Power Play (9 page)

There was nothing in his gaze to hint at what had happened between them last night.

“Thank you,” she said briskly. He had the right attitude, she told herself, trying not to feel rebuffed. They couldn’t broadcast their relationship—whatever it was—to everyone. However, her hand still trembled as she took the folder. “I’ll look at it today.” She turned.

“Mary, are you all right?” Jean asked when Mary stumbled into the water cooler.

“I’m fine,” she snapped. She forced a smile. “I’d better get back to work.” She sat at her desk and slammed the folder down. Why couldn’t she be as unattached as he was? What had she expected? An embrace? That would have been totally unprofessional. Business was business. She opened Gregory’s folder, then closed it, feeling too restless to focus. She lifted her mug and went to the office kitchen. There she saw Edmund pouring himself a cup of coffee. She pretended to ignore him.

But it proved difficult to ignore someone like Edmund. Mary watched helplessly as a female colleague of hers noticed him and tried very hard to get
him
to notice
her.
“Could you pass me the sugar?” she asked him.

“Sure.” He handed her the sugar and Mary saw their fingers touch. She inhaled her drink and began to cough.

“Are you okay?” her colleague asked.

Mary waved away her concern and choked, “I’m fine. Excuse me.” She turned to leave.

Edmund called out to her. “Have you looked at the file?”

“I’m going to.” Mary returned to her desk. She wasn’t jealous and she wasn’t annoyed. She didn’t care how he was with other women. She opened Gregory’s folder and between two papers discovered a dried rose, its crimson petals still soft. She lifted the rose and held it to her chest, then set it down. She discreetly put on some lipstick and kissed a paper just as Dianne walked past. “I’m just removing any excess color,” she explained. Dianne looked unsure but left. Mary quickly folded the paper, placed it in an envelope and rushed to the elevator before Edmund stepped inside. “Please look this over.”

Edmund took the envelope and stuck it inside his jacket. “I will.”

Mary was giddy the rest of the day. When she got home she changed into a two-piece, silk pant set that she felt certain would become Edmund’s favorite, then went to his apartment and knocked. Nobody answered. She was about to leave when someone spun her around and kissed her. “That’s my reply,” Edmund said.

“You got my kiss.”

“And you got my rose.”

“It’s beautiful.”

He opened his door. “I’ll buy you live ones if you stay the night.”

“Pink and yellow?”

He pulled out his mobile. “Just say the word.”

Mary slept over that night and many nights after. Soon Cammie got used to staying at Edmund’s apartment. Unlike Curtis, Cammie liked Edmund and he returned the affection. He liked her so much that he went out and bought several books and researched all he could about caring for an iguana. One day he surprised Mary by creating an elaborate cage in his spare room that he filled with large tropical plants, which Cammie loved. Any time Mary was ready to leave, Cammie would scurry off and hide in a corner where she couldn’t be reached and so became Edmund’s permanent resident.

A month later, Mary followed Cammie’s example and she and Edmund settled into a routine. Because he usually arrived after her, Mary prepared dinner and he made dessert. Mary felt comfortable with him, although at times she still felt he was hiding something.

One evening she saw him looking over some papers that had The New Day Senior Living Community marked on them. When she called him for dinner, she saw him jump and quickly shove the papers in his briefcase, which he locked. But Mary wasn’t too concerned. She’d done a thorough check on the community and hadn’t found anything to question in any of the reports.

A few days later, Edmund arrived home and found Mary putting Cammie in the bathtub. “What are you doing?”

“Giving Cammie a bath. I’ve told you it’s very important. I do it every day. It helps stop the shedding. I got home a little late or I would have been done already.”

“Right, I forgot,” he said distractedly. “Well, when you’re done I want to show you something.”

Mary finished Cammie’s bath, then went to Edmund, who was sitting in the living room. “What is it?”

He jumped up. “Get your coat.”

She didn’t ask why, although he didn’t give her a chance to. He whistled to himself as they went down in the elevator and as they left the building. Autumn temperatures gripped the city and brought a gust of wind. Edmund handed Mary a pair of keys and pointed to a car in the distance. “Enjoy.”

