Changing Faces (13 page)

Chapter 18

T
AYLOR

Y
OU KNOW WHAT,
Jessica? I wouldn’t pay attention to a thing your husband says. He knows he’s going to have to pay and that’s why he’s trying to discourage you.”

“He told me that his attorney is much bigger than mine and that I won’t get a single dime. He says he has information that will keep me from collecting anything.”

“Like?”

“Nothing. I haven’t done anything but be a good wife to him and a good mother to our children. I’ve never done anything except what he wanted me to do.”

“Then if I were you, I wouldn’t worry about it. He’s only bluffing because he knows he doesn’t have a leg to stand on. The man has a deluge of residential and commercial property situated throughout this entire city, so he can certainly afford to give you child support and alimony. As a matter of fact, he’s going to pay you a percentage of everything he owns.”

“You really think you can make that happen?” Jessica asked.

“I’m positive.”

Jessica was so fearful, yet so innocent. It was the reason I wasn’t about to let her husband walk away scottfree. Jessica had somehow found the guts to follow him and his mistress to a hotel and had called me the very same afternoon. That was three weeks ago, but it hadn’t been the first time. She had called me six months ago, too, when she’d learned that Thomas was sleeping with yet another woman who lived down the street from them, but Thomas had convinced her to reconcile with him.

Now, though, Jessica had finally had enough, and I could tell she was going all the way to the finish line. She had finally decided that ten different women over the last twelve months were enough. And those were just the ones she knew about personally or those that the private investigator had discovered.

“Well, I sure hope so,” she said. “Because I can’t make it without money or a place to live.”

“Of course you can’t, and you’re not going to. When I’m finished, your husband will regret the day he slept with anyone.”

“Then I can’t wait till this is over.”

“It won’t happen overnight, but you’ll be satisfied in the end.”

“I appreciate all your help, Taylor. Especially since I can’t pay you up front.”

“It’s no problem at all. Thomas is going to compensate both of us eventually and I certainly don’t mind waiting.”

“I just hope he doesn’t become violent. He never has in the past, but I’m not sure what’ll happen once he realizes all the money he has to give up.”

“Well, if he does, we’ll slap an order of protection against him. We’ll do whatever we have to to keep you safe.”

“Maybe I’m just being paranoid.”

“Cautious is a better word, and there’s nothing wrong with being that way.”

“Like I said, I’ll be glad when this is over.”

“Believe me, I understand.”

“Oh well, I’ll hang up now, but I’ll call you if anything develops.”

“Please do. And you take care.”

It was almost a shame, but for as long as I’d been practicing, I’d always found satisfaction in punishing men who messed around on their wives. There was something so liberating about bringing them to their knees and then making them surrender part of their assets. I was sure it had to do with my college boyfriend proclaiming his love for me and then sneaking around with one of my sorority sisters. I remember how he hadn’t even denied my accusation. He’d acted as though he was well within his rights and that I should simply accept and get over it. It was the reason I hadn’t truly trusted another man until I’d gotten to know Cameron.

I made a few more phone calls and dictated a few letters for my administrative assistant. It was only two o’clock, but I’d cleared my calendar for the rest of the afternoon. I’d decided yesterday to cook dinner for Cameron. I didn’t do it very often, but I was starting to feel like we needed an entire evening with just the two of us. I wanted to have dinner, make love, and then talk about our future plans together. Quite obviously, the making-love part would be special because it had been over a week for us.

As I packed a few items in my briefcase, I heard a knock on my door.

“Come in,” I said, and sighed when I saw that it was Skyler.

“Going somewhere?” he said.

“Why?”

“Because your secretary told me that you were leaving early.”

“And?”

“You were just gone three days last week.”

“So,” I said, and looked away from him.

“So? Well, in case you haven’t realized, we have responsibilities around here.”

“Oh please, Skyler. My work is always done when it needs to be and I work more than enough overtime to make up for taking off the rest of the afternoon. The
real
partners aren’t complaining, so why are you?”

