Ribbon of Steele: A Romance of Suspense

Ribbon of Steele

To Jessica

1

There wasn't a chance in hell she was going back. As she stood in the elevator, waiting impatiently for it to reach the lobby eight floors below, Lizzie Fox carelessly brushed her brown hair out of her eyes and picked up her bag. "What an asshole," she said out loud. Taking short breaths and exhaling forcibly, she held back her tears.

When she reached the lobby, the dinge of the apartment and her situation began to soak in. She had no prospects, no place to live, and apparently her fiancé Sam had forgotten how to keep it in his pants. As she reached the street, her phone rang. "What," she yelled as she dug for her phone.

She glanced at the caller ID. Above a picture of a girl in her underwear posing as a rockstar was the name "Nicole." She smiled. Nicole and Lizzie had been roommates for most of college, and she was the extrovert that Lizzie wanted to see in herself. She hadn't spoken to Nicole in weeks, and yet she had picked the perfect time to call.

"Hey Nic," Lizzie said brushing her hair back.

"Whoh, What the fuck. You sound like shit. Are you ok?", Nicole replied.

Lizzie managed a small smile knowing that everyone who was around Nicole must be staring a her.

"Just some really bad news. You wouldn't believe me, Nic. Meet me to get a latte, I'll tell you the whole story."

* * *

The day had turned rainy as Lizzie walked int
o
The Awoken Bage
l
coffee shop. She shook off her coat and fell into an overstuffed leather chair close to the window. As she waited for Nicole, she could feel her hands shaking and her body quiver from the cold of the late summer chill. She ignored a single raindrop as it cascaded the length of her long tan leg, and instead aimlessly watched the raindrops tick on the coffee shop windows. She pulled her cardigan sweater closed across her chest and closed her eyes.

So much had changed since college. She had moved to the city on a whim. Sam and Nicole had both insisted, and she had ultimately moved here for Sam. They both quickly discovered that life after college was very different. Being in love as a student had been much easier. She thought of their favorite pastime of skipping class to make love in the afternoon. They had dated their last two years of college after being the only two students selected for an independent project. It had been a really big deal at the time. The project involved designing and building a museum in the Catskill Mountains, and Lizzie had been selected as a student design intern. Sam had been selected as an engineering intern.

Life seemed so difficult as they labored on the project their senior year. It was complicated, sophisticated and fun. She loved it.

As she listened to the rain on the coffee shop window, she thought about how hard life had become following graduation. Sam had taken a job at an engineering firm, and she was making ends meet at a small furniture store. It wasn't perfect, but it was a start. She winced at the thought of Sam making love to someone else.

The jingling door chimes made her eyes instinctively open. Nicole closed the door and removed her hood to reveal her pin straight blonde hair. Lizzie smiled. Even coming from the rain, Nicole looked perfectly put together with her tea length skirt and matching shoes.

Seeing her walk in, the barista immediately stopped making the three orders ahead of her and prepared her order first. Nicole grabbed the two mugs, and perched herself in the chair next to Lizzy.

"Why does the coffee guy kiss your ass like that?", Lizzie asked.

"He likes my tits," Nicole said pushing out her chest.

"Nice," Lizzie said with a smile.

"Alright, spill it," Nicole said as she took a careful sip from her oversized mug.

"My fiancé is a cheating prick," said Lizzie.

"Wow. OK. Holy shit. I wasn't expecting that," Nicole responded. "What the fuck happened?", she asked.

"I was making the bed and found a pair of her underwear," said Lizzie, turning her head to watch the rain tap the window.

"Oh my god. What did you do? Did you call everything off?", Nicole asked as she twisted her blue eyes into a grimace. "What did he say?"

"He admitted it. Then, he said he needed room and doesn't want to be tied down," Lizzie said as she brushed her hair back and took her first sip of latte.

"Do you know what pisses me off the most, Nic?", Lizzie asked as she rested her latte in the saucer.

Nicole raised an eyebrow.

"Even when he was completely in the wrong, he didn't let me talk. He talked over me, yelled, and got pissed like the whole thing was my fault," said Lizzie as she looked at the floor. "I don't think he ever listened to me."

"You need to grow a set," said Nicole forcefully. "I'm sorry, I know you just broke up and you know I love you, but you need to grow some fucking confidence girlfriend." Nicole paused and Lizzie broke into a smile. She couldn't help being a little happy at how angry Nicole was.

"Seriously Lizzie, he has no defense at all. That's lame. It would have been nice of him to share his opinions before he asked you to marry him and then put his dick where it doesn't belong. So what's your next move?", asked Nicole.

"I moved out," said Lizzie as she tightened her lips and looked away.

"Sorry, the answer we were looking for was chop off his balls. I would have gone ape shit," said Nicole smashing her fist into the palm of her hand. "Whatever, you're coming to live with me. It's way better than his shithole apartment anyway. That place smells like the fucking subway."

Seeing Nicole so pissed off made her smile. A small laugh escaped from her lips. Living with her again would be fun and she had hoped Nicole would offer it. Lizzie gazed out the window. The rain was still coming down hard, and she took another sip of latte.

"Here's the key," Nicole said reaching her arm across the table after fiddling with her keychain. Lizzie accepted it with a small smile.

