Company Ink (22 page)

“You want to help me? Go get me another beer.”

Tommy, already a little sauced, pointed an unsteady finger. “Do right by this girl. She’s a thousand times the woman Elena could ever even hope to be.”

He turned and began to walk in the direction of the restroom. Ethan laughed as he took another swig of his beer. Ben turned to face his old friend, with whom he’d still been on shaky ground since re-entering each other’s lives.

“Do you have anything to say about it?”

Ethan held up his hands. “Hey, I’m still trying to prove myself here. I’ll say whatever you want to hear at this point.”

Ben raised an eyebrow. “That doesn’t make me feel better.”

“You know what I mean,” Ethan insisted. “But, since you really want to know what I think, I’ll tell you. Tommy’s right. Violet seems to have been really good for you, and if you value her, you’ll make a decision. It’s the job or her, bro. I don’t see it going down any other way.”

Ben had been hoping for weeks that it wouldn’t come to this. He had been extra careful around Violet at work, especially since he had begun quietly coaching her as Wynne requested. However, he was skeptical—as busy as the store was on a normal basis, there was no way anyone in the company was paying that much attention.

“Bah,” Ben huffed, reaching for his beer. “Can’t we just have a happy medium? Where we get to enjoy each other both in our personal and professional lives?”

“In a perfect world, I guess. But you and I both know that world doesn’t exist.”

• • •

By a quarter to midnight, Ben was happily headed uptown to his condo, where he knew Violet was waiting for him. He popped an Altoid in his mouth as he stared out the cab window, feeling a little guilty that he’d be arriving home with the smell of hot dog and a six-pack on his breath. His head swam as they made their way up the West Side Highway and, try as he might to enjoy the buzz, he couldn’t help but go back to what Tommy said. Deep down, Ben knew he couldn’t continue to play roulette with their careers.

There wasn’t a doubt in his mind about his relationship with Violet—he wouldn’t be ring shopping tomorrow or next week, but he knew it was coming. Violet was a woman to love and a woman to marry. She not only made life and love effortless, but she made it worth fighting for, as well. He could easily envision a life with her, and if the two of them working together would eventually become a problem, then it was one he needed to solve.

He’d discuss it with her tonight. They could look at everything objectively, talk about it, and go from there.

All thoughts of rational discussion disappeared, however, when he opened the door to his condo and found a trail of rose petals leading to the bathroom. The door was open, candlelight flickered from inside, and the sound of the shower mingled with Violet’s soft melodic voice as she hummed an unknown tune.

Deciding that no words would be necessary for the moment, he kicked off his shoes at the door. He then headed down the hall, peeling off his clothing layer by layer until he stood before the bathroom, stark naked. He could see Violet’s silhouette through the shower curtain as she stood under the water stream, soaking her hair and running her hands over her flat tummy and rounded hips. He licked his lips briefly, and her soft singing stopped.

“Welcome home,” she murmured, the smile on her face apparent though he couldn’t see her.

“What a welcome home it is.”

“Do I have to ask you to come in, Ben?”

He reached for the shower curtain, slowly tugging it back. “No, but I plan on making you beg later.”

Violet giggled as he stepped in. “We’ll see about that.”

His back arched as he lifted her chin with one crooked finger and leaned in for a kiss. She sighed against his mouth, pressing her body into his and submitting to his touch immediately. Ben cupped the back of her head as he deepened their kiss. There would be time for talking later.

• • •

Ben sat up in bed early the next morning, taking care not to wake the sleeping sex kitten next to him. He smiled, thinking with a silent chuckle that Violet might kill him before either of them had to worry about the folks at Wynne’s finding out about them. He stepped out of the bedroom, closing the door behind him gently as he carried an armful of clothes to the bathroom. They were both off today; he had a couple of appointments to keep this morning, but there was no reason to disturb Violet. He’d even bring back something tasty for breakfast, for the purpose of refueling, of course. He imagined spending the rest of the day making love to the curvaceous goddess sleeping in his bed. He crept out of the condo at about seven, planning on being back as fast as he feasibly could.

