Unbound: The Pentagon Group, Book 2 (7 page)

“Are these medical records?” She took the envelope.

“No. I’m just returning his property. Thank you.”

Before I turned to leave, she asked, “Is there a message I should attach to this?”

“No. He’ll know who it’s from once he opens the package.” I smiled and turned away.

A woman’s voice called out to me. “Perla, wait.” I turned around and saw Annie, Matt’s nurse. I stopped and waited for her to approach me. “Hi, Perla.” She said with a sigh, which alerted me to her knowledge of our break up. “How are you?”

“Hi, Annie. I’m fine.” She looked into my eyes and nodded.

“Did you want to see Matt?” She asked tentatively.

“No. I just came by to drop something off, and I’ll be on my way.” I stepped to turn, but was stopped when she spoke.

“I was really sad to hear you two have hit a rough patch.” Her statement was the understatement of the year, but I didn’t want to quibble with her. I smiled.

“Thank you, Annie. Take care of him for me.” I touched her shoulder, and she pulled me in for a hug.

“You two will be fine. You can get through this. The kind of love you two have will overcome any problems and join together to fix this.” She pulled away and started gesturing for emphasis, “I don’t understand. Just a couple of weeks ago he was talking about proposing, and then Friday he shows up to work looking a wreck and says he caused you two to break up. He didn’t cheat did he? Because he planned to take you up to Maine and propose on your birthday after you meet his parents.” Her revelation sent my mind reeling. I felt nauseas and dizzy, and I needed fresh air.

“Annie, I have to go to work. I dropped off something for Matt. Please make sure he gets it. Thank you.” I gave her another hug and pulled away, running out of the office to the elevators. Annie couldn’t have possibly heard him right. Why would he take the ruse so far as to tell his staff he was going to propose? She was so specific about time and place she couldn’t have been mistaken.

As I walked toward Duration, my anxiety lessened with the physical activity. The walk gave me time to think about all of this. Everyone told me Matt may have had ulterior motives for starting a relationship with me, but he’d fallen in love with me. ‘Was it enough to change my opinion of him?’ He had every opportunity within the acquisition of Liberty Inn to break up with me, but he didn’t. He didn’t know Pentagon’s acquisition of Parisi was the impetus for my divorce. He was surprised when I revealed my ex-husband demanded I agree to pay back over one hundred thousand dollars, which he’d wrongfully accused me of embezzling.

I stopped before I entered Duration’s building, which I had been avoiding for days. I feared I couldn’t keep my emotions together and be the professional woman I worked so hard to be. I sat down on the granite planter bench to take a deep breath while admiring the beautiful flowers and leafy plants bursting with color.

My phone rang. I didn’t recognize the number and took a chance in answering.

“Hello.” I answered with apprehension.

“Hello. Is this Perla Mercurio?” The male caller asked.

“Who’s calling?” I asked gruffly.

“This is Kevin Zipperer.” Matt’s best friend identified himself. I took a deep breath.

“Attorney Zipperer, what can I do for you?” I asked firmly.

“Perla, Call me Kevin or Zipper. I’m sorry about your recent discovery, and worse, how it’s impacted your relationship with Matt. He really does love you and . . .”

“Attorney Zipperer, not even an attorney would be able to convince me to give Matt another chance. You’re wasting your time. Good . . .”

“Wait. Perla, don’t hang up. Please.” He pleaded. “I’d like to meet with you. There are some things I’d like to discuss about what happened and hope you can come to my office at noon.” I smirked and huffed loudly.

“Attorney Zipperer, I have absolutely zero business with you or anyone from Pentagon. Please do not call my number. As an attorney, you understand the term ‘harassment’, right?” Without giving him an opportunity to answer, I continued.

“There’s nothing to discuss. I’m done with all of you at Pentagon. If you think I’ll sue or bring the authorities into this matter, you can be assured I have no interest in spending another second of my life on this issue. If I were you, I’d advise Matt to leave me alone, or I will be forced to report everything to the media about how a prominent doctor seduced an innocent, hardworking woman to obtain information to purchase property for the new Pentagon project. I just want to be left the hell alone and I never want to set eyes or ears on any of you people ever again.” I hung up the phone and proceeded to block his number, cursing the day I ever heard of the Pentagon group.

