On the Rebound Page 4

  "So modest. You and your family are famous," Brandon said. "I am kind of in awe that I am in your kitchen fixing breakfast."

  "As you personally experienced last night," Nadine said regretfully, "my family has its share of problems. We are not exactly the best people to be in awe of."

  "So what will become of Tara?" Brandon asked after finding the eggs and whipping them up in a bowl.

  Nadine shook her head. "My parents decided to send her to my mom's parents in the country. They live in the Blue Mountains."

  Brandon nodded. "That doesn't sound like a bad idea. They wanted to get her out of the Kingston environment, huh?"

  "Yup." Nadine nodded. "Though I think she will protest against it for a while. I would love to have her here with me. We tried that last year but Tara started posing as an eighteen year old. She came down to the studio and was propositioning some of Grandpa's friends, so we sent her back to Dad's place and then Mom's, but when Mom got pregnant, she was sick for a while so she was sent back to Dad's."

  "That's a terrible way for a child to live." Brandon sighed. "She's caught up in the middle; no wonder she is acting out."

  "Do you have kids?" Nadine asked after a pause where Brandon seemed as if he was locked into some inner battle.

  "Yes, two girls, seven and three." He deftly flipped the omelet and put it in a plate.

  "I'll pour the juice." Nadine got up, feeling a twinge of disappointment. She was crushing on Brandon. What was more, she hadn't had a major crush since her teens and here she was, having a mammoth-sized crush on a married man with kids.

  "If you want, you can stay over at the apartment as long as you want," Nadine said helpfully, after they brought their plates out to the patio. "We are not having any visiting artistes until April. November to February is touring season for most artistes so they usually don't settle down to do studio work at this time."

  Brandon was in the midst of cutting his omelet when he paused for a moment. "You are being extremely kind."

  "Something tells me that you could use a break," Nadine said to him frankly. She wanted to pry but she was limited by politeness, and Brandon seem to have a big ‘keep off’ sign on his forehead. Besides, she didn't want to seem nosy.

  "I do need a place to stay," Brandon said slowly, "but I am thinking it would probably have to be on the other side of town, possibly closer to my old home. I can't be too far away from my girls. Maybe I could stay with my parents but they would ask too many questions and frankly, I don't know what to tell them about what's going on. They would worry. They are salt of the earth types, you know. They believe that marriage is forever."

  "Where do...did you live?" Nadine asked, stumbling over what to say. She was dying to ask about his marriage. Was it over for good? What happened to drive him away from his home that he couldn't even tell his parents?

  "Norbrook," Brandon replied, naming an affluent neighborhood.

  "And your wife has custody of the children?"

  "God, no." Brandon shuddered dramatically. "I hope it doesn't come to that, and if it does I want custody. I will fight for custody with my last breath."

  "So you aren't going through a divorce now?" Nadine asked.

  Brandon looked past Nadine and over the foggy morning view and then heaved a sigh. "I don't know. It is likely that there is where I will end up. I grew up thinking marriage was for life. I am even reluctant to say the word divorce."

  Nadine nodded. "I understand, especially when children are involved."

  Brandon grimaced. "I may not have a choice, though. I don't think I am capable of living with Ashley again. Maybe now is not a good time to talk about this. It's still too fresh."

  "Yes." Nadine picked up her juice. "Sorry."

  "So what about you?" Brandon asked after a short silence. "Are you going on tour this holiday or are you going to be around?"

  "I have ten tour dates with my granddad in Europe in December but that's all I am booked for. I'll be back here for the New Year." Nadine grinned. "They are sold-out tours; people can't get enough of Gramps Langley."

  "He's a really good artiste." Brandon nodded. "Love his conscious music, and his responsible lyrics."

  "Yeah," Nadine grinned. "He's old school. I tend to go off the same pattern. I was shocked when my single was so well received by the world. You know people are more into the auto tune craze."

