Her Perfect Revenge (19 page)

It was 6 p.m. and the pre-sunset sunlight shone through the clouds onto the magnificent Havenwood estate. Christina had tucked herself underneath an oak tree with a book propped in her hands. Should anyone see her, she appeared to be enjoying some fresh air and a good read.

She wasn't reading though. She was spying—and waiting for her prey to emerge from the house. She'd seen Bill drive up in his Jaguar about a half hour ago. Christina had then quickly grabbed her book and headed outdoors.

She was going to wait for him to leave the house and then she was going to follow him. And she wasn't going to lose him tonight, no matter what. Her car keys to the BMW were in her pocket, and her purse and camera were already in the car.

And if he went to see that tramp Stephie, Christina would be there with her camera too. Maybe William wouldn't appreciate photos of his son in the arms of his mistress weeks before the wedding? Maybe she could use that against him—because so far she had nothing. His goody-two shoes, stay-at-home act that the house had been gossiping about wasn't fooling her.

Christina checked her watched. 6:20 p.m.

Suddenly, she saw him coming out of a side entrance. Dressed in casual jeans and a polo shirt, he was heading for his car. Christina's heart beat faster. Ready to follow him, she got up from her sitting position. Scooting behind the oak's tree trunk, she secretly watched as he got in his Jag and zoomed away.

As Bill's car reached the front gates, Christina ran at full speed to her BMW. Having left the doors open, she slid in, revved up the engine and took off after him, keeping enough of a distance between them so that he wouldn't spot her.

And of course… Stephie's detectives immediately began to follow Christina, as soon as they saw her car coming out of the Havenwood gates too.

* * *

Christina had been following Bill for twenty minutes.

She'd stayed a safe distance behind and managed to keep the Jag in sight. She really didn't think he'd spotted her—or so she hoped.

Suddenly, Bill slowed and parked in front of a low-rise building whose sign read 'Kingston Community Center'.

Christina parked her car a block away and reached for her camera. With her zoom lens, she began snapping pictures of Bill as he got out of his car. He went to stand in front of the community center's doors, obviously waiting for someone.

Was he waiting for Stephie? But why here? This was just an average, middle-class part of town, not his style at all.

Spying through her camera lens, she suddenly saw someone in a wheelchair approach Bill. The man said something to Bill, who laughed, and then he and Bill shook hands. Furiously, Christina snapped more pictures. Who was this person?

And he was in a wheelchair, paralyzed. Who did Bill know who was in a wheelchair? He only ran around with the perfect, beautiful people, like he had in high school.

And from the way the two of them had greeted each other, it was obvious they were friends. Christina adjusted her lens and zoomed in on the mystery person's face.

Suddenly, she gasped. Good God! She knew that face. Maybe he was a little older and a little plumper but it was Jake Monroe, Bill's best friend from high school. Christina continued taking pictures as the two men disappeared inside the building.

Stunned, Christina lowered her camera. Jake Monroe—after all these years—Jake Monroe! And he was in a wheelchair! What had happened to him? And what were those two doing here at this community center? Christina needed to know more.

Locking her camera in the trunk, she grabbed her purse and crossed the street. On entering the building, she found herself in a long, empty hallway with various doors on either side leading to rooms. It reminded Christina of a school.

Quietly, she crept down the hall. All the rooms were empty except for the one at the far end. The doors to that room had been propped open and she could hear someone giving a speech. The man said his name was Roger and he was talking about 'falling off the wagon' on a business trip, and how ashamed he was at losing control.

Christina was shocked! My God—could this be an AA meeting? Quickly, she peeked into the room before pulling back out of sight. She'd spotted about fifteen people in there—and one of them was Bill. He was sitting at the end of a row of chairs and Jake Monroe was in his wheelchair beside him.

Bill Havenwood was at an AA meeting?? And so was Jake Monroe? Two of the biggest, drunken, partying boozers she'd ever met in her life—and they were here—getting sober? But Bill Havenwood was a drunk!

But was he? He used to be. She knew that. But since she'd met him again, had she ever actually seen him drink? Christina racked her brain, trying to think of all the meals they'd shared. No, she hadn't.

And when she'd thrown the martini in his face and he'd jumped in the pool—was that why he'd plunged in—to wash the alcohol from his face because it was so tempting? And she'd never seen him come home drunk and had never smelled any alcohol on him either.

But if he had stopped drinking, why didn't William know? Why hadn't he told his dad? It could have scored him some serious brownie points with the old man.

Suddenly, Bill's voice pierced her thoughts. He was addressing the man named Roger. "We've all been there, Roger. Look at me. I'm tempted every day. You don't think I want to go back to the way it was? Where I can use booze to numb all my feelings so I don't have to feel the hurt or pain anymore? I want to—believe me. But I won't because I don't ever want to go back to the way it was—the way I was. You came here tonight and admitted it before it got out of hand and that's good. Just start working the program again. And if you fail a hundred times, you can win a hundred times if you just keep trying. That's all I have to say."

