Chapter 15

MARIAH

“I’m here for Mr. Anders,” Mariah said to the jail guard who sat behind the glass window.

“Your driver’s license please,” the man said.

Mariah quickly pulled out her wallet and slid her license through the small opening to the officer. She had never been to a jail before, and River had refused to allow her to visit him while he was in there. It was finally his release day, though, and River wanted Mariah to pick him up. They had a lot of public relations issues to fix, and he was ready to move full force on getting them accomplished.

Mariah felt her heart beating hard as she went through the steps necessary to pick River up. Although they really didn’t know each other all that well, Mariah had missed him a lot. The way he looked at her was so intense and made her whole body react every time they were around each other. Mariah couldn’t wait to lay her eyes on him again. She had played the moment over in her head several times, and now she was only minutes away from getting to wrap her arms around him.

She signed some forms and then sat quietly in the waiting area for River to be brought out. They had talked on the phone several times since his arrest at the governor's press conference 60 days prior, but Mariah hadn’t been able to ask the questions she really wanted answered. Unfortunately, all calls from the jail could be recorded, and she didn’t want what she had to ask him to be heard by anyone else.

River had pretty much flipped out when news that the governor had lied about him came to light. Mariah and Elizabeth both tried to stop River from leaving their office that evening, but there was no stopping River. At the time, Mariah didn’t know where River was running off to. She quickly learned where River was, though, along with everyone else in the country who had been watching the national late night news.

Mariah smiled as she remembered the look of shock that appeared on the news reporter’s face every time they showed the scene. River had approached the governor and appeared to be arguing with him about something, and before anyone knew what had happened; River swung and hit the governor with his fist. The news reporter was young and just stared into the camera for a moment as she tried to figure out what she should say or do as the police officers wrangled River to the ground.

She heard the click of the door and looked up with anticipation as she waited for River to come walking out. She was excited to see him, more excited than she had thought she would be. Her eyes stayed glued on the door as it slowly started to open. Her heart fluttered with excitement, and she held her breath as the door opened.

He looked older than he had before and thinner. River looked like he was exhausted with deep circles under his eyes and a flat expression on his face. Mariah had never really noticed their age difference before, but as River walked out of jail, it was extremely clear that he was getting closer to 40 years old than he was 30. It didn’t really matter to Mariah, though, she was still crazy excited to see him.

“River!” Mariah exclaimed as she rushed up and hugged him.

“It’s good to see your smiling face.”

“I’m so glad this is over,” she said as she wrapped her arm in his and pulled him away from the guard and toward the door. “Well, this part, at least; we still have a ton of work to do. I’ve got a whole plan set out with everything that needs to be done. I’m sure you’ll want to rest first; we can talk about it tomorrow,” Mariah couldn’t stop talking. There was just so much that she had wanted to talk to him about, and she felt like she had to get it all in as quickly as possible.

Mariah knew she was rambling on, and she needed to stop talking. It was probably overwhelming to River to be out of jail after 60 whole days in there. She didn’t want to overwhelm him even more by adding to his stress. But the more she tried to stop talking, the more she kept talking. It was a nervous tick that she had whenever she was anxious or felt uncomfortable.

“I don’t need to rest. We will get started right away,” River said calmly, although he looked totally exhausted.

By the tone of his voice, Mariah could tell that he was tired, but the old River was still there, and it was clear that he wasn’t about to lose everything just because he was tired. Even though Mariah hadn’t known River for long before he got arrested, it was long enough to know he didn’t like when things were out of his control. River ran a billion dollar corporation and worked every day of his life; he wasn’t going to sit back and mope about the current events of his life.

They climbed into Mariah’s car and made the drive back toward Mariah’s office. If they were going to discuss business, it would be easier to do it there. She had taken copious notes on everything she thought they should do as soon as he got out of jail.

In fact, Mariah had hoped they would work on more of his PR stuff while he was in jail. But with only getting to talk for five minutes at a time and not being able to talk about sensitive information, they quickly gave up on the idea of getting work done. Mariah would sometimes mention ideas she had, and River would humor her, but mainly she felt like he just called to hear her voice. River would always ask Mariah questions about her day and let her ramble on and on as she told him; eventually, the time limit sound would buzz in her ear, and she was forced to say goodbye. River never seemed to mind when it was time to say goodbye.

