Chapter 1
I woke up to the glare of sunlight streaming through my bedroom windows, only to find the other side of my bed empty again.
I let out a heavy sigh and rolled onto my back to stare at the white ceiling overhead. I’m not sure why I was even surprised anymore. In the past five years that I had been married to Kevin Miller, he’d left our bed before I could open my eyes, more times than I cared to remember. The only evidence that I had that he even came to bed at night was the dent on his pillow and his clothes strewn across our bedroom floor.
I wouldn’t say our marriage was an unhappy one exactly. Actually scratch that, I was the one who was unhappy in the marriage. Kevin, on the other hand, never complained and constantly showered me with gifts. He gave me anything I asked for, except the one thing I coveted most: his attention. He worked long hours and did tons of travelling for work and when he got home, he always seemed distracted. When I asked him about it, I always got the same answer: “It’s just work honey.”
Back in college where we met, Kevin and I could barely keep our hands off each other. He was so attentive, so charming, and so gorgeous. We'd married shortly after graduation and moved to the City, with Kevin taking over his father’s pharmaceutical company while I worked as an Accountant in a major Firm. At night we visited the local restaurants before ending the night in each other’s arms. Life had been great. That was until two years ago when we tried to have kids.
Kevin thought it would make it easier if I quit my job and moved to the nearby suburban community so that we could start preparing for all the kids we were going to have. I was twenty four. I was so young and in love that I did anything he asked of me. But after almost a year of trying, we finally called it quits. I was relieved. Having sex with my husband was becoming a chore and wasn’t fun for me anymore. I could tell that Kevin felt the same. Sometimes I wondered if that was the reason he barely touched me anymore.
Of course I also considered that maybe he was cheating on me. It would definitely bruise my ego if he was. I wasn’t a vain person but I knew I looked good. Every morning I ran five miles to ensure that my five foot, five inch frame was well toned. I had platinum blonde hair most women would pay top dollar for and my body was curvy due to my diluted Hispanic heritage. I knew Kevin loved showing me off. He often told me so when I accompanied him to various business meetings. Kevin himself was also a sight to behold. He was just over six feet and had a body honed from years as a quarterback in high school and part of college before throwing out a knee. He had chestnut colored hair and green eyes and a boy next door smile you couldn’t help but be attracted to. Together we made quite a picture.
The loud shrill of my cell phone ringing broke me out of my reverie.
I glanced at the digital screen of my phone on my night stand and saw a picture of my best friend, Deidra. I couldn’t help but smile when I swiped the screen and answered.
“It’s only seven thirty.” I reminded her gently.
“Lila! Sorry I’m gonna have to bail on you again today hun.” Dee’s apologetic voice made me frown.
Deidra was also my running partner as she lived only two blocks away. We met up every morning at eight for our run like clockwork. She had already missed a day this week without giving me a proper explanation as to why which was so unlike her, so the fact that she was cancelling again made my radar bleep in warning.
“That’s the second time this week.” I told her unnecessarily, “Should I be concerned?”
There was a pause on the line.
“Dee? What’s wrong? Is it Barry?” I asked referring to her on again, off again douche of a boyfriend.
She let out a snort.
“I wish.” I heard her mutter softly, “I promise I’ll give you details tomorrow.” She hedged, “Gotta go Li.”
I heard the line disconnect and glanced at the blank screen confused. For a minute I contemplated running over to her house and demanding that she explain what was going on. But Deidra and I had been best friends since high school and we told each other everything. I had to trust that in time and in her own way, she would tell me what was up.
With that thought in mind, I swung my legs off the bed and made my way to the kitchen for coffee, my must have before my run
--
I had just unlocked my front door and pulled my ear buds out of my ear when I heard my cell ringing from the bedroom where I left it. I was drenched in sweat and my black running shorts and dark grey sports bra were soaked through so I didn’t attempt to sit on my bed when I answered.
“Hello?”
“Lila.” My husband’s deep timbre could still make me shudder in awareness.
“Hi babe!” I replied in surprise.
My husband never called me during the day so this was definitely a surprise.
“I missed you this morning.” I told him hoping that my voice would have a similar effect on him.
“Ah yea, sorry, had an early meeting.” His voice sounded distant now. “This is why I’m calling actually.” He cleared his throat. “I just took on a new business partner, James Sinclair, and um, I wanted to have him over for dinner tonight.”
This was new. Kevin never had business associates over for dinner. He always took them out to lavish restaurants and most times I was invited along. On the plus side, this gave me an opportunity to indulge in my passion for cooking and get to learn about my husband’s business at the same time.
“Sounds great!” I told him enthusiastically, “Anything in particular you had in mind for dinner?”
“No, no anything is fine. I’ll be home at seven with James.” He stated, then as an afterthought, “Wear the black dress with the open back that I like.”
I was shocked for a second. Did he want me to wear it to please him? Or was I supposed to just be arm candy and play the perfect trophy wife?
“Ok.” I answered a little hesitantly.
He disconnected the line then without so much as a goodbye, but I couldn’t dwell on my husband’s distance as I was too busy coming up with a menu in my head. Cooking always soothed me and I was looking forward to trying out something new.
I headed to the bathroom for a quick shower before heading to the supermarket for supplies for dinner. Kevin seemed to be going out of his way for this new business partner which made me even more curious.
Who was this James Sinclair?
