Retribution (21 page)

Cooper and me.

That
situation was so far gone that I didn’t know what to do about it. I still felt that I would have to leave Morgantown to escape Robert, but after last night, I wasn’t so sure that I could do it. I didn’t want to leave Cooper. I loved him. He loved me. If I left, it would destroy me.

But if you don’t leave, you’ll only add more trouble than you already have
, I thought to myself.
How could Cooper and I be anything publicly? How could I tie myself to him, knowing that it would tie me to Robert as well?

No matter how much Cooper hated him, Robert would always be his father.

I felt the beginning of a dull headache by the time I pulled into work. I needed to make a decision concerning all of this, and I needed to do it fast. I couldn’t continue to be Robert’s loving wife much longer. Whatever decision I came to, I would have to make sure that it was what was best for not only myself, but for Cooper as well.

I didn’t even bother to greet anyone as I walked into work and headed up to Becky’s desk. My mind was too full to be polite today. Apparently, I had my bitch face on because no one tried to talk to me, even on the elevator.

When I reached Becky’s desk, she was already there. I took a moment to wonder if she ever left to go anywhere besides lunch. It seemed that she was a permanent extension of her desk.

Becky looked up when I sat down in the chair across from her. “Morning, Claire.”

“Morning,” I said without much emotion.

“Everything okay?” she asked.

I nodded. “Yeah, I’m just a bit stressed out.”

She glanced around to make sure no one was near us. “How did yesterday go?”

I looked around, too. “It went fine.”

“Where did you go, Claire? I can’t help but be curious. Did it have anything to do with what
he
did to you?”

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. “Maybe.”

She seemed to take that as a yes. “Good. I hope you nail him to the wall for what he did to you. I can’t stand when men hurt women, especially men like him.”

There was so much anger in her tone that I couldn’t help but respect her even more. Becky was a good person. Even though going against Robert could get her fired, she still stuck by me.

“Can I ask your opinion on something?” I blurted.

Without a doubt, I knew that she would be honest with me. It was just how she was.

“Of course. And I promise it won’t leave this desk.” She smiled.

“What if you cared about someone you shouldn’t? And what if that person was tied to someone who had hurt you? Could you leave the person behind for your own safety?”

She looked thoughtful for a moment. “I think it depends on how deeply you care for that person. If I loved someone, I would fight to keep him, no matter what.”

“What if fighting meant you would be a part of the other person’s life, too, and you desperately needed to escape?”

“Claire, if there’s a will, there’s a way. The fact that you’re asking me this tells me that you love this person very much.”

I nodded. “You’re right. Every sensible part of my brain is screaming for me to run as far away as I can, but the insensible part is demanding that I stay and fight for him.”

“No one ever said love was sensible. Duh,” she joked.

I laughed. “No, I guess not. I thought I was in love…before. Now that I’ve found the real thing, I can’t believe what a fool I was.”

“You’re young, and I know Robert can be very appealing when he tries. It’s not totally your fault.” She paused. “But I do want to give you one piece of advice. Whatever is going on between you and this mystery man needs to stop until you’re free of Robert. If he finds out, he’ll turn it against you, making it seem like you’re the bad guy. You don’t want that, Claire. You have to be smart about this, or it will come back to bite you in the ass. Robert is a smart and conniving individual. You just have to be smarter.”

“You’re right,” I said. “I didn’t mean for this to happen at all, but that’s no excuse. I have to protect myself from Robert, and I also have to protect
him.
”

“See? I knew you were a smart girl.” She smiled. “Now, why don’t you take your little bum downstairs to catch up on some filing? I would hate to have to write you up for laziness.”

I grinned and mock saluted her before standing. “Yes, ma’am.”

I could hear her laughing as I walked away.

As I made my way downstairs to the basement, I thought about what Becky had said. I hated how much sense she’d made. Regardless, she was definitely right about one thing. Until all this was settled, I needed to stop what was happening between Cooper and me. I had to protect him.

I spent all morning and part of the afternoon catching up on filing. I made sure to keep my mind on only the task at hand and not the millions of things that were trying to overwhelm me. Thankfully, it’d worked. At least, it’d worked until it was time to head home for the day. Suddenly, my nerves were back in full force.

I wiped my sweaty palms on my pants as I walked into the house. Ellie was in the kitchen, bent over, as she pulled a casserole from the oven. I leaned against the doorframe and waited for her to put the casserole down and close the oven door. I didn’t want to startle her and end up with casserole all over the kitchen floor.

“Hey, Ellie,” I said once it was safe.

Just as I had feared, she jumped in surprise and spun around to face me.

She clutched her chest. “Good Lord, Claire. You scared the daylights out of me.”

I grinned. “Sorry. At least I waited until dinner was safe before I decided to scare you.”

She laughed. “I appreciate your thoughtfulness.”

I walked over and sat down at the kitchen table as she started pulling apart a head of lettuce to make a salad.

“How was your day?”

“Boring as always. Becky had me filing again. How was yours?”

“The same as usual. I did the laundry today. All your clothes are hanging up in Robert’s closet. There were a few that wouldn’t fit, so I hung them up in your old room. You were low on shampoo, too, so I went out and grabbed some for you.”

“Thanks, Ellie. What would I do without you?”

“Most of the time, you’d probably wear wrinkled clothes and a hat to hide your horribly unclean hair.”

