And I Trusted You (14 page)

Over the next couple of weeks, Josh called her daily. He sent flowers and even left notes on her car. She never returned his calls. She spoke with William every day. His vacation was over and he was back at the office. During one of their conversations, William mentioned Josh was starting a company to be under Midtown Mortgage. Jessica asked how and was told he was investing the money of one of his clients. She was curious as to why William would be telling her about this until she found out who the client was.

So, her money was being used to start a company that she wasn’t being told anything about. “What was josh thinking? I’d don’t know this man at all!” She was told who Josh’s partner would be. The name was familiar, Markita Mason. Okay, that does it. No more playing games. Jessica met with William and he gave her the documentation she needed to show what Josh’s plans were. At first she did not know what to do. Her father had prepared her for many things, but nothing like this. William suggested they set up a meeting to speak with the president of Midtown Mortgage and inform him of the situation and show written proof.  William contacted the president through company email and asked for a meeting regarding of their VIP clients. This immediately got his attention.

They met one evening after work at the president’s home. This ensured that no one would be around and witness the meeting. Once all of the evidence was in front of him, the reaction of the president was understandable.  He was appalled Josh would do such a thing. The fact that he was using the company he worked for in the scheme, made the activity not only a violation of company policy, but criminal. But he had authorized the venture. Josh had covered his tracks very well. He had gone through all the proper channels within the company and everything looked good on paper. The only problem was where the money was coming from. The timing would be perfect.

Another week went by and Jessica finally took one of Josh’s phone calls. “You have been avoiding me. Why? I’ve told you how much I am still in love with you. When can I see you? I miss you and you know I need you in my life. Please see me.” He pleaded.

“Tomorrow morning. I have to be near your office for a meeting at 10 o’clock. Is that okay? We wouldn’t want your crazy new client to become troubled about me seeing you, now would we?” Jessica dripped with sarcasm.

“Don’t be like that. She doesn’t mean anything to me. I think I’m finally getting through to her.  I have a meeting with her tomorrow morning. But we can meet first. I’ve been working on that project we discussed last year. I have gotten the approval for the permits and the only thing left to do is tie up a few loose ends.  So, I have some papers for you to sign.”

“Oh, that’s why you’ve been calling. ‘Cause it involves money. Hmmm. Okay, you bring the documents and I’ll be in your office at 9 o’clock. See you then. And Josh…. never mind. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.” She said deciding not to warn him.

“Okay, and wear something sexy. I’ve missed you, Jess.” He said seductively.

“Yeah, okay.” Jessica hung up the phone. She called the bank to check the account she had given Josh access to. The funds hadn’t been removed. She put a freeze on the funds. It is a good thing she hadn’t given him total control of the account. It held over 20 million dollars of her money.

The next morning she dressed with extra care. She donned a dove gray silk two-piece fitted suit with shoes to match. Her accessories are of white 14-karat gold. Her purse matched the suit to perfection. She styled her long tresses in a seductive upsweep and sprayed on Josh’s favorite perfume. At least, the one he said he liked the best. With her makeup cover girl model perfect, skin glistening and lips luscious, she left the apartment. On the drive to Midtown Mortgage, she thought of the possible expressions on Josh’s face. “Innocence, dismay, shock, anger, hurt. Who knew, this was going to be interesting.”

She arrived at 8:55 a.m. Josh was already in his office. Claudia had called in with a message she is not feeling well. Jessica was glad of that. “Well, hello good looking. Did you wear that just for me? Please tell me you don’t have on anything under that gorgeous suit.” Josh commented walking over to Jessica with open arms.

“No I don’t have anything on under here. But you have to be a good boy to see this.” She said outlining her slender frame. “Now, where are the papers you have for me to look over? I wanna get this over with. My life is changing and I’ve got to get things stabilized.” She said taking a seat.

He walked around his desk and opened a folder. “This holds all of the documentation for the investments you’ve been making. We need your signature to finalize everything, since it’s your money. This is a multi-million dollar project, Jess. Once you sign your name, you’ll be the new owner of a housing development, which is planned to start construction next week. Everything is done, except the ground breaking. So, sign your name right here and we can celebrate before my client gets here.” Josh said handing the pen to Jessica.

