Secrets we keep, p.17
Secrets We Keep, page 17
“We’re not saying goodbye, and we’ll keep an eye on you.” Teresa smiled.
The couple walked away, with Lenny’s arm around Teresa’s bare back. Anna followed them with a gaze full of longing. Only I could have thought something inappropriate about Lenny, Anna thought as she shook her head. Lenny and Teresa were the two nicest people, two love birds, unable to get enough of each other. Her face was burning with shame.
In an effort to distract herself from the debacle, Anna looked around for some familiar faces. She quickly spotted Rosie who was standing by herself and intently checking messages on her phone.
“Hey Rosie, how have you been?” Anna approached her friend with a big smile.
From the first glance, Rosie looked stunning but was dressed somewhat inappropriately for the occasion. She wore a very small leather dress barely covering her butt, super high stilettos and had her hair in a high ponytail, with large golden earrings hanging down. Clearly this was an expensive designer dress and a nice outfit for a night club if she wanted to pick up some guys, but a bit out of place here, at a holiday party, in the Vice President’s mansion.
Nevertheless, Rosie smiled as she put her phone away and spoke to Anna excitedly. “You won’t believe what happened, Anna. A couple of weeks ago, I went to Paris for a high-profile energy conference. My presentation on new approaches to generating renewable energy turned out to be a big hit. Everyone was talking about it. Our department’s flagship project will now be managed by me!”
In the space of three short months, Rosie had gone from being a newbie to being the project manager of the most important project with twenty people under her control.
“Great job, Rosie.” Anna hugged her friend. “I am so proud of you!”
“And what’s new with you?” Rosie looked at Anna intently, as if trying to read what was happening in her soul. “How are you holding up… given the Jean-Emily situation? Anyone new on the horizon?”
“Meee… Nobody new. Not that I’ve been looking really hard, you know. It’s a bit difficult to stop thinking of Jean. He had been on my mind far too long—ever since we had that lunch together during the interviews. Silly me. Hopefully, I’ll get him out of my head someday.”
Anna had confided her heartbreak to Rosie after the dinner at the Black Pearl restaurant several months ago. Jean and Emily’s relationship did not show any signs of slowing down. Just a few minutes ago, Anna had spotted them standing at the far end of the living room, holding hands.
“What about you, Rosie?” asked Anna. “I think you hit it off with Alex, am I right? All he talks about is you.”
“Oh yes, Alex…” Rosie replied without too much enthusiasm. “Yes, he’s been calling me over the past few months. A nice guy. But not sure he’s my type.”
“That’s too bad,” Anna said with some sadness in her voice. Alex was such a fantastic match for Rosie. “I’ll go check out the buffet and be right back. Need anything?”
“No, it’s fine. Trying to watch my weight. Too much good food on my trips. I’ll wait for you.”
When Anna returned with her plate of food, Rosie was gone.
Where did she disappear to? Oh well, maybe it was for the better. The whole point of going to such a party was to network and meet new people.
The first person Anna talked to was Dalcy Tozaka, a young girl from the Solomon Islands. Apparently, Dalcy worked at the Ministry of Tourism at Solomon Islands and was at Polaris at the invitation of the Director for Pacific Islands as a secondee. She would spend one year at Polaris working on various tourism projects and later return to her home country with a lot of new experience to deploy.
“At some point, you should come and visit my country, Anna!” suggested Dalcy. “You will never regret coming. We have pristine beaches, reef lagoons, crystal-clear waters, and amazing animals.”
Anna assured Dalcy that she would definitely visit her homeland sometime in the future. This seemed an especially attractive proposition once Anna found out that Dalcy’s family owned ten islands and Dalcy herself had her own island.
Continuing through the room, she started talking to a lady from her part of the world—a Belarusian named Larisa Golubeva Berg. She was a former model in Belarus who had gotten a business degree and somehow landed a job at Polaris as a strategy officer, first in the Minsk satellite office and later in Washington. Her biggest achievement in life, it turned out, was getting married to one of the Polaris directors, a German national about fifteen years her senior, as soon as she got to Washington.
