Every Time I Look at You

"That's it then. You've literally never been faithful to me. You've been cheating on me, and in the worst possible way, with my own sister. You even disrespected me on our wedding day. There is no way I can stay married to you."

She sobbed and said, "No!"

"Yes, we're through. I'm filing for divorce and executing the prenup. You'll get nothing more than what is required.

I'm going to leave you alone now. You can pack what you want. I won't change the locks until it's over. I trust you won't make me regret it."

"I'm so sorry, Tate. I love you so much."

"Yeah, so you've said." He left her crying at the table.

*****

Tate was sitting in his mother's family room waiting for her to come down. They needed to talk about what to do with Carly.

"Well? How did it go?" Mrs. Morgan asked walking into the room.

"Horrible," Tate answered. "Carly seduced her on my wedding day and it's gone on since then."

"On your wedding day? My God!"

"Yeah, needless to say, my marriage is over. I can't stay with her."

"I understand, I don't blame you. We need to get a handle on the press though. This is in the news every day and our stock price is down 5%."

"I know. I'm going to force Carly to resign and I'll announce it in the morning before the market opens. That should solve our issue. Her shares are protected by our father's trust, so I won't try to take those from her. I vote them by proxy anyway."

"That's fine, but I think your pending divorce will impact us as well."

"Maybe. I'm going to announce that our split is amicable and there won't be an impact on the company. She doesn't get any of my shares per the prenup."

"God, what a mess your sister has put us in. We need to get her in therapy immediately. There's got to be something wrong with her."

"Certainly. She's a narcissist. She thinks she can do whatever she wants and the collateral damage doesn't matter. I hope you understand that I won't be speaking with her directly after today. I just can't let go of what she did to me."

"I understand. Maybe someday our family will recover from this. At least I hope so."

Tate was less than optimistic.

*****

Tate called Carly, but got her voicemail.

"Carly, tomorrow morning I am issuing a press release announcing your resignation. I am not going after your shares, so you'll retain your ownership per the trust agreement. I expect that I will still vote your shares. Do not make a stink of this. You've caused enough problems for the family, let alone the company. Mother expects you to begin to see a therapist as well. Your sexual addiction, narcissism, or whatever the hell else they will call it, has done enough damage to your life. We are all suffering as a result."

Carly listened to his message and cried. She didn't think she had a problem. Everyone else has the problem. "Modern marriages should not be shackled by archaic monogamy restrictions," she thought.

She thought better of calling Tate. She feared that he would scream at her and tell her what a slut she is. "Screw him and his bullshit moral ideals," she thought.

She sent him a text: "I resign willingly. I won't cause the company or family any more problems."

*****

Shauna stood in the window looking out for Tate's arrival. She thought about the wonderful time they all had at breakfast. Tate was so kind to Mickey and Mickey asked her if he was coming over to play trains with him again.

She was torn between hoping Tate became available for her to have a chance at happiness with him and hoping that he didn't become available because he would surely ask her about her past. She would have no chance after that, she could never lie to him.

As Tate pulled into the parking lot he saw her watching out the window. He loved seeing her there every morning waiting for him. He wondered if he could go straight from divorce to engaging in a relationship with his beautiful assistant. "Do we have a fraternization policy?" He thought. Then he thought, "Why don't I know the answer to that?"

He knew it was because he relied on Shauna for that information. While he dealt with business issues, Human Resources dealt with policies. He had Shauna to tell him policies when he needed them.

As he entered Shauna's outer office, he saw her look up at him as she did every day. A bright smile appeared on her face and in her usual way she said, "Good Morning, Mr. Morgan."

"Hello, Shauna."

He watched her eyes roam up and down his body and he decided to stop and call her out on it, playfully. "Did I spill something?"

"Huh? No, um, I was just looking to make sure you hadn't so I could let you know if you had."

She thought, "Oh my God, he caught me checking him out and I'm babbling like an idiot."

He laughed and said, "What would I do without you?" then walked into his office.

"That was fun," he thought. She was clearly flustered and he decided that he would keep that going. He felt good having a woman interested in him, and wondered how he missed her interest before. Not that it mattered. He was completely faithful to Bella and would never have considered stepping out on her.

Tate called his lawyer and had him prepare the divorce. He asked him to call in favors and get it rushed if possible.

