CHAPTER NINE
Worth
When Auggie’s car pulled in, she wasn’t the only person who got out. There was another car in the parking area and the man who emerged from her passenger side gave her a brief hug and got into the parked car. He was extremely good looking, even from this distance and I went into alert mode. As he pulled away, I made note of his license plate and texted it to Bill to be checked out.
She came in, threw me a barely-disguised disdainful look as though she was having trouble remembering to be nice. “Hello,” she said, her voice decidedly cool.
“Hi, baby. Come here. Are you feeling better?” I asked.
“Better, but not completely over it. Better keep your distance another day,” she advised, holding up a hand between us.
I didn’t want to fight so I didn’t bring up the fact that she didn’t seem to be as concerned about the health of the gentleman in the parking area. “Who was that who drove in with you?” I couldn’t pretend to be a total fool.
“Who? Oh. That was Bernie, my new assistant.”
“Oh, really? I would have liked to have met him.”
“Next time, Worth. We’ve been out all day and I want to spend some time with the baby.” Then, as though she remembered she was “ill,” she thought the better of it. “Well, actually, I’m still feeling puny so I guess I’ll go up and get a hot bath, pump, and not cuddle him tonight. I’ll be back to my normal self by tomorrow, I’m sure.” She waved with a half salute and after looking with longing at the kitchen where Betsy was feeding Ford, she plodded up the stairs with an exaggerated weakness.
Why is she pretending to be ill? I wondered to myself. That wasn’t like her. She wasn’t one for self-pity. Is she mad at me for something? Women! I’m tired and will just let it go. Time generally resolves most things and besides, I’ve got more important things on my mind.
I grabbed a sandwich and headed for my office. Betsy piled my mail in a woven basket on the corner of my desk and as much as I hated paperwork, I thought I may as well get it out of the way. I sorted through the envelopes and threw away the junk mail. There were a few bills and while I generally paid things online, some second sense persuaded me to open the one from a well-known men’s store where I generally purchased a good deal of my clothing. I hadn’t been in there for some time so I was puzzled that they were sending a bill. I opened it and couldn’t believe my eyes. The bill was for over twenty thousand dollars! I sat back and laughed then, relief filling my brain. It was obviously a mistake since I hadn’t bought anything and in this computer age, mistakes weren’t caught. I picked up the phone and called the store, who put me through to their billing department.
“Dr. LaViere, we’re showing those purchases were made May eighth at our Oxford Manor store. You signed for them, sir.”
“No, no that’s impossible. I never even shop that branch, only the store downtown. I wasn’t there and didn’t sign anything.”
“Now, Dr. LaViere, I’m afraid we have the signed bill. This is a serious situation, sir. We’re talking about a great deal of merchandise. I’m afraid if you refute this charge, we’ll have to turn this over to the authorities. It is store policy, but I’m unable to do anything about it.”
“Now, wait just a minute. You need to prove this. You can’t just intimidate me into paying it. Let me see your evidence and I will gladly pay.”
“Very well, Dr. LaViere, would you be able to come down to our corporate office in the Brown Towers? Perhaps tomorrow morning?”
“I’ll be there at eight a.m.,” I said.
“See you then, sir.”
The aggravation of the day had accumulated to the point that I didn’t think I could take much more. I went in and played a bit with Ford, reading him a story before Betsy put him to bed. He was growing so fast. I made some special voices and sound effects as I read to him and he laughed. I realized then that I was being given a rare chance to make a change in my lineage. Not every LaViere had to be like my father or brother. Ford would be a LaViere I could be proud of. I made a resolution then and there to spend more time with him.
I fell into bed and could hear the television on in the room where Auggie was sleeping. She wasn’t making any effort to say goodnight so I let it go. I really wasn’t in the mood to fight.
***
The next morning, I sat in the executive offices of the men’s store. They not only had receipts with my name on them, but it was definitely my signature. I felt like I was living in an episode of Twilight Zone. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
“Look. I don’t know what’s going on here, but I maintain that I did not buy those clothes. There has to be some explanation here. You know me. I buy a good deal of merchandise from your downtown store all the time and I’m a prominent doctor and businessman here in town. Why would I claim I hadn’t done this?”
The man behind the desk looked sideways at his assistant and nodded. She left and came back with a DVD in her hand. “I was hoping we wouldn’t have to go this far, Dr. LaViere, but I’m prepared to prove it to you. If you’ll look at the monitor, you’ll see the store camera footage as you tried on various items and then checked out with the salesman.”
I was feeling much better now because this would be the definitive proof. As the footage played, my mouth dropped open as I saw myself pulling items off the racks and disappearing into a changing room. Eventually, I emerged and pirouetted in front of the store’s triple mirrors while the salesman tucked and pinched fabric to determine whether I was wearing the ideal size. Then, once the counter was piled high, I took the sales slip and signed it. I didn’t do this! I had no explanation. None, that was, until “I” turned around and left the store with the clerk following me with packages. That’s when I got closest to the security camera.
