Disclaimer: I do not own these characters.
Chapter 10:
"Shit," Ivy's voice is a mere whisper as she rewinds the video. Moving closer to the screen, she watched again as Veronica and Kate Webb embrace in the hallway before Ronnie carries her up the stairs to the bedroom.
"Shit," Ivy said again, clicking the pause icon on the screen. The heavy, sinking feeling hit her in the stomach. Ronnie, what are you doing? Ivy thought. She glanced over her shoulder, making sure Rachel hadn't snuck up on her, but she was alone. She had left Rachel, still asleep in her bed. Ivy hadn't been able to sleep much with Rachel laying there so close to her. Not to mention the fact, she was still trying to wrap her head around what had just happened between the two of them. So instead of laying there and staring at her ceiling, Ivy had slipped out to get some work done on this case. And now this.
Taking a deep breath, Ivy clicked the mouse on PLAY and watched last night's bedroom activities that were caught on camera four. Ivy's face paled as she watched Ronnie, her body slowly moving down the length of Kate's as they both lay in the bed. The camera caught the look of pleasure on Kate's face. No volume was necessary to know that she was thoroughly enjoying herself.
Ivy turned it off. Looking at the clock, she grabbed her cell phone off the table. She should be up by now, Ivy thought as she listened to Ronnie's line ring and ring. Ivy hung up before she got dumped into voice mail. Great. Just great. She scrolled through her incoming call log looking for Ronnie's work number. There we go, she thought as she jotted down the digits. Let's see if you are at work already.
The secretary's voice answered the call by the second ring. "Valentino, Archer and Luna Investments. This is the office of Veronica Ambrosio. How may I help you?"
"Yes, I need to speak with Ms. Ambrosio. Is she in the office today?" Ivy asked.
"Yes, she is. Who may I ask is calling?" the secretary asked.
"Tell her it's Ivy Tamwood, please."
"Please hold." The line clicked over to silence. Thankfully Valentino, Archer and Luna were not fans of Muzac on hold.
"Hello Ivy," Ronnie's voice sounded cheerful, "you are up early! To what do I owe this pleasant surprise?"
"Hi Ronnie," Ivy's voice sounded a little tired, even to her. "I'm sorry to bother you at work, but I really needed to talk to you."
"That's alright. I was just finishing a few last minute things before the trip. Is everything ok, Ivy? You sound a little…different." Ronnie asked, her voice showing the beginning of concern.
"That's because I don't quite know where to begin or how to ask this." Ivy said.
"Then just ask." Ronnie said.
"I am working on this case for a client, and I have to ask you something. Something rather personal."
"What do I have to do with your case, Ivy?" Ronnie asked.
"Ronnie, I need to know how you are acquainted with Kate Webb?" Ivy blurted out.
"What are you talking about? How do you know Kate?"
"I don't know her, Ronnie. Her husband hired me to hook up surveillance cameras in their house. Norman Webb is the client who hired me to see if his wife is cheating on him."
"Oh, shit." Ronnie breathed.
"That's what I said." Ivy rubbed her temple with her free hand. "Do you think we can talk?"
"Give me a minute to have Nicole move around some of my morning appointments. Can you hold on for a moment?" Ronnie asked.
"Sure, I'll wait." Ivy answered. It wasn't long before Veronica's voice was back on the line.
"I moved my day around, Ivy. Can you meet me at ten?"
Ivy glanced at the clock. "Where do you want to meet? Should I come up to your office?"
"No. I don't want to talk here. Can you meet me at the gazebo in Eden Park? Do you know the one that I mean?" Ronnie asked.
"That's fine, Ronnie. I know exactly where it is. I'll be there at ten."
"See you then." Ronnie said, and then hung up the phone.
Ivy clicked her phone shut, pushing it away from her on the table. She glanced down at her notebook that lay open in front of her. She wrote yesterday's date on the page but nothing else. Flipping the book closed, Ivy got up from the table and headed to her bathroom to get ready to meet her friend.
