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Chapter 20
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Blind Faith Chapter 21
Three days passed and still there was no message from Sue? The message was delivered, right?Rai checked her Sent folder one more time. Yep, the message was there. She drummed her fingers over the desk top, then took a swig of her tea. Perhaps Sue was taking some time off after the cruise? Yes, that had to be it.Her Calendar program chimed and Oliver announced an event, “Mandatory meeting at TCL today at 11:00am, Balboa room.”Mandatory meeting? She opened the meeting event and looked for the originator: TCL was all it said. There were no other invitees, only her. How strange. She declined without suggesting a new time.The only time she ever went into the Taylor Cruise Line office was for mediation. She never attended the staff meetings.Another invitation for the same meeting chimed through. She pressed a key sequence and Oliver read the time: 7:00 o’clock am. She would have to catch the 10:00 ferry to make it on time. Doable, but not preferable. Perhaps one of her clients had
Blind Faith Chapter 22
If Rai had not have met Alison in the elevator, the 12:20 ferry would be sailing away and Rai would have had to wait an hour for the next one. Alison’s generous offer to give her a ride had saved valuable time. She was still fuming about wasting the day on a worthless meeting that could have been conducted over the phone. What was Gideon thinking?She had not expected him to reject her resignation, nor had she appreciated his demand that she stay. He may be the CEO of Taylor Enterprises, but he did not have control over her. She’d had enough of controlling men. The scent of him still lingered on her clothes, or was it merely her imagination? It was time to let Gideon Taylor go for good. Like slow poison, he would eventually kill her spirit—just like Cliff.The next two weeks were quiet. Rai had picked up some freelance work, though she really didn’t need the money. She made enough to survive through her retainers and other small gigs. Tonight, she and Anna were volunteering at the YM
Blind Faith Chapter 23
“If you rub your hair any harder, it might just fall out?” jested Anna.“Why did you invite them?”“I thought you were excited for me to see men again.”Rai set her towel down and sighed. Her friend sounded deflated. “I am happy for you Anna. Sorry. I’m over reacting.” She sank down on the bench and set the damp towel over her lap.“You wanna blow them off?”“No, that wouldn’t be right. Simon seems very nice and was obviously sweet on you.”“Yeah, far more than Adam was.”Poor Anna. She had tried so hard to get Adam to notice her, but he was about as interested as a piece of paper. When he asked Rai out instead of her, Anna became very quiet. Rai had told him no, of course, but that didn’t lighten Anna’s mood.Rai dug around in her pack. “Have you seen my brush?”“Right beside you on your left.”They finished getting dressed and ready to leave without much conversation. Rai wondered if Anna was feeling apprehensive too. Maybe only Simon would show up?“Ready for this?” asked
Blind Faith Chapter 24
Rai loved hearing the joy in her friend’s voice. Anna enjoyed laughing and she was certainly doing her share over dinner. Simon appeared to be the perfect gentleman and gave her the attention she deserved.After dessert, Rai was grateful that she and Anna walked onto the ferry and no driving was required. By the sound of it, Anna had her share of wine as well. The men had walked with them to the ferry terminal, hoping the fresh air would clear all their heads.Simon gave Anna a sweet peck on her cheek, while Gideon offered Rai a long and lingering hug. In her ear, he whispered, “I’ve missed you.” She had missed him as well but felt best to keep that to herself. The last thing she wanted was to give him hope for something that wasn’t possible.“Thank you,” was all she could manage and that simple reply made her feel like a chump.The steady roar of the engine was a constant reminder that she should have said more.Anna nudged her shoulder. “Hey, you alright? You haven’t spoken a wo
Blind Faith Chapter 25
Cliff let the paper fall back to the polished burl-wood desk. The picture of Rainair standing next to Gideon Taylor on a cruise ship glimmered in the sunlight like a taunting lure. She was smiling, completely unaware her photo had been snapped—whoring little bitch. Her smile alone was enough to set Cliff off on a rampage. He poured himself another glass of Balvenie Single Malt and took a swig of the smooth amber liquor. Rainair was proving to be more of a nuisance than a benefit these days. He had allowed her to run free for long enough. Now it was time to rein her in. The bitch wanted a divorce? Well, that could certainly be arranged.The law firm she held shares in was primed for selling, but he’d be damned if she’d receive a single penny. B&B Associates was his baby from the start. She ended up on the board by default, back when she was easy to control. Now, she was running around with some wealthy buck from old money, flaunting herself like a whore. It was time to put an end t
Blind Faith Chapter 26
Anna ran to her apartment and grabbed her pack, the one Rai told her to prepare for this day. Without hesitation, she left the building, using the stairs instead of the elevator. Rai’s instructions played out in Anna’s mind like dominos falling in slow motion.As she made her way to the ferry, she called the police. Her next call was to Gideon.“Anna?” His voice was clipped, impatient. “He took her,” she quivered.“Who?”She remembered that Gideon knew nothing of Cliff and swallowed hard.“Anna? Took who?”“Rai. Cliff came back for her. He’s going to kill her.”“Where are you?”“I’m heading for the ferry. Rai told me to leave if this day ever came. She gave me precise instructions.”“Come to my office, you hear me? You’ll be safe here.”Anna closed her eyes and breathed deep, trying to keep her fear in check. “Okay.”Rai opened her eyes. The scent of hickory and clove assaulted her nose. She was in a car, a limousine. They were on the road.“Wakey, wakey,” Cliff said, slapp
Blind Faith Chapter 27
By the time they reached Taylor Enterprises, she had succumbed to her exhaustion. She awoke to a sharp jab to her ribs. “Wake up.”Nope, it was not a nightmare, it was real. Her overbearing husband was sitting next to her and her face still ached.Cliff got out of the limo and walked around to open her door; not because he was a gentleman. He hauled her out of her seat as if she were a duffle bag he wanted to sling over his shoulder. Instead of being lifted, however, her legs buckled beneath her and her knees slammed onto the cement.“Don’t be so damned clumsy,” he gritted out, pulling her to her feet. “My God, you are an embarrassment.”She tried to fling his hand from her arm, but his grip was like that of an enraged gorilla.“Enough!” He shook her.They made their way up the marble steps and into the lobby. James, from security, greeted them with hesitation.“Uh, good afternoon, Ms. Landry.”“We are here to see Gideon Taylor,” Cliff announced, pushing his way to the elevator
Blind Faith Chapter 28
As promised, Wes had Rai’s apartment restored with all of her belongings. Anna’s door would be fixed tomorrow. She was planning to spend the night with Simon, who had refused to let her out of his sight.Rai still felt a bit shaken as Gideon settled her onto the couch with a glass of Bordeaux. “I still can’t believe he is out of my life. I can’t help thinking he will find a way out of this—he always does.”“Not this time.” Gideon placed his hand on hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Anna is making sure your divorce is filed.”Rai chuffed, as if all of this were a dream not close to reality. She shook her head, still in a daze of disbelief.“Cliff told me you were one of the top corporate lawyers in New York.” Gideon poured them both a bit more wine.She took a long pull of the sweet juice. Talking about that time of her life was like recalling another life she wanted little to do with. Her fingers drummed against the smooth surface of the glass. “He and I had a law firm together.
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