Jessica stood up and flipped through the documents. She didn’t understand what she was looking at. Her cell phone rang so she answered it. “Yes. Good morning Mr. Giavonni. Yes. I did that yesterday. I am aware of that. I will be coming in to see you within the hour to make changes to that account. No sir. There is no problem. Correct. I have already left instructions. Oh, no problem at all. Thank you for a job well done. I’ll see you shortly. Goodbye.” She finished and hung up the phone.

“Well I guess you heard. I have something else to take care of this morning. I’ll be back to look over these and sign them. It will be all right if I take these with me, right?”

“Uh, I guess so. Those documents are time sensitive, so we much get them signed as soon as possible. Well, what time will you be back?” Josh cautiously asked.

“I should be finished in about an hour. Is there a certain time I need to have these back to you?”

“Well, no. It’s just that I wanted to go ahead and file the documents with the proper authorities this afternoon. The sooner, ya know. Uh, can you be back here before 10:30 this morning? The office at the city building gets busy after that time. And those people are as slow as molasses in the winter.” Josh said with a fake grin.

“Oh, right. Okay. I’ll take them with me and bring them back signed. I’ll see you around 10:00.” She said grabbing the folder and leaving the office.

Josh couldn’t believe it. “Okay, don’t panic. She’ll be back. Besides, she doesn’t understand what any of that stuff is anyway. Once she signs those papers, I’ll have the money to go into business with Markita. Besides, she can spare 2 million dollars with a 100 million dollar inheritance.”

As Jessica walked out of Midtown Mortgage, she realized that she did not feel sorry for what she was about to do. In fact, she felt elated. She wanted Josh to understand that things were not always what they seemed. She realized how grateful she was to William, because if it wasn’t for him, she would not know any of this was going on behind her back. Jessica drove to the bank, parked in the reserved park, went inside and asked to see Mr. Giovanni. He immediately came over.

“Hello Jessica. My you look exceptionally nice today.As I mentioned on the phone earlier, we have everything in place as you requested. All we need is your signature on the appropriate forms.”

“Thank you, Ed. I’m glad my father did business with you. It makes me feel safe. I’m learning that when it comes to money, you can never be too careful.” She took a short walk to his office, bent over the desk and signed the forms to close the account she had set up for Josh. She requested to be notified of any inquiries from Josh about the account. She was told that the bank was to make a cashier’s check for $1,995,000.00 this morning from that account and have it couriered over to Josh at 10:30. Upon receiving this bit of information she smiled. Thanked Mr. Giovanni again and left to head back to Midtown Mortgage.

Once she arrived at Midtown Mortgage she headed straight to William’s office. The president of the company, Mr. Donovan was already there. He looked over the papers she provided from Josh and made a call to his secretary. “Please type up a letter of termination for Josh Gardner, effective immediately. File the necessary paperwork with Human Resources so his pink slip will be ready within the hour. No, that will be all thank you. Oh, and if I hear anything about this before I say something about it, you will be receiving a pink slip as well.” Mr. Donovan said and replaced the phone. “Good Josh won’t know what hit him.”

“It’s almost 10:30. Let’s go see Josh.” Mr. Donovan with excitement. Jessica, Mr. Donovan and William walked to the elevator and rode the short distance to the third floor. Claudia still wasn’t in, so someone was filling in for her. “Hi, I need to see Josh. Please tell him Mr. Donovan is here.”

“I’m sorry, but Mr. Gardner is in a meeting and asked not to be disturbed. I don’t see your name on his calendar for this morning, Sir. Is there perhaps something I can help you with?” Asked the receptionist politely.

“Yes there is. You can inform Josh Gardner that Mr. Donovan, the President of this company needs to see him. On second thought, never mind.” He said as the three of them walked past the stunned girl and directly into Josh’s office. Markita was sitting on Josh’s desk facing the window with her blouse off. Josh was standing in front of her unbuttoning his shirt.

“Well Josh. I’m glad to see you have everything under control.” Said Mr. Donovan as he closed the door  behind him..

