Flawlessly Executed (Dark Horse Guardians Book 3) (14 page)

Lara agreed to come up with a plan and quickly. “Let me think about it; I’ll text you my idea.”

With business over, Finn asked her to come for dinner. “Make sure you tell Ben. I want him to be there, too. God, I haven’t seen him for ages. I know this is short notice, but I hope you’ll come next Tuesday.” Lara agreed and Finn was off to his next appointment.

Her day was filled with problem-solving and getting bills paid. A few times she argued with contractors on the phone and listened to clients as they appealed to her as a last resort. Lara never realized how exhausting it could be sitting in the owner’s seat, calling the shots. She always imagined running an architectural firm but never realized all that it encompassed.

For the grumpy clients she put her creative thinking skills to the test. She planned a special dinner for them at the Falmouth Yacht Club. She figured Finn could work his magic with them in a private room with a lovely ocean view. She sent a text to Finn to add it to his calendar. Then contacted each client and they readily accepted.

Lunch was eaten at her desk as she drafted a proposal for a major meeting. Once when she walked down the hallway at the firm she noticed the new intern laughing with a group of designers.
That used to be her
, she thought. Happy, laughing, designing, collaborating with others and watching a project come together. She missed the sense of satisfaction that came from a design contribution. The best part was always seeing the happiness on the client’s face.

She went back into her office and closed the door. She was due for a meeting with the accountant, the office manager, and finally a phone call to Hawk. She had a large landscaping project he needed to bid on.

She dialed his number and heard his deep voice, “Stone and Associates, this is Hawk.”

Lara snickered, “Hey, it’s me. You sound so professional. I have a potential job for you.” She gave him the details.

There was a moment of silence, then Hawk spoke, “I’m taking myself off the Clearwater Farm detail, but I think you understand. I’ve got plenty of irons in the fire.”

Lara replied, “Of course. I want you to focus on these new clients. My garden is done, and it’s lovely.” She ended the call and was pleased that Hawk was pushing forward with new projects. He seemed to be gaining more confidence. Even so, she planned to stop by the bungalow on her way home from the firm each day to check on him. He seemed to be happy there.

At the end of her busy workday, Lara sent a text to Ben but he didn’t respond. When she got home, the house was empty. Then she saw the note on the chalkboard; he had taken Einstein for a long run and would take her out for dinner tonight. She sat at the breakfast nook and moved Ben’s leather messenger bag. A thumb drive labeled
Ben and Abby
slipped out of the side pocket and dropped to the floor. Fingering it she became curious. She walked into Ben’s office and plugged the drive into the side of his computer and clicked to view the contents.

Within seconds a feeling of nausea swept over her. She scrolled through photo after photo of Ben with Abby thirteen years ago. Photos of football games and cookouts, but one in particular riveted her attention. Abby, posing topless on Ben’s 1940 Indian motorcycle. She stared at the photo for a long moment filled with resentment that the bitch had to have such a great pair. She was Playboy material.

Then, Lara scrolled through what must have been a hundred private notes written by Ben to Abby. As she read each one, she recognized some of the words.
He had written those very same words on the chalkboard in the kitchen to her. What the hell was Ben doing with this stuff?
She was caught off guard by the gut-wrenching feeling tearing through her. It was as if she could not stop the intense jealousy that began to consume her. Without warning she dropped her face into her hands and sobbed uncontrollably.
All she could think of was losing Ben.
Maybe he needed more than her. Maybe she wasn’t enough for him.

A muffled sound came from the kitchen. Ben was calling to her, “Hey Lara ~ I made a reservation at that little Italian place you love in Falmouth. Are you in there, darlin?” She knew he saw the light on in the office off the master bedroom. She couldn’t stop the tears stinging her eyes or the sobs that racked her body.

~ Abby ~

Abby imagined Lara’s face when she plugged in the thumb drive and read all of the love notes and looked at the happy photographs of her with Ben, especially the topless one on his motorcycle. Tomorrow after classes Abby planned to make an unannounced visit to Clearwater Farm on the arm of Grant Hawkins. He promised to show her his latest landscaping installation because she was curious to see examples of his work. The photos on the website didn’t do them justice, so she said.

Hawk was more than happy to give her a little private tour and promised to show her the purple Victorian, the Henderson property. He’d gotten permission from the owner to walk through with her saying she was a potential client.

Abby felt she already had Hawk eating out of her hand. He would do whatever she wanted right about now. She was dangling many possibilities before him and enjoyed every moment of it. What a delicious feeling it was to manipulate a man so easily.

~ Ben ~

Ben found Lara in his office staring at his computer screen clutching her stomach and weeping. “Good God, Lara, what’s wrong?” He thought for a moment she had just viewed something terrible, like news of a terrorist attack. He moved to help her from the office chair but she pushed him away. Her eyes were red from crying, and instantly Ben recognized these were not tears of sadness but rage.

He watched as Lara composed herself quickly and waited for her to speak. When she did her voice was trembling, “This item fell out of your bag when I moved it in the kitchen. It’s labeled
Abby and Ben.
I was curious, so I plugged it into your computer. Apparently, it’s every love note and photo you’ve ever shared with Abby. Quite a collection, I’d say.”

Ben’s eyes were drawn to the computer screen and he quickly scrolled through the material that Lara had been reading. “This stuff is old. Lara, these are old love notes and photographs from a million years ago. Ancient history.
I have no idea how this even got into my bag.”

Lara had stopped crying and was silent but her eyes contained a look that frightened him. “You seriously have no idea
how
this got into your bag?”

While she was staring at him, Ben pulled the thumb drive out and examined it. He didn’t know where it came from, but he’d certainly find out. He turned off the computer and slipped the drive into his pocket.

