Our Wicked Lies by Gledé Kabongo (story read aloud TXT) 📗

in my jewelry case all along— thank goodness. I wanted to check if he’d ordered another, so I could cancel it, and make up for my silliness.” Alicia directed a radiant smile at Patrick, the sharply dressed associate with minty breath and an impressive man bun.

“You must be so happy it turned up,” Patrick said. “Let me look up some information for you.” He tapped a few keys on the computer and concentrated on the screen.

“Looks like you’re safe.” He drew his attention back to Alicia. “Mr. Gray has not purchased a replacement. The original he bought five years ago is the only record we have.”

She placed a palm over her chest. “Oh, that’s good to hear. I can’t wait to tell him that I found it. The original has sentimental value to me. The inscription, the first time he read it out loud to me. Anyway, sorry… I’m rambling. Thank you, Patrick. You’ve been so helpful.”

She slid her purse over her shoulder and turned to walk out of the store, when Patrick said, “Try not to lose the matching earrings. Not that I would mind the commission if they needed replacing.”

Alicia froze. “Earrings? What earrings?”

“Don’t tell me you already misplaced them,” he teased. “They’re the matching earrings to your bracelet. In yellow gold and diamonds. Mr. Gray bought them a month ago.”

CHAPTER 16

“Mom, did you see the bracelet Kat wore to the party yesterday?” Marston asked, as the family sat at the dinner table that night. “It’s exactly like the one Dad bought for your anniversary.”

“Not exactly, honey. Mine has a special inscription on the inside.”

Alicia’s foot bounced under the table. She wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans. Marston’s observation was like picking at a fresh wound. Alicia had no appetite. The bombshell Cartier store revelation was four hours ago, but she was still reeling from it.

It served her right for playing Sherlock Holmes. She just wanted to find out if Eliot had purchased Kat’s bracelet. Turned out her friend was telling the truth, that her husband had bought it for her. So, who the heck did Eliot buy earrings for?

“I saw that, too.” Lily chimed in with a questioning frown. “She flaunted it, like she wanted everybody to notice.”

Alicia continued to pick at her food.

“Yeah,” Marston said. “That’s a lot of bling. People noticed.”

Alicia ventured a glance at Eliot, searching for a reaction, but his face remained neutral as he continued to eat his dinner.

“Dad, don’t you think it’s weird?” Lily said.

“What, sweetheart?”

“Kat’s bracelet,” Lily said. “Get with the program, Dad. Kat has the same bracelet as Mom. The one you got her for your fifteenth anniversary, five years ago. It’s tacky as all get out. Mom and Kat are best friends, for crying out loud.”

“Maybe she liked it and wanted to treat herself,” he remarked.

“Come on, Dad. If Colby bought the same dress that I did for prom and showed up to prom wearing it, I would flip out on her. It’s the girl code. Same as not dating your friend’s ex kind of thing. You don’t run out and buy the same jewelry as your best friend, especially when you know it was a special gift from her husband.”

Marston served up an enthusiastic, “That’s right,” and nodded her complete agreement with her sister. “No offense to Kat, but that was tacky. Especially since Mom threw her that party.”

“I guess I’m outnumbered,” Eliot said. “I don’t think Katalina meant any harm, though.”

Just like she didn’t mean any harm when she grabbed your crotch. Alicia stabbed at her food with more vigor.

“The bracelet is only the beginning,” Marston said, in a raspy voice that mimicked the stereotypical horror movie trailer voice-over.

The girls and their father burst out laughing.

Alicia did not.

Two hours after dinner, Alicia let out a loud, frustrated groan, slammed her laptop shut and headed for Eliot’s study. She knocked once and then entered.

“That piece of junk I call a computer is driving me nuts. I’m in the middle of downloading information, and it just kicked me out. When it’s not doing that, it holds my files hostage when I try to open them. I need to borrow your laptop for an hour or so.”

He looked up from reading a document and smiled up at her. “Come here,” he said, patting his thigh. “Why don’t you just buy a new computer? You’ve been complaining about problems with this one forever. It’s old. Replace it.”

She sighed. “I’ve been avoiding the hassle of figuring out which make and model I should get. Gigabytes, speed, and storage capacity and all that. Plus transferring all my files to the new model.”

“They have people who can help you with that.”

“Okay, you got me. I don’t have an excuse. But I have to finish what I was doing. I need to borrow yours.”

“On one condition?”

“What’s that?”

He pointed to his cheek.

How could he behave like an attentive, flirtatious husband while he was buying expensive jewelry for another woman? Should she confront him right here, right now? And say what? That you thought he bought a bracelet for Kat and went behind his back to find proof, and oh, by the way, while you were on your little espionage outing, the store clerk accidentally spilled the beans?

“Fine.” She reluctantly kissed him on the cheek. “Happy now?” she asked.

“Yes. Now, you can borrow my computer. And get a new one. Tomorrow. No excuses.”

She scooped up the laptop from the desk, and as she walked away, Eliot swatted her behind playfully. “Don’t work too hard.”

She padded back down the hallway to the space she called her office but was so much more than a workspace. It was the place she could be alone to reflect, think, dream, or just mellow out. To take some time to herself away from the busy goings-on of looking after a family and her duties as a corporate wife.

Her office was larger than her old apartment, and she made it a point to fill