Tiger Lily: Part Three (28 page)

Diane blanched. “Yes, Mr. Crane. I’ll check into it and get back to you both soon,” she said and wrote on her notepad. “I’ll give you a copy of this statement to sign again later. I must get going to court.”

“We’ll meet again after I return,” Jonas said, concluding the meeting.

I TURNED TO IAN,
who was packing up his briefcase. “Is Mary alright?”

A ghost of a smile appeared on his face. “Yes.”

I waited for him to elaborate, but he didn’t. He just strolled toward the door.

“Is she on her way back here?” I called out. He looked at Jonas and they shared an exchange. Before I could ask what was going on, Ian replied, “I’ll have her back by the time you return this afternoon. See you in Midtown, Jonas.”

I pursed my mouth as I watched him power walk the rest of the way out of the room. When he was gone, I said, “He’s annoying.”

Jonas scoffed. “He’s annoying because he doesn’t want to gossip about your friend?” Jonas replied.

I shrugged.
Yes.
“No.”

Jonas leaned over and kissed me, sucking on my poked out bottom lip. “My sexy little liar. I’ll have to get Samuel to add that to your profile,” he said and winked at me. And that was when it hit me. I was now, officially, the live-in girlfriend of highly successful business guru Jonas Crane.

I eyed the tabloid article.
The young temptress gold digger that stole a committed man from heiress Melissa Finch.
“I think we can leave that off. I’m already a ‘lush Lolita temptress,” I said.

He grimaced and started packing up his papers. “I’ll make Phil regret being connected to that trash.”

I gave my profile an once-over and sulked. “I haven’t done much. I mean, compared to you and Melissa. Or even those you dated before. I understand why they might question what you are doing with me. I’m not even working right now.”

Jonas moved the paper from my hands and touched the side of my face. “You didn’t stop working, you’re on stress leave. And we are together now. Anyone I’ve dated in the past is in the past for a reason. The public gets to know you’re my girlfriend, but they will not dictate our relationship,” Jonas said. He took the folder out of my hand and closed it. “Now, kiss me.”

I leaned in and gave him a peck on the lips.

Jonas rose and moved to his desk. We had no time to spare if we were going to make it to our next appointments for the day. So we collected and packed up our things then left the loft.

I cupped my hand to block the brightness of the sunlight once we arrived on the sidewalk. The barriers and security guards remained in place outside the building and at the end of the street, though that wasn’t a guarantee a photographer wasn’t taking photos. Jonas paused before the car and brushed his lips against the side of my face. A flutter went through my chest. He was all in and ready to claim me.

Jonas had his arm around my shoulder the second the door closed. “I’m sorry I won’t be able to take you with me when I leave town today. I don’t want you to miss therapy.”

I pressed close to his side. With all that had occurred, it felt like a lot of time had passed since my last appointment. Nonetheless, I didn’t want to miss therapy either. There was a lot to talk about, and I wanted to garner her support in getting closure with Declan.

“I agree,” I said. “And I understand. Besides, Mary will be here at least for another couple of days.”

“Dani and Ian are here too, and I’ll be just a phone call or Skype away,” he added. A salacious grin spread across his face. “I enjoyed our last Skype session. We can do that together tonight.”

“With everything going on?” I said and clucked my tongue. “What if someone hacks into our session? No way.”

“That’s not possible,” Jonas declared, but I detected doubt in his tone. I wasn’t sure it could happen either, but I wasn’t willing to risk it. He moved his hand up my skirt. “I’ll look into it, just to be sure.”

I clamped my legs together, trapping his hand. “The car too. Do you want someone with one of their fancy cameras filming us?”

“Through tinted glass in a moving car?” Jonas said, his voice elevated. He worked his trapped hand higher and my breath hitched. We both knew I wasn’t able to resist him, but if we could, I’d rather avoid more bad publicity.

“Come on, Jonas, please. Just until things die down,” I said, cursing the huskiness in my tone.

Jonas let out a derisive noise and removed his hand. He went further still by moving away from me. My lips parted as I stared at him.
Jonas Crane, pouting?
He’d never let me get away with that, so I scooted closer and leaned my head on his shoulder. “Will I see you before you go?”

“I’ve got a lot to do today, but I’ll do my best to see you before I leave,” he said and returned to holding me. A crease appeared on my cheek. He wasn’t able to resist me either.

We rode in comfortable silence the rest of the way uptown and parked in front.

“If Isla approves, you can go to the jail, but not without me. I mean it, Lily,” Jonas said, his tone authoritative.

“I won’t. I promise. I need Diane to go too, and she won’t go without your approval anyway,” I reminded him. His face softened. I leaned over and kissed him before getting out of the car. “See you soon.” I said as I ducked out of the door, heading to my appointment.

After the short meditation at the beginning of our session, I ‘checked in’ by sharing all that had occurred since our last appointment, ending with the possible visitation with Declan in jail.

“What do you think will happen if you go to this visit?” Isla asked.

I pressed my lips together. “I think Declan won’t apologize. He will insult and threaten me. He will try to manipulate me by promising to return the things he stole if I drop the charges against him.”

Isla nodded and wrote on her notepad. “What would he gain by doing that?”

I sat and thought about her question before answering. “He would get the satisfaction of hurting me one more time.”

“Do you think that’s enough to sustain him in the long run? From what you shared, that wouldn’t move him toward his goal of getting out of jail. Even if you drop charges, there is enough evidence against him to proceed anyway, right?” Isla prodded.