It was Linc.
“Well?” the man behind the desk asked. “Have you seen enough, Dr. LaViere?”
I turned toward him. “That wasn’t me, but I know who it is and I accept responsibility for what he purchased. I’ll write you a check right now.” I pulled my checkbook from my inside breast pocket. My face was red, it wasn’t embarrassment — but unadulterated anger. He was trying to take over my life.
I left the offices and headed for the park. I needed to get a clear head and decide what to do. I headed down Hurstbourne Lane until I left the city and pulled into a smallish country park with ponds and even a small golf course. I’d stopped here before and eaten lunch because it was filled with ducks and swans. There was something about getting in touch with nature that settled my mind.
I sat in the car in the parking lot, watching the ducks. Linc was taking over my life and now my head and it had to stop. I noticed a car pull up in the parking lot a few spaces down from me and two men got out. They headed toward each other and joined hands, walking down to the water’s edge. It somehow made me feel more peaceful. Just as I was about to leave, the men turned and headed back. I was surprised to see Auggie’s assistant was one of the men, or at least he looked just like him. He had very unusual coloring and it caught my attention. I didn’t acknowledge him because I felt it was a private moment, so I backed the car out and left.
I called the office and cancelled my appointments for the rest of the day. Instead, I caught the loop and then merged onto I-71 North toward Cincinnati. I found Jessie Klinger in consultation and told the receptionist to cancel the rest of her appointments as well. When she emerged, I told her to get her purse and follow me. We went to the track and I went to great lengths to romance her. I even kissed her on the cheek a couple of times and hugged her off her feet when we won a race. As we left the track, I nodded to the man I’d hired who was sitting just a few rows away from us the entire time.
I took Jessie back to the clinic and dropped her off. I drove home and arrived late. I found Auggie in her office. “Hello, sweetheart,” I said and went to kiss her cheek. She didn’t move. I moved closer, but she reached forward and slammed her laptop shut. A tight smile on her lips, she then twirled in her chair to look at me.
“Did you have a good day?” she asked.
“A wonderful day,” I said, knowing I was lying.
“Good. You look like you’ve gotten some sun.”
“It must have been the window in the car, or maybe when I went to the park.”
“Which park was that?”
I felt the noose closing. “I was driving to the office after lunch and needed a bathroom. The park was right there and afterwards, I sat on a picnic table for a while to enjoy the ducks. Time got away from me.”
She nodded. “That can happen, for sure. Why don’t you go wash up? Dinner will be ready in ten minutes,” she said. I nodded and kissed the top of her head before I went upstairs.
Auggie
Liar.
I called the clinic to get Worth’s credit card number for a bill I’d found in my stack that I assumed he’d created. He wasn’t there. I opened the laptop and looked again at the Facebook posts. Park, my ass. I slammed the lid shut again and went to the kitchen to finish something. I only had to decide whether it would be the salad or my marriage.
Worth came into the kitchen and snatched up Ford, blowing bubbles on his chubby tummy. Ford laughed and Worth continued to play with him.
“Dinner is ready,” I said and pointed at Worth’s chair with intent.
“Okay, thanks!” He was so cheerful; so deceptively cheerful. Maybe he was happier with her than he was with me. That’s when the truth struck me. I represented things he didn’t want to think about. Before, I reminded him of our parents’ affair and the mistreatment he’d received as a child from his father. Now, I reminded him of the offspring of that affair — Linc. He wanted to rid himself of that legacy, no matter what it took.
I realized then that he’d invited Linc to the barbecue so that I would get used to having him around. Maybe Worth wanted me off his hands and Linc was to become the recipient of my liability. Of course! It would be so much easier to just pile up the problem people in his life into one house and he’d be free of it forever. Linc didn’t need him. I knew the same people as Worth did. I could act as the liaison between Linc’s nefarious connections and his need to get into the inner circle so he could set races. That would free Worth from the threat to his practice, to his life in general.
This also answered why Worth was so overtly flirting with his director of the Cincinnati clinic. He knew I’d find out. He knew I would come unhinged and leave him.
Of course! Worth was a master of mental manipulation. He’d spent his life learning it from his father and then from professors in college. He practiced it every day when he had a patient in the chair. He’d constructed this whole tableau in order to free himself from his problems; all in one bundle.
Worth had manipulated me from the very beginning. I went to him as a patient and he convinced me I didn’t need his help — at least not in the sense of his being my doctor. He flirted and pressured me to be his girlfriend, and later, his wife. Once I was his wife, I had been conquered and he was on to his next challenge.
Worth had to learn that the world was not his oyster. His narcissism needed to be taken down a few notches. I knew just the person for that job. Me. Worthington LaViere, III had finally met his match!