Ben met with his accountant and financial advisor first, dropping off his proof of the divorce settlement so that there would be no confusion where alimony was concerned. He ended up having coffee with them and discussing his investment portfolio, which, he was surprised to learn, was doing better than anticipated. Afterward, he had coffee at a small table in Grand Central Station with an old friend from the industry, who happened to be a regional manager for 5 Napkin Restaurants.

So Ben was running a couple of hours behind on his errands, but he walked through Midtown with a genuine smile on his face. Life was, suffice it to say, close to perfect. Something caught Ben’s eye as he made his way down Lexington Avenue; he stopped in front of a jewelry store to stare at a bevy of opulent engagement rings.

He leaned in, perusing the selection. Most of the rings were priced higher than what his condo cost. But Violet was worth every penny, and he’d gladly risk going broke to make her happy. He straightened with a start when someone cleared their throat behind him.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to get in the … ”

Elena stood before him, arms folded as she tapped her red Manolo heel impatiently. “Is this what you’re doing already? Do you think that girl’s actually going to marry you?”

Ben tilted his head back, letting out a sigh. “Where did you come from? Are you following me again?”

“Maybe I am, but only because I’ve got something that can’t wait.”

“Is it cancer?”

Elena clucked her tongue at him. “Now, now, don’t be bitter. You stopped me from getting what I want, isn’t that enough?”

“Jesus, Elena,” he replied, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. “I can’t believe I actually married you.”

“I can’t believe I married you either, Ben. And I can’t believe that, after you managed to take away everything that was rightfully mine, I still managed to get such an amazing present.”

“Okay, fine. What are we talking about?”

Elena smiled, batting her false eyelashes at him. “Well, my parents came up from Virginia over the weekend. And of course, they wanted to do the tourist thing. So I took them all over the city, and they mentioned that the city never seemed this interesting when you were around, and I said—”

“The point, Elena.”

“Right, the point. We headed over to Rockefeller Center and took pictures of everything. The skating rink, the statues, and the sign above the entrance to CBS Studios—we got it all. Then they wanted to go see some world-famous bakery called Wynne’s Kitchen. You’ve heard of it, haven’t you?”

Ben held his breath. “I have. Go on.”

“Well, we headed over there and looked in the window to see what the crowd was like,” she continued, taking a couple of menacing steps toward him. “When, lo and behold, we spotted a familiar face.”

Ben said nothing.

“I had
no
idea you were still in the food industry, hon.” Elena’s voice was ominous.

“Well, up until yesterday, I thought I would be paying for your shopping sprees and spa days,” he retorted. “I had to find a job somewhere, didn’t I?”

Elena gave him a confident grin. “Be that as it may, we ended up not going in because, believe it or not, my parents decided they couldn’t possibly stomach a cupcake while having to look at you.”

“I’m sure the scathing disappointment in their only child was more than enough for them to bear.”

“Cute. I suggested we stick around for a few minutes to see if you would leave. I really did want them to have some of the delicious treats on display, despite the fact that an insufferable jerk runs the location. And let me tell you, I found something much more delicious than any cupcake.

“I’m standing in front of the window, watching a girl ice a red velvet cake. She’s doing an amazing job, when her supervisor approaches with a clipboard to talk to her. And here’s where it gets interesting—I recognized the supervisor!”

Ben froze—he’d been caught. He hadn’t been as worried about Wynne making the connection as he’d been about Elena. He’d thought he might have been in the clear, but as he saw the vindictive look in his ex-wife’s eyes, he knew he’d been living in a fool’s paradise.

Of all the things in the world she could have said, this truly wasn’t what he expected. He kept his mouth set in a firm line, refusing to reveal to Elena that she’d just pulled a playable card.

“Oh, yeah,” she said. “Your girl is working in the same store. I recognized her almost immediately! You know, most reputable companies have strict anti-fraternization policies, don’t they?”

Anger bubbled just beneath the surface, and he felt himself getting ready to say something stupid. But, oddly enough, he couldn’t shake snippets of his conversation with Ethan, and it made him want to appeal to her instead. There had to be
some
decency in there.