Mary stared at the black luxury car. “That’s mine?” She raced to the car and jumped inside. “I don’t believe this,” she said, starting the ignition.

“You deserve it.”

She merged onto the main road, reveling in the car’s pickup. “I can’t believe you’d do this. You haven’t known me that long.”

“It’s been three months now.”

She turned to him with surprise. “Really? It doesn’t feel that long.”

“That’s a good sign. Are you happy?”

“Of course I’m happy. How could you think otherwise?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I just thought—”

“I’m only surprised our affair has lasted this long.”

“Our affair?” he said in a neutral tone.

“Yes, that’s what we have, right?” When he didn’t reply right away, she glanced at him curiously. “Edmund?”

“Yes, that’s what we have.”

She sighed, relieved. “We’re having so much fun there’s no need to put any pressure on each other.”

Edmund rested his arm on the door frame.

Mary ran her hands along the leather-clad steering wheel. “Sara won’t be able to believe this.”

“Who’s Sara?”

“A friend of mine.”

“I haven’t heard you talk about her before.”

“I’ve been busy,” she hedged. “I haven’t had a chance to catch up with her or Larry, her husband.”

“You should invite them over. I’d like to meet them.”

Mary gripped the steering wheel. “Why?”

“You don’t want me to meet your friends?”

“No, it’s not that.” She didn’t know why she felt hesitant—perhaps she liked keeping Edmund to herself. But there was nothing to worry about.
What could go wrong?
“Okay.” She drove for a while, then said, “What do you give the man who has everything?”

“What do you mean?”

She drove into a residential area and parked, then turned to him. “I mean how do you thank a man for a surprise like this? What do you give him?”

“You don’t have to give him anything.”

“Isn’t there anything that you want that I can give you?”

He opened his mouth as though ready to reveal his greatest desire, then closed it and shook his head. “No, I’m happy as long as you’re happy.”

“That’s not good enough. I’ll have to think of something.”

What she thought of was a feast of all his favorite dishes and dressing up as his
personal waitress.
Edmund took one look at her and had no interest in food. Two hours later, all of the dishes had to be reheated, but Edmund didn’t complain.

“You need to relax,” Edmund said as he watched Mary dash from the kitchen to the dining table and back again as she prepared for the arrival of Sara and Larry.

“I just want everything to be nice.”

“Everything looks great and smells even better. What are you cooking?”

She jumped when someone rang the doorbell. “They’re here.”

“Why are you so nervous?”

She struggled to untie her apron. “I hope you’ll like them.” She turned her back to him and motioned to her knotted string. “Help me with this.”

He undid the knot. “I’m sure I will like them.”

She pulled off the apron and folded it. “I hope they like you.”

“Why wouldn’t they?”

Mary bit her lower lip, thinking it best not to reply. She handed him the apron. “Please, put that away for me. Coming,” she called when the bell rang again. She opened the door with a smile. “It’s wonderful to see you.”

Larry gave a low whistle as he entered the apartment. Sara followed behind him, speechless. They were equally dumbfounded when Mary introduced Edmund. He smiled and shook their hands, then led them to the living room.

Mary raced back and forth to the kitchen, getting appetizers and drinks, until Edmund grabbed her wrist and forced her to sit.

“You’ve got a great place,” Larry said.

Mary sat back, trying to relax. “Thanks to Edmund. He gave me a great deal.”

Sara sipped her drink. “If only we all could be so lucky as to sleep with our landlords.”

Edmund’s face changed and Larry looked uncomfortable, but Mary tried to laugh it off. “Yes, well, when he looks as good as Edmund I guess I can’t help myself.” When no one responded she said, “Food is almost ready.”

Mary started to get up, but Edmund took her hand. “Sit down.”

“But the food—”

“Is fine. I’ll check on it while you entertain your guests.” He left.

Mary clasped her hands together and smiled at them. “Well.”

Sara watched Edmund go. “Kind of forceful, isn’t he?”

“Sara, leave it,” Larry said.

“I was only making an observation. I’d hate to see Mary fall for another Curtis.”

Mary’s tone hardened. “Edmund isn’t anything like Curtis.”

“No, he has more money.”

“I like him,” Larry said.

“You liked Curtis, too. Women who let men sweep them off their feet are in for a fall.”

