Underestimated Too (24 page)

‘Hello,’ Rebecca, groggily answered.  

‘Did you no know that Morgan was sick?’ I snapped.

‘I knew she didn’t feel well last night. Why?’

‘Did you give her anything? She’s sick. Do you think
maybe you could go take care of her?’

‘Yes, sir. I’m on my way right this second.’

I hung up, watching the camera views as Rebecca made
her way upstairs. She helped Morgan up, started a bath, and left her to soak
while she went back downstairs. Rebecca made a tray with a glass of sprite,
saltine crackers, and a medicine cup full of pink stuff.

Feeling better about Rebecca being with her, I
showered and dressed for what I hoped was our last meeting.

Skyler entered the bathroom and wrapped her arms
around my waist from behind. ‘Are you sneaking out on me?’

I smiled a weak smile through the mirror. ‘I’ve got
to get going.’

‘How long are you in town for? Should I wait here
for you? Maybe we can catch a show later.’

‘I can’t, Sky, I’m heading home as soon as this
meeting is over. I’ve been gone for nine days now. There are things I have to
get back to.’

‘Like a wife?’

I didn’t answer.

‘You’re different, Drew.’

Turning to her, I tilted my head. ‘How so?’

‘I don’t know. You’re not into me like you once
were.’

‘Skyler, you left me, remember? Besides, we haven’t
been around each other for a few years now. How do you expect me to be with
you?’

‘I guess I want you to still want me. Do you still
want me, Drew?’ Skyler asked, coming to the tips of her toes with her lips
close to mine.

‘I don’t have time to want anything right now.
Callaway has pretty much passed the buck to me. I have a lot on my plate right
now.’

‘You still need love. I know you,’ she accused,
softly kissing my lips between words.”

Ahhh, how fucking sweet
.

Drew continued, “I snickered. Love? No. I didn’t
need that shit. ‘I’m good in the love department.’

‘Sex? Do you have sex with her, Drew?’

‘Yes,’
I honestly told her. She dropped her hands and took a step back.

‘You’re in love with her,’ she accused with a
dramatic expression like it had just dawned on her.

What? No. That wasn’t it. I wasn’t in love with Morgan.
No way. That was absurd. ‘No, Skyler. I’m not in love with Morgan. You left. A
man has needs.’

‘I can name five girls that would do you in a
heartbeat. I don’t think that is what it is—at all.’

‘It is. I told you. I’m busy. She’s convenient.’

Taking a step back to me, Skyler wrapped her arms
around my neck with a sly grin. ‘This is your lucky day. You see, the thing is,
I’m sort of available now for your convenience. I will be back in Vegas in a
few days. Maybe we can pick up where we left off and so you don’t have to
settle for that piece of trash anymore.’ Skyler offered herself to me.”

I’ll give you trash, you little home
wrecker.

“I moved her arms from around my neck and tightened
my tie. Morgan was far from being trash. She could give Skyler a run for her
money any day of the week, all day long. Maybe not when she first came, but
now, wow. The dance lessons served her well, she could turn every head in a
room, and she often did. She didn’t have the fake mundane laugh that Skyler
had. Morgan’s laugh was genuine and made my days brighter. I turned my laptop on
to see her doing trivial things so many times when I was away, hoping to catch
her laughing at something silly, which she did often. Skyler didn’t know her.
She had no right.”

“You felt that way then, Drew?” I had to ask. I was
shocked. I still hated Drew then, well, most of the time anyway. I guess there
were moments, but not many.

“I did, Morgan,” Drew admitted, getting back to his
story. “Skyler asked me with a frown, ‘What? You don’t like that idea?’

‘I’ve got to go, Sky. Call me,’ I cowardly said,
kissing her on the cheek.

I answered a call from Callaway in the cab. He wanted
to know if I had this deal in the bag or if he needed to come and take care of
it, like he could do any more than I was already doing.

‘When will you be back? The Martinez’s are having a
party for their daughter tonight. I want you and Morgan there.’

