CHAPTER 20
Ghosts of Lovers Past—Sienna
“Congratulations, Sienna.” A deep, husky voice that used to hit me in all the right places greeted me from behind. Now, instead of a shiver, my body wracked in revulsion. I’d honored Baba’s request and reached out to Keith. Instead of meeting in public, I’d invited him to meet at my office. Total power play on my end, but I needed to be on my territory. I had a lot to say.
“Ah, my eleven o’clock. You’re prompt as always,” I said without looking up from my desk, summarizing notes for my defense strategy.
“I have to tell you, I was surprised to hear from you after all this time. And well played on the blackmail thing. Didn’t know you had it in you.”
I stopped typing, eyes now on Keith. He rubbed his hands over a scruffy beard. It was a good look on him, not that I would be telling him anything complimentary. Besides, he didn’t compare to the man who had haunted my dreams for the past month.
“What now?”
“Didn’t think you had it in you. To drop that story to the reporters.”
“Oh, the thing where you were stupid enough to blackmail a county vendor? That story.”
“Yes, Sienna,” Keith hissed. “That one.”
I shrugged. “Wasn’t me. Now, I didn’t ask you here to trade barbs. I want to make peace.”
“It wasn’t you.” His question wasn’t a question but rather a disbelieving statement.
“That’s what I said. I’ve won the election. I don’t have to lie about it now, which I already told you when you blew up my phone with those weak-ass messages. I. Didn’t. Do. It. Frankly, I’m tired of you and others who think I would stoop so low.”
I mean, I had deeply considered going there, but then I regained my conscience.
His brows furrowed. “So who did it, then?”
I pushed away from my desk and pretended to look at the door. “Did I have Detective or PI written across my door when you walked in?” I asked, losing my patience. “How in the world am I supposed to know that information?”
I raised my hand as he opened his mouth. “Never mind. I’m not entertaining this conversation.”
“You damn well are entertaining this conversation.”
I tilted my head. “Excuse me?”
“You destroyed my home, destroyed my reputation, and destroyed my career. My family thinks I’m a disgrace because of the investigation. You need to help me fix this.”
“I don’t need to do a damn thing but stay black and die. And I don’t plan on dying anytime soon. But let me drop some knowledge on you. The reason why your place was wrecked is because you wrecked me. You cheated on me left and right, and each time I found out, I wondered why it was so easy for you. You, who claimed to love me above all else, how could you hurt me like you did? How could you give that intimate piece of you to someone else? I could never, ever, do that to someone I loved.” I blinked away tears. “You have no idea what you did to me. You destroyed my self-esteem, my belief in love, and now I’m so screwed up I don’t believe in love anymore.” I blew out a shaky breath. “And yeah, I ran against you for revenge at first, but the city council position was my dream, Keith, and I deserved to see it through. If you dig deep, you know that you don’t enjoy serving others. Not unless your dick is involved.”
“There’s no need to be crude.”
“Yes, there is. You’re a thirty-four-year-old man-child. Up until now, your mom and dad have preened over you since you made poo in the toilet. There’s nothing wrong with supporting a kid, but you are so far up your own ass, I’m surprised you remember to breathe.”
I gripped my desk. “Now, as far as who sold you down the river, I suggest you make a list of people you’ve wronged over the past few years. Take your time. I know it’s been a few dozen others who’ve been mowed over courtesy of Keith Davenport, But you can scratch my name off the list. Matter of fact,” my voice raised, “scratch me out of your life.”
He looked as if he’d been sucker punched. “I really screwed up.”
“Monumentally.”
“I had it all with you.”
“And now you don’t. Look,” I grabbed the back of my neck, massaging out the tension, “thank you for coming. I wanted to get this off my chest. Besides, Atlanta is small, and I’d like for us to be cordial if we see each other in passing.”
“I came for other reasons. I’d like to be forgiven. To see if we could go back. But now I see that we can’t.”
“I can give you forgiveness and closure, and by God, for the next woman that you pledge your troth to, treat her like a queen.”
“What about you?”
“What about me?”
“You said you don’t believe in love, but trust me, Sienna, you still do and you love hard. Your love is one of a kind. I was lucky to have it.”
“I think I’ve got it covered, Davenport,” Chris said, leaning against my door, appearing like the ghost of lovers past. How long has he been there? Chris was my twelve o’clock, and he was early.
“Guess I’ll let you two hash it out.” Keith stuffed his hands into his trouser pockets and rushed out.
“Chris! How long have you’ve been here?”
“I couldn’t wait to see you. I sat in the lobby intending on waiting until noon, but then I saw Keith and, well . . . I gave you time to say whatever it is you wanted to say.” He shrugged.
“And I also wanted return this.” He lifted the check I’d written and dropped off in the mail, and tore it into pieces. The ripped paper fluttered to the floor. “I don’t want your money.”
“Why?” I folded my shaking hands across my lap.
“Because I love you, and it hurt me that you wanted to pay me off. Like I was a business transaction.”
“Well, I would’ve explained my actions if you hadn’t broke it off without speaking to me. Not that it matters. You’ve moved on.”
“I haven’t.”
“You have. I saw it. No offense, but I’m not the dumb broad anymore that lets a guy cheat and pretend like he’s gonna change.”
“The woman that you saw, she’s my sister.”
“That’s a good one. I didn’t get that excuse from Keith.”
He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and pressed the screen a few times. “Here.”
There was a family photo on the screen. I immediately recognized the beautiful woman from his condo. Beside her were a man and another young woman who looked identical to her. Standing behind them was Chris, and flanking him, an older man and woman. Upon deeper scrutiny, I noticed they had the same nose and smile.
“So what.” I shrugged. “The other day, I read an article that reported people are attracted to those who resemble their parents or themselves.” I pointed to the picture. “Like so. You should check to see if you aren’t distant cousins.”
