| |
“WOULD YOU LIKE TO DANCE, Stephen?” I asked.
He looked surprised when I asked. “I’m afraid I’m not a very good dancer, Jennifer. To spare you from any embarrassment, I’ll politely need to decline.”
Like hell you will.
I gave my martini and my clutch to Alex, and took Rowe by the arm anyway. “Oh, come on—half of the people here are loaded. They won’t notice if you miss a few steps. And there’s no need to worry. You’re in luck—I’m a good dancer. Just follow me. I promise I won’t bite too hard.”
I looked over my shoulder at Alex and the other men as I hooked my arm through Rowe’s, and we moved away from them into the swirling crowd. “We’ll be back when the song ends,” I said. “In the meantime, Jonathan, think about that chip and how it might be used for the SlimPhone. It could assist each of our businesses.”
When I turned away from them and moved onto the dance floor with Rowe reluctantly at my side, it wasn’t without seeing the concern stamped on Alex’s face. I knew my husband—he was no fool. Right now, he knew that this was the moment I’d been planning for, but wouldn’t tell him about.
“Jennifer,” Stephen said. “I’m really not that good—”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said, moving us into the middle of the dance floor, so he couldn’t easily escape without causing a stir. There were too many eyes on him now—too many people who knew who I was and who he was. If only to save face, he’d never dare leave me now, regardless of what I was prepared to say to him—which had to be said in minutes, before the song ended.
“Just put your arm around my waist, hold my left hand high, and move to the music,” I said. “If you step on my shoes, don’t worry. You’re about to find out that this girl is tough. I probably won’t even feel it.”
He raised his brow at me. “You know, why don’t we just cut the bullshit, and get to it? You’ve asked me to dance to help get me off your husband’s back. Am I right?”
“In a way,” I said. “But you’re right about one thing—let’s cut the bullshit. You’re correct—I did ask you to dance for that and for other reasons.”
He spun me around, and he was so smooth when he did so, that it was clear that he was a more accomplished dancer than he’d let on.
A snake in the grass.
“What other reasons?”
“Your wife fascinates me,” I said. “She comes from one of New York’s most prestigious families, doesn’t she? In fact, like many here tonight, I believe she’s in the book. Her family is that old. That revered. Wasn’t her grandfather a former vice president? I believe that he was. You must have thought that you had won the lottery when you married her.”
“Not unlike how you must have felt when you married up with Alex.”
“Ah, but you see, it’s different between Alex and me, Stephen. I’m actually in love with my husband. I didn’t marry him for the sake of marrying up. I married him because I fell hard for him. What you also need to know is that I will fight to the end of the Earth for him.”
“If you plan to start fighting for him through me, you’re wasting your time.”
“You see—that’s the thing. I don’t think that I am.”
“Then you’re fooling yourself. Your husband has damaged Wenn to such a degree that people want him out. Not just me and the other members of the board—but where it hurts most. Investors. They’re tired of him losing their money, and I can’t blame them. Can you? He’s no longer suitable for the job.”
“And you’re no longer suitable for marriage.”
“Excuse me?”
“I know your secret, Stephen.”
“My secret?”
“You’re cheating on Meredith. You’re having an affair with another woman.”
If my accusation had thrown him, he didn’t show it. He merely smirked at me, which suggested that I was dealing with someone far more cunning than I’d originally thought.
“You think I’m cheating on Meredith? Is that what this is about?”
“Partly.”
“Sorry, Jennifer. I’ve never cheated on my wife. This little dance of yours is over.”
He started to pull away from me, but I held him close to my body, refusing to let him leave. “Leave me now, and I’ll just stand here and watch you go in bewilderment. People will see my expression, and they’ll talk about it. I’ll call out your name. I’ll look distressed. Do you really want that? Or would you rather know what I plan to do to you? Your choice, Stephen. So, you know, choose. Because I promise you that I will do it.”
He gave me a hard look—and kept dancing.
“You’ve got some nerve,” he said.
“I believe Meredith might soon be saying the same to you.”
“You’ve got no proof.”
But I did. Tank would never deceive me—I knew that every bit of information he’d shared with me today was the truth. And so I tightened my grip around Rowe’s waist, pressed him even tighter against my body, and said in his ear, “Oh, but I do. And do you want to know why I do? It’s because you’re messy.”
“Messy?”
“That’s right—messy.”
“I don’t do messy.”
“How about if we change the subject? How about if we talk about the convenience of cheap hotels?”
He pulled slightly away from me and looked at me, his face only inches from mine.
“Tell me, Stephen, how are those rooms at the Hampton Inn in Times Square that you frequent so often? I believe it’s a two-star, so one can’t expect much from it, other than a vibrating bed and maybe, if you’re lucky, a condom and tampon dispenser. I have to say that location wasn’t a bad choice for you to carry out your torrid little affair. In that neighborhood, you and your lover—I believe her name is Janice Jones—would never be recognized, would you? Your people don’t wander over to those lesser parts of the city—and they certainly wouldn’t be found in some sleaze-bag of a hotel like that particular Hampton Inn. Your no-tell motel already has told this girl plenty.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Jennifer.”