He allowed himself to think about the divorce one last time. He felt what he hoped would be the last bit of sorrow for his once-happy marriage. Then he put it out of his mind. There was work to do. A company to protect. Thousands of were counting on him.

"Shauna, come in here please," he called out.

"Yes, Sir," she said rushing in with her iPad.

"Shauna, I need a press release announcing my sister's resignation prepared. Then I need Paul Daniels in here immediately so I can officially promote him to the job he's already been doing in her absence."

She was momentarily stunned then said, "Shall I have a press conference scheduled or just the release?"

"Just the release. Defer all questions on it to Media Relations. Paul can earn his new paycheck."

"So you know, I'm filing for divorce."

He saw that she didn't look up from her tablet, but smiled briefly.

"I will issue a joint release with Bella later in the week announcing an amicable split. We need to make sure that my divorce doesn't impact share value. I will not take questions on it, so if the press calls, send them to Paul."

He watched her write the notes on her tablet and said, "Any questions?"

"No Sir."

"Okay, carry on."

She got up to walk out and he stopped her, "Shauna, what are the fraternization policies for the company?"

She gave him a curious look and said, "There are two. For non-executive level employees, managers cannot have a relationship with direct reports. For executive employees, they cannot have a relationship with a member of the board. There are of course provisions that allow departmental transfer and human resource waivers under certain circumstances."

He smiled and said, "Thank you, Shauna."

She nodded and left.

"What was that all about?" She wondered. "Does he have his eye on someone in the company?"

*****

The week went on with no major issues. The announcements of his sister's resignation and his divorce had little impact on the share price. By Friday, Bella had signed the divorce papers and his attorney assured him a rush since the prenup was rock solid. Tate sweetened the pot for Bella, to ensure she didn't fight it, by buying her a condo.

On Saturday, Tate was running on the treadmill when he thought of the previous week and having breakfast with Shauna and Mickey. He took a chance and went to the office hoping to catch them there. He wanted it to look as if it were another chance meeting and not him taking them on a date.

As he pulled into the parking lot, he had second thoughts. "Was it too soon to get to know Shauna on a personal level?"

He decided to take it very slow and play it cool. Starting with some innocent breakfasts and lunches would be the perfect way to start to get more personal.

He opened the door as quietly as possible and admired her heart shaped ass as he entered the room, "Good Morning, Shauna."

She had her back to him and jumped with surprise.

"Mr. Morgan! You startled me, I'm sorry. Good Morning, Sir. Let me make you some coffee."

"Only if you're having some, I won't be here long."

"Okay." She wasn't having any, but went to make him a pot anyway.

"Hey little man," he said to Mickey who was playing with matchbox cars that day.

"Hi, Mr. Tate. Wanna play cars?"

"Sure, I can play cars. Do you know what kinds they are?"

"Yeah! This is a Porse, this is a race car, this is a Jagular, and this is a Ford. Mommy has a Ford."

"Oh yeah?"

"Uh Huh."

"Have you ever seen a real Jagular?" He asked using the child's pronunciation.

"Nope.

"Let's go by the window."

He picked up the boy and carried him to the window, "Look down there. See the silver car? That's my Jaguar."

"Can I go for a ride?"

"Well, that's up to your mom. I tell you what? How about we go for pancakes again and we take my car? What do you think about that?"

"Can I have whipped cream this time?"

Laughing, Tate said that's up to your mom bud."

Shauna was in the kitchen waiting for the coffee. She was wondering why Tate was in the office that day. He rarely works on the weekend and never twice in a row.

She thought maybe since he was getting divorced, he could work Saturdays without worrying about getting grief from his wife. She didn't expect that he wasn't there to work at all and she didn't know he never even bothered to log into his computer.

She walked into his office and saw him playing cars with her son. "Ahem, I have your coffee, Mr. Morgan."

"Thank you."

"You don't have to play with him, Sir. He's fine, don't let him keep you from your work."

"No way! Miss a chance to play cars? Not a chance. By the way, would you and stinky like to go for pancakes again?"

"I'm not stinky," Mickey protested.

"No, Mr. Morgan. You don't have to do that."

"You're right. I want to. So, yes then?"

"Sure. That would be nice."

"Great! Let me know when you're ready to go. I'll keep stinky busy."

