Operation Revenge (7 page)

"I brought you a toothbrush and toothpaste," Simon said, walking into the bedroom, a minute later. "I thought you would want to brush your teeth."

"I do," she said, thinking of Chad forcing himself on her. She took the items he mentioned as well as a pair of boxer shorts and a t-shirt from him. "Thank you, Simon, for everything." She wanted to say more to him, but at that moment, she couldn't put the words together.

"You're welcome," he said. "I'll let you get settled. Good night, Haley."

"Good night." Once he left, Haley went into the adjoining bathroom to get ready for bed. She took a shower and then brushed her teeth. Feeling better, she made a beeline for the bed, slid
between the sheets, and switched off the bedside lamp. In the quiet with no distractions, she began to think of everything that had happened. All the hurt and the pain engulfed her. That was all it took for the tears to start falling. Turning her head, she sobbed into her pillow.

Chapter 6

Sunlight streaming through the blinds woke Haley from a troubled sleep. Forcing her gritty eyelids open, she sat up and grabbed her watch from the nightstand. She glanced at the time, strapped the watch to her wrist, and got out of bed. After making the bed, she went into the adjoining bathroom, where she removed the clothes Simon had loaned her and slipped on her dress. Her purse was on the counter and she dragged it to her, taking out her hairbrush and a small cosmetics bag. She applied makeup, paying special attention to the dark circles under her eyes. Once she was done with the makeup, she ran the brush through her hair and put it up in a ponytail.

Haley gathered up the clothes and her purse. She carried the items into the bedroom and deposited the clothes on the bed. Moving toward the door, she retrieved her high heels and then headed downstairs. In the foyer, she left her purse and shoes by the door. She walked through the living room and into the kitchen. Daniel was standing in front of the open refrigerator, drinking from the carton of orange juice. "Must you do that?"

He lowered the carton and wiped his mouth on the sleeve of his shirt. "I'm a man. It's what we do." He looked her over from head to bare feet and smirked. "I see you spent the night."

"I did." Haley moved past him and closed the refrigerator door. "I stayed in one of the guest rooms."

Daniel sighed. "A beautiful woman and he let her sleep in the guest room," he muttered to himself. "He's pitiful."

"When did you get home?" she asked, ignoring his muttering.

"About ten minutes ago," he answered. "I spent the night with a friend."

"Are you heading up to bed soon?" she inquired.

Daniel grinned at her. "Care to join me?"

Haley glared at him.

"Easy, Denton," he said. "I was just having a little fun. I know little brother would come unglued if I ever tried anything with you. You're safe with me. To answer your question, I'm heading up in a minute."

"Why don't you have some breakfast first?"

"I don't eat breakfast," Daniel stated. He put the cap back on the orange juice and returned it to the refrigerator. "No lectures, please."

"Very well." She turned to the coffeemaker and flipped the switch to 'on'. "Have it your way."

"I will." He left the kitchen without another word.

Mumbling unkind words about him under her breath, Haley preheated the oven and then turned the burner on. She fetched a medium sized skillet from the pot rack and placed it on the burner. While she waited for the skillet to get hot, she searched through the refrigerator for the makings of a frittata. After a few trips to the refrigerator, she had what she needed and got to work.

Haley diced first ham and then green onion, dumping the ingredients into the skillet. As the food cooked, she whisked together eggs, milk, sour cream, salt, and pepper. Setting the mixture aside, she rummaged through the cabinets until she located a grater. She grated a cup of Parmesan cheese and sprinkled it over the ham and onion, the egg mixture was poured overtop. She slid the skillet into the oven and set the timer.

Haley made quick work of putting food away and loading the dishwasher. When she was finished, she went about setting the table with plates, utensils and glasses. Stepping back, she stared at the table, checking to see if she was forgetting anything. Satisfied at what she saw she hurried to finish breakfast. If she were lucky, she would have everything ready when Simon showed up.

Something smelled delicious. His mouth watering and his stomach growling, Simon made a beeline for the kitchen. It was there that he found Haley. She was removing a skillet from the oven. The sight of her fixing breakfast in a cocktail dress made him smile. "I have a beautiful woman in my kitchen, making me breakfast. I have got to be the luckiest man in the world."

Haley smiled at him. "Well, Mr. lucky man, get us a cup of coffee and park yourself at the table."

"How do you take your coffee?" he asked, moving toward the coffeemaker.

"Black," she told him, carrying the skillet to the table and placing it on a trivet.

