The Ultimate Merger (7 page)

“Working late
again. You knew I was coming back tonight, but you couldn’t tear yourself away
from…whatever you were doing to be here to greet me.”

She had really
screwed up this time. He was very upset with her. “I’m sorry, but when you see
the numbers I have, you’ll understand why I couldn’t break away.”

He took a step
forward but stopped again. He eyed her, examining her features in a curious
way, as if he was seeing her for the first time. But there was something else.
His eyes were hard and cold. She’d finally pushed him too far.

“Renny, I know
you’re mad at me. I’ll make it up to you.” For the first time, Sabrina noticed
the photos in his hand. They were turned inward toward his leg, so she couldn’t
see the images, but her heart rate sped up with trepidation. “What are those?”
she asked in a low voice.

Renaldo tossed the photos on
the floor with a mixture of anger and distaste. They fanned out across the
polished wood, and she could clearly see the images. They turned her stomach.

“You tell me,” he said in a
quiet voice. “Who is this man and what are you doing with him?”

Sabrina swayed, feeling
lightheaded. She reached for the table to steady herself. “Where did you get
those?” But she already knew where they came from. He’d
found the photos she’d hidden away in her desk.

 “You didn’t answer the
question,” Renaldo reminded her.

She couldn’t get the words
out because she didn’t know what to say or how to explain.

“Were you with him tonight?”
Renaldo asked.

Sabrina’s eyes flew to his
face. He spoke calmly, but she could see the darker emotions hidden in his
eyes, ready to unleash on her.

“No, I was at work. I
swear,” Sabrina said, her voice trembling.

“And why should I believe
you? It seems that when I’m out of town, you find alternative ways to keep
yourself entertained.”

Sabrina shook her head. “No.
That’s not true.”

He jabbed his index finger
toward the floor in barely restrained fury. “Then explain this to me.”

His composure was slipping
fast. The words were said behind gritted teeth and his accent thickened. How
could she explain when she didn’t know herself how this could have happened?

“I don’t know how,” she
admitted weakly.

“They are not…” his voice
trailed off as he fumbled for the correct English word. “They are not
doctored?”

She recognized that he was
grasping at straws, hoping she would say they were doctored photos. If only she
could. If only she didn’t know herself that she had betrayed him with her
actions. She’d managed to keep it a secret for as long as she could.

“No,” she said quietly.

The breath he drew in was
harsh and loud in the grave-like quiet of the house. “So you have been lying to
me and sneaking around behind my back? For how long?”

“I never sneaked around
behind you back,” Sabrina said. “It-it just happened. I didn’t plan it.”

Renaldo gave a disgusted
snort. “It’s hard to believe you when I find photos of you in intimate
positions with another man, hidden away in your desk for enjoyment when I am
not here.”

“That’s not why I hid them.
I was ashamed. I didn’t want you to find them.” She pressed her palms to her
hot cheeks. “Please. You have to believe me.”

“You should leave before I
do something I regret.”

The scorn and anger in his
voice hurt. It was almost too much to bear, because ever since she’d met him
he’d been her champion and treated her with care and respect. He’d never once
made her feel beneath him because he had money and a better family life than
she did.

“You have to listen to me.
You have to hear me out,” she said in desperation. Her perfectly formed world
was falling apart.

“Leave.”

“Renny, please.”

“By the time I count to
three, you better get out or I will toss you out.”

“Please don’t do this to me.
Give me another chance.”

“One.”

“I was drunk,” she said,
shaking uncontrollably. “I didn’t know what I was doing.”

“Two.”

“You love me.” He flinched
as if she’d struck him. “Can we please work it out? I don’t know what happened,
but you know that’s not me. I
love
you.”

“Love me?” His upper lip
curled in disbelief. “You love this life. Your ambition betrays you. You love
money and power. You love material things. But you
do not love me
.”

Sabrina’s eyes welled up
with tears of pain at the way he’d characterized her. “If you believe what
you’re saying, why did you marry me?”

“I was a fool,” Renaldo said
in a voice full of regret. “I saw what I wanted to see.”

“That’s not true. I’m your
wife. You know me.”

“Obviously I do not. Your
time is up.” He resumed counting. “Three.” He stepped toward her with a
purposeful stride, his face set in uncompromising lines.

He was really going to put
her out. In a panic, Sabrina struck out at him, but he caught her hand and spun
her around hard, slamming her back against his chest.