“How are you feeling?” Mariah asked as she gently touched River’s leg.

“I’m fine. You don’t need to worry about me. I just punched the governor; it’s not like I’m some sort of serial killer or something,” he said firmly.

Mariah pulled her hand back when she heard the agitation in his voice. She hadn’t heard him talk to her like that before, and it was unsettling to her. But she quickly chalked it up to him having his own anxiety about being in jail and then having to get his life back together. Mariah was an understanding person, and she wasn’t going to give up on River that easily.

“You punched him in front of a dozen video cameras, River. It’s kind of a big deal. They showed the video footage for almost a month straight.”

River laughed in a sinister way that actually gave Mariah goose bumps. He seemed much tougher than he had been before he went to jail. There was an edge to him that he hadn’t had before. When Mariah first met River, he was a cocky billionaire who acted like nothing could really touch him. Even though he was worried his secret was going to get out, he never looked worried at all. In fact, the entire week leading up to the governor’s press release, River had been cool as could be.

“That man deserved everything he got! Going on record saying I raped Kimberly when I didn’t. It was disgusting. He deserved to have his teeth knocked out, and I’m just sorry I didn’t punch him more than once. But I certainly would do it again.”

“River, I know you’re angry, but you have to get over this. If you truly want to get your business through this mess, you will need to put on a happy face for everyone you’re dealing with.”

River didn’t appear to like what Mariah had said much, and he didn’t respond to her right away. But it was the truth, and Mariah was being paid to tell River the truth. He wasn’t going to rebuild his company name if he went around punching people. He certainly wasn’t going to prove that his relationship with Kimberly had been consensual if he was busy showing just how violent he could be.

“Have you talked to Kimberly?” River said softly as he looked out the window.

“No, she never returned our calls. On a positive note, she has not made any public comments on the issue at all. I did hear rumors that she and the governor were going to file for divorce but nothing has been substantiated. I doubt the governor would like a divorce going on while he is trying to run for the presidency.”

“She’s getting divorced?”

“No, it was just a rumor I heard. I have no idea. I think if anyone could get her to talk it would be you. You should try to call her. But first, we need to discuss our plan so you know what to say.”

Everything was a total mess. After River showed up at the press conference and punched Governor Emerald on national television, both the Seattle PI and the Portland Times ran stories about River and Kimberly. The Seattle PI reported that River had taken advantage of Kimberly while she was drunk; they steered clear of using the word ‘rape’, though. But the Seattle PI did include a quote from the governor saying his wife had been taken advantage of. The Portland Times concentrated their story on the possibility that Jackson was really the love child of River and Kimberly. The Portland Times didn’t talk about River taking advantage of Kimberly, but instead said they had a mutual relationship that resulted in a child. The Portland story was as close to the truth as the real thing. It noted a mysterious source, which Mariah felt was either Kimberly or the governor.

The only person who spoke publicly was the governor, who had made a statement to the Seattle PI saying that River Anders had taken advantage of his wife. But the governor never made any further statements after the incident where River had punched him. Mariah suspected that his PR team told him not to talk anymore. It was a wise decision, that was for sure. The governor appeared to want the sympathy from the events that happened with his wife, but the truth was it was hurting him and not helping him. People didn’t like to vote for men who they couldn’t trust, and there was just something about the governor that Mariah didn’t trust.

“Are you hungry? We could stop and grab something to eat if you’d like,” Mariah asked.

River again didn’t respond. He was sitting right next to her, yet he seemed a million miles away. As much as Mariah wanted to just pull the car over and kiss him, River didn’t seem to be in the mood at all. He was thinking, or pouting, or just looking off into space, but River certainly didn’t seem excited to be out of jail.

After another five minutes or so of silence, River finally turned to Mariah. He turned in such a pronounced way that she had a hard time paying attention to the road as she anticipated what it was he was going to say.

“Where are we going?” River asked.

“To my office. You said you wanted to work on the PR plan.”

“I’ve changed my mind. Take me to my place.”