“Elena, listen—”

“I think Wynne herself would probably be grateful for a call that might alert her to any unsavory activity occurring in her company,” she said, tilting her head to one side. “Tsk, tsk, Benji. You should be ashamed of yourself.”

He held up a hand to stop her from talking. “Elena, please. Just hear me out. I couldn’t figure out what I did wrong or what would make you decide to be so … awful. I mean, I gave you everything you asked for—money, clothes, and even space, against my better judgment. And then I thought about what you said to me when you showed up at the condo. You said I tried to make you into something you weren’t.”

He had her attention. Her expression was fixed into one of confusion. “Ben, what are you—”

“You said that I beat you into submission—but that wasn’t it. I
bought
you into submission. I threw money at all of our problems. I never let you know that I was there for you. So in a way, you’re right—I tried to make you something you weren’t.”

Confusion gave way to pain as tears filled her eyes. She turned away from him. “Stop it, Ben.”

He hadn’t heard her sound anything other than disdainful in months, so he continued. “No, Elena. I owe you an apology. I’m sorry for making you feel like you had to be anything other than yourself.”

He heard Elena sniff. She reached up and wiped her eyes. “I hate you.”

“I know,” he answered. “I don’t think I can do anything about that. But I hope you can move on and find whatever it is you’re looking for.”

She drew in a deep breath and turned around, dabbing tears from under her eyes with one slender finger. “Well, Ben, I’ll tell you what I’m not looking for—your apologies or your sympathy. Do you think that blowing smoke up my ass is going to distract me from keeping that promise I made to you? I guess we’ll just have to see what Wynne’s opinion is on all of this.”

Ben shook his head as he watched her pull her cell phone out and start swiping through it. She was shaken, he could tell. But he wasn’t apologizing for any other reason than that he got it. He knew where he’d gone wrong. And while it didn’t excuse her adultery and less-than-savory behavior up until this point, he had hoped the validation would help. But if she was still bent on carrying out her agenda, then he would have to beat her to the punch.

“I’m really not looking to charm you into backing off. I just wanted you to know—”

“Save it, honey. The world is going to know how disgusting you are, starting with Wynne’s Kitchen.”

He straightened, going from panic mode to anger to calm resignation in a matter of seconds. Ben briefly held his hands up in defeat before letting his arms drop to his sides.

“You know what? You win. Do what you’ve gotta do.” He took long strides away from her, stopping at the curb to hail a cab.

“I mean it, Ben! It’s ringing!”

He didn’t give her a second glance. “Congratulations.”

Thankfully, a cab screeched to a stop in front of him. He climbed in, trying to ignore Elena’s demands for attention as she spoke loudly on the phone to whom he assumed was the receptionist in Wynne’s corporate office. He took a deep breath and told the cab driver, “Sixty-Eighth and Freedom Place, please.”

• • •

Violet woke up at around nine, the sun leaking in through the small openings in Ben’s blinds. He was gone, of course; she knew he had a couple of errands to run today. She turned over and buried her face in his pillow, inhaling deeply. His intoxicating scent filled her nostrils, and she grabbed the pillow with a smile, as if it were a teddy bear. She rolled over with a happy groan, blissful despite the fact that the chickens were coming home to roost.

Violet let her legs hang over the side of the bed as she allowed herself one glorious stretch before venturing out into the rest of the apartment. She began her morning routine, wondering what time Ben would be home. It occurred to her as she was midway through making a pot of coffee that she wouldn’t mind waking up next to him on a regular basis or having a pot of coffee ready for him upon his return. The thought made her smile.

About an hour later, she was happily enjoying a second cup of coffee along with a small stack of cinnamon toast at the dinette in the kitchen, where she was reading
The
New York Times
which had been left at the door moments before. Her phone buzzed loudly from the bedroom. She jogged over to check it, assuming it would be Ben. She saw Wynne’s name on the screen.

So much for blissful ignorance.

She cleared her throat and put on her best happy voice. “Good morning, Wynne!”

“Good morning, sweetie. How’s the wrist?”