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Rather than reacting with embarrassment, or remorse, or shame, or fear—which was the reaction he really craved to see from her—she had smiled at him insolently. How dare the bitch.
He’d been angry enough to kill her. He’d even entertained vivid mental flashes of placing his hands around her slender neck and squeezing until her eyes bulged, squeezing until her heart stopped.
He’d had the presence of mind not to act on the murderous impulse, but it had been strong enough for him to get a glimpse of his soul’s dark side. Like the dark side of the moon, it was out of si
ght, but always there.
Several times during his life, it had been necessary to step over the boundary between light and darkness. But those brief forays into that dark region had left him shaken, feeling that he’d been lucky to return. He didn’t venture into it unless he was given no other choice.
But recently he’d taken two prolonged glimpses into its shadows. First with Maris outside Nadia’s apartment following her discovery of their affair. Then again with Nadia. In both instances, he’d wanted badly to hurt the offender. Silence her. Injure her beyond recovery. Kill her.
He was intrigued now, beguiled by the extent of his dark side. He hadn’t known it was so expansive and dense. The urge to explore it to its farthest reaches was almost irresistible.
Never guessing the malicious nature of his thoughts, Nadia still believed they were arguing over her fling with the weight lifter.
“The point is that you acted like a complete ass at lunch that day, Noah. I felt it appropriate to remind you that nobody calls Nadia Schuller ‘incredibly stupid’ and gets away with it. You got in your shot, and I got in mine. Now can we please move beyond this?”
He was tempted to call her the obscene name that so aptly applied and then hang up. That’s what he wanted to do. But it wouldn’t be smart to alienate her now. The deal with WorldView hung in the balance. Breaking with Nadia might jinx it. Morris Blume seemed to like her. She’d been instrumental in bringing them together. Why not continue to take advantage of her usefulness? Ultimately she would get what she had coming, but not until the WorldView deal was secured. His reward for eating a small portion of crow now would be ten million dollars. In fact, for ten million dollars and control of Matherly Press, he was willing to do much worse.
“Noah, please. Please tell me where you are.”
Her voice had turned soft and conciliatory. She was even making it easy on him. It was a win-win situation, and he couldn’t ask for better.
Smiling to himself, he said, “I’m alone in the country house with my father-in-law.”
“Daniel Matherly?”
He chuckled. “He’s the only father-in-law I’ve got.”
“Why would you subject yourself to that?”
“Actually I invited him. We’ve got business to discuss.”
“Ah, WorldView. You’re planning a coup de grâce.”
“Precisely.” He explained that Maris was out of town again and that Maxine had been left in the city. “It’s just me and the old man. Fishing. Male bonding.”
“Then a little arm-twisting.”
“I doubt it’ll come to that.”
“He’s not going to give in easily, Noah.”
“Not easily, but he’ll eventually be persuaded. I’m sure of it.”
“Need a cheerleader for your side? I could drive up. You could tuck me into a corner somewhere. Is the country house roomy enough to accommodate you, me, and your father-in-law?”
“Interesting proposition. I’m tempted to sneak you in, but it wouldn’t be prudent. Once the old man is into his cups, he tends to wander. What if he ventured into the wrong bedroom and saw something straight out of the Kama Sutra?”
“Which page?”
“You’re incorrigible.”
“Absolutely. I have no shame whatsoever. That’s why I’m willing to risk being caught. If the old man stumbles in on us, who knows? It might do his heart good.” She lowered her voice seductively. “The best sex is making-up sex, you know. I could bring along a box of chocolates. The gooey kind. The ones with the soft, creamy centers that you love to lick out.”
“Good phone sex, Nadia. I’m aroused,” he said truthfully.
“Give me two hours.”
