Marked for Vengeance (8 page)

Her insides
twisted as the beginning of his speech echoed through her mind.
From the
moment I met you, I knew you and I were meant to be together.
It had taken
her a lot longer to warm to the idea of being in a relationship than it did for
him, and she now felt an explicit guilt over it. Not to mention, she also had some
unfinished business with her ‘painter man’. She certainly couldn’t move in with
Benjamin and continue to do what she had been doing, and she
certainly
couldn’t have a relationship with her ‘painter man’.

The answer
seemed all too obvious now. The time had come for her to cut ties with what had
pulled her heart in another direction for the past three months. Her
self-control would be put to the test, but she needed to forsake those
nighttime visits so her and Benjamin could have a real chance. She owed it to the
both of them.

She brushed his
cheek with the back of her fingers. “Of course I will, however…

Replacing his
grin, a puzzled frown tainted his handsome face.

“I don’t know
that I’m ready quite yet. Can I get a little bit of time?”

If she let go of
her rooftop nights, it would take more than one romantic evening to get her
head in the right place. Months of allowing her heart to dwell with her ‘painter
man’ demanded more attention than that.

As the hurt
registered on his face, his shoulders slumped with defeat, and his eyes dropped
to the floor between them. He hadn’t taken it well.  “I went through this in my
mind a thousand times and agonized over if you would be ready,” he said and
took her hand in his own again. “I know we’ve only been together a year.

As he confessed
his worries, Alyx wondered if he had sensed her recent disconnect that she so
laboriously fought to hide. Perhaps her forbidden desires were so potent they practically
oozed from her pores, the scent recognizable to those whom it might eventually
hurt.

He pushed from
the floor and leaned in to kiss her. “But if you need time, that’s what you’ll
get.”

When their lips
met, his parted only slightly. The night’s events didn’t unfold like he had
expected them to, and rejection wasn’t a feeling he often entertained.

Guilt snuck its
way in to replace her now dwindling anxiety, and she pulled away from his kiss.
“I’m so sorry, Benjamin!” she cried, her eyes filling with tears, “that wasn’t
what you wanted to hear tonight. This was so wonderful, the dinner, the
candles-”

“Oh, babe,” he whispered
and wiped the first mascara-stained tear away with his thumb, “don’t apologize.
That’s one of your many traits I’m so fond of,
honesty
.

Honesty?
she thought.
She hadn’t exactly been the picture of that lately; all the more reason to stop
what she had been up to.

“I’m the one
that should feel bad, not you,” he continued. “I put all of this pressure on
you. We should have talked about it before now.”

She couldn’t
help but agree with him there. However, she didn’t want to talk anymore. Shining
with mischief, her eyes wandered to the floor in front of the fireplace. “We
do
still have all of these candles,” she purred. “And the rug over there in front
of the fireplace looks quite comfortable if you know what I mean.”

A smile
reanimated his face, and he leaned back in for another kiss. When his lips
pressed into hers this time, he released a soft moan. His gusto had returned.

He lifted her
from the chair and placed her on the white, shag rug. As he turned the key to
the gas fireplace, she imagined turning her own key to the cage of her desires
for her ‘painter man’, locking away the lion that she had set loose earlier
that morning, back in its cage where it rightfully belonged.

*
* *

Early Monday
morning, the alarm on Alyx’s phone reminded her that the beginning of another
work week awaited her. She turned it off and tossed it onto the bed beside her.
Her searching fingertips grazed over the cold indention Benjamin had left when his
pager buzzed during the night, calling him into another emergency surgery. If
his nimble fingers cut into someone right now, she hoped their escapades in the
living room that moved to the kitchen and finally the bedroom were enough to
distract him from his initial disappointment.

Wrapping the black,
Egyptian cotton sheet around her shoulders, she shuffled to his walk-in closet.
She had left a pair of slacks and a work blouse at his condo last weekend. The
metal hangers screeched along the rod as she slung them side to side, but the
only clothes of hers amongst the suits and scrubs were a pair of jean shorts
and a pink polo shirt. Neither were work appropriate.

She pulled the
sheet tight with one hand and lifted the train with the other to head for the
living room. She would have to wear her gown home and change there. When she
opened the door, Benjamin’s housekeeper Roberta cleaned candle wax from the
hardwood floors on her hands and knees, returning his typically pristine
apartment back to normal.

“Morning,
Roberta!”

“Good morning,
Mija,” she replied with an approving grin. Apparently, she was also in on his
little secret. “Do you need something?”

“Yes, actually I
do. Have you seen any of my work clothes around here?”

Roberta stood
and dusted her pants as she thought. “Oh, si!” she said, her finger pointing in
the air, “a blue blouse and some grey pants?”

“Yes!”

She wiped the
sweat from her brow and hurried toward the hallway. “They’re hanging in the hall
closet. I had them dry cleaned on Monday.”

“I’ll get them,
don’t worry about it,” Alyx insisted, stepping into her path, “you already have
your hands full.”

Roberta pulled
her into her side, her round cheek resting against her arm. “Gracias!”

* * *

The cab dropped
Alyx off in front of the office building, and she flicked her wrist to check
the time on her watch.
Six thirty.
She didn’t have to be at work for
another hour so there was plenty of time to walk to the coffee shop.

Staying as close
to the light posts as possible, she made her way down the sidewalk and took a
right onto Peachtree Street.  As she approached the next intersection, the
hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.
Not again,
she thought, and
a chill crept up her spine.