“You know, I’ve just about had it with you snubbing my position of authority.”

I looked at him and laughed. “You are such a whiner and the sad part is that I don’t even think you realize it.”

“What’s going on with the Harris case?” he said, ignoring my comment.

“I just got off the phone with her and everything is fine. With the PI report, we’re home free.”

“I hear her husband just retained John Wilcox.”

“And?”

Now Skyler was laughing. There was no doubt that he wanted us to win the case, but there was a part of him that wanted John to clobber me. He had seen me lose a few small cases, but never any major ones, and he longed for it. He needed it to happen so he could feel better about himself.

“You don’t have a chance in hell,” he said.

“Whatever you say.”

“I’ll be happy to take over the case if you want.”

“No, that’s okay. I’ll take my chances.”

“And it’s a mistake, too.”

“Oh well.”

“First, you conveniently get out of handling the case against your father’s employer, then you take on a case you can’t win, and now you’re leaving early.”

“And I won’t be here in the morning either,” I said matter-of-factly.

“And why is that?”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but I have a doctor’s appointment.”

“Yeah, right.”

“Are you saying that I’m lying?”

“I don’t know if you are or not.”

“Okay, Skyler, I’ve had enough and I’d like you to leave.”

“You know what your problem is, don’t you?” he said, heading toward the door and then looking back at me. “You need a man.”

“I already have one, remember?”

“I’m talking about a real one.”

“He is real. As a matter of fact, he’s more of a man than you’ll ever be.”

“Then why are you always so uptight?”

“Because you bring out the worst in me. You’re always trying to question my ability.”

“I do it because you don’t respect me.”

“I respect those who deserve to be respected.”

“See, that’s what I’m talking about. You think you’re so much, and I get sick of you walking around here all high and mighty.”

“Skyler, please go. And for the record, the next time you come into my office trying to hassle me, I’m going to the senior partners.”

“Oh, so now you’re planning to tattle. I knew you weren’t as strong as you pretend to be.”

“If you keep pushing me, I’ll go see them now.”

“I’ve got a better idea. Why don’t you go work at another firm?”

“I wouldn’t give you the satisfaction—not personally or professionally.”

“You know what, Taylor…I’m sure you wouldn’t. Especially not personally.”

Skyler stared at me in a strange way and then walked out. And I couldn’t even say he was angry because that’s not what I was sensing. If I hadn’t known better, I would have sworn his feelings were hurt. But I knew my thinking was ludicrous. I knew I’d read his facial expression incorrectly and that I’d taken his words out of context—specifically the word
personally
.

I knew that Skyler and I detested each other and that’s all that really mattered.

I couldn’t believe it was already five and I was just now walking through the doorway. I’d stopped at the grocery store on the way home and picked up four salmon fillets, two bunches of spinach, and a bag of red potatoes. This was Cameron’s favorite meal and he loved when I made it for him. I had to admit that I loved salmon, too, and I usually had it at least four times a month.

I unpacked everything I’d purchased, put it away, and then went into my bedroom. It wouldn’t take long to bake the salmon, sauté the spinach or boil the potatoes, so I decided to take my shower beforehand. I thought about calling Whitney to see how her dieting had gone this afternoon, but since I’d already spoken to her this morning and she’d seemed fine, I didn’t. She was still very much into her new man and I could tell he was helping her motivation.

I also considered calling Charisse. After chatting with Marvin last evening, I was sort of concerned about her well-being. It was true that I didn’t see anything wrong with her, but I couldn’t dismiss the claims Marvin was making. Not when he had lived in the same house with her for all these years. But I decided that maybe I would call her tomorrow instead.

After giving myself a mini-facial, taking a long, hot, steamy shower, and drying my body, I smoothed oil across my skin. Then I pulled a black pants set from my walk-in closet and laid it across my bed. It wasn’t overly dressy, but it was nice enough to wear for dinner and it was always comfortable.

