me make it up to you please.”
She pulled away from him. “I am sorry but this is goodbye.”
“I was there for you when he died!” Clive cried out desperately. “What am I supposed to do now?”
“We can still be friends but as for anything else I don’t think so.”
He did not say anything as he watched her walk out of his house and out of his life. He waited until he was sure she had left before he took the bottle of wine and turned it to his head, his hands shaking! They were going to pay! He vowed as he wiped the dribble of wine down his chin. He was going to make them pay. He would let her think that he was okay with everything and then he was going to make them pay with their lives. He let out a harsh laugh before hurling the bottle against the wall, watching it smash to pieces!
Chapter 13
“Sit Erica please.” Evelyn gestured toward a chair opposite her. They were in her private sitting room and she was hoping to have a conversation with her daughter without being interrupted. She had come home straight from Clive’s place and had been sitting in the semi darkness doing a lot of thinking. She had called Erica and requested that she come to see her as soon as she came in from the office. “I asked one of the maids to bring up something for us to nibble on. I don’t have much appetite right now.” She said as she poured the tea. “How are you darling?” she asked handing a cup to her.
“I am okay,” Erica sat on the very edge of the seat as she looked at her mother. The minute she had gotten the call she had known what it was about and she had been dreading the meeting. “Look Mother, I know you already know about me and Mark--”
“I was hoping that you would have come to me about him, darling.”
“And say what?” Erica put the cup onto the table. “’Oh Mother, I
have fallen in love with a lowly junior accountant and I want you to give me your blessing?’” she clasped her hands in front of her. “We have been sent to the best schools in the world, groomed to work at the company that daddy and you built so that we can take over someday. We mix with people like us, people who have a certain stand in society and we are expected to marry people like us. It just happened Mother. It was not something that I set out to do but it just happened and I knew that I had to keep it a secret.”
Evelyn studied her daughter’s passionate face for a moment. Erica was the more amiable of the twins. Apart from their stunning resemblance to each other, that was where the similarities ended. Erin was fire and recklessness wrapped into one while Erica was methodical and very organized. Erin had come out first because of her impatience and Erica had taken her time. “You love him.”
Her eyes met her mother’s. “I do.”
“And he feels the same way.”
“He does. The fact that I have so much money and he has so little will constantly pose a problem to him. Also the fact that I am his boss is also a problem,” Erica sighed as she leaned back against the sofa. “We have not been out officially because of who I am and who he is.” She spread her hands. “I have no idea how this is going to work Mother but I know I want it to.”
“I am sure you do. You said yourself that there are obstacles between the two of you. If you were the one without money it would not pose a problem because men are supposed to be the provider.” Evelyn sipped her tea contemplatively. “You are going to have to be the provider and if he really loves you he is going to come to resent you for it.”
“What should I do?” she asked in despair.
Evelyn shrugged elegantly. “I want to tell you that eventually it is going to be fine darling but I can’t. I have no idea. You said you love him and he loves you, I suppose you are going to have lean on that.”
“You approve?”
She shrugged again. “Who am I to stand in the way of true love?” she asked with a soft laugh. “I wish you all the best darling and I am advising you to ask the young man to dinner.”
“I am not sure he is ready for that yet.”
“You have to start somewhere.” Her mother suggested.
“I know but I am going to have to talk to him.” She said. “Thanks Mother.”
“You are welcome darling. I was all fired up to get rid of him but your brother stood up for you.”
“Not entirely,” She said wryly. “He told me that he is going to make sure Mark is not into me for my money and if he is he is going to regret it.”
“That sounds like Ethan.”
“He is such a sweet person Mother that I almost feel bad about exposing him to the life we have.”
“It is not such a bad life darling. It has its perks.”
*****
She called Clive as she was about to turn in for the night. “I was not sure you want to hear from me.”
“Why would you think that?”
“Because of the way I ended things.” She told him.
“You did what you think is best Evelyn and I cannot fault you for it. Are you okay?”
“I miss what we had.”
“You don’t have to miss it. I am still here ready to welcome you back with open arms. I love you Evelyn, I hope you do not doubt that.”
“I don’t but I have to keep my distance for now. It’s a matter of trust.”
“You don’t trust me.” His voice was low with hurt. “I am trying to understand why not but I will respect your decision.”
“Thank you. Can we still be friends?”
“My dear I was hoping that we still are.”
“Thank you. Good night, Clive.”
“Sleep well, my dear.”
Evelyn hung up the phone and lay back against the mounds of pillows at her head. She turned to look at the large framed photo of her husband and her on their tenth anniversary. She had been wearing pale lilac and the dress looked great against her coloring. He was dressed in a silver suit. They had been so happy and in love! She knew without a shadow of a doubt that she would never be able to find that kind of happiness with another man. “I miss you so much darling,” she whispered as she blinked back tears. “I miss having your wise counsel when it comes to our children and the business.” She turned the lights out and prepared to sleep.
