His Betrayal Her Lies (6 page)

Chapter 5

Once inside, Maci leaned her back up against
the closed door. She couldn’t believe Ari was giving out
commands.

Spotting a nail kit and a bottle of hot pink
polish she left on the vanity, she sat down to give herself a
manicure. A fresh coat of polish over the old chipped paint job
would look crappy so she began by saturating a cotton ball with
nail polish remover. As she methodically rubbed every trace of
color off each nail, she recalled her first encounter with Ari.

* * *

She had picked up on the fact that he had a
girlfriend when she first met him at the bar in Miami. Her
suspicions were confirmed by his desperate reaction after he
thought he had gotten her pregnant. She saw the guilt and shame in
his face as soon as he jumped up.

It seemed like she always fell for the men
who were unavailable. Frankly, she was tired of men using her as a
sex tool to get their rocks off. They came to her to do the things
their wives or girlfriends wouldn’t do. That was about to end. She
had had sex with her share of guys but she had never had anyone who
could change so many positions and stay hard as long like Ari.
There was something different about him. She wanted him after their
first night together. She knew she was in love, and she would do
whatever it took to make Ari love her.

Six weeks later, she realized she had missed
her period. A positive result from a home pregnancy test prompted
her to make an appointment with her ob-gyn, who confirmed that she
was pregnant.

“I don’t understand,” Maci had voiced. “I
take my pill like clockwork.” The doctor explained that with her
new prescription of birth control pills, she was taking a milder
dosage and her body hadn’t yet adjusted.

Maci was overwhelmed with joy and excitement.
She wanted to tell Ari right away but he had refused to give her
any contact information. She had vaguely recalled that he told her
the name of the school he attended. With no other options, she
wrote a letter and sent it to the school, in hopes that it would
get to him. She didn’t mention the pregnancy; just that he needed
to come and see her because she had important news to discuss with
him.

Two weeks after she’d sent that letter, he
showed up at her door.

“Can I come in?”

Standing in the doorway with her mouth wide
open, Maci said nervously, “Oh, yes, come in.” She hadn’t expected
that his arrival would rattle her that way. Ari strolled into the
room and took a seat on her flowered couch. She surveyed her small
apartment, suddenly feeling self-conscious about it. The wallpaper
was peeling and the carpet, which was bald in a couple of spots,
needed to be taken up. Her furniture looked as if it came from the
thrift store.

She sat across from Ari and crossed her legs,
her daisy dukes riding up as she did so. “Do you want some
tea?”

“No, thank you.”

She hoped Ari was still attracted to her. She
had a mind to reach over and find out.

“So Maci, what was so important that you
asked me to come and see you? I racked my brain about this for two
weeks but I’m here now, so let’s get this over.”

“Well, I don’t know any other way to say
this. I’m pregnant.”

“By who?” Ari shot back.

Maci gave him a look of disappointment and
shook her head. “Oh wow. Ari, do you even have to ask?”

“Yes, I do, because you told me you were on
the pill.”

She told him what the doctor had said about
the lower dosage of hormone in her pills. The next thing out of his
mouth was, “Are you going to keep it?”

Without hesitation, Maci replied, “Yes.”

Ari’s temper started to rise. “That’s stupid.
You can barely afford to take care of yourself, let alone a child.
Wanting to keep a child with a man who doesn’t even love you or
want to be with you is pathetic.”

“I don’t give a damn if you love me or want
me; I’m not getting rid of my baby just because you’re not ready to
be a father. You need to get over it and be a man.”

Something in Ari must have snapped because
before Maci knew it, he was standing right in front of her chair.
He grabbed her by the throat and pulled her to her feet. She tried
to pry his hands from her neck. The blank stare in his eyes let her
know that what she told him had hit a nerve. He was right up on
her.

She could feel the rush of warm air each time
he exhaled, and it excited her so much that she stopped clawing at
him and stretched her head forward to get close enough to lick his
bottom lip.

Ari immediately moved his head back, still
holding her neck.

