Chapter 6

Gwen

I couldn’t even focus on my customers that afternoon. He’d gotten under my skin in a way that I had not let anyone do, at least not since Paul. I’d sworn to myself that I would always be my own woman; that I would never allow one shred of myself to be used by a man again. I was used to men coming on to me, I guess it was that tall blonde look that they love so well. Their eyes never went any deeper than my skin, though. That’s the part I resented.

They didn’t see the ambition and the love I was willing to give. They didn’t see that I was a good mother to Carrie or the heartbreak imprinted by Paul. I didn’t want to believe that all men could be that shallow. I’d always known men to be solution oriented. Couldn’t they see that it was a better investment to get to know a girl first? Wasn’t it worth their time to find a partner in life rather than a one-night stand in their bed? It was starting to look that way, but I hoped I was wrong.

When I thought about it, I could see I was being a little hypocritical. My job depended on women trying to please men, looking their best and making the men desire them. Were women nothing more than spiders, laying the web and waiting? There had to be more to it than that. Or maybe not? I knew I’d grown cynical since Paul. The little idealistic virgin had grown a thick skin and a bitter taste. It was possible that would mean I would be alone for the rest of my life, except for Carrie and whatever extraneous family members survived. Was that enough for me? I knew it wasn’t. I wanted more than one child, I wanted a husband who loved and valued me. Most of all, I wanted redemption from the feeling that I’d been used and discarded. I knew that was what was bugging me. It wasn’t fair for me to take out my resentment on every male who crossed my path.

I got home that evening to find Bitsy not even dressed for work. “What’s up?”

“Oh, I took the night off.”

“Are you feeling okay?” She looked away and didn’t answer immediately. I could tell something was up. The question was, what was it?

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said slowly, filing her nails. The polish and topcoat waited patiently on the table next to her. I could see she’d chosen bright red and I knew something was up. That was the color she saved for special occasions.

I pulled Carrie out of the carrier, kissed her sweet face and took her to sit on my lap at the end of the sofa. I tickled her and loved the sound of her giggles. “So? Do I have to wait or are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

“How do you do that?”

“What do you mean? How do I do what?”

“You know… You always know something is going on before anyone has to tell you. How do you read people like that?”

I shrugged. “I guess I just like people.” I snapped my mouth shut, remembering my earlier introspection. How could I say I like people when I spent a good deal of time avoiding one entire half of them? “So? Spill it,” I nudged her.

With an exasperated sigh she let her hands drop into her lap. “Okay, so, there’s this party.”

“Go on…”

“Well, I was sort of hoping you’d go with me.”

She wasn’t looking at me directly. Something was up. “Our usual crowd? Who’s hosting it or are we going to another club?”

“Does that mean you’ll go?”

Bitsy wasn’t bright enough to realize I could see her traps coming. She thought she already had me committed but I was still picking her brain. “I didn’t say that. In fact,” I kicked off my shoes before continuing, “I’ve had a really lousy day and it would feel good just veg out and play with Carrie.”

Her bottom lip twisted, making her resemble a child who wasn’t getting their way. “Why do you have to be so, so boring sometimes?”

I raised my eyebrows and looked at her. “Excuse me? Boring?”

She sighed, thinking for a moment to try a new track. “Okay, so as a 911 operator, my nights are never boring. Wouldn’t you like, just occasionally, to live a little?”

“Why do I have the feeling you’re trying to talk me into something I ordinarily wouldn’t touch?”

Her eyes flared, and I could tell she knew she’d caught herself. She resumed filing her nails, holding her hand out to compare the arch on each finger. “I’m not. I just know that you work hard, and you never get out and I feel bad for you. I got invited to this party tonight and no, it’s not our usual crowd. In fact, there might not be very many people we know it all. I thought maybe it would be a new experience and you’d like to go with me. Is there something wrong with that?”

She was trying to lead me down the trail of breadcrumbs. I wasn’t going to give in that easily. I ignored her last question and went for the heart of the matter. “Whose party is it?”

“Does that matter?”

“To me it does.”

“It’s just sort of an open house. Well, an open condo.”

“What is an open condo?”

“Funny you should ask. Why don’t you go along with me tonight you’ll find out?”

“Since when do we know someone who lives in a condo?”

