A great collaboration…
As Eva pulled into the parking lot of The Denton Pharmaceutical Company, she saw Sarah getting into her car. She was crying. A bit puzzled, Eva parked the car and watched Sarah drive away. She shrugged it off for the moment, and started on her way inside the building.
Walking into the lobby, she greeted the receptionist. "How are you today, Amy?"
Amy returned her smile. "I'm fine, Mrs. Falconer. You're here to see your husband?"
Eva nodded. "Yes. Is he here?"
"Yes, he's on his phone at the moment. I'll let him know you're here as soon as he hangs up."
Eva held up a hand. "Would you mind not doing that? I'd really like to surprise him."
The receptionist paused. "Well, I'm really not supposed to allow unannounced visitors into the upper floors…" When she saw Eva's pleading look, however, she laughed. "Oh, I'm sure Dr. Falconer won't mind…since it's you. Go on up."
Eva gave her a grateful smile. "Thank you so much."
When she stepped into the elevator, a smile spread across her lips. At this moment, she was filled with the most blissful feelings. She was truly lucky, just as Amanda had said.
When Eva got to Frank's door, she peeked in. He was on the phone, his back to the doorway. She snuck in and positioned herself behind him.
"Yes, well, I would like to have those figures by Tuesday…No, no, Wednesday is too late…Yes…all right…thank you." Before he turned to hang up the phone, Eva gently moved his curly locks and kissed the side of his neck. He pulled away and, as he turned in his chair, began to say, "What the hell is your prob…" He stopped speaking when he saw his wife sitting on his desk. The look on Eva's face made his heart sink to the lobby of the building. "Oh, darling, I'm so sorry."
Eva got up from his desk and backed away just enough to make Frank feel even worse. "Um, does someone in the office kiss your neck often?"
"No, er, I just… nobody does that, I mean you do that…" Eva was the only person in the universe who could make Frank stumble over his words.
Eva was looking for an explanation. "You want to try that again?"
Oh, God, what was he going to do? He hadn't had a chance to figure out how to handle the news about Sarah before Eva had arrived. After some quick, frantic deliberation, he cleared his throat and decided the only way to resolve this awkward situation was to tell Eva the whole, ugly truth. As painful as it would be, it was something she needed to hear.
"Eva, I think you need to sit back down a moment. I'm afraid I have a bit of unpleasant news for you." The look in Eva's eyes made Frank panic. "No, no, love, it isn't what you're thinking…believe me."
Eva looked into Frank's eyes; she knew he'd done nothing wrong. "Sorry for getting all 'womanish' on you," she said, sitting down. "What's wrong?"
Frank took a deep breath and took Eva's hands in his. "I had a visitor today. A rather disagreeable one."
"Oh?" Eva was worried already.
"Yes…your sister."
"Sarah? Well, that explains seeing her outside…"
"You saw her?"
"Yes, but she didn't see me. She was crying. Frank, what happened?"
He saw Eva's questioning eyes and began to explain. "Sarah came to see me with…a proposition."
Eva looked at him, confusion written all over her face. "A 'proposition'? What do you mean?"
Frank sighed. "I don't quite know how to say this."
Eva released his hands and ran her fingers through his hair. "Frank, whatever it is, just say it. I promise, I can take it."
Frank took a deep breath. "All right. Sarah saw the two of us on the dance floor at Columbia's, and apparently came to the conclusion I would be…a compatible sexual partner."
Eva stared at him, aghast. Tears filled her eyes. "Frank, what happened? What did she do?"
He rubbed his eyes wearily, then looked back at her. "To make a long, nasty story short, she attempted to seduce me."
Oh God, not again…Finally, Eva choked out, "Seduce you?"
He nodded, his expression grim. "Yes. I'm still completely amazed she thought she had a prayer of succeeding. Certainly she knows how much I love you. At any rate, she apparently believed her sexual appeal to be considerably more compelling than it actually is."
Eva whispered, "What did you do?"
Frank looked at her a bit uneasily. "I don't quite know if you'll approve of my tactics, but I need to be completely honest with you." He paused a moment, then continued. "After declaring there was no way I could refuse her, she sat down on my lap and kissed me. I returned her kiss."
"You what?"
"I kissed her…exactly the way she wanted me to kiss her. I deliberately set out to arouse her…and I did."
Eva took a deep breath and waited for Frank to continue. He obliged. "I know this will sound strange, but I did it out of a desire for revenge."
"Revenge?"
He nodded. "Yes. I wanted to punish her."
"So you did it by giving her an incredible kiss? Exactly how does that constitute punishment?"
Frank, seeing Eva was getting upset, pulled her onto his lap and put his arms around her. "As I said to her, I wanted to give her a taste of what she would never be able to get from me...a very small taste of what the two of us share with each other every single day. I wanted to torment her with the knowledge of the indescribable pleasure we bring each other. For the torment to be its most effective, I needed her to feel some of that pleasure for herself." He grimaced. "Perhaps I haven't left 'the old me' quite as far behind as I'd wanted to believe."
Frank held his breath as Eva sat in silent contemplation of his words. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she smiled faintly and shook her head slowly, her eyes glistening with tears. She leaned down and kissed him tenderly. "Thank you."
When they broke the kiss, Frank looked at her. "Why did you thank me?"
She gave him a shaky smile. "For loving me enough to want to punish Sarah on my behalf. I understand why you did what you did. It might not have been the nicest way to turn her down…but somehow that doesn't bother me very much at the moment." She choked back a sob. "I don't know how I could exist without you."
Frank's own eyes filled with tears. "My love, you have my vow…as long as it is within my power, that is something you will never have to discover." He glanced over at his open office door. He wiped away his tears and smiled. "Eva, would you mind getting up a moment?"
Obligingly, she rose from his lap. He went over to the door and gently closed it. "As was not the case with my last female visitor, I would very much like our 'discussion' to continue behind closed doors."
Eva smiled at him, and the happiness she'd felt as she walked into the building began to flow back into her body. Sarah wasn't important. With her actions today, she proved beyond the shadow of any doubt she was no more worthy of consideration than was John. What was important was her relationship with the man who was, at this very moment, healing her aching heart with his kiss.
She was right all along. She was lucky.