The Blonde Ch. 02

This was a running joke between us--I didn't care much for clothes shopping, and I wore the same stuff all the time. Tommie was always eager to drag me into a few stores and get some new things.

"So did you say yes to him?"

"Not yet." She looked at me. "There's one thing, Jack--and we need to talk about it. Damon travels a fair amount and he would want me along on some of the trips--mostly to take notes during meetings and make logistical arrangements and stuff. It would mean 2-3 nights away at a time, maybe every other month or so. And I told him I couldn't agree to that without talking to you first."

I was instantly suspicious. Not of Tommie, not in the least--but of this guy I'd never met. I knew how men looked at her, and what they thought about.

"Okay--can you tell me how the conversation went?"

"Well, I'd been watching him closely, of course. There's no doubt that he thinks I'm attractive, but he was perfectly professional--no leering, no flirting or inappropriate jokes.

"When he mentioned the traveling I said, 'Damon, just to be clear--I'm a married woman and I'm totally faithful to my husband.'

"And he looked shocked for a minute, and then he smiled and shook his head and said, 'no no, Tommie, nothing like that. These are business trips only. In fact, your husband would be welcome to come along anytime and stay in the hotel with you, if he's willing to pay his own way. I wouldn't need you most evenings so you and he could enjoy a bit of a vacation.' "

That eased my mind quite a bit. "Wow, that sounds like an okay deal."

"I thought so too." She smiled at me. "I'm inclined to take the job, Jack, unless you think I shouldn't."

We talked about it for a while longer and agreed it sounded like a nice opportunity.

"Can I take you out for a fancy dinner to celebrate? Maybe spend a little of that 20% raise?"

She kissed me and said, "absolutely. But first we're stopping at Richard Avery's and buying you some new clothes!"

****************

Tommie's first several months working for Damon went very well. He treated her with respect, she liked the other people in the office, and the work was interesting and challenging. I met him for the first time at Grand Valley's lavish Christmas party and I liked him.

My mind was also set at ease a little by meeting his wife, Elena. She was at least ten years younger than he was, and a total knockout. She seemed to be of Mexican or Latin American descent, and spoke with a charming accent. As far as I could tell they were devoted to each other.

In early January Tommie made her first business trip with Damon, to Asheville, North Carolina, and I took a couple of days off and went along.

We had a lot of fun. As promised, Damon didn't need her in the evenings except for one dinner meeting, and the other nights Tommie and I had time on our own. I joined for the next trip as well, to Las Vegas in April, and for two more during the summer.

As for the other trips, when I couldn't go because of work, Tap and I spoke every night on the phone. She seemed happy, and her normally high level of wariness where men were concerned didn't seem to be picking up anything inappropriate.

In November, though, that all changed. I couldn't reach her on Saturday night for our usual evening phone call--she was in Tucson with Damon and several other people from the company--and on Sunday morning Damon called me.

"Jack, I'm sorry to call out of the blue like this. Everything's okay, Tommie's fine, but--well, someone slipped something into her drink last night."

"What?" I was frantic. "Is she okay? Should I fly out there?"

"No no, it's really fine. It was Don Harrington, that son-of-a-bitch! He was trying to hustle her out of the restaurant but I spotted them and stopped it in time. I got a cab and took her to the hospital, she was there all night. Tommie's back at the hotel now getting packed, one of the female staff from the hotel is helping her, and we'll be flying back in an hour. If you want to meet us at the airport we'll be getting in around 5:45."

"I'll call her," I said, and he replied, "no, you probably shouldn't. She's still a little vague. We can both tell you about it when we get back."

Needless to say I was beside myself all afternoon, and got to the airport almost an hour before the plane landed. Tommie ran into my arms, looking tired, and we hugged each other tightly.

"I'm really okay, honey--I'm bushed but I'm fine. Damon was there at the right time, thank God!"

Damon greeted me and I thanked him, shaking his hand like he was my long-lost father or something. He just smiled and said, "no problem, Jack. I'm just glad everything is okay. I've got to get home to Elena, so I'll let Tommie tell you all about it.

"Tommie, if you need a day or two, by all means take some time. Let me know when you're ready to come back in, all right?"