“To use your words, why don’t we just cut the bullshit, Rowe? You’ve been having an affair for nearly two years, ever since dear Janice gave you one hell of a memorable lap dance at an upscale strip joint in the Meatpacking District. I know all about it. And if you don’t listen to me now—really listen to me—I’m prepared to steal away everything in your life that you value. Everything you’ve worked for. Starting with your wife and your children, who deserve to know whom they’re dealing with. And then I’ll go to the press with what you’ve done. This will destroy your own corporation, and also your stature in this community. The scandal will ruin you.”
Again he turned me around, but this time he was rougher with me, and he hurt my arm when he extended me away from him. Then, he intentionally crushed his foot onto mine and twisted it before stepping off of it. I moved through the pain and kept any trace of it from my face.
“You’re such a pussy,” I said. “Is that the best you’ve got?”
“You’ve got nothing on me, bitch.”
“Your face says differently. Suddenly, you’re running hot. Are those beads of sweat I see along your brow? I think they are.”
“Fuck you, lady.”
“Oh please. Save the dirty talk for Janice—she probably likes it. Or maybe you do. Maybe that’s what Meredith can’t give you because of her good manners and white-gloved upbringing. Before this song ends, here’s a better use of your time—be honest. Is that possible for you? You look so angry right now, I’m not sure that it is. But there’s nothing I can do about that, so let me just offer this—I know that you were with Janice today.”
“You don’t know anything.”
“I know that you paid cash for the room, and I know that you were fucking her while your wife was getting ready for tonight’s party. I also know that you’ve set Janice up in a lovely apartment not far from the hotel, but that you don’t go there because slipping into a hotel is safer. Shall I go on? Do you want to know about the photographs I’ve had taken of you entering the hotel alone today? And then the photos I have of Janice entering the hotel just behind you?”
I was bluffing about that, but what did he know?
“There’s more,” I said. “A lot more. I can go on if you want—about the cheap dinners you share with poor, dear Janice at Molly’s Diner in the Village while your wife thinks you’re at work for instance—but our time here is running out, so we better settle terms fast. If we don’t, you’ll walk away knowing that I will expose you before you even know what’s hit you. Your other choice is to do what I tell you to do. Your choice—but you better choose now. The next song is coming fast—and Meredith is right here in this room. Just close enough for me to have a word with her.”
“If what you say is true—which it isn’t—what do you want from me?”
“Simple. You lay off my husband. You cease from pressuring the board against him, and you stop jockeying for his job. Wenn will never be yours, so keep away from the board. Stop trying to persuade them to get rid of Alex. If you don’t stop, I’ll find out about it—and when I do, the shit will hit the fan. I will go there. I will crush you, Stephen. I will tell Meredith and the press everything, and I’ll provide photographic proof. And one other thing. You’ve got three months to resign from the board. Is that understood? You’ll resign for personal reasons, step down, and get the hell out of Alex’s life for good. In return, I won’t say a word about your infidelities and you can keep your goddamned sham of a life. I really don’t care what you do in your personal life. But when your life affects my husband’s? You need to know that I will go to any length to protect that man. That’s what real love is. If you doubt any of it, just try me, motherfucker. Alex means everything to me. Are we clear on that?”
“I’m sick of Wenn. I’d be happy to resign from the board because your husband is ruining everything. But why the three months?”
“Because I want to keep my eye on you—and I don’t want anything to look rushed. Do we have a deal, or not?”
“Fine. Let Wenn run itself into the ground. Fuck it. It’s Alex and you who will lose in the end, anyway.”
“No, we won’t. But now, so long as you keep in line, we won’t have to worry about you.” The song ended, and Rowe immediately broke away from me. “Get yourself together,” I said while the guests applauded the orchestra. “Put a smile on your face. We’re going back to Alex, Jonathan, and Tom—and you’re going to act as if nothing has happened. When the time comes and they ask you why you’ve backed off Alex, just tell them that you've reconsidered your position. Don’t go into any details. Just say you’ve thought twice about all of it, and do your time until you resign. Understand?”
“You’re a piece of work, lady.”
“You should see me when I don’t get what I want.”
“Go fuck yourself.”
“Why would I when I have a husband who makes me happy in ways that poor Meredith fails you?”
I hooked my arm in his again, and I could feel him bristle against my touch. We started to leave the floor. “Really, Stephen—fucking some stripper named Janice Jones at a Hampton Inn in Times Square?” I said. “Imagine how the press would run with that. Hell, imagine what your own wife would do with that, not to mention the rest of your set....”
