CHAPTER 29

The next morning, Robin woke up with dry, scratchy eyes from crying. She looked around as her alarm clock went off with Dean lying next to her and Baron asleep in one of the chairs in the bedroom. Her alarm woke them up and she sat up to face them.

"Good morning, Tweety." Dean sat up and kissed her as Baron came over to her bedside.

"Hey baby. How are you feeling?" Baron caressed her face and she started to tear up again.

"I have to get up…" Robin tried to get up, but Dean stopped her.

"Just lay down. You're not going anywhere until we talk." Dean wrapped his arms around her.

"But, the kids!" Robin tried to fight against Dean's arms, but there was no use.

"I got the kids up. They both ate and they're watching TV until I take them to daycare." Baron stroked her hair as he tried to calm her down.

"You can take a day off, Tweety. I heard you didn't have such a good night."

"What are you guys even doing here?" Robin finally gave up and laid back down.

"Liv called me last night and said something was up. We took the red eye in town and got here a couple hours ago." Dean got up out of the bed and stood waiting for an explanation.

"She didn't have to call you guys…I'm fine." Robin started to get up, but laid back down when she saw the stern look on Dean and Baron's faces.

"You're not fine, Robin. Why don't you tell us what's going on?" Baron sat on the bed as Robin started to tear up again and he followed her eyes to Dean. "How about I take the kids to daycare and I'll be right back?" Baron kissed her on the forehead and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

"Ok Tweety…it's just you and me…talk to me." Dean sat on the bed next to her and wiped her tears away.

"I don't know where to start…"

"How about the beginning?" Dean sat back with his arms folded to let her know he wasn't going to budge.

"I slept with Lucas…" Robin broke down in tears before she could elaborate.

"Last night?!" Dean unfolded his arms in shock.

"No…it was years ago before I even met you. I didn't remember him until he came into my office yesterday and jogged my memory. He knows Baron is Mason's dad and he's threatening to leak info about our relationship to the local media. With everything going on right now in the mayor's office, this could be catastrophic for re-election." Dean stood and pounded his fist into his hand.

"This guy needs his ass kicked!" Dean paced the floor.

"Dean, he's a US congressman…you can't just go up and kick his ass!" Robin sat up in bed worrying that Dean was going to run out of the house and try to find Lucas. "I knew somebody would find out that Baron is Mason's dad sooner or later, but he plans to let the media know about our arrangement. He said he put it together at the mayor's party."

"He doesn't have any proof of that…"

"Baby, it's not about proof with the media. They'll crucify me based on speculation. We'll have reporters staked outside of our house, snapping pictures of our kids, and talking to our neighbors just to get a little bit of dirt. Mayor Kenney is trying to minimize negative press in his office right now. They're already calling his office 'The Den of Infidelity'. They've dug up dirt on the mayor and a few of his aides that have had affairs and gone through crazy divorces. This could be career suicide for me."

"What can we do about this, Tweety?" Dean sat back down and saw something in her eyes that he couldn't decipher.

"Lucas wants me to sleep with him…and his wife." Robin sat back watching the outrage grow on Dean's face.

"He's trying to blackmail you for sex?! Fucking politicians!"

"Calm down Dean…I'm trying to think of how I can get around this, but I know I don't have much time before he leaks the info he has to the press. I was young and stupid when I slept with Lucas…I even let him take some pictures, which I'm sure will come out with the story!" Robin started to cry again and Dean tried to comfort her as much as he could, but he was furious.

"You're not seriously thinking about doing this, are you?!" Dean leaned back to observe her expression.

"I'm thinking about it…if it'll keep him off my back, it might be worth it. It's just sex." Dean stood up and paced the floor again.

"You're seriously gonna fuck this dude and his wife?!"

"I might have a plan, Dean…just trust me, sugar." Robin got up and went over to wrap her arms around Dean's neck.

"I trust you, but if this dude keeps pushing my buttons, I know a couple of guys in Cincinnati that specialize in handling problems!" Robin laughed knowing that Dean was serious.

