Secret Obsession (12 page)

I
t was noon on Saturday, and Paige had been home for three days now. She’d planned on staying in Vegas until Friday, but seeing as Pierce had left so abruptly on Wednesday morning, she’d changed her ticket and flown out that evening herself. She’d wanted to stay longer, but since she’d been there all alone, she hadn’t seen a reason for it. The only problem was, she hadn’t heard a peep from Pierce yet, or from Camille for that matter, and she was starting to get worried. She’d even gone as far as calling his office yesterday, but to her surprise, his executive assistant had told her he wouldn’t be in until Monday. Paige had just assumed that since he’d left the conference early, he’d go back to work business as usual. But he hadn’t, and that could only mean one thing. He was spending as much time as he could with that sister of hers and maybe the idea that Camille had messed around on him no longer mattered. Paige had been sure that once he saw Camille again, he wouldn’t be able to get past what she’d done to him, but apparently he had, and they were working things out the way Pierce had anticipated.

But Paige wondered how great things would continue being for them if Camille were to find out about Vegas and what had evolved between her husband and sister. She wondered just how smoothly things would continue then.

She pulled out a photo album, opened it, and ran her hand slowly across one of Camille and Pierce’s wedding photos. She did the same with a photo of Camille and Pierce that had been taken one year at their parents’ during Christmas dinner, and with a professional family photo of Pierce, Camille, PJ, and Crystal, and she also admired at least thirty other pictures Camille had given her over the years. They were all unique in one way or another, but they did have one thing in common: Camille’s face was completely blacked out on all of them. It was as if she no longer existed, and Paige wished this was actually the case. She wished she could erase Camille from all their lives, so that she would never have to think about her again. She wanted Camille gone, and if she didn’t hear from Pierce soon, she’d have to figure out how to make that happen. She didn’t want to harm her sister physically, not if she didn’t have to, but she wanted her to leave Pierce alone and find herself a new husband. That was all. And Paige didn’t see where that was asking for too much.

She flipped through the album a second time but closed it when her phone rang. She rolled her eyes when Owen’s number displayed.

“What?” she said, answering.

“Now, is that any way to greet the man who has the goods on you?”

“You’ve got nothing,” she said.

“I know about that photo,” he sang.

“My sister will never believe you.”

“But it’ll get her thinking and wondering why I would tell her something like that if it isn’t true. Especially since I don’t have a thing to gain from lying.”

“She’ll just think you’re some disgruntled ex-boyfriend of mine who’s looking to get back at me.”

“Maybe. But I wonder how Pierce will feel about it. You know, he and I always clicked pretty well whenever you and I got together with them.”

Paige smiled at that one, because even if Pierce did believe Owen, she knew Pierce would never pursue it or mention anything to Camille, not when he and Paige had slept together. He wouldn’t want to bring up anything that might lead Camille to think anything about him and her sister. Still, Paige didn’t want Owen telling anyone anything and said, “How much do I owe you?”

“At least seven thousand. Maybe more. But seven will certainly make me forget I ever saw that picture of yours.”

Paige hated this and regretted ever dating Owen. Worse, he didn’t even have tangible proof, yet he was demanding the kind of money she didn’t have. At the most, she had fifteen hundred dollars in a money market account and maybe another two thousand dollars she could scrape together through credit card cash advances, but that was it.

“So, can I pick up my hush money this afternoon?” he asked, once he realized she hadn’t responded.

“All I have right now is thirty-five hundred, so you’ll have to wait another month or so for the other half.”

“Not good enough.”

“What do you mean?”

“I want it all.”

“But I don’t have it, Owen.”

“Then you leave me no choice.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Because you’re no good, Paige. You used me, and when you were finished you tossed me aside like some stray animal. And I’m not letting you get away with it. So, again, I want my seven thousand dollars or else.”

“Owen, I’m really sorry for the way I treated you, and you’re right,” she said, trying a different approach. “I never should have taken advantage of your generosity, and I was very wrong for that. But right now I don’t have the total amount you’re asking for.”

“That’s really too bad. But for the last time, I want all or nothing.”

Paige didn’t know what else to say, and since she couldn’t magically produce thousands of dollars, she would just have to deal with the consequences. It would be his word against hers, anyway, so how much damage could he really do?

“I’m sorry you feel the need to blackmail me, but hey, you do what you have to do. Although I must say, Owen, I really thought you were better than this. I thought you were a good man.”

“See, but that’s just it. I am a good man. A good man who’s tired of women like you who think they can treat people any way they want and then move on to their next victim. This isn’t the first time a woman has done this kind of thing to me, but with you, I finally decided to do something about it.”

“Like I said, I’m really sorry.”

