A Fine Mess

Chapter 12

It was at this time she received a call from Peter, thinly disguised as business. He was concerned over the prospect that she might be confused and intimidated by all the pressure surrounding the merger talks. He wanted to assure her that everything the pro merger faction was doing was legal and ethical and that while she shouldn't be nervous about Brian and his possible pressure tactics, she should be aware that his seriousness about the business could bring out his nastier side-his quick temper.

All this came about during an intimate dinner that Peter arranged at an out of town restaurant. Moira felt that his approach was self-serving but his reputation and proximity dulled her defenses and she allowed him to spin his web with little resistance.

The remarks he made about Brian unsettled her since she'd noticed brief flashes of the temper Peter alluded to during some of their business discussions but she was confident with her newly acquired brazenness, that she could handle him and Peter as well. It was that assessment that led her to accept the subtle dare that she accompany him to one of the restaurant's private rooms and discover for herself the truth of the myth that surrounded Peter Delacourte.

She tried implying that it had been a mistake, a momentary lapse, a drink-induced error but he would have none of it; Moira was going to join the myriad of notches on his gun representing women who obliged to keep him quiet. It was only after the proprietor's discrete cough behind the door, did Peter finally release the spent and aching Moira. He was kindness personified, helping her reassemble her public appearance and gently assisting in every possible way.

As he delivered her to her car in the parking lot, he leaned into the driver's window and, as though the entire evening had been about business, he proposed they set up an unregistered telephone number that they could both use to keep informed until the voting was finished-just in case, he had said, she needed a shoulder or advice.

How absolutely Machiavellian she thought bitterly, still twanging from their surreal encounter-two men, both after the same thing the same way. She looked at the surprisingly new Moira in the rear view mirror and pondered her new vulnerability.

She set her drink down and settled comfortably on the sofa, legs tucked under her rump and head resting her head on the back of the seat and closed her eyes, picturing the two men in contrast. With Brian, while they rolled together in heated passion, she experienced a more overt interest in the disposition of her shares; it was the continuing thread of discussion each time they met.

At first she had pretended reluctance to the idea of going against her husband's wishes in spite of the affair but as the pressure increased, with assuring, patient explanations, Moira allowed a slight wavering in her stance. Brian was driven by greed, purely and simply. His approach was merely a means to an end, however, enjoyable. Peter, she felt, was different. While he also wanted her to vote for the merger, his behaviour was geared to suggesting something deeper and longer lasting, the sincere face, the 'I'm there for you' attitude, which Moira took with exactly one grain of salt.

While he continued to paint Brian as a loose cannon and potentially dangerous, Peter was just Brian in a different suit-and perhaps even more dangerous. The telephone bit seemed curious but in thinking about it, it was the kick-start she needed. The unregistered phone gave her the germ of an idea for dealing with her infidelity and led to the addition of an anonymous hotel suite.

She finished her drink and sighed deeply. Life had been good and now it was going to get better. In fact, ever since the night of the party when the audacious idea presented itself, she nourished a growing impression that things could get much better-in one respect they certainly had.

In the following days Brian spent more of their time together discussing intentions and reasons; subtly hinting that with the hotel suite possibly they could make their arrangement more permanent. Moira took this to be a sign that he was not sure he could convince her so, to keep the line taut, she asked for more details and he enthusiastically showed her a way to give them both what they had wanted, from the beginning, aside from one another-freedom and power. Flat out, Brian wanted Moira to vote for the merger.