Bound: The Pentagon Group, Book 3 (28 page)

“Technically,” I reminded.

“So you’re not going to get on top and ride me? It’s your favorite.”

“No. I’ve had a long day and night, and I’m punishing you for forcing me to sit through Leona’s, I’m sorry—Dr. Keene’s not-so-subtle disapproval,” I finished.

I heard him huff, and turn away.

“Perla?”

“Yeah?”

“She loves me, so she will love you. You will be able to consider her a mother too.”

“Goodnight, babe.” I said, resisting the sobs trying to burst forth.

*****

A severe case of indigestion woke me up in the middle of the night. I found my robe and went to the kitchen to grab a bottle of ginger ale. Matt didn’t have the bedroom refrigerator stocked with it. The light was on, alerting me to someone’s presence. I hoped I could just grab what I needed and return to my room without incident. The last person I wanted to see was Dr. Leona Keene.

“Hello,” I called out gently.

“Oh, my dear, you frightened me. I’m so used to this house being empty.”

“Are you okay?” I asked with genuine concern.

“I’m fine my dear. Just some joint pain.”

“Oh, my. Is there anything I can do?”

“No. I’ll manage. What has you up?”

“Life,” I said while rummaging through the fridge, finding the small bottle. I took a glass and quickly served to drink.

“I probably didn’t make it any easier for you, honey.”

I smiled and sighed, “No, but I don’t blame you. Matt has had some questionable relationships, and I know you’re concerned because you love him.”

“I just don’t want to lose him.”

“You won’t on my account.”

“We almost did with the last one.”

“I’m not the last one.” I said, and took a sip.

“I know. She would never have taken interest in his business, other than it making money, but I see you are trying to help him. He is quite taken with you.”

“But you’re afraid this is another phase?” I asked. She nodded.

“I don’t want him, or you, hurt,” she said. “He can feel immense pain and then be stoic the next. And I can’t fix either of those emotions when he suffers them,” she said. I listened, trying to understand.

“I’ve experienced his extremes. It’s all or nothing with him. He makes these grand overtures, but I now understand where it’s coming from. The only time I didn’t want to bother with him was after learning about his deception, but at that point I was desperately in love with him. The thought of spending another moment without him in my life was unbearable. I don’t know what happened between him and Sonia, and I rather not think about them together, but I can say with absolute certainty, I’m glad everything fell in line for the both of us. I will try my hardest to make him happy, even if I have to push back from him a bit to keep our future free from drama. I hope you can trust us,” I said. She listened intently.

“Oh, honey. I will try my best, but no matter how old Mathias is I will worry,” she said, smiling weakly.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” I smiled, bidding her a goodnight. I returned to Matt’s side, staying close enough to feel his body, but far enough to not entice him awake.

*****

The exhaustion my pregnancy caused, left me needing to leave the office earlier than planned. I had the evening rehearsal for our performance at the gala event. I needed fresh air, and my stubbornness wouldn’t wait for Josh to park the car at my building and walk back to pick me up. When I walked out of the headquarters, I was stopped by a familiar voice calling out my name. My body seized at the tone and pitch I’d heard for six years of my life. I turned to see Ben approach with a serious demeanor, hands in the pockets of his slacks. He wore a sports jacket in the sweltering heat of summer. I wondered if he wore it to see me at my office.

“Ben?” I asked surprised.

“Hi, Perla. How are you?”

Immediately, my hormone riddled brain wanted to break down and cry. He was the last person I wanted to see. My return from DR with Brady caused enough havoc on my relationship, but Matt and I were working through our issues. He was being as patient as I could hope, especially after failing to file the license.

“What can I do for you, Ben?” I looked around, checking to see if Josh was on his way.

“I need to talk about us.”

“About us? There is no ‘us’,” I reminded.

His lips pursed and continued on.

“I learned the whole sordid details of my sister’s scheme from my parents. After we got over the shock of her actually being alive and living under an assumed name, we couldn’t believe all the things she did to us . . . to you,” he reported with a grimace.

I nodded, relieved she was being punished for her crimes. I was also to be exonerated from the accusations made against me.

“I plan on pursuing any further charges for what she did to us, even civil litigation, which my attorney suggested for interference with a marriage and loss of consortium,” he saw the questioning look on my face and explained, “Her behavior affected our marriage and led to our divorce, and I can sue her for losing you and our emotional and physical connection,” he explained.

I rolled my eyes.

A civil claim for losing me? And what would be his award? Money? Because the award wouldn’t be me. I wouldn’t return to him. No court of law would require such an act to happen. I couldn’t believe money would make our dissolution acceptable to him.

“There were other reasons for the end of our marriage, Ben. Aida was the impetus for ending the inevitable. If you came here to apologize and make me aware of all what is happening with Aida, I accept and thank you. I wish you well,” I turned to walk back into Pentagon’s building.

“Wait.” He touched my arm, and I recoiled pulling away. His touch stirred feelings of panic. I feared Matt would learn of Ben’s touch and would ‘punish’ me for something I had no control over. While the punishment wouldn’t be traumatic or abusive, I needed tenderness, and not the roughness since my return.

Ben pulled his hand back, “I’d like to . . .” He looked around, seeking the words in the faces of the people meandering around Boston’s busy week day. I saw the double-takes of the passersby, watching us argue in the middle of the sidewalk.

I looked into the brown, doe-eyes of my ex-husband and felt nothing. It was as if we were strangers. The anger I had toward him was no longer there. All I wanted was to never see him or another member of the Parisi family again.

“I don’t know, Perla. The news of what happened makes me want to fix what Aida broke. I want you back,” He sounded desperate.