I felt searing pain in my chest. I didn’t want to be nasty. I never liked that side of myself. It took me years to curb my hellcat personality. When I cooled off, I walked into work to start my day.

I went through the morning half of my shift like an automaton. I hated being at Duration Fitness. I was sad, angry, and bored. I had a bunch of pent up energy, which needed to be expended. I decided it was time to get back into consistent exercise. There was no way I would allow myself to gain the weight I’d lost by sitting still, thinking about my woes, and eating my frustration away.

When I had enough of sitting behind the desk, twiddling my thumbs, I got up to go to the locker room to change. I was going to do a thirty minute workout. The fitness area was quiet on a mid-Monday morning. I felt like a teen sneaking out of the house without permission. I closed the door, which locked itself behind me. After taking a few steps away from the office, I heard my name called by a woman. I knew it wasn’t Chelsea or any of my colleagues. Before turning, I put my ‘customer service’ face on, and saw Stella Keene Fanning, Matt’s younger sister walking toward me. She smiled warmly at me when our eyes met.

“Hi, Perla.” She said with a sigh and a sad tone of sympathy in her voice.

“Stella. What a surprise.” I responded. ‘I can’t believe he fucking sent his baby sister to plead his case.’ I thought.

“Can we speak privately?” She asked. I was not in the mood to speak to anyone associated with Matt, but I wasn’t going to be rude to her. Stella was kind to me when I attended a special dinner she cooked for me and Matt. Her family was gracious and loving. Matt’s niece, Leona, was the most beautiful little girl I’d ever seen. I could be a royal bitch, but I wasn’t going to bring out my claws with her.

“Yes.” I returned to the sales office and unlocked the door. Stella followed me in. I offered her a seat and sat in my chair. “I take it you’re not here for a membership, so I’ll save my spiel.” I gave her a soft smile and asked, “What can I do for you?”

“First, let me say how sorry I am about your break up.” She leaned in and spoke in a gentle tone.

“Did Matt tell you the entire story?” I interrupted, needing to know how much she knew.

“Yes. I made him tell me everything. At least, I think he told me everything; from Parisi to Liberty Inn.” I nodded. Her lips pursed grimly.

“Then you must understand I can’t continue to be in a relationship with someone who was involved in a scheme set to destroy my life.” I said evenly. I didn’t want to argue with her. She made an effort to personally reach out to me.

“I hope you can try.” Her smile was warm and her eyes bright. I admired her dedication and support for her brother. However, I also wondered what kind of woman would ask another woman to reward a man’s betrayal.

“I’m too angry to try, Stella. I’m hurt and humiliated. To put it in perspective, despite being accused by my husband of many years of embezzling from the family business, throwing me out of my home with only my clothes, and leaving me with a massive amount of debt, I wasn’t as hurt, humiliated or angry with him as I am with Matt.” I answered coldly. Stella leaned back and looked down at her hands, obviously disappointed in my response.

“He does love you, you know. When he visited me, before traveling to Spain, he told me about you. I could tell by his smile, the sound of his voice, and how he spoke about you, you’re special. He didn’t have to use the actual ‘L’ word for us to know you are the one.” She said.

“Does he know you’re here?” I asked, wondering if he sent her.

“No.” She replied emphatically. “Matt has never included the family in his romantic life. This is all new to us. He’s only brought two women home.” She revealed.

“From early on, my parents could tell Matt was different than other boys. He was super smart and slightly socially awkward. He’d sit back and watch the world go by, observing things and people. He’s still quiet, but when he’s comfortable with a person, he’s so engaging and funny. Girls flocked to him since he was a boy. He’d always been handsome, tall and strong. I remember all my friends in middle school had a massive crush on him, but he was never interested. He’d completely ignore every girl who showed even a hint of interest, and forget about the girls who were aggressive. He didn’t talk about having a crush on a girl or having a girlfriend while in school. I actually thought he was gay. He had so many guy friends and they were all hot and smart. In boarding school he was inseparable from his guy friends, whom you’ve met.” She disclosed. I became uncomfortable at the mere mention of the Pentagon men. I could testify Matt was definitely not gay.

