Chapter 19

 

 

“You okay, Morgan?”

“Hmm?” I asked, looking up to Deidra, preoccupied. I couldn’t get the key out of my mind or how I could get into the box at the bank without Drew finding out.

“You seem a little off today,” Deidra accused.

“I’m fine. What were you saying?”

“Deidra, can you leave us alone for a minute?” Drew asked.

“Sure, you want coffee?” she replied.

“That would be great,” Drew nodded.

I had to stop reading mystery books. He knew about the key. He waited until we were here in Deidra’s office to confront me so he didn’t hurt me. What was I supposed to tell him?

“Morgan, is this because of what happened yesterday?” Drew warmly asked, taking both my hands.

“No, Drew. I’m fine,” I assured him.

“You’re not fine. You’re distant with me. I don’t like it.”

“I’m fine. I promise. How could I not be fine? You made up for it last night.” I smiled. He smiled too. He didn’t let me come in his office, but holy mother of Jesus, did he ever take care of me after we went to bed.

“What’s wrong then?”

“Drew, nothing is wrong. I promise.”

“You can go hang out with Alicia and the baby after this if you want,” he offered.

“Thanks, maybe I’ll go home and get Nicky and do that. No, I won’t get Nicky. I can’t help her with anything with him. I might. I’m fine. Let’s get this hour over with.”

“Are you tired of doing this? Is that what’s wrong?”

“Drew, nothing is wrong. I’m fine with this,” I argued. Geesh.

“All set?” Deidra asked, handing us both a cup of coffee.

She sat behind her desk rather than her customary chair and flipped the pages of a yellow legal pad.

“Let’s recap,” she began, looking at me. “Morgan you were raised by two alcoholic parents in a small coal town in West Virginia. You raised your little brother until he was taking from you. You never had money and rarely had enough food. You never had a serious relationship before Drew, and you even to this day have a hard time making decisions for yourself?”

“I can make decisions,” I objected.

“She doesn’t need to make decisions. I handle that part of her life,” Drew intercepted with an attitude.

“We’ll get to that. You’re not ready to go there just yet. Let’s review you,” she suggested instead. “You were born to a teen mother who was impregnated by her stepfather. She took you and ran when you were three. She made her money by entertaining men until you were ten, when your mother met Morgan’s father. He gave her a job at one of his stores and moved her to a nice apartment where she was to only entertain him. Once he moved you both to his house he also achieved entertainment from you. Michael taught you how to be a very successful business man in exchange for you letting him take care of a sick need, and keep your mouth shut.” Taking a deep breath, Deidra cracked her knuckles and looked from me to Drew. “That’s a lot of shit to be dumped in either of your laps. I’d love for you two to tell me that pretty much sums it up, but I’m afraid there’s more. Am I right? Let’s talk about the six years leading up to your accident, Morgan.”

“Okay,” I offered, “but if it’s okay with you. I’d like to hear this part of our lives through Drew’s eyes.”

“Drew?” Deidra questioned.

“What do you want to know?”

“You said you hated Morgan, right?”

“I wouldn’t say hated, maybe at first. Okay, yeah. I hated her, but not always.”

“What do you mean?”

I twisted in my seat, waiting for Drew to get up and walk to the window. He didn’t. He smiled over at me and placed my hand on his lap. He stared at our hands, contemplating what to say. “I’ve always thought Morgan was beautiful,” Drew smiled at me.

“She is,” Deidra agreed. I felt a quick flush cover my cheeks, and shook my head modestly.

“I remember the time I took her out, months after she’d been there.”

“Why was it months? You just kept her in the house for months?” Deidra asked.

“It was a few months before Morgan was ready for that,” Drew said, playing it safe. “There was no more making excuses to keep Morgan hidden and out of the public eye, away from my friends and, of course, Skyler. Morgan had the language down to a tee. She could wear heels almost as well as Skyler, and she looked like she belonged in this class of people. I had professionals come in and help her with her makeup, her hair, and her dress, knowing she wouldn’t have a clue how to present herself for this crowd. I was nervous as hell. Mr. Callaway would be there. He was going to talk to her. I was sure of it, and all I could do was hope like hell he stuck to the plan and didn’t disclose any information. 

‘Hello,’ Morgan timidly answered the phone by her bed. I watched her through my computer as one of the girls placed a beautiful diamond necklace around her neck, helping her with the finishing touches.

I told Morgan, ‘We’re going to be late. Get down here.’

She replied swiftly, ‘I’m ready. I’m on my way, but I’m still not sure about this.’

I hung up. I wasn’t sure about this either. At least Skyler was out of town and wouldn’t be there. Someone would still tell her. I had to do what I could to make Morgan seem like a client and not actually be with me. I’d treat her like I treated all the other women there. I stood at the door with Derik, waiting for her to get her slow ass down stairs, looking at my watch as I waited.  

