Readers,
“Mergers and Acquisitions” Part I was received with much appreciated input and praise from many of you. Thank you so much for the response. Though the original release may have or not have been to your liking, I implore upon you to read it once more. What is posted at this time is not the same story you read as the original posting. I made an error when uploading the original and sent an earlier draft instead of the finished product. I truly believe should you read the version posted 08/22/2003 you’ll be pleasantly surprised and rewarded as to the direction and power the story has taken. Let me know if you like it. Here’s part
II…
Thank You
***
It was a little after three and Toni was just leaving Ron’s house. She’d just spent the better part of the evening with the wealthy businessman and he’d tried convincing her into staying instead of going home. Refusing his offers, she made her way to her car as the cool night air attempted to jog her senses back to reality.
Getting into her car, she sat momentarily as a fury of mixed emotions began racing through her mind. A million questions were vying for answers she didn’t have. What had just happened? Searching the resources of her fresh memories, she replayed the evening’s events over and over in her head.
“Oh God, what did I just do?” Toni’s conscience began to pang her with images of what had transpired. “I knew I shouldn’t have come here alone. Shit.. Shit.. Shit!”
She buried her face into her hands in an onslaught of guilt. Why had she let down her guard knowing full well what he was capable of doing? She’d placed herself into a compromising position by playing on his turf, leaving her vulnerable and out of her element.
“Jesus, Toni, why didn’t you just show up at his door wearing a big red bow and a sign reading, ‘Have a great time’? You played right into his hands.” Her instincts had been right in questioning his intentions. He hadn’t been so bold as to chase her down and ravish her the way she’d imagined, but mixing the liqueur into her drink to render her helpless and cooperative proved to be every bit as effective. .
Tears began welling in her eyes. She’d let the one thing she despised the most happen to her: she’d cheated on her husband. To make matters worse, she’d enjoyed it immensely and could still feel the lingering effects of the intense pleasure he’d given her. She’d put up little to no fight at all, letting him drive her to new heights of sexual bliss she’d never known existed. In a nut shell, she’d just repeated what she’d passed judgment on Tina for doing.
“Tina, oh my God… please no.” The image of her best friend’s face paraded through her mind. The horrors of experiencing what had happened to Tina when she’d slept with a client sent a chill running up her spine. She’d lost practically everything, proving to be one hell of a costly mistake. “How can I face her after what I’ve done?”
Tina had warned her she’d better be careful around Ron. Powerful and extremely wealthy, he played by a different set of rules. She’d seen the way he looked at Toni, and could tell his interests were much deeper than just business. If she wasn’t careful, she’d fall prey to his persistent endeavors.
Though she knew he was always trying to touch her in a nonchalant manner, she felt sure she was immune to anything further. She assumed he was playing a mind game, using his position as the company’s largest investor, to see how far he could get. Toni however, had spent twenty years saying no. What scenario could he possibly present she hadn’t already seen? Well, she’d just found out.
“I knew I should’ve called Tina and asked her to go. Maybe then I’d have been safe.”
She drove away from his house attempting to put a safe distance between the two of them and give her a chance to think. What to do was the question playing over in her mind, as fear and doubt began plaguing her thoughts. She needed an answer to her questions to stop the haunting going on inside her mind.
“What am I gonna say to my husband? He’ll never believe me.” The seed of doubt planted by Ron was starting to grow. “When he finds out I was drinking he’ll think it’s my fault.”
She knew better than this, but the fear and anxiety of her situation overwhelmed her, clouding her judgment. Her husband had never had reason to doubt anything she’d said. Neither of them had ever lied to one another, building a trust between them that wasn’t easily shaken.
“I can’t tell him. He’ll leave me and I’ll lose him for ever.” She was convincing herself of an impending fate. “I’ll go see the doctor and have her take care of this first thing Monday morning. I just can’t let him find out what I’ve done.”
Trying to gain some sort of control over her emotions, Toni started to do what she did on a daily basis. The position she held in the business world insisted she make changes and decisions on the spur of the moment. She constantly shouldered the pressure involved with making huge financial decisions effecting thousands of lives. This time, however, the choices she was being forced to make involved the very core of her own life.
Wiping her eyes and gathering her composure, she picked up her cell phone and dialed her husband.
Anticipation and fear raced through her veins. She felt as if his answer was her curtain call and there was only one chance for a favorable review. Would he be able to tell something was wrong? If so, what would he say?
“Hello.” It was him.
The feelings of guilt and anxiety were upon her. Panic attempting to take over, she fought for control, telling herself, “This isn’t the time to choke, Toni. You need to deliver the performance of your life.”