She did it once more. This time he did not
resist her animal attraction. He let go of her neck and ripped open
her button-down shirt. Her breasts spilled forward and he took them
in his hands and squeezed.

Maci pulled down his jeans and boxers and let
them fall down to his ankles. His dick stuck straight out.

Ari pushed Maci’s head down and she took him
into her mouth. About to explode, he pulled her up and pushed her
down on the recliner. The flimsy shorts and panties she wore came
off with ease. He put one of her legs up on each arm rest.

Pure lust was in his eyes as he looked at
her, wide open and ready to receive him. He placed one hand on the
back of the chair, and leaned his body in to enter her, then rocked
back and forth. Squeaks from the springs in the old chair were the
only sounds louder than Maci’s squeals. She tried to take her legs
off the arm rest but Ari held them there and went deeper inside
her. He pounded her over and over again until her mouth fell open
and her head fell back. Ari stuck his tongue in her mouth and she
sucked on it. Maci’s body was trembling all over. This man was
showing her no mercy and she loved every bit of it.

The recliner soon stretched out flat in
response to Ari’s repeated thrusts. Maci felt his dick vibrating
inside of her and she knew he was about to come. She held on to his
broad shoulders for support. Once Ari exploded, he got up and
quickly put on his clothes.

She could see the guilt in his face once
again. She let her numb legs fall over the side of the arm rest.
When she tried to stand, it wasn’t happening. She squirmed around
in the chair putting on her shorts and shirt. The buttons were
missing from the shirt, so she was forced to hold it closed with
her hands. “You can leave now. You got what you wanted,” Maci
murmured.

Ari walked to the door. “Call me when the
baby is born. I’m not going to be a deadbeat dad. I’ll take care of
it if it’s mine.”

“What do you mean if it’s yours?”

“Exactly what I said. I want a paternity
test, and if it’s mine you will have no worries.”

* * *

All ten of Maci’s nails were now blank
canvasses. She unscrewed the top off the nail polish and started
brushing the pink color onto her nails. Ari was across the hall
with her daughter, acting like he was the big baller, shot caller.
We’ll just see how he feels when he finds out about all the
stuff I haven’t told him yet.

Today Maci had conveniently left out that she
knew about Taylor before the wedding was ever publicized. When Ari
approached her with the idea a year ago about Adrianne accompanying
him on his business trips, Maci thought it was a good idea, until
she had decided to trail Ari home from the airline once when they
had arrived back in Chicago from Japan. Ari assumed she and
Adrianne had headed home but she slyly followed him to the estate
he shared with Taylor. From that piece of investigative work, Maci
also learned what type of car Taylor drove.

She knew about Dynasty Magazine, too. It was
no secret that Mayor Briggs’ oldest daughter was establishing her
own magazine. Maci just wanted to know her competition, that’s all;
to see the woman face-to-face who stole her life. One day she had
even gotten lucky enough to follow Taylor to the grocery store and
have a conversation with her about how ripe the strawberries
looked. Having been that close to Taylor made her feel
untouchable.

Maci thought that after Taylor received the
letter she sent before the wedding, Taylor would definitely put Ari
out and he would come running to her. Well
that
never
happened and Ari never said anything to Maci to insinuate that he
knew about her little stunt. She decided to try another scheme to
get Taylor’s attention. Maci attended the wedding but only let
Taylor see her. This Taylor woman was someone to be wary of. Maci
just had to figure out what game Taylor Briggs–Gallagher was
playing.

She unbuckled her sandals and kicked them off
her feet.
I’ve got more tricks up my sleeve. One thing Ari
doesn’t know is that as of today, his life with his little wifey
will change forever.

Chapter 6

Jittery. That’s how Taylor had felt all day.
Yesterday she found out about tonight’s magazine conference, and
she had been humping since then to get ready. After work, she had
gone straight home and planted herself on the love seat, spending
hours on her iPad researching the industry moguls who might be at
tonight’s event. She needed to make the most of this networking
opportunity.