On the way home I finally got the story from Tommie. She'd been having dinner with Don Harrington, one of Damon's VPs, in the hotel restaurant when all of a sudden she felt very woozy. She never drank alcohol when I wasn't with her, so she had no idea what had happened. Don got her up from her chair and started to guide her towards the elevators, telling her she "needed to lie down for a little while."

"But while we were waiting--I guess I must have been draped all over Don, I could barely stand up--Damon came over from the lobby and asked what the problem was. The next thing I knew, I was sliding to the floor and Don was running out of the hotel as fast as he could.

"I only vaguely remember the rest. Damon must have gotten me to the hospital. I sort of recall a nice old white-haired man in a lab coat who came and took my pulse, and then I must have slept.

"When I woke up this morning Damon was sitting in the chair next to my bed. They brought me some oatmeal and toast, and after I ate they said I could check out, so Damon took me back to the hotel and one of the receptionists helped me change my clothes and pack, and then Damon came back and took me to the airport. I slept some more on the plane, and by the time we landed I felt more normal."

I took Tommie inside and made her some soup and put her to bed; she slept for 13 hours, and the next morning she wouldn't even think about staying home.

"No, baby, I really feel okay--and I'm damned if I'm going to let that prick Don Harrington cost me a day of work. Besides, I want to see if he even has the nerve to show up, and what Damon will do to him if he does."

She said one more thing to me. "You know, it's strange--I'm not so naïve that I don't think stuff like this goes on--you remember some asshole tried it on me in college--but I never would have thought it would be Harrington. When I first interviewed with him, he--well, to be honest, I wondered if he might be gay. And he'd certainly never made any sort of move on me before that, or even flirted with me."

That evening when I picked up Tap at her office she was triumphant.

"He canned him, Jack--you should have seen it! Damon called me into his office and Don was standing there, looking miserable, and Damon just tore into him. He said that he could only assume that Don had planned to rape me, and he told Don he had ten minutes to collect his things and get out.

" 'If I thought they'd convict you I'd make sure you were charged with rape, you son of a bitch,' he said. And he told him that he'd never get a recommendation from him or anyone else at Grand Valley.

" 'You'd best find yourself another place to live, Don,' he told him. 'Because I have a fair number of connections in Indianapolis, and no one who knows me is ever going to hire you.' And Don just stood there looking at the floor, never saying a word--and when Damon was done Don turned on his heel and disappeared, without looking at him or me.

"And Damon said, 'I wanted you to be here for that, Tommie. I am so sorry for what happened, and I feel responsible somehow. I would never have imagined he'd ... well, that he'd ever do anything like that.' "

**************************

For a few weeks after that I was afraid to let Tommie out of my sight, silly though it may have been. She kept reassuring me that she was fine, that Harrington was long gone, that she was being very careful. And I gradually calmed down, though on her next two trips, to Miami and to Asheville again, I insisted on coming along.

By around Christmas I thought we were back to our normal selves. We'd had a wonderful holiday, with a trip up to Toronto to stay with Alice and Trevor, and then a quick visit from my brother David over New Year's.

What I liked best, though, were the three days in between: me and Tap, alone together, snow on the ground, a fire in the fireplace each evening, cuddling and talking and making love.

Things were great. And I thought that in a couple of weeks I'd find a time to bring up the question of adopting children. We'd left it alone for a long while, and it seemed like it was the right time to at least talk about it. I'd be happy either way--but if Tommie felt she wanted children, I wanted them too.

So I planned for the conversation--but we didn't have it. Somewhere in January, almost imperceptibly, things started to slip away from us. Tommie grew quieter, she talked to me less, she spent more time by herself in the evenings, or on the phone.

I asked her several times if there were a problem at work, or between us, but all she would say is that she was "tired." Once or twice, she got annoyed and told me to stop pestering her.

**************************

On the spur of the moment I walked over to Katie and Eric's house, about six blocks away. It was after dinner on a Thursday in late February--Tommie was in New York with Damon. It was her first trip without me since the time when Don Harrington had drugged her.

"Hey Jack, what's going on?" said Eric when he answered the door. He seemed surprised to see me, but not unfriendly. But when Katie came up behind him and saw me, her voice positively dripped with icicles.