“Look Gwen,” Bitsy said with frustration. “Could you for just once go with me without asking a lot of questions? I already asked Mrs. Heathrow to watch Carrie and she has no problem. Just run in and grab a shower, I already took mine. Put on something pretty and let’s just go. No questions asked. Can you do that for me?”

“Is this really important to you?”

“It really is.”

“Then make up the diaper bag and I’m headed for the shower.”

“I’m calling an Uber in case we want to have a little to drink tonight,” Bitsy said as we handed Carrie over to Mrs. Heathrow. “It should be here any second.” Her timing was perfect as we heard the horn honk out front.

“You be a good girl, Carrie,” I told my daughter, kissing her on the head. “Now don’t spoil her, Mrs. Heathrow. You make it hard for me to top you.” Mrs. Hawthorne laughed and waved us goodbye as she closed the door behind me.

The Uber dropped us off on a corner and Bitsy was pulling my hand across the street toward an ultramodern building with balconies lighted like so many small stages. “Who lives here?”

“A friend of mine, never mind. You won’t know anyone there so they’ll all be new to you.”

“I don’t have a good feeling about this, Bitsy,” I told her. “What floor is it on? Why don’t you go on up ahead and give me a few minutes for some fresh air? My nerves are in a bundle and it’s making me feel a little icky.” She looked over her shoulder, but I couldn’t read her expression.

“Okay,” she agreed. “But you promise that you’ll come up? You won’t just call another car and go home?”

I nodded. “I promise.”

Bitsy nodded, adjusted the waist on her mini pencil skirt and hurried toward the building. There were others coming and going, none of whom I recognized. There was a raised flower bed with a wide stone wall and I found a flat place where I could sit down and relax for a minute. I watched the people coming and going — all of them dressed in clothing I could’ve sold them from Blaze. Very upper class, very expensive, very beautiful people. It struck me that I didn’t belong there and certainly Bitsy was out of place. These weren’t her people, as much as they weren’t mine. Nevertheless, a promise was a promise, so I took a deep breath and followed the current of bodies going inside.

Once inside the glass revolving doors, I was faced with a bank of elevators. Three doors opened at once and the others in the lobby crowded into two of them. The third one was still empty, so I took my cue and climbed aboard. The door shut, and I tapped the number 22 as Bitsy said that was our floor. I leaned against the back wall, crossing my legs at my ankles and held my clutch in front of me. I’d only gone three floors when the elevator came to a stop, and the doors opened. I was focused on my ankles and didn’t look up and it wasn’t until the door closed and I heard his voice that I knew who it was.

“Well, hello there,” Colt greeted me.

“What are you doing here?”

He laughed aloud. “I might ask you the same thing. I happen to live here.”

I knew my face flushed and I looked back to the floor in embarrassment. “Bitsy is upstairs at a party, waiting for me.” I hoped that was enough explanation.

“Which floor are you headed to?”

“22.”

“Well, what you know? It would seem that you and I are going to the same party.”

I looked up in shock. “Whose party is it?”

“Do you remember meeting Buddy at the club that night?” His blue eyes stared through mine as though I could hold no secrets from them.

I nodded.

“Well, he lives on the 22nd floor, and as you know I live on the fourth. I never was one for heights,” he confided in me.

I didn’t know what to say and wondered how it was that Bitsy came to be invited to Buddy’s condo. I didn’t have long to wonder as there was a jerk as the elevator came to a sudden stop.

“Hmmm,” Colt said, pressing buttons on the panel to make the carrier move. It didn’t budge. He tried the button to force open the doors, but it ignored him. He looked upward over our heads at the emergency panel. “We could always get out that way if we had to, but it would be safer if we waited here until someone comes to help.” With that, he picked up the telephone inside the paneled access and when someone must’ve answered, he quickly told them our predicament. He hung up the phone and looked at me. “Some sort of a simple power failure, nothing dangerous. That’s why the buttons aren’t working, no power. I guess even the standby isn’t coming on. So, just relax, they’ll have us out of here no time.”

As soon as he finished his words, the lights went out in the elevator and the two of us were alone in the darkness. I know I must have screamed a little because I felt his warm hand reaching out onto my arm. “Hey, it’s okay. We’re going to be just fine. It’s just a power failure. Look, it’s kind of weird standing up in the dark waiting for this thing to start moving. Let’s sit down and make the best of it, shall we?”