“You can’t do this,” she
said, as her pulse kicked up a notch. 

He was so tall, that when
his arms cinched around her like tight bands, and he easily lifted her, her
feet dangled a few inches above the floor. “You can go to him now,” Renaldo
said in her ear, bitterness lacing his voice. “Tell him I sent you, and he can
have you all to himself.”

Sabrina twisted and kicked
wildly, throwing her body backward to force him to put her down. “I’m not
leaving!” she screamed. “I’m not leaving!”

Her desperate movements only
made him close his arms tighter around her. He marched toward the side door
leading out the stairwell.

 “Renny, I love you. Don’t
do this. D-don’t!”

It was as if he could no
longer hear her. He didn’t speak. He managed to hold her still with one arm and
use his free hand to open the door.

“Renny!”

He stepped out into the
stairwell and deposited her there. “Do not come back here,” he said in a cold
voice. “You will hear from my lawyer.” He swung around and stalked back inside.
She heard the latch hit hard on the other side of the door.

Sabrina looked around at the
bare white walls and the long staircase leading down to the next floor. Her
eyes brimmed with tears. He’d put her out. This couldn’t be happening.

It couldn’t be over. She
loved him. He had to forgive her. She moved swiftly to the door and pounded
with her fist. “Renny! Please forgive me. Please!”

She didn’t know how long she
stood out there pleading for his forgiveness. She pounded until her fists grew
sore and her arms tired. But he never came back. She knew it would be futile to
try to get back in through the private elevator. He would have had her key card
deactivated by now.

Exhausted, Sabrina finally
accepted her fate. She had no one to blame but herself.

Finally, she crumbled to the
floor in a miserable, sobbing heap.

****

Later that night, Sabrina knocked on the
door of her cousin’s apartment. When Jewel Porter opened it, she stared at
Sabrina with widened eyes.

“Brina, what happened to you?”

Sabrina knew she looked as bad as she
felt. She’d seen an image of herself reflected in the mirrored walls of the
elevator on the ride up. Her cheeks were tear-streaked, and dark lines of black
mascara ran down each side of her face. Her hair, which she’d taken great care
with, was a mess after tumbling from its neat arrangement during her
altercation with Renaldo.

“Can I come in?” she whispered. Her
throat felt raw from all the screaming and crying she’d done.

“Of course.” Jewel widened the door and
let her enter.

“I don’t have any money. Would you pay
the taxi downstairs?”

“Of course.” In the past, she had always
been the one to help Jewel, but now Jewel was helping her.

Like a zombie, Sabrina trudged in and
dropped onto the sofa. She rested her cheek against its back and curled her
bare feet under her. She heard when Jewel reentered the apartment after she’d
gone downstairs to pay the driver, but she didn’t have the energy to lift her
head and face her. How she managed to make it to Jewel’s apartment was still a
mystery.

Jewel sat in front of her on the sofa,
her brow furrowed in lines of worry. “Brina, what happened? What’s going on?”

“He threw me out.”

“Renaldo?”

Sabrina nodded, feeling the tears well
up in her eyes again. She didn’t think she had any more tears.

“What do you mean he threw you out? What
for? The two of you are married.”

“We won’t be for much longer.” Overwhelming
sadness forced the tears from her eyes.

“Honey, you’re not making sense,” Jewel
said patiently. “What on earth would make Renaldo want to divorce you? He’s
madly in love with you, and you’re madly in love with him. You followed him
here from Chicago. You even convinced me to come with you, for heaven’s sake.”
She laughed at how they’d moved thousands of miles to a foreign country. “Of
course you’re staying married. You just had a little spat, that’s all.” Jewel
patted her cousin’s hand in a comforting gesture.

Sabrina shook her head. “No. It was more
than a lover’s quarrel.”

“Tell me what happened.”

Sabrina sniffed and wiped under her
nose. “He found out.”

“Found out what?”

“About Mateo.”

“Who in the world is Mateo?”

Sniff. “The guy we met at the club.”

“Wait a minute, that was months ago. You
stayed in touch with him?”

“I guess you could say that.”

“Honey, you’re not making sense. Look at
me.” Jewel took her cousin’s hand and squeezed. “What are you talking about?
Why were you still in touch with Mateo?”

Sabrina closed her eyes and her face
crumbled. “Because I spent the night with him,” she said, her voice pitched
lower and cracking. “And now Renny knows.”