Bedrock (15 page)

Later that evening, Addie arrived home exhausted. She
had agreed to a late session with Sondra and a client in a few hours but wanted
to see the boys and shower first. Addie froze as she shut the door behind her. Patrick
was sitting on the couch as though he’d never left. He glanced at the clock on
the wall. “You’re late.”

Her stomach sank. “What are you doing home?” Addie strained her
neck towards the kitchen. “Where are the boys?”

Patrick stood and walked over to her. Addie stepped back
instinctively.

“Well, nice to see you, too.” Patrick said, leaning in for a
kiss.

“I’m sorry. But why don’t you start by telling me what’s going
on?” Addie hissed, turning her cheek.

He grabbed her as she tried to move away and pulled her close, his
breath hot on her neck. “I guess I could ask you the same.”

Addie pushed against his chest. Hard. “Where are the kids,
Patrick?”

He put his hands up in surrender. “Relax. They’re with my mom.
She picked me up at the airport and wanted to give us some time.”

Addie eyed him skeptically. “Time for what?”

Patrick sat back down on the sofa and kicked his feet up. “I
don’t know. Time to get reacquainted.”

“What are you doing home?” Addie rubbed her temples.

“My mother called, and you haven’t been answering my calls
recently. I needed to see that you’re ok.” Patrick leaned back, folding his
hands behind his head, taking her in. “And my God, Addie, are you ever ok.
You’re fucking amazing. So tell me what in the hell have you been up to?
Because whatever it is, it sure looks good on you.”

Addie didn’t miss a beat. “I finally wised up and hired a trainer
and a chef. You know—job perks,” she added, served up with a go-fuck-yourself
smile.

Fourteen

With Patrick home, Addie was going crazy trying to
manage the web of lies that she had spun. She had to be extra careful, knowing
that her mother-in-law thought something was up and called Patrick home.
Patrick didn’t exactly say as much, only that he missed her and the kids and
wanted a break. But she knew better.
Penny Greyer loved to stir up shit, especially
where Addie was concerned.

Sondra had been furious when Addie had to cancel on her the other
night, but after seeing that Addie still intended to see the deal through,
Sondra relented and together they concocted a plan. Addie’s assistant would
arrive each morning and go over her schedule with her, making sure that Patrick
was within earshot. She and Sondra would then have a conference call to discuss
the day’s events, again within earshot of her husband. As horrible as Addie
felt about deceiving Patrick this way, she knew it was only short term and that
they’d be better for it in the end. So far, so good. Her plan seemed to be
working.

Of course, it helped that she and Patrick had rekindled things,
calling an unspoken truce. He couldn’t keep his hands off of her, and Addie
found herself enjoying having him home, especially given how happy the boys
were.

But all of the lying and the covering up meant that she had
absolutely no energy or attention to give William or his emails. She’d texted
him, letting him know that Patrick was home, and he’d responded with an email
which Addie couldn’t bring herself to open. After their last exchange at The W,
she felt that something had broken, and she wasn’t sure how to put it back
together. Worse yet, she wasn’t sure whether or not it was even possible to do
so.

On the fourth day, Addie found William in her office, sitting at
her desk. She wasn’t all that surprised to see him sitting there. It took a
moment for him to look up, and Addie was confused, certain he’d heard her,
until she noticed what he was holding:
her family photo.

Addie watched the way he studied it as she made her way over to
the desk and perched herself on the side of it. She stared at William intently
but said nothing.

William cleared his throat. “I’ve never walked away from anything
before. If I wanted it, that is. But I’m willing to do it . . . for you.”

He placed the picture back in its place and held his gaze on it.
“I’m willing to do it for them.”

Addie reached for his hand and curled his fingers in hers. “I’m
sorry, William. It’s just that the timing for us is all sorts of wrong.”

His voice deepened. “Don’t bullshit me, Addison. That’s the one
thing I ask. Give it to me straight. I’ve played this game myself, too many
times to count, so I know it when I see it. Don’t toy with me.”

Addie’s hand recoiled. “I’m not toying with you, and I’m not sure
what it is exactly that you’re asking, but I’m pretty sure it’s more than I can
give.”

“I’m asking for you to give me a shot. Give
us
a shot. Do
you have any idea how great we could be together?”

“William, you don’t even know what you’re asking. I’m married with
three
children! You have no idea what that’s like. We live completely
different lives. Meeting up and having incredible, carefree sex doesn’t make a
relationship.”

William looked her dead in the eye. “I never implied that it
did.”

“Then what exactly are you implying?” She lifted her chin and placed
her hands on her hips.

“I’m asking you to make a decision. Do you want to give this a
shot or not? If you do, then great—give me your stipulations and I’ll give you
mine. If you don’t, then fine, but let me know and we’ll end all of this
incredible, carefree sex we’ve been having.”

Addie wanted to go to him and hold him. She wanted to ease the
pain she saw written all over his face, but she couldn’t let herself. In the
end, they would both wind up hurt. No matter how badly she wanted to utter the
words and instantly make it all better, she wouldn’t. She thought of the boys
and of Patrick and decided what she’d say. There were too many lives at stake
here,
too
many people who’d get caught in the crossfire. Too many
secrets to keep. So she mouthed the words that she knew would bring him to his
knees and end it all. “I love my husband, William. I’m sorry.”