At that point, Anna got a little bit tired of her networking and decided to take a walk around the house, and maybe give a quick call to Katie who was very curious about the Polaris party. Katie’s small auditing firm didn’t have anything of this sort. All they offered to their loyal employees was a pitiful buffet with spaghetti and meatballs.
Anna kept walking down the corridor with a champagne glass in her hand until she made it to the back of the house. She slipped into the library, sighing as she stepped out of sight from the rest of the party.
Nice and quiet, Anna thought. Now all I need is a cozy sofa to sit on, and then I can sip my champagne and gossip with Katie.
Anna quietly pulled the door of the library which closed behind her, and was about to walk in when she suddenly froze at the entrance. Yes, they did have a cozy and soft sofa in that library, but it was not empty. It was actually getting a good workout.
What the heck is this? Anna’s eyes widened.
Rosie was sitting on top of Lenny Jameson, kissing him passionately, while his hands were right inside her unzipped leather dress. The whole thing looked like a scene from a cheap porno movie. The only thing missing was some nasty guy with a camera yelling “action!”
Lenny was turned away from the entrance, so he could not see Anna, and he was so consumed with Rosie that he had no idea that somebody had entered the library. Rosie, on the other hand, immediately spotted Anna at the entrance.
A couple of seconds later, Anna shook off her stupor and ran out of the room as fast as she could. She returned to the living room and caught her breath. Everything looked the same, but her world now seemed upside down.
Poor Teresa. Poor Erica. This was so unfair, so terrible. They didn’t deserve it. Why on Earth would they have such a horrible husband and father?
Hope I don’t see Teresa again tonight, or I will freak out. Anna looked around anxiously. She didn’t see any familiar faces around her. Good. Hopefully, Anna could sneak out of the party unnoticed and get as far away as possible. But, as if she heard Anna’s thoughts, Teresa appeared.
“How’s the party going for you?” she asked breezily, a warm and kind smile curving her lips. “I bet you met a lot of new people. I always enjoy Roberto’s parties. He invites the cream of the crop.”
Anna mumbled something incomprehensible and went completely pale.
“Anna, what’s the matter? Maybe you need some fresh air. Please, lean on me!” Teresa looked at Anna anxiously and tried to support her.
“I-I need to take a walk,” Anna muttered, looking down at her feet, refusing to meet Teresa’s gaze. “Thanks so much, Teresa. I should feel better soon.”
She hurried out of the mansion, away from the horror she witnessed. As she was walking towards her car, somebody called her name. She turned around and saw Rosie running to catch up to her.
“Anna, please wait, let me explain!”
Anna stopped and looked at Rosie furiously. Just a couple of hours ago, she thought that her friend was an incredible star, and now she regretted knowing her at all.
“Rosie, are you completely out of your mind?” Anna finally yelled. They’d walked far enough from the mansion so as not to be overheard by anyone. “Can you imagine what would happen if somebody else saw you? Luckily it was me, but it could have been somebody from our management. You could lose your job, and everyone would be looking at you as a cheap prostitute. This is so incredibly disgusting that I cannot even talk about it.”
“Sorry, things really got out of hand!” Rosie looked at Anna pleadingly.
“This is what happens when somebody shows up in an inappropriate leather dress to an office party,” Anna said bitterly, casting a disappointed gaze over Rosie’s outfit. “I cannot believe you were making out with a guy you literally just met, and in the Vice President’s mansion of all places!”
“Well, I didn’t just meet him.”
“Okay, that was a figure of speech. Obviously, we all first met Lenny in Tunis during the orientation a couple of months ago. He did that presentation on commodity exchanges.”