“Our parents resigned themselves to the fact that Matt was just hyper focused. He excelled at school. When it was time to go to prep school at fifteen, he tested high in his placements. He’d always said he was working to be a doctor. He was a genius with numbers. He could calculate equations in his head, solved logical problems within seconds, and science was a hobby. Matt came in handy when he and the boys created Pentagon, which we didn’t learn about until they were in college. Matt was the numbers guy. He made investment decisions based on stock trends and company histories he'd memorized. Matt later told me it was ‘fun’ to figure out how stocks worked. But it wasn’t just for fun, because he immersed himself in the business of trading. At sixteen, he could out trade the most seasoned broker. For brokers, it’s a lifetime commitment. To him, it was like working the Sunday crossword puzzle.” She recounted.

“To our parents, he was no different than a gambler going to the casino daily. The way I see it now, he was trying to keep his friends, buying their friendship with this high stakes endeavor. They became like a ‘white collar’ gang of sorts. They were rich boys making money for sport, but were essentially gambling. However, Matt rarely lost money for the group, and when he did, it was a variable in his game, which kept him challenged. Mistakes led to even bigger gains because he learned from each mistake, shifting his strategy.” Insight into Matt's role at Pentagon was enlightening. I thought Matt was just a silent decision maker and the other men were the major contenders in the corporation. Matt had an active role at Pentagon from the very beginning, and one could say it was because of him Pentagon ever existed.

“Our parents figured he would be interested in dating while in school. I heard stories of girlfriends while at boarding school. A couple of years later, when I enrolled at the school before his last year, I learned it was more like crushes following him, and he took advantage of girls throwing themselves at him. I was grossed out to think he was having sex with all these girls, so I never allowed myself to know more than I’d already learned. But I never met a girlfriend. When he was in college he brought home one girl. I can’t even tell you her name. She was nice and sweet, and clearly in love with him. But he wasn’t as into her as the situation called for. She followed after him like a kitten while he hung out with his buddies and their girlfriends.” She reminisced. I let her divulge more details about Matt's past, which I wouldn’t otherwise have a chance to learn.

“About five years ago, he brought home the second woman ever to meet our family; Sonia. He never spoke of her. When we met her, we were surprised he was even seriously dating someone. We didn’t know what to think of her. It wasn’t like we knew what his type was, but we knew she couldn’t be it. The next time we saw them, probably a few months later, she had a really large diamond on her finger. He hadn’t even told us he was going to marry her. My parents and I thought he was rushing into marriage, which was our fault. We’d pressured him. All of us would tell him an established doctor needed to start thinking about settling down and having children. Because of the pressure, Matt believed it was the right thing to do for a thirty-year old doctor. I’d gotten married when I graduated college. Our parents have been married thirty-six years. Why not him? Why not then?” She clapped her hands in resignation.

“Here was this rich, handsome, well-educated, renowned surgeon who was single. And he was lonely. He may have had a lot of women come and go, which he never brought home to us, but he was not fulfilled . . . until you. When he divorced Sonia, it wasn’t a shock. It was a relief. She used him, cheated on him, tried to contest the prenup towards the end. We learned all of it during their separation. He was generous when they parted. The odd thing we realized, Matt didn’t seem sad about it. What we saw was ‘relief’. Craig and I were finally pregnant and he was even more resolute in divorcing because he didn’t want to have a family with her. Once he decided, he never looked back.”

“When I had Leona, he seemed to have relinquished the idea of being a husband and father. We tried to get him to not give up on his hopes of having a family. I would try to set him up on dates. Our cousins would set him up with women, both here in the U.S. and in Spain, and nothing. We stopped pushing. Well, everyone else stopped pushing. I couldn’t help but want to see him as a husband and father. I see him with Leona, so much like Craig in his love for her. When I saw him with you, for the first time I saw him with a woman he loved; the only woman he’s loved. The way he looked at you, watched you as you spoke, touched your hand. You probably never reflected on how you two look at each other. I watched you while you were in the garden. It was dark, of course, but you both seemed to glow. I couldn’t ignore how he wouldn't leave you alone for any lengthy period of time. And I know he was touching you under the table too.” She smiled. My lip curled upwards at the memory of his caresses.