“I’m sure you are, but as my friends and I used to say when we were kids, ‘Sorry didn’t do it, you did.’”

Paige closed her eyes, praying Owen was only bluffing, but somehow she knew he wasn’t. She could tell he was dead serious and realized maybe this new idea that had just popped into her head might buy her some time.

“Can you give me until the middle of next week?”

“Why?”

“I’m going to apply for a bank loan.”

“From who?” Owen said, cracking up. “Your brother-in-law?”

“No, but can you wait just a few more days?”

“I’ll think about it.”

“I hope you will.”

“Okay, fine. I’ll give you until Wednesday and not a day longer.”

Paige breathed easier and hoped that when Wednesday arrived she’d have figured out another way to secure even more time, since there was no way anyone, not even Pierce, would give her a no-collateral personal loan. Her credit was shot, and it wouldn’t even behoove her to fill out an application, let alone expect anyone to approve it. So the best she could do was hold Owen off for as long as possible, or at least until her relationship with Pierce was solid. She would say or do whatever she had to for the time being, because she didn’t have a choice.

W
ith the exception of a few minutes here and there, Paige literally hadn’t slept a wink. Not last night or the night before, and she was deliriously exhausted. She also hadn’t eaten in three whole days, had only spoken to Karla for a few minutes on Saturday—claiming she had an extremely busy weekend schedule and would call her early this week—and the only reason she’d forced herself to drink water was because she didn’t want to become dehydrated. She’d read a long time ago that the human body could survive for a while without food but not much more than three days without water, and for some reason she’d never forgotten that.

Today, though, it was early Monday morning, and she couldn’t dial Pierce’s work number fast enough.

“Pierce Montgomery’s office,” his assistant said. “Eleanor speaking.”

“Hi Eleanor. Is he in?”

“Sure, may I tell him who’s calling?”

“Yes, please let him know it’s his sister-in-law.”

“No problem.”

Paige waited a few seconds, and then Eleanor said, “I’ll put you right through.”

“Thank you,” she said, and there was a short silence.

“This is Pierce speaking.”

“Hey, how are you?” she asked.

“I’m good. You?”

“Not so well.”

Pierce said nothing else, and it sounded as though he was handling papers in the background.

“Look, Pierce. It’s been five days since we last talked, so why haven’t you called me?”

“There was no reason to.”

“Not even after we shared such a special time together? Not even after I poured my heart out to you the way I did?”

“Paige, you’re really trying my patience, but I’m going to explain this to you once and for all. What happened in Vegas will always stay in Vegas because it never should have happened in the first place. You and I did a terrible thing, but we have to go on with our lives. You with whomever and me with my wife.”

Paige’s heart pounded against her chest. “Pierce, please don’t cut me off like this. Please don’t stay with Camille when you know she can’t be trusted. She’s only going to hurt you again and again and again.”

“She and I have hurt each other. But that’s all in the past.”

Paige heard her call waiting signal, looked at the screen, and saw that it was Camille. She wanted to kill that heifer. Her sister was still coming out on top and getting everything she wanted, and Paige hated her for it.

“How can you pretend that Camille hasn’t done anything, Pierce?” she asked, ignoring the incoming call. “How could you forgive her?”

“Because she’s my wife, and I love her. But that’s all beside the point, Paige, and the bottom line is this: I don’t owe you or anyone else any explanations when it comes to my marriage.”

“Pierce, please listen to me.”

“No, I’ve heard more than enough from you, and after today, I don’t want you calling my office or cell numbers again.”

Paige’s eyes filled with water and soon massive tears slid down her face.

“Did you hear me, Paige?” he asked sternly.

“Pierce . . . I’ll . . . do . . . anything . . . ​but . . . ​please . . . ​don’t . . . ​end . . . ​​things . . . ​between . . . us. Baby, I love you so much, and you’re all I have.”

“Goodbye, Paige.”

“But—” she tried saying. However, he was already gone and Paige was devastated.

She’d thought for sure that once he heard her voice, he would think about their intimate rendezvous at The Palazzo and would want to see her again. But for the first time since he’d initially begun trying to tell her he loved Camille and not her, she believed him. When he’d said their being together had been a mistake, she now knew he meant it. Worse, only minutes ago when he’d told her he didn’t want her calling him again, she’d known he was serious. But none of what was happening made any sense, and she wondered why God was punishing her—why He was making things so incredibly hard for her when it came to getting what she wanted. Why was He allowing Camille to triumph yet again? Why would He do this after all the years Camille had been blessed with everything, while Paige continued having nothing and no one to love her?

