Trinal

I buttoned my blouse and stuffed the tail into my waistband. He kissed me on the forehead and I moved off the table. "Remember, at the meeting, I announced the invitation to Sagan and a few other news outlets in the valley for a mini press conference at Folio. I've called him a few times to invite him personally, because you know how he is, but Mr. Ace reporter is difficult to catch. I asked Ana to find me if he called back." I moved off the table, straightening my skirt and running quick fingers through my hair just in case I met anyone between here and my office. I walked by the couch to pick up my laptop.

The chair leather crackled as he adjusted. "Don't take too long; I'd like to talk to you tonight." I was going to say, 'you need to finish what you started,' but something stopped me when the tiredness in his face returned. Maybe it was testifying in Washington that was bothering him, but we'd been through worse and he always came out on the other end unscathed. I'd know soon enough after my phone call.

"Remember to send me your birthday list. I want it by tomorrow." He nodded. I blew him a kiss and walked out of his office.

"Have you called because you decided you want my body and can't wait any longer?" Sagan's voice sounded distant. Was everyone in a mood tonight? I could see him resting his phone on his cheek, writing something, while I was talking to him, that ever-present smirk on his face and no shirt. I just improvised that last bit. My time with Carter had me keyed up.

I'd met Sagan a few times over the last several years. To say he was a big strapping lad would be an understatement. He was well over 6 feet tall and had the tenacity of a bulldog in heat. But he also had a disarming charm and when he directed it to you, you had difficulty remembering what zip code you lived in. I suspected that was how he got most of his exclusive stories.

We met on a warm rainy day. I was in a coffee shop, sipping cappuccino, with my trusty compact umbrella by my side waiting for an industry meeting to begin. Sagan sauntered in, without a jacket, soaked to the bone, his white cotton shirt sticking artfully to his well-defined chest. He looked like a god who had decided to slum the day on Earth instead of being fed grapes by nymphs on Mount Olympus. He grabbed a coffee from the counter and, to my horror and delight, the only open seat was at my table. He raked his fingers through his black locks, wiped off his right hand, stuck it out, and introduced himself. "Hi, I'm Sagan Miller and you're Shelby Oberman. I've seen you before; sorry I waited this long to talk to you." That was the beginning of our little cat-and-mouse game. He'd flirt, and I'd say no or ignore his suggestions. I accepted his coffee invitations a few times, but I stopped. He was a shrewd reporter, and the encounters left me hot and bothered. Carter was actually the winner after those meetings. I was extra horny and he got the benefit. "Shelby, you there? Or are you picturing yourself in my bed?"

"We can talk about that another time."

"Really?" I heard something clatter to the ground in the background.

"Don't get excited. I'm inviting you to our headquarters for a press conference. It'll give you a chance to ask Carter questions about the privacy hearings."

"Is this an exclusive with Carter?"

I changed the phone to my other ear and pushed off my shoes. Those pointy heels would be the death of me. "No, it's a press conference. I'm inviting some of your other colleagues to the party as well."

"You haven't given me an answer about that exclusive I proposed. I want to do a profile on you. The woman behind the man?"

"There's no story to tell. I'm just the communications director, not a kingmaker. Unless you want to talk about my knitting addiction, then we don't have much to talk about."

"We'll talk one day; I have no doubt. But in the meantime, text me the information on the press conference and I'll make room on my calendar to be there."

I traced my steps back to Carter's office. The place was quiet this late in the evening; no one was around. When I reached the door, I swiped my badge and pushed through but found no Carter inside. I was about to check the compartment when I saw a note sitting in the middle of his desk. I had to go. We'll talk later, and I'll finish what I started.

# # #

I was on the phone talking to a magazine editor about the details of an article they wanted to run on Folio and its CEO when Ana walked into my office holding a sign. The black Sharpie message read: You need to get off the phone. Carter is on a rampage. He wants you in his office now!

"What the fuck..." I mumbled.

"What did you say, Shelby?"