‘Holy fuck, dude,’ Derik exclaimed, watching my striking, beautiful wife descend the stairs.

She was wearing a red gown, slit clear up her right leg with skin showing well below her breasts. I had to shake my own head and remind myself that she was nothing, that she didn’t mean anything to me.”

“Do you remember that day, Morgan?” Deidra asked, noticing the small smile, I was trying to hide.

“Yes, I remember it well. Drew actually had to pick up his jaw when he saw me,” I grinned at Drew.

He smiled back, with half a smile.

Why was I so in love with this man?

Drew resumed his story, “Grabbing her elbow and shoving her in front of me, I demanded, ‘Let’s go.’ Unable to keep from looking at her ass as she moved to the back seat, my eyebrows rose. I was glad Skyler was out of town. I closed the glass between Derik and the backseat. I guess that was a little trait picked up from Michael too. He liked privacy and made it known that his business was his business. Morgan scooted closer to the door, afraid that I was going to touch her, I presume. I wasn’t, not yet anyway.”

“That’s exactly why I scooted away, but you smelled amazing,” I teased.

Drew smiled and continued his narration, “I gave Morgan instructions on how to act for the night, ‘You don’t speak one word here. Do you understand?’ Morgan nodded so I continued. ‘If Mr. Callaway speaks to you, you’re to say nothing but yes or no.’

‘Mr. Callaway?’

‘Yes, he’ll be the one in a wheelchair, older gentleman. Just smile a lot and stay by my side. Do not answer any questions that you know nothing about. If he asks if you’re happy and have everything you need your answer is to be yes. You got it?’

‘Who is he?’

‘Don’t worry about who he is. Follow my orders, Morgan or you’ll be sorry,’ I warned with a patronizing threat. She didn’t reply. She was too flabbergasted by the Vegas strip, the mesmerizing lights, and the multitude of people, bringing the city to life.”

“I was mesmerized that night. I remember feeling so excited to be in Las Vegas. It was a dream come true. Well, not really, it was more of a dream come Drew,” I decided. It wasn’t like Drew was ever going to let me explore the city. He still wouldn’t let me do that.

Drew laughed at my last comment and continued. “Derik drove us right downtown to the front door of Cascadence, an elaborate, maybe a little too extreme dwelling for the richest of the rich. My plan was to make an appearance and get the fuck out of there as soon as I could. Maybe Morgan would fall ill or something. I wasn’t staying. I walked in front of Morgan, and Derik walked behind her. Jena met him at the door. I shot him a dirty look when he introduced Morgan as my wife.

‘What? She knows what’s going on,’ Derik argued.

‘Keep your mouth shut,’ I warned both him and Morgan, shifting my eyes from one to the other.”

“You were with Skyler that night,” I said, sitting up straight. It dawned on me while thinking about that night. Drew left the room and went with Skyler that night.

“I was, but nothing happened,” Drew answered.

“Yeah, sure. I have got to be the stupidest woman on this planet. Can you fix that, Deidra?”

“Morgan, we didn’t really like each other then. What is your deal? Will you let me finish? You’re the one that wanted me to talk, remember?”

“You know why, Drew? Because I have nothing to talk about during that time. I wasn’t out fucking anyone else. I wasn’t jumping on a plane every week. I wasn’t chasing every short skirt in Vegas. I wasn’t fucking doing anything because you wouldn’t let me,” I accused, raising my voice. Deidra never said a word. What the hell were we even paying her for?

“I want to talk about that, Morgan, but not yet. Okay?” Drew calmly said, wrapping his fingers around my wrist.

I jerked it away, and crossed my arms, waiting to see what else Skyler and Drew did that night. I would get up and walk out if he talked about fucking her.

Drew continued with the rest of his story, “I shot Morgan a stern look. ‘I’m going to step out for a second, but I have Derik watching you. You don’t talk to Mr. Callaway or anyone else while I am away from the table, understand?’

 Morgan obediently replied, ‘Yes.’

I excused myself after returning Morgan to our table. I didn’t have to look far.

Skyler was just through the doors, pacing the floor, wrathfully. ‘That’s why you told me not to hurry back. You wanted me out of town, didn’t you, Drew?’

‘Shhh, come here, Sky. It’s not what you think.’

‘Then what is it, Drew? Who the hell is she?’ Taking a deep breath, I spilled.

‘I should have told you about this months ago. I should have let you know why you couldn’t come to the mansion and why I had to keep you hidden.’

Skyler was obviously confused. ‘What the hell are you talking about?’

            Hesitantly, I confessed, ‘Morgan is my wife.’

Skyler’s eyes widened in shock, her expression was disoriented like she couldn’t respond. ‘Morgan? Your wife?’

‘Yes, I didn’t think she’d still be here. Callaway changed his will. He left it all to his granddaughter, Morgan.’

‘Drew, you’re making no sense. How can Callaway have a granddaughter? Michael was his only child.’