  "I liked it," Brandon smiled at her, "classic break-up song with just the right hint of melancholy. Were you going through a break-up when you wrote it?"

  "No," Nadine laughed. "My ex boyfriend, Sanjay, could not inspire so much emotion in me."

  "Sanjay Lewis, the track star?" Brandon grinned. "The tabloids used to call you two the golden couple."

  "You read the tabloids, Dr. Brandon Blake?" Nadine raised her eyebrows mockingly. "Somehow you look like you read... er... more serious stuff."

  Brandon laughed. "I can dig my head out of the scientific magazines now and then, you know. My wife likes the gossip mags. She says she likes to see what people are wearing; it is good for business. She owns a boutique catering to the well-to-do. When she carries the magazines home, I may take a look in a few of them.

  "You have been on the front pages for quite a while now. I may have picked up a magazine or two just to look at you. You are really pretty. You are even prettier in person, which I understand is a rare thing in this age of Photoshop."

  Nadine gasped. He said it so matter-of-factly and without hesitation. She searched her mind for a witty comeback but she only managed a squeaky thanks and leaned back in her chair, feeling self-conscious.

  He thought she was pretty. What did that mean? Was he feeling the attraction between them that she thought was humming in the air? Why was she even entertaining the thought? Brandon was married and he had not given her any indication that he liked her.

  Brandon looked at his watch and groaned. "I am going to have to go. I have a department meeting at eight."

  He flashed her a smile. "You know I am getting a wee bit tired of academia. I am having some trouble juggling my private jobs with my full time job. I just might go back into the private sector after this year."

  Nadine nodded, feeling warmed by the fact that he shared that tidbit of information with her.

  He stood up and took up her plate at the same time that she stood up and reached out for them as well.

  His fingers brushed hers and it felt like liquid fire. She actually looked down at her hand to see if he had something in his hand to generate the heat.

  "No, it's okay," she stammered, exhaling when he drew his hand away from hers. "I can't expect you to cook and wash up."

  Brandon looked at her, concerned. "You okay?"

  "Yes," she said breathlessly, just move away...far away so that I can get this short circuiting response under control.

  "Okay." Brandon finally moved away. "I might take you up on the offer to use the apartment for a couple of days, until I sort some issues out."

  Nadine nodded numbly and then blurted out. "Do you want to have dinner tonight? I mean, I know you don't have any food in the apartment and..."

  "Yes, sure," Brandon cut into her babbling. "Thanks, Nadine. I'll be by at seven or thereabout."

  He headed through the door in a brisk manner and she watched him, finally sinking down into her chair when he left. Her fingers tingled where his hand touched hers.

  Chapter Five

  Ashley walked into her boutique, Uptown Couture, later than usual. She had had the most harrowing morning with the children. Ariel had not stopped crying when she had picked her up from her grandmother. She was howling for her daddy all the way to pre-school, and Alisha had looked as if she didn't believe Ashley when she told her that Daddy was away for a while.

  "Why didn't Daddy say he was going somewhere?" her daughter had asked her accusingly, as if she knew instinctively that her mother had done something wrong. "Daddy always tells us if he is going away for long. He never just goes!"

  "Morning, As
hley!" her store clerk, Jaya, called to her as she headed for the back office through the lush carpeted display area. Already there were several customers milling around; she recognized a few of them.

  Most of them were ladies of leisure who were married to powerful men. She murmured a greeting to those who were closest to her and waved to Jaya, pasting on a smile though she did not feel the least bit cheerful, and then hurried to the back office.

  Her head was throbbing slightly, a combination of her lack of rest last night and Ariel’s squealing this morning. She wished the child had come with a remote control button so that she could press off.

  She slouched in her chair and put her head in her hands, disregarding all the yoga and Pilates instruction that she had learned about correct posture.

  She felt like crap. Guilty. Weary. She needed a change of life. She had been saying so for years.

  She groaned and put her head on the desk, snapping it up again when she heard someone clear their throat at her office doorway.

