Behind Closed Doors (27 page)

Chris stood in his kitchen, heating up some leftover lasagna. It had been a long week, and he was ready for the weekend.

Elizabeth had finally found an attorney to represent her. He was from Dayton and didn’t mind traveling to Columbus. Of course, the fact that she had no problem paying helped.

At no point in time did Chris ever think to question her financial status. When she’d moved into the house, she said she was looking for a job. He’d just always assumed that was because she needed one. She didn’t. Not at all.

He knew something wasn’t right when the lawyer offered to travel the thirty minutes to Springfield to meet her instead of her having to drive into Dayton. Lawyers just didn’t do that for your average client, and he said as much to her.

She’d fidgeted a little and then begrudgingly admitted that she was worth more money than he would probably see in his lifetime. Jared Carter’s family had money, which she’d inherited upon marriage. Add that to his success as a lawyer, even one as young as he was, and it added up to quite the sum.

Chris was still reeling from the information. He’d never met anyone before who was independently wealthy. The fact that it was Elizabeth made him feel small somehow. Why was she with him, working for him? It didn’t make any sense.

The sound of footsteps on the stairs alerted him to her presence. “Hey,” she said, walking toward him.

She had changed into a pair of blue jeans and a dark green T-shirt that showed off her breasts perfectly. He swallowed suddenly nervous. Chris knew she was the same woman who’d been sharing his bed for the past two weeks, but finding out how much money she had in her bank account made him feel insignificant all of a sudden. What could he really offer her?

That night when Elizabeth walked out of his bathroom in her latest temptation, he just wrapped her in his arms and held her. She was the perfect woman. He was far from a perfect man. She deserved better. He just hoped she didn’t realize it and walk out the door.

It had been three days. Three long days since they’d made love, her body was humming, and there was no relief in sight.

Friday night, once she’d changed out of her work clothes, they polished off the lasagna and watched a movie on the couch. Any other time, Chris would have been all over her. She’d yet to see an ending to one of the movies they’d watched together, not that she was complaining.

Instead of ravishing her as he normally did, he’d just held her. Sure, he’d kissed her neck and shoulder, showing her affection, but that was as far as he took it. Then she thought maybe they’d get somewhere in the bedroom. She’d even worn one of her more revealing nighties. She watched as his eyes widened when she’d walked toward him, but instead of getting what she wanted, all he did was hold her again. He was holding back, and she didn’t know why.

The rest of the weekend went much the same. He’d kiss her and hold her, but that was it. She was starting to wonder if he’d changed his mind. Had her life finally become too much for him to handle? Was he trying to let her down easy? She tried not to think about it as she prepared herself to meet with her lawyer, Mr. Frederick.

Again, Chris had offered his office. She felt as if she was taking advantage, but he’d insisted. “Here is a much better alternative than the house. Besides, you’re safer here with me, just in case.”

It was hard to argue because he was right. Jan wasn’t always at the house; she came and went throughout the day. Plus, she wasn’t sure how she’d feel about a man she’d never met before being in her apartment.

Mr. Frederick arrived at one o’clock on the dot. She remembered what Jared had always said about being punctual and how it said something about a lawyer’s attention to detail.

Her attorney looked to be in his fifties. His hair was perfectly trimmed, suit tailored to fit his tall, lean body, and the way he carried himself told the world that he was in charge. He made her nervous.

Chris seemed to sense her anxiety and came to stand beside her.

She was grateful for his support, and it helped settle her nerves. “Mr. Frederick?”

“Ms. Marshall?”

“Hello. Thank you for coming,” she said, shaking his outstretched hand. “This is Christopher Daniels.”

“Ah, yes,” Mr. Frederick said. “You’re Ms. Marshall’s employer.”

“I am,” Chris said.

Elizabeth didn’t miss the fact that Chris also took a step closer to her, placing a hand on her lower back.

Mr. Frederick didn’t appear to have missed it either. “I see.” Then he turned his attention to her. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both.”

“Likewise,” she said, still not feeling totally steady. Chris was helping, but this man reminded her too much of Jared. Older, yes, but he still had that cocky confidence her husband wielded in large doses.

“Is there somewhere we can talk?” he asked.

“Yes. Right in there,” she said, pointing toward Chris’s office.

Chris waited until Mr. Frederick was several feet away before whispering, “Are you all right?”

She nodded.

“Do you want me to stay with you?”

“Yes.” Then she glanced at the floor before meeting his eyes again. “Are you sure you’re ready to hear about my life with Jared?”

“You want me there, I’m there.” He tilted his head toward the office, and without another word, they walked in together.

The meeting was long. If she’d thought Detective Stephens asked a lot of questions, then she was sorely mistaken. Every time she tried to skim over a detail, he’d stop her, asking extremely invasive questions. He asked about their time in college, dating, their wedding, and honeymoon . . . even their sex life was fair game.

