A Sense of Duty: A Former Navy SEAL Falls in Love and Begins a New Journey with his Private Consulting Company: Dark Horse Guardians (30 page)

Finally, after waiting thirty minutes, Sienna and Robert Townsend entered the conference room. Sienna glared at Ben and sat across the table from him. Townsend sat at the head of the table. "I'm sorry we are late, Ben," the attorney started, "But, Sienna has some misgivings about the divorce agreement…" Ben slumped in the leather chair realizing this was a colossal waste of time and money. He knew another roadblock was coming. The attorney continued, "Sienna feels that she should receive more financial security, as she is not modeling any longer. Actually, she is not able to work at all due to her health issues." Ben listened silently, but he really wanted to put his fist through the wall and leave. Here was this woman sitting before him asking for his blood, sweat and tears because she was killing herself with voluntary starvation. Sienna was committing suicide and blaming it on him. Finally, he asked Robert Townsend to please cut to the chase. "What exactly is it that Sienna thinks she is entitled to?" The answer from the attorney infuriated Ben. "Sienna wants half of the seventeen million you have made as a consultant." Ben felt he might lose control. Sienna had no role in his business and they had been separated ever since William's birth. He saw this as a ruthless demand to purposefully derail the divorce agreement. Ben spoke with carefully chosen words, "I'm sorry Robert, but we had a perfectly good agreement and I came here ready to sign it. What Sienna is requesting is absurd and I will not agree to it, period."

Ben watched as Sienna's face turned crimson. He knew an outburst was coming. She stood and slammed her enormous designer handbag on the table almost hitting Ben with it. She shrieked at him with outrage saying he was cheating on her. She screamed the divorce was Ben's fault. There was a pattern with Sienna's outbursts. They were short lived as she had little energy to sustain them. Exhausted, Sienna suddenly collapsed into her chair and Robert Townsend got her a drink of water. Then the attorney held her hand and asked her to calm down. Ben spoke once more with calm deliberation, "We never had a marriage to begin with. After William was born, Sienna and I rarely saw one another. I was deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan for six years for Christ's sake. The reality is my consulting business is mine, not hers. It came about because I couldn't deal with bullshit any longer, so I decided to go on my own. Sienna never had anything to do with my business." After a pause, Robert Townsend calmly asserted, "However, Ben, you were married to Sienna when you created that business venture, thus she is legally entitled to half of the profit earned." At this, Ben stood up and walked out of the room. He couldn't believe Sienna was taking this route. She didn't need the money. Her family had millions and she was the sole heir. She did this only because it would complicate his life. He felt sick to his stomach as he took a cab to the airport and boarded the plane to return to Maine.

Two hours into the flight Sienna sent him a text message, "I love you, Ben. I can't let you go." Ben closed his eyes. He had been hit with shrapnel in Iraq and enjoyed it more than this. He survived torture and beatings in Afghanistan, but this situation with Sienna gave him more pain. He had to think of a way to shut her down. The first step would be to freeze his assets. If he could not get an agreement with her, he would play hardball. He made a mental note to contact Seamus, his brother in Ireland. He handled his financial stuff and Ben wanted to lock things down.

~Lara~

After
several hours of peace and quiet and homework, Lara heard the Infiniti pull into the driveway and peered through the parlor window. It was Eric and he had a huge floral arrangement in his arms. His text earlier said he was coming the day after tomorrow. What was he doing here now? He rang the buzzer and she ran down the stairs to discuss his spur-of-the-moment visit. "Eric, what are you doing here?" Dressed in a tailored black business suit, Eric handed her the bouquet and smiled, "Surprise, I'm taking you to dinner to celebrate!" Lara was puzzled, "Celebrate
what
, exactly?" Eric said, "I haven't seen you for two weeks and I have a surprise!" Lara smiled, "And, what's the surprise, Eric?" She forced herself to remain calm. Eric continued, "Well, I thought it would be a great idea to surprise you and take you to dinner to celebrate my new job." Smiling, he was still standing on the porch. "I'll wait while you change." Lara was stunned. "Sure." Eric followed her up the stairs. She put the flowers in a vase and offered him a drink. "Would you like a beer or scotch? I have a special bottle here from the holidays." Eric selected the scotch. It was a smooth expensive blend. As Lara held the glass she asked. "How do you like this, on the rocks?" Eric smiled, "Just plain, no ice."

