had started dating him, not just because he was her boss, but for the intense attraction she felt. It was quite a compliment to know that a man of such merit and intellect would be interested in her. She honestly enjoyed the status but wasn’t after anything beyond his love and the sexual excitement. She fulfilled every pleasure he demanded to win his love.
It wasn’t until after she had been promoted to assistant director that she found out the truth. They had a Saturday evening dinner date, and he was to pick her up at 6:00 p.m. at her condominium. He was going to take her to their favorite restaurant, a small bistro that featured not only delicious cuisine but a wonderful pianist and singer. Suzy loved going there, and as regulars, they had gotten to know the singer, who always played their favorite song. It was a sappy love song, but it was beautiful and expressed lyrically how she felt about him. Eric had said he was tired, though, and needed the afternoon to catch up on his sleep from their previous all night sex romp. Suzy decided to surprise him and stopped by his house, wanting to sneak into his bedroom, crawl into bed with him, and wake him up in a delicious, intimate way. Although she had no reason to suspect, she wanted to make certain he was home alone, as he had said.
Eric always left the side door open into his kitchen. His red Corvette was parked in the driveway so she knew he was home, which erased any doubts of his faithfulness to her. As she walked into the kitchen, everything looked orderly, as usual. Soft afternoon light was coming through the window. She slipped off her heels and walked quietly to the bottom of the stairs. Placing her purse on the floor, Suzy took off her leather jacket, slacks, and rose-colored sweater and left them folded on the linen-covered chair in his foyer. Wearing only her pink demi-cup bra and matching sexy thong panties, she crept up the carpeted staircase. She was getting turned on thinking of him, eager to make love. She reached the landing and turned left, passing the guest bathroom to reach the master suite at the end of the hall. His bedroom door was closed, but as she approached, she heard voices. She froze in place and tried to hear what was being said. She recognized Eric’s voice but not the other one, which was distinctly female.
Was this possible? The words weren’t clear, but they were clear enough. She grasped the door handle, turned it slowly, opening the door and saw the unthinkable. Eric was in bed, his back to the door. He was clearly naked, and there were a woman’s legs wrapped around his waist, and his movements made it obvious that he was fucking some whore, whoever she was.
He was so engrossed that he didn’t even hear the door open until Suzy forcefully slammed it and ran down the stairs, not able to leave quickly enough. Eric managed to catch her as she was struggling to get her shoes on while racing for the kitchen door.
He had his slacks on, unzipped, barefoot, shirtless, and he was saying, “Suzy, please, Suzy, let me explain. Please.” He was pleading with her, but she was crying and wouldn’t look at him, as he tried to grab her. He kept saying, “This means nothing. Please understand. She stopped by and came on to me. I barely know her.”
But Suzy heard nothing. She raced to her car, not even sure how she got in, and drove away, but that was the end. Without trust, there was nothing.
All of this was floating through her mind as she remembered the conference and how important it had been, not only the memories of the breathless love she had felt, which had shattered her heart, but the significance of the conference to her work. She had to quiet her random thoughts and her bubbling anger over the betrayal and her own stupidity for believing everything he had said. And it was only later that she realized, she had not been the only one he had betrayed.
.
56
Suzy and Mark walked past Beth’s desk. Beth was stressed by the events playing out around her. She hadn’t been questioned yet, but knew she would be at some point. She and Eric had exchanged numerous intimate emails and she didn’t want to lose her job, or worse, be implicated in whatever