She didn’t miss Chris’s reaction to each and every element she shared with Mr. Frederick. Talking about her past was difficult, and her tears flowed freely through most of the questioning. They’d had to stop a few times for her to compose herself. In the middle of talking about a particularly aggressive sexual encounter she’d had with Jared after one of their fights, Mr. Frederick stopped her. She was grateful as she was finding it hard to force the words out.

“Maybe you should wait outside, Mr. Daniels,” her attorney stated in a calm detached voice.

Elizabeth looked at Chris. His breathing was ragged and his nostrils were flared. She grabbed his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. She’d been so intent on answering Mr. Frederick’s questions that she forgotten about how the details of her life might affect Chris.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Chris said through clenched teeth. He gave her an approximation of a smile. Retelling her story was hard, but it was part of her past and something she’s already dealt with, whereas Chris was learning these details for the first time.

Mr. Frederick sighed. “Then you’re going to have to calm yourself down. It is quite apparent that you and Ms. Marshall are in a relationship of some sort, and I could not care in the slightest. However, if I’m going to represent her properly at this hearing, I must know the details of her married life, and unfortunately that includes all the nasty details you may not wish to hear. Do you want the judge to dismiss this case?”

“Of course I do,” Chris said indignantly.

Mr. Frederick’s professional demeanor slipped for just a moment. “Look, I understand what you’re going through. If someone had treated my wife or daughter like that, I’d want to string him up by his neck.” Then, he sat back in his chair and smirked. “Legally speaking, of course. Now, let’s finish this so that I can make the Carters wish they’d never heard of Elizabeth Marshall.”

Elizabeth was quiet on the ride home. She’d pulled inside of herself again, and he didn’t like seeing her like that.

Luckily, Jan was out when they arrived back at the house, so they were able to go straight upstairs. Elizabeth sat on the couch while he made them grilled cheese sandwiches. He was still reeling inside from the details of her marriage. He’d known it was bad, but what her husband had done was beyond anything he’d imagined. Wife or not, the man had raped her over and over again.

He brought the sandwiches over to her, and placed the plate in her lap before taking a seat beside her.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“What?” He was sure he hadn’t heard her right.

She turned to look at him, tears streaming down her face. “I’m sorry. I know . . . I know you didn’t want to hear all that today.”

Their sandwiches were quickly forgotten as he pulled her into his arms. She clung to him, burying her face in his neck. He just held her until she calmed down, gently rubbing her back.

Finally, the tears subsided, and she pulled back. His hands glided up her arms and neck until he reached her beautiful, tear-stained face.

He waited until she’d opened her eyes before speaking. “Let’s get one thing straight. You are never to apologize for that animal or for the things he did. Ever.” He watched as she worked it out in her head.

“Okay,” she whispered.

His thumbs brushed the tears from her cheeks as he kissed her. “You are an amazing woman, Elizabeth Marshall.”

“I’m not.”

“You are.” He placed another quick kiss on her lips before sitting back and picking up his sandwich. “Which is why you need to eat.”

She laughed and picked up her sandwich, taking a small bite.

They watched an old movie on cable. He wasn’t a huge fan of black and white movies, but she enjoyed them, and most of the time they weren’t that horrible. Of course, before this past week, he’d spent most of their movie time trying to devise creative ways to distract her.

Tonight, however, he’d been trying to pay attention, so he wasn’t expecting her to start a conversation. “What was your marriage with Carol like?”

“What?”

“You found out all about my marriage today. I guess I’m curious about yours. Was she always like she is now?”

“No,” he sighed. “Are you sure you want to know this?”

She nodded and turned to face him on the couch.

“When I first met her she was a waitress at a sports bar in Dayton. She was all smiles and bubbly personality. Me and some of the guys I worked with would go in there after work for dinner and to unwind. We were young and single. It was a good place to relax after a long day building houses.”

“You asked her out.”

“Yeah. She’d waited on us a few times and seemed interested. We dated for almost a year before I asked her to marry me. At the time, she took my breath away. Looking back now, however, I don’t think my brain had a lot to do with that train of thought.”

“So she was good in bed.”

He looked up, not knowing how she would react. Instead of being upset, however, she was smiling. He chuckled. “Yeah. I was twenty-six when I proposed. What can I say.”

“What happened?”

“The short of it? I found her in bed with my best friend.”

Elizabeth gasped, her hand covering her mouth in shock. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

He laughed. “Why are you apologizing?”

She cringed. “Sorry. I just . . . it’s a habit, I guess.”

He let it go when he saw her smile. The last thing he wanted was to bring back her tears, so he decided to finish his own sorry tale instead. “I filed for divorce the next day. Before it was final, I found out she’d slept with at least five others while we were married.”

Suddenly, he found himself enveloped in her arms.
She
was hugging
him
.

It was different, but he liked it.