Power Play: A Novel (11 page)

“I don’t need to sleep with anyone but you,” he said in a voice filled with emotion. “I’ll be in L.A. tomorrow. We can talk about it then. I just wanted to let you know what would be on the news today, and not to worry about it.” He sounded innocent and reassuring, and very loving.

“Thank you,” she said, but her tone was as confused as she felt. And when she saw it on the noon news an hour later, despite his warnings, she felt sick. The story had the ring of truth to her. And Bonnie called her five minutes later. She had just seen it on the Internet.

“What the hell is going on with Marshall?” Bonnie was stunned.

“Marshall says the woman is crazy, and tried to extort money from him. She’s an employee they fired and she’s pissed about it, so she drummed up a sexual harassment suit to shake the company down for money,” Ashley explained, as Marshall had to her earlier. “They just made a settlement with her, and she’s going to admit her claims were false by the end of the day. I guess it’s what people do to large corporations. They sue, so they can settle and get money.”

“I wonder what that cost them,” Bonnie said cynically, and Ashley didn’t want to concede to her that she didn’t know what to believe and had her doubts about it too. He seemed like he was telling her the truth when he said he had never had an affair with her, but she no longer knew what to believe, or who. Hearing about it on TV had shaken Ashley’s faith in him.

* * *

By two o’clock the check had been drawn up and delivered to Megan Wheeler’s attorney, and she had signed the agreement, of both confidentiality and retraction. And her statement clearing Marshall was released in time to make the five o’clock news. The story had come and gone in a single day. And everyone knew that claims like that were occasionally made against the heads of major corporations, or men in power generally, and were often false. And sometimes true.

The board had asked Marshall to hold a press conference at the end of the day, after her announcement, which he did, with a pained look, wearing a well-cut dark suit, a white shirt, and a sober tie, with Liz standing beside him. He issued a brief statement, expressing his gratitude for the support of UPI, the board, to Ms. Wheeler for ultimately telling the truth and admitting his innocence, and thanking his wife for her support. He smiled at Liz as he said it, and she looked dignified and loving. The camera zoomed in on their clasped hands then, and as Ashley watched them in L.A., she started to cry. Liz looked so peaceful and proud next to him, as though she had no cause for concern whatsoever. He smiled at her as they left the stage, and she followed him off camera. She looked like a confident, respectable woman who was standing by her husband. And as Ashley watched them, she knew what Bonnie would say, and maybe she was right, that he would never leave his wife. It certainly looked that way to her, and she could see the profound respect between them. She sat gulping air as she choked on sobs with a feeling of panic, and suddenly she knew instinctively that he had probably had the affair, UPI had more than likely paid to buy him out of the scandal, and he was far more married to Liz than he had ever admitted to her. She felt as though her whole world were crashing in on her. It all sounded like a lie to her now that she had seen him holding hands with Liz
and the proud, assured look in her eyes. It was obvious that Liz believed her husband, but Ashley no longer did. She knew that in one brief moment, watching Liz stand next to Marshall on TV, her world had come to an end. She would never fully believe him again, or trust what he said about his allegedly dead marriage. It didn’t look dead to her.

Marshall spoke to all of their children on the phone that night and explained the situation to them about the threatened lawsuit, the settlement to avoid it, at UPI’s request, and Megan Wheeler’s admission that her claims against him had been false. Lindsay said it was embarrassing, John offered his sympathy and support, and Tom didn’t believe him, but didn’t want to upset his mother by challenging them and accusing his father of being a liar and a cheat. Marshall could hear it in his tone and curt responses on the phone.

It was all over by seven o’clock that night. Marshall called Connie again to thank her and the board for supporting him, and Connie said that it had been worth it to avoid a scandal for UPI. They had done what they felt was best. And everyone was relieved that it had been resolved so quickly, despite the price.

Marshall went to bed that night, thinking of Ashley, and knowing that he would have to deal with her in L.A. the next day. But the worst was over. And most important, he hadn’t lost his job or been publicly disgraced. He had been vindicated. And Liz lay in bed next to him, looking tired but reassured. She had never wavered for a moment and trusted him completely.

