CHAPTER NINE: Fiona
After I got home from the hospital, I stood in my bedroom door for the longest while, staring at the bed where just hours before I’d seen my husband fucking one of his employees. I could close my eyes and still see them there. I could hear Kyle’s grunts and wheezes; Wendy’s gasps and moans. I could see her tugging on her nipples and Kyle’s face as he came. After a moment, I turned off the light and closed the door. On Monday, I would have the mattress and bed linen burned and the room fumigated. Tonight, I’d sleep in the guest room.
I was used to sleeping alone. Kyle traveled a lot. And often had sleepovers with women I wasn’t supposed to know about. It bothered me at first, sleeping alone, but lately I’d come to relish those nights when he wasn’t there, lying beside me, snoring, tossing and turning, rolling into me with his sad excuse for an erection, rubbing it against my ass until he came in his boxer shorts.
I slept like a baby and awoke with the renewed energy of a new day, as if tossing off the baggage of Kyle and the life we’d led had somehow made me lighter, had set me free. I showered and dried my hair, then called Kyle to check on his mother.
“She’s okay,” he said. He sounded tired. He mentioned that he had not gone home yet. I think his dedication to his mother was supposed to impress me. It did not. “She’s in a private room. Dad won’t leave her side. I sent Danny to pick up some things for dad. I need a change of clothes, Fee. Can I come home?”
“There are suitcases already in the lobby with most of your clothes,” I said. I had packed Kyle’s clothes and put them in the private elevator when I got home from the hospital. It was something I had to do right away, as if sleeping with his clothes in the penthouse was paramount to sleeping with him. It was a great way to get out all that pent-up energy and anger, stuffing his expensive clothes into bags and tossing them into the elevator and sending them downstairs. I alerted the night doorman that they were on the way down and he promised to keep them safe until Kyle could arrive to pick them up.
“I need my watches and rings,” he huffed. “My diamond cufflinks. Tell me you did not pack those away and toss them out.”
“Your jewelry is still in the safe. You can get all that stuff on Monday,” I said with a sigh. “Now, how is your mother? Has the doctor been in?”
I could practically hear his teeth gnashing over the phone. After a moment, he said. “They are monitoring her and giving her meds. The ER doctor is still pushing to have the procedure done quickly by the staff cardiologist, but dad won’t hear of it. He’s insisting on waiting until their regular doctor is back on Monday.”
“That could be a mistake,” I said.
“Convince them of that,” he said quietly. “Fee, listen, I’m sorry about what happened. Can’t I come over? Just to talk?”
“No, Kyle, you can’t,” I said without hesitation. “Call me if your mother’s condition changes. Otherwise, tell her I’ll see her soon.”
He was yelling when I hung up. I probably should be ashamed at the amount of joy his anger gave me. I hung up the phone and grabbed my purse, then went off to find Nick Patron.
* * *
Finding Nick’s home address wasn’t that difficult. I phoned my girlfriend, Mollie, who was one of the top Realtors in the city. If Nick Patron lived in an expensive apartment in town or a mansion in the country, Mollie would know it.
“Of course, I know where Nick Patron lives,” Mollie said, as if it was a foolish question. “He was one of the first buyers in the Abbot Building downtown. He paid $12.3 million for an apartment on the twentieth floor.” She paused for a moment. “Why are you asking, Fiona? What’s your interest in Nick Patron?”
“He was at the fundraiser last night and left his… umbrella,” I said. “I just wanted to return it to him.”
“Uh huh. I don’t remember it raining last night, Fiona,” she said, grinning at me over the Facetime screen.
“Guess he likes to be prepared,” I said, holding back the big smile that was itching at my lips. “Thanks, Moll. See you soon.”
I stopped by Krispy Kreme and picked up two dozen assorted donuts. I walked into Nick’s building and smiled sweetly as I set the donuts on the front desk. Two guards who looked like they could eat their weight in donuts looked at me, then the box, and licked their lips.
“Can we help you, miss?” the older of the two guards asked, standing behind the desk with his thumbs hitched in his belt.
“Yes, you can,” I said, batting my eyelashes at them. “I am a friend of Mr. Patron in twenty-twelve. He asked me to bring him a healthy breakfast.” I leaned over the desk and lowered my voice. “I said fuck that.”
They grinned at me. Their eyes widened as I lifted the lid off the box. The aroma of fresh donuts filled the air. The guard leaned over and sniffed. I said, “So, I thought you guys might be hungry, too.”
“Um, yeah, we’re always hungry,” the guard said. “Just let me call upstairs to make sure Mr. Patron is in.”
“Oh, there’s no need to do that,” I said. I was holding my cellphone. I wiggled it at them. “I just got off the phone with him. He knows I’m coming. He said to just come right up. My name is Fiona Cassidy.”
“Well, I guess it’s okay,” the guard said, rubbing his hands together. “Go on up.”
“Thanks, guys,” I said, picking up one box of donuts and leaving the other. I stepped onto the elevator and pressed the button for the twentieth floor. As the elevator ascended, my heart began to race. I couldn’t help but wonder if Nick would be happy to see me. And would he even let me in? And if he did, what would happen next?