Power Play: A Novel (35 page)

She came out wearing a white cotton dress and flat shoes. She looked young and pretty and fresh. It was a whole different look from her business suits, and hair in a bun. She was wearing her hair down the way he loved it, and lipstick and blush.

“My God, how did I get so lucky?” he said, looking at her. “You’re
beautiful, Fiona.” He leaned over to kiss her, and then he rushed off to dress himself before he gave in to his desire for her again. He could hardly keep his hands off her.

They walked to Bergdorf’s, and he kept her company while she shopped. She bought two pairs of sexy shoes, a silk shirt for work, and a soft pink cashmere shawl, which was all they had time for, and then they walked back to the hotel to get their car and go to the game. The Yankees lost, but they had a great time anyway, and he bought her another hat, as a souvenir.

“I think I’m starting a collection,” she said, looking happy, eating a hot dog, in her pretty white dress. It took twelve innings for the Yankees to lose, and they had a terrific time. And they kissed in the car on the way back.

“I’m going to have to straighten out your sister,” he commented, as they watched the skyline of New York slide past the limousine. “She called you a vestal virgin, and is she wrong on that one.” He looked at Fiona like a besotted young man.

“I’m just not a slut like she is.” Fiona laughed. “She always got all the boys when we were kids, but she’s older than I am, so she had more experience. And she’s been working on it ever since.” She had just slept with half of Italy, but she seemed to make friends wherever she went, men loved her, and she stayed friends with them forever. Fiona had always admired that about her. She had always been much more reserved.

“I definitely got the right sister,” Logan told her, “but I’d love to work on that book with her. I think we’ll try an article first.”

“She’s great to work with, very methodical and organized and always on time. I’ve written a couple of articles with her myself. They always turn out well.” He could see that might be true.

They lay down on the bed when they got back to the hotel, and watched the news on TV. Fiona started to doze off after their long day and night, and he woke her in time to dress for dinner. And this time she stunned him with a sexy red dress that was even shorter, and black stiletto heels, and he was even more impressed by how she looked than the night before.

“Why don’t you wear stuff like that more often?” he asked as they left the suite to go to the restaurant.

“Where?” She laughed at him. “To work? Or our favorite bar in Palo Alto? AT&T Park? Where am I going to wear something like this in San Francisco? I’ve been saving it for two years.” And it was perfect for that night. Every man in the room looked at her when she walked into La Grenouille and not because they recognized her as the CEO of NTA. They had no idea who she was, she just looked elegant and sexy, and Logan whispered to her as they started dinner, “You look hot. I’m going to bring you to New York a lot if this is the way you dress here.”

They had a fabulous meal at La Grenouille, and went back to the hotel and made love. They watched a movie on TV that they had both wanted to see but hadn’t had time for, and then they made love again and finally fell asleep.

They had breakfast the next morning and went for a long walk in Central Park, around the model boat pond. They were both wearing jeans for the trip home. All of Fiona’s pretty clothes were back in her suitcase, and when she looked at Logan as they sat on a park bench and watched the passersby, she saw something different about him.

“And what’s that?” he asked when she told him, as he kissed her neck and put an arm around her.

“You look like you’re mine,” she whispered, and he smiled.

“I am. You own me forever after this weekend.”

“Me too,” she said with a long slow smile, and then they went back to the hotel, picked up their bags, went to the airport, and flew home. Fiona slept most of the way back, with her head on Logan’s shoulder. She was tired and relaxed and totally at ease with him now. It had been the best weekend of her life. And when he dropped her off at home that night, he looked into the eyes of a woman, not a CEO.

“Why don’t you stay?” she asked him, and he hesitated. He didn’t want to push his luck or intrude on her real life, the night before she had to go to work.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I am.” She showed him where everything was, and he kept her company while she unpacked. And she grinned when she saw him in her bed. “Now there’s a gorgeous sight,” she said, and they both laughed. They brought their New York romance home to Portola Valley, and afterward they swam naked in her pool. She liked that he had stayed with her. She would have been lonely if he hadn’t, after being with him in New York.