*****
“We have decided to work things out,” her father said as he called her with the news.
“Daddy, that’s wonderful! You talked?”
“We talked.” He said. “Way into the night and into the next morning. We never did that before and we got to the bottom of things and what was wrong in our marriage. We are closer than ever. And you were right honey, our relationship was not balanced.”
“Glad to be of help. I will see you guys on Sunday for dinner.”
“Oh I am sorry honey but your mother and I are going away for the weekend and won’t be back until next Tuesday.”
“That’s fine daddy. Have fun.”
“We will honey. I am taking her to Paris.”
“Daddy wow! I bet she will love that.”
“She is packing now and telling me that she will not be taking a lot of things because she intends to bring back some Parisian couture.” He paused. “She is so different now honey that I am happy I was not hasty to go ahead and divorce her.”
“So am I.”
“Talk to you later, honey.”
“Bye, Daddy.”
She hung up the phone and hurried into her bedroom to get ready. She had a meeting with the charity group she was involved with as well as helping out in the soup kitchen today. It was the beginning of March but the winter was still on them.
She passed her phone and then hesitated before picking it up. She dialed his number and he answered immediately. “You read my mind.” He said softly.
“I seriously doubt that,” she said as she cradled the phone against her cheek. It was starting to come natural to her now, just picking up the phone and calling to talk to him. “What’s up?”
“I was just about to call you. There is a function on the weekend and I want you to come with me.”
“No.”
“Somehow I knew you were going to say that. So I am asking you to come not as my date but as a guest.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to see you outside of my apartment and I want to get the chance to dance with you and show you that you have nothing to be afraid of. Harper this is getting ridiculous now! I have given you time and I am running out of patience.”
“I asked you for time two weeks ago.” She reminded him.
“Two weeks too long.” He muttered. “Will I see you later?”
“Yes. See I am not being difficult at all. I see you practically every night.”
“I want more than that.”
“You want to put a label on our relationship.”
“Is there anything wrong with that?”
“No, but I am not prepared to wear a label right now.” She sighed. “I called to tell you that my parents made up and have decided to stay together.”
“You should have started with that.”
“You did not give me a chance.”
“I am happy for them. You see? Things have a way of working out. Come to the function on Saturday darling and we will go back to the apartment and make love all night long. I am going away for a week on Monday so I would appreciate you spending Saturday and Sunday with me.”
Harper felt the quiver of her heart as he said he was going away. He missed him already! “Where are you going?” she almost bit her tongue after asking him. She was the one that insisted the relationship was just sex.
“Europe: A stopover in Italy and then Spain and France. You could come with me if you like.” He said casually. “After my meetings we could see the sights, have dinner in our restaurants and then come back and make love until we fall asleep.”
“As enticing as that sounds
I have to pass.” She felt pleased that he had invited her. It meant that he was really not seeing anyone else or thinking about being with anyone else.
“I will call.”
“I am sure you will,” she said in amusement.
“I will not be able to go to sleep without hearing the sound of your voice.”
“Bring a sleep aid Ethan. It is a different time zone in Europe and I will not have you waking me up in the middle of the night.”
“You are right,” his tone was amused. “I am heading into a meeting darling. I will see you later.”
“Later.” She hung up and sank down onto the chair, a smile on her lips. She had no idea how he had done it but she was falling in love with him!
*****
“Put her through,” Ethan said with a frown on his forehead. He had not heard from her since he had broken up with her that night. He had glimpsed her at several functions but he had a feeling that she was avoiding him and he had not done anything to stop her. “Samantha?”
“I am sorry to call you like this Ethan,” her voice sound wobbly as if she had been crying.
“It’s okay. What’s wrong?”
“Can we meet? I am at an appointment on Cedar Street and I will be finished in thirty minutes. If it’s not too much trouble can you meet me at the café there?”
“Of course.” He mentally calculated the amount of time it would take him to get there and see her and then come back for his meeting at two. It will have to be an abbreviated meeting but she sounded troubled and he had been involved with her at one time. He owed her this!
*****
“I cannot come to dinner with your family Erin. I would be terrified.” Mark told her as soon as she mentioned it. She had told him that her mother and brother had accepted their relationship but that did not make it any easier being with her. He had fallen in love with her but he knew he could never marry her. He had nothing to offer. She had called him into her office and asked him to close the door to give him the news. They were still keeping their relationship a secret from the rest of the staff for obvious reasons.
“I know the thought of sitting around the table with my family seems like something terrifying but it does not have to be,” she moved from around her desk and came to sit next to him. He looked at her and noticed that even the cherry red pants suit with the light grey inside blouse cost more than he earned for maybe three months. She was wearing diamonds in her lobes and her long black hair was professionally styled. She screamed money and he will never be able to get away from that.
