"Just admit it already. You're cheating on Peggy." Dottie planted her hands on her hips, waiting for Whitney's response to her accusation.
Whitney grimaced for a moment.... then smirked. "Look at you, so self-righteous, pretending you have the moral high ground. A bit hypocritical, don't you think?"
"It's not the same."
"Oh? Please, tell me exactly what makes your affair right and mine wrong?"
"Well...." Dottie trailed off, not sure how to answer that question without sounding ridiculous.
"That's what I thought."
"How long have you known?"
"Does it matter? I'm not here to catfight over Peggy. I'm a businesswoman. So let's make a deal. Here are my terms.... You don't reveal my secret to anyone, and I won't have you fired and sent back to the States without a single job prospect."
"Whitney, is that supposed to scare me?" Dottie chuckled. "You know I'm not trying to be a nanny forever, right? So what if you somehow give me a scathing reference despite not being my boss."
"Oh sweetie, you misunderstood me. You can nanny to your heart's content. I don't care about that. But I will have you blackballed from any businesses owned by or affiliated with my little empire. That's a lot of labs."
"Peggy won't let you do this, especially after I tell her about your little.... indiscretion."
"Let me be clear. If you don't take this deal, Peggy will have to weather a scandal the likes of which you've never seen before. Not to mention the fact that it'll ruin the merger and Peggy will have to watch Angie seize the throne, leaving Eddie and Mikey with nothing. Then, just when you all think your lives have gone back to normal.... BAM! My tearful tell-all will hit the shelves and ruin everything all over again."
Dottie was seething. 'How can someone be this.... callous?'
"So, you see, Dottie you don't really have much of a choice. Not if you care about Peggy and her kids as much as you claim to. I'll give you a chance to think about it. Bene?" Without waiting for a response, Whitney strolled out of the room.
~~~~~
A couple days later, Dottie was still trying to find a loophole from the confrontation with Whitney as she folded her laundry. 'If I take the deal, I lose. If I don't take the deal, I still lose and Peggy's life is ruined. What the hell am I supposed to do?' Dottie kept going over options again and again, taking out her frustrations on her clothes until....
"What did those poor shirts ever do to you?"
"Peggy!" Dottie jumped, looking up and dropping the shirt in her hands. "I didn't see you there."
"Sorry, didn't mean to sneak up on you. I just haven't seen you in the last few days and wanted to check in."
'I can't tell Peggy about Whitney until I've made up my mind about this deal. Which means.... time to put on my happy face.'
"Everything's great. Eddie and Mikey are having a blast and I think I'm finally over my jet lag."
"Glad to hear it.... That's always tough to beat." Peggy crossed her arms, leaning against the doorframe. "I hate to burst your bubble, but you should know that Whitney's family just arrived in town."
"Richard and Joe? What's that got to do with me?"
"They expect to have lunch with us today. Me, Whitney.... and the boys. Which means...."
YOU ARE READING
Bad Idea!
Romanceit was a bad idea, calling you up. was such a bad idea, 'cause now i'm even more lost. it was a bad idea, to think you were the one. was such a bad idea, 'cause now everything's wrong. you put your hands under my shirt, undid my bra and said these w...