“That is true, but there was more than that… A LOT more actually…” whispered Rosie who proceeded to tell Anna the whole story. Turned out, that same day when Anna saw Lenny at the beach, he also met Rosie there. She was walking around the beach collecting shells when he approached her and started chatting casually about the weather, the sea, and other general stuff.
“I thought that maybe by talking to Lenny, I would advance my chances to get a placement,” Rosie explained. “You remember, at that time it was a sore subject… He invited me out to dinner and drinks and I said yes.
“Believe me, Anna, I did not plan on having an affair with him! Far from that. To make sure he did not get any wrong ideas, I even underdressed for the evening. No makeup even.
“I was so impressed with Lenny. He clearly seemed a very sensitive and kind guy, who took my problems to heart. He was there to mentor me, not for any other reason.
“Then the conversation somehow drifted to the dialogue about relationships. Again, Lenny seemed very sincere, talking about how he was separated from his wife, who never understood him and how that supposedly left a big wound in his heart. He told me that he was ready to get out there again and potentially find a new relationship.”
What a liar, Anna thought. And also an idiot. He has a beauty queen right there at home and the most talented daughter on Earth. The greatest family one could imagine.
“We kissed as we were getting into the elevator, and somehow it felt right to head not to my own room but to Lenny’s. None of this was planned, Anna, I promise! Then at some point we met at a random seminar at Polaris and an invitation to drinks followed. Somehow Lenny ended up in my apartment. Then he started calling, inviting me out more and that’s how we got to this point. Well, to be completely honest, I did choose this dress to turn him on a little bit. But we are falling in love. Why is that so wrong?”
It was now absolutely obvious that Rosie had no idea what she’d gotten herself into.
“Rosie, let me quickly clue you in,” Anna said sharply. “First of all, I know Lenny’s wife. She also works here at Polaris. Remarkable and classy lady. I can assure you that they never got separated, or anything he might have told you. It appears that Lenny likes playing on the side. He tried to pick me up in Tunis as well, but I ran away from him.”
Rosie listened carefully, sniffling her nose a little bit.
Anna continued. “You have to stop this whole relationship. Now. Before anyone gets hurt. I will try to forget about what I saw today and support you as much as you need. But if you decide to continue, do not count on me. This will ruin your life. Your career. Remember that we are on probation this year. Management can easily not offer you a position after the end of the program if they detect inappropriate behavior. Lenny’s job is not on the line, but yours is. You cannot hide an awl in the sack. Eventually it will come out. You will be returning to the Philippines in no time.”
Rosie nodded, tears streaming down her cheeks. She looked completely crushed.
“I’ll end it right away, Anna,” Rosie finally said fiercely. “I’m truly sorry. Thanks for being such a good friend.”
Anna gave Rosie a hug, trying to console her. Good thing the other woman had finally come to her senses. No guy was worth a career at Polaris. Especially not Lenny Jameson.
Chapter 15. The Unexpected Guest
Washington, D.C. and Jekyll Island, GA
The second half of December was a very slow season at Polaris as most of the staff began taking time off to see their friends and family. Anna’s floor, usually bustling, became emptier with each passing day. It was time to think of a vacation of her own.
John stopped by her office for a chat, a coffee cup in his hand. “You going anywhere for Christmas, Anna?” he asked. He often walked around the floor to check how everyone in his team was doing and if they had any questions.
“Yes, as a matter of fact I am,” Anna announced proudly. “I’ll be visiting Professor Thompson and his wife at their home on Jekyll Island. When my parents and I lived in the States, we used to drive to Jekyll Island together every summer.”
Professor James Thompson was a chairman of the finance department from her alma mater and Anna’s own professor of finance. In addition, he was a personal friend of her parents.
“Lovely.” John nodded his head in approval. “Isn’t that the place where a bunch of millionaires used to spend their vacations?”
“Exactly. Back in the late 1800s James Hill, George Baker, William Rockefeller, William Vanderbilt, and some of their contemporaries were looking for a good place to spend their winters. In the end, they selected Jekyll Island. The exquisite Jekyll Island Club was constructed there. Its clientele controlled an enormous one-sixth of the world’s worth!” Being a finance major, Anna was always fascinated by the stories about the powerful American financiers spending their winters on this legendary island.