It was a beautiful day out as Ivy sat on the railing of the gazebo. The view was gorgeous as she looked out onto Eden Park. It was rather quiet here this time of day, especially on a Monday, and she and Ronnie would thankfully have the spot to themselves. Ivy turned as she heard the familiar cadence of steps approaching the gazebo on the sidewalk behind her. She levered herself down from the railing, giving Ronnie a little wave and a smile. A look of relief eased the tension on Ronnie's face when she saw Ivy's smile, and she returned it with one of her own.
Ivy walked toward Ronnie, meeting her and then turning to walk along side of her. "Thanks for meeting me," Ivy said as they slowly strolled down the sidewalk.
"I should be the one thanking you," Ronnie said, looking down slightly as they walked.
"Come on over here," Ivy pointed toward a bench overlooking the water, "we can sit and talk." The bench overlooked Mirror Lake, framed by the huge grove of trees in the background.
Both women sat on the bench, neither saying anything as they looked out at the water. Ronnie broke the silence first.
"How much did you see?" she asked quietly, still looking straight ahead.
"Enough to know that this wasn't the first time that you two were together." Ivy answered her voice neutral. "Is she your shadow?" Ivy asked, turning her head slightly to look at Ronnie.
"It's not like that," Ronnie said, turning her head to look at Ivy and then turning away again. "I mean, she's more than just a shadow. For me to explain, let me start at the beginning." Ivy sat back on the bench and crossed her legs, her shoulders relaxing as she listened while Ronnie began her story.
"Kate and I go way back. I met her when I was modeling. We worked in the same company. She came into her career near the end of mine. During that time, we became friends. She would come to me for advice about what certain clients were looking for, which photographers were better than others, typical concerns for our line of work. We enjoyed each other's company and we would often go out for drinks or dancing. We were just friends back then, honestly, she never indicated any romantic ideas toward me. In fact, she seemed to collect handsome men wherever we went. As I was saying, she came into her career as I was finishing. I left her behind at the company to go on to college, and Kate was one of the few friends I had from modeling that kept in touch with me. When I graduated, she even took me out to celebrate."
"Some time went on, and I got a job in my firm. I was working hard and doing well, moving up the ladder, but I was waiting for that one big investor to come along. That's when I get a call from Kate. She told me she met and married this great guy, an older guy with a lot of money. Kate had told him all about me being a big up-and-comer in the company, and he wants to meet with me. You know, have me look over his investment portfolio and see what I think. I set up an appointment with him, Norman Webb I mean, and look over his finances. Long story short, I give him my ideas and he likes them. So much so, that he transfers all his accounts to my company; to me. He was the big break I was waiting for. A year and a lot of dividends later, and he's a very, very wealthy man. We were both happy. I got my promotion and he got richer." Ronnie turned and gave Ivy a sad smile, and looked down at her hands in her lap. "That's when it all turned to shit," she said with a sigh.
"How could that be bad?" Ivy asked. "You both got what you wanted, didn't you?"
"I'm not very proud of this next part. I find it very difficult to speak of this with you. It is so not the person I am now."
"Ronnie, you know things about me that I'm not proud of. That didn't change your feelings about me, did it?" Ivy asked.
"I know," Ronnie said, her honey brown eyes looking into the dark brown of Ivy's, the sad smile still on her lips. "It's still hard to talk about though." Ivy reached over and touched Ronnie's hand. She left hers resting on Ronnie's and looked out at the water, waiting for her friend to continue when she was ready.
Ronnie waited for a few heartbeats, took a deep breath and began again. "Norman wanted to celebrate our success. He called me, inviting me to dinner with him and Kate. A "thank you" he said. I was a little taken with my success and agreed. Why not celebrate? We met and had dinner and drinks; maybe too many drinks. By the end of the evening things were getting very friendly. Norman and Kate invited me back to their place for a nightcap, and, for lack of better judgment, I agreed. I'm sure you can tell where this is going. Norman was looking for a ménage a trois. Imagine his surprise when I told him I didn't do men. Imagine mine when he told me he didn't have a problem watching me with his wife."
Ivy's eyebrows rose at that part, and she turned to look at Ronnie. "What did you do?"
Ronnie moved her hand out from under Ivy's. "I had been working constantly at that point. I didn't have much of a social life, and I only fed my blood lust here and there with some one night stands. There, in front of me, stood my friend with such a look of want in her eyes, what do you think I did?"