I laughed. “Probably, but I’m sure I’d fare better than Robert and Cooper. Those two are used to being babied. I had to take care of myself before coming here. You’ll be proud to know that I have the ability to start the washer and dryer on my own.”

She shook her head. “That’s very impressive. Next, you’ll tell me that you know how to buy toiletries, too.”

“I wouldn’t go that far. Imagine how embarrassed I’d be if I had to buy my own tampons.” I mock shuddered.

She chuckled. “You’re something else, Claire. I just love you to pieces. I hope you know that.”

Warmth filled me. “I know, Ellie, and I love you, too. You’re a part of this family to me.”

Silence filled the room as Ellie worked away at making the salad, and I watched from my chair. I loved spending time with Ellie. She was always so calm and collected. She also had no desire to fill a room with endless chatter. That was much appreciated.

The silence of the room was shattered by the ringing of the doorbell.

Ellie looked over at me. “I wonder who that could be,” she said.

“I’ll see who it is.” I stood and walked out of the room.

The doorbell rang again before I could reach the entryway.

“Hold your horses,” I mumbled as I hurried into the room. I stopped in front of the door and opened it without peeking through the peephole to see who it was. The moment the door swung open, I wished I had.

Sandra Buckhannon stood only a few inches away from me. As soon as she saw me, she eyed me with distaste. The feeling was mutual. Sandra had publicly humiliated me the one and only time we’d met. I’d later learned that she had been cheating on her husband with Robert. From what Cooper had told me, she’d thought that Robert planned to marry her. A tiny bit of smug satisfaction filled me as I looked at her. She’d thought she was the queen, only to be tossed aside for someone better—me.

“Sandra,” I said, keeping my tone icy, “what brings you by?”

“I’m looking for Robert,” she bit out. Animosity rolled off of her in waves. “I didn’t realize that you would be here.”

“Where else would I be? This is my home after all,” I pointed out.

She started to move past me, but I raised my arm and rested it on the doorframe.

“I need to speak to Robert. Move.” She was openly glaring at me now.

That made me smile outright.

“He isn’t home yet, but I’d be glad to relay a message to him, if you like.”

“I don’t think so.” She turned to leave. “I’ll just stop by his office.”

My smug mood left me as I watched her walking down the steps. Who did this woman think she was? She’d cheated on her husband with his best friend. That was as low class as you could get.

Suddenly, I realized that Sandra would be the perfect outlet for the anger I’d been harboring for weeks. I stepped out onto the porch and closed the door behind me before following Sandra to her car.

“Sandra!” I called when she started to open her door.

She looked up just as I reached her. “What?”

“You know, I’ve met a lot of horrible people in my life, but you might just take the cake. I mean, what kind of low-class white-trash whore cheats on her husband with his best friend?”

Her eyes widened in shock.

“What? You didn’t think I knew that you let Robert fuck you? He tells me
everything
.”
Lie.
“He told me just how willing you were to climb into bed with him. He even told me just how bad you were. I think you might have made him ill after a few times.”

She stepped closer until there was only an inch of space between us. “You little bitch!”

“It’s ironic that you tried to turn everyone against me for being low class when you’re the low-class whore. You really thought he was going to marry you, didn’t you? That’s so sad. When Robert told me that, I nearly cried from laughing so hard.”

Her mouth opened and closed, but no words came out. I took a moment to enjoy my victory before tearing into her again.

“Then, you come here tonight to find him. It’s pathetic.
You’re pathetic.
Robert doesn’t want anything to do with you anymore.” I paused for a moment. When I spoke again, my voice had lost its humor and had transformed into pure ice, “If I were you,
Mrs. Buckhannon,
I wouldn’t come back here again. Actually, I wouldn’t show my face anywhere near Robert or me. If you do, I’ll make sure that everyone knows what a slut you are.”

I turned and walked away from Sandra. I didn’t once turn around and look at her. I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction. Yes, Sandra had belittled me in front of everyone, but in the end, I had won. I’d finally put her in her place. The calculating cold bitch deserved nothing less.

When I reached the front door, I heard her car start. A second later, I heard the sound of tires screeching as she left burnout marks on the blacktop of the driveway. I smiled.

“Who was that?” Ellie asked when I returned to the kitchen.

I waved her off. “No one important. I got rid of her.”

She gave me a quizzical look but didn’t question me further. I wasn’t sure I could tell her what I’d just done. Part of me felt empowered from tearing down someone like Sandra, but the other part—the one that had told me to keep my mouth shut—felt embarrassed because I’d lowered myself to Sandra’s level. I didn’t want Ellie to think badly of me, and I feared that she would if she knew.

“Are you staying for dinner tonight?” I asked Ellie, desperate to relieve the suddenly uncomfortable silence.

She shook her head. “I can’t. I have to buy my own groceries tonight. I keep this place stocked up, but then I go home and realize that my own cabinets are empty.”

I tsk-tsked at her. “You have to take care of yourself, Ellie. What would happen if you got sick? I’ll tell you, this place would fall apart.”

“Don’t I know it? I dread the week after I come back from vacation every year. It’s like a cyclone has gone through this house. I’ve named it Cyclone Cooper. I swear, that boy could make a mess out of air.” She paused. “Well, he used to anyway.”