The Scarlet Letter Scandal (20 page)

She read the quote at the bottom of the menu: “Give your liver to Princeton and your heart to The Plaza,” something Ernest Hemingway once said to F. Scott Fitzgerald. And she knew at least part of her heart would always be here in this place where she’d felt loved at a time in her life when she needed it most.

Charles walked into the room wearing a tuxedo, and a brief look of surprise crossed his face; she wasn’t usually early but really wanted to get that first drink underway. She felt underdressed in a casual J. Crew dress, but luckily had the Jimmy Choo heels and pretty silver jewelry to dress the outfit up a bit.

He crossed the room, smiling at her. She returned the smile, genuinely happy to see him.

“Greetings, madame,” he said in his typical formal French style as she stood, allowing his strong arms to envelop her petite frame and pull her in for a hug.

“
Bonjour
, Charles,” she said in a purposefully bad French accent.

“
Bonne soirée, belle,
” Charles responded in the genuine version.

A warm feeling washed over her as she remembered how special he always made her feel.

“You are dressed so formally,” she said. “I’m too casual.”

“You’re perfect as always,” said Charles, sitting down. He motioned the number two for another around of Moët Imperial Gatsby cocktails to the bartender, who was somewhat startled to see the hotel’s head chef at the bar in a tux; he hustled about preparing the drinks.

“How does it feel to be back in New York again?” he asked.

“It’s a little jolting, to be honest,” said Eva. “I know it sounds funny to observe this after spending so much time here over the years, but the lights and the noise and the people—it’s really a lot.”

“You have enjoyed the solace of the island,” said Charles.

“More than I realized,” said Eva. “I felt so odd at the office, like a stranger at my own firm. I never thought I was irreplaceable, and of course they haven’t replaced me, but I maybe thought I was more
necessary
than I apparently am.”

“Your partners were accommodating of your absence so that you didn’t have to feel burdened with work at a difficult time in your life,” said Charles. “It doesn’t mean you aren’t needed, simply that you’ve run the firm in such an excellent manner over the years that it could continue functioning in your absence. That is a testimony to your leadership.”

“It’s very kind of you to say so,” said Eva, marveling once again at his ability to always have the perfect words at the perfect time. She wanted to change the subject.

“How have things been here?” Eva asked.

“Same as always, perhaps a bit busier after the modern
Great Gatsby
film came out, but generally not much different than always. I love my job. Food is my art form,” said Charles.

“And you’re an amazing artist,” said Eva.

“Let me make dinner for you,” said Charles. “At my place. Not the hotel.”

Eva was speechless for a moment. She had never been to his home. Their affair had consisted almost exclusively, with the exception of a horse carriage ride in Central Park, within the walls of the hotel—usually in her suite, the one “Pop Rocks Night” in the main dining room, and once, quickly, in the walk-in freezer in his kitchen after she’d had too many drinks and he had applied honey to her nipples, removing it with his mouth.

“It’s fine,” Charles said quickly, “if you would rather just dine here, of course.” He looked hurt at her lack of immediate response.

“I’m sorry,” said Eva. “I was just thinking of how we hadn’t really been anywhere but inside the walls of this lovely hotel. Of course I’d love to see where you live and have dinner with you there.”

“My brownstone in Brooklyn,” said Charles, “is modest, but quite lovely. I bought it after my wife died years ago—I couldn’t stay in the home we shared.”

“That makes perfect sense,” said Eva. “My ex-husband Joe bought me out of our family home in the divorce and sold it recently because our boys are away at school anyway and he didn’t want so much space.”

“How are the boys?” Charles asked.

Eva sighed quietly. Her twin teen sons always weighed heavy on her heart. She loved them, but they caused her so much stress as she agonized over their future.

“They’re all right,” said Eva. “The boarding school in Delaware seems to have been a good choice for them. They needed the structure and discipline in order to have a better chance at college opportunities.”

“I am certain they will thrive,” said Charles.

“Well, Joe and I have only gotten one call so far about them,” said Eva. “Apparently they were at a party where there was pot, but they weren’t caught with it, luckily. The kid who had the party was expelled, so I hope it was a good wake-up call for any potentially bad decisions.”

“Since I was never a parent, I can’t imagine the responsibility that comes along with it,” said Charles, “but I know you and that you raised them well and I’m sure they will find their way.”

Eva smiled at him. “That’s all I can hope.”

A waiter arrived, carrying a tray with two lobster salads. Eva looked at Charles, surprised. He knew they were one of her favorites.

“How did you know I was starving?” said Eva. “This is perfect.”

“I take pleasure in knowing what you might enjoy,” he said.

She looked into his loving eyes, crinkled at the edges with the wrinkles that always managed to look sexy exclusively on men, and remembered how much pleasure he had given her over the years. She put her hand on his arm.

“Thank you,” she said.

“
De rein
,” said Charles. “It’s nothing.”

“Let’s have dessert in my suite,” said Eva.

“I would like nothing more,” said Charles.

They finished eating and retreated to Eva’s space. They had drinks on the balcony with its gorgeous view of the park, and they made love. Their reunion had a sweet, melancholic sense to it, unlike the rushed passion they’d been used to across the course of their affair. Afterwards, Charles returned home, and Eva felt like something had changed between them. She wasn’t sure what, and it didn’t feel like a bad thing.
Time,
Eva thought, as she drifted off to sleep.
Time changes us.