"Did you bite her, with her husband watching?" Ivy asked, turning herself on the bench to face her friend.
"God, no. I had my caps on. In the beginning, I always wore them for modeling and in the early days working with human investors. It made everyone more comfortable if I looked as they did. It wasn't until after my promotions when I worked with the undead clientele that I went without." Ronnie's cheeks flushed slightly as she continued. "No, that time I just fucked Kate while her husband watched."
Ivy sat there, quietly waiting to see if Ronnie would go on.
"I don't know what to say to justify what I did. I knew it was wrong, but I didn't care. I was lonely, drunk and she looked so good." Ronnie shook her head. "I thought it would end there. I normally don't make a point of sleeping with my clients, no matter how successful they are. But Kate kept calling. She said that she wanted to see me again. That Norman was fine with it. I agreed to meet her in hopes of telling her I couldn't continue."
"We met out for lunch, and I was prepared to tell her the other night was a mistake; I shouldn't have slept with her and could we still just remain friends. While we sat there picking at our food, Kate proceeded to tell me how the wonderful man she married wasn't so wonderful after all. She told me this wasn't the first time they had done that, picking up a third person to take home for sex I mean. Norman either had some problems in that department, or he had some serious kinks, she didn't say. Regardless, she told me he got off watching her with the other people.
"At first, she thought it was different, you know, kind of exciting. But as they continued to do this, the men Norman chose for her kept getting more rough and violent. Kate was afraid that the next man would really hurt her. So she made Norman ask me. She said she always liked me before when we worked together, that she had a girl crush on me, but didn't have the nerve to act on it. Now that she had, she told me she couldn't stop thinking about me. I had to tell her I wasn't what she thought I was. I had to tell her being with me was just as dangerous as the other men, even more so. I thought by telling her what I was, she would be so freaked out, she would end it. She didn't believe me. She said how could I be a living vampire? My teeth were just like hers. She wanted me to prove it to her."
"We left the restaurant and I went out to her car. While she watched me, I took off my caps. She became very quiet and asked me if I would please drive her home. She said she was a little shaken up. She was my friend and I felt horrible for scaring her this way. I drove her home and walked her into her house."
"Once we were inside, Kate was all over me. She began kissing me, telling me this only made her want me more. I had mistaken her silence for fear, when it was actually desire that she felt. I foolishly gave in, and was with her once again, without the watchful eyes of her husband. I accidentally nicked her with my teeth, breaking her skin. The taste of her blood drove me over the edge. I asked, and she begged me to bite her. I did, but I was careful. Careful not to take too much, careful to bite in places that most wouldn't be able to see. She loved it, and she said she loved me."
Ronnie paused for a moment and a shadow of a smile crossed her lips as she recalled the memories. "I'll admit, Ivy, I was smitten. We continued our affair. Norman was never again present when I was with Kate. She would tell me that he was becoming more and more demanding; wanting her to bring others home so he could watch. He was even insisting she go to places humans shouldn't be at after dark. Vampire bars, Were hang outs. His tastes were getting more dangerous."
Ronnie shrugged her shoulder. "I did what I thought was the right thing. I bound her to me. I placed my mark on her to keep the others away. I cared for her and I only wanted to keep her safe."
"You know you aren't the only one on the recordings that she brought home this week, right?" Ivy asked carefully.
"I know. This has been going on for a long time, her and I. I know she has other lovers, as she knows I have others as well. Norman is the one going crazy over it. He knows she has been with a vampire, he just doesn't know who. He threatens to divorce her, leave her with nothing if she doesn't include him again. She won't though, because I don't want him to know. I don't like how he treats her. How he tries to use his wealth and status to belittle her for his enjoyment. He doesn't appreciate her for who she is, and I dislike how he tries to harm my friend with his deviant ways. It is petty of me, but I take pleasure in the fact that this torments him so." Ronnie looked at Ivy and gave her an icy grin. There was no love lost between her and Norman Webb.
"I guess he thought that by hiring you, you would tell him what he wants to know. And now with your cameras, he can watch all he wants."
