Bereft - Jennifer Foor Page 0,16
for a while. I know exactly who it is.”
I hated his sarcasm. “I’m calling to accept your offer. I’ll assist you with whatever you need to start the new company, but I have certain requests which need to be met before it’s a final decision.”
“Is that so?” he paused for a second, and I half expected him to have hung up. “I’ll have a car pick you at four. Can you be ready by then?”
“Ready for what?”
“We’ll discuss your terms over dinner. I’ve got a couple meetings this morning, but I’ll be free and starving by this afternoon. That should give you enough time to jot down whatever you’re thinking so we can discuss it.”
I considered telling him I wasn’t going to be seen in public with him, but this was about a job. It was appropriate and professional. “I’ll be ready.”
“See you later. Oh, and Rach…” I hated when he called me that. “Please make sure you shower. Your hair was looking a bit sticky yesterday. I’ll see you soon.”
The call ended abruptly, and I could almost see the snarky look on his face after getting in the last bit of sarcasm before hanging up. The guy made me want to pull out my so-called sticky hair and scream. Why did he think his shit didn’t stink?
It was weird how I hadn’t been able to walk upstairs in my house in fear of finding the sheets in disarray. I’d showered in the downstairs bathroom to avoid it. I didn’t want the image of Kyla and Grayson rumbling in my sheets to be a permanent photograph held captive in my over-imaginative brain. I creaked open my bedroom door and coasted the room with my eyes. The bed was made, just how I’d left it. Wherever they’d been screwing, it hadn’t been in our bed, at least not this time. Still, instead of heading into the bathroom to freshen up for the second time, I began stripping the bed. I needed to bleach away any remnants of the two of them. When I had everything in a pile on the floor, I stared at it, thinking back to how many wonderful memories we’d made making love ourselves. I recalled the way he’d touch me, kiss and caress my skin, like I was precious and the only person to ever hold his heart. Grayson was an amazing lover. Imagining him giving that kind of affection to someone else made my stomach churn.
I promised to love and cherish him forever, for better or worse. This was obviously the worst possible scenario. I’d think I’d rather find out he was a cross dressing transvestite who longed to have a sex change and a feminine name like Precious. Okay, that was a bit drastic, but you get my point.
I fell down onto the plush gray carpet and curled up in ball, breaking down once again at the mess my marriage was in. For someone who hated the idea of an affair, I felt the need to know every detail about his betrayal. It made no sense. Why would I want to put myself through such horror? What good would it do?
Finally, when I felt like my tears were dried up, I got myself up and headed into the master bathroom. The white Carrera marble was cold on my bare feet as I stepped across it to turn on the spigot. I don’t know what made me do it, but I looked down at the drain, curious to find a strand of hair that wasn’t my color. I closed my eyes immediately and turned away. I had to stop this. Even if there were remnants, I couldn’t change the past. I had to get over this looming darkness and move forward. It was how I coped, and the way I’d be able to forgive. Until I was willing to let go, it would never happen.
Aside from everything going on in my life, I was nervous about meeting with Chad regarding a new job opportunity. After speaking to him, it was quite obvious there was a lot of work to do between the old company closing it’s doors and the new one opening. For many years I’d been involved in keeping our clients happy. I didn’t want to imagine how they would feel to find out they needed to look for someone else to represent them. I had an idea for something that could work to everyone’s advantage, but without the funds backing me, I wasn’t sure