Eric entertained her with his Aruba winter vacation stories. He went with a group of friends and they lost a lot of money at the casino. But they enjoyed swimming at a nude beach. Lara laughed at his description of the wild and crazy vacation. She excused herself to get dressed for dinner. She arrived back in the parlor in a little black dress and slipped on her pink jacket. Lara drove the Fiat to a nearby Italian restaurant and Eric ordered another scotch. Soon Eric was having his third and fourth drink before dinner came to the table. "I'm celebrating my new job in Portland." Eric was getting sloppy and she helped him through the meal. "Where are you working, Eric?" He was slurring his words. "I'm working at a major investment firm…with a big raise and great benefits. They even gave me a signing bonus. Hey, Lara, will you help me renovate the house I just bought?" Lara had no idea what he was talking about. After the meal, she helped Eric into her car and drove home. She checked her phone. She hadn't heard from Ben and was hopeful that the divorce agreement was being signed in Vancouver and she would see him tomorrow.

Lara helped Eric up the creaky staircase. She could not, in good conscience, let him drive tonight. Eric poured himself another scotch. She hoped, at this point, he would not vomit in her parlor. She hid the scotch in the kitchen cabinet because she realized that Eric was going to pass out any minute. She turned on the television and he removed his suit jacket and staggered toward the sofa and plopped down. Within minutes he slumped over, passed out. Lara removed his shoes and covered him with a blanket. She went to bed at midnight. Eric was snoring. Lara left her bedroom door ajar so she would wake up if he stirred on the sofa. Einstein was curled up on the bottom of her bed.

~Ben~

Ben had never been so frustrated in his life. Sienna knew how to push his buttons and he was most angry with himself for allowing her to put him in this state of mind. He tried to relax and forget about the aborted meeting while flying home, but he kept turning it over in his mind. There was one other way to divorce Sienna in Vancouver. According to provincial law, if he could prove her to be unbalanced mentally, he would not need her consent for divorce. It would be a long and contentious court battle, but it may be his only hope. Sienna would lose custody of William. Ben was concerned about how this might affect his son. But more so, he was preoccupied with telling Lara about the disappointing meeting. He knew she would not allow him to be close to her until he was legally divorced. Although this frustrated him, he also had a deep respect for the boundary she set when she discovered he was married. It was one of the reasons he loved her so much. She held steadfast to her principles. She didn't know, however, how much Ben wanted her and just how far he would go to have her. He
lumbered out of the cab at 2:00 AM in front of the pink Victorian and stretched. Ben was exhausted from the long flight to Vancouver, then the lengthy flight home.

~Lara~

Lara was startled by the sound of the cab in the driveway and leaped out of bed. Ben seemed surprised when she met him at the door. She used Einstein as an excuse, "Oh Ben, we need to take Einstein out. I've been sitting here doing homework and he didn't get his usual walk." Ben was preoccupied. Walking with Lara they paused on the porch to allow Einstein to linger in the yard. Walking to his apartment, Ben was engrossed in describing the terrible scene with Sienna. Lara had been so hopeful that the outcome would have been different, especially since she had been communicating with Sienna. Lara had the impression things were getting better, not worse. But more than anything else, she had to keep Ben out of her condo right now, as Eric was in a drunken stupor on her sofa. She focused completely on staying in Ben's condo for a while.

Ben looked fatigued and hungry. He continued talking about his failed meeting with Sienna. His beautiful blue eyes were fraught with anger and frustration. Lara made a salad for him in his kitchen. She listened as he raved about Sienna and her ridiculous demands. He told Lara there was one way to get the divorce and he would take that route now that Sienna had pushed him to it. It made Lara miserable watching him twist in mental anguish this way. She felt helpless. She wracked her brain thinking of how to get him to sleep so she could get Eric out of her apartment without detection.
She had to get Ben to sleep
. An idea came to her. She grabbed a small bottle of olive oil from Ben's kitchen.

