Her One Indiscretion

This was an odd consequence of two people being life-long friends: Fiona and Marlo were so familiar with each other that they'd stopped trying to figure each other out. In any other circumstance, Marlo would have picked up on the hint of sadness behind Fiona's eyes... but she was too busy trying to cover up her own feelings for her friend. Jesus. Get a hold of yourself Marlo. She took a sip of coffee and delivered a well-practiced lie, "I was talking about conflicts of interest and protocols. And I know what the tabloid gossip says. They're off-base and I'm not feeding that insipid pool of garbage."

"Yes, yes, Marlo. I'm not your type and you're not into me that way. That line doesn't seem to resonate with the rumor mill though!" Fiona teased.

"They can't even make up their minds over whether I'm doing something inappropriate with you or that I'm cheating on you...!"

Fiona laughed, "Seriously? I guess they have a point - maybe you should try dating one person for more than two weeks! That'll give them something to write about!"

"I'm not giving them that much power over my love life. There's plenty of fish in the sea, Fiona, why not keep it interesting?" Marlo wiggled her eyebrows lasciviously.

This was another line that Fiona had heard often, and given the string of beautiful women Marlo dated, there was never any indication why Fiona would believe otherwise. And thus another day passed in which two women were in love with each other, but neither could see past their own obfuscation of the truth. The gossip columnists persisted though, theorizing that Fiona had no interest in finding a partner because Marlo was the one keeping her bed warm at night.

"This is why people keep making up stories about us!" Fiona said good-naturedly, "To keep things interesting!"

Marlo shrugged, "Yes, but now they're making shit up about the CEO of the Edevane Group, that's not cool."

Fiona rolled her eyes, "Look, if you're worried about people's over-active imaginations when it comes to you and me... I'll invite Lawrence Halliday for the birthday party insanity next week- he's been more than pleasant. That'll do the trick."

Marlo put down her silverware and looked at Fiona, "Halliday?! He's interested in you?!!"

Fiona threw her head back and laughed, tickled by Marlo's reaction, "Most people find me quite acceptable, Marlo! Don't act like you're shocked! Halliday's has been paying very close attention - he even invited me to his son's wedding. I declined. I don't think his ex-wife would have appreciated it."

Marlo let out a scornful exhale, "He's using you."

"Simmer down! Don't you know I know that? It'd be naïve to think otherwise. But we've talked about this, Marlo. Halliday can wine and dine me all he wants. I'm not interested. But no harm in using him to stir the pot of people's almost obsessive interest in who I have sex with."

Marlo looked down, trying to find a way to talk about something other than Fiona's sex life. Marlo's libido had other ideas though: Marlo was trying to force her eyes to stay locked on her plate as Fiona leaned forward to reach for the salt. Fiona's robe - as Marlo knew it would - fell open slightly. Fiona's impressive breasts - beautiful orbs of smooth caramel flesh - begged to be admired, even though Marlo tried her best to look away. Ultimately, as always, she allowed herself a swift glance, and what she saw quickened her core and stoked her desire for Fiona, scrambling her brains again. Luckily, the arcing sweep of her lustful glance ended on the pile of newspapers on the table.

Marlo smiled, thankful to have found a legitimate way to change the topic, "I almost forgot - this came out today!" She pulled out the Business News Ledger, whose headline of the day announced that Fiona had been named BNL's Person of the Year.

Fiona frowned self-consciously, "I guess it's official! Did they take our edits?"

Marlo nodded, "They took out the 'savior of the world' bit, yes. Come on Fi, the leading financial newspaper in the world thinks you're awesome. Enjoy it a little!"

Fiona laid out the paper in front of her, "There's something too convenient about it praising the 'do-gooder billionaire'. There're plenty of people... men and women, who are more deserving of the accolade."

"You're too modest," Marlo pointed at the article, remembering the interview when it had occurred, "You pushed for some hard choices when your got the offers to buy-out your solar energy start-up. It's been bleeding millions a year. You said no to those who gave you an easy out to save your bottom line. That takes strength."

Fiona scanned the article, "Marlo, you know I couldn't do any of this without you, right?" She leaned over and gave Marlo a chaste kiss on her cheek.

This was something Fiona had done a million times, if not more, but the kiss lingered on Marlo's skin and the blonde's heart rate accelerated. Fiona had always been an affectionate person; it never occurred to her to be otherwise with Marlo, who was so familiar to her, so steadfast and irreplaceable. Marlo deeply craved these moments, but also feared what they would reveal. She had trained herself to exude a detachment she didn't feel inside.

