Tomorrow Will Be Too Late

Copyright © 2012
by Ellen Wolf

Cover and internal design © 2012
by Ellen Wolf

The characters and events described in this work are entirely fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or deceased, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

Kate hated every second of it, she truly did. What
had
seemed like a relatively ok idea yesterday
had
turned into a disaster
,
and she had to force herself not to slip o
f
f the high bar stool and run for the exit. She sat perched
awkwardly
,
her short, poppy red skirt riding up even higher and offering anyone interested a good look
at
her long, slim thighs. She tried to pull it down inconspicuously, ridiculously aware of the few stares she had already attracted. Maybe it was the skirt
,
or maybe she could blame it on her
top
, the plunging neckline exposing
plenty
of her full, perky breasts and leaving barely anything to one’s imagination.

She hunched over her drink
, desperate to hide some of the so liberally displayed
assets. He wasn’t
t
here yet
,
and she was slowly losing whatever courage she had left, her body frozen in shame and anger alike. Damn, but she was stupid. She glanced cautiously across the room to the cloakroom. Her salvation was there, hanging on one of those pegs. Her coat was long enough to cover most of her from the neck to her knees
,
and she yearned to grab it and wrap it around her slim frame, the belt preferably tied in a double knot.

She couldn’t do it
,
of course. She
had come
here on a mission
,
and chickening out now
w
as not an option. She sipped her drink, grimacing lightly as the burning taste of alcohol ran down her throat, setting it on fire. She was a very light drinker, something her best friend
had
tease her about ever si
nce they both turned sixteen
ten
years
before
. She had ordered gin and tonic now, hoping for some Dutch courage to help her get through this evening. It wasn’t working so far.

She was sure he
hadn’t
arrive
d
yet. She allowed her glance to travel across the rather dim
interior of the
pub
. The
old
-
fashioned paneled walls and the modest décor
puzzled
her. It was certainly nothing posh or fancy, as she would have expected. After all
,
they were talking about
Justin McBryndon
. A man like him would prefer more splendid surroundings, wouldn’t he?

She
sighed and put her glass down, the ice cubes making a clinking sound that grated
on
her nerve
s
. The bartender was watching her from his place behind the long,
old-fashioned
slab of wood
countertop
polished by countless elbows of people trying to drown their sorrows in alcohol. She could tell he was trying to figure her out, just like some of the men sitting at the low tables divided
from each other
by high
partitions made of
dark wood. The
burgundy
upholstery of the furniture fit with the overall outdated décor, the light from the low
-
hanging
,
old
-
fashioned lamps doing a poor job of cheering the place up.

She had to think about yesterday once again. She
had
mulled
it
over most of her sleepless night, too. She could almost hear Victoria’s voice, soft and sad as they sat in
the latter’s
office.

‘
Kate
, you have no idea what the last few weeks
have
been
like
for me.’ Wafer thin and impossibly elegant, Vic watched her
with large brown eyes
under
a
fringe of long, curly eyelashes
. Her simple, sleeveless dress in aubergine did wonders
for
her pale complexion and brought out the reddish hues in her long, wavy hair. She got up and walked around the spacious room, her restless pacing
that
of a trapped panther. Victoria certainly had the grace and sinuous beauty of a feline.

‘I mean, it’s bad enough that our romance didn’t work out.’ She sniffled delicately, a pristine white hanky appearing out of nowhere in her long
-
fingered, manicured hand. She dabbed it against her eyes cautiously, her mascara untouched as she looked at Kate again. ‘I can’t tell you how much it hurts, Kate. Just like a dagger in my chest.’ Two slim hands went up to her breasts, pressing against the
fabric of her dress. ‘Justin Mc
Bryndon had been the love of my life, you know.’

She sat down at her large, off
-
white desk
,
a perfect replica of
an
eighteenth
-
century baroque piece, carved and opulent. The outburst of emotions was over, the
serene face
back in place.

‘I am so glad we got to know each other a bit better, Kate.’ She smiled now, her perfectly even white teeth dazzling. ‘
It’s hard to believe
that you have worked her
e
for half a year
,
and I had never met you
.
I
t’s plain silly.’