"What are you doing here?"

I was stunned. "I, uh ... well, actually, I--Katie, are you mad at me about something?"

A silence. Then without a word she turned and walked away from me, into the back of the house.

"Jesus Christ, Eric," I said, "what's wrong? Did I kill her pet cat without knowing it?"

Eric looked embarrassed; he took my arm and guided me through the house, so we could sit together in his study.

"Listen, Jack, it's--

"I don't know exactly what's going on, but Katie's upset with you because Tommie's upset with you."

"But why, for Chrissakes? That's actually why I wandered over tonight, Eric. I don't mean to impose on you, but I have no idea what's going on with her and I thought you guys might be able to help."

He looked intently into my face, while I wondered what the hell was up. Finally he said, "let me go get Katie and we'll talk."

They came back into the room together and sat side-by-side on the loveseat, facing me. Katie's face was serious but not angry.

"Katie, can you help me out here? Tommie is upset with me and she won't tell me why--now it seems you're pissed at me too."

She looked over at Eric and he nodded. "I really don't think he knows, babe," he said.

She leaned forward and said, "Tommie is worried about your marriage, Jack. She thinks you're ... well, that you're stepping out on her. Maybe you haven't slept with anyone else yet, but she thinks you're headed in that direction."

"What?" I jumped up. "Why? What have I done? I haven't done a Goddam thing! I love her more now than the day we married! What on earth is this about?"

"Back in January, Jack, three weeks ago, Tommie and I went to Cincinnati for Emily's bridal shower, remember? We were gone Saturday and Sunday?" She was talking to me as though I were a child.

"Of course."

"What did you do that Saturday night?"

I thought back. "That must have been the night I hung out with my friend Rudy. We went to Pizzeria Uno, and then to a bar in his neighborhood and had a couple of beers. Why--"

"And what about the hot brunette in a slinky red dress you were making out with? You're not going to tell me that was Rudy, are you?"

"You don't--oh for God's sake, is that what this is about? How did you--" I was suddenly furious. I had to take a couple of deep breaths to calm down.

"I was sitting at the bar--Rudy had gone to the men's room. All of a sudden this babe in a red dress says, "there you are, honey!" or something like that, throws her arms around me and starts kissing me like I'm her lover or something.

"I take her by the shoulders to push her away--at first she doesn't let go but I push hard, and then when I'm looking into her face she said, "oh my God, you're not Brent!" and backs several feet away from me, looking incredibly embarrassed.

"So it turns out she only saw me from across the room, and thought I was her boyfriend and came up to give me a big wet one. She apologized like three times, and we laughed about it for a minute, and then she left. I think she found a booth to wait for him or something. I remember her saying, 'it's a good thing he's not here yet--he sure wouldn't have liked seeing me smooch you like that!'

"But what does this have to do with me and Tommie? It was nothing! I remember thinking, here's a funny story I can tell her. And then I thought, no, all it will do is upset her, no point in mentioning it. I haven't even particularly thought about it since then."

Katie said, "somebody saw you and told Tommie about it, Jack. She didn't tell me who, or what they said--just that you'd been necking with some really hot woman in a bar while you were out on the town."

"And she never mentioned it to me? She believed that story--and never asked me about it? Jesus, Katie!"

I looked at Eric. "You don't believe this, do you, man? I swear to God, I would never, ever--"

He shook his head, looking unhappy. "No, I don't believe it. I don't think Katie really does either--but she's talked to Tommie several times in the last few weeks and I guess Tommie's going crazy."

Katie nodded, and said, "she doesn't know what to think, Jack. She figures that if it was something innocent, you would have told her about it. And apparently, this is not the first time."

"What?"

She held her hands up, as if to placate me. "I'm just telling you what I heard from Tommie. According to her, you've been seen other times with good-looking women, having drinks or dinner or stuff."

I got up and walked around, a little dazed. "I thought we had a ... honestly, I thought we talked about everything. I would never have imagined that she'd get so upset and keep it secret from me.

"Well, not exactly secret--she keeps giving me these dark looks, but she just shakes her head when I ask what's bothering her. That's why I came over tonight!"