“Must be a nice place to visit. Enjoy. Maybe you’ll find yourself a millionaire husband there.” John gave Anna a wink and kept on walking.
****
“Anna, dear, thank you so much for coming! We missed you!” Mrs. Thompson exclaimed as Anna walked into their house on Captain Wylly Drive, dragging the small suitcase behind her. It was almost ten in the evening. It had taken Anna a good twelve hours to drive to Jekyll Island.
“How are your wonderful parents? I wish they could’ve come as well. We have not seen them in so long.”
“Thank you so much, Alice.” Anna carefully put her suitcase in the corner and gave Mrs. Thompson a big hug. “Everyone is fine. My dad is doing his work at the newspaper, and Mom is always busy with her tennis students.”
“It’s so wonderful that you moved back to the States! We hope your parents will follow.”
Anna started taking off her coat and boots when she heard several other people approaching from the living room.
“Anna! Finally! Hope the drive was not too exhausting.” A tall and good-looking man appeared at the door. James Thompson was around sixty years old but looked much younger. Like always, he was dressed in polo shirt and slacks. He was together with his daughter Jenny, who was about Anna’s age, and some other guy—probably Jenny’s boyfriend. Anna had heard that he was supposedly a doctor. They all welcomed Anna warmly.
On the other side of the living room stood another man who Anna didn’t recognize at first. But when he heard some commotion at the door, he turned around.
David.
What is he doing here, Anna thought in a complete panic. She felt her blood rush to her face and her legs suddenly get shaky. Professor Thompson had specifically mentioned that his son had other plans and would not be coming!
Anna would have definitely thought twice about this trip, had she known David would be visiting his parents for Christmas… This was so incredibly awkward. The last time they spoke, Anna broke up with the guy while he begged her to give him a chance! How was she supposed to stay in the same house with him now?
She couldn’t help but stare at David for a minute. She had not seen him for a good five years. When did he become so smoking hot?
Now in his early thirties, David was tall, with a bright smile, shining black hair, expressive and large brown eyes, and an athletic build. His soft white linen shirt was open at the collar, exposing his strong neck and chest.
Anna reluctantly took her eyes off her ex-boyfriend. Perhaps she’d been too harsh on him? They had some good times together—she just didn’t appreciate them enough back then. She had been too young and idealistic, confident that her prince charming was already on his way, ready to sweep her off her feet and make her head spin with the greatest romance story of all time. But her prince never showed up, while David was still around. Right there, in front of Anna, to be precise.
All of a sudden, colorful memories of their relationship started streaming in Anna’s mind, making her pulse race and her body tremble.
David surprising her with a big bunch of red roses after her team won the school case competition.
David putting together a mix of her favorite music.
David buying the books she urgently needed for her research project.
Emily had mentioned he moved back to Washington… Maybe they could start over again, now that they both lived in the same city? It was a crazy idea, but it suddenly made all the sense in the world.
Or… maybe not.
Behind David was standing a striking young lady. She was wearing a champagne-colored evening gown and sky-blue satin pumps with a crystal buckle. A diamond bracelet was glittering on her wrist and a ring with an immense emerald—on her finger.
Anna anxiously looked over her own humble ensemble—sweatpants and a gray sweater. Of course, she wanted to feel comfortable during the long drive. But maybe she should have still worn something a little more sophisticated. Come to think of it, she didn’t even bring any pretty clothes with her, just a few T-shirts and yoga pants. What a disaster.
“Anna, glad to see you again,” David said cheerfully, putting his hand around the waist of the young lady next to him. “Welcome! Mom just told me you moved back to the States from your home country. Was it… Albania? I forget. Please let me introduce my girlfriend, Helmi.”
Albania, eh? Anna frowned.