Marlo waved her hand dismissively, "I'm the lab rat. You're the real deal."

Marlo and her team had been integral to Edevane's off-grid energy strategy, which sought to redefine the way electricity could be harvested. The most promising solution - a new way to construct solar panels - was close to reality. But the sharks had been circling long before that. Fiona held them all at bay, preferring to take the losses as the mechanics were soberly studied, tested, and re-tested. Now, ten years after the first session with the solar team, Fiona was ready to identify potential strategic partners to discuss the ways forward. The BNL hailed Fiona's patient approach as the epitome of prioritizing knowledge over profit, benefit over gain.

"Dad bought in too! And I will go to my grave defending the decision to wait," finished Fiona. She looked at the clock, "Speaking of which, you've got your call with Gilchrist Labs coming up. They owe us a progress report - tell them I'll personally go to New York and breathe down their necks if I have to!"

Marlo wiped her mouth with a napkin and pushed back from the table, "What do you mean 'if you have to'? You love New York! And reunion's coming up - kill two birds with one trip!"

Fiona shrugged, "Meh."

"I thought you had a good time five years ago?" Marlo tilted her head inquiringly.

"You had a good time at your reunion. I went to one dinner. And it was at my friend Mona's house. I guess it'd be more accurate to say I had a good time hanging out with my friends at Mona's house." Fiona never elaborated on what transpired at that dinner, nor did she ever hint of the tryst that followed.

"... so what's not to like? You're five years older now. Big whoop! Doesn't mean a good time can't be had, your majesty..." Marlo smirked.

Fiona ignored the dig, "Yes, yes, because you managed to seduce some closeted Hollywood starlet at your last reunion doesn't mean age won't catch up with you either. Now go do some real work and figure out if the Gilchrist people can produce what they promised! And stop looking so smug!"

Marlo stuck her tongue out at Fiona as she left the room. She poked her head back in momentarily, "Oh, and your mother wants you to approve the wine list for next week's dinner, birthday girl."

Fiona sighed and grimaced at the ceiling, "It's your birthday too, Marlo. You pick the wine list."

"Oh no she won't!" Jacinta's voice grew louder as she approached.

"Marlo Wright, you set me up!" Fiona huffed. Marlo grinned.

"Good morning, Marlo, dear," Fiona's mother proffered her cheek for a kiss.

"Good morning, Jacinta," Marlo obliged, and, after throwing a 'gotcha' look at Fiona, strode off down the hallway.

"She saw you coming and she set me up," Fiona complained.

"Yes, she did," Jacinta shifted the folders she was carrying and gave her daughter a disapproving look, "You're still in your bathrobe!"

"Whatever," Fiona poured her mother a cup of coffee, "Marlo's seen me in less." I could show up in her room naked and she wouldn't care...

Jacinta chose not to respond; her maternal intuition pinged again that was something between Marlo and her daughter, even though she knew the two women had never shown a whit of attraction for each other. She sat down and pulled a newspaper article out of one of her folders, "Wedding announcements: Lawrence Halliday's son got married last weekend. You stood him up."

Fiona scanned the article, "I did no such thing. I very politely declined his invitation to attend. Halliday's been trying to pitch me on signing his bank as exclusive advisors as we figure out what we want to do our solar business. I know his wedding invitation was a badly veiled quid pro quo."

Jacinta pointed at the paper, "He poured a million dollars into that thing for his son. He doesn't need your money."

Fiona scoffed, "Rich people always want to get richer... Oh!" A photograph below the Halliday wedding article caught her eye.

"What?" Jacinta leaned in as Fiona pointed at the photograph.

"I know her." Fiona was suddenly finding it hard to focus her eyes.

Her mother looked closer at the caption, "Lauren Calder?"

"No, the other her, Rowan... um, RJ Kan. She said she wouldn't... I never would have guessed..." Fiona trailed off, lost in thought.

Jacinta skimmed the article, "Seems like they're very happy together."

When Fiona didn't respond, Jacinta looked up at her daughter, whose face was hard to read.

"Fiona? What is it?"

Fiona rubbed her eyes and smiled, "Nothing. I wasn't expecting to see anyone I know, that's all. I'm going to take a shower."

The older woman didn't press further but tapped on the stack of folders on the table, "Please go through these after you're done; final guest list for next week, the draft of your speech, and yes... the wine list."

Fiona was lost in thought again.

"Fiona!"

"Yeah! Sure. Ok. No problem."