Fortunately, she hadn’t had to worry about
what to wear. A week before, she was in Neiman Marcus when she fell
in love with a flowing brown Donna Karan gown covered with
rhinestones and pearl beads across the front. It hung low in the
back and an inch off the floor in the front. The sweetheart
neckline molded to her full breasts, but the waist needed to be
taken in just a bit to make it perfect.

Thankfully, she had taken it to Mr. Chow for
alterations the day she bought it. It was going to be just right
for tonight’s affair. After work she had dashed into the small
brown brick building located on Palm Avenue and approached the
short man behind the counter. “Hey, Mr. Chow. I’m coming to get
that sequined dress I dropped off last week.”

In his Korean accent he spoke, “Hello,
Taylor. I got that dress especially ready for you.” He disappeared
behind the curtain and came back with it. “For your many years of
service, I’m going to give this to you on the house.”

“You’re the best, Mr. Chow. Thanks a
million.”

He raised the dress high enough to clear the
counter, then gingerly laid it across her two outstretched
arms.

“Somebody up there must like me,” she mused
as she opened the door and the cowbell above it clanged
noisily.

Two feet away from her BMW, she stopped dead
in her tracks. The back windshield had been busted out.
Damn!
Who the fuck busted my car window?
Taylor looked up and down
the street to see if she saw some kid who might have done it or
someone who might have seen what happened. The trunk served as a
table to hold her gown while she reached for her Blackberry to call
Ari. He picked up on the first ring.

“Hey, baby. You called to let me hear that
sexy voice of yours while I’m out of town?”

“Ari, someone just busted my car window—I
mean, they busted it all the way out—while I was in the
cleaners.”

“Say what?”

“Yeah, you heard me.” She hit the remote and
opened the passenger door, leaning in to examine the damage. “The
glass from my back windshield is all over the back seat of my car.
And I have the magazine conference tonight.” Preoccupied, she
almost caught her finger in the door as she closed it. “Shit,” she
shrieked. “Who the hell would want to bust out
my
car
window, Ari?” She had her suspicions but she couldn’t be sure.

It sounded like he dropped his phone. A
second later his voice was in her ear. “I don’t know, baby.
Just … just settle down.”

“Ari, how am I going to settle down when the
conference starts in three hours? And I still have to get home and
get dressed, plus find a way to get to the conference.”

“Well, we can’t leave the car in the parking
lot like that, babe. Okay, wait a minute. Let me think.” The line
went silent, then he blurted out, “I’ve got it. I’ll call AAA and
get the car towed to Safelite. It won’t take the tow truck long to
get to you ’cause I’ll call Sonny. He owes me a favor.”

“Who’s that?”

“You know Sonny,” he answered.

“Right, but I mean who is Safelite?” She
paced around the car.

“The people who do emergency repairs on car
windows and windshields.”

“Oh, them. Okay.”

“I can call the insurance company and line up
a rental for you to pick up.”

Taylor didn’t have time to wait on a rental.
“I need to be headed home quicker than that. I’ll just call Libby
to pick me up.” She wiped her hand down her face as she thought
about the next problem. “But then, I will still need a ride to the
convention.”

“Don’t sweat it, babe. I’ll send a limo to
pick you up at home. What time?”

“Uh, 6:30 on the dot.”

“Okay, I’m on it.”

She gave a quick I love you, ended the call,
and dialed Libby’s number.

Libby came pulling up an hour later, tooting
her horn.

Taylor was standing next to the AAA tow
truck, evening gown in hand, talking with Sonny through his
driver’s side window. Ari had found a nearby Safelite that could
take her car in right away and have it ready for her tomorrow. She
was giving Sonny directions to their shop. Moments later, a few
shards of broken glass hit the ground as her car, hooked to the tow
truck, trailed past her.

Too mad to make eye contact, Taylor glanced
at Libby’s white Range Rover. She couldn’t understand why it took
Libby a whole hour to get to the cleaners when she only lived
fifteen minutes away. A lung-clearing exhale was her attempt to let
go of some of her anger. She laid her garment across the spacious
back seat, then climbed into the vehicle.