  "Regina," Ashley murmured and rubbed her temples. "What are you doing here?"

  "I brought a lawyer. This is Damon. He works at my dad's law firm."

  "Oh, for crying out loud!" Ashley looked at Damon, a young guy who didn’t even look like he had started to shave yet. He smiled at her apologetically.

  "Hi Ashley. Regina said that you really wanted to lead the attack."

  "What attack? I am not at war." Ashley glared at Regina. "I think my friend has jumped the gun. My husband and I just had a simple misunderstanding."

  "As I see it," Damon came farther in the office and sat down across from her, putting down his briefcase and folding his arms. "You were caught in flagrante, in bed with your lesbian lover. You have to act swiftly, before Brandon does. Make all the moves first."

  "You told him everything?" Ashley turned to Regina, her eyes wide open. "For heaven's sake, Regina!"

  "Damon knows about me," Regina shrugged. "I am not in some closet hiding what I really am, unlike you."

  "I am not hiding in any closet," Ashley growled. "I am not a lesbian. I date men. I love men. I love my husband. I was only brought into this whole fiasco because of blackmail. You...you..!" She flung her hands up and then looked at Damon mutely. "Regina is the cause of my problems and I think I hate her. No, I know I do."

  "Rubbish!" Regina snorted. "I have always been your bit on the side, and you like me."

  "Come in and shut the door," Ashley said, slumping her shoulders. "I don't think I want the whole world to hear my business; do you?"

  She glared at Regina resentfully. She was once more back in Ashley's life, creating problems and messing with the smooth order of things, blackmailing her and threatening to expose her secrets.

  Regina was a prime example of why it was not a good idea to make a deal with the devil. There was no escape until you were sucked dry and left in a pile of destruction. She had tried to shake Regina from her life several times but she was like a parasite, she wouldn't let Ashley go. Regina's strategy over the last eight years was to threaten to tell Brandon her secrets but now Brandon knew at least one of them, and he was not going to forgive her.

  She looked at Damon and then blinked away the weak, pitiful tears that were threatening to fall. After the divorce she would get rid of Regina. She would have no fighting chance with anyone else if Regina was in the picture, and she did not want Regina around anymore. She was well and truly tired of her possessiveness and her constant threats.

  Ashley glared at her. She had a smug expression on her face, like she had won some type of prize because she had finally gotten rid of Brandon.

  Regina winked at her and came to sit beside Damon, her hand hanging between her widespread legs. She had her hair low in a crew cut and dyed platinum blond, with her name etched into the short sides.

  She was very light-skinned and had a tattoo of a rose on her neck and several piercings above her eyelids and nose. Her body was hard, with not an ounce of spare fat, and she usually dressed like a guy in big shirts and baggy pants.

  Up until recently she played football for the national team. She still trained with them, even though she had a knee injury. Ashley couldn't believe that Brandon hadn't seen that Regina was a lesbian. It was so obvious; even his sister, Latoya had commented on it once.

  Ashley focused her eyes on Damon again. "I came into the marriage with nothing. The house is Brandon's; even this business is his. He pays for everything."

  Damon fanned her off. "It doesn't matter, it is marital property. The house is marital property; any money that he has made since you two got together is marital property. To ensure that he continues to pay for your lifestyle, you can request full custody of the kids and then he'll be forced to pay for their upkeep until they are eighteen."

  Regina grinned. "It's just like having him pick up the tab without pretending that you love him."

  "I do love him," Ashley said, annoyance in her voice. She hadn't even realized how much she still loved Brandon until she had pushed him too far last night. "I really don't want full custody; the kids would be devastated. They prefer Brandon to me. I know that is not something that a mother should admit but that's really how it is at my house. Gosh, this is too much; maybe it would be simpler if I just beg his forgiveness. Tell him that it was a one-off with Regina. Brandon is a true Christian man, loyal and forgiving. He might forgive me."

