Power Play: A Novel Read online

  Marshall spoke to all of their children on the phone that night and explained the situation to them about the threatened lawsuit, the settlement to avoid it, at UPI’s request, and Megan Wheeler’s admission that her claims against him had been false. Lindsay said it was embarrassing, John offered his sympathy and support, and Tom didn’t believe him, but didn’t want to upset his mother by challenging them and accusing his father of being a liar and a cheat. Marshall could hear it in his tone and curt responses on the phone.

  It was all over by seven o’clock that night. Marshall called Connie again to thank her and the board for supporting him, and Connie said that it had been worth it to avoid a scandal for UPI. They had done what they felt was best. And everyone was relieved that it had been resolved so quickly, despite the price.

  Marshall went to bed that night, thinking of Ashley, and knowing that he would have to deal with her in L.A. the next day. But the worst was over. And most important, he hadn’t lost his job or been publicly disgraced. He had been vindicated. And Liz lay in bed next to him, looking tired but reassured. She had never wavered for a moment and trusted him completely.

  “It has certainly been an insane couple of days,” he said as they lay in the dark, thinking about it again.

  “Things like this happen,” Liz said quietly, grateful that it was over and the woman had finally told the truth. It would have been a lot worse for all of them if she hadn’t. But at no time had Liz doubted him. She was absolutely certain that Marshall was telling her the truth the entire time, and all she had felt was compassion that he had to go through it, and total faith in him.

  Marshall felt like he’d had a near-death experience, and knew just how narrowly he had escaped. He closed his eyes then, and with an overwhelming sense of relief, he fell asleep. The nightmare was over, and all he wanted to do now was get back to Ashley, see their babies, and put his arms around her. It had been an agonizing three days. But all was well, and he was safe.

  Chapter 8

  Marshall boarded the UPI jet for the flight to L.A., a day later than usual, still shaken by everything that had happened. He had brought a briefcase full of paperwork with him on the plane, but never touched it. He just sat staring out the window, thinking of Ashley, and trying to force the vision of Megan Wheeler from his mind. It was frightening to realize how easily she could have brought him down, how close she had come to doing so. His name had been cleared, thanks to UPI’s support. He was a chastened man, and was well aware that his brief fling with Megan Wheeler had been a huge mistake. It had all started one night when they both had too much to drink at a client event, met for another drink afterward, and it had snowballed from there. Thank God she had recanted. She could have brought about the end of his career, and his marriage.

  When the plane landed in L.A., he didn’t go to his office, and had the car and driver drop him off at his apartment instead. He didn’t bother to change, but picked up the Jaguar and headed for Malibu on Pacific Coast Highway. It was a hot, sunny day, and he had taken off his coat and tie, and put the top down, and as always drove too fast. He was anxious to see Ashley now, and calm her down, after their unsettling conversation the day before. He had sent her two text messages late that night, and again this morning, and she hadn’t answered.

  He parked in front of the garage at the house in Malibu and saw that her car was there. He was relieved that she was home and the kids were at camp. He hadn’t wanted to wait until that night to talk to her. The only thing he was afraid of now was her reaction to the affair he had been accused of. He could tell that she hadn’t believed him, when he said he was innocent of the Wheeler woman’s claims. And the only ones who knew the truth now were Megan herself, Simon Stern, and the board of UPI, and no one would ever mention it again. They had all signed confidentiality agreements, binding them to silence, and she had turned over the negatives of the photographs.

  He found Ashley in the studio in a white T-shirt and pink denim shorts. She was holding a mug of tea, and staring blindly out the window, and didn’t hear him come in. She felt his hand on her arm, and knew who it was, but she didn’t turn to see him. She didn’t want to. All she could think of was seeing him with Liz on TV, holding hands. And then slowly, she looked at him, and he could see her beautiful, ravaged face, that showed all the agony she felt.