River was definite, and it was clear that he wasn’t going to change his mind. Mariah was fine with taking him anywhere he wanted. She had suspected he was going to be tired and want a good night’s sleep, so she was alright with that.

“Sure,” she said with a smile.

Mariah couldn’t help thinking back to the last time she was at River’s house. Her heart fluttered, and her face flushed with the memory of River’s hands on her body. She remembered his lips as they touched hers and her body quivering with excitement as he sent pleasure through her.

“Mariah … Mariah … earth to Mariah,” River said. “You know you are driving; it’s kind of important that you pay attention to the road,” River joked.

It was the first moment that Mariah saw a sense of humor in River since they had left the jail. It seemed like he had melted some of the negativity off from his stay, and he actually had a smile on his face.

“Oh, sorry,” Mariah said as she came out of her daze. I’m paying attention; I was just thinking about something.”

“Sex?”

“What? Why would you say that? No, not sex. Geeze, get your mind out of the gutter,” Mariah protested. But she had totally been thinking about sex. She had been thinking specifically about sex with River.

“I was watching you. The way you licked your lips; it looked like you were thinking about sex. And your face is flushed red. So were you?”

Mariah didn’t know what to say to River. Yes, that was exactly what she had been thinking about. But no, she wasn’t about to tell River about it. It was embarrassing how vividly she had remembered him on top of her. Thrusting into her; Mariah could still feel her hands on his biceps as his hips thrust toward her. She could still feel the pleasure of his body inside of hers.

“I’m not thinking about sex,” Mariah lied to River.

“I think you’re lying to me,” River said as a smile came across his face, and he turned to face Mariah again.

“We are almost to your house.”

“You’re going to come in and have some wine aren’t you? To celebrate my release from prison.”

“You weren’t in prison. You were in the county jail. And you were only in there because you told the judge that you could leave the country at a moment’s notice. If you hadn't been such a jerk, you would have just had a fine and been on probation.”

River seemed to be in a much better mood as Mariah pulled up in front of his house. He was smiling and teasing Mariah but more like himself. She felt his eyes on her as she put the car into park and motioned for River to head into his house.

“Oh, I need your help,” River said as he stayed in his seat and didn’t move.

He didn’t need her help at all, and she knew it. River was trying to get her to come into his house. Suddenly, the depression from being in jail for two months had melted away, and River was ripe with desire and wanted to devour Mariah. She felt his longing in the way he looked at her.

“What could you possibly need my help with?”

“I’ve been in prison for two whole months. You can’t just leave me to fend for myself. There’s probably no food even in the house.”

Mariah was exhausted. She didn’t know what to think as she looked over at River and tried to imagine what it would be like to have been in jail for two whole months.

“You weren’t in prison. But if you’d like me to come in for a minute, I can. Do you want me to run and grab you some groceries?”

“I’m sure there is food in the freezer. Let me make you some dinner, and we can have some wine.”

“River, I’m not staying. Do you need me to help with something or not?” Mariah said as she started to get flustered by River.

He just laughed as he climbed out of her car and made his way up to the front door. Mariah felt like she wanted to go inside, but she also knew that as soon as she got into the house, she was going to have another rush of feelings from the last time she was in there. She was going to start thinking about River’s hands on her body and the pleasure that he delivered to her.

“Come in,” River said as he motioned for Mariah to get out of the car and come inside.

She couldn’t resist and soon found herself inside River’s front door and standing in his living room. Just as expected, she looked through his house and instantly remembered the pleasure of having his naked body on top of hers.

“I’m not going to be able to stay for long,” Mariah said, trying not to look back toward the bedroom area. “I should get going.”

River wasn’t about to let Mariah leave when he had finally gotten her inside his house, and Mariah could tell almost instantly when she saw the look in his eyes. He walked up to her, taking large steps. His eyes focused directly on hers, except for a quick glance at her lips.

“You remember what we were doing the last time you were here?” River said as he pressed Mariah up against the door.

She felt how excited he was. Her body was just as excited as her heart pounded with increased blood. The thought of River kissing her rushed through her mind, and she unconsciously licked her lips in anticipation.

“Um … I ... well … yes, I remember,” Mariah said.

“That’s what you were thinking about in the car, wasn’t it?”