"Sorry, a minor catastrophe just cropped up." Thank God I'd known Melinda for a long time. I attempted to finish the conversation while Ana motioned for me to hurry it up. I covered the receiver. "Tell Carter I'm on my way." I gave her a scooting motion and resumed the conversation. "Yeah, no problem. We can do that, but we'll need to have advertising in the issue as well... No, we can talk terms later... Unfortunately, I have another meeting to run to. But we can have coffee soon." I put the receiver down. Ana frowned, folding her makeshift poster.

"What's going on?" I asked, searching for my heels under my desk. "Why is he demanding to see me?" I look toward the door. "Did something go wrong with the committee hearings? Are they demanding we come back?"

"He only wants to talk to you and Alec. He didn't tell me anything, just that you need to get to his office right away."

I raced down the hall and veered left, almost crashing into one of the new interns. I barreled into Carter's office, my feet aching from my sprint in heels. Carter was at his desk. Alec sat on the couch. Both men were grim-faced and looking at the TV mounted on the wall. Cut Zone, a celebrity gossip tabloid show, was on the screen. Two plastic people were in an animated conversation with a picture of Carter in the background. "What's this...?"

"Shush, sit down and listen," Alec said without taking his gaze from the screen.

The blonde woman, who I'd seen before, was the gossip queen on the show. She sat with a young manscaped male at a table. The set simulated two friends talking or gossiping. "Diana," the young man said, "Which celeb has made the cut and is in the zone today?"

The woman looked away from her companion and straight into the camera. "The CEO of Folio is in more hot water. Lately he's been on the hot seat testifying at a senate hearing in Washington. Which we all watched because he was the star witness in those dull proceedings. He's just returned to Silicon Valley when he's hit with another problem close to home. Hunky CEO Carter Morrison, who could give Gerard Butler a serious run for his money."

At that moment they flashed a picture of Gerard and Carter at a charity event looking like they could be related. "Yum, right, ladies? Court filings today reveal that Cecile Morrison, wife of Carter Morrison, has filed for divorce and has named Shelby Oberman as the party that alienated her husband's affections. We've obtained a photograph of Carter and Shelby together. This picture was used as evidence of the affair."

A grainy black-and-white photograph appeared. The man, tall and broad-shouldered was dressed in an overcoat. The camera caught him in quarter profile, his hand at the small of the woman's back. More of her face was visible, and the woman in the photo was me. "That was a surprise?" she cooed, "We all thought it would be the Italian model Jozelle Botticelli. But no, he found something more interesting close to home. Ms. Oberman is the Director of Communications at Folio."

My awful corporate photo came up on the screen. The one that made me look like I had a stick up my ass. "He got it in his own backyard." She gave the camera a you-could-have-done-way-better smile. "I'll keep you informed, ladies. But my suggestion is that you bitches better get in line, because Carter Morrison is back on the market."

Alec pressed the remote, and the screen went blank. He turned a worried face to me. "I got a ten-minute warning they were airing this piece from a friend who works at the network. We need to get ready for a barrage of press over this. It doesn't help that twenty reporters will be here in two hours to fire questions at Carter about the privacy hearings. More than likely there will be little to no questions about the hearings and more on the divorce."

Carter hadn't turned away from the TV. He hadn't even acknowledged that I was in the room. What was going on in that calculating brain of his? Alec turned to Carter. "Do you have any suggestions?"

Carter swung his attention to Alec. "I thought that was your department."

"I can if you would tell me what direction you're planning to move."

"I think you should get back to your office and think up a few scenarios we can discuss later."

"Is that your subtle way of telling me to get out of here?" Alec looked at me. "I get it, the two of you have a lot to talk about." He headed for the door. "Let me know when we can talk. I've already got a few ideas on how this can go down."

I'd never spoken to Carter about his relationship with Cecile. He'd always kept us separate. Truth was, I never wanted to know.

"I'm sorry you had to hear about the divorce like this. She's been threatening to divorce me for a while now, but I never thought she would do it." Then it hit me, he was free now. This wasn't the best way to start, but after the scandal died down, we could have a real relationship. Carter put his arms around me and I leaned into him. "Shelby, about all this. I was going to talk to you yesterday when I came in from Washington, but you distracted me." He gave me a squeeze. "It doesn't matter now. Unfortunately, we don't have time to talk. Everything will be all right. I need you to trust me. Can you do that?"