Markita looked back and saw her audience. She hurriedly donned and buttoned her blouse as Josh did the same. “Okay Josh. Here are the forms you wanted. Hello Markita.” Jessica calmly said handing the folder to Josh.

“Oh, how does she know who I am? Did she sign the forms?” Markita asked Josh who was looking through the paperwork with a shocked expression on his face. “Did she sign the forms?!” Markita screamed at Josh.

Josh fell back into his chair. The folder slipped from his hand as he grabbed his head in disbelief.  Markita bent down to pick up the paperwork. “There’s no need to bother, Markita. I did not sign the papers. Oh and I saw the pictures…”

“Excuse me Sir, we have a delivery from the bank by courier.” Said the temporary receptionist over the intercom.

“I’ll get it.” Said William leaving. He returned and handed it to Josh. Josh looked up with a triumphant smile on his face. “We are going to be okay.” He said absentmindedly.

He tore open the envelope and pulled out the paper. In his hand was a folded note, which read, “Sorry, the wedding is off and the well has gone dry. Maybe Markita has some money of her own to use.  You should have never underestimated me. But thank you for showing your true colors before we got married. You should have remembered that my money is just that, my money. Have a nice life. Love Jessica.”

Markita snatched the paper from Josh and read it aloud. As she did so, Mr. Donovan walked out to the front desk. “Has someone delivered something else for Josh? Yes, that’s it. Thank you.” He took the papers and returned to Josh’s office.

“Okay Josh. Here is another delivery for you.” Josh raised his head in dismay. “What could it be now?” Mr. Donovan handed him an envelope. He opened it and read his letter of termination with the pink slip enclosed. Now he was out of a job, had no money, no girlfriend and most certainly would be facing criminal charges. They say hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

Jessica looked at Josh with a smile. “How sweet it is?” Then she and William left.

The End

Sleepless Morning

Eric went to pick up his children from the babysitter’s house. He was tired after working all night in the hot humid warehouse. He was thankful he didn’t have to rush home so his wife, Teresa, could drive to work. She had made arrangements to ride with someone else until they got a second car.

Eric knocked on the door and Adrianne answered. It was early, only a quarter after six in the morning. He walked into the house, which was dark and quiet with the children sleeping. As Adrianne closed the door, Eric walked into the room to get his children. Adrianne came in behind him and leaned against the doorframe with her arms crossed casually over her chest.

“You look exhausted. Why don’t you take a short nap before you drive across town? The kids can sleep a little longer and I’ll wake you up in about an hour. I wouldn’t want you to fall asleep driving and get into an accident.”

“Oh, yeah that sounds good. It was a hard shift last night.” He said climbing into the bed across the room from his children. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he was out like a light. Adrianne stood there watching for a few minutes, then walked into her bedroom.

In the other room, Adrianne sat on her bed thinking about the opportunity that presented itself to her. “I have made it obvious that I am sexually attracted to Eric. Even if he doesn’t admit it, I know he’s attracted to me, too. Over the past few months, she kept pushing the limits of their friendship. “His stupid wife is the only one who doesn’t
know what’s going on.” As her infant daughters turned over in their cribs, she made up her mind as to what she was going to do. “It might be a while before something like this falls into my lap again.”

She knew Eric was upset, because she had talked to him on the phone while he was at work. He mentioned he thought his wife was having an affair. He didn’t know what to do about it. And since, Adrianne was no fool, she ceased the opportunity to drive him to her every chance she got. Every time something was wrong, Eric would come crying to her. She had become his confidant. She could tell, when he hung up with her around 3:15 am, he was almost to the point of tears. With that in mind, she went into the bathroom and washed up. She put on a light perfume and only a nightgown. She quietly walked into the room where Eric and his children were sleeping. Eric was on his back snoring loudly. She knew his children slept soundly because she had been their sitter for almost six months.