Christina heard Bill's chair scrape the floor as he sat back down and the others started to clap for him. She was flabbergasted. This couldn't be her Bill Havenwood, could it?

Undetected, Christina slipped away back down the hallway and out the door. Crossing the street, she retrieved her camera from the trunk and got inside her car. Dumfounded, she just sat there. Was her Bill Havenwood a recovering alcoholic? Had he stopped drinking? And Jake Monroe too?

Christina's brain went into overload. If Bill Havenwood didn't drink anymore, then he wasn't the same person he'd been in high school—the person she hated—the bastard. He was a changed man. But—just because he'd decided to get sober, didn't mean he didn't deserve to pay for his past sins, did it? No—her revenge plan was still on.

But—when he'd stood up and talked about feeling pain and hurt? Could that be true? No—Christina suddenly reasoned—bastards didn't feel pain. They caused it. Bill Havenwood was still an asshole—just a sober asshole. But, he didn't drink anymore—and neither did Jake—that was something!! In spite of herself, she was impressed.

She didn't realize it, but her heart had softened towards him. That hard shell of protection she kept herself wrapped in where he was concerned, began to melt away.

She'd gone soft on the bastard—a little.

Jenny had been staring at the photograph of Jake Monroe for the past five minutes without saying a word.

Christina couldn't stand the silence any longer. "Well? What do you think?" The two were sitting in Jenny's living room.

Jenny shook her head in disbelief. "This… it's just too incredible for words."

"I know. Imagine that, they're both sober and in AA."

Jenny kept staring at the photo. "He still looks cute, though." Her expression suddenly turned sad. "I wonder what happened to him?" She was referring to Jake being in a wheelchair.

"Do you think you can get Brad at the office to run his name through the archives?" Christina inquired.

Jenny nodded. "I'll do it first thing." Jenny studied his picture again. Suddenly, she brought her eyes up to Christina and nervously bit her lip.

Christina quickly noticed. "What is it?"

Jenny's eyes flitted around the room. "I have to tell you something but you're going to be mad."

"Jenny, don't be ridiculous; you can tell me anything."

"I went out with him." The words came out in a rush and Jenny kept biting her lip.

Christina was confused, "With who?"

"Jake Monroe."

"What!" Christina put all of the 'shock and awe' she felt into that one word.

"It was one time." Jenny said defensively.

"Oh my God!"

"It was back in high school."

Christina couldn't believe what she was hearing as she put her hands up to her head. "What happened?"

"It was six months after you'd left. You were already in boarding school. I met him in the library. We… reached for the same book and…" Jenny paused.

"And what?"

"Well…" Jenny began to fidget with nervousness. "I smiled at him. And he said I could have the book and he said he'd seen me in class and…"

"And what…?" Christina prompted.

"Well… he said I was cute and maybe we could go to a movie sometime."

"Was he drunk?"

"Chrissy, are you implying a man has to be drunk to want to go out with me?" Jenny laughed, trying to diffuse the situation.

"Jenny, you know what I mean."

Her friend stopped laughing. "No, he wasn't. And Billy Havenwood wasn't anywhere in sight. You know it was Havenwood who was always the bad influence on Jake. Whatever he said or did, Jake went along with it."

Christina nodded, "I know; you don't have to tell me."

"Anyway, we went out… once. It was just a movie and some tacos. And a week after that, you know my dad got transferred and we moved to Chicago and I never saw him again."

Christina shook her head, trying to process this new information. "So how come you never told me?"

"Because, it was no big deal and I figured you'd be mad. I know what those two had done to you and I never saw him after that, so what was the point?"

"Jenny, you should have told me." Christina was reproaching her friend.

"I know but I was scared; I'm sorry."

Relenting, Christina hugged her friend. "I'm your friend and I'll always be your friend, no matter what, even if you do have bad taste in men."

Jenny laughed, as she pulled back from Christina's arms. She had unshed tears in her eyes. "Thanks, Chrissy; I feel so much better now that that's out after all these years."

"So, tell me everything that happened on your date."

"Well, it was just that, a movie and some junk food."

"Did he drink?"

"No. He was actually sober. And he was sweet and funny, and he acted like a gentleman. Havenwood wasn't around. Jake said he'd gone away on some trip with his rich parents."

"Did you kiss him?"

Jenny blushed. Even though she was older now, had been married and had a child—that kiss had been her first and it still made her blush.

"Yes."

"And…?"

"It was sweet. He walked me to my door and kissed me goodnight. Nothing fancy; but… it was nice. He said maybe we could see another movie that weekend but then you know, we found out about the transfer and that was that. I never saw him again."

"Jenny, you're full of surprises."

Her friend laughed, "I have one more surprise for you. We talked about you on our date."

"What?"

Jenny nodded. "I brought your name up and told him you were my friend and I didn't like what they'd done to you."

Christina perked up even more. "What did he say?"