"Give me a chance to try things my way…if that doesn't work, you can call your goons." She kissed him and he put her back in bed just as Baron was coming back into the bedroom. He dropped the kids off as quickly as he could. The daycare was only up the block and he was in a hurry to get back to Robin.

"It's nice to see you smiling again, Robin." Baron stood at the door looking at Dean for information. Dean nodded his head towards the door to let Baron know he'd fill him in once they were outside the room.

"You relax for a while and let us take care of you, Tweety." Dean and Baron gave her a kiss before leaving the room to go make breakfast for her. She laid there feeling grateful for the men in her life and she was fully prepared to try any dirty trick she had in her arsenal to protect her family.

Across town, Chloe was going through the motions of her day. She was in a daze thinking about the bomb Corey dropped on her earlier that morning. She sat in her office in a funk until it was time for her first class.

"I've graded your essays and some of them need a lot of work. To those who managed to get a decent grade, congratulations…keep up the good work. Continue to get comfortable with the material in the next two chapters. You may have a pop quiz in the very near future…have a great day and I'll see you all on Thursday." Chloe gathered her papers to get ready for her next class when a flower delivery man showed up at the door.

"I have a delivery for Dr. Chloe Toussaint." He handed the beautiful bouquet of daisies to her and she thanked him before reading the card.

Chloe,

I'm so sorry…Please return my calls…I love you.

Corey

Chloe took the card from the arrangement and noticed one of her students was still sitting in her desk sulking over the grade of her essay.

"Here, Jennifer…" Chloe handed her the flowers. "You didn't do that bad. Just go over the material again and you'll be fine." Jennifer's face lit up as she sniffed the flowers.

"Thanks, Dr. Toussaint…I'll do better next time!" Jennifer walked out of the classroom with the flowers Corey sent to Chloe with a renewed pep in her step. Chloe ripped up the card and threw it in the trash before taking a moment to try and focus on her next class. She took a second to check her cell phone and there were about 10 calls from Corey and one from Randy. She didn't want to take her heartache from Corey out on Randy, but she wasn't in the mood to deal with any man. Maybe she'd call him later, but right now she was just trying to get through the day.

After her 4pm class, her last of the day, Chloe headed to her office for her office hours. She hadn't been in her office for 5 minutes when there was a knock on her door.

"Hey Dr. Toussaint. Do you have a minute?" It was Dr. Alexander Simpson. He was a highly respected Tenured English Professor who had been with the university for over 15 years.

"Of course, Dr. Simpson. How can I help you?" Chloe put down the book she was reading and gave him her undivided attention.

"Well, I'm assisting Dr. Henderson in the organization of the Faculty mixer and I wanted to personally deliver your invitation." He laid the envelope on her desk.

"Thank you, Dr. Simpson, but I didn't expect to get my invitation to be hand delivered by one of the heads of the English department." Chloe laughed as she opened the invitation.

"Well, I don't typically hand deliver the invitations, but I wanted to personally make sure you received yours." He smiled exposing his pearly white teeth, accented by smooth light brown skin and a perfectly trimmed salt and pepper goatee.

"Well, I appreciate that, Dr. Simpson…"

"Please, call me Alex."

"Alex…thank you for delivering my invitation."

"The pleasure was all mine, Dr. Toussaint. I hope to see you there." Alex left her office leaving Chloe to chuckle at his blatant, yet politically correct flirtation. She'd think about going to the mixer later. She wasn't in a hurry to commit to anything with the way she was feeling.

In a home office in Villanova, Liv was finishing up a conference call concerning the designer she checked out in New York yesterday.

"I really think this designer is what we need to round out our plus sized department for the spring. His designs are fresh and reaffirm the sexiness of the full figured woman." Liv sat back in her chair, twirling a pen.

"I can't wait to see the samples from his spring line, Olivia. We'll make the decision before the end of the week." Liv's boss was excited about how she had overhauled the limited plus sized department in just a few short months.

"Thanks, Eric. I'll be in touch with you soon." Liv hung up and glanced at her clock to see that it was 6pm. She knew Seth was probably just getting out of the doctor's appointment he was telling her about. She tapped her pen on her desk as she thought about calling him. She picked up her cell phone and was just about to hit the button to call him when Wade knocked on her office door.