"Can he hurt you, I mean career-wise?" Ivy asked.
"No," Ronnie shook her head, the sunshine glinting in her highlights, "I have proven myself to the company and my clientele are above and beyond his level now. They won't get rid of me over something like that. I'll be fine."
"Well, what about Kate? If he finds out, will he leave her?"
"I have taken measures to provide for Kate," Ronnie said, smiling at Ivy. "Her husband doesn't know that she invested her savings from her modeling career with me, and if she were to be divorced from him, she would be very comfortable, financially, without him."
Ronnie paused and turned on the bench to face Ivy. "I am sorry to be telling you all this Ivy. While I have feelings for Kate, I still want you to know how much I care for you. I meant when I said I adore you, meu amor."
"Yours isn't the only confession today." Ivy said softly.
"What do you mean?" Ronnie asked.
It was Ivy's turn to look down. "Last night when you were with Kate, Rachel decided that she wanted to try moving our relationship up a level."
"I see," Ronnie said, "So, she finally admitted to having feelings for you. You must be so happy to finally hear what you have wanted for so long. Congratulations."
"It's not quite the way I had imagined it." With a soft sigh, Ivy looked out at the water, the sunshine reflecting off the rippling waves. "She says she wants to be with me, and in the next breath, she says she wants to take things slow."
Nodding her head, Ronnie gave Ivy another sad smile. "After all these years of waiting, you hear her say yes, only to be rewarded with more waiting. What is that saying? Poor is the man whose pleasure depends on the permission of another. I would say that sums things up for both of us quite nicely."
The women grew quiet for a moment as another couple walked past them. When they were out of earshot, Ivy spoke up. "I don't have to show the part of the recording with you and Kate. I can delete it if you think it will do more harm than good."
"You do what you think is right. I can't ask that of you, to compromise yourself. I am responsible for my actions, and I am prepared to take the consequences. I think Kate would agree." Ronnie gave Ivy's hand a little squeeze. She stood from the bench and looked down at Ivy. "I hope you know that I loved every moment spent with you these past few weeks. And I understand why you won't be coming with me tomorrow. Thanks for giving me a chance to explain myself." Ronnie turned and took a step before Ivy's hand shot out, grabbing Ronnie's wrist.
"Wait!" Ivy said, pulling Ronnie back to the bench. Ivy stood up, placing herself in front of Ronnie, and held both of Ronnie's hands in hers.
"What if I told you that I loved every moment spent with you?" Ivy looked down, not able to meet Ronnie's astonished stare. "What if I told you that I still want to go with you? That I like the way you make me feel? That I like having someone around that I don't have to hide my true self from? Would that be a bad thing to tell you?"
"I thought after all these years of chasing after Rachel… now that you have her, you would still want to go away with me?" Ronnie's voice held a glimmer of hope, and hearing it made Ivy's heart twinge.
"You are a very special friend to me. People like you don't come around very often. You have been there for me all these years, listening to me talk about my problems, just being a good friend. We spent the past few weeks together, and I have to admit, you spoiled me. I don't know when someone went to all the trouble you did to show me a fun time. No strings attached." Ivy reached up and touched Ronnie's cheek, holding her hand there. "I know it sounds crazy, but I can't turn off my feelings for you. I understand what you mean about Kate, because I think I feel the same way about Rachel. I care for her and I want to see where things might go, but I don't want to lose you in the process. Is that a horrible thing to say?"
Ronnie smiled and squeezed Ivy's hand in her own. "Hearing you say this actually makes me feel better. I think we are capable of loving several people for different reasons. But, what about Rachel? Won't she have something to say about this?"
Ivy lowered her hand from Ronnie's face. She turned and offered Ronnie her arm. When Ronnie took it, they slowly began walking back to their cars. Squinting into the sunlight, Ivy spoke softly. "She knows that I made a promise to you to go to Brazil. I don't break my promises. I think it will be good for everyone involved to get away from things for a few days. Let feelings settle down, gather our thoughts." They walked in silence for a few steps, arm in arm as other families and couples went past. "Do you still want me to go?" Ivy asked, with a sideways glance.
"More than anything," Ronnie said with a genuine smile, "more than anything."