I nodded.

“Shall we?” That’s when I realized he didn’t see me in the darkness. “Okay,” I allowed, and he helped me slowly slide down the wall of the elevator until I was seated on the floor. Even though it was dark, I straightened my skirt, knowing the lights would eventually come back on and I didn’t want it wrapped around my waist.

“Well, let’s talk. It’ll take our mind off things and before you know it, we’ll be mobile again.”

“Okay. What do you want to talk about?”

“Well, why don’t you tell me about yourself? Where you grew up, about your family, your favorite color and maybe what you find sexy in a man?”

That last part caused me to suck my breath in. “Why do I feel like the last part of that question is the only thing you really wanted to know?”

“Not true. I’d like to know everything about you.”

“I could say the same, you know? The enigmatic Mr. Stillman… The city’s most eligible bachelor and the businessman extraordinaire.”

“Do I hear a tone of disdain in your voice?”

“I’m sorry, I guess you do. I keep forgetting that I don’t not like you.”

“That you don’t not like me? What does that mean?”

“I know, I’m all screwed up. I’m sorry, but it was just that you left such an impression on me in that courtroom that it’s hard to feel anything but aggravation when I think about you.”

His hand touched my arm and he began stroking the back of my hand. I had to admit it felt very comforting, warm and a little seductive. I could feel myself responding.

“Do you think it’s just possible that you got the wrong impression?”

“This sounds like a conversation we had in the restaurant,” I commented.

“I agree. Why don’t we change the subject? Tell me about growing up. Where, who was your best friend, what you liked, what were you good at?”

His questions brought back a rush of old memories, all of which were shadowed by Paul and his abandonment. I still found it painful to talk about and even in the darkness, I didn’t want tears in my eyes. As hard as I tried, it didn’t work, though. I could feel them welling up, but I kept my hand on the floor as he stroked it. “Oh, not a very interesting past. I grew up in a small town, I had good parents and a lot of friends in school. I suppose you could call me a little popular, but then people always said that about cheerleaders.”

“You were a cheerleader?”

“I loved it. I know it sounds trite, but when you’re cheering for someone, you’re always happy. Have you thought about that before? You can’t cheer someone on and be angry at the same time.”

He cleared his throat, a sound I found sexy as it came so close to my ear. When I sat very still I could even feel the ripples of his breath against my cheat. I wondered just how close he was but didn’t have the guts to reach up with my other hand and find out. “Not being a cheerleader, I’ll have to take your word for it. But, you strike me as an exceptional lady. I’ve thought so from the first moment I saw you.”

I cocked my head a little at the thought. “Really? I had the idea that you would instantly hate everyone in the jury. I mean, isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be?”

“No, I don’t think so. After all, when you know you’re innocent you expect that the jurors will see that, and you’ll soon be going home with the whole mess put behind you. It never occurred to me that anything else would happen.”

“Huh, I never thought of it that way. Maybe that’s why you looked to me to be so arrogant and self-assured. Maybe what I was seeing was competence of innocence?”

“There you go. Now you’re getting warmer.”

“I guess I was a little bit of a jerk to you, wasn’t I?”

“No, not at all. I would expect if I were a juror that I would imagine the person to be guilty until he proved himself innocent, contrary to the orders they give you.”

“You know? It was sort of like that. You figure the lawyers must have a pretty good case against the guy or woman if it went as far as a jury trial.” Even in the darkness, Colt was opening beams of light in my brain. I could feel his breath closer now and it smelled of brandy and a very masculine aftershave. I felt a single chill traveled down my spine and tried to set it aside. I couldn’t afford to let myself be attracted to anyone, not as long as I had Carrie.

The elevator did a sudden little stutter stop, and then didn’t move again. The lights were still off. I know I called out in fear and Colt slid his arm around me. I didn’t resist. If we were going to fall to our death, at least I wouldn’t be alone, although for the life of me I couldn’t figure out why that made it any easier. I was illogical like that. His hand was stroking my upper arm as he pulled me against his chest. Again, I didn’t resist. I hadn’t been held by a man like that for a very long time and I liked it. Somehow it was easier in the dark, but I still liked it.