I sat down and looked at them. "Guys, what should I do?"

We talked for another hour. Their advice was simple: talk to Tommie, tell her everything, reassure her, don't give up. Easy advice to give, not so easy to achieve.

I went home and wrote her a long email explaining everything that happened in the bar and asking her to call me that night. But she didn't--and when we talked the next night she was distant and cool, not interested in hearing my explanations or asking me any questions.

On Saturday when I picked her up at the airport it was the same. Damon was cordial and friendly but Tommie looked exhausted and upset. After dinner I insisted that we sit and talk, and I told her the whole story once again.

"And why didn't you tell me about this right away, Jack?" She sounded more like an attorney than my wife.

"It just wasn't a big deal, honey. It never occurred to me that you'd hear about it and be upset. Even if somebody we know had been there, if he'd seen the whole incident it would have been completely clear that it was an innocent mistake--this woman and I weren't anywhere near each other for more than 45 seconds!"

She just sighed, and looked over my shoulder. She said, "okay Jack, let's let it drop."

"No! Not if you don't believe me! I would never, ever cheat on you, Tommie."

I kneeled down in front of her and took her hands. "Never!"

She smiled and squeezed my hands, looking wan and unhappy. "Okay, Jack. I believe you."

She stood up. "I'm feeling really tired from the trip--I think I'm going to go to bed, okay?" And without looking back she headed off to the bedroom.

I sat up for a long time that night, wondering how things had gotten away from us so fast.

****************

Things got better--a little--over the next few weeks. We weren't back to normal, but if Tommie was still worried she hid it better. She wasn't relaxed and loving with me, but she wasn't so distant and suspicious either. Somewhere in between, I guess.

We made love when I asked her to, but her heart wasn't really in it most of the time. It kind of varied from day to day: sometimes I felt like she'd gotten over it and trusted me again; and other days she'd come home from work and be cold and distant all evening. I never knew who I'd be getting from one day to the next.

But I was working as hard as I could: I was talking to her about everything, making sure that she knew what I was up to every minute we were apart, checking in with her to make sure there were no misunderstandings.

And then came my trip to Chicago.

Minestra sent me up there to meet with someone from a company interested in investing in us and expanding throughout the Great Lakes region. I'd done meetings like this before--but this one turned out to be with a beautiful woman named Karen, tall and willowy with blond hair and amazing blue eyes.

If I weren't married to the sexiest woman I'd ever seen I would surely have been interested, at least theoretically--but all I really did was say to myself "wow, she's a beauty" and get back to thinking about business.

We met on a Wednesday afternoon at 4:30 in a conference room in a big office building downtown and worked for nearly two hours. It was an odd meeting, because Karen didn't seem to be as well-informed about some aspects of the transaction as she should have been. I politely refrained from saying anything, but it made me wonder. Was she in over her head? Was this a case of a hottie having gotten a job she wasn't really qualified for?

The end of the meeting was inconclusive, but that didn't bother me--deals like this usually took half-a-dozen meetings at least, and this was just the first. Karen asked what hotel I was staying at and insisted on taking me to dinner in the restaurant there. She was friendly but not particularly flirtatious, and as we had our coffee after the meal I was already anticipating getting upstairs and giving Tommie a call.

Suddenly, it seemed, I was so sleepy I could barely keep my head up. I saw Karen gazing at me but my vision seemed blurry. I started to say, "Karen, I don't know what's happening to me," and then I think I just closed my eyes.

When I awoke, still groggy, morning light was streaming in the windows. Tommie was snuggled up behind me spoon-fashion. I smiled to myself, enjoying the feeling of her body against me. I turned over to kiss her and there, to my horror, was Karen!

She was naked and smiling. "Oh goodie, you're finally awake." Her hand reached for my cock.

"You were fantastic last night, Jack--I've got to have some more of that right now."

She stroked my dick for a minute while I stared at her, utterly baffled. Then I leapt out of bed and backed away from her.

"What are you doing here? How did you get into my room?"

"Don't you remember, baby?" She gave me a sexy smile and shook her tits at me. "You brought me up here after dinner and fucked the daylights out of me--we were at it half the night.