‘I am hoping to be out of here by noon, but I’m not
going to any party. Morgan’s sick.’

‘What do you mean she’s sick? Does she need a
doctor?’

‘She says she doesn’t. She insists that it’s just a
bug. I will give her until tomorrow. If she’s still sick, I’ll take her to the
doctor.’

‘Maybe
I should go over there.’

‘No, you shouldn’t. She’s got Rebecca there. She’s
taking good care of her.’

‘You
call me if she gets any worse. You hear me?’

‘Yes, sir. I’ll give you a call after this meeting.’

I arrived home around four in the evening. Sprinting
upstairs, taking two at a time. I saw Rebecca reading in a nearby chair while
Morgan slept, and I nodded for her to leave. I sat on the edge of the bed and
brushed Morgan’s hair from her face.  

‘She’s burning up,’ I alleged, looking at Rebecca
before she had a chance to get out of the room.

‘She’s not as hot as she was, and she hasn’t gotten
sick at all today.’

I looked back to Morgan’s heated face. She never
stirred. Normally when I came to her room, I instantly got the death glare,
even if she was sound asleep.

‘You can go,’ I dictated.

‘I’ll bring you both some supper. Maybe you can get
her to eat. I haven’t had any luck.’

I didn’t reply. Walking to the bathroom, I
remembered my mother, placing a cold cloth over my forehead when I had run a
fever as a boy.

Morgan jumped from the cold. For a split second I
felt like the biggest ass on the face of the earth. She hid her face with her
arm. Startled from her sleep, she thought I was going to strike her.”

I did do that. I remember
. 

“I said, ‘Lay down,’ trying to sound calm and
soothing. I didn’t know how to be that way with Morgan. It wasn’t in my nature
to be loving towards her. That is how I was feeling though. I wanted to be
there and take care of her. I didn’t know how. She looked at me cautiously, not
trusting me. Placing her head back to the pillow, I covered her head with the
cloth.

‘Did your mother do this when you were sick?’ I
asked.

‘No, not really, maybe. I don’t remember,’ she
replied, still carrying the careful look. 

She had every reason to be cautious. She knew me,
knew I’d been gone for nine days and knew I’d need to be taken care of. She was
right. After sitting up, eating a little and admitting that she did feel
better, I fucked her. I didn’t make her do anything other than lay there for
me, nonetheless, it was pretty heartless of me. I could feel the heat radiate
from her skin as my hand held her hips. I hadn’t planned on doing that at all.
I’d just had sex with Skyler, I didn’t really need the sex. It wasn’t the sex
at all. I don’t know what it was, a way to keep my feelings and emotions
intact? I’m not sure, but once I tenaciously used her for my pleasure, I left
her.”

That part left me feeling a little sad. I was
appalled that Drew hated me enough to make me do that being sick. I remember,
repeating in my head over and over, don’t get sick, Morgan, don’t get sick.

“Watching her from my office, she did as she always
did, walked to the bathroom to shower, trying to wash me away, I was sure. She
didn’t feel better at all. She held her herself up, placing her hands in front
of her on the shower walls. She didn’t even wash, just let the water run over
her for a little bit, securing her stance with the shower tile. She dried
herself, wrapped the towel around her midsection, and dragged her feet back to
her bed. Dropping the towel to the floor she crawled back into bed, naked. She
didn’t even have the energy to get dressed and I made her fuck me.”

Hmmm, he did feel bad about that.

“Dialing Rebecca, she spoke, ‘Can you bring me
something for a headache?’ before dropping her head back to her pillow, still
holding the phone, too weak to hang it up.

Morgan slept the entire night. She tried to wake up
enough to drink the fluids that Rebecca was forcing down her, but refused to
eat. She slept, and slept, and slept, until eleven the next day.

‘Drew, come on, dude. We’ve got to get this shit
done,’ Derik whined, protesting my need to go to Morgan. She may need a doctor.
She shouldn’t still be this sick. I couldn’t concentrate on the numbers from
the last quarter. My eyes and attention kept going to my computer screen to my
sleeping wife. Derik and the accountant were getting pissed, wanting to get
through the complex figures.

