The Boleyn Effect (The Boorman Ending) (13 page)

'Why did you let him get
away with it before?'

'Because it was just sex.
He never loved any of them. He only loved me. I could cope with
that, but what if this one turns out to be more. I'm not sure I
could live with that.'

'And George?'

'Is a good man and it was
nice of him to offer, but that poor girl he was going to use is
worth more than that. It's not fair to drag her into my
mess.'

'Do you know who this girl
is?' I ask, my throat tightening.

'I've no idea, but what
does it matter. Harry, it seems, has already found himself a new
toy to play with and I have to cope with him coming home smelling
of cheap perfume once again.'

A slowly move slightly
away from her. Painfully aware that it’s my cheap perfume that she
smells on him.

'You are beautiful and
he's an idiot. Come on, we'll do this pictures and show him exactly
what he's got waiting for him at home.'

A smile spreads on her
face and I see colour reach her cheeks. The poor woman, if only she
knew that the threat to her marriage was the one sitting beside
her. The one she's just confided in. Her revelation that some girl
thought she was pregnant shakes me up slightly. Why would he have
been so careless? And was this girl that little bit more than the
others for that to happen? What had Katherine said? Blonde girl
barely twenty.

Maybe this isn't a good
idea. I should get out of it now, before I am in way over my head.
Tell George that I want out and it will be over. But then if Harry
refused to have sex with her after being with me then this changes
things. I'm so god damn confused and it's turning my stomach into
tight knots.

Clair and Marti arrive
back with sandwiches and drinks and after we've all eaten the
atmosphere changes. Suddenly, Katherine blossoms into the woman she
is and every shot is near on perfect with little direction. At one
point Clair leans over me while I check the pictures and
whistles.

'She is one beautiful
woman and George thought you could steal her husband from
her.'

I glance at her quickly,
my mouth in a tight line and I see her pale slightly.

'Not that you're not
beautiful,' she flusters.

'Well it's a good job we
didn't go through with it then isn't it,' I hiss.

Moving away from her
towards Katherine I ask if she wants to see the pictures. Jumping
off the bed like a teenager, she bounds over and gasps in
excitement.

'Is that really me? Leigh
you're a genius,' she gushes.

'Of course, I'll Photoshop
some of them slightly to make them flawless, but looking at them
they won't need much. You'll just have to let me know whether
you're going canvas or framed.'

'What would you
suggest?'

'If it were me, I'd go
canvas. It's all very trendy at the moment.'

She nods her head in
agreement. I can't believe that she needs my opinion on this. The
power is firmly in my hands and it's not a good feeling. Katherine
disappears to get changed leaving me and Clair to clear away the
equipment. I’m filled with mixed feelings. A feeling of
exhilaration at gaining some information about the state of her
marriage to Harry mixed with the feelings of inadequacies at how
well she photographed.

Now I am not sure I'm
enough. I don't have what it takes to really seduce this man. He
just wants sex and if I'm not giving him it then he will move on.
He's got plenty more to fish for. I have nothing worth falling in
love for.

CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN

'What happens if she
leaves him? Where does it leave us?'

George has cooked for me
and we are sitting in his room eating homemade risotto. The day
with Katherine has undoubtedly shaken me and I feel exhausted with
keeping up pretences. And for what? For money? My career? Also what
happens when Harry leaves her? Me and him are over. I walk away.
That's the deal, but can I really keep away from a guy who's
already getting under my skin?

'She won't leave him. She
needs him to walk out on her.' George assures me.

'She nearly did last
time,' I push. 'And what difference does it make who walks out on
who if she gets her freedom.'

'If she was going to leave
him, she would have done it the first time he cheated. She could
have taken her money and fucked off into the sunset. The fact is
that she will never leave him, because there's something in her
father's Will that means she can't just get up and
leave.'

'But then Harry won't
leave her either, because he loses too.'

George shakes his head as
he leans back in the chair. 'Harry is a sly dog. He's invested
personal savings here there and everywhere. Yes, he'd lose her
money, but he's made enough of his own to keep himself comfortable.
Katherine is trapped in a marriage with a cheating husband, because
of money and status. Now do you realise why I hate the bastard. He
screws around because he knows he can get away with it.'

I throw down my fork and
get to my feet. I suddenly feel sick. Very sick. That poor woman
and I'm surely just making her life harder. No matter what she
says, she still loves him. Maybe there's another way to make this
work. Marriage counselling maybe rather than using a Honey Trap.
But I can't deny the feelings of lust I get when with Harry. He
makes my body come alive in ways that I've never known. Shit! This
is all a fucked up mess and it's not even really
started.

'I want out,' I snap. 'You
said I could if I wanted.'

George comes to my side
and pulls me so I'm facing him.

'Babe, listen to me.
You're just panicking.'

'I'm not panicking. Surely
you can see how fucked up this. I am messing with a man, whose wife
is trapped. How can we as human beings allow this to happen? I
don't want to do this anymore.'

'Would it help if I tell
you that my mum and father have been working with her to try and
free some of those assets?'

I shrug and I’m surprised
that I'm ready to cry. That isn't me. I don't cry. I never let
things get to me. Too much of a hard face bitch or so I'm always
being told. A bit harsh, but hey, as long as my friends and family
love me then screw it.

'I'm just not sure we are
doing the right thing. All to prove a stupid point.'

George leads me to his
sofa and pours me a glass of wine, before sitting opposite. I can
already see he's preparing to state his case and I'll be sucked in
once again.