‘Michael is her father. He told Callaway about her the day he died. Callaway insisted that I either marry her and take care of her, or pack up and move on without a dime. I didn’t have a choice, Sky. I was hoping he’d be dead by now. It wasn’t supposed to be for this long. I thought for sure he’d be dead by now. She was supposed to be out of the picture by now.’

 ‘You have a fucking wife?’

‘Skyler, it’s not like that.’

‘Do you have sex with her?’

‘Of course not. We don’t even see each other. She lives upstairs in her own room. I didn’t even want to bring her to this thing. Randal made me.’

‘Why didn’t you tell me?’

‘I told you, I didn’t think she’d still be here. Callaway is supposed to be dead.’

‘So what, Drew? Am I supposed to just be the other woman? You know I’m not going to do that. I can’t believe this. What? Is this like some sort of joke? Are there hidden cameras around here? This is absurd,’ Skyler blurted going from one sentence to another.

‘Skyler, come here,’ I demanded, pulling her into my arms. I couldn’t lose Skyler. I loved Skyler. I’d been in love with Skyler since the first time I saw her almost three years ago. ‘Just let it ride for a little while. I’ll figure something out,’ I promised her, and then pulled away from her when the door opened. Callaway was running his mouth about my new wife. I couldn’t be seen with her.

Skyler shook her head, knowing exactly what had just happened, why I pulled away. ‘You look me up when you’re ready for me. I’m not playing second best to you or anyone else. You should know that about me, if you know nothing else. Do you really think you’re the only guy that wants me?’ she asked, looking at me with pure disgust. I knew Skyler was right. Skyler was beautiful. She’d have another man on her arm before the night was out. That infuriated me even more. I wasn’t sure I could handle seeing that. I watched Skyler walk through the swinging doors and right out of my life.”

“And I was once again the cause of all your problems,” I stated, looking to Drew. “I don’t want to hear the rest. I know the rest. I know what happened that night, every last detail, and I don’t think we need to discuss it,” I assured him.

“How about we just talk about how you were feeling that night, Drew, leave out the specifics?” Deidra offered.

“Okay, well, you remember what happened in the—”

“Clearly,” I assured Drew.

But Drew, again, kept on talking. “I ordered Morgan to go to her room as soon as we were in the door. ‘Retire for the night,’ I said, seeing Rebecca. She scurried off to her quarters behind the kitchen. I noticed the look of encouragement she transmitted to Morgan as they dashed in different directions. I went up the stairs and headed down the cold, dim lit hall. Glancing up, I reminded myself to get rid of the ugly paintings lining the wall to Michael’s room. Paintings of dead safari animals that the two Callaway men had shot over the years. That was one thing I never did want from either of them. I hated the thought of shooting an innocent animal for pleasure. The air was heavy and thicker than smoke before I ever reached his door.”

Door? Whose door.

 “I felt a surge of nervous energy when I placed my hand on the handle of his bedroom door, another room I wanted to burn to the ground. I hadn’t been in that room in years, never felt the need to ever go back in there until now. I wouldn’t even go in there when Michael was dying and my mother begged me to come and say hi. I wanted him dead, I was only there to console my mother, not him. I knew Michael had a toy box. I’d seen it and I wanted to find it. His daughter was going to play and entertain me.”

I sucked in an unnoticeable long breath of air. That was a bad night, a really bad night, and hearing Drew describe things I knew nothing about, left me feeling helpless. He blamed me.

“I pushed open the door to the dark room, feeling death linger from Michael’s absence. Nobody had touched it since he’d passed. Pill bottles aplenty, a half bottle of water, and needles decorated the night stand. The hospital bed had been stripped and flattened. The chill in that room left my skin feeling like ice, and I shuddered from the unwanted sensation. Strolling over to the adjacent door, I peaked in but didn’t walk all the way through. The empty mirrored room was just as I remembered. Michael’s grandfather had built the room for his daughter, Randal Callaway’s sister. It had one of those stationary dance bars running across the mirror, a small bath, and an apartment sized refrigerator. I wouldn’t wish that torture on anyone. You can’t even begin to know what spending days in a locked room with nothing but darkness does to your sanity. I eventually learned, or tried to anyway, to do what Michael wanted me to do. Some things still landed me in that room and I’d end up doing them anyway.”

“Drew? You were locked in the gym?” I asked shocked.

“I was, and you want to know what I thought about as I stood there?”

 “What?”

“I thought about you. I wondered if you were always so wet because you secretly liked the things that I did to you.”

“Drew,” I warned with a look. Why the hell did he freely say whatever was on his mind in front of this woman? Was he right? Had I always liked it? “I didn’t like that night,” I assured him thinking about it. Well, not all of it anyway.

“Let’s stop here,” Deidra requested, looking at the ticking clock over our heads. She probably had the next screwed up couple to get to. I wondered if there was anyway another couple could be as screwed up as we were. Nah, not likely.