Jacinta gave Fiona a long, hard look before shaking her head with a sigh. She left the suite, deeply curious about the couple in the paper, and wondering what could have spooked her daughter like that.

Once the door clicked shut, Fiona picked up the newspaper and eyed the article about Rowan and Lauren hungrily.

Lauren Calder and Rowan "RJ" Kan were married May 17th in a private ceremony in New York. The couple met last year while working at Winchester Brown, a global investment bank...

There was more to the article, but Fiona couldn't help staring at the photograph. Her mother was right, they did look very happy together. In the photo, RJ's face was bursting with love and pride. It made her appear joyfully seraphic.

Fiona felt utterly abandoned... and betrayed. She felt like she'd made a pact with herself to keep things simple, and had found the courage in her convictions to stick to solitude because she knew that somewhere out in the world, RJ was doing the same. But RJ wasn't. RJ had - somehow - reversed her guarantee of remaining unattached.

"RJ..." Fiona said quietly, "What changed?"

Chapter Three: A Birthday Bash (A Week Later, San Francisco)

The hotel staff were out in full force as the final preparations for Fiona's birthday got underway.

"This is the most ridiculous waste of everybody's time," Fiona was pissed, "A party is the last thing I want."

"Keep it to yourself," her mother admonished, "Everybody's working really hard, please don't go around making people feel like they did something wrong. Because they didn't."

"FINE." Fiona stormed out of her mother's room and strode angrily back to her suite.

Jacinta sighed and went over the seating chart one more time. The family had taken up an entire floor of the Brackenridge for the week leading up to the big birthday celebrations, and most of them had been thankful that Fiona's suite was on a different floor. The soon-to-be birthday girl had been in a bad mood pretty much all week, which was made worse by Marlo's absence. Marlo took a three-day trip to a conference in Portland but was due back any minute.

Jacinta looked up expectantly when the door to the drawing room opened, but it was Gideon, not Marlo, who stepped in.

"Everything's looking good downstairs," he said brightly, "I just peeked in on the A/V rehearsals and it's looking good."

"Thanks, Gideon. Is Marlo back yet?"

"No, not for another half hour, probably." Gideon looked at his watch.

"Can you please send her straight in when she returns?" Jacinta smiled, "Nothing to worry about, I just want a word with her."

"Of course," Gideon nodded, "Oh, and the head chef is waiting outside. Should I have her come in?"

Jacinta nodded, "Yes, yes, yes... thanks, Gideon."

Darla, the head chef, came through and dove straight into the menu. Jacinta nodded every once in a while; there was no need to do anything more as Darla seemed to have thought through all the angles and myriad dietary restrictions.

A confident knock on the door announced Marlo's return. Jacinta shouted for her to enter and pointed to the seat next to her. Darla gathered her stack of papers and headed out.

"Happy birthday Marlo," the older woman leaned into Marlo's side for a moment.

"Thanks, Jacinta," Marlo leaned back affectionately against the matriarch, "Older, but not wiser!"

Jacinta waved her hand dismissively, "How was the flight?"

"Pretty smooth flight. Conference was uneventful... I actually have some very good news that Fiona will be happy to hear. Dad said you wanted to see me?"

Jacinta sighed, "More like I wanted to warn you: Her royal highness has been suffering from a major shortage of people skills this past week. She's been a pill. Tread lightly, good news or not."

"Is she freaking out about getting older?"

"No," Jacinta reached into a folder and selected the Weddings Announcements page from a week before, "It was this. I have a feeling it was this."

"Halliday's son's wedding?" Marlo scoffed, "She doesn't even like the guy!"

Jacinta pointed at the article below, "No, this article. Do you know either of these women?"

Marlo ran her eyes quickly over the article, "Nope. Never heard about them before. Fi freaked about two women getting married?"

"She stared at this article for a while and then kind of zoned out. She's been a buzzkill ever since."

Marlo looked up humorously, "How do you know the term 'buzzkill'?"

Jacinta winked, "It helps to have grandkids. Benji and Evan told me I was 'a major buzzkill' last week when they begged for more ice cream and I said no! I found it delightful!"

Marlo chucked, "Okay. I'll go see why Fiona's being such a pain in the you-know-what. May I have that article?"

Marlo swiveled the newspaper around and read through the article. On the face of it, there seemed to be very little to explain why it would cause Fiona any distress.

Wait a second.

Marlo read aloud, "'The couple met last year while working at Winchester Brown. Winchester Brown. That's her friend Mona's firm. Her friend Mona, who hosted the reunion dinner five years ago... the dinner where she came back saying she had a really good time but wouldn't tell me anything else..."