“Ha,” I cried out with incredulity, holding my yet-to-exist paunch of a pregnancy belly. “You’ve got to be kidding me. There is nothing between us, and there hasn’t been since the day you accused me of having something to do with the loss of the money. I lost my love for you the day you kicked me out of our house. When you made me sign a contract to repay the trumped up amount with bogus evidence, any feelings I had for you were cauterized. The only feelings I have now are indifference. I feel sorry for your parents. Your parents didn’t deserve this. And while you didn’t deserve this either, we were a couple; for better or worse. You were supposed to believe in me. You should have fought for me. But you turned against me and caused everyone to follow suit. I was left broken and alone. I had to rebuild my life from scratch.” I shook my head of the thoughts, reliving the emotions from back then. My blood rumbled to a boil in the heat of the city.

“There is nothing between us, Ben. Aida may have started it, but you perpetuated the problem. Move on. Find yourself another woman who can give you what you need.”

“You gave me what I needed,” he countered.

Earlier on, soon after our separation, I would have welcomed him taking me back. But too much time had passed, and I’ve experienced the passion I was missing in our marriage.

“No. I took what I needed. I needed you to be my family. I needed your parents to be the parents I didn’t have because of my mother’s illness and untimely death and my father working all my life to pay hospital bills to keep my mother alive; dance lessons to keep me happy; and keeping my siblings financially dependent. Mostly it kept him out of a depressing home life, raising three wayward children and one child who cared for his dying wife. I had siblings who ran the streets and came in and out of my life. You provided the stability I craved, but when you took that away, I was left with nothing. And over time, I got it again. I’m happy now,” I finished, stopping myself from revealing more about Matt. I didn’t want Ben to taint my precious love or the future family we were creating.

“With the doctor?” He smirked.

“Yes, the doctor.”

“How did you know I was here, Ben?” I asked annoyed.

“Well, you’re so famous in Boston that you’re on the internet. Our friends are talking about how you’re doing so much better without me. Rich. Beautiful. Has a doctor for a boyfriend.”

“Husband!” I corrected. His face showed surprise, and then darkened. His eyes went directly to my ring-less hand. “Yes, I married him. Too bad the internet didn’t give you that information. You needn’t have bothered making the trip.”

“Are you so hard up for money that you married him after a few months? You barely know the guy,” he asked surprised.

“Well, I knew you for much longer. At least I thought I knew you. And you tossed me aside after Aida’s false allegations. I couldn’t do any worse with a man who offered me his massive fortune and a privileged life. He paid you off.” The offended look in his eyes brought me immense satisfaction. “While you left me broke and struggling, I found a man who literally offered me the world.”

The anger I’d held for almost two years burst forth. Things I couldn’t say when we were together or when we parted were rushing forth. He had kept everything and gained more when Matt paid him off. The best part of it all, being exonerated.

“I asked you to seek an audit, and you refused. You took the cowardly way out of our marriage by rolling with a baseless claim. I don’t know if you had anything to do with falsifying those documents, but I believe you set out to ruin me. What did you think would happen if you showed up here? Did you think I would take you back and we’d live happily ever after? Did you come here thinking I’d let you live a lavish lifestyle with my Pentagon shares and my executive’s salary?” I shook my head.

“No,” he stammered. “I thought we could talk. Because it was her fault, we can make it work somehow.”

“There’s no ‘it’. I’m married to the love of my life.” I proclaimed.

By the pallor of his face, Ben came to the realization of finality in our relationship. I’d closed the chapter on Ben. Thankfully, I stopped myself from proceeding to tell him I was also expecting my first child with my new husband. Ben shouldn’t have been the next person to know of Matt impending fatherhood.

I heard a voice beside me, “Mrs. Keene? Is everything alright?” I turned to see Josh approach. A wave of relief came over me. My blood pressure had spiked and suddenly dropped. I inhaled deeply, staving off a dizzy spell.

“Josh, I need an assist home.”

“Anything, you need, Madame,” offering me the crook of his arm.

“Goodbye, Ben. Good luck with the civil suit. I hope you get the money you’re after. And don’t come anywhere near me or my family. I will make life as miserable for you as you made it for me, if you do.” I finished, and walked with linked arms, guided by Josh toward my apartment.

Silence pervaded the air between us. We had always kept our relationship professional. His only role was to safely take me from point ‘A’ to point ‘B’. I took time to recover from the interaction with Ben. As we walked toward my place, Josh looked around to ensure we weren’t being followed. If Josh hadn’t interrupted, I don’t know what would have happened with Ben.

“We’re here,” he said. “I can stay downstairs until you’re ready to go to rehearsals.”

“I’m too wound up to sit around the apartment. Can we take a bit of a walk until I calm down?” I asked.

Josh nodded. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would walk arm-in-arm with the security guard I alienated from the moment I laid eyes on him. We walked in comfortable silence until I needed to return home and get ready to leave for the last rehearsal.

*****

Strong arms pulled me from a deep sleep. I smelled Matt’s manly scent mixed with his signature fragrance, and the antiseptic smell when he worked at the hospital. I turned and my vision adjusted to see Matt beside me in the cocoon of my bed. The light inside was dimmed so we could see each other’s faces.

“Are you okay?” He asked.

“Yes. Why?” I asked with a throaty voice.

“I heard your ex came by today.” A stab of panic went through me.

“And who exactly filled you in?” I inquired; doubtful he would share his source.

“What happened?” He ignored

“Am I going to be punished?”

“Perla, I don’t trust you and Brady. I don’t want you with him. I know you won’t have anything to do with Ben; not after what he did to you,” he gently offered, squeezing me close. I dared not stop him from sucking the air out of my lungs. I needed the pressure of his affection to console me. The reassurance of his love was most important.