She walked over to the bed and looked down at him. God, he was so handsome with the cleft in his chin and those beautiful dimples when he smiled and talked. His hazel eyes were so expressive and he had a beautiful mouth full of even white teeth. “She doesn’t know what she has.” Even though Adrianne knew his wife wasn’t cheating on him, she had decided she was going to get what she wanted anyway. Eric had made things easy for her by wearing sweatpants to work. She took one more glance at the sleeping children then slowly climbed onto the bed, straddling Eric. She reached down and took his penis out and began massaging him. Soon, she had what she wanted. He was erect and growing harder with each stroke. Slowly Eric opened his eyes and looked up at her. For a split second, she didn’t know what to do. But, since Eric didn’t push her off and didn’t say anything, she continued. She guided him into her and she rocked until the two reached their climax.

When they were done, Adrianne climbed off and sat on the side of the bed. It was so good. She was still shaking. Eric sat up and looked at her with a blank stare. He looked over at his sleeping children and shook his head.

“I have to go.” He said pulling his pants up and walking out of the room.

Adrianne heard the toilet flush and the water running in the sink.  He returned a few minutes later. He awakened his children, gathered the diaper bag, took them to the car and left. Once at home, he gave the children something to eat, then put them in their room to play. He just couldn’t deal with them right now. “What did I just do? I can never tell my wife. It would kill her. The ironic thing is, she warned me about Adrianne. She saw the attraction and told me to be on guard. She doesn’t trust her. And now, this happens! I had sex with another woman with my children in the same room. How stupid can I be? I didn’t have a condom on, either! What am I going to do? Oh, God, please don’t let Adrianne be pregnant. Teresa would divorce me in a heartbeat.”

He lay down and slept until his oldest daughter came into the room. “Daddy, can we have juice? I…I…I can’t get it. Gate in the way, Daddy. Move it.” She said in the sweet voice of a three year old. So he grabbed up both girls and went downstairs. He tried to watch TV after giving them a snack, but he couldn’t concentrate. He tried listening to music, but he didn’t really hear the songs. He just kept looking at his children, trying to figure out how he could do such a thing to them and his wife. Well, she shouldn’t be cheating.

At 3pm, his wife walked in the door from work as she did every day. The children ran to their mother. She picked them up giving them hugs and kisses.

“Hi, Eric. How was your night? Have you been to sleep yet, you look really tired.” She asked walking over and kissing him on the cheek.

“Yeah, I slept a little at Adrianne’s house, I was too tired to drive straight home.” He said looking at the TV screen.

“I see.” Teresa paused then said, “Eric, I want you to stop doing that. You know how I feel about her. In fact, Monday, the girls will be going to a new sitter’s. I only let her watch the kids to help her out for you because she doesn’t have a job. The more I see the more I dislike her. Anyway, you go get some rest, while I cook dinner. I’ll wake you up in a few hours.” She said putting the children down and walking into the kitchen.

The children went back to playing with their toys and Eric followed Teresa into the kitchen.

              “I wanna ask you a question.” He said turning her around to face him as she was standing at the sink. “Are you having an affair? I found some phone numbers on the phone bill that I don’t know. So I called them, and it was a man who said he has been talking to you. Teresa, he lives in another state. Are you planning on leaving me?” He asked looking intently into her eyes.

Teresa looked at him, leaned on the sink and shook her head. She had been calling around looking for a specific type of receiver for his home studio. A co-worker had given her a contact and she called him a couple of times trying to get it for Eric.

“Eric, I’m not planning on leaving you. I’m not having an affair. I’m not falling out of love with you. And I’m not doing something against the law. I AM working on an anniversary gift for our fourth anniversary. But, if I tell you what it is, then it won’t be a surprise.” She stopped, sighed then continued, “Why, do you want me to leave?” She asked slowly with tears in her eyes.

              “You’ve been spending more time away from home. It seems every time we talk, you mention Adrianne. I don’t know how to read things in this marriage anymore, so you tell me what you want.” Teresa said calmly.

“I’m just trying to find out what’s going on, that’s all. I’ll be back after a while.” He called over his shoulder as he spun on his heels, grabbed his keys and walked out the door.

Once Teresa heard the door slam, she let her tears fall. She knew he was making excuses for something. She had had a nagging feeling for the last few months. He was having secret phone conversations, when he thought she was sleeping, and spending money, then telling her he had lost it. All of her common sense told her HE was having an affair, but she didn’t have any proof and she was too scared to really know the truth. I’ll just wait for the other boot to drop.