"Give me 10 minutes and I'll be ready."

"Oh, if it will be that quick, Mickey wanted to ride in my car. Would you mind if I moved his booster seat to my back seat."

"He wanted to ride in your car?"

"Yeah, he has a little Jagular here, so I showed him my real one."

She laughed at him using the boy's misspeak. Then said, "Okay. I'll meet you downstairs then."

"C'mon stinky. Let's check out my car."

*****

That began a series of weeks where he pretended to work on Saturday and took them to breakfast. They never spoke of anything personal other than small talk. Tate hadn't asked about her past or Mickey's father and she didn't offer the information up.

His divorce became final after 60 days and the publicity cooled off. Alan Brown won the nomination and was heavily favored to beat a brash businessman from Texas, who was the Republican nominee.

Carly did go to therapy and their mother reported her status to Tate regularly. He refused to have anything to do with her, but was happy she was getting help and doing well for his mother's sake.

Tate decided that he was finally free of the ghost of his marriage and he was going to take things to a new level with Shauna.

He had noticed that she didn't look as sad when he pulled into the parking lot anymore. He hoped that meant that she was happier and hoped that meant that he was part of that.

He pulled into the office on dark September morning and didn't see Shauna. When he walked in, there was no one at her desk.

He called her every 10 minutes but kept getting her voicemail, and his texts were not answered. He was getting more concerned when a woman knocked on his door.

"Good Morning, I'm Jan. Shauna fell yesterday and is in the hospital. They kept her for observation. She's got a nasty concussion. I'll be here for the week."

He jumped up and grabbed his keys, "Cancel all of my appointments for today. What hospital is she at?"

"St. Alexander's. She's in room 1102."

"Okay, send two dozen white roses and one of those big get well soon bouquets to her. Use my card, here."

He ran out the door and sped over to the hospital. He frantically rushed up to room 1102 and saw her sleeping. Visiting hours were still an hour away, but no one saw him go in.

When he walked into the dark room, he saw a couch near the window and a recliner chair next to the bed. He sat in the chair and held her hand. He checked his email and read the news with his free hand and never let go of her left hand with his right.

A nurse came in after a half-hour and smiled at him. "Our secret, just don't wake her," she said.

He nodded his thanks.

As soon as visiting hours opened, an older lady came into the room and was startled to see him there holding her hand.

She smiled at him and said, "Mr. Morgan, I presume?"

"Yes, Ma'am. Are you her mother?"

"Yes. Thank you for the beautiful flowers you sent me."

"My pleasure. Thank you for helping her with Mickey so she can work crazy hours."

"You're here kinda early aren't you?"

"I came as soon as I heard. I'm considering firing whoever didn't call me as soon as they were notified she was hurt."

"Oh, don't blame them. I called into the main line and left a message. I didn't have a way to call you directly, and she was out of it."

"Okay. How is she?"

"She'll be okay, I guess. She was having dizzy spells, so they wanted to keep her and watch her."

"What happened?"

"The house steps handrail broke. She lost her balance and fell back into the sidewalk."

He let go of Shauna's hand and called his maintenance manager. "Frank, it's Tate Morgan. I need you to get my Assistant Shauna's address from the temp there now and get a man over to her house. The railing on her front steps broke and it's put her in the hospital."

"I'll send Mike over there now. We'll get it done."

"Thanks, Frank." He hung up and her mother smiled as he grabbed Shauna's hand again.

"So Mr. Morgan, you've been spending a lot of Saturdays with my daughter and grandson."

"Yes, it's become our habit to go to breakfast after work on Saturdays."

"When are you gonna take her on a real date?"

Before an embarrassed Tate could answer, Shauna groggily said, "Mom, leave him alone."

Tate stood up and said, "How are you feeling? Do you need some water? Pain meds?"

She smiled and opened her eyes. Squeezing his hand in a show of gratitude, she said, "Don't fuss over me. I'm doing okay."

A nurse came in then with the flower delivery, "Well, someone is loved. What beautiful roses."

As Shauna read the card, he said, "From the company."

"Company, Huh? Well, they are beautiful thank you."

She handed him the card and it read, "Get Well Soon. - Love, Tate."

He frowned and wished Jan wasn't a temp so he could fire her.