Lara took Ben by the hand and led him
into his stately bedroom. She steered him toward the king sized four poster bed. The small bedside lamp bathed the grand room with a soft golden glow. Lara remembered her selection of the furnishings for this unit. Filled with beautiful antiques, this was the type of room where valets dressed wealthy men a hundred years ago. And, now Lara was about to undress a handsome Navy SEAL Lieutenant in this room. As Lara faced Ben he looked exhausted and perplexed. She unbuttoned his shirt slowly and Ben smiled, his dimples appeared. His blue eyes met hers. "Whatever you have in mind, I am all for it." His smile was full of mischief. He enjoyed the long minute it took her to finish removing his shirt. "This is what you need." She unbuttoned and unzipped his pants and pushed them down to the floor. "Yes, this is
exactly
what I need." he happily replied. Ben was now standing before her wearing his boxer shorts. He suddenly looked like a tired little boy. "Let me take care of this." Lara said as she pushed him gently face down upon the bed. Ben was laughing, "Hey, I like this idea…"

As she started massaging his neck, she was mesmerized with the form and fitness of his shoulders, back and legs. The muscles that made up his neck and back were perfect in symmetry and proportion. Lara heard him laugh and she slapped his rear as she straddled him. His six
-foot two frame had elongated musculature, a swimmer's body, a SEAL body. As she started applying the olive oil to his back, he did not resist. She could not help but notice Ben was covered with scars on his back, too. His back and arms were littered with wounds ranging from burns to knife and shrapnel injuries. The burn wounds had been debrided then healed leaving hideous patches of mangled flesh. Lara knew she could never comprehend the horrendous things that had been done to his body to produce such scars. She had a powerful longing to kiss each one. Instead she focused on using her hands to smooth his muscles into compliance, gently kneading each section of his neck and back until she felt the tension subside. She felt him exhale. His eyes closed and he relaxed. Soon he was asleep. That was her goal. She covered Ben with the blanket and kissed his forehead. As she watched his face in slumber, she thought how young he looked yet realized how much he had been through. And the battle was not over. She wanted more than anything to slip into the bed next to him and wake the next day in his arms. She longed to soothe the wounds she knew he carried inside. Instead Lara tiptoed out of Ben's condo shutting off the light as she closed the door softly. Back in her place she had an intoxicated Eric passed out on her sofa and had to get him out of her apartment. She just hoped Ben would not wake up and see the black Infiniti in back of the house before she could get rid of Eric.

Lara barely slept that night.
She left her bedroom door open and heard Eric stir once around 4:00 in the morning. He rolled over. At 6:00 she heard him moving and she entered the parlor where Eric was sleeping on the sofa.
She was filled with dread as she thought about how to get Eric out of her apartment before Ben woke and spied the black Infiniti out back. She knew Ben would take Einstein out when he woke. And, he was habitually an early riser.
While in her pajamas, Lara brewed a pot of coffee.

Obviously suffering from a severe hangover, Eric opened his eyes, looking confused and dazed. "What happened last night?" he asked nervously. "I'm sorry, Lara, I think I had way too much to drink." His hand rubbed his forehead. He surely had a headache. Lara smiled as if nothing happened. "Do you remember eating dinner with me?" She asked, wondering how much he recalled. "That's just it. I remember the meal and it was delicious. But after that, I can't tell you what happened. I hope I didn't make an ass of myself." Lara guided Eric to the bathroom. When he emerged, she put a hot mug of coffee in his hands. "Eggs?" she asked. "Yes, please." Still shaky, Eric sat at the bistro table in the kitchen. With bloodshot eyes he looked at her, "Oh, I remember now. We celebrated my new job. Lara forced a smile and served him a quick breakfast. "Yes, and we had a nice dinner, remember?" Eric started eating. "I don't remember coming back here. But I gave you those flowers. I'm so excited that I got that house in Portland."

Lara's thought process stopped mid-stream. He stopped eating for a moment and looked her square in the eye, "I always wanted to live here in Portland. I'll be closer to you, Lara. And I think Portland is a much better place to raise a family than a big city like Boston, don't you?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "When are you moving to Portland?" she asked. "Next week. And Lara, I need to hire you as a designer. The place I purchased is old, full of character and charm, but needs a complete restoration. Would you take a look at it and let me know when you can start?" She didn't know what to say. But she managed a forced smile, "Sure Eric. You can give me a call and we will schedule a visit."
Right now she just had to get him out of there
.