Secrets and Lies | ✔️

Chapter 24 - Conrad

Ch.24 - Conrad

Although he was accustomed to working long grueling hours, Conrad felt an unusual sense of relief when he entered the house that evening. He tossed his leather briefcase down onto the mahogany console, loosened his tie then shrugged his way out of a cashmere blazer on his way to the kitchen. Grabbing a bottle of Courvoisier,​ he poured a healthy amount into a tulip-shaped wineglass, allowing the cognac to warm in his hand. Slipping off his shoes, Conrad took his time as he swirled the auburn liquid around in the glass, his mind racing over the details of the day. Once again he felt the sting of annoyance slide through his veins.

Several weeks before, on a weekend business trip to Santa Monica, he'd been careless and now he was paying the price. Conrad knew better at the time, but the sudden hunger for female flesh had been too strong to ignore. He wasn't sure if it was the woman, or the lusty scent of her perfume, or the fact that they'd had one too many drinks, but he found he couldn't resist his secretary's pert young breasts, or the long mane of golden-blonde waves that fell to her waist. The way she held him in her gray-eyed vise had been all the invitation he'd needed and now, three weeks later, she'd expected a repeat performance.

She entered his office that morning in a low-cut dress with a long slit up the side, and when his gaze slid to the creamy expanse of her cleavage, she knew she'd had him, like a moth to a flame. He'd taken her right there on his desk, amid the stacks of business proposals and invoices, finishing up only a moment before a colleague walked into the room.

He'd gotten dangerously close to be caught.

There was only one thing left to do. He'd have to fire her--there was no other way. He wasn't about to let her drive him to a weakened state. When he was at work, he needed to be alert. He needed to be in complete control at all times. How was he supposed to take care of business with that temptress around?

Fuck! How could he let this happen? How could he have been so foolish? He'd pay dearly, that was for sure. How much would it cost him to make sure she kept her mouth shut? To keep her from running straight to the nearest lawyer screaming sexual harassment? He'd need to fork over two year's salary and a glowing recommendation to make it worth her while. Or maybe. . .

Maybe he could send her to their London chapter? Allow her to think the office was in dire trouble and needed an intelligent woman like herself to man down the fort?

Conrad took a slow sip of brandy, welcoming the warmth as it pooled in his stomach. With a slow smirk, he decided he was impressed by the way his mind worked to find a solution to this inconvenient problem. Yes, that's exactly what he would do, he would send her away. He'd make her feel competent and needed. No doubt she'd fall for it, women were nonsensical that way. Show them something shiny or give them a raise and they were putty in his hands...as long as he didn't marry them. His secretary wasn't the first encounter he'd had since he'd taken his wedding vows, and no telling if she would be the last. However next time, he would have to be a bit more selective. No one in the work place ever again, that was too risky.

It's not like he'd had a choice turning to the occasional extramarital liaison. Elizabeth loathed sex, she always had. . .as soon as she'd muttered "I do", anyway. Wasn't that just like a woman? Lure a man in with their soft, supple skin. Make them feel like king of the hill and then slip on a chastity belt and throw away the key as soon as the ring was placed on their finger.

And speaking of Elizabeth, wasn't dinner supposed to be on the table? Where was his fair bride? She'd been acting strangely lately, ever since Steven missed Thanksgiving a couple of weeks before. He'd started dating a co-ed at school and had spent the long holiday weekend with her family in Portland. His mother had been crushed. She'd never quite gotten over the fact that he'd moved out of the house, even though it had been two years ago. It was almost as if she resented his independence. He and Elizabeth had fought about it on more than one occasion until finally, she stopped bringing it up. Conrad had thought maybe she was getting used to the fact her baby was on his own, but now. . . he wasn't so sure. She was acting ridiculous, allowing herself to slip into a depression, and no amount of  reasoning ever did any good.

"Elizabeth," he called out. Silence. He knew she was there, he'd seen her car in the driveway. His stomach was starting to growl, she needed to get to work in the kitchen.

​Conrad swallowed down his cognac and poured another glass. He removed his silk tie before walking through the spacious rooms of the house, his eyes moving over the elegant furnishings. Stillness engulfed him. After he discovered the first floor was empty, he followed the curve of the staircase leading to the second floor. At the end of the hallway, a soft light peered out from underneath the crack in the door.

Conrad started toward it. Reaching out, he turned the handle to the bedroom they shared. It was quiet, except for the soft crackle of the two-sided fireplace that joined the bedroom with the master bath. The flames filled the room with a pleasant glow. His gaze fell upon the closed bathroom door. He stood still for a moment, listening carefully for the steady stream of the shower, but the constant thud of water was absent.

"Elizabeth?" Again, silence. Pressing his ear to the door, he heard nothing. "What the hell are you doing in there? I'm hungry." He knocked, but still. . .nothing. Giving the doorknob a jiggle, he found it was locked. "Elizabeth?" Conrad called out again, louder this time.

He took a step back, then turned and lunged forward, slamming his shoulder into the door. The wood frame shattered with a loud crack and echoed throughout the room. He burst in and found what he was looking for.

There in front of him was Elizabeth, lying naked in the bath, surrounded by a pool of pink-tinged water. Her left arm flopped over the edge of the gray granite tub, drops of blood still dripping from the slash in her wrist. Her blue eyes were glazed over, as if she were mesmerized by the flickering flames in the fireplace, but there was a pallor to her skin that had never been there before.

Conrad walked toward her but it was too late. The life had already seeped from her body.

How could she do this to him? How could she embarrass him this way? How would he ever be able to live down what she'd done? So selfish. All she ever did was think of herself. And now she'd done it again, one final slap in the face before she took her last breath.

Conrad clenched his jaw, allowing his teeth to grind against each other. 'This is just like her. I shouldn't be surprised...' He tipped the brandy to his lips and swallowed it down before hurling the glass against the wall, the pointed shards scattering across the tile floor. He stepped back and flinched in pain. Grasping the wall with one hand, he bent his knee outward and lifted his foot, pulling out a bloody piece of glass that had lodged inside the soft tissue of his heel. With narrowed eyes, Conrad glanced at his wife as a slow coldness moved through him.

"Bitch..."

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Hello and thank you for reading Secrets and Lies! If you liked this chapter, please give it a vote!

I have to know, are you surprised by Elizabeth's actions? Or Conrad blaming her? I can't say I was surprised on either count.

I would like to take a moment to congratulate all of the 2015 Watty Award winners and to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving if that is something you celebrate. I will not be around this Friday to add another chapter so the next one will be out on Tuesday.

This week I would like to give a shout-out to readers in Sudan, Sweden, Tunisia, Ethiopia and Somalia--thank you for reading! :)