Heavy footsteps
beat down on the concrete behind her, and she peered over her shoulder to see
who they belonged to. Her stomach jumped into her chest. The man from the
elevator last Friday was hot on her heels in the same black suit, staring
straight ahead.
Stay calm, it’s just a coincidence.
Her arm pinned her
purse against her side, and she broke into speed walk, thankful that her heels
had straps on them today. 

A couple of
hasty steps later, she rounded the corner onto Eighth Street, and the hairs laid
flat. She glanced over her shoulder again. He was
gone
, as though he had
vanished into thin air.
What?!

The only thing
that remained of his presence was the tingling of her scar, which had magnified
this time, almost a sting.

Her pace slowed
to a stroll, and her eyes darted around the dark streets. She contemplated
peering around the corner to see if he had changed directions, but fear kept
her feet in motion.

While considering
her next move, something flew at her from the right.

Cling-clang!

She shrieked and
stumbled sideways, wobbling on her heels. Someone had walked through the door
she passed in front of, and the jingling of the bells tied to the door handle
had startled her.

The lady that emerged
paused to stare at her with laughter close to bursting from her lips, and she
turned to walk down the sidewalk in the same direction Alyx had come from. Alyx
didn’t have the wits about her to care that the woman had given her a patronizing
look, although, embarrassment tugged at her pride.

She slid her
purse strap back over her shoulder to continue on her way when she remembered
the woman held a steaming cup of coffee, which meant, she was exactly where she
needed to be. She spun around to walk into the coffee shop to place her order,
when her shaky ankles pled with her to sit and rest.

One empty table
sat lonely in the corner of the shop by the window, so she made her way there
and pooled into the chair.

“You okay today,
Alyx?” the barista asked from behind the counter as he wiped his hands on his
apron.

“I’m fine. I
just need to rest a minute.”

“Your usual,
then?”

“Yes, please.”

He turned to
make her order, and she rested her cheek upon her folded arms. Was she going
crazy? Were her experiences a hallucination of some sort? Even though both possibilities
seemed plausible, she knew better, because even if her mind played tricks on
her, her tingling scar made it all the more real.
What does this mean?
she thought. With each encounter, her desperation over it amplified, but she
would have to bear this burden alone. A human’s shoulder was no place for her unearthly
burdens. She would have to continue following her instincts and run away.

“Alyx!” the
barista yelled. “Order’s up!”

She stood from her
chair with sturdy legs and went to pay for the lattes.

* * *

Thankfully, Alyx
made it back to the building without encountering the man again, but his
presence that morning troubled her all the same. It took her ten times longer
to read an email or enter a new client into the database. Today would not be a
very productive day. When she attempted to push it to the back of her mind, her
new commitment to Benjamin and letting go of her ‘painter man’ made their way
to the forefront; there were beginning to be too many emotions to juggle.

As she vacantly
stared at a company memo, her Instant Messenger popped up in the bottom corner
of the computer screen. Cindra
.
I assume there wasn’t a proposal last
night, or I would have heard about it!
she typed.

Alyx smiled and positioned
her fingertips over the keyboard, surprised that it had taken her friend
this
long to get the scoop and that her phone wasn’t flooded with texts as soon as
she woke.
I got a proposal alright
,
just not the one you were hoping!
lol He asked me to move in.

It took a solid five
minutes for her to respond, probably because she was either celebrating the
news or had a momentary distraction, but when she finally did, a smiley face
emoticon came up along with a
Congratulations!

*
* *

Five minutes before
lunchtime, Alyx typed an email to Cindra.
Hey, girl, Frederick offered to
take me to lunch and told me to bring a friend. Stacey might join us too. This would
be an excellent opportunity for you to schmooze!  Say you’ll go!

Within seconds
of sending, her phone rang. Cindra’s desk extension. Alyx grinned as she picked
up the receiver. “That was fast!”

“Consider me
there,” she blurted, her enthusiasm practically radiating through the phone. 

“Do you need
longer to think about it?” she teased.

 “Did that seem
desperate?”

“Only a tiny
bit, but I’m glad you’re going. Meet us at the elevators in thirty minutes.”

“See you then!”

“See you then,”
she echoed
and returned to playing solitaire on her desktop.

Alyx had stopped
pretending to be interested in her work because getting anything done in a
timely manner seemed next to impossible. Maybe leaving for lunch and conversing
with other people would help direct her mind somewhere else and re-energize her
work ethic.

Frederick yawned
as he emerged from his office and handed her a folder. “Can you file this under
Mr. Whitman’s case?”

“Sure, and maybe
you should get an espresso with your lunch today,” she said as she plunked it
into her desk drawer.

“That actually
sounds like a great idea. You ready yet?”

“Lets do it!”

Alyx grabbed her
purse, and they stopped by Stacey’s office on the way.

“You coming?”
Frederick mouthed.

Stacey shook her
head and pointed to the phone. “I’ll be awhile,” she whispered.

Frederick nodded,
and they waved bye as they made their way toward the elevators to meet Cindra.

*
* *

With their heels
clacking against the pavement, they hurried along the sidewalk. Another storm
system had rolled in and the dark sky reminded them that rain wasn’t too far
behind. Frederick warned them that it was quite a walk but insisted that they
go to the highly esteemed bistro off of North Highland Avenue.  He tried it
last week while out to lunch with an associate and deemed it the best place to
get a sandwich in the city.

“What’s the deal
with this weather?” Cindra huffed.

Frederick
smoothed his hair with his hand, the humidity causing his usually straight,
slick hair to frizz. “I know! One day it’s nice, one day it’s cloudy and cold.”