Betrayal (31 page)

“To special friends,” he toasted, and clinked his glass with hers.

Michele nodded and took a sip. The Dom was delicious, much better than the cheap sparkling wine she was drinking before. She downed the first glass and poured herself another. She was still trying to numb her pain, and the expensive champagne slid down her throat with ease. She was on her third glass, while Laird was still on his first. The Dom Pérignon coupled with the Prosecco was giving Michele the desired buzz she sought. She laid her head back on the sofa cushions so that she could enjoy her high.

“Looks like somebody is feeling lovely,” Laird commented.

“This champagne is lovely; that’s what’s lovely,” she said, with a crooked grin.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying it,” he said, moving closer to her. “Now, I’d like to enjoy you.” He rubbed his glass across her blouse.

Michele didn’t flinch. She felt conflicted. On the one hand, Laird was the last man she wanted to be with, but on the other hand, at least
he
wanted
her
. Now that her hand had been exposed and Preston didn’t trust her any longer, she needed another target, and Laird would do just fine. After all, he was a well-known politician with lofty connections. She turned to him, with a sly smile. “I think you’ll get a better feel without this,” she said, taking the glass out of his hand and setting it on the table.

Laird looked surprised. The other day at the town house, she had seemed anxious to get rid of him. Now she was taking the lead—not that he was complaining. “You’re right. I do need both of my hands.” He began unbuttoning her blouse, and then unhooked her bra. As
soon as the hook popped, her breasts spilled out. “Hmm.” He licked his lips. “You got the prettiest tits I ever seen.”

She shook her shoulders, causing her breasts to shake slightly. She then rubbed her nipples until they hardened. Michele watched Laird enjoy her little peep show. He seemed to be mesmerized. “Are you just going to look at them, or what?”

“Oh, honey, I’m going to do more than just look at these babies.” He pulled her to him so that she was straddling him. He then cupped her right breast and devoured it. He was sucking so hard and fast, that saliva was running down his chin like water, and he nearly choked.

“Slow down, baby, we got all night,” she whispered in his ear.

“I can’t wait.” He panted. “Do you know how long I’ve wanted to fuck you?” Laird moved her to the side, and began frantically unbuckling his belt and unzipping his pants.

Michele wasn’t ready to have sex with him just yet. She’d planned on teasing him for at least another hour, before sucking him off and sending him on his way. She knew that eventually she’d have to sleep with him, but she wanted to prolong the inevitable for as long as possible. She was still holding on to a shred of hope that Preston would forgive her and that they could build a life together, once he divorced Ariel. Michelle was caught up in a dicey game. There was no way that she could get out of fucking Laird tonight. She had led him on too many times; now it was time to pay up. “I hope you’re not the kiss-and-tell type. What goes on between us is just between us. Okay?” she said, making sure that he wouldn’t go blabbing their business to Preston, or anyone else.

“Whatever you say.” He panted. He barely heard a word she said; he was too busy trying to get his pants off and his dick out.

“Now that that’s settled, I guess you want some of my good stuff?” Michele stood up and unfastened her pants, letting them fall to the floor. She took off her panties, and started playing with herself. “Is this what you want?”

Laird was drooling like a dog in heat at the sight of her swollen clit. He couldn’t take her teasing any longer; he pulled her back on
the sofa, and got on top. He wedged himself between her legs, jammed his dick deep within her vagina, and started pumping wildly, without any finesse. Before he could get a good rhythm going, he ejaculated inside of her, and then slumped down on her chest.

Michele had never had a two-minute man, or in this case, a ninety-second man. He came before she could even wrap her legs around his back. Part of her was glad it was over, but part of her wanted an orgasm too. She had gotten herself turned on, only to be turned off. Michele started to say something, but what could she say without hurting his feelings and jeopardizing losing him too, so she just let him lay there on top of her, until he recovered.

“Wow! That was great! Better than I dreamed,” Laird exclaimed, after about three minutes of silence.

I’m glad you think so
. “Sure was.” She faked a smile.

He got up and picked his pants and underwear off the floor and put them back on. “You were definitely worth the wait.” He grinned.

And you were a complete disappointment
. She was surprised. At the town house, he had talked so much shit, about how good his loving would be, and she had even felt him up then, and knew that he had a good enough tool to work with. The problem wasn’t his equipment, but his eagerness. He was so frantic to fuck her, that he came without any consideration for her needs. She sat up. “Who knew you were such a tiger,” she said, making growling sounds. She continued to stroke his ego, making sure that he thought he had rocked her world. Michele wanted Laird to think that she was completely satisfied. She had found another pawn and had to make her moves cautiously, with forethought. Michele was tired of pressing her nose against the glass, looking, but unable to touch. She was determined to live among the A-listers, and now Laird was her passport into this exclusive enclave.

“You haven’t seen anything yet,” he said, straightening his clothes. “Next time, it’ll be longer, I promise, but I have to get home before Leona gets suspicious. She didn’t have a business dinner tonight, and on those nights when she’s at home, she wants me there with her,”
he explained, and gave her a quick peck on the lips and hurried out the door.

Michele refilled her glass and relaxed back on the sofa cushions.
Looks like I finally found my entry into the A-list
, she thought, totally disregarding the fact that he was a married man. She didn’t care about his wife. Leona was old and frumpy and no competition.
Once I get him pussy-whipped, he’ll put my name on any invitation list in town. After all, he did say that he could get into just about anywhere he wanted
. With that thought in mind, Michele polished off the champagne and headed to bed. The night had ended better than she could have predicted. She may have lost her chances with Preston, but at least she had another chump on the line, and Laird would do until she found another target.

