Be a Doll(25)

“As you know I’m a very busy man. I don’t always come home for dinner, I have many business lunches and dinners to attend to and I expect you to accompany me on those.’’

“As expected of any well-respected wife,’’ she supplied with sarcasm so heavy I couldn’t have missed it even if I had been a clueless chap.

“Precisely.’’ I traced my lower lip with a finger and watched her following the movement with her eyes. “You’ll tell Mrs. McCarthy, the housekeeper, what sort of food you’d like in the apartment. I’m not demanding as long as it’s healthy.’’

“Do you expect me to cook?’’

“No. You’re welcome to cook on Sundays if it’s for your enjoyment or any other day if you choose, but Georgia usually takes care of this. She’ll see with you the kind of meals you’d like.’’ I tapped on my lips with a finger, deep in thought as many things we needed to discuss ran through my head. “I bought a car for you if you want to drive around the city, but if you’d rather use a driver let me know and I’ll make arrangements. I’ll leave the car key and the key to the apartment on the console near the front door along with your credit card for your personal enjoyment. I expect you to frequently use it to renew your wardrobe whenever you deem it necessary.’’

“Do I get an allowance for being your wife too?’’ she asked darkly. She crossed her arms and slightly tilted her head. Her thick hair flowing around her face moved smoothly, calling out my name to grab a fistful and draw her to me, to take her mouth and the rest of her.

“You get all the advantages of being my wife, you mean. There are many advantages.’’

One of her eyebrows quirked upward and disappeared behind her fringe. “Advantages.’’ The chuckle leaving her mouth raised my temper. It was so openly mocking that my hands clenched into fists in my lap in answer. “I wonder where that inflated ego comes from. You have money and an enjoyable social position, but tell me what else do you have. A cold heart? The will to have sex with as many good-looking women as possible? A manipulative strike?’’ She shook her head and glared at me while her mouth was still stretched into a cold smile. “None of those things are very appealing.’’

I looked away from her and my eyes landed on the picture on one of the shelves. I couldn’t make out the details from the couch, but I knew every tiny detail, every flaw of the picture. It was the last one of me with my twin brother Max. It was taken a day before he died and every time I would look at that picture I felt the heaviness of his absence and the feeling that he’s still around somewhere. It was strange and always hurt to think of all the things I’ve done without him.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “There are a few things I still need to oversee for work. I’ll be in my office. If you wish to leave the apartment, please advise me so.’’ I stood up and without waiting for her response, I left the living room to lock myself in my study made of black interior and a simple desk made of glass. I went directly to the office chair, sat and put my elbows on the desk to bring my head in my hands.

***





LILA


If I hadn't known anything regarding the tragedy that hit the Grimes family years ago, I wouldn’t have understood the sudden change in Mathis’ behavior. Actually, before now I didn’t know it was possible for him to change abruptly from being the same cold-hearted and manipulative man to someone cut deeply emotionally speaking. In that very brief moment between when his eyes fell to the picture I was now looking at featuring two young boys so alike I couldn’t see the difference and the moment he left for his study I saw a world of emotions go through him. So many gut wrenching emotions that even my heart squeezed tightly for my husband.

I didn’t like him, but I couldn’t imagine how much losing his twin changed him and made him the man he was today, but I knew what it was like to lose someone. After seeing the color draining from his face and his eyes leaving behind a hardened shell, I wondered if I shouldn’t remember that he wasn’t the antichrist, but a man with flaws.

I took off my shoes and let my toes sink in the lush beige carpet adorning the floor under the coffee table and the couch forming a ‘u’. My relieved sigh sounded loud in the vast quiet living room as the ache in my arches and toes dissipated.

I took in the elegant room once again and it reflected exactly what I expected to find. Luxury without any personality, rendering the whole thing a bit colder than the color theme hinted at. Considering the man living here, I wasn’t surprised that there wasn’t much of anything personal adorning the furniture here and there. Because of this, or maybe it had more to do with my current situation, I couldn’t picture myself living here and even less with the man now my husband.

Cold and unsure of what to do, I decided to go to the dressing room and grab a cardigan before I started to operate the universal remote that looked a lot more like a tablet than an actual remote.

Slowly and without making a sound with my bare feet on the floor, I made my way down the hall leading to the stairs, but a room further back past the stairs, now open caught my attention. When Mathis had led me to the stairs, all the doors had been closed. My curiosity piqued, I padded over there and stopped on the threshold.

Behind a desk made of glass and black metal bars, Mathis was sitting in a comfortable looking chair with his face in his big hands. The sleeves of his white dress shirt were rolled above his elbows, uncovering strong forearms and the veins that adorned them. His breathing was hard and coming out in a staccato that was painful to hear. His fingers were in his hair, his tense knuckles a stark white against his already pale skin.