He did his sigh-slash-forehead crinkle thing. “We aren’t distant anything. We are brother and sister.” He tapped the phone screen and zoomed in.
“Well then . . .” I straightened my shoulders. “Why didn’t you tell me while I was at your place?”
“I tried, remember? But you rushed off and then blocked me out of your life. I knew how you felt about cheaters, and I didn’t want you to feel like I’d done that. Not for one second. I sent you emails, calls, texts, and I tried to talk in person.”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why did you break it off with me that way? Why were you so angry about the story leaking?”
“Because . . .” He stepped into my office and settled into the chair in front of my desk.
“Because?”
“When I was younger, just starting out in my career, I fell for one of my clients. She was an older woman, by about fifteen years. Smart as hell, sharp, shrewd. Just what I thought I liked in my woman. She was running for mayor, up against a seasoned politician, and she was in the fight of her life. But then someone anonymously dropped some very sensitive information about her opponent.”
I leaned in closer. “How sensitive?”
“The man was undercover.”
“As in, in the closet, gay, undercover?”
“Yeah. He had a wife, two kids in high school, the other in college. Married for twenty-plus years.”
“Damn, that sucks. He was living a double life.”
“Yeah. I remember when she came to me with the information, said this was the perfect way to shake up his good rep for being honest and trustworthy, which was something she struggled with in the public perception. She was an attorney.”
I bunched my shoulders. “Not all attorneys are bad. I hate we have that rep.”
“Excuse me, a high-powered attorney for insurance companies.”
“Well, I can understand how citizens felt like she wasn’t for the people.” I cleared my throat. “Go on.”
He nodded. “I felt uncomfortable about it. My uncle on my father’s side came out later in life, and it was tough on him. But he did it freely and on his own terms. I advised her not to, but I didn’t press it. She told me I was too soft for politics and if I wanted to make it, I needed to win by any means necessary. So, I backed off. Let her do her thing.”
I could guess the rest. “The shit hit the fan, huh?”
Chris rubbed a hand over his face. “One week later, he killed himself. She won, but at what cost? She destroyed an entire family. And, sure, he was shitty to do that to his wife and family, but there could’ve been another way. She didn’t have to smear him publicly. Outside of his indiscretions, he was a good man from a political standpoint. He did a lot of good, helped a lot of people during his tenure.”
I sighed. “So when I came to you about Keith, you were reliving it all over again. No wonder you were so dramatic about it.”
“I wouldn’t use me and dramatic in the same sentence. But concerned, yes. I didn’t want you to end up like Sylvia.” He sighed. “And the way you looked, how you smiled when you presented me with the information.” He shrugged. “Just seemed like I was repeating history. I couldn’t stand by and see another life destroyed. Even if Keith is an ass.”
“Keith is too in love with himself to go that route.”
“You never know. People have invisible scars, depression, mental illness. Sometimes they can’t see a way out. I don’t want to be the person who pushes someone over the edge. I want to lift people up. I’ll never be charismatic, or a great public speaker, or someone who inspires motivation from people. But I know how to recognize talent, people who can make a difference. I try my hardest to make sure the good ones are the decision-makers. And I—”
“You what?” I asked, choked up by his admission.
“I want to do things to make my mother proud. She was a good person. A really good person to the core. Like you.”
“You were wrong about what you said earlier.”
“Which part?”
“That you don’t inspire motivation. I’ll admit, I got caught up. I was a little lost in my quest for revenge. I was so hurt and angry and tired of being run over. I wanted him to hurt. But in the process, I dragged the district into my drama. I shouldn’t have done that. I swear, since I was elected, I’ve been focused on the right things.”
“I know you have. I’ve been keeping tabs.”
“Why did you try so hard to get back with me? Before you overheard my and Keith’s conversation, you were still under the impression that I leaked the story.”
“I couldn’t stay away.” He stood, walked behind my desk.
“What are you . . .”
He lifted me from the seat, swapped our positions, and then sat me on his lap.
“This is my office, Christopher.”
“You’re still the boss,” his husky voice whispered in my ear.
I clamped my legs and willed my body to stop mid-shiver.
“I know you still believe in love, Sienna, because it’s what I feel for you and what you feel for me.”
“You love me?”
“I do. From the moment I first saw you, I knew you were the one. And damn if I wasn’t crushed when I found out you were committed to someone else.”
“That must have sucked.” I gave him a shy smile.
He snorted. “I’m not the unrequited love type, so I felt pathetic. I pushed you away. Tried to avoid you as much as possible. Even when I knew Keith wasn’t the man for you.”
“It may not have been love at first sight for me, but I saw you. I just pushed down my attraction because—”
“You’re a good woman. You didn’t let your mind go there.”
“But when I finally saw you,” I sighed, “I was a goner, too.”
“When did you see me?”
“When I hunted you down at the Mayor’s Ball. You were smoking a cigarette, pissed off and cold, but too proud to admit it.”
“I saw the determination in your eyes. That, plus that sexy dress you were wearing, sent me over the edge. I had to get away.”
“And I was determined to find you.” I stroked his face.
“I’m glad you did.” He squeezed my hips.
“So, are we official? Facebook official?” I joked.
“We are heart and soul official. You’ve always had it, even when I wasn’t there.” He cupped my cheek. “There’s no going back now.”
“I don’t want to.” I leaned in, kissed him once, twice, teasing and licking until he took control and devoured me.
“Happy?” he whispered against my lips.
I hadn’t put myself first in a long time. And through heartache and trial by fire I became confident, content, self-contained. Happy. I couldn’t love Christopher fully until I learned how to love myself.
I nodded, my smile spreading like sunshine. “Ecstatic.”