It was times such as these when Paige wondered if life was actually worth living and whether it would be easier to simply give up. But the only thing was, there was way too much passion in her to do something like that. Right now, she was extremely depressed, but she would never surrender to Camille. She would never allow her to keep Pierce without a fight. There was no denying that Pierce wholeheartedly thought Camille was the best woman for him, but just as soon as Paige pulled herself together and plotted a better plan to break them up, Pierce would turn to her again. He would come to her and promise to never leave her from then on. He would thank her for hanging in there for as long as she had and would shower her with all the gifts she could imagine. Instead of Camille, she would be the one who finally had everything.

Pierce would commit his life to Paige until death, and there wouldn’t be a single thing anyone could do about it.

O
nly two days had passed since Pierce had told her not to call him again, but Paige had already come up with a brilliant new scheme.

“I’m so glad we were able to get out and do some shopping,” Paige said as Camille steered her SUV away from the mall and down the highway.

“Me too. We’ve both been through so much, and I’m glad things are finally getting back to normal.”

“I know. And Camille, I have to tell you, I couldn’t be happier about you and Pierce reconciling and fixing things between you.”

“Thank you for saying that, because it was certainly a close call. There were days when I thought our marriage was over for good.”

“I did, too, but now everything is fine, and we can thank God for the outcome.”

“Isn’t that the truth? But there is one thing that still bothers me,” Camille said.

“What’s that?”

“Those doggoned email messages. I mean, no matter how hard we try to figure out who sent them, we still haven’t been successful.”

“It’s definitely very odd, but if I were you, I wouldn’t worry about it. You and Pierce are happy again, and that’s all that matters. And hey, don’t forget to stop by the coffee shop so I can run in and get us a couple of Frappuccinos,” Paige said.

“Oh yeah, that’s right. Actually, I think the nearest one is just down the road.”

“Sounds good. I love, love, love those,” Paige said, and got a kick out of how naïve Camille was. The woman was having what she thought was the time of her life with her baby sister and had no idea Paige had slept with her husband just one week ago. She also had no clue that things were about to get worse.

They drove another mile or two, turned into the parking lot of a locally owned coffee establishment, and Camille’s cell rang. She pulled it out of her handbag, smiled at whomever was calling, and said, “Hey sweetheart.”

Paige knew immediately it was Pierce and wanted to snatch that phone out of her hand. Nonetheless, she smiled, too, pretending she was overjoyed.

“We’re getting some drinks, and then once I drop Paige off, I’ll be home,” Camille told him. Then she paused, obviously listening to what Pierce said next. “This sounds serious,” she commented, and then there was more silence. “I promise I’ll be there within the hour…I love you, too, baby.”

Camille set her phone down, and Paige said, “Wow. Sounds like somebody misses their wife and wants her home.”

“Yeah, but it sounds like something’s wrong.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know. All he said was that it was important and that he needed to speak to me face-to-face.”

Paige panicked, wondering if he was going to come clean about Vegas. If he was, she knew she had to get inside the coffee shop now. “Okay, so what kind of frappe do you want?”

“Mmm…I guess I’ll have my usual, mocha.”

“I think I will, too,” Paige said, opening the door and stepping out of the vehicle. “I’ll be back.”

Paige strolled inside, ordered two mocha Frappuccinos, paid the young blond, waited a few minutes, and then picked up their drinks from the other end of the counter. She moved farther around the corner, pretending to get napkins and straws, but quickly pulled three white pills from her purse and dropped them into one of the cups. She scanned the area, making sure no one had seen her, and went back out to the SUV. When she got in, she passed the tainted drink to Camille, and Camille took two long sips. Paige did the same, and Camille drove off. But as soon as they did, Paige set her drink into the cup holder.

“Hey sis,” she said. “I just thought about something. Do you mind stopping at Wal-Mart, so I can pick up some printer paper?”

“Of course. If you want, we can drive to one of the office stores.”

“No, that’s sort of out of the way, so Wal-Mart will be fine. Plus, I only need a small package to tide me over and then I can just get my regular supply from Office Depot later this week.”

When they arrived at the store ten minutes later, Camille pulled into a parking stall and leaned her head back.

“Are you okay?” Paige asked, smirking.

“I don’t know. For some reason, I feel dizzy and like I can barely keep my eyes open.”

“Really? Well, maybe I should drive,” Paige said, realizing those sleeping pills she’d drugged Camille with were quickly taking effect.

“Maybe you should,” she said, and Paige got out, went around to the driver’s side, helped her sister onto the pavement, and then led her around to the passenger seat. She helped her get comfortable, buckled her seatbelt, and then rushed back to the driver’s side and took off. Camille was fast asleep, and Paige sped toward their next destination and made a phone call. When the man answered, she looked over at her sister and said, “She’s out cold. See you in twenty minutes.”