Simon poured them a cup of coffee. "How did you sleep last night?"

"Not very well." Haley seized the bowl of mixed fruit that she had cut up and a carton of milk from the refrigerator. "When I wasn't tossing and turning I was having strange dreams. Luckily, I don't remember most of them."

"I had a weird dream myself." Simon took the coffee cups to the table and sat down. "I dreamed Daniel sold my belongings, the house, everything. When I demanded to know why he did it, he told me he needed the money to buy a night club."

"He does love the night clubs," Haley pointed out as she joined him at the table. "I hope you don't mind drinking milk. When I came into the kitchen earlier, I found Daniel drinking out of the orange juice carton. I didn't think you would want any after that."

Simon rolled his eyes. "I don't know how many times I've told him to stop doing that."

"Well, however many times it was it obviously didn't sink in." She picked up a knife and cut the frittata into wedges. "Hand me your plate."

"Some times I forget he's older than me," he said, passing her his plate.

"With the way he behaves it's easy to do." Haley placed a wedge of frittata onto his plate and then added several spoonfuls of fruit.

"He wasn't always immature. " Simon took the plate from her and set it down. "Everything was fine until about six months ago. He was working with Dad and me. He had his own place and was engaged to be married. He was happy, but then suddenly it was as though someone else took over his body. He became angry and withdrawn. He stopped going to work . . . stopped spending time with friends and family. He lost everything, and no one knew why. We tried to get him to open up and talk to us, but he refused. The more we tried to get him to talk the angrier he got. When he quit his job and lost his house, he moved in with Dad and Mom for a while. They soon grew tired of his partying and staying out all night, so he moved in with Gran."

"I bet that didn't last very long," Haley said.

"It didn't."

"So here he is," she said softly.

"Here he is." Simon took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "And here he'll stay. I won't kick him out when he gets on my nerves. He's my brother. As long as I have a home, he will have a home."

"Maybe some day he will open up and talk to you," Haley uttered.

"I hope so," he sighed. "God, I hope so."

. . . .

"Would you like to accompany me to the back yard?" Simon asked Haley, after breakfast. "There's something I want to check on."

"Sure."

Simon led the way across the kitchen to a set of French doors. He opened them and they walked out onto the patio. The scent of freshly mowed grass came to him on the breeze and he breathed in deeply.

"What did you want to check on?" Haley queried, moving onto the thick grass.

"The neighbor's dog dug a hole under the fence. The gardener told me he filled it in. I just want to inspect his work." He marched to a corner of the yard, peered over a flowerbed, and saw the hole had been filled in as promised.

"I don't remember you having a rosebush." Haley reached out and touched the silky petals of a white rose.

"The gardener planted that a few months ago," Simon explained. He watched as she bent down and sniffed a rose. The position she was in gave him a perfect view of her cleavage. Even though he knew he shouldn't stare at her, he could not help himself. After all, he was a man and she was a beautiful woman. Swallowing hard, he prayed his voice wouldn't betray him. "I - I think now is a good time for us to talk about last night."

"What about last night?" She straightened up and walked toward him.

"You said you wanted Chad to pay for what he did to you . . . to suffer as you're suffering." Simon cleared his throat. "I told you I would help you make that happen. Have you changed your mind?"

"No," she murmured with a shake of her head. "Nothing is going to make me change my mind. I want revenge, Simon."

He looked into her eyes . . . eyes filled with pain, and knew he would do anything to make the pain go away. "I have a plan in mind. If you're not comfortable with it then we'll think of something else."

Haley nodded. "I'm listening."

"There's nothing a man hates more than watching his ex-girlfriend with another man. It's even worse when that man is his friend. In his eyes, even though they're no longer together, she still belongs to him." Simon smiled crookedly. "There's an unwritten law that all men are supposed to follow. You never date your friend's ex-girlfriend. Ex's are off limits."

She tilted her head slightly and gazed at him. "I think I know where you're going with this. You want us to pretend we're a couple to get at Chad."

"You saw how he reacts when we're together."

"It angers him."

"Exactly." Simon smirked. "He gets jealous. Believe me; jealousy can eat away at you. You want him to suffer. Making him jealous is the best way to do that." He moved closer and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I know you're hurting and vulnerable right now. The last thing I want is to take advantage of you. If you agreed to this plan, you would be the one taking the lead. Any time you feel uncomfortable or want to end it all you have to do is tell me."