“You’re not sick of me yet?” he asked her as they dried off and walked back into the house, and stopped in the kitchen for a snack, discussing the news and stock market trends and what they meant to the economy. “I like this,” he said, as they went back to bed, and this time slept until her alarm went off at six o’clock.

He made her a breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast, and coffee, and he smiled broadly when she appeared in the kitchen, in a dark gray pantsuit with a pale gray silk blouse and her hair in the tight bun she wore to work. She looked very different than the private side of her he knew now. But he loved her this way too.

“I love you,” he said, as he leaned over and kissed her, and she grinned as she took a sip of the coffee and grabbed
The Wall Street Journal
. She liked getting to her office early, so she could get a head start on her day, and he did too.

“I love you too,” she said, smiling over the paper at him. She handed him
The New York Times
, and half an hour later, they both left for work.

On Labor Day weekend, Mark flew out from New York to see his mother. He had just gotten back from Africa, and Fiona wanted to see him before he started school. His girlfriend was on duty at the hospital, so as usual he came alone. And he was startled when he discovered that his mother had a man staying there for the weekend.

“When did that happen?” he asked his sister when he saw her in the kitchen.

“This summer,” Alyssa said, with a knowing look. “Don’t get all uptight about it, he’s nice. And he’s crazy about her.” It was obvious that Alyssa approved.

“I never thought we’d see that around here.” Mark wasn’t sure how he felt about it yet, and he wanted to reserve judgment till he talked to him for a while. He was very protective of their mother.

“Neither did I, but it seems to work. And he kind of disappears when Mom and I want to spend time together.” Mark listened and nodded, and sat down next to Logan when he went out to the pool. They talked about Africa for a while, and Logan told him about his
time with Mandela. Mark was visibly impressed, particularly that Logan didn’t brag about it, he just said that it had been the most interesting, humbling experience of his life. And it was Fiona who casually mentioned that he had gotten the Pulitzer for the series of interviews. He immediately rose in her son’s esteem.

And Jillian joined them on Saturday for lunch. She brought a stack of papers with her, spread them out on the table at the pool, and told Logan she had brought him the research she promised, and they spent an hour going over it together.

They all had dinner together that night, and they laughed a lot, which seemed to be the hallmark of Logan’s relationship with Fiona. And the next day he took Fiona and her children to the baseball game. He had gotten two extra seats, and Logan sat with Mark, since they both knew what was going on, and the two women didn’t. The Giants won again, and much to Logan’s delight, the World Series was almost a sure thing. He was happy to discover that Mark was a fan too. And on Monday, Logan left them alone so they could spend time as a family together. He didn’t want to intrude, and he wanted to go back to his place in the city to work on the material Jillian had shared with him.

“I like your new friend, Mom,” Mark conceded over breakfast after Logan left.

“Yeah, me too.” Alyssa seconded the motion.

“So is it serious?” Mark asked with a look of mild concern.

“I’m not sure what ‘serious’ means at my age.” She smiled at her children. “Do I like him? Yes, a lot. Do I love him? I think I do. It seems to work, and I think that’s all we need to know for now. I’m not going to get married and have more children. You guys are it.” They both looked pleased. “How’s John doing, by the way?” she
asked Alyssa. He had been spending all his time in Tahoe with his mother since his father’s big announcement, and Fiona hadn’t seen him since. Alyssa hadn’t seen him much either, although they talked and texted constantly. He said everyone was still very upset.

“They’re moving to the city, to an apartment,” Alyssa filled her in. “They haven’t seen their dad since it happened. No one wants to. They’re all pretty pissed.” It was easy to see why, and Fiona felt sorry for them. “Apparently, he isn’t going to marry the other woman now, but their mom doesn’t want him back.”

“I don’t blame her,” Fiona said quietly. “Send him my love when you talk to him,” Fiona said. “Tell him he’s always welcome here.”

Mark left for New York that night, on the red-eye, and Alyssa was starting classes at Stanford that week. The Westons were moving down from Tahoe after that weekend too, and Lindsay had to start school.

The weekend in Tahoe went better than Liz had expected. Tom had come up for the weekend, and her other two children were there too. She told John that she missed Alyssa, and he said that she was in Portola Valley with her mom and brother that weekend.