Shauna looked at him with a smile and said, "I know that look. Don't you dare fire them?"

"Okay. Well, the sentiment is what counts right?"

"Sure."

*****

Later that day, her mother left but Tate was still there. She decided that she would break the ice and ask, "Sir, why are you still here with me? Not that I mind it, but you've got a business to run."

"Nothing is more important to me right now, than you. There's no place I'd rather be."

"That's sweet, thank you."

"It's funny, what your mom said earlier. I was actually going to ask you out to dinner when I got to work today."

"Really?"

"Yes, seeing you looking out the window for me every morning is one of the better parts of my day and what we do on Saturdays is amazing. I thought it would be even better if I took it up a notch."

"I didn't know you noticed me doing that."

"Mmm-hmm. I know it's only so you know when to pour my coffee, but I get to see you without you noticing me looking. You used to look so sad. It's like that was your quiet time when you were alone with your thoughts."

"I don't look sad anymore?"

"Not for a couple of months."

"I'm thinking of happier things now, but this isn't the time for that discussion."

"So is that a yes on dinner?"

"Yes."

*****

"Love Tate, Jan?" He said before she could even say good morning.

"Was that wrong, Mr. Morgan? When you said white roses I assumed that's what you'd want."

"Why?"

"White roses symbolize everlasting love."

"Wow, I had no idea," he said shaking his head. "Don't worry about it. She loved them."

*****

Tate and Shauna were sitting in the lounge of his favorite restaurant waiting for their table. They were both sipping a glass of white wine and enjoying each other's company when Tate said, "May I ask about Mickey's father? You never mention him and it seems like he's not in the picture?"

She dreaded that moment and took a drink before saying, "No, he's never been in the picture. Mickey's never met him."

"Oh. Sorry, deadbeat dad huh?"

"Not exactly. Why don't we save that conversation until after dinner, okay?"

"Sure. I didn't mean to touch a nerve."

"It's alright. We have to talk about it eventually. It may as well be tonight."

*****

He pulled into her driveway and turned off the car. He turned to her and said, "I had a great time tonight."

"Me too. Thank you for dinner. Would you like to come in for a drink and a story?"

He could tell that she was uncomfortable, so he gave her an out. "Look, we don't have to. If you aren't ready to talk about it, then we can kick the can down the road."

"No, let's get it out of the way. To be honest, you need to know and I don't want to waste your time if you'll not want to continue seeing me."

"Wow! That bad? Alright. Let's talk."

They sat in her living room, together on the couch, with a glass of wine.

"Tate, I'm going to tell you everything. I could have lied, but I feel strongly about never lying to you."

"Okay," he said.

"I was married six years ago to a good man. That marriage fell apart indirectly because of my pregnancy with Mickey.

When I was in college, I was a party girl. I drank, I smoked pot, did some coke, took X, and slept around.

I met Dale, my ex-husband at a graduation party and fell head over heels in love with him. He was as straight-laced as a person could be. Religious, drank very little, hated drugs, and was basically my opposite.

I cleaned my act up and started dating him. We married within a year. I was so in love that it hurt.

One day after being married for 6 months we went out dancing. I was drunk and while I was in the bathroom, some girls were doing lines. They asked if I wanted a hit and in my drunkenness, I accepted.

When I went back to our table, I guess I had some crystals on the edge of my nostril, and Dale noticed. He got pissed and we got into a fight.

It got so bad that he walked out and left me there. I was so pissed at him, I stayed and kept partying. I ended up going home with some guy I picked up there.

When I woke up the next day in a strange house, I panicked. I called a cab and went home to face the music crying the whole way.

I walked into the house and when Dale saw me, he could tell what I had done and left me. I cried for hours after he left.

Eventually, he came back and I told him about my past history. We went to counseling and everything was going fine; until I missed my period.

When the doctor estimated our due date, Dale did the math and wanted a DNA test.

We did a prenatal test and my worst fear came true. Mickey was not Dale's child. Dale really tried, but couldn't come to grips with being reminded of my cheating, every single day. The divorce was final, two days before Mickey was born.

I didn't pay attention from where I was taken home and didn't remember the guy's name, so Mickey has had to suffer without a father. He handles it okay, but it's getting harder now that he is interacting with kids at school that have dads, but he doesn't push too hard."