Taking a drastic leap of faith, I switched my studies from prosecuting law and took on the path of being a defender, and as it turned out, I was very good at it. In the beginning, I was only mediocre, stuck somewhere in the middle, but after a few months, I was one of the big dogs at the top, vying for the attention of the recruiters that came by looking for their golden ticket to bring into their fold. It took one debate for my dreams to come true. During the midterm debates, I went against the golden boy and annihilated him. After that, Grayson’s big grey eyes were wide open and they were focused on me.
When I hear the beep of the alarm from the front door opening, I quickly flush the toilet, strip, and jump into the shower. Turning the water all the way to the hot side, the bathroom quickly fills with steam.
“Nichole, are you in here?” I hear him call from the bedroom.
When he comes into the bathroom, he pulls the curtain open and his grey gaze lands on my naked body. I’ve always been thin, but due to my sickness, I was even thinner. It never mattered how much I ate, I could never gain the weight I lost back. To me, I thought I resembled a skeleton with barely there breasts, and dried up insides. To my husband, I’m still the most beautiful woman he has ever laid eyes on, no matter how much weight I lose. He tells me this everyday, but still I don’t believe him. I thought giving him to Jade would make him stop. Make him see just what he’s missing, but his loyalty to me is never ending and it annoys the hell out of me. I don’t want to be wanted. If so, I’ll be missed and the last thing I want to do is fill Grayson with grief after I die. He needs to be able to go on with his life without me in it. Just like he strived to work his ass off to have the dream life, those same high expectations didn’t stop at his chosen wife. I don’t want him to ever think he failed.
I know, with the assistance of the steam, color has been added to my skin so now I don’t look as sickly as I did when I was puking my guts into the toilet. “Is there something wrong?” I ask.
“Can’t I want to look at my wife?” he counters. Always the lawyer with this one, but just like in college, I will win this debate.
“You can, but I can tell there’s something on your mind. Come on, Grayson, spill it,” I say as I turn the shower off. He steps aside so I can step out and hands me a towel. I take it, grateful, wrapping it around my thin body.
He sighs loudly before speaking. “Fine, you’re right, there is something on my mind.”
“Okay,” I prod.
“It’s Tyson; he’s going to be a problem.”
“Garfield’s son again. I thought we went through this. Jade kindly told him about the clause in the contract she signed; he should be leaving her alone.”
“Well, he isn’t. He sent her this huge fruit basket at work and probably asked her to the ball that’s coming up.”
“Then kindly tell him that’s out of the question. Jade is pregnant now. She doesn’t need the added stress of Tyson Garfield and his groupies. They will be on her like killer red ants on honey once they find out Jade isn’t high society.”
“It’s not that simple; he knows,” he says and my brain stops.
“What do you mean he knows? What does he know? Who told him? Jade?” My mind is filled with a barrage of questions.
“No, turns out he’s been biding his time, paying people to find out just the right information to stop us in our tracks. He threatened to expose us if I deter Jade from him.”
“Now that is a problem. We should have known better after the fertility clinic easily handed over Jade’s records. We were careless and now we’re paying for it.”
“I don’t care what he says about me, but it’s you I’m worried about.”
“What about Jade? If he really cares for her, why would he want to expose her? The sharks will crucify her like a bunch of heretics. You both will lose your jobs and her reputation will be ruined.”
“I don’t think he cares for her. This is all a game to him. One he doesn’t plan to stop playing until he wins his prize,” Grayson tells me and I know he’s right. Jade is probably the only woman to ever tell Tyson no and not fall into his lap. He won’t stop until he breaks her for daring to turn him down and throw her out with the trash. I hate that it’s our fault we even put her on his radar. We should have found her a job somewhere else, but I wanted her within Grayson’s reach at all times. Now I’m paying for my selfishness.
“What can we do?” I ask.
“There’s nothing we can do. The ball is entirely in Jade’s court. We can only hope those street smarts of hers kick in and she sees Tyson for the snake he is.”
“And if she doesn’t?” I question.
“Then be prepared to get bitten,” he answers solemnly.
What a mess. Leaving Grayson in the bathroom, I change into my sleeping gown and go downstairs to my reading nook. Pulling out one of the books on the shelf, I take a pill from the bottle I have hidden there. Since the incident in the bathroom where Grayson questioned the pill bottle in my hand, I have since hidden my meds. I can’t risk him catching me taking them. I don’t even need water anymore as I swallow the tablet down. Curling up in my favorite chair, I wait for the pill to take effect before dozing off. Before the night is over, Grayson will find me and carry me back to bed, but until then, I’ll let the drug do its job as I bliss out in peace.
15
Jade
Work has been tense and that’s putting it mildly. Grayson has magically reverted back to not speaking to me, even going as far as to avoid me if he sees me in the halls. He’s even forgotten how to use the standard pleasantries driven into him from his uppity upbringing as he says nothing to me when he comes in, in the mornings or when he leaves in the evenings. I also haven’t heard a peep out of Nichole, which in itself is strange. No phone call, no random gift left at my door, no invitations to lunch, nothing. The line has long gone cold as I wait on hold. Are they both really that mad about Tyson? I thought after the day the fruit arrangement showed up, I’d find Grayson at my doorstep to lecture me. Giving me another spiel of how I’m his and to tell Tyson to fuck off. That didn’t happen and I hate to admit I’m a little disappointed. Apparently, it wasn’t hard to shuck the toy away to the bottom of the toy box when it wasn’t as shiny to him anymore. I feel just like Buzz and Woody when Andy outgrew them.
Tyson, on the other hand, has been McHottie’s total opposite. He finds ways to touch me every chance he gets or just comes to speak to me for no reason. Each day, a new gift arrives, more expensive than the previous, like he’s trying to up his own gift giving. They were all starting to get a bit ridiculous and I wanted to tell him to stop, but I knew he wouldn’t listen to me if I did. Also, every night he’s here, he’ll escort me to my car leaving me with a soft kiss goodbye. Nothing like the intense one we shared in the office, but still nice. I've even been to lunch with him a couple of times, and can I say, nothing turns heads like a woman on Tyson Garfield’s arm. I even saw my pic in a gossip mag, if you can believe that, as the new love in his life. Someone needs to tell TMZ that this is lust. Tyson is incapable of love, and well, I’m lonely. Having a man like him pay me attention is flattering.