“It has certainly been an insane couple of days,” he said as they lay in the dark, thinking about it again.

“Things like this happen,” Liz said quietly, grateful that it was over and the woman had finally told the truth. It would have been a
lot worse for all of them if she hadn’t. But at no time had Liz doubted him. She was absolutely certain that Marshall was telling her the truth the entire time, and all she had felt was compassion that he had to go through it, and total faith in him.

Marshall felt like he’d had a near-death experience, and knew just how narrowly he had escaped. He closed his eyes then, and with an overwhelming sense of relief, he fell asleep. The nightmare was over, and all he wanted to do now was get back to Ashley, see their babies, and put his arms around her. It had been an agonizing three days. But all was well, and he was safe.

Marshall boarded the UPI jet for the flight to L.A., a day later than usual, still shaken by everything that had happened. He had brought a briefcase full of paperwork with him on the plane, but never touched it. He just sat staring out the window, thinking of Ashley, and trying to force the vision of Megan Wheeler from his mind. It was frightening to realize how easily she could have brought him down, how close she had come to doing so. His name had been cleared, thanks to UPI’s support. He was a chastened man, and was well aware that his brief fling with Megan Wheeler had been a huge mistake. It had all started one night when they both had too much to drink at a client event, met for another drink afterward, and it had snowballed from there. Thank God she had recanted. She could have brought about the end of his career, and his marriage.

When the plane landed in L.A., he didn’t go to his office, and had the car and driver drop him off at his apartment instead. He didn’t bother to change, but picked up the Jaguar and headed for Malibu on Pacific Coast Highway. It was a hot, sunny day, and he had taken
off his coat and tie, and put the top down, and as always drove too fast. He was anxious to see Ashley now, and calm her down, after their unsettling conversation the day before. He had sent her two text messages late that night, and again this morning, and she hadn’t answered.

He parked in front of the garage at the house in Malibu and saw that her car was there. He was relieved that she was home and the kids were at camp. He hadn’t wanted to wait until that night to talk to her. The only thing he was afraid of now was her reaction to the affair he had been accused of. He could tell that she hadn’t believed him, when he said he was innocent of the Wheeler woman’s claims. And the only ones who knew the truth now were Megan herself, Simon Stern, and the board of UPI, and no one would ever mention it again. They had all signed confidentiality agreements, binding them to silence, and she had turned over the negatives of the photographs.

He found Ashley in the studio in a white T-shirt and pink denim shorts. She was holding a mug of tea, and staring blindly out the window, and didn’t hear him come in. She felt his hand on her arm, and knew who it was, but she didn’t turn to see him. She didn’t want to. All she could think of was seeing him with Liz on TV, holding hands. And then slowly, she looked at him, and he could see her beautiful, ravaged face, that showed all the agony she felt.

“Why aren’t you in the office?” she asked in a broken voice. She felt as though her heart had been shattered in a million pieces the day before, first by the affair he’d been accused of, and then by the sight of his holding hands with Liz at the press conference, as she stood staunchly beside him, the loving wife who Ashley always tried to pretend didn’t exist. But she did, and Ashley had seen clearly how
much Liz cared about him, and Marshall’s hand on hers had spoken volumes.

“I wanted to see you,” he said quietly, and pulled up a stool to sit beside her. “I’m sorry I had to call and tell you about the threatened lawsuit yesterday. It upset me too. It’s all over.” His voice was warm and reassuring.

“I know,” she said, as she set the mug of tea down and looked at him. She didn’t know if she was seeing him, or a stranger. Suddenly, he looked different to her. “I saw your press conference last night. How much did they have to pay her to withdraw the suit?”

“Two million dollars,” he said honestly. “It’s an advance on my end-of-the-year bonus. We would have won the suit, but they didn’t want the bad publicity. It was just easier to settle. That’s how those things work. Sometimes you have to settle even false claims. That was what she wanted. I hate giving her a penny for lying about me, but at least it’s over. It would have been a nightmare fighting it in court.” Ashley nodded and said nothing. He didn’t ask her if she believed him. He could see she didn’t.