Kate didn’t state the obvious
,
of course
. The
advertising
company Victoria Marshall was running was not much more than one of her many pet projects, a gift from her doting parents who never hesitated to make their only daughter happy, be it
with
a sport
s
car, clothes
,
or a company. Vic wasn’t a frequent presence here, leaving most of the decisions to
Jacques
Lamarc, a young Frenchman she had hired for the position of the director. She came to all the functions
,
of course
,
and her signature finalized any plans, but otherwise it wasn’t every
day the employees would get to see her lovely face.

T
o be noticed by Vic at all
surprised Kate
. True, after her degree in art and design
,
Kate
was very eager to put her talent to the test
,
and she gave
one
hundred fifty percent to the company that hired her almost straight from university. She had some valuable ideas regarding the ad campaigns they were a part of, and her name came up a few times while
Jacques
put together his inner team, as he liked to call it with a mischievous smile. Still, Vic’s interest in becoming friends was nothing short of flattering.
Kate
had idolized her long enough,
Vic’s
beauty, brains
,
and just a pinch of something the French called
je ne sais quoi
making her one of the hottest young socialites in town.

Marrying the
most eligible bachelor on the
northwest coast
hadn’t
hurt either, a little spiteful voice in
Kate’s
head whispered, and she silenced it
,
embarrassed with her own bitchiness. So what
if
the marriage seemed almost too perfect to last
?
Justin McBryndon and Victoria went
back
a long way, their
families
friends for generations. The wedding had been a major social event, attracting the crème de la crème of the rich and famous.
Kate
remembered some of the photographs in the papers, her mom and sister
looking at
them with huge eyes, totally taken by the bride
’
s beauty and the groom
’
s masculine good looks.
H
e did look good
;
even she had to admit it, however reluctantly. Not exactly her type, the immaculately dressed
,
tall man with eyes that made her think of ice chips too cold and unapproachable for her taste.

‘You know that I wouldn’t ask for your help if I weren’t totally desperate, darling
.
’ Vic was speaking again, her eyes pleading. ‘
It’s
just an hour of your life, you do realize that? And it would be such a great
favor
for me
.
I would certainly try
to
show you my gratitude.’ The usually husky voice turned cajolingly sweet, almost hypnotizing. ‘
You
can be in charge of the next campaign we
’
ll be running, Kate. Just think about it
;
it’s a major breakthrough for your career, isn’t it?
Jacques
will have no problem with that, trust me.’

‘Victoria, I just know I
’
ll mess it up.’ Her own voice sounded flat and every ounce as scared as she felt. ‘I
’
m a terrible actress, believe me. I will just make it even worse than it is already.’

‘I seriously doubt that.’
B
itter laughter broke the silence, Victoria’s lovely eyes stormy. ‘Justin is totally insane if he thinks I will allow this divorce he
’
s pushing for.
He… he fabricated some silly proof of my cheating, can you believe that?’
She
laughed again, the sound a bit hysterical. ‘
It’s t
otally
false, Kate.
He just
got someone to follow me
when
I had a business meeting with
Jacques
out of town. I do that at times, with others
,
too.’

She looked at Kate, her face pleading. ‘
He
snapped some silly photos and threatens to use them in court if I insist on the compensation I asked for. And which I deserve after a year of living with this man
;
you can take my word on that one.’ She chewed her lower lip, the red lipstick smudged around the corner
s,
making her look predatory. ‘
He
wants to keep everything, leaving me with nothing, Kate.’

It wasn’t entirely true, Kate thought, recalling the situation as she sipped her drink in the pub. Even
she,
naïve and
trusting
as she was, realized that
the ‘
nothing
’ she talked about
was a far stretch from what Vic owned. Not only did she have a few businesses that ran in her name,
but also
her line of perfumes and clothing for upscale boutiques
was
just taking off. He couldn’t touch that, could he? It was more about the fact that he
had
decided to divorce her, a move so shocking and
unthinkable
that it called for some damage control.

During one of their girly chats
,
Vic admitted that she had her eyes on the mansion and the property they
had
lived in for the last twelve months. She complained
,
chagrined
,
that she made the mistake of never asking Justin to add her name to the property title, her
oversight coming back to bite her
now. Kate didn’t want to
remind
her that it was his family’s ancestral home
.