He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly to steady himself, “I don’t know what Abby is doing. But I can tell you this: I don’t like it.
I don’t want anything to do with her
. Lara, you’ve got to believe me. What I have with you is special, it’s indestructible…isn’t it? At least that’s how I’ve always felt.”
Although at that moment, Ben couldn’t help but think of Jake wondering if he had the same indestructible feeling about his relationship before it shattered.
  

Moving toward his wife, he tenderly slipped his strong arms around her. He held her for a moment realizing it took a lot to make her cry like this. His hand moved to brush the tears from her cheek. His fingers curved under her chin as he searched her upturned face, “There now,” he whispered. “Let me handle this. I’ll put a stop to it, darlin, be patient.”

The look she gave him was barely masked simmering fury. “Really, Ben? You’ll put a stop to it? You don’t even
know
how this got into your bag. She’s obviously in your office a lot and you’re not paying attention to what she’s doing.”

He felt her push him away. “Please cancel the reservation for dinner. I don’t feel like going out. I just want to rest.”

A shot of panic traveled through him. He had no idea how to fix this; he could see she was angry and hurt. For the first time he felt Lara was detached from him. There was a certain tension on her face. No life. No spark. He had to make her understand.

The room was dark but he could see her lovely features, dimly illuminated. “Please, forgive me for allowing this to go on…” Ben felt his throat tighten. Damn. He felt impaled by her steady gaze that held no emotion, but he continued. “I’m sorry, darlin. I love you more than you know. I would never hurt you. I hate myself for letting this happen.” It was all he could utter.

“I know, Ben,..” She whispered. But she didn’t say she loved him back.

He cancelled the reservation for dinner, made a casserole and put it into the oven. Lara was in the shower and he thought about going in there to comfort her but did not think his presence would be welcomed right now in her present mood.
He never felt so helpless
.

When she came to the kitchen table she was calm and collected. Her damp dark hair fell over her face and she pushed the tendrils aside. Her green eyes were no longer red. Einstein wagged his tail and rubbed against Lara’s legs.

She rubbed Einstein’s bull dog ears and spoke softly, “Okay Ben. I’m going to try to trust you.  This isn’t easy for me.  I have put my whole heart into this relationship and I believe you have, too.  If you say you don’t know how that got in your bag, I believe you.  So that leaves one other way it got in there, Abby.  I’ll leave it in your hands to put her in her place once and for all.  I love you.”

A sense of relief came over him and Ben saw a hint of a smile on her face. 

“Let’s eat,” she whispered, “I’m starving.”

~ Lara ~

Later that evening Bettencourt called and gave Lara the full background on Abigail Roth of Newton Massachusetts, which only served to deepen her sense of panic. He recited Abby’s life events from birth to present and it was sprinkled with troubling details.

“There’s a lot here,” Bettencourt warned Lara, “I hope you have a few minutes.”

“Go ahead,” Lara stated.

“For starters, her husband divorced her because she was having an affair with her next door neighbor. Apparently, Ross came home unexpectedly and caught her with the guy. And to make matters a bit more complicated, the neighbor was married with three children. At that time, Abby was working as a high school math teacher. She was pregnant with the neighbor’s baby and had an abortion.” Bettencourt hesitated, “Are you still there?”

Lara replied, “Go on. I’m listening.”

Bettencourt continued, “Abby moved to Waltham after the abortion. The harassment from the married guy’s wife became too much for her. Right about the same time, Abby started seeing a psychologist for depression. She also began on-line dating which became a string of one-night stands and she began drinking alcohol excessively.

At her new job, Abby became entangled with the athletic director at the high school and had a torrid love affair with him. Again, he was married and had two children. He broke off the relationship with Abby once his wife found out. The headmaster of the school took Abby aside and asked her to either resign or she’d be fired. She threatened to sue the school and they agreed to write her a letter of recommendation stating that leaving was her decision.” Bettencourt paused, then said, “Lara, it gets worse…”

Lara whispered, “I want to hear it.”

Bettencourt dutifully continued, “Again, she moved, but this time to the city of Boston and obtained her Master’s degree in Education. She landed a job with the help of her psychologist friend at Boston University teaching freshmen level math. But, once again, alcohol and bad decisions ruled her life. This time she had an affair with a college student and it lasted nearly a year. Somehow the young man’s mother found out and went to the dean of the college. Having sex with a student was grounds for dismissal and Abby was escorted to the parking lot by security once the dean discovered the allegations were true. Twenty-nine year old Abby had been bedding an eighteen year old student for nearly a year. The student did not want to press charges, by the way.”

Lara added, “That figures.”

Bettencourt cleared his throat and continued, “Each school agreed to give Abby a letter of recommendation and kept her wild sexual escapades under wraps. She left Boston and applied for a position here at the university in Portland. Again, her psychologist friend helped her, and voila ~ she got offered the freshman mathematics teaching position. By the way, her psychologist friend is Doctor Duncan Norris. He’s the cousin of the dean here at the university.”

Lara took a long deep breath, “And, now she’s stalking my husband.”

Bettencourt replied, “I think Ben can handle himself.”

Lara countered, “You don’t understand, Bett! Abby sat on Ben’s desk with her dress hiked up to her ass. That photo and others are plastered all over the university’s electronic bulletin board. A flash drive filled with love notes and probably a hundred photos of Abby and Ben when they were dating in high school was placed in his leather bag. One photo is her sitting on his Indian motorcycle ~ topless. I’ve gone to Ben’s office twice unannounced and found Abby with Ben in his office. They were laughing together. Then, to top it all off, one day she pretended her high heel broke and Ben brought her home on the back of his motorcycle.” Lara couldn’t continue speaking because she had a lump in her throat.