  “Why aren’t you in the office?” she asked in a broken voice. She felt as though her heart had been shattered in a million pieces the day before, first by the affair he’d been accused of, and then by the sight of his holding hands with Liz at the press conference, as she stood staunchly beside him, the loving wife who Ashley always tried to pretend didn’t exist. But she did, and Ashley had seen clearly how much Liz cared about him, and Marshall’s hand on hers had spoken volumes.

  “I wanted to see you,” he said quietly, and pulled up a stool to sit beside her. “I’m sorry I had to call and tell you about the threatened lawsuit yesterday. It upset me too. It’s all over.” His voice was warm and reassuring.

  “I know,” she said, as she set the mug of tea down and looked at him. She didn’t know if she was seeing him, or a stranger. Suddenly, he looked different to her. “I saw your press conference last night. How much did they have to pay her to withdraw the suit?”

  “Two million dollars,” he said honestly. “It’s an advance on my end-of-the-year bonus. We would have won the suit, but they didn’t want the bad publicity. It was just easier to settle. That’s how those things work. Sometimes you have to settle even false claims. That was what she wanted. I hate giving her a penny for lying about me, but at least it’s over. It would have been a nightmare fighting it in court.” Ashley nodded and said nothing. He didn’t ask her if she believed him. He could see she didn’t.

  “So when did you have the affair with her?” Ashley dragged her eyes to his, and they burned into him like hot coals.

  “I told you. I didn’t. She got fired, and she was angry about it. She decided to take it out on me. It was a cheap shot, but it worked.”

  “I don’t believe you,” Ashley said quietly in a voice he had never heard before. It frightened him to look at her—she looked as though she were a million miles away. He wanted to put his arms around her to bring her back again, but he didn’t dare. She looked like she might bolt, or scream.

  “I know you don’t, Ash,” he said just as quietly. “But I didn’t sleep with her. I don’t even know her.” His mind shut out the letters and the photographs. All he could think of now was Ashley, and the relationship he was trying to save, just as he had fought to save his job the day before, and his marriage, whatever it took.

  “You lied to me about Liz too,” she said with heartbroken eyes. “You said your marriage is over, and has been for years.”

  “I was telling you the truth about that too. It still is. Our marriage has been dead for years.”

  “You were holding her hand on TV. I saw it,” Ashley said as tears rolled down her cheeks, and he gently brushed one away. She didn’t move toward him, nor pull away. She looked like a beautiful statue with soft curly hair. And he didn’t try to explain why he was holding his wife’s hand the day before.

  “This was hard on her too. It was public humiliation for all of us. The company, my family, Liz, me, you. That woman hit us all where we live.” He looked angry as he said it. “And I hate that it hurt you too,” he said sympathetically.

  “It hurt just as much watching you hold hands with Liz. Your marriage isn’t dead. She looked like all those politicians’ wives who stand next to their husbands while they deny having affairs, or confess publicly and cry about it. And the wife forgives him publicly to make him look good. She loves you. I realized that for the first time yesterday. And you love her. I saw it in your eyes when you looked at her. You’re still totally married to her. That’s why you’ve never left her. You lied to me. It’s not about your kids. It’s about you and her. There’s no room in your life for me.”

  “I wouldn’t be here now, Ash, if t
here weren’t,” he said gently. “I love you and our girls more than anything in the world. And when Lindsay leaves next year, I’ll be ready. And so will Liz. I think she knows it’s coming. My heart hasn’t been there for years. This was different. It was a highly publicized assault on all of us. We had to make it look good.”

  “Your holding hands with Liz looked real to me,” she said, as she got up and walked away and stood staring out the window. Marshall came up behind her and put his arms around her, and she didn’t move.

  “It wasn’t real,” he assured her in a whisper. “It was for TV. This is real. You and I are real, and we always will be.”

  “What about the other woman?” she asked, as he stood behind her with his arms around her waist. Her fluff of curly hair was brushing his chin, and he could smell her shampoo, and the fresh clean smell he loved about her, a combination of soap and faint perfume.

  “What about her?” Marshall said, debating what to tell her. There was suddenly a lot at stake here, and he knew it.