“It was the experience our parents and I wanted to see throughout his maturation. When he called me on Thursday, It was the first time I’d ever heard him in a panic. Matt doesn’t do panic or anxiety . . . or fear. As a surgeon, it’s the most important quality to have, and Matt has it a thousand fold. He was afraid, Perla. He was afraid he’d lost you forever. He told me he wants to marry you, and he sees you as the mother of his children.” I squirmed in my seat.

“Stella, I’m not comfortable with this. I appreciate your efforts and taking the time to support your brother, but . . .”

“I need you to give him another chance. You have to see this is all new to him. Having a woman like you is all he ever wanted and needed, but didn’t know it until he met you. His method of getting you to love him was unconscionable and unconventional, but I’m convinced he did so because he just didn’t know how to get you to stay. Having loveless sex with random women didn’t teach him how to love and keep a woman. When you really look deep within and realize that about Matt, you must forgive him. You must accept the love from him because you deserve to be loved too. You’re destined to be with one another. Once you do take him back, I guarantee you, you’ll never regret it.” A tear streamed from my eye. I wiped it roughly and quickly away hoping she hadn’t seen. The last thing I needed was to cry at work.

“Stella, I know you love your brother very much. I know to you he’s a good man. I learned so much more about him from you just now than I have in the short time he and I were together, but I can’t just go back. I need time. If he doesn’t have enough experience with women to know a heartbroken woman needs time, then I just have to be the one to teach him . . . If you’ll excuse me, I’m at work. As it is, I’ve taken too much time away from work because of Matt.” I concluded. Stella nodded. She stood up, reached into her purse and pulled out a business card. She grabbed a pen from the cup and wrote numbers on the back.

“If you ever want to talk or check in, please call me anytime. I’m here for you.” She handed over the card. I retrieved it, pulling it into the palm of my hand. “Can I give you a hug?” She asked. I stood, walked over to her, and leaned in for a hug. She hugged me tightly and said, “I’m sorry.” I wondered what she was truly sorry for when she answered. “I would’ve really liked to have you as my sister. We have a lot in common. We both like bossing Matt around.” She winked and we gently laughed. I had no kind words to offer in return, but gave her a small smile and a single curt nod. Stella released me and walked toward the door. “Anything, remember.” She pointed at the card in my hand.

I reflected on all Stella had revealed. She laid out Matt’s entire life and relationships and I set out to decipher the pieces of the story. A light bulb went off, illuminating the concerns I’d had from the beginning of our relationship. Matt pursued me so aggressively. He asked me to move in a few days after sleeping together. He was extremely protective and possessive. I found it odd that a rich, handsome doctor had fallen so hard so fast for me. When I found out about his role with Pentagon, I thought he was aggressive because he was on a mission to gain information from me for Pentagon. When I’d argued with him about the truth, I learned he retrieved from me what Pentagon needed on the second night. The timing of the theft, the length of courtship afterwards, and now the knowledge of Matt’s lack of a committed relationship, added together meant he didn’t know how to pursue and retain a woman he had fallen in love with. Essentially, Matt had fallen in love with me; maybe, I was the only one he’d ever loved. What I was going to do with my conclusion, I didn’t know. I was so miserably angry. I was angry with myself for loving a man who betrayed me so badly. My criterion for breaking up with a man was short, but it hadn’t included corporate espionage.

My evening was uneventful and similar to the rest of my weekend. I ate dinner, went to bed, and read until I fell asleep. I didn’t get to exercise after Stella left my office. I was too numb by her revelation. Part of me was still incredibly disgusted with Matt’s behavior, and the other part wanted to rush to him and hold him. I couldn’t believe I would want to take him in my arms, tell him I loved him, and wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. The mere thought of Matt, whether happy or maddening, created tingles of arousal throughout my body. He had such a hold over my body and heart. I didn’t know how I would survive the separation. Worse, I couldn’t fathom falling in love again. It was too soon to think about loving another man. However, I was plagued by my sister’s term for all three of us, “Hermanas Malditas”; the cursed sisters. We were unlucky in love, and I felt the most unluckiest.