William visibly flinched. He stood for a second, staring out the
window before quietly walking toward the door. When he got to the doorway, he
paused, stood up a little straighter, and smiled. “Well then, I guess I’ll see
you around, kid.”

It took everything in Addie’s power not to go to him, not to tell
him the truth. That he’d made her happier in these past few weeks that she’d ever
been. But she didn’t. Instead she just smiled and watched as he turned and
walked away.

Fuck Addison Greyer.
He’d show her. William
decided to call up every woman in his contact list that he’d ever slept with
and make arrangements. Hell, he’d already gone through three of them in the
last twenty-four hours alone. The best plan he could come up with was to sleep
her right off his mind.

After a week in a sex-fueled haze, William felt better, though a
little worse for the wear. He had used his anger to fuel a few major business
deals, and nothing made him happier than money.
Nothing except Addison
Greyer.
Damn.
He
had
to get her off of his mind.

William threw himself into his work. After a week or so when that
didn’t work, he called up one of his favorite girls and flew them out to Vegas.
Sin City would do the trick; he was sure of it.

Patrick knew he’d have to head back to China a week
after lying to Michele, telling her that one of the boys was sick. Luckily,
he’d been able to push his trip out to two weeks, and, quite frankly, he wasn’t
ready to leave even then.

First off, things between him and Addie were going so well. There
was something about her that had changed while he was away. She was stronger,
more opinionated, and even more beautiful than before, which was funny because,
even though he hadn’t thought he would, he liked her that way.

Second, while his mother swore that something was going on, that his
wife was falling apart, into drugs, or, worse yet, having an affair, Patrick
hadn’t seen any evidence of it. In fact, it was just the opposite. She had been
holding everything together perfectly, which made Patrick fall in love with her
all over again. That said, he told Penny to keep an eye out. Just in case.

The two weeks he was home, he threw himself into fatherhood,
making up for lost time. Patrick realized how much he missed his kids, and that
made him determined to convince Addie to move to China. He knew that he’d have
to end things with Michele but decided he needed more time. After all, tomorrow
he was headed back and needed someone waiting to comfort him while he was away.

Things for Addie had been hectic over the last two
weeks with her Domme training and having Patrick home. It was nice to have her
family all together, but if she were honest with herself, she would admit that
it would also be nice to see him go too. She needed a reprieve from all of the
lying and the hiding. She loved seeing the boys so happy to have their Daddy
home, but Addie wanted to throw herself into her work. In many ways, Patrick
reminded her of a fourth child. She was being selfish, she told herself.

Then there was the matter of William. She wanted to see him. Not
that she would. But she wanted to. There was so much she needed to say, so much
she needed to process on her own. With everything going on, there hadn’t been
the time. Addie used her hurt and anger to fuel her work as a Domme. She
bottled it up and used it on the men who called her Mistress. Thankfully, it
seemed to be working; Sondra was getting stellar reviews.

The night before Patrick left, he and Addie lay awake in bed for
a long while, talking about the future: their plans, their hopes, and their
dreams. But later, when they made love, it was William’s face she saw as she
closed her eyes. It was William she dreamed of that night. Addie saw William
surrounded by flames, calling her name. But no matter how hard she tried, she
couldn’t reach him. She couldn’t save him. All she could do was stand and watch
as the flames engulfed his body. She awoke in the dark, panting and covered in
sweat.

Addie grabbed her iPhone, climbed out of bed, went into the
bathroom, and sat on the edge of the tub. She typed “William Hartman” in her
Google search. The headline that popped up made her smile, though just a
little.

BILLIONAIRE
PLAYBOY GAMBLES

AWAY
MILLIONS IN VEGAS.

The article was complete with pictures, which infuriated Addie.
They showed an incredibly handsome William, complete with his signature shit-eating
grin, surrounded by women and liquor. Addie gritted her teeth
.
Okay, so
he wasn’t burning to death in a fiery hellhole. The fucker was in Vegas. Addie
slammed her phone down.
Same difference, asshole.

William was sitting in the office of the penthouse
suite of Caesar’s Palace when Carl came in wielding a file, thrusting it his
way.

“I think it’s time to go home, sir.”

William looked at Carl, confused. What had gotten into him? “I
think I’ll be the judge of that. Thank you, Carl.”

Carl spoke, his tone serious. “You need to have a look at what’s
in the file. Enough is enough.”

William opened the folder and pulled the contents out, spilling
them on the desk. There were photos of a man and woman together intimately.
William looked at Carl and shook his head. “What is this?”

“Sir, this is Patrick Greyer and his boss. He’s been seeing her
for quite some time.”

William leaned back in his chair, running his fingers through his
hair
. Shit.
“Where did you get this?”

“May I?” Carl sat down in the chair adjacent to the desk.
“Research.”

“Why?” William pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his
eyes shut.