'Mother and Father have
been working with Katherine making her invest her money into other
businesses. It's almost like losing money by giving it away. They
have also hired some big wig who is trying to find a loophole in
this Will. If they divorce they will make sure she gets everything
that's hers. You are technically doing her favour. If Harry walks
out then we think we can make sure she gets every penny
owed.'

'Doing her favour? What by
fucking her husband and showing her marriage as a sham?' I
laugh.

'Putting it that way makes
it sound bad,' he says. 'Plus you're not technically fucking him.
Remember no sex.'

'Is this anything to do
with your dissertation at all?' I say, my voice rising in
temper.

'Of course. I'd never play
you like that. If you want out then we'll tear the contract up.
Then you never have to see any of them again. But think of it this
way if they divorce on the grounds of adultery then she will get
what's hers and she'll be a free woman. You're doing this for all
the women out there.'

'If you dare say girl
power I will punch you clean in the face,' I sneer.

'I wouldn't dare,' George
grins. 'But life is not always so black and white. Yes fooling
around with her husband is a shitty thing to do, but if she gets
her freedom out of it then you become an unlikely lifesaver, whom
she'll thank one day.'

'And your
dissertation?'

'I can go get my notes
that I've already written up if it will make you feel better.
Leigh, I am not playing you, but this is like killing two birds
with one stone. Harry is a cheating son of a bitch and deserves
everything he gets.'

What he's saying is right
and I know it is. Katherine does deserve better and to hold onto
what's hers. Yet, something ugly stirs inside when George calls
Harry a son of a bitch. It's almost a protective anger. Now I'm
even more confused. The best thing I can do is just walk away from
all of them while I can. But George's hold on me seems ever so
tighter now.

'I'm sorry,' I whisper. 'I
didn't mean to say that you were playing me. But I need to
think.'

He takes hold of me and I
lay across his lap while he strokes my hair in an effort to calm me
down.

'Look if she leaves him
then it's over and no one wins, except maybe her,' he
says.

'I think today just
fucking freaked me out. I sometimes feel like I'm way over my
head,' I say.

'Then you are not going to
do this on your own. I'll be with you each step of the way. But
you've got trust me.'

'I do,' I
promise.

'Ok, then if we continue
to do this you've got to look at it that you are saving that poor
woman from her husband, while proving that you can do just as Anne
Boleyn did.'

'What about our slate?' I
ask.

I feel George tense
beneath my head. By asking the question he knows my motivation and
it makes him uneasy. He now knows that I want his hold on me to
loosen and he's none too keen at letting me go.

'I've told you it will be
cleared as soon as he tells you he loves you and leaves
Katherine.'

We spend the rest of the
evening quietly drinking and watching movies. Of course George has
worked me round. But there's a growing tension between us. A wall
that slowly is building and we’re struggling to keep each brick
from being placed.

I'm still unsure if I can
justify what we are doing as helping Katherine, because I can see
that she is deeply in love with Harry. If I were in her shoes would
I see it exactly the same. I doubt I would thank the woman who was
playing games my over errant husband.

My phone beeping
interrupts our night. I pick it up and my heart skips. It's from
Harry. I can't cope with this right now. My head is not in the
right place.

'What's it say?' George
asks.

Showing him the message,
he smiles as he snatches at the phone and starts to text
back.

'Hey what you doing?' I
shout grabbing at the phone.

George jumps up and dodges
my attempts.

'You said you trusted me,'
he says.

He hands me the phone back
and I check out the message he's sent on my behalf.

'I can't meet him now, I'm
not ready and I'm not even dressed properly,' I mutter.

'Course you can. You look
great.'

'I'm wearing my work
clothes. I need to freshen up,' I argue.

'I call you a taxi. Get it
to take you home. I'll pay.'

'You're pimping me out
now?' I chuckle.

George throws a cushion at
me as he grabs his phone.

'Then what?' I
ask.

'What do you
mean?'

'Well the no sex rule.
Does that still apply?'

George looks as though
he's struggling with the decision. He doesn't want me to sleep with
anyone else but him. He wants no one to take his place, yet he
knows there was no other choice, because he wants to be part of
this game and challenge.

'There are many ways to
satisfy a man without him being inside you. Just use your
imagination,' he says finally.

So that's a no then, I
think to myself as I grab my coat. I have to use my imagination.
Then so be it and since it's always an over active one then this
could get interesting

CHAPTER
EIGHTEEN

I ask the driver to take
me home first, because I do need to change. Even just changing my
underwear makes a big difference and a few pumps of perfume.
Remembering the conversation with Katherine, I make a note of what
perfume I wear with Harry and which I wear when I'm with Katherine.
I don't want to be caught out by something as stupid as
scent.

Once satisfied, the taxi
drives me to where Harry waits. It's not exactly romance. Some
desolate car park in the middle of nowhere. Is this the start of
future illicit meetings? Harry steps out of his car as the taxi
pulls away. In a black blazer and open necked shirt, he almost
looks coy.

'I wasn't sure you'd
come,' he says.

'Well here I am,' I smile.
'Now what?'

'I hadn't thought that far
ahead,' he laughs. 'We could go for a drive. Talk. See where we end
up.'

'Late night magical
mystery tour. Sounds like fun.'

Soon we are on the road
into the darkness. Music blares from the stereo and the car is
filled with the angry, yet melodic tunes of the punk era. There's a
smell of musky aftershave mixed with the scent of the air freshener
and it fills me with calmness making me feel content. The leather
seats are incredibly comfy and I find myself almost
lounging.