  “Tell me the truth. Don’t lie to me. I know you slept with her. I can feel it.” She turned and looked him in the eye, and her gaze didn’t waver.

  He hesitated for a long moment, and then decided to tell her the truth, a version of it. She didn’t have to know about the photographs, or how long it had lasted. He didn’t want to hurt her any more than he already had, which in his mind justified modifying the truth for her. It was more than he was willing to tell Liz. But the circumstances here were different. Ashley was aware of things Liz didn’t know, that he was unfaithful and didn’t always tell the truth.

  “It was a one-night stand, and I was drunk out of my mind. It happened two years ago, when you and I were fighting, and I was upset. That’s all it was, Ash, a one-time fling, and I never saw her again.” There had been a time two years before when Ashley had threatened to leave him if he wouldn’t get divorced. Then Lindsay had had a crisis, Liz had gotten sick, which turned out to be less serious than they thought, the twins had started school, and Ashley had calmed down. Until now. But by reminding her of the timing, Marshall thought it might make sense to her.

  “How do I know you’re telling me the truth?” she said suspiciously, but she remembered the time, and it was conceivable to her that he had slipped, although she never would have done that herself.

  “You don’t,” he said candidly. “But you know I love you. That’s why I’m here.”

  “Yeah,” she said, as tears rolled down her cheeks again, “and you love Liz too. I could see it.” She started to sob then and buried her face in his chest as he held her. She loved him so much, and now she was afraid they would never be together as she had hoped. He was married to a real woman and Ashley had seen that she loved him too.

  “I respect Liz,” Marshall said as he held Ashley. “We have a lot of history together, nearly thirty years, and three kids.”

  “We have eight, and two kids. That counts for something too,” Ashley said, feeling pathetic for even saying it to him. And as she did, he tipped her face up to his and kissed her.

  “We have a lot more than that. We have something very special, Ash, that I’ve never had with anyone else.” It hadn’t stopped him from sleeping with Megan Wheeler, Ashley knew now, but at least he had been honest with her about it, or so she thought. “And one of these days, we’ll be together. I just want to get Lindsay through high school and out of the house. Then it will be our turn.” But she wondered now if it ever would be, and now she was questioning if Liz would really let him go. She had been so staunch beside him at the press conference. It had been obvious that for Liz their marriage wasn’t dead, and Marshall was still her man. But he was Ashley’s too.

  Ashley didn’t answer him, and he kissed her then, and the next thing she knew he was holding her so tight she could hardly breathe, their clothes were off, and they couldn’t get enough of each other. It happened as it always did, and this time they never made it to her bedroom, they made love on the small battered couch in her studio. And whenever they made love, she forgot everything she was afraid of in their relationship, all the times he had disappointed her. She forgot everything in his arms, and afterward they lay together, and it all came back to her. She couldn’t get the image of his wife out of her head now, and the realization that she was nothing to him, just the woman he made love to in L.A. and slept with two days a week. Nothing else about their life was real, except the twins.

  He showered and dressed for the office after he made love to her, and he had to rush. He had a luncheon appointment, and he had put everything aside while he was with her. He could see that she felt better, but when he looked at her closely, he was aware of a worried look when he kissed her goodbye.

  “I love you. That’s all you need to know.” She nodded, feeling dazed by everything he’d said and their lovemaking. She couldn’t think clearly when she was around him, and he kissed her again. “See you tonight.” He was only going to be able to spend one night in Malibu that week, because he had been busy dealing with the sexual harassment suit. She would have liked him to spend Friday night with them, to make up for it. But she knew he never could. He always went home for the weekends, which frightened her now too. He said he played golf on Saturdays with clients, but now she wondered what else he did with Liz. The vision of their clasped hands at the press conference was still haunting her, and maybe always would. She had gotten a glimpse into his married life that she had never had before.

  She heard the old Jaguar drive off, and went upstairs to shower. She was just coming downstairs in her T-shirt and shorts again when Bonnie showed up. She had gotten hired to work on another movie, but she wasn’t starting for two more weeks.