“Edmund hasn’t swept me off my feet. I haven’t lost my head, and I really like him. If you gave him a chance you’d like him, too.”

“I could never trust a man with eyes like that.” She shivered. “As cold as a snake’s.” She sent a poignant glance at Cammie. “Or a lizard’s.”

“He’s not cold at all.”

“I think—” She stopped when Edmund returned.

He sat down close to Mary and took her hand in his. “The food will be ready in a few more minutes.”

Mary tried to fill those minutes with empty chatter, although no one seemed inclined to talk. Larry stared around the apartment, Sara preferred to sip her drink and Edmund stared at her in a way that made Mary nervous. Sara didn’t like him but what was worse was Edmund didn’t like her and made little attempt to hide it. “I think dinner’s ready,” Mary cheerfully announced, then returned to the kitchen, certain the meal was done. She placed her casserole in a decorative dish and came out into the dining room. Edmund sat alone at the elaborately adorned table. She glanced at the empty seats and panicked. “Where are they?”

Edmund took the dish from her and set it down. “That looks delicious.”

“Where are they?”

He took a knife and cut a piece. “They decided to leave.”

“What did you say to them? Make them come back here.”

He placed the slice on his plate. “No.”

She stared at him, stunned. “You have no right insulting my friends.”

“Sara is not your friend,” he said softly.

“Of course she is. She’s been there for me when no one else thought I mattered. She was loyal and looked out for me. Remember when I told you I needed a place to stay?”

He nodded.

“Although I would have ended up in my car if not for you, Sara would have given me a place to stay, but Larry’s nephew is staying with them.”

Edmund sat. “No, he’s not.”

Mary felt her throat constrict. “What?”

“Larry was just telling me how well his nephew is doing at Cal Tech. Quite a long commute don’t you think?”

“But Sara said—”

“Sara lied to you.”

“You’re wrong. It was probably another nephew. You don’t know her like I do. She cares about me.” Mary grabbed her coat.

“You’re not going after them.”

“Yes, I am.”

He jumped from his seat. “No, you’re not.”

“Don’t tell me what to do,” she said, remembering Sara’s words. She wouldn’t be controlled by him as she had been by Curtis.

“You don’t need them.”

“Yes, I do.” She pulled on her coat and buttoned it. “Who will I have when you leave?”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“Not now, but you will and then I’ll have no one, and I can’t risk that.” Mary opened the door. “I won’t risk that.”

Edmund blocked her. “I’m not going to make any promises. I’m not going to say that I’ll always be here, but let me say this. I’d rather die of thirst than drink from a crystal glass filled with water that woman offered me. She doesn’t care about you, and now she envies you. Deep down you know that’s true.”

Mary pushed past him and caught the elevator. Once on the ground level, she dashed out the front doors—the autumn winds chilling her skin and scattering leaves across her path. When she saw their car pulling out of a parking space, she waved them down. Larry stopped and rolled down the window.

Mary rested her hands on the door frame. “I’m so sorry about Edmund,” she said in a breathless rush. “Please come back. He doesn’t understand. He thinks that you didn’t offer me a place to stay when I needed one, but I told him how your nephew was staying with you.”

Larry looked at her, confused. “No one is staying with us.”

Sara kept her gaze lowered.

Mary furrowed her brow. “But when I called…” She smiled weakly. “There’s been a misunderstanding.” She looked at her friend. “Sara?”

Sara turned a cold gaze to her. “Yes, I lied, okay? I didn’t want you staying with us. You’d changed so much I wasn’t sure I could trust you around Larry.”

“Sara!” Larry said, shocked.

“I’ve seen the way you look at her.”

“But we’re just friends.” He placed his hand on her knee. “You know I love you, honey.”

Mary gripped the car door, the wind chilling her fingers. “You know you can trust me.”

“Trust you?” Sara spat out. “You start getting new clothes and makeup and don’t tell me why or where. How am I supposed to trust you?”

“I thought you’d at least be happy for me.”

“You seem happy enough for yourself. You only invited us over so you could brag about your great apartment and boyfriend. You’ve got it all, Mary. You don’t need me anymore.” She folded her arms and looked away.