"I'm sorry Lizzie. I've got a meeting with that finance troll I told you about, but I'll see you later on. TGIF, right? Make yourself at home," said Nicole.

She stood up and pulled her coat on. "Don't answer his calls either. You know he's going to fucking try to patch this up when his head comes out of his ass."

Nicole gave her sleeves a shake to remove the rain, and gave Lizzie a quick hug before hurrying out of the coffee shop.

Lizzie watched as Nicole quickly hailed a cab and sped away
.
I think she would have cut his balls off. I should be the one saying stuff like that
.
She glanced down at the key in her hand
.
Well, it's just you and me
.
She slipped the key into her pocket, put on her coat, and pulled the hood over her head. Tightening her grip on her bag, she stepped out into the cool rain.

2

Lizzie was totally drenched when she reached Nicole's apartment. On her way into the building, the doorman had stopped her and she was forced to explain and show the key before he would let her up. She turned the key in the door and walked inside.

Nicole's apartment was warm and smelled like dryer sheets. From the entryway, Lizzie could see the first evening lights of the city through the living room window. She took off her coat and shoes and walked through the living room. Nicole's couch barely held the weight of a mountain of unfolded laundry. Lizzie smiled. From the outside, Nicole was sophisticated, sexy, and refined as hell. In real life, she lived in a world of unfolded laundry on the couch, rumpled sheets, and unwashed cereal bowls in the sink. She walked down a small hallway, dropped her bag in the small guest bedroom, and entered the attached bath. The cool tile under her feet sent a chill through her legs, and she instinctively curled the arches of her small feet. Reaching inside the shower, she turned on on the hot water.

She pulled her wet shirt over her head, unhooked her bra, and removed her jeans and underwear.  Running her fingers through her damp hair, she caught her reflection in the full length bathroom mirror. Her eyes looked puffy and tired, and the rain had made her hair flat and messy. She pulled the curtain open, and stepped into the warm shower.

She let the water beat firmly on her chest, cupping her left breast gently in the palm of her hand.  A wave of comfort spread over her as she felt the warmth from the shower slowly radiate throughout her body.

She thought of Sam. They had spent an entire week taking showers together when they went to Hilton Head for spring break. His touch had been extremely gentle and deliberate, but he was the biggest klutz Lizzie had ever met. She had laughed when he got soap in his eyes and fell backwards out of the shower on his ass.

She felt the tears streaming down her face as she stepped out of the warm water. She wrapped a towel under her arms and stepped out of the bathroom. The heat and pressure of her eyes burned as she walked out of the warmth of the bathroom. She suddenly felt very tired. Unable to sleep naked, she dug in her bag for her T-shirt and sweatpants. Pulling them on, she slid under the sheets of the guest bed and fell quickly to sleep.

3

Robert Wickes hung up the phone, placed both of his palms flat on his desk, and slowly rose. He pushed firmly on the intercom button on his desk phone.

"Mr. Anderson, could you come in here please?"

"Yes, Mr. Wickes," replied a voice from over the intercom.

Wickes loosened his tie and walked over to the window, stopping to pour himself a single malt scotch. He took a guzzle of scotch, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. The smoky peat flavor of the alcohol caused him to wince. He looked down at the city. In this weather, the skyline almost looked black. Far below, he could see the lights of rush hour traffic. The cars looked like ants scrambling to leave the city.

The large door to the office swung open, and a short man in black rimmed glasses filed briskly into the office, closing the door behind him. His suit was rumpled and it looked like he had been sleeping under his desk for the better part of a week.

"Take a seat Mr. Anderson," said Wickes.

Anderson quickly sat on the leather couch.

"Not there. There," said Wickes. He pointed to his own chair behind the huge mahogany desk without removing his eyes from the window.

Anderson looked confused. He slowly rose and walked towards the desk. Circling behind it, he paused and tried to make eye contact before slowly lowering himself into the leather chair.

"Good," said Wickes pausing for a moment. "Mr. Anderson, do you run this company?"

"No sir," said Anderson, unsure of where this line of questioning was going.

"I thought not. That's pretty interesting," said Wickes. "I just got off the phone with Mackenzie Steele's people. Do you know what they just told me? They said they are thrilled that you invited him to come to our little party next weekend. Did I not tell you people that all communication with Steele should be forwarded directly to me? Did I not make myself abundantly clear on that point, Mr. Anderson?"

"You did sir," said Anderson, clearly uncomfortable with his seating arrangement.

Wickes walked to the front of the desk and looked directly at Anderson for the first time. The sweat on his head was beading and Anderson could see he was coming unglued. When he spoke again, it was in a quiet and determined tone.

"Then what the hell. Why the fuck was he invited?", asked Wickes. Before Anderson could respond, Wickes spoke again.

"Mackenzie fucking Steele," he said as he shook his head. "I hate that little prick. You better fix this. You better roll out the red fucking carpet, Anderson. Now get your ass out of of my fucking chair and get to work."

Anderson rose quickly and walked briskly out of the office, taking a deep breath on the other side of the door. He hurried back to his office, picked up the phone, and quickly dialed.

"Nicole, I have a slight problem. I need your help."