Marlo looked up at Jacinta who wasn't following Marlo's train of thought.

"What is it, Marlo?"

Marlo's brain tumbled forward recklessly as she grasped onto this line of inquiry, "But why get upset about this announcement?"

Jacinta pointed at the photo, "She said she knows this woman... um... 'RJ', according to the article."

Marlo stared at the photo. But why would she get all upset about these guys getting hitched? Unless she didn't want them getting married? But why wouldn't she? She wouldn't if she... oh!

"Holy effing shit." Marlo felt like she'd been punched in the gut.

Jacinta took one look at Marlo's face and a revelatory intuition snapped into place, "You think Fiona was involved with one of them!!??"

Marlo pointed at RJ, "Her. Rowan... uh, RJ..." Marlo wanted to wipe the grin off RJ's face.

Jacinta was dumbstruck for a few seconds, but then she started nodding, "Okay... If Fiona did meet RJ at Mona's dinner and if something happened... Well, that would explain a lot."

It's not possible. Fi tells me everything. She would have told me if she'd slept with a woman! Marlo slumped back into the seat. "Maybe nothing happened between them, maybe this Rowan woman merely piqued her interest."

"I hope something did happen!" Jacinta huffed, "Then at least I'd know she has an interest in taking a lover!"

Marlo's eyes flashed, "You're not bothered that she may have slept with a woman?"

"I might be old, but I'm not that kind of old. I've never been bothered with you sleeping with women... Why would I be bothered with Fiona sleeping with a woman?"

Marlo flinched. The words 'Fiona sleeping with a woman' sliced through her heart and she forgot to pretend she didn't care.

Jacinta studied Marlo's face closely, "What is it?"

Marlo grimaced, knowing that she'd said too much. She kept her mouth shut.

"Are you bothered because Fiona kept a secret from you? Or are you bothered because she slept with a woman and it wasn't you?" Jacinta raised her eyebrows, but her eyes were gentle; she knew the answer already. It's about time this all came out into the open!

Marlo froze. About a million emotions rippled through her blue eyes. She felt Jacinta's hand on her forearm, patting her gently.

"Marlo, oh honey, how long?"

"Since forever ago," Marlo tried to fight the tears welling up in her eyes.

"Then go tell her, Marlo! What are you waiting for?" Jacinta was already celebrating inside.

Marlo opened her mouth but no words came out.

Jacinta patted Marlo's hand, "Marlo. Stop stalling."

"She doesn't want me. She wants her." Marlo pointed at the photo of RJ and Lauren.

"She's not available anymore. Stop. STALLING."

All Marlo could feel was the sting of rejection. Fiona didn't want her, hadn't been honest with her, and had been in a bad mood all week because of a woman Marlo hadn't even known existed before today.

"I'm going for a run."

"Marlo..."

"I can't talk to her right now, Jacinta," Marlo walked sadly out the door, "I wouldn't know what to say."

Jacinta gathered her thoughts for a moment, digesting everything that'd just happened. She shook her head, "So much for the younger generation being less hung up on stuff like this."

Fiona, meanwhile, was staring listlessly out the window, feeling more alone than ever. RJ, the dogmatic 'one and done' seducer of women, had somehow fallen in love and willingly vowed to stay true to one person for the rest of her life. It was confounding. In the five years since meeting RJ, Fiona had clung to the philosophy of "no complicated entanglements" - it was a convenient way to keep unwanted attention at bay, and (more importantly) a way of convincing herself that considering anything with Marlo would be way too complicated. It's not like Marlo would be remotely interested anyway... Fiona admonished herself for the umpteenth time that day.

A flash of color caught her eye. A runner, crossing the street below, trotted along with a familiar loping gait. That has to be Marlo. She didn't even bother to come by after her trip. We haven't even said 'happy birthday' to each other. I really am going to die alone and decrepit. A wave of self-pity washed over Fiona. The moment Marlo got to the other side of the street, Fiona felt even worse. Marlo stopped and embraced another woman, who'd obviously been waiting for her. They talked for a while, and set off together. The other woman was - infuriatingly - keeping up with Marlo's bristling pace. When the pair turned and disappeared from sight, Fiona turned her eyes towards the ceiling and sighed. That's probably Marlo's date for tonight's dinner. I'm going to have to meet Marlo's date and smile like I think it's the best thing since sliced bread that Marlo's found yet another girlfriend to seduce.