The Encounter (6 page)

“Stop acting so brave and just get in here and let me take care of that.” He sat on the toilet, while I took out the iodine and applied it to his cut, before taking one of those emergency bandages and attaching it to his lip. It didn’t look like it needed stitches and it certainly could have been worse.

“If you are through, I’m going to get back downstairs to the kitchen. It looks like I’m going to have to use one of my jars of spaghetti sauce instead of what I bought at the market.” I remembered the crashing sound and then the red stain seeping through the bag and onto the floor.

While he was busy in the kitchen, I cleaned up the mess that was made by the groceries falling on the floor, still very aware of my surroundings and wondering if Chance was going to make his presence known.

* * *

SIX

* * *

I kept looking around to see if there was any sign of Chance, even as I began to smell the lasagna that Mike was cooking in the kitchen. Something told me that he was still here, but how he managed to avoid detection was beyond me. These people seemed very professional and it didn’t look like they were used to failing. If he had somehow stayed hidden, it was only by good luck and good management and nothing more.

Mike was still busy in the kitchen and he couldn’t exactly leave what he was doing, so that gave me a bit of time to make a cursory check of the house myself.

Stopping in the bedroom, I relieved myself of my work clothes, placing them neatly folded at the bottom of the bed, before slipping into something a little bit more comfortable. This consisted of a black negligee that was Mike’s favorite, not to mention well placed perfume that would make him an animal in bed. There was still love between us, but that love had been severely tested over the last few weeks of his absence. The bed that I was looking at was where I spent most of the time alone, wondering if maybe I had made a mistake in getting together with him at all.

Reaching for the fluffy white robe on the back of the door, I put it around my waist and then snugged it tight with the tie that came with it. It was the perfect complement for a cool evening indoors and was sometimes the only thing I needed, besides the warmth of another body beside me. My skin was still tingling from Chance’s lips being so close to mine that I could almost taste them. Running my hands down my body, I imagined that it was Chance touching me like this and it began to stir up some emotions that had long been buried. I thought for sure that I was beyond getting excited over a man, but it appears that a certain man with an edge had made a lasting impression on me.

Putting my hand on the closet handle, I opened it quickly, somewhat hoping that he would be there crouched in the corner, but he wasn’t. Checking under the bed, I was hoping that I would see his smiling face, but it wasn’t there. It was possible that he had gotten out, but I couldn’t believe that he would actually leave us to the possibility of being killed. If he did that, then he wasn’t the man that I thought he was and maybe these feelings for him were a fleeting fancy.

Mike was a good man and I had seen that he could become my protector and it was his knight in shining armor mentality that made me look at him a little differently. I remember the last time that we had made love and it was beside the fire with a bottle of chilled champagne and oysters to satisfy the most carnal craving. We didn’t even have sex for at least an hour and there were no words spoken as we just touched each other and moved our fingers along each other’s skin. That was the last time that we were together and I still remember it as if it was yesterday, although it was months ago.

“Honey, the lasagna should be ready in a few minutes and I’ve put in some garlic bread to go with it. We might have to brush our teeth afterwards, but I think it’s worth it in the end. I’ve also opened a bottle of wine and poured us both a glass and I do hope that you’re wearing that special little number that makes me go crazy when I see you in it.” I stepped lively over the wooden floor, feeling the coolness touch my toes and eventually followed that same sensation out into the hallway.

Going into the bathroom, I fixed my face, putting on fresh lipstick of the crimson variety that would make him come to me like a moth to a flame. He would find that special perfume on strategic locations on my body and it was the kind of musk that has always had the desired results with Mike.

Each time that my foot came in contact with the next step going down the stair, that robe would shift slightly to show an expanse of thigh. I felt so wanton and alive for the first time in a long time and I had to believe that it had something to do with this fresh adrenaline that was rushing through my veins. I hadn’t felt that since the moment that I was speeding on the back roads of my hometown with the window open and screaming at the top of my lungs. The velocity was dangerous at best, but I was a rebel and I didn’t care about my own personal safety. To this day, I always get this shiver down my spine when I think about racing that car against another, while my boyfriend at the time was holding onto the handle of the door for dear life.

Licking my lips, I was famished, but not necessarily for food. Chance had awakened a part of me that I thought was gone for good and in that regard he had opened up my heart to Mike. It was weird to say that he was the cause of my desire for Mike and I don’t think Mike would’ve taken kindly to knowing that another man was turning me on.

Standing at the doorway, he was bent over the stove wearing his tight blue jeans that always put a skip in my step. “That is quite the sight and let me take a mental picture, so that I don’t forget this moment.” He glanced back with this smile, pulling the lasagna out of the stove still steaming and ready to be devoured. I could smell the fresh pasta and sauce, not to mention sausage, hamburger and even a supply of mushrooms to whet my appetite.

“I would come over there and make short work of that robe, but I think that we can wait a few moments longer before we succumb to each other’s baser desires. I for one am hungry and I know that you haven’t eaten since this morning. You always skip lunch and I’ve told you over and over again that you shouldn’t do that.” He knew me better than I knew myself sometimes and that was scary and a little bit intimidating. Mike was the type that wouldn’t forget my birthday or any of those special little moments that make a relationship into a friendship.

The candles were lit and the lights dimmed and we sat down on either side of the table with only eyes for each other. “I’m glad to see that those men didn’t hurt you too badly. You standing up to them like that was foolish, but at the same time, very exciting.”