"He said it had all been Bill's idea. And he didn't even remember your name. Jake kept referring to you as 'the girl under the bleachers' because that's where you confronted them that day, remember?"

"How could I forget?"

"He said that Havenwood was so mad at you… the girl under the bleachers… because you told him to 'go f… himself' and no 'chick' had ever said that to him before. He said that Bill told him that the next day he was going to find you and make you eat your words."

"What did he mean by that?"

Jenny shrugged her shoulders. "Jake didn't know. You never came back. Your parents shipped you off and that was that. That's why I didn't want you to start this again. I didn't want you getting hurt."

"But, Jenny, I'm the one who's now making him eat his words, not the other way around."

"But Chrissy, if Bill doesn't drink anymore, he's a changed man. He's not a kid; he's an adult now. Maybe you should stop all this revenge business?"

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying, forgive him and if he really is sober and you like him and he likes you, then give him a chance. Maybe you could even grow to love him and…"

"Jennifer Susanna Lewis, have you lost your mind?" Christina was shocked and angry at her friends' words. "You know how much I hate him! How could I ever love him?"

Jenny clasped her friend's hands in hers and stared deeply into Christina's eyes. She wanted her friend to listen to every word she was about to say. "Chrissy, there's a bond between the two of you… call it karma… call it fate… call it whatever… but it's there. I want you to look in your heart and if you can say to yourself… honestly… ‘I don't like him, I could never love him and I want nothing to do with him'… then fine. But if you even have an inkling that you might have feelings for the bum…" Jenny gave a little laugh, "…then think about what you're doing. Is it worth it to possibly lose him by making him pay for something he did when he was a stupid, drunken kid? If you've got feelings for him, you've got to explore them because if you don't and you throw him away, you may have thrown away someone you could have loved and who could have loved you back. And in this cruel, lonely world, that's hard to find. Believe me, I'm still looking."

Christina yanked her hands out of Jenny's. "I know what I'm doing, Jenny."

Jenny studied her friend. She knew Chrissy had heard every word she'd just said but was being stubborn by refusing to admit her true feelings for Havenwood. She sighed. Sometimes, we really all did have to learn things the hard way.

* * *

It was after 1 a.m. when Christina finally left Jenny's apartment. Because it was so late and she didn't want to drive back to the mansion at that hour, she decided to sleep at her own apartment downstairs and go back to the Havenwood’s in the morning.

She did call the house, though and left a message with one of the staff saying she was going to be staying in the city that night. All the staff, including William, had been so nice to her and she didn't want anyone to worry if she didn't show up that night.

Christina now lay in her own bed and looked up at her ceiling. Her thoughts went back to what Jenny had said.

Fall in love with Bill Havenwood? Ridiculous!

But—she did have that physical attraction for him—she had to admit that. But that was just lust; nothing deeper. But love Bill Havenwood? Was there anything to even love about him?

Well—he had stopped drinking. That was admirable. And he had given her Samson, the goldfish, so she could have a friend in the house. That was nice. And he'd stood up to his demanding father over her—when she'd fainted in William's office and when she'd overheard their argument later that night.

And that day, when she'd fainted and been sick all over him, he'd seemed so worried about her, so caring—the way he'd picked her up in his arms and carried her to the car—God—she could still feel the butterflies in her stomach—the way his arms had felt around her—so protective, so strong—so hot.

Damn Jenny! She was the one who had put these stupid thoughts in her head. Fall in love with Bill Havenwood and marry him for real? How insane was that! She'd have to change her name to Mrs. Bastard. Christina chuckled to herself. Mr. & Mrs. Bastard. Now that was funny.

Anyway, tonight she was in her own bed and it felt wonderful. Her bed may have been lumpy and her apartment may have been dumpy but it was all hers—and it was home.

Christina fell asleep and had one of the most restful nights she'd had since this entire mess started.

* * *

Bill was lying in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He'd just spent one of the worst nights he'd ever had and he hadn't slept a goddamn wink.

All night long, he'd been thinking about her—with him, her boyfriend, whoever the creep was—in each other's arms, having sex—all goddamn night long. That's why she hadn't come home last night. That's why she'd called and said she was spending the night in the city.

She was spending it with him!

Bill seethed with jealousy. He didn't want anyone to touch her—anyone except him.

Bill had come home after his AA meeting and had quickly gone looking for her. He always did. He just had to know where she was and what she was doing at all times. He was beginning to feel like a puppy dog always looking for its master—but he just couldn't help himself.

Eudora had told him that Miss Christina wasn't in. And so, like the complete idiot he'd become over her, he waited up; and waited; and waited. It was after 1 a.m. in the morning, when one of the night staff had told him that she'd called and wasn't coming home that night. And that's when the images of her in someone else's arms started running through his brain.

Where was she? Who was she with? And what the hell were they doing together?

Yes—this had been one of the worst nights Bill had ever spent; and he hadn't slept a goddamn wink.