Jeff flings open the front door, and Mr. Stringer is standing there. I am in the doorway of the bedroom now, my luggage in my hands as I see my husband trying to grapple with the idea that one of his supervisors from work is standing here on our doorstep now, clearly listening to us fight.My husband tries to compose himself. “Mr. Stringer. What are you doing here?” he asks, his voice bordering on still out of control as he attempts to get himself back into a civilized manner.“I heard shouting,” Mr. Stringer says, matter-of-fact. “I decided to come and see if everything is well.”“Heard shouting?” Jeff echoes. “But… how is that possible? I thought that you lived across town.”“I do,” he says, making it seem as if we were just that loud. But then he continues. “I have been staying next door, Mr. Thompson. You should’ve known better than to think that Mr. Merriweather would just trust you to be all right with this arrangement, not with your temper and history.”“My temper and history?”
My phone rings, and it’s Stringer, letting me know that he hears a commotion from the apartment next door. He asks if he should go knock on the door, and of course I tell him he should do so. He hangs up while he goes to see what is going on. It’s the longest ten minutes of my life as I pace around my study, waiting to hear what’s going on.I decided not to go all the way back home. It’s too far from Julia. Instead, I’m staying in my apartment near work. I’ll stay here for as long as I need to until I’m sure that she’s safe. If she’s determined to stay with Jeff, I might just stay here indefinitely. I can’t stand the thought of being an hour away from her. I need to be nearby in case something happens. Now, it seems like something has happened, and Julia might be in trouble.My pacing stops and I stare out the window, waiting for Stringer to call. I know he’ll call me as soon as he can. I pray that Julia is all right. If that bastard Thompson hit her, I swear to God I’ll break his fac
Stringer leaves, and I fix Julia a cup of warm tea trying to settle her nerves. I know she’s upset, but she has yet to tell me exactly what happened. I want to drive to Jeff Thompson’s apartment myself and punch that bastard in the face, and I don’t even know yet what’s gone on.Julia sits on a couch in the room near the window overlooking the city. She is stunning, even in an old outfit I’m sure she’s been wearing all day as she cleaned up Jeff’s messes and did her best to make their apartment into a home, which is difficult to do under the best of circumstances. When your husband is an ungrateful bastard, I can’t even imagine how she gets out of bed in the morning.After a few sips of her tea, she says, “I’m sorry to barge in on you in the middle of the night.”“Are you serious?” I ask, studying her from the chair across the room from her. “First of all, it’s hardly the middle of the night.” It wasn’t even 9:00 yet. “And secondly, as I told you, I am always available for you, Julia.
At first, I only want Braxton to hold me in his strong arms and assure me that I am okay, that nothing has changed in the few days that we’ve been apart, that he still loves me and wants me. But the longer I linger in his embrace, the more I realize I want more from him.I want him.I nuzzle my face against his neck, and his grip around my shoulders increases. We are sitting on a couch in the living room of his apartment. His place, even this small one that isn’t actually his home, is large and well appointed. It makes the shitty little apartment I shared with Jeff look like a hovel. But my eyes are not on the room. They are on the man. I inhale deeply, wrapping his scent around my insides. I have missed the smell of him, the smell of a true man, the smell of someone who is strong, secure, and loves me.My lips peck against the sensitive skin of his neck, lightly at first, but then increasing as I am overcome with the emotions welling up inside of me. I can’t deny the fact that I want
I hear Braxton’s alarm go off and a flood of memories from the night before come back to me. It’s odd to think about waking up here, in the bedroom of his apartment, when I should be at home, in my old apartment, with Jeff.I glance at the clock and note that Braxton gets up earlier than Jeff, even though his apartment is much closer to work. I think about how I would still be sleeping for a few more minutes if I were lying next to my husband instead of this man who loves me. I think about how he would swat at his alarm and then roll on top of me. Braxton will not do that, but if he did, it would be welcome because it wouldn’t just be him laying on top of me until he got his fill.I do not expect for Braxton to make love to me before he goes to work, though. I expect him to get up and get ready for his day, kiss me goodbye, and tell me he’ll be home at 6:00, or something like that. Instead, when I roll over to look at him, his head is propped on one arm and he is staring down at me.“
The moment I step into the office, I can tell by Cindy’s face that there’s something she doesn’t want to tell me. I don’t have to ask whether or not it has something to do with Jeff Thompson. I can tell that it does. I am confused, though. Jeff doesn’t have to be at work until 9:00, and it’s barely 8:30. In the two years that he’s worked here, I can never remember him ever being early one time. In fact, most days he’s not even on time.“Good morning, Mr. Merriweather,” Cindy says, tension in her voice.“Good morning,” I say, arching an eyebrow at her. “What is it, Cindy?”She hesitates before she says, “Jeff Thompson is… demanding to see you. Right away.”“All right,” I say with a shrug and a nod. “You can let him know I’m here.”She still looks nervous, and I have to wonder if Thompson has said something rude to her. “Yes, sir.”I go into my office and turn my desktop computer on, wondering what I’m going to say to Thompson. I’m sure he’s angry that his wife has chosen to be with me.
“Kyle Warren?” I repeat, not that I’m not sure that I heard Jeff Thompson correctly, but I need a moment to consider what this means.“That’s right,” Thompson says, his head held high, his chin in the air. “The Kyle Warren--famous attorney who is known for being ruthless and rarely, if ever, losing a case. He’s agreed to take me on as a client.”I know Kyle Warren all too well. I don’t have a problem saying, “Oh, he’s lost a case or two.” I know that he has because it is my head lawyer, Shawna Steel, that has defeated Kyle Warren in the courtroom twice on my behalf. It’s one of the reasons that Kyle Warren hates me, and I’m assuming, it’s why he’s agreed to take on Jeff Thompson’s case against me. I’m guessing Warren will even go so far as to wave his fees, at least unless he wins.Thompson makes a cocky noise in the back of his throat. “Not often,” he says of Warren’s record. “Anyway, he thinks I have a solid case against you. Enough to take everything from you. Then, you’ll find ou
Walking up the steps to Braxton’s home without him is odd. I’m looking at the house with a new perspective this time, as if there’s a chance this is where I will live--from now on. It’s hard to imagine. It’s hard to believe I could be calling this place home. Braxton makes it seem like it is as simple as me making up my mind that this is what I want, and I can have it, but I have to wonder if it’s really that simple.I am greeted by Susan, one of the servants. She is standing in the foyer, a warm smile on her face. She is old enough to be my mother, a thought that reminds me I will need to call my parents and tell them what has transpired. I wonder if Jeff has already called them….“Good morning, Ms. Julia,” Susan says, taking my hand in hers. “Welcome home!”“Thank you,’ I say, but the words catch in my throat a little as I consider what she’s saying. Home. Is this place my home? I can’t even fathom that truly being the case. Never in a million years would I have ever dreamt of a pla