Part 18 (1/2)
”Well, she dialed the wrong number. Aside from that, she has some nerve to think she can demand that I take her call.” Madeline's voice was nearly hysterical. ”She can't make that call to the media.” After a brief pause, her voice hit a new octave. ”If you want to help so d.a.m.n badly, give me her number. I'll arrange to meet with her tonight.”
Jo watched as Madeline fished a pen out of her purse and wrote something on the palm of her hand.
”Thanks,” she said before hanging up the phone.
Jo watched in astonishment as Madeline dialed the number she had just written down. She felt another pang of jealousy as she saw Madeline's eyes brighten at the sound of the voice on the other line.
”Natalie.” She spoke the word like a caress, even though the woman had ripped her heart out. Jo felt her heart ache too and wished that she could hear the other end of the conversation.
”No, you didn't speak with me...That was...someone else,” Madeline said.
Someone else...Jo did not expect a t.i.tle-or even an acknowledgment-but being referred to as just ”someone else”? The words were like a dagger through her heart.
”Sure, we can meet to talk about all of this,” Madeline said, agreeing to whatever Natalie had proposed. ”Just please don't go to the media.”
There was a moment of silence. ”Okay, thank you. I appreciate that.”
”All right. I'll meet you tonight.”
”Seven sounds great.”
With each word that came out of Madeline's mouth, Jo felt more and more like she might vomit. Madeline was really going to meet this woman tonight, was going to spend time with her.
”Yes. I agree. Someplace private would be best. Let's meet at my hotel.”
As Madeline rattled off the address, Jo turned and grabbed her things. She had come to Madeline's hotel after leaving the office, but she wasn't going to stick around for this. She wanted out of the tangled mess she had gotten herself into, and she wanted out now.
”Jo, wait,” Madeline said, stepping in between her and the door. ”We need to talk about this.”
Jo's anger bubbled up inside her and erupted. ”What do we need to talk about? The fact that you're giddy about meeting up with your ex? The fact that you have a smile on your face even though that b.i.t.c.h slept with your husband and ripped your heart to shreds?”
The words were intended to sting and they did. From where she stood, Jo could see they had affected Madeline deeply.
”Not only that, but have you thought about what it could do to you-to everyone involved-if she goes to the press?” More of Jo's anger spilled forth with each word. ”You said you didn't know her, and now she's going to spill everything to the media.”
”First off, don't try to lecture me on what I should have said to the press. Technically, I think my statement said that I didn't know that John was cheating and with whom, not that I didn't know her. Hair-splitting, I know, but I did the best I could under the circ.u.mstances. Also, there's no reason for you to be jealous of her.”
”I'm not,” Jo lied, hating the fact that she was, indeed, jealous. ”But the woman knowingly slept with your husband, disrupting your work as mayor, threatening your reelection and putting you through personal h.e.l.l. Why would you want to have anything to do with her? I don't trust her. This is a bad idea.”
”What else do you want me to do? If she goes to the press, it's going to blow everything wide open, like you said. It'll start with the press delving into my past, but trust me, it'll end with them uncovering the truth about me and you. Are you ready for that? For what your family will say? What it will do to your reputation, your career? I'm inviting her over in hopes of smoothing things out so we can go on with our lives.”
Jo wasn't sure Madeline's logic added up. She already had quit her job, after all, and sooner or later, she was going to have to come out to her family and friends. She'd be deprived of her privacy for a while, sure, but at least she'd be able to live a life without lies.
When she tried to put that into words, though, what came out instead was, ”What lives are those?”
”Our lives...” Madeline trailed off, before adding, ”together. I want us to have a life together, Jo.”
The words were what Jo had wanted, but they still shook her to the core. Not only had no one ever said those words to her, but she had never before wanted so desperately to hear them.
Speechless, she leaned down and kissed Madeline. ”I'll see you in the morning,” she said, pulling away.
”I'd like for you to stay, if you're willing,” Madeline said gently. ”Please, stay here with me until she leaves. After that we can go back to your place and get some sleep.”
”Let me think about it,” Jo said, glancing at her watch, noting that she had several hours to figure things out. ”I think I'll take Jaws for a walk and do some thinking. I'll either be back in a bit, or I'll give you a call and let you know I'm not coming. It's not a good idea for her to know about me, and I need some time to sort through my thoughts on how to handle things if all of this becomes public.”
Jo might have played it cool, but inside she was dying. Of course she wanted to stay and hear what this little tramp had to say. But more than anything, she wanted to stay to make sure nothing happened between Madeline and Natalie. She couldn't explain it, but she felt the sudden need to be a.s.sured that she had Madeline's full loyalty and fidelity.
And she had a pretty d.a.m.n good idea of what was possible when an old flame reappeared.
Jacquelyn waited by the phone. Surely, Jo would have the common decency to answer her last text or at least give her a call. She needed answers, and she needed them soon.
Her hands shook as she replayed the conversations that had occurred in the course of her investigating. In the heat of the moment, her curiosity had won out over her professionalism. She feared she might have said too much or been indiscreet. With luck, Ian would never find out. She certainly wasn't going to call him up and admit she might have screwed up. In any case, there was nothing to report-all of her questioning had been fruitless.
Whatever was happening was going to hit the press in about fifteen minutes if John was correct in his estimate. She paced back and forth in her living room, flipping through the channels on her TV and repeatedly refres.h.i.+ng her Google news search to check for breaking headlines.
At the ten-minute mark, she decided that she could not wait another minute. She picked up the phone, found John's number in the list of recent calls and dialed it.
”h.e.l.lo,” he answered.
”John, it's Jacquelyn. I haven't heard back from Madeline, and I need to know what's going on. Have things been sorted out?”
”You mean, you haven't heard any of what's happening?” John's voice was amused.
”No, John, I haven't, and now is not the time for games. I'm the press liaison, so if s.h.i.+t is going to hit the fan, I need to be informed ahead of time.”
Jacquelyn was beginning to panic. She had talked a big game about being ready to leave, but right now, the truth was that she didn't have anywhere else to go. There was no job waiting for her somewhere else. If this s.h.i.+p went down, she was going to go down with it.
”Well,” John said cautiously, but with obvious enjoyment. ”Maybe you should ask the pastor's daughter, the pretty brunette who came by the house with Maddie to pick up her things. She might know a thing or two about my Maddie's secrets.”
”Jo?” Jacquelyn asked.
”Yeah, they looked pretty cozy,” he said, and she heard the gurgle of liquid courage refilling his gla.s.s. ”I'd say by now she probably knows as many of Madeline's secrets as anyone.”
”What are you talking about?” Jacquelyn demanded.
”I'm just saying that things-people, for that matter-aren't exactly as they appear to be a lot of times. Ask Jo. She'll know what I'm talking about.”
”I don't have time to ask Jo,” Jacquelyn said. The truth was that she didn't want to ask her, but she didn't tell him that.
”Make time, Jacquelyn.”
”What exactly should I ask her?”
John laughed. ”Why don't you just start by asking her who else my wife has been f.u.c.king these days? You know I never was quite Madeline's type. Maybe she's found a pretty little thing with a nice rack and long hair to take my place.”
Jacquelyn's phone dropped to the floor, effectively ending the call. Could it be? Or was John trying to retain what little dignity he had by suggesting he was not the only one in the wrong? She had had her suspicions about Jo, but Madeline? None of this made sense. Madeline didn't seem the type. How did Natalie fit into the picture? What did she know?
True or not, if this. .h.i.t the press, there was no statement to write. Madeline's career as a Republican elected official was over. It was as simple as that.