I let out the breath I was holding and nodded. Carter was a master at chaos management. Just when you thought we were on the brink of disaster, he'd always pull it out and made it look easy. "Of course, Carter, anything you need. But we need to craft a statement for the press."

"I'm working on it with Alec. I need someone who isn't personally involved to help me. Right now, you're up to your eyeballs in alligators. In the meantime, give a no-comment to the press or anyone else."

"Should I cancel the press conference? We'll be better prepared if we have a day."

"No, having a press conference in the next couple of hours is probably the best thing for us." He moved to get his jacket.

"Where are you going? I thought Alec was coming back here for your meeting."

"I have to run off campus to check something. I'll be back as soon as possible. Tell Alec to keep working on that statement. I expect it to be perfect by the time I knock on his door. He reached for me and softly kissed my lips. "I love you, Shelby Oberman. Remember that."

# # #

I sat in my office with my head in my hands, wondering about the next two hours. Ana appeared at the door with two cups of coffee. She set one cup on my desk. "I have nothing stronger, so this will have to do. I think you're going to need something to get through this," she said as she moved to the couch.

"How bad was it?"

"On a scale from one to ten? I'd say about a hundred. I watched the announcement. Someone must have seen the intro on Cut Zone that there would be some juicy gossip about Carter, so word got around. That's how I heard about it. I would say everyone on the floor was jammed into the breakroom gawking at the TV."

"What did they say?" I didn't want to know the answer, but I was still curious.

"Half of them were shocked. The other half said they suspected it. I don't believe it for one minute. You never go out in public together unless it's in a group."

Ana knew about Carter and me. Jordan, my first admin, did too. It was hard to hide anything from your administrative assistant. But both women were discreet. I always suspected Alec might have known. I was sure of it after that comment in Carter's office yesterday. "You're right. We never go out in public together. So how did they get that photo? It looked like it was taken in a public place. But the lighting is bad, and the man was in profile. But it could be Carter."

"What are you going to say?" She took a sip.

"Carter suggested I give no comment, which is the best way to go right now. It's better if he addresses the divorce filing. I wish I knew more about that or what he's planning."

"You didn't know anything about this?"

"I found out the same way you did, from that Cut Zone broadcast. I talked with Carter briefly. He said Cecile had been threatening a divorce, but he never thought she'd go through with it."

"Are you going to deny the affair? That man in the photo couldn't possibly be Carter, unless they have other evidence."

Without talking this out with Carter, it was difficult to decide what to do. I wasn't sure I should even attend the press conference today. Questions would be directed at Carter, but there was nothing to stop the reporters from asking me uncomfortable questions.

I wondered if I had enough goodwill with Sagan to talk with him about this. "I'm calling Sagan. Maybe I can pull in a favor and find out his take on this mess. I'm sure he's heard the news by now."

Ana stood up. "I'll leave you to it then. Let me know if I need to do something. I've already started fielding calls, and I've told them you have no comment."

The phone rang for a long time before he picked up. "The woman of the hour, calling me. I knew my instincts were right about you and there was more going on."

"I'm calling to find out how much of a story this will be in the press."

"Oh, this is big, huge big. Not only is Folio in hot water for violating their customers' privacy, but now their CEO has a big juicy scandal brewing. I'm not going to lie; they see blood in the water."

"It's not what you think."

"What do I think?"

I said nothing, just kept chewing my lip.

"Why don't you give me that exclusive I've been asking about? Better yet, why not a live interview? I can do a piece on you and Carter together or separately. At least you could get your stories out there accurately."

That would be a big help. But at this point I didn't know what game we were playing. "Can I get back to you on that?"

"Sure, but don't wait too long. If I'm first out of the gate with a substantive piece, it could help you and me."

"Are you coming to our press conference?"

"Other than aliens capturing me and using my body for research, I wouldn't miss it for the world."

# # #

I didn't attend the press conference. We decided to keep the focus on Carter. Security escorted the press to a small auditorium in the meeting center on our campus. I was viewing a private feed in my office with Ana, who was sitting on my couch with her third cup of coffee.