“WHY DID
you leave the town house?” Meri asked. “It’s your home too.”

“Legally, I know it’s my house, but it sure didn’t feel like home. Even before the confrontation with Preston, I felt a coldness the moment I stepped through the door,” she said, still remembering the weird feeling.

“Why do you think that is?”

“Probably because Michele was fucking
my
husband in
my
house. They didn’t admit anything, but the way they were all hugged up when they came in the door, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were having an affair of their own.” Ariel was back in New York having lunch at Meri’s penthouse, giving her a recap of the final showdown with Preston.

“I’m sure you’re right. The only time I felt an unexplained coldness like that was when my first husband cheated on me. He had the nerve to bring his concubine into our home, and screw her.”

“How did you find that out? Did you catch them in the act?”

“You bet your sweet ass I did. I had a feeling that he was sneaking around, so I told him that I was going out of town for the weekend.
I left Friday afternoon and checked into a suite at the Peninsula, had spa treatments, a wonderful dinner, and ordered the most expensive bottle of champagne on the menu, all charged to his credit card. Saturday evening, I went back to our apartment, eased my key in the door, and slipped inside. I could hear voices coming from the kitchen. I knew it wasn’t the cook, since I had given her the weekend off. I crept down the hallway, pushed open the door, and there they were, fucking on my imported marble countertop. He had her legs spread high in the air and was thrusting in between them. He was so busy dirty talking that he didn’t hear me walk in, so I just stood there until they finished.”

“And then what did you do?” Ariel asked. This was the first time she had heard this story.

“I started applauding. I stood there and clapped at his world-class performance. I had to give him praise for the way he was rotating his pelvis. I only wished that he had worked me over like that; most of the time he fucked me missionary style without any enthusiasm.” Meri picked up a bread stick and snapped it. “That’s what I wanted to do to him, break his dick in half. Instead, I took half his money.” She laughed.

“That you did,” Ariel said, taking a sip of her Bellini.

“Do you think that Preston made love to Michele in your bed?” Meri asked, getting right to the point.

“Probably so,” she said, turning up her nose. The notion of her husband and Michele in their bed made her nauseous.

“You have to face the fact that your precious Preston may have crossed the line with his sexy assistant. You were gone for weeks, and they were in the house alone; now it doesn’t take a mathematician to calculate the laws of attraction.”

Ariel exhaled loudly. “I’ve been so preoccupied with Preston’s memory loss, that I hadn’t even considered the possibility of Michele seducing him. And that’s exactly what would have had to happen. I’ve known Preston for over ten years, and there’s one thing I know about him, that he’s not an adulterer. If in fact he did cheat, I’ll bet my year’s salary that Michele initiated it,” she said, with certainty.

“And, my dear, you would win that bet. Why do you think Michele came back to the house with Preston? I’m sure it wasn’t to do some typing,” she said, looking Ariel dead in the eyes.

“Well, it really doesn’t matter now. Preston isn’t speaking to me.”

After he tossed everyone out, Ariel and Trey checked into a hotel—separate rooms, of course. The next day, she called the town house, but he didn’t answer. She called him for two days straight, but never got a response to her messages. On day three Ariel took the Acela back to Manhattan. It had been nearly two weeks, and she hadn’t heard a word from him.

“He still hasn’t returned any of your calls?”

“Not a one,” she said sadly.

“What are you going to do? You can’t wait in limbo forever. Are you going back to D.C. or staying in New York?”

“For the time being, I’m staying here in the company’s corporate apartment, since my condo is still being sublet. I told the managing partner that I’ll be working out of the New York office, until further notice.”

“What does Trey have to say about all of this? I’m interested to hear his take on a situation that he’s partially responsible for,” Meri said, sounding more like an overprotective mother than a friend.

“I’ve only spoken to him once since leaving Washington, and he seems to think that his dad just needs some space. He says that in time, Preston will forgive us. And honest to God, I hope he’s right, but I doubt it. I saw the hatred in his eyes when he kicked us out of the house.”

“Well, maybe Trey is right. After all, you guys have more than a decade under your belt, and it’s hard to throw away that much history with one person,” Meri said hopefully, even though she knew it was a long shot.

Ariel was no fool and knew deep down that Preston would never forgive her. She was tried of talking about something that would never happen and changed the subject. “Okay, enough about me and my sad, sad situation; it’s bringing me down. Let’s talk about something else. Who’s your latest
beau de jour?”

Meri wasn’t ready to drop the topic at hand; she still had more questions, but she respected her friend’s feelings. “Well, let’s see … on Monday, there was Tommy, and on Tuesday I had Rory for lunch
and
dinner. Friday, Paul stopped by for a snack, and—”

“Wait a minute, what happened to Wednesday and Thursday?”

“Daarling,” Meri sang out as only she could. “Rory was so delicious that I had him for three whole days!” she said, in a fit of laughter.

Ariel joined her, and laughed so hard that she began to cry. The tears were not happy tears, but tears of sadness. She tried to cover up her heartbreak with laughter, and hoped that Meri couldn’t see through the charade. “You, my dear friend, are one of a kind.”

“As they say, I’m the genuine article. They not only broke the mold when they made me, but smashed it to smithereens,” Meri said, tooting her own horn.

For the rest of the afternoon, they ate, drank, and small-talked. Ariel needed an escape from reality, if just for a moment. Being in Meri’s penthouse, eating, drinking, and joking about her many conquests was just the break Ariel needed.

“Meri, thanks for a wonderful day. I truly enjoy spending time with you.” Ariel gave her friend a warm hug. “I’ll call you if I hear from Preston,” she said, standing at the door few hours later.