Page 92 of Dark Ugly Places

“Is the chef incompetent or something?”

“Yes, sir. I mean, no, sir. I’m so sorry. I’ll remove it at once.”

Jason swats his hand at Jeremy, and off he goes. Bambi watches as he disappears into the kitchen. Moments later, a manager arrives and apologizes profusely. Jason smiles, his eyes gleaming, but a small bead of sweat has formed across his brow and sits ready to drip into his eyes.

“It’s fine,” Jason says through gritted teeth. “I’m sure it was just a misunderstanding.”

There he is. The actor Jason, working so very hard to keep the animal within him at bay.

39

Bambi

At 4:04 a.m., listening to the low hum of Jason breathing, Bambi pulls back the down duvet, her stomach burning and queasy. As she sits up, the room is a haze of shadows. She runs into the bathroom, kneels at the toilet, and vomits.

She gargles and spits, slightly better but still nauseous. She wonders if she has food poisoning and then stands, realizing she feels a little dizzy, her body tender.

How long has it been since she had a period? She can’t remember, and anyway, it’s always irregular.

Bambi gets up and puts on her cream silk robe. She closes their bedroom door softly and goes downstairs into the office. Bambi sits in Martha’s chair and steadies herself. Her mind wanders to the last time Martha was with her and the promise they made together. She flicks open her laptop. The light from the computer illuminates the room in a pale blue light and makes her fingers glow whiter than the eggshell trim on the walls.

She opens the web browser and sets it to private. Her stomach flips, not from what had happened the night before at the steakhouse but from what she is about to type. Martha had warned her against this. She said to be patient, but Bambi can’t help herself. Her fingers tap the keys, formulating a question she thought she’d never ask.

A noise from upstairs startles her, a footstep on one of the stairs or a creak from one of the empty rooms above her. She freezes, straining in the darkness to listen. The house hums quietly, its heating and filtration systems kicking on and off every so often. The creak surfaces again, louder this time, followed by the sound of footfall.

“With everything going on, no one will think twice about it,” Martha had said. “You could practically get away with murder.”

Of course, the scandal would be the perfect cover. With the media focused on Jason and Lauren LaMonte, no one will think twice about it. All the questions will link back to him. More scandal. More drama. And she will be the desperate, loyal wife who did nothing wrong.

Bambi sits up as the dim light of the landing switches on. A haze of warm yellow illuminates the hallway leading toward her office. Jason comes down the stairs, his feet hitting heavily against the wood floor.

Bambi deletes the search and closes the tab. She shuts the laptop quietly and slides it away. When she looks up, Jason is in the doorway, his eyes dark.

“What are you doing up?” she says, attempting to sound cheerful.

Jason moves toward the chair in front of her desk that she sometimes sits in while Martha is working. “I couldn’t sleep.”

“Me either. Do you want something to drink?”

Jason shakes his head. “You know what’s been bothering me?”

His eyes enliven, and she turns away, breaking his gaze. “What, Jason?”

“I’ve been thinking, what is it you’ve been doing these past few months?”

Her heartbeat quickens. “What do you mean?”

Jason nodded. “I checked your calendar. You didn’t have any shoots while I was away, but you booked a shoot in Cancun. Exactly when I’d be home again. Strange.”

A tiny blockage collects in her gullet. She doesn’t like being questioned. “Things have been a bit slow, I guess,” she says. She leans forward, feeling emboldened. “I haven’t exactly been able to work lately with my leg. There’s still a scar.”

“Your leg? What’s wrong with your leg?”

“It got infected. From that night in the bathroom.”

He sighs as if the information is an inconvenience to him. “And another thing. Who is Martha, Bambi?”

Her heart races, a bolt of panic in her chest. Somehow, she had always envisioned that she would be long gone before he ever found out about Martha. How had he?