“Oh, I wasn’t doing it to make you excited, Cecily, but I was doing it to keep you safe and make them look at me instead of you. In the courtroom, it’s all about perception and how well you keep their attention on you and that was exactly what I was doing to those two men without them even realizing it.” His ploy had worked wonderfully and I couldn’t have hoped for a better outcome than for those two men to leave us in peace.

“I took the liberty of checking the phone before I came in and it’s still out and we might have to call somebody when we get to our respective offices in the morning to get them to come out to fix the problem.” His hand came across and held mine lovingly with his fingers moving back and forth across the back.

“Cecily, I don’t think we have to worry about that right now. Why don’t we enjoy this fine meal and each other’s company? I know that this hasn’t been fair, but sometimes we have to make sacrifices for our careers. That doesn’t mean that I don’t love you, but it does mean that my career is important and I know how important yours is to you as well. Come to think of it, I never did ask you how your meeting went today with Mr. Brady.”

“It actually went pretty well, even with Peter’s interference, which he is going to pay for in ways that he can’t even imagine. You know that I’m not a vengeful person by nature, but he really did press my buttons and now he is going to have to pay for it. I could fire him, but that would only give him free rein to go to the competition. For the time being, it’s better to face the devil you know than the devil you don’t. He can certainly quit, but I think he wants me to fire him, so that he can sue us for wrongful termination. He doesn’t know me as well as he thinks he does and he’s going to find out that I am not so easily rattled.” With each bite, I savored the combination of flavors, bringing me back to the first time that he had cooked this for me.

“I’m glad that you are not taking him lightly, because from the first moment that I met him at one of your Christmas parties I knew that he was trouble. I told you that you should watch out for him and that he was hiding behind a mask of regret and possible jealousy. I can usually read people, but I do have to admit that Mr. Quinton was one of those that made me pause.” It was nice to just sit here and talk and have something to eat with the man that I loved and eating alone had been getting old very quickly.

“I remember what you said and I do have to admit that I wasn’t sure if you weren’t saying it because you were a little jealous about his attention on me. I’ve come to realize that you were just looking out for me and subconsciously I kept that hidden from him until I knew the truth. It’s just lucky that I had people that I trusted and they were quite instrumental in finding out just what kind of man Peter was.”

The wine was having its effect and I was feeling a little bit tipsy, but only slightly buzzed and nothing really to worry about. It was certainly enough to get my motor running and was causing my inhibitions to fall dramatically. I’m not sure if Chance was part of that equation or not, but at that very moment I had naughty thoughts about Mike. I think that having a little bit of excitement in my life had turned me on and Mike was going to benefit from that.

“Cecily, don’t you know by now that I will do whatever I can to protect you? You may think that my work is the most important thing to me, but it pales in comparison to losing you. I never want to have that feeling and I just hope that you would talk to me before you did something drastic. I’ve seen that look in your eye and it makes me think that we might be losing that spark. I don’t want that to happen.” He was being so nice, protecting me with those two men, cooking me this meal and now saying all of these things that just made me fall in love with him all over again.

“You keep talking like that, Mister, and I might not make it to the bedroom. What if you clean up and I’ll make sure that the house is locked up tight—and believe me, I know that is just my paranoia. It’s just that having those two men in this house has made me feel violated and I want to make damn good and sure that nobody can get in.”

“I will meet you up in the bedroom in exactly 20 minutes, don’t be late or I might have to start without you.” That’s usually my line, but now hearing him say it sounded a little funny to my ear.

“I only need 15 minutes and it’s not going to take me very long to make sure that everything is secure. Why don’t you take a nice hot bath with bubbles and get yourself pretty for me.” This time it was my turn to tease him, because that’s usually his line to give to me. “I’m sure that you can find something sexy to wear and I expect you to be waiting and ready for me on the bed. A little of that cologne that I like will go a long way and that sexy underwear the leaves little to the imagination is just the ticket to get my motor running.”

“Cecily, you really do paint a vivid picture and I’m sure that I can come up with something that will be pleasing to your eye. After all, I have cooked you a wonderful meal and I do believe it’s time for me to put out. We can’t keep playing these games all the time and it comes a time that you have to stop all pretense and just get down to the business at hand.” This was getting interesting and I can say with some degree of certainty that this little flirting that we were doing with each other was something that I missed greatly in the last few weeks.

“Mike, I don’t know much about anything, but I do know that I have missed you and I’m glad that you have finished the case. I’m sorry that you can’t be sure that he’s guilty or innocent, but we both know that everything happens for a reason. You’re just going to have to trust the evidence and the system that we work with every day, because it’s the only one we have.” I wasn’t sure if I could believe the words that were coming out of my mouth, because innocent people went to jail all the time. It’s not exactly a secret that innocent people find themselves railroaded and then years later are exonerated for something that they didn’t do in the first place.

“Cecily, all I can do is follow the evidence and if he was truly innocent, then his lawyer would’ve done a better job. Let’s not talk about business anymore, when matters of the heart are on the table.” I could see how this was affecting him, but he always goes through this at the end of a case that he is prosecuting. He keeps everything compartmentalized, blocking out any emotional connection or bias in order to do his job to the best of his ability.

* * *

SEVEN

* * *

I first checked the windows upstairs to make sure that they were locked and then I checked the doors before going down to the basement. It was there that I saw the bed, still pulled out and was only lucky that Mike hadn’t come downstairs to see this for himself. If he had, he would’ve probably wondered why the bed was pulled out in the first place.

I would say that his irrational fear of spiders had kept him from stepping foot down here and that was the only thing that I had going for me. I was half expecting the window to be open, but it was locked and there didn’t seem to be any movement of the dust around the surface of the windowsill.