Alec appeared from a side entrance and walked to the podium. "My name is Alec Dunakin, Chief Legal Officer at Folio. Thank you for attending this press conference at our headquarters. Carter Morrison will be here shortly to read a brief statement, then afterward he will answer your questions." Alec left the podium and took a seat in the front row with the executive team.

The camera remained on the empty podium, the familiar Folio logo prominent on the lectern's front. There were about three rows of press, speaking with hushed voices, waiting for Carter to appear. I wasn't sure if Carter was held up or if he was milking his entrance. I would bet that it was probably a little bit of both. The door in back of the podium opened and Carter strode forward. Freshly shaven and immaculate in a dark navy suit, he adjusted the microphone up.

"Good afternoon." Carter's voice boomed over the assembly. "I want to read a brief statement and then I'll take your questions." He looked at the audience, a ghost of a smile on his lips. "Before I read my prepared remarks, I want to say that we invited you here to ask questions about the privacy hearings in Washington. And I am eager to discuss our participation in the hearings and our vision moving forward. However, since the story about my pending divorce hit the news, I am under no illusions that you are actually here for more information about that topic." A titter of laughter rose from the room. "I would like to make a statement about the news story and then I will answer your questions. If you still have questions about the privacy hearings, I would be happy to talk about that as well."

Carter pulled a sheet of paper from his breast pocket, placing it on the lectern, studying the sheet for a second. The room was waiting in silence. Looking up, he scanned the sea of faces, then left the podium to stand in front. That was a bold move to leave the protection of the podium, but that was a classic Carter move. He stood, not cowered or contrite, he was just Carter. "I was unaware that my wife Cecile had filed for a divorce. I learned of the divorce during the Cut Zone broadcast. The filing has pained me and my family deeply. I will admit that, like any couple, we have our challenges. Unfortunately, we do not have the privacy to work out our problems away from the public, especially in these difficult times when I am away a large part of the time representing Folio. It appears my wife was sent the photograph that appeared on the Cut Zone broadcast. Cecile was told this was a picture of Shelby Oberman and me. I can confirm that I am not the man in the photograph."

"Then who is the man?" a reporter shouted.

"I would like to finish my statement. But to answer your question, I don't know. Cecile has rescinded the divorce filing and we are entering into couples counseling. My family is important. This has been a difficult time for us. With much soul-searching and a discussion with my family, I have resigned as the CEO of Folio."

My stomach lurched. I turned away from the screen to stare at Ana. Her mouth fell open. She looked as stunned as I felt. "What is he saying? He never talked about leaving the company. If anyone would know, it would be me."

Ana shook her head. "I haven't heard a rumor about this. Do you think it's a spur-of-the-moment decision because of the news?"

That was a possibility. But I didn't have a clue without talking to Carter. I looked back at the screen. "What game are you playing?" I mumbled under my breath.

"How long have you and Shelby Oberman been having an affair?" shouted a reporter.

Carter continued to keep calm but engaging for the reporters. I was interested in his answer.

"You guys ask me this all the time." His drawl was thick and folksy. "I love my wife; there's no affair." He punctuated the statement with his signature grin.

The room erupted with reporters calling out questions. I'd heard enough. I'd been publicly dumped. I picked up the remote and turned off the sound from the feed. They recorded the conference, so if there was anything I needed to see, I'd have a tape to review. Carter had taken a sledgehammer to our relationship. Was that what he wanted to talk about last night? Had he planned to fuck me and dump me?

Ana got up. "I'll see what I can find out," she said and rushed out of the office.

I slumped back in my chair. My reputation was ruined. Even if Carter wasn't the man in the photograph, the mention of me in a formal divorce filing as the other woman, from the wife of the powerful man I worked for, gave me a reputation. If I tried to find a job with a top-tier company, I would be seen as a liability. Hell, my days at Folio were probably numbered. I never thought it would end like this. I thought Carter would announce that I was his soulmate and we would be together, everyone be damned. In a day, I'd lost my reputation and the man I loved. Jeeze Louise, I was screwed.