The next morning, Eva returned to her law firm, dressed more formally in an Armani Collezioni gray suit with pale pink silk blouse. Flawless makeup, hair pulled tightly into a small bun, she meant business.

Her partners, Greg and Jake, were waiting for her in the conference room when she walked in, clacking decisively across the perfectly finished hardwood floors in her ash gray snake Tory Burch platform heels. They stood. Greg, the senior member of the group, was distinguished as always in a perfect black suit and teal silk tie. Jake was slightly disheveled as usual, his suit jacket already missing, top button undone, yellow tie (he hated ties) askew, pants wrinkled. Eva walked over and hugged them each briefly, thanking them for their understanding over the last few months. It took everything in her not to hold on to the hug with Jake for a beat too long—what was that scent? Clive something, from London, she recalled from so long ago.

As they all sat down, Eva had a small moment of panic. She’d thought carefully about what she wanted to say, but now she seemed to have forgotten her entire rehearsed speech. She stood, walked over to the credenza, and poured herself a cup of coffee to kill time.

Greg began, “Eva, we just want you to know how happy we are you’re back.”

Jake finished the sentence: “And of course again express our condolences about…”

Eva cleared her throat and carried her black coffee back to the table, sitting down. She interrupted their polite yammering. “Ah, guys, thanks so much. I know it’s an awkward moment. We have worked together for so many years and I know for me to have just disappeared off the face of the earth was probably odd, despite the life events that occurred.”

“It’s definitely better for you to have taken the time off,” said Greg. “Instead of rushing to get back right away and ending up more stressed.”

“Gotta be honest,” said Jake, ever the more jovial and casual partner, “I thought rushing back in is
exactly
what you were going to do. I know work is something we all use as a comfort zone. But I was glad you made a better choice.” He smiled tentatively at Eva as he ran a hand through his disheveled brown hair and adjusted his bold Gucci black eyeglasses.

“I really can’t thank both of you enough,” said Eva. “I couldn’t have asked for better business partners in this life. You’ve been spectacular. I’m very lucky.”

“Not at all,” said Greg. “We’re just happy you’re back.”

“Are you jumping back in full time this week?” asked Jake. “The Kline-Franc Inc. mess hasn’t gone anywhere since you’ve been gone. What a bunch of complete assholes they continue to be. So if you’re…”

He looked at Eva. She stared at him with an almost vacant look that had frozen his question.

Eva couldn’t believe the words that began spilling out of her mouth.

“I don’t know if I am,” she said. “I want to come back to work. But I do not want to come back to New York every week. I’ve been thinking maybe I should spend more time in the DC office, or start working more from home.”

Greg blinked in Jake’s direction. The brief glance said
this is a woman who barely took six weeks off when she gave birth to twins.

Greg began, “Eva, of course as full partner you have the option to do whatever you want.”

“Hell yeah, Ev, I mean you know as well as we do that you could retire any old damn time if you wanted to!” Jake said, trying to lighten the mood. He sat back in his chair and looked at her. “But you know you would be missed here.”

“I can’t retire,” said Eva, allowing herself to look into Jake’s eyes for a moment. She would miss him, and would always keep the memory alive of the secret tryst they once shared, ages ago. “I would miss this place. I would die of boredom. I’ve
never
not worked in my entire life. And with the boys going to college, I wouldn’t even consider it for at least another five years.”

“So what is it you think you might want?” Greg asked, clearing his throat. “You just tell us and we will make it happen.”

“I want to spend more time with my boys before they vanish into adulthood,” said Eva. “I want my old level of energy back, my drive. My mother’s death and my divorce have made me reevaluate my life and think about what is important and even though we know I have spent a lifetime dedicated to work and making money and seventy-hour weeks, that doesn’t seem as crucial to me at this particular moment. I guess I need a little breathing room. I’m also doing some pro bono work for the watermen who are treated like shit by the state. I need some more time on the island.”

She sat back, exhaling and feeling a sense of relief at having expressed some of her thoughts, as disjointed and incomplete as they were lately. She hated weakness. Her father had belittled her all her life right up until the old drunk died about his twisted version of feminist equality.
If you want to be treated like an equal you damn better act like one,
he’d said. He never thought she’d finish the bar and become a lawyer. Everything she’d done had been in spite of him, and because of him. He died never once telling her he was proud.

“You don’t need to justify any of your choices with us,” said Greg. “We support you. We are your partners, not your bosses. Work in DC. Work from the island. Never work again. Do what you need to do. Do what you want.”

“Can you even get a phone signal to work from that island?” said Jake, smiling.

Eva appreciated the lightening of the mood after her awkward little speech.

“Only if the wind is blowing the right way,” she said. “The Wi-Fi works when the power isn’t out. And they’re supposedly building a cell tower.”

“That place sounds like a real throwback,” said Greg. “Guessing there aren’t too many Starbucks or Nordstrom stores there?”

Eva laughed; it felt good. “There’s exactly one place where you can sit down and order coffee and have it brought to your table, and I’m thankful for that one,” she said. “Thank God the food is great at Paul’s Café, too. Zero clothing for sale on island unless you count the bait-and-tackle shop. There’s a great little bookstore, and a twenty-four-hour book exchange at the post office. There is one produce stand, with a little box you leave the money in. No grocery stores, so you can choose between the country store, which has wine tastings on Friday nights, and the hottest action in town, the Sunday morning newspaper line at that bait-and-tackle shop.”