  "Hell no, you won't!" Regina growled. "If you do that I'll tell him the truth about all your little secrets, everything," she said threateningly. "I was before him and I will be after him. You and I can finally get a chance to be together permanently, without sneaking around. Maybe we could go to New York and get married."

  Ashley closed her eyes and swallowed. Not if she could help it.

  "You will have to request full custody; it will make him more pliable," Damon said, leaning forward earnestly.

  There was a heavy silence while Ashley weighed her options. "Let me think it over." She looked at both Regina and Damon. "I haven't even talked to Brandon since last night. It's barely a day. Regina is jumping the gun."

  "He's not going to be fighting for your marriage like a ninny after this," Regina sneered. "Get that out of your head and wise up."

  "Okay, okay. Give me some time." Ashley felt like kicking Regina and the lawyer from the office. Both of them were giving her a headache.

  "All right," Damon got up. "Don't hesitate to call me." He pushed a business card at Ashley. "The sooner the better."

  When they both left Ashley put her head on the desk and closed her eyes. She remembered the first time she met Brandon.

  It was at church, of all places. She had decided to go because of a near-death experience that had her walking out of a car crash with barely a scratch...

  August 2004

  It was May and Ashley had just celebrated her twenty-first birthday with a bang. Her father, a sound system selector, had thrown an all-white birthday bash for her in Craig's front lawn, an asphalted place hemmed around with zinc and wood. It was ironic that they called the place a lawn because it had not a speck of greenery. At one end were stacks of black sound boxes, a little off to the side were the sound selectors and a steady stream of people who were coming into the enclosed area, most of them in white.

  Ashley wasn't feeling so well. She had developed a slight headache from earlier in the evening and the music and the gaiety felt flat, like she was just an observer and not the main celebrant.

  Her father was in his element, spinning on the turntables and giving her shout outs at regular intervals. They were only serving to make her feel even lousier.

  "Why are you looking so glum?" Regina danced up to her. "This party is great!"

  Ashley plastered a smile on her face for Regina's benefit.

  "Here, have a drink," Regina laughed and handed Ashley a beer.

  "You shouldn't be drinking." Ashley took the beer and shouted over the music, "You are driving me home later, remember."

  "I am invincib
le," Regina grinned. "It takes more than a few beers to get me drunk."

  A girl grabbed Regina from behind and she laughed then turned to her and danced away.

  Ashley hugged herself and pressed back farther from the music, which was making her eardrums vibrate. The problem with this type of party was that you couldn't think--couldn't have a decent conversation with anyone around, and she really would not mind a sensible, intellectual conversation right now.

  She was suffering from a mid-life crisis at twenty-one because she was so totally and completely depressed about her life so far that she didn't know how she functioned daily.

  She wanted more. She had always wanted to do more with her life. So far she hadn't done a thing worth mentioning.

  Though she had grown up in one of Kingston's violent inner cities and had no stimulation to learn, she had always been bright. Her high school teachers had called her a genius, though she hadn't been officially diagnosed as one, but she had always known that she was different from the other children around who lived in the poky housing estate where she had lived with her father, her stepmother, and her six half siblings.

  She had done exceptionally well at school too, always coming first in her classes. She had taken a staggering thirteen CXC subjects and had passed all of them with distinction. It had coincided with the year that her community had gone through a gang feud.

  Her achievements had been remarkable, and she had been featured in one of the national newspapers and touted as the girl who had beaten all the odds to come out on top.

  She had gotten two scholarships and went to university and before she could send out applications and fret about returning to live in the cramped two-bedroom place with her father and stepmother, she had gotten a job as a teller in a Merchant bank and shared a flat with another girl who worked at the bank.

  Maybe the reason that she was feeling so out of sorts now was because she hated this kind of lifestyle. She looked around at the glistening, sweaty people around her. She sniffed the air heavy with the smell of marijuana and shuddered. She wanted to go home, desperately. Her eyes collided with Jason, her very first boyfriend from high school.