‘You two keep at it. I’ll be right back,’ I said,
leaving them alone. Derik knew what the hell was going on. He could handle it
without me. Shaking my head, I realized that I was putting Morgan before my
business. What the hell? I didn’t do that.”

Silent squeal.

“Sitting on the side of her bed, she opened her
eyes, cautiously, shifting her eyes around the room and landing them on me with
a smile. She actually smiled at me, well, maybe it wasn’t at me, but it felt
like it for a brief moment.”

It wasn’t.

“She exclaimed, ‘I feel better,’ pulling herself up.
She held the covers over her breasts which made me smile. I never understood
why she hid herself from me. I saw her naked all the time, whether I was with
her or not.

‘That’s good. I was going to call a doctor.’

‘You don’t need to do that. I’m fine. I’m just going
to get up and take a bath. I think I’m kind of hungry,’ she said weakly.

‘You get a bath and I’ll have Rebecca bring you
something to eat,’ I thoughtfully offered, pulling the covers hiding her
breasts. She looked past me while my thumb brushed over her nipple. Her skin
felt soft and had lost the heat from the fever.

‘I’m really glad you feel better, I’ll see you
later,’ I promised, pinching her nipple between my fingers with a little bit of
a twist. She didn’t reply. She’d learned that it was best that she didn’t. She
seemed to have a hard time replying without saying something smart. I almost
wished she would sometimes. She was very quick witted when she wanted to be.
Knowing it usually ended in her bent over my lap, she typically refrained. 

Trying to listen and go over the last quarter with
Derik and Pete, I loosened my tie and unbuttoned the first two buttons of my shirt.
It was suddenly hot in the office. I turned the cuff up on my sleeves a couple
times and tried to keep up. Sweat beaded off my head, and I suddenly felt a
little queasy. Fuck. I couldn’t be sick. I didn’t have time to be sick.

‘You alright, man? You look a little pale,’ Derik
asked.

‘Yeah, we’re done here. I think we’ve gone over
enough. You can finish it, right, Pete?’

‘Sure, no problem. I’ll report back to you once I’m
finished,’ he offered, standing and gathering his things. Derik followed,
answering his phone.

I removed my tie walked out to the empty house. I
heard Rebecca and Morgan talking in the kitchen but didn’t really care what
they were saying at the time. I was on a mission. I hurried to my room, made it
to the bathroom and released nasty bile to the toilet. Holy shit. I felt
horrible. I wasn’t sick. No. I wasn’t sick, there was no time to be sick. I had
a meeting with a client, coming to the house tomorrow. It was big, the owner of
Sheffield’s Casino. This would be his third wife. He’d always purchased his
rings from Callaway Jewels, and like the Callaways, you didn’t put him off for
anything. He’d go buy a half million dollar ring from someone else. I was sure
of it.

I didn’t wait until I was down like Morgan. I sat on
the edge of my bed and dialed Dr. Reynolds. Of course he was busy and had to
call me back. I lay across the bed with my shirt open, trying to cool down. It
was so hot in my room; I could feel the sweat run down the back of my neck.

Dr. Reynolds returned my call twenty minutes later,
informing there was nothing he could do. It was stomach flu that was being
passed around, and the only thing I could do was let it run its course. It
should only last forty eight hours or so, I was informed. I didn’t have five
hours to be sick, let alone forty eight. Fluids and rest, that was the
prescription.

Okay, if I was going to do this, I was getting rid
of it as quickly as I could. Walking to the kitchen, Morgan and Rebecca halted
their conversation. It was stupid. I listened to all of their conversations,
and they knew it. Why they always stopped when I entered the room was beyond
me.

‘Do we have more Sprite?’ I asked, pouring the rest
in a glass.

‘No, I kind of forced it into Morgan,’ Rebecca
explained. ‘Are you sick? I can run out and get more.’

‘Would you? I’m not sick, just a little queasy,’ I
tried telling myself more than her.