“Yes, but Declan would still think I have some way of stopping it,” I said.

“But you don’t and he would still remain in jail. Let’s pretend he knows and accepts this as fact. What if he wants to apologize to you?”

I frowned. “You think he will actually apologize?”

“I think you need to look at all sides of the situation and prepare yourself,” Isla replied “What if he
does
apologize to you?”

I folded my arms. What if he did say he was sorry? If Declan apologized, I knew I wouldn’t believe him. He had apologized in the past, and I forgave only to have him hurt me again. “I don’t think it would help me because I wouldn’t believe or trust him. His apology wouldn’t mean anything.” I thought for a moment more and then said, “So are you saying I shouldn’t go?”

“No. I just want you to think through how and what you want to gain from visiting him in jail,” Isla responded.

The bile of bitterness rose within me and I clenched my mouth. “Part of me wants to stop being afraid of him and hopes to get closure on the past. The other wants to see him suffer and hurt like he hurt me. Then I guess I expect he will offer to give me my things he took back. But I won’t be there to make things good for him. I don’t plan to drop the charges or help him. My motivations are not altruistic,” I spilled out and covered my mouth with my hand. They weren’t the words of the woman my parents had raised to be or indicative of the type of person I would ever want to be.

“I’m not here to judge,” Isla said in a calm tone. “I’m here to help you. Seeing Declan weak, paying for his crimes, and possibly suffering may empower you. Being heard when he has no choice but to listen may be healing, too. But have you considered forgoing any hope of an apology from him and reading a statement instead?”

“Could I do that?” I asked.

“Why not? It’s
your
visit,” Isla said.

My face lit up. Her words were like a weight coming off my mind. Declan may have asked me to come, but that didn’t mean he could dictate what he would get from the visit. The visit would be my choice. I could use the time for myself, to get what I needed.

I knew Declan would freak at not being able to control the way the visit would go. But he was no longer my concern. I was doing this for myself to move on.

“I hadn’t thought about the visit that way.” I said. “But I like it.”

“I’m thinking this visitation may help you gain insight into yourself, which we can discuss again in future sessions,” she added. “You’ll have the safe environment and support with you. You can go share what you want to say. What do you think?”

I beamed at her. “Yes. Jonas will be there and so will my attorney. I think reading a statement would give me a chance to say what I need to in order to move forward.”

“Be careful with your expectations,” Isla warned. She wrote on her pad. “I want you to take this with you. Think about the visit and write out the pros and cons of going. Prepare your statement ahead of time. If you want to work through more, contact me. You have a lot to digest, so we will end here today and I’ll see you for your appointment tomorrow. After tomorrow, your appointments are two sessions a week. With your consent, I’ll speak to Dr. Steinman and Jonas to recommend the visitation.”

“Great,” I enthused. “Thank you.”

We ended with a short meditation and I left her office. I took out my phone to text David about the early end to my session and found two voicemails as soon as it beeped to life. One from Jonas and one from Diane. I played Jonas’s message first.

“Wednesday night’s charity auction is set, as well as my book announcement with Arch later this week. We will have a public lunch together at Gramercy Tavern today. I’ll have to leave town afterwards. I’ll see you there after your appointment. I miss you already.”

I sucked my bottom lip
. I miss you, too
. I next played Diane’s message.

“Hello, Lily. Declan’s bail was denied, but his public defender put in an appeal. He may be released before trial, but not anytime soon. I’ve informed Jonas the visitation is available on Thursday morning, hopefully before your vacation plans. Thanks.”

I peered at the passing pedestrians on the sidewalk as I waited for David to pick me up. Was someone watching? He arrived a few minutes later and I climbed inside the car before he opened the door.
Paranoia has set in
.

I took a deep breath and went through the few contacts on my new phone, hovering over Mary’s number. I was surprised not to hear from her and pressed the button to connect a call to her. She answered and spoke before I even had a chance to say hello.

“Sorry I didn’t call. I was up late, but Ian said Jonas is taking you for lunch and he asked me to a show tonight on Broadway. I hope that’s okay?”

“Of course it is,” I replied. “I’m just amazed you got Ian to commit to anything. He’s tight lipped these days.”

“Oh. Sorry.” She giggled. “I think he’s trying to protect my virtue, but I’ll tell you know. Yes. We had sex.” The phone muffled. “She’s my best friend, of course I will tell her. Alright. If you’re too uptight.” She whispered into the phone, “We’ll talk later.”

I giggled. “I look forward to it. How long before you need to get back to Boston?”

“I’d like to get back by Wednesday morning. I’ll leave tomorrow afternoon, I suppose.” Her voice trailed off. The car slowed and I looked out the window. We were on Twenty-Third and Park Avenue, only a few blocks from the restaurant.

“Anyway, well,” she broke into a deep throaty laughter. “Stop Ian, or I’ll tell her what you did to me,” she threatened then screamed with laughter.

I laughed. “We’ve arrived and I have to go. I’ll see you later.” From the noises they were making in the background, I suspected she hadn’t heard me.

I PULLED OUT MY
brush and quickly raked through my hair and touched up my makeup, not wishing to get any more saucer-eyes photos like the ones in the tabloid. David helped me out of the car and informed me Jonas would be here shortly. I stood before the beautifully carved stonework and red awning and couldn’t believe how much my life had changed in such a short amount of time. I went from eating chicken salads at my desk to waiting for
the
Jonas Crane to join me for lunch at Gramercy Tavern.
Heady.