**************

Eric drove over to Adrianne’s house. She was watching TV and was happy to see him. Her first thought was he had come back for more. But the look on his face told her differently. Eric walked in and sat on the arm of her sofa.

“Adrianne, my wife can never find out about what happened this morning. I should have gone straight home, then it wouldn’t have happened.” He said frowning.

“Yes it would have.” She calmly stated.

“You wanted it just as much as I did and that’s why it happened. You’ve come here and seen me in the bathtub and not stop coming by. You’ve seen me walk into the room naked and still you come by. You must not have told your wife because if you had, she would have said something to me. I’m still keeping your children. I can call you and talk to you on your job anytime I want to and every time I offer you something to eat, you eat it. You even take me where I need to go, even get your wife to do it, if you can’t. So, it was going to happen anyway. Those were the signals you sent me, so I followed them. You wanted me to know how important I was to you, you just couldn’t put it into words, so you showed me with your actions.  Don’t get a conscience now that you’ve had me and you’re worried about your wife. Don’t worry about her. The only question is, how long are we going to keep the secret form Teresa. I can wait until you break free from her.” She said walking over to him and rubbing his head lovingly.

Eric pushed her hand away and stood up. “Adrianne, you’re crazy. I should’ve listened to my wife’s warnings. She said this is what you were after.  What happened this morning won’t be happening again. And I’ll tell Teresa about what happened. It would be wise for you to keep this secret between us. She doesn’t like you as it is.” He said walking out and slamming the door.

He got into his car and drove home. When he walked into the house, Teresa was cleaning the kitchen. She had finished cooking and already fed the girls. He told Teresa he would eat when she woke him up. He went upstairs, closed the door and cried like a baby. He was dead wrong, but it was too late to change it.
“How am I going to make this up to my wife,
” he thought as he dropped off into another restless sleep.

Ten Years Later

“Teresa, guess who I saw at the store yesterday?” Eric asked smiling.

“Who?”

“Adrianne. She asked how you and the girls were doing. She really seemed concerned. She has another little girl, so I told her she should stop making girls.” Eric replied grinning.

“Yeah, that’s nice. But I really don’t wanna hear anything about her. I never should have let her keep my children, but I was trying to be a loving wife. Young and naïve. You know I can’t stand her. How did you see her again, I thought she had moved.” Teresa asked nonchalantly.

“Yeah, she did, but she moved back. Her daughter is so pretty. Anyway, I’m going to the car wash, I’ll be back in a few.” Eric said and rushed out the door looking at his watch.

“I’ve noticed he’s making late night phone calls again when he thinks I’m sleeping. And he’s running off somewhere and checking his watch a lot. He must be cheating again. I’m not gonna put up with it this time. I’ve been faithful and I deserve better treatment.”

A few hours later, Eric returned home. He had promised to take the children to the movies earlier, but Teresa could see his mood was different. He went to his office and checked his email, then asked about dinner.

Teresa didn’t want to upset him, so she answered and fixed his plate. The children were at a neighbor’s house, so she cautiously asked, “What’s wrong?”

He was quiet for a minute, then got up and walked over to her. He put his arms around her and kissed her. Then said, “Teresa, if you found out I had another child, what would you do?”

“It depends on how old the child is and our relationship at the time. Why? Are you trying to tell me you have another child?” She asked shaking.

“Teresa, I love you and I don’t wanna lose you.” He said hugging even more tightly if that was possible. “But I’m not perfect. I don’t know if it’s my child or not.” He said through tears.

She pushed Eric off of her and dropped onto the sofa. Eric was across from room staring at her as she clinched her fists. “I should have divorced him years ago. But I didn’t want my children to be raised without their father.” “Eric, how old is the child?” She wanted to know.

“I have a picture of her. Do you think she looks like me?” He said handing the photograph to her. “She’s 9 years old. I know this is a lot for you. I’m so sorry, but I never meant to hurt you. And I love you so much. You have always been there for me. It didn’t mean anything to me. So, what do you want me to do?” He cautiously inquired with downcast eyes.

“Eric, who is the mother?” Teresa asked knowing the answer already.