“So when did you have the affair with her?” Ashley dragged her eyes to his, and they burned into him like hot coals.

“I told you. I didn’t. She got fired, and she was angry about it. She decided to take it out on me. It was a cheap shot, but it worked.”

“I don’t believe you,” Ashley said quietly in a voice he had never heard before. It frightened him to look at her—she looked as though she were a million miles away. He wanted to put his arms around her to bring her back again, but he didn’t dare. She looked like she might bolt, or scream.

“I know you don’t, Ash,” he said just as quietly. “But I didn’t sleep
with her. I don’t even know her.” His mind shut out the letters and the photographs. All he could think of now was Ashley, and the relationship he was trying to save, just as he had fought to save his job the day before, and his marriage, whatever it took.

“You lied to me about Liz too,” she said with heartbroken eyes. “You said your marriage is over, and has been for years.”

“I was telling you the truth about that too. It still is. Our marriage has been dead for years.”

“You were holding her hand on TV. I saw it,” Ashley said as tears rolled down her cheeks, and he gently brushed one away. She didn’t move toward him, nor pull away. She looked like a beautiful statue with soft curly hair. And he didn’t try to explain why he was holding his wife’s hand the day before.

“This was hard on her too. It was public humiliation for all of us. The company, my family, Liz, me, you. That woman hit us all where we live.” He looked angry as he said it. “And I hate that it hurt you too,” he said sympathetically.

“It hurt just as much watching you hold hands with Liz. Your marriage isn’t dead. She looked like all those politicians’ wives who stand next to their husbands while they deny having affairs, or confess publicly and cry about it. And the wife forgives him publicly to make him look good. She loves you. I realized that for the first time yesterday. And you love her. I saw it in your eyes when you looked at her. You’re still totally married to her. That’s why you’ve never left her. You lied to me. It’s not about your kids. It’s about you and her. There’s no room in your life for me.”

“I wouldn’t be here now, Ash, if there weren’t,” he said gently. “I love you and our girls more than anything in the world. And when Lindsay leaves next year, I’ll be ready. And so will Liz. I think she
knows it’s coming. My heart hasn’t been there for years. This was different. It was a highly publicized assault on all of us. We had to make it look good.”

“Your holding hands with Liz looked real to me,” she said, as she got up and walked away and stood staring out the window. Marshall came up behind her and put his arms around her, and she didn’t move.

“It wasn’t real,” he assured her in a whisper. “It was for TV.
This
is real. You and I are real, and we always will be.”

“What about the other woman?” she asked, as he stood behind her with his arms around her waist. Her fluff of curly hair was brushing his chin, and he could smell her shampoo, and the fresh clean smell he loved about her, a combination of soap and faint perfume.

“What about her?” Marshall said, debating what to tell her. There was suddenly a lot at stake here, and he knew it.

“Tell me the truth. Don’t lie to me. I know you slept with her. I can feel it.” She turned and looked him in the eye, and her gaze didn’t waver.

He hesitated for a long moment, and then decided to tell her the truth, a version of it. She didn’t have to know about the photographs, or how long it had lasted. He didn’t want to hurt her any more than he already had, which in his mind justified modifying the truth for her. It was more than he was willing to tell Liz. But the circumstances here were different. Ashley was aware of things Liz didn’t know, that he was unfaithful and didn’t always tell the truth.

“It was a one-night stand, and I was drunk out of my mind. It happened two years ago, when you and I were fighting, and I was upset. That’s all it was, Ash, a one-time fling, and I never saw her again.” There had been a time two years before when Ashley had threatened
to leave him if he wouldn’t get divorced. Then Lindsay had had a crisis, Liz had gotten sick, which turned out to be less serious than they thought, the twins had started school, and Ashley had calmed down. Until now. But by reminding her of the timing, Marshall thought it might make sense to her.

“How do I know you’re telling me the truth?” she said suspiciously, but she remembered the time, and it was conceivable to her that he had slipped, although she never would have done that herself.

“You don’t,” he said candidly. “But you know I love you. That’s why I’m here.”