“I’m sorry this has been such a screwed-up summer,” she said to all of them. But now that the worst had happened, she felt strangely calm again. She had nothing more to fear. It had been the worst summer of her life, but they had survived it, and it was nice seeing her older son back in the fold again and at home more frequently. She had no idea when any of them were going to see their father, but that was between him and them, and she didn’t want to be involved either way.

She had heard from John that Marshall and Ashley weren’t getting married. Marshall had told him. And she wasn’t surprised, since he had tried to get her back when he saw her at the house in Ross. She wondered if Ashley didn’t want him either. She felt sorry for their children.

“When are you moving to the city, Mom?” Tom asked her over dinner.

“I don’t know yet. I’m looking at a few places next week. I want to find something big enough so all of you can visit,” she said, smiling at them. She still looked sad, but she was getting better, and Lindsay had been very sweet and helpful to her mother. They had been getting along better since Marshall had dropped the bomb on them. Lindsay had been surprisingly mature and supportive and had grown up overnight.

They knew, but didn’t discuss, the fact that their father was moving out of the house in Ross that weekend, and no one seemed to know where he’d be staying. John thought maybe the Four Seasons in Palo Alto, but he wasn’t sure, and Marshall had said he was putting whatever he was taking into storage. And he had submitted a list of what he wanted to keep for her approval.

The kids went waterskiing several times over the weekend, and Liz made an effort not to complain about it or act too worried. She was just glad that they were home, and she knew Tom was responsible, and she trusted both boys with the boat, as long as they didn’t let Lindsay drive it.

Liz still felt tired all the time, and as though she had been in a terrible accident, but slowly, day by day, she was getting better. She tried not to think of Marshall, and she never mentioned his name. He had become a taboo subject.

She stood on the dock, on the last day of the summer, before they drove back to the city, and she looked out at the lake. It was already chilly, and she knew that she would always remember that this was where Marshall had told her about the girl in L.A., their two children, and that he was divorcing her. She was going to sell the house in Tahoe too, but she hadn’t told the children yet. She thought maybe they’d rent a house somewhere else next summer. She never wanted to come back here again.

“Ready, Mom?” Tom called out to her. He had loaded up the car, and was driving her back to Ross with Lindsay, with all the things they had brought up over the summer. John had brought his own car to drive back to the city. He and Lindsay had a few weeks before they had to start school.

“We look like gypsies,” she commented, as she got in, and realized she was smiling. It felt unfamiliar, and Tom smiled at her, and at his sister in the rearview mirror. He hadn’t thought so for a while, but it looked like they were going to make it. Liz closed her eyes and put her head back against the seat as they drove away.

Geoff had driven Ashley and the twins to the Coral Casino in Santa Barbara for the day over the Labor Day weekend, and he was explaining to Kendall and Kezia that he and their mom had come here when they were kids, which made them giggle. Ashley had finally told him that week that she was ready to see him. It hadn’t taken her long, but it had seemed like forever, to both of them. He rushed right over after they spoke.

“I was beginning to worry that I wasn’t going to see you for another eighteen years,” he teased her. She looked the same as when
he’d first gotten back to L.A., but she was quiet, and he noticed that she was thinner, but she was in good spirits. And he’d been fiercely busy working on the scripts he was writing for the TV show.

He didn’t say anything to her about what had happened, he was just happy to see her, and he was surprised as they walked along the beach when he felt her slip her hand into his. He turned to look at her, and she smiled at him, and he suddenly knew that all was right with the world. He had been terrified that he’d blown it with her by kissing her when she was trying to figure things out with Marshall. And he felt guilty for confusing her. But she seemed to have figured it out anyway, and now she looked at peace. He could still see the pain in her eyes, and he knew she’d been grieving the loss, and mourning Marshall, but he could see that she was a lot better. He held her hand in his, and then they ran into the water, still holding hands, to play with the girls. He splashed them, and they splashed him back, and then Ashley splashed him, and he doused her, and everyone was squealing and laughing and splashing, and Ashley’s halo of blond curls was soaking wet, and then suddenly he bumped into her and looked into her eyes as they stood close to each other.