Our Wicked Lies GledĂ© Kabongo (summer reading list .txt) đ
- Author: Gledé Kabongo
Book online «Our Wicked Lies GledĂ© Kabongo (summer reading list .txt) đ». Author GledĂ© Kabongo
Alicia laid out the complete story in truncated bursts. The length of the affair, Eliotâs continued denials, and the final confrontation at Katâs office yesterday.
He raked his hair back repeatedly. When his hands landed in his lap, his hair was sticking up.
As she took in his distressed appearance, a terrible thought occurred to her. âJack, what if Kat asked you to be her gynecologist for a specific reason, other than the obvious? I thought it was strange, but like everything else having to do with her, I dismissed it.â
âWhat do you mean?â
âOf all the doctors she could have picked, why you? If her plan all along was to convince Eliot to leave me by pretending she was pregnantââ
âWhat better person than a doctor on whom she had leverage,â Jack finished.
âYes. Thatâs what I was thinking.â
âSheâs a user then.â
âI didnât see it before, but thatâs who she turned out to be, a user and an opportunist. Canât you dump her as a patient, make up an excuse, and have one of the other doctors in the practice take her on?â
âFrankly, Alicia, if sheâs capable of blackmail, not to mention the heinous way she treated you, then I donât want her anywhere near my practice. Period. If sheâs still determined to lure Eliot away from you, we canât predict what sheâll do next.â
When theyâd finally spoken about his betrayal and about the abortion, Alicia hadnât asked Eliot whether or not heâd ended the affair. Sheâd been too caught up in the emotional pain of the moment. But when sheâd gone to see Kat in her office, sheâd made it sound as if the universe had predestined them as a couple and that they were still together.
Eliot hadnât addressed his infidelity. Heâd been too busy interrogating Alicia about the abortion. She hoped he didnât think he was off the hook, that he would get away with cheating on her so easily. He had blindsided her that night.
Soon, it would be her turn to ask the tough questions. Why? How often had they met up in their little love nest in Chestnut Hill? What promises had he made to Kat? And the big one⊠Did he love her? Scratch that. She wouldnât make that mistake. It was an open invitation to more lying, and she couldnât handle any more of Eliotâs lies. Two years. That told her everything she needed to know.
âActions have consequences, Jack. Even for Kat.â
âThey do,â he agreed. âI could be brought before a medical ethics committee. I provided a fake sonogram. Not to mention that I treated a patient and sent her to recover in a hotel suite booked in my name. If Katalina tells all, Iâm done. The practice is already struggling financially. Any additional pressure, well...â
âJack, I had no idea,â she said gently. âIs that why you were vague when I asked for a job a while ago?â
âYes. I wanted to help, but I simply canât afford to hire anyone, not even part-time. Things are tight enough as it is.â
Alicia felt her insides deflate like a trapped hot-air balloon. If she ended her marriage, she would need a job to support herself. Sheâd been counting on Jack to help her out until she finished her degree. Although Wes George had assured her that she could walk away with a huge settlement, she couldnât stake her future on that possibility. She knew Eliot. He had a mean streak. He could make things difficult for her if he wanted to, especially now that he knew she had aborted his son.
She didnât have a vast network of friends or former colleagues she could tap. Jack was it, and he had problems of his own. It was a terrible ordeal for someone like Jack who had made a career out of serving others.
âThereâs a solution to every problem, Jack. Donât give up. Youâllâweâllâfind a way to come out of the red and make the practice profitable again.â
She would take her own advice. There was a solution to her current dilemma. If Eliot caused her more problems, she would reach out to Arnie Tillerson. She didnât care if it made her look vindictive. She was way past that now.
CHAPTER 39
A few minutes after ten the next morning, Alicia leaned against the kitchen island, popped her earbuds in and scrolled through the audiobook library on her phone. Sheâd downloaded a book on the art of negotiation, and she wanted to listen to the first few chapters of the book while she had the house to herself.
After she left Jackâs office yesterday, sheâd realized how inadequately prepared she was for the looming battle with Eliot. Eliot had been a lawyer for twenty-plus years; negotiation was his bread and butter. There was a fair amount of negotiation skills one needed to bring up two strong-minded girls, but it was nothing in comparison to beating a titan at his own game. She needed to do some homework.
She hit the âplayâ button, but the authorâs voice was immediately interrupted by her text-notification tone. She opened her text app.
Rina: Somethingâs up at the DeLucases.
Alicia: What do you mean?
Rina: Police cars everywhere.
What?
Panic and horror licked at Alicia like the greedy, destructive flames of an all-consuming fire. Chaos. That was the only way to describe the scene before her as she scrambled down the street. Emergency vehicles were everywhere. Red lights flashed. Neighbors gathered on the lawn, pointing and whispering. Uniformed police officers and EMTs hurried toward the front door. Any lingering thoughts of a good outcome vanished when the officers began applying yellow crime-scene tape around the parameter of the property.
Spurred by pure adrenaline, Alicia marched past several vehicles.
âMaâam, stop right there.â A young, uniformed officer held up his arms to slow her advance.
âMy friend lives here. Whatâs going on?â She tried to sound normalâwhatever that was anymoreâbut the questions came out in short, frightened breaths.
âThis is officially a crime scene. Please step back.â
The donut and coffee she had for breakfast earlier were
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