I slipped on a velour sweat suit and went back into the kitchen. First, I poured water into a medium-sized pot for the potatoes and then ignited one of the eyes on top of the stove. Then I preheated the oven, took out an oblong glass dish, and brushed the inside with a touch of olive oil. I took the salmon back out of the refrigerator, rinsed it, seasoned it, placed it in the dish, and then covered it with aluminum foil. Next, I removed the potatoes from the bag, washed them thoroughly, and set them in a bowl.

I waited for the oven to register at the proper temperature and the water to come to a boil. In the meantime, I opened a few pieces of mail and flipped through a magazine.

About an hour later, everything was ready, so I went back into the bedroom, reapplied my makeup and got dressed. Just as I finished, the doorbell rang. I was glad Cameron was on time.

I walked through the living room and opened the door.

“Hi, baby,” he said, kissing me.

“Hey,” I said.

“The food smells good.”

“Thanks. So, how was your day?”

“Busy.”

“Did you have a lot of meetings?”

“Yeah. We met with the City again and then two of our other clients,” he said, removing his shoes and laying his pinstriped blazer across the sofa. His tie came off next. Cameron always made himself at home and that gave me a warm feeling. The only thing was, I wished we could make our home together.

“But that’s a good thing, though, isn’t it?” I said.

“Actually, it is. I can’t say for sure, but I have a feeling we’re going to get the contract.”

“That’s really good news.”

“So, my dear,” he said, walking toward the dining room, “what are we having?”

“Guess.”

“My favorite?”

“Yep.”

“Well, I’m ready for it.”

I had already set the table with silver-trimmed china, cloth napkins, and crystal flutes, so now I brought over the food. Cameron poured us each a glass of Chardonnay and I sat down to join him. Neither of us wasted any time digging in.

“Everything is great,” he said after sampling all that I had prepared for him.

“Thanks.”

“So, how are your parents doing?” he asked.

“They’re fine. I spoke to them yesterday. Daddy is still unhappy with his job, but other than that, they’re good.”

“You’ll have to tell them I asked about them.”

I wanted to ask Cameron about his folks, too, but lately he hadn’t spoken to them all that much, not after they’d loaned his brother twenty thousand dollars to start a business. Cameron was angry because they hadn’t done the same for him when he’d called on them two years ago. I wasn’t sure what the reason had been exactly, but it was something about his brother’s deli franchise being more of a sure thing than Cameron’s architectural firm. I tended to side with Cameron, though, because I knew he was going to be successful and because I believed his parents should have supported both of their sons equally. Especially since Cameron was already in a position to pay them back and his brother clearly wasn’t. But I didn’t dare bring it up.

We made small talk, and when we finished eating, Cameron asked me to come over to him. I did and he pulled me onto his lap in a straddling position.

“Thank you,” he said.

“For what?”

“Fixing me dinner.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it and there’s dessert in the fridge.”

“Really? What kind?”

“Strawberry cheesecake.”

“I guess that sounds pretty good, but I was thinking of having something else.”

“Is that right?”

“Yeah, and you know what, too.”

“Maybe we should let our food digest,” I teased him.

“I don’t think so,” he said, pulling my face toward his.

We kissed and chills spiraled through my veins. After all this time, Cameron still had this effect on me. I loved him so much that it was scary. I was so afraid that one day I would wake up and our relationship would be over. I worried that he might decide I wasn’t the woman for him.

Cameron unbuttoned my top, I caressed his face, and we never took our eyes off of each other. He kissed my chest and then my lips again. We kissed for a while and then he unsnapped the front closure of my bra. He took both my breasts in his hands and I dropped my head backward. Then he took them into his mouth, one by one. He alternated between them, almost as if he couldn’t decide which one he enjoyed more, and I wanted to scream. I wanted to tell him to stop what he was doing before I disturbed my neighbors.

“Tell me you love me,” he said.

“I love you, baby.”

We kissed again and Cameron asked me to stand up. We kissed like wild animals and then we removed all of our clothing. We dropped every stitch to the floor and he led me into the bedroom. He lay on his back and I knew what he wanted.