Chapter 25
Noah answered his ringing cell phone. “Hello?”
“Where are you?”
“Nadia?”
“Yes, Noah, Nadia,” she replied waspishly.
He took a cautionary glance over his shoulder to make certain that Daniel hadn’t yet made his way downstairs. Afternoon sunlight was pouring in through the open slats of the window shutters, casting long stripes of light and shadow across the hardwood floor and lending the pale saffron walls a mellow glow.
The Matherlys’ country house was a bit fussy and cluttered to suit his taste. He favored contemporary. Right angles and sleek surfaces. But for what it was, the restored Colonial had been nicely done. Several years ago it had been featured in Architectural Digest—the country retreat of a book-publishing icon.
Here in the living room the easy chairs were wide and deep, and each had a requisite footstool. The intricate brass fireplace screen was an original to the house. Rosemary Matherly’s collection of china plates from all over the world was displayed behind the glass doors of a tall cabinet.
Scattered about on end tables and in shelves were photographs of Daniel with notable authors and luminaries from other fields of endeavor ranging from the entertainment industry, to sports, to politics, including two presidents. Pictures of Maris chronicled her childhood, adolescence, and emergence into young womanhood.
There were several photos of Noah and Maris together. One taken at their wedding reception showed the laughing bride hand-feeding him a bite of wedding cake. He took perverse pleasure in looking at it now as he talked to his most recent mistress.
“I’ve been calling you all day,” she said.
“And I’ve been avoiding you. When I see one of your numbers on the caller ID, I let it ring.”
“I figured that. So this time I’m calling from a friend’s phone.”
“Male or female?”
“That depends on whether or not you’re speaking to me.”
“You’ve got a selective memory, Nadia. Obviously you’ve forgotten why I’m not speaking to you.”
“Of course I haven’t forgotten. But I woke up this morning deciding to forgive you, so—”
“You decided to forgive me? I didn’t boink my personal trainer.”
“I’ve seen your personal trainer, Noah. No one would want to boink him.”
She was at it again. Mocking him. Being condescending. Just as she’d been when he found her swaddled in damp sheets and postcoitus bliss. Hearing the ridicule in her voice now resurrected the rage he’d felt then. The emotion that had roiled inside him hadn’t been inspired by jealousy. He couldn’t care less who she fucked or how often. Being mocked by her—that’s what had rankled.
Rather than reacting with embarrassment, or remorse, or shame, or fear—which was the reaction he really craved to see from her—she had smiled at him insolently. How dare the bitch.
He’d been angry enough to kill her. He’d even entertained vivid mental flashes of placing his hands around her slender neck and squeezing until her eyes bulged, squeezing until her heart stopped.
He’d had the presence of mind not to act on the murderous impulse, but it had been strong enough for him to get a glimpse of his soul’s dark side. Like the dark side of the moon, it was out of sight, but always there.
Several times during his life, it had been necessary to step over the boundary between light and darkness. But those brief forays into that dark region had left him shaken, feeling that he’d been lucky to return. He didn’t venture into it unless he was given no other choice.
But recently he’d taken two prolonged glimpses into its shadows. First with Maris outside Nadia’s apartment following her discovery of their affair. Then again with Nadia. In both instances, he’d wanted badly to hurt the offender. Silence her. Injure her beyond recovery. Kill her.
He was intrigued now, beguiled by the extent of his dark side. He hadn’t known it was so expansive and dense. The urge to explore it to its farthest reaches was almost irresistible.
Never guessing the malicious nature of his thoughts, Nadia still believed they were arguing over her fling with the weight lifter.
“The point is that you acted like a complete ass at lunch that day, Noah. I felt it appropriate to remind you that nobody calls Nadia Schuller ‘incredibly stupid’ and gets away with it. You got in your shot, and I got in mine. Now can we please move beyond this?”
He was tempted to call her the obscene name that so aptly applied and then hang up. That’s what he wanted to do. But it wouldn’t be smart to alienate her now. The deal with WorldView hung in the balance. Breaking with Nadia might jinx it. Morris Blume seemed to like her. She’d been instrumental in bringing them together. Why not continue to take advantage of her usefulness? Ultimately she would get what she had coming, but not until the WorldView deal was secured. His reward for eating a small portion of crow now would be ten million dollars. In fact, for ten million dollars and control of Matherly Press, he was willing to do much worse.
“Noah, please. Please tell me where you are.”
Her voice had turned soft and conciliatory. She was even making it easy on him. It was a win-win situation, and he couldn’t ask for better.
Smiling to himself, he said, “I’m alone in the country house with my father-in-law.”
“Daniel Matherly?”
He chuckled. “He’s the only father-in-law I’ve got.”
“Why would you subject yourself to that?”
“Actually I invited him. We’ve got business to discuss.”
“Ah, WorldView. You’re planning a coup de grace.”
“Precisely.” He explained that Maris was out of town again and that Maxine had been left in the city. “It’s just me and the old man. Fishing. Male bonding.”
“Then a little arm-twisting.”
“I doubt it’ll come to that.”
“He’s not going to give in easily, Noah.”
“Not easily, but he’ll eventually be persuaded. I’m sure of it.”
“Need a cheerleader for your side? I could drive up. You could tuck me into a corner somewhere. Is the country house roomy enough to accommodate you, me, and your father-in-law?”
“Interesting proposition. I’m tempted to sneak you in, but it wouldn’t be prudent. Once the old man is into his cups, he tends to wander. What if he ventured into the wrong bedroom and saw something straight out of the Kama Sutra?”
“Which page?”
“You’re incorrigible.”
“Absolutely. I have no shame whatsoever. That’s why I’m willing to risk being caught. If the old man stumbles in on us, who knows? It might do his heart good.” She lowered her voice seductively. “The best sex is making-up sex, you know. I could bring along a box of chocolates. The gooey kind. The ones with the soft, creamy centers that you love to lick out.”
“Good phone sex, Nadia. I’m aroused,” he said truthfully.
“Give me two hours.”
“I wish I could see you right now. But you know that you can’t come here.”
“Oh, I know it’s out of the question. I have an enormous stake in this merger, too, and wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize it. It’s just that I miss you. Guess I’ll have to be satisfied with my trusty vibrator.”
“Do you have enough batteries?”
“I’m never without.”
“Oops, I hear Daniel coming. Must go. I’ll see you when I get back to the city.”
“Later, darling.”
He clicked off, then added, “Love you, too, sweetheart,” to a dead phone. He turned just in time to see Daniel entering the living room. “Oh, damn! That was Maris. She wouldn’t let me call you to the phone, afraid she’d be interrupting a nap. Want me to get her back? She said they were about to sit down to dinner, but I can probably catch—”
“No, no. How is she?”
“Working hard on the manuscript. Says it’s awfully hot. The weather, not the manuscript,” he added with a grin. “Misses us terribly, otherwise fine.”
“Then don’t bother her.” Daniel settled into one of the easy chairs and propped his cane beside it. “I worked up quite a thirst during my nap.”
Noah laughed easily as he crossed to the table that served as a bar. “Thirsty work, naps. Double scotch?”
“On the rocks, please.”
“I called the deli in town. They’ll soon be delivering double-thick Reuben sandwiches, potato salad made with real mayo, chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream for dessert.”
“God, I love the bachelor life,” Daniel said as he accepted the drink from his son-in-law. “What a good idea this was.”