I took the dress that I wore the concert out of the dry-cleaning bag and hung it in my closet beside the jersey. Someday I might wear it again. Maybe. One of the songs that Sam had played at the concert echoed through the house, streaming off of my tablet where I had placed it on my bed. I still didn’t love the genre, but I was getting used to it. There was something different about it having witnessed the musician himself perform the song. I thought back to the rehearsal that I had watched. Sam had been confident and sexy as he gripped the microphone and sang, his body moving in time to the music that played around him. I hadn’t known it then, but it was a preview of what I would experience that night, his hard body pressed against mine on the dancefloor, and then filling me in the lounge.
When I closed my eyes, I could still feel the adrenaline rush of standing in the crowd after the power problem was fixed and the band was able to take the stage. The fans around me screamed and reached up toward them, some of the women calling out suggestive pleas of what they would like the men to do to them. I hadn’t been able to withhold the smile that came to my lips as I thought about the fact that, if even for that one night, I was the woman that they all wanted to be. At the end of the show I had joined them in the lounge and then enjoyed the rush of running out of the venue with Sam’s hand gripping mine, the fans screaming and cheering around us.
I was still dwelling on the memory of the cheering when I heard a knock at my door. I turned off the music and walked toward the door, expecting to see my new date box waiting for me. Instead, when I peeked through the peephole I saw Lucille standing on my front porch.
“What are you doing here, Lucille?” I demanded through the door, not bothering to release the chain lock or the deadbolt.
“Aren’t you going to open the door, Snow? I just want to talk.”
I was familiar with the saccharine-sweet tone that she was using. It was the same manipulative way that she had spoken to every man I had ever heard her interact with and the way that she tried to convince people to trust her. Unfortunately, there were times when it worked, but I knew it too well to be swayed by it.
“I have nothing to say to you,” I said.
I was starting to turn away from the door when she spoke again.
“Open the door, Snow. You don’t want your neighbors to see me standing out here and hear me demand to know why you’ve been sleeping with my husband when I’m pregnant with his child.”
She had lifted her voice slightly to emphasize her point and I tore the door open, the fury pushing in my chest until I felt like it would burst through.
“You are a fucking liar, Lucille.”
She flattened her hand on my door to push it open further and stepped into the house, forcing her way past me.
“Am I now?”
“Who told you that I’m sleeping with Walter?”
“Walter? Don’t you think that’s a little bit personal for a subordinate? You should probably get accustomed to referring to my husband only as Mr. Royal.”
“You might be pregnant, but I’ve known your so-called husband for far longer than you have.”
Lucille scoffed as she perched herself on one of the backed stools that stood at my elevated dining room table.
“Get serious, Snow. I’m not pregnant. Do you honestly think that I would let that man get anywhere near me without a condom? I might have to suffer my way through the occasional wifely duty, but I can guarantee you that I won’t be producing any heirs for him. That won’t stop me from telling him that I will, though.”
“You’re disgusting.”
“Am I? I’ve gotten everything that I’ve wanted so far. Why not go for a little bit more? He’s more than happy to give it to me.”
“Almost everything,” I said.
“What do you mean ‘almost everything’?”
“I still work for the company.”
The smug expression that her face had held since she stormed the house faded away, replaced by searing anger.
“Not for long, Snow.”
“There’s nothing that you can do about it. You already tried.”
Lucille stood and took a threatening step toward me, but I refused to back down.
“Why don’t you just give up, Snow? I’ve won. You may have been Walter’s pet, but I’m his wife. He’ll do what I say eventually, and if it takes too long, it’s not like he’s going to live forever. I can make your life miserable until then. Why don’t you just make it easier on yourself and go away?”
“You haven’t won anything, Lucille. You might think that you have, but you haven’t. You’re going to ruin your marriage just like you have ruined every other opportunity you’ve had because you are a greedy, conniving bitch who nobody can stand to be around. I’m not going to give up my chance to watch you crash and burn.”
For a brief second, I thought that Lucille was going to attack me and I could only hope that one of those neighbors that she had just threatened me with would be able to hear me screaming if it happened. After a tense moment, though, Lucille brushed past me and left, the squeal of her tires against the road the final punctuation on the conversation. I strode over to the door and closed it. I had just turned the deadbolt when I heard another knock on the door. My fists clenched beside me and I wrenched the door open, ready to confront Lucille again. Instead, I saw my date box sitting on the porch and the tail end of a car sliding down the street.
Letting out a breath to try to blow away the aggression, I reached down and picked up the box. I carried it back inside and immediately brought it to the living room, feeling like I needed this little bright spot to get over the confrontation. The customary white box was tied with a brown satin ribbon that held the note in place. I took the envelope and opened it.
“Saddle up”
“Well, that could go a couple of different ways.”
Chapter Fifteen
Lucille
I wove in and out of traffic, pushing my foot down harder and harder on the gas pedal, forcing my car along the road at ever-faster speeds. The growl of the engine and the pull of the wheel in my hands helped to draw the anger out of me, the frantic reactions of the other drivers as they swerved to get out of my way assuaging me as I went. I didn’t care about any of them. They were less than me and they knew it. Just a look at our cars or their appearances could tell anyone that. They should get out of my way when I wanted them to and let me go first. At least they knew their place.
I couldn’t believe the way that the confrontation with Snow had unfolded. I wanted her to fold beneath me. I wanted her to recognize once and for all that I was far superior to her in every way and that the life that she had been living her entire adult life was rightfully mine. She refused now, but I wasn’t going to stop. I was in the place of power now and I would do whatever it took to ensure that I didn’t have to deal with her anymore.
I heard the wail of police sirens behind me and I glanced in the rearview mirror to see the squad car gaining on me, drawing up close enough that they were able to see my license plate. I didn’t bother to slow down. Just as I expected it to, the police car fell back, its lights and sirens turning off. I laughed, pushing the gas pedal a little harder to force my car to the limit of its capabilities. As with any other police officer in the area, the one behind me had run my plates and seen who I was. My marriage to Walter had linked me to one of the most powerful men in the area, even if he didn’t always act like it, and, as the ubiquitous “they” always say, money talks. I was untouchable.
I skidded to a stop in my private parking deck beneath the Royal and Company building and walked through my entrance. Cindy looked up as I came down the hall toward her.
“I have a message for you,” she said.
“Save it for later,” I said, starting past her.
“He said that it was urgent, that he needed Walter to get back to him immediately.”