A Clandestine Corporate Affair(53)
“Actually, I was just leaving.”
“Leaving? As in going home? But…Jenny has Max all night. We can stay out late.”
“I’m not much in the mood for celebrating.”
What the hell? How could a night that had started out so well suddenly crash and burn?
“Is it because of David Brickman? Why was he so rude to you?”
“It’s a long story.”
“One I’d love to hear,” she said, grabbing his sleeve and leading him back upstairs to the guest bedroom where they had planned to rendezvous.
When they were inside with the door closed, he asked, “So, what happened with you?”
“Not me. Beth. She caught Leo in the pantry in a compromising position with a woman from work. She said he’s been cheating on her for years. Even back in college, before they were married.”
“I know.”
He mouth fell open. “You do?”
“I lived in the same house with him for two years. He didn’t exactly try to hide it.”
“Why didn’t you ever say anything?”
“What was I supposed to say? Who am I to pass judgment on anyone?”
“So you think that sort of behavior is acceptable?”
He sighed. “Of course not.”
“How can you even be friends with someone like that?”
“He didn’t cheat on me. What Leo does or doesn’t do, and who he does it with, is none of my business.”
Ana took a deep breath and blew it out. “You’re right. I didn’t mean to snap at you. I’m just so angry right now. At Leo for hurting Beth, and at Beth for putting up with it.”
“I know.” He reached for her, pulled her into his arms and just held her. It was exactly what she needed.
She rested her head against the lapel of his jacket, breathed in the scent of his aftershave. The guy sure had a knack for making her feel better. And she knew that he would never be unfaithful to her.
“So what’s the deal with that David Brickman guy? Why was he so rude to you? Oh, and for the record, I was not ‘good friends’ with Wendy in school. I barely knew her. And she obviously has pretty lousy taste in husbands.”
“Actually, he was completely justified.”
“What?” She looked up at him. “How? What did you ever do to him?”
“There are things about me, things I haven’t told you. Things I would rather forget.”
“Like what?”
“You know how there’s always that kid in school, the one who preys on the smaller, weaker kids? The kid who’s always getting into trouble, getting into fights?”
“Of course. Is that who that guy was?” If so, he was probably the shortest, least threatening bully in history.
“No, that was me.”
Her mouth dropped open and she actually laughed, the notion was so completely ridiculous. “Nathan, you are the nicest, most patient and caring man I have ever met.”
“That wasn’t always the case. My dad bullied me, so I went to school and bullied kids who were smaller and weaker than me. The therapist I was seeing said it made me feel empowered.”
“You saw a therapist?”
“In high school. It was court mandated as a part of my probation.”
“Probation?”
“After I put my father in the hospital.”
She sucked in a breath. “What happened?”
He sat down on the edge of the bed and she sat beside him. “I had gotten suspended again for fighting, and as usual that meant a beat-down from my father. But I don’t know, something inside of me just snapped, and for the first time I fought back. I laid him out in one punch, and as he fell he cracked his head open on the credenza. I was arrested for assault.”
“It sounds more like self-defense to me.”
“The police didn’t think so. Of course, they didn’t get the whole story. My mother sided with my father, of course.”
That was just sick.
“On the bright side, that was the last time he ever laid a hand on me, so it wasn’t a total loss. And the therapy did me a world of good. It helped me learn to deal with my anger. Although to this day it can still be a struggle.”
She was having some anger issues of her own right now. Between Beth’s husband and Nathan’s parents, she was beginning to get the feeling that there was no justice in the world. The worst part was that she had the distinct impression that despite everything he’d overcome and accomplished, Nathan still believed he was damaged somehow.