  “Is Prince Charming in town?” Bonnie asked as she looked at her, and helped herself to a Coke from the fridge.

  “He got here today,” Ashley said quietly. She didn’t want to get in an argument with Bonnie over him. And recent events in his life were hard to defend, especially now that she knew the truth, that he had cheated on her, even if it was a one-night stand. “He’s leaving tomorrow.”

  “I saw his press conference last night,” Bonnie said, as they went to sit outside on the deck. It was a hot day, and both women looked like kids as they lay on deck chairs in the sun.

  “Yeah, me too.” Neither of them commented on his wife standing with him, but Bonnie knew Ashley must have seen it too, and their holding hands.

  “It sounds like he got out of it pretty cleanly. They must have paid her a bundle to take back what she said,” Bonnie said.

  “Maybe so.” Ashley didn’t want to discuss it with her, but as she lay on the deck near her friend, Ashley’s heart sank, at the realization of what had really happened. Marshall had cheated on her, and he had a wife who was willing to stand by him through thick and thin, and he had just told her that morning that he couldn’t leave his wife for another year, until their daughter graduated. He had said as much to Ashley before, but it was different now that she had seen how Liz looked at him, and how Marshall looked at her. It was a much stronger bond between them than Ashley had realized, and one which she felt no power to interfere with. And it was a tie that had not yet been severed and maybe never would be. She wasn’t angry about it anymore, just sad.

  “You okay, Ash?” Bonnie asked her friend gently, and Ashley shrugged.

  “More or less.” Bonnie suspected what was troubling her. She had seen the same connection between Liz and Marshall that Ashley had the day before. It didn’t surprise Bonnie, and had confirmed her worst fears, and now she was even sadder for her friend.

  “Why don’t we do something with the girls this weekend? Maybe take them to Venice, or go to Disneyland or something. You look like you need a break.” More than that, she needed to have some fun, instead of sitting at home obsessing over Marshall, crying about him, or waiting for him to come to L.A. for a day or two. Ashley needed a lot more in her life.

  “Yeah, maybe,” Ashley said without enthusiasm. The last two d
ays had left her feeling depressed. It was hard to rev up her motors again. All her tires were flat.

  “You have a choice, you know,” Bonnie said softly. She always tried to be the voice of reason for Ashley, out of friendship, but she never got anywhere. “You don’t have to stand by him forever if it’s killing you. You can get out of it, or even go to a shrink to help you do it, if you can’t do it alone.”

  “I know,” Ashley said as she started to cry again. She felt as though she had done nothing but cry for the past two days. Seeing him on TV with Liz had been too hard, and a revelation she had never wanted to face. She had never even seen a photograph of her till then, in eight years. She was twenty years older than Ashley, but she was still a pretty woman, in a suburban-soccer-mom kind of way. And in her simple black dress, she had looked like the perfect corporate wife that she was, something Ashley knew she could never be. She wondered now if that was why he stayed with her too, not just for the kids. “I don’t really have a choice,” Ashley said to Bonnie then. And maybe Liz didn’t either. Ashley wondered about that now too.

  “Why not?” Bonnie looked puzzled and hoped she wasn’t pregnant again. It would just tie her to him even more.

  “I love him too much,” Ashley said, as she brushed away her tears, and the wind blew her curls and framed her face with them. She looked like an exquisite angelic child, and not just the vulnerable woman that she was. “I can’t leave him. I would die.”

  “He may destroy you if you stay,” Bonnie said seriously.

  “I know,” Ashley said, looking straight at her, and the worst of it was that she seemed as though she did know, and was completely lucid about how dangerous he was for her.

  “Don’t let him wreck your life,” Bonnie begged her, and Ashley nodded, and for a long time they lay on the deck, soaking up the sun and saying nothing at all. Bonnie was even more frightened for her now than she had been before. And she knew, looking at Ashley, that Marshall Weston owned her, body and soul. He was a man of extraordinary powers. And Ashley was like a feather on the wind, and no match for him at all.