"Hey Livy, you busy?" Wade's green eyes sparkled as he smiled at her through the cracked door. He came home on the red eye with some of the guys that morning and surprised her by telling her he had Tuesday night off from Smackdown.

"No, baby. I was just getting off of a call." She greeted him with a kiss before he sat down on her the edge of her desk.

"How about we go out for dinner tonight?"

"Sounds good…I'm done for the day. So I can go get dressed now." Liv popped up from her desk and kissed him before sprinting towards the door, absentmindedly leaving her cell phone on top of her desk. Wade was never the type to snoop through Liv's personal belongings, but he couldn't help but to see Seth's name and number on her screen as if she were about to call him. He picked up the phone and went to her call log to see that she had a lengthy conversation with Seth last night. He didn't want to look any further, but he had a feeling that Liv was sexually frustrated last night because her Rabbit was still on the bed when he got in earlier that morning. He didn't want to assume anything without talking to her personally. He walked upstairs to hear her singing in the shower. Whatever she did to deal with her sexual frustration last night obviously put her in a good mood. If she was happy, so was he…even if that meant him turning a blind eye to some things.

Wade took her to Maggiano's because he remembered her saying how much she enjoyed the dinner there with Seth. Liv felt a little funny sitting in the same section and getting the same waiter. When the waiter saw her, he gave her a weird look because she was with a different man, but he gave them exceptional service nonetheless.

"Livy, I need to talk to you about something…" Wade put his beer down and looked directly into her eyes. "I noticed you had to call in the pinch hitter last night…" Liv almost choked on her food thinking he was talking about Seth.

"Umm…..what?" She guzzled at her wine.

"Your Rabbit…" Wade leaned in and gave her a devilish grin. Olivia sighed with relief and laughed along with Wade. "Yeah, you must've put him to work because you fell asleep with it on the bed. I saw it when I got in this morning."

"Well, I was a little frustrated last night…that's all." Olivia was still sipping at her wine to wash down the food she almost choked on.

"I know you're a sexual woman, Liv. And I know I'm not home a lot. That can't be easy for you."

"It gets tough sometimes…" Liv was growing more and more uncomfortable.

"But I just want you to know that you have my blessing to do whatever you need to do when I'm not around." Wade lifted her chin to make her look into his eyes. "Do you understand?" Olivia was giving him a confused look that showed him that he needed to elaborate.

"No…I don't think I understand." Olivia finished her entrée and the rest of her wine. Wade signaled for the waiter to come over with the check. After paying and exiting the restaurant as quickly as possible, Wade got her in the car so he could speak candidly.

"Liv, I'm not the type to check up on you, and you know that, but I understand that you have needs. I'm totally satisfied, but my schedule is what's causing you to feel deprived and I want to do what I have to in order to make it right."

"What exactly are you saying, Wade?" Liv turned in her seat to look at him as he zipped on the highway back to their house.

"I'm not saying I want a Dean and Robin situation, but I want you to feel free to have sex, in whatever capacity, with other men when I'm not around." It was becoming clearer to Liv that Wade knew about her phone sex with Seth.

"What's bringing this on? Do you wanna have sex with somebody else?!" Liv was getting mad and Wade put his hand on her thigh to calm her down.

"Liv…I only want you, you know that. But I understand if you have to fill in the gaps with someone else. It would just be sex. I'm not talking about an open relationship." Wade turned into their drive way and Liv was still speechless. She knew he knew about her and Seth and he was being too much of a gentleman to come out and say it. "I want you to do whatever makes you happy, Liv." Wade leaned over and kissed her before getting out of the car to go around and open her door. When she got out she kissed him with gratitude and he pushed her up against the car.

"I love you, Wade."

"I love you too, Livy…now let me go show you how much. You won't be needing your battery operated friend tonight." Wade chased her into the house where they made love in damn near every room before passing out in their bed. Olivia was so grateful for the opportunity he was giving her…even if she wasn't so sure she'd take advantage of it just yet.