“Are you okay?” he whispered into my ear. He pulled me harder against him and his right hand moved up to the nape of my neck. His strong fingers began massaging the tense muscles in my shoulders dropped as they relaxed. There was another stutter stop and I pressed into him. His left hand came up and laid against my cheek, his thumb stroking my temple. “It’s okay, Gwennie,” he called me by my nickname. Oddly enough, I liked the sound of it. He drew in his breath then and that’s when I felt his lips searching for mine. They were full and strong, pulling at mine until I allowed his tongue to open my mouth and sample my own. Without realizing it, I turned to face him and with the sort of surprised, but pleased intake of breath, he brought both arms around me and pulled me flat against him. He continued to kiss me, one hand riding up the back of my neck into the base of my hair, his long fingers pulling through the strands over and over. It was a seductive, sensitive touch and I understood intuitively that he probably knew my body better than his own. I shuddered, and he took it for fear although it was generated by pure lust. I even surprised myself.

He whispered something, but I couldn’t catch what he said. It was drowned out in the sound of the elevator kicking back into motion. The lights flashed on and I quickly glanced downward to see that I had somehow managed to plaster myself against him, my legs spread open as I straddled his thighs. I blushed, and he smiled. “It’s okay, it’s just us,” he said as he pushed to a stand and helped me up. There was just enough time for me to straighten my skirt before the elevator doors opened and the party burst in on us.

Bitsy was standing there, tapping her foot. “Where have you been? Why did you stop the elevator?”

“I didn’t. The power went out and it stopped on its own. We’ve been trapped in the dark.”

Bitsy’s head spun around to look for someone and I wasn’t the least bit surprised to see it was Buddy. He had a wicked grin on his face and suddenly I realized that we’d been the target of the conspiracy. I couldn’t figure out why Bitsy was willing to take part in it, but when Buddy came closer and put his arm around her waist, I understood. I looked at Colt, but he was looking at me. I could tell he hadn’t been in on it. That made me feel better, for some reason.

Colt came toward me, taking my hand and bent down to whisper in my ear. “I think we’ve been had. What do you say let’s get out of here and go have a bite to eat?”

I took one look at Bitsy and Buddy and then nodded at Colt and followed him silently as he pulled me back into the elevator and slammed his hand on the button. “It was Buddy, wasn’t it?” I asked quietly.

His back was to me. “I’d say that’s a safe bet.”

“You’re angry, aren’t you?”

He said nothing, but I pressed it.

“I’m sorry.”

He turned on his heel and faced me. “No, you don’t understand. It has nothing to do with you, in fact I could be trapped in the space shuttle with you for a year and not mind it.” His words took my breath away, but he wasn’t finished. “It’s Buddy. He works for me, not the other way around. I don’t like him taking things in his own hands. It’s just a control thing I have. I have a tough time trusting people, but I’m sure you don’t understand that. Everyone must love you, you’re so good and cheerful.”

“You may be surprised,” I muttered, thinking of Paul and the trust I’d lost. “Look, I think this was Bitsy’s doing. She’s kind of wacky like that, getting involved where she shouldn’t. She’s an emergency operator and to her it’s instinct to help people. Even if they don’t want her help. I wouldn’t blame this on Buddy. I have a feeling it was her idea and he probably went along with it to score some points. Let’s just drop it?”

He gradually burst into a grin. “Agreed.”

“Did you drive?” Colt asked me as we exited the building.

“Bitsy and I came in an Uber, in case we both had too much to drink.”

“Excellent, my driver will be here in a moment.”

“You have a driver?”

“Well, didn’t you?”

“Oh, I guess so, but it’s not exactly the same. At least I’m betting it’s not,” I answered and had no more than finished my sentence before a dark charcoal limousine with heavily tinted windows pulled up to the curb. “I guess I was right.”

“Would you feel better if I called us an Uber?”

“This is just new for me, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. Just relax and enjoy it.”

I knew his words were intended to set me to ease, but he had no idea the memories it conjured.

A text popped up on my phone. It was from Bitsy. “Saw you leave. I’ve got Carrie for the night, don’t hurry home.”

I responded. “You set me up, Miss Judas. But, it’s not like that, only going to dinner.”

“Uh, huh. Just in case, your bases are covered.”

“You ready? Everything okay?” Colt asked.

I nodded as the driver opened the door and I climbed into the next part of my life.