Channel: Private Pleasures Part 19

"The b.i.t.c.h!" Jeff said angrily. "The duplicitous little b.i.t.c.h!"

"Trouble in paradise?" Rick said softly.

"Drop dead!" Jeff snapped and, turning, went back to his house.

Rick turned, hiding his smile, and saw Carla hurrying across the lawn in the predawn light to the Seligmanns'. He sighed, and followed after her.

Heidi Millar's face was a disaster. One eye was blacked badly, and her nose was still oozing blood as she held a cloth tightly to it. Rina was clucking sympathetically and trying too soothe the semihysterical girl. She waved her husband and Rick out of the kitchen, where they had brought Heidi.

"Go back to bed, both of you," she said. "Carla and I will help here."

The two men left, and they heard Sam climbing the stairs as the front door closed behind Rick.

"What happened?" Carla said, trying to keep the eagerness from her voice.

"Oh, Carla, it's wonderful!" Heidi said. "And then I came back, and Jeff wanted to, well, you know, and it was terrible the way it always is, and I just lost it. I mean, why should I have to put up with him when I've got The Channel?"

"You told her about The Channel?" Rina said, surprised.

Carla smiled, and nodded. "What happened?" she repeated.

"Well, I told him some home truths about how he was creatively dry, and I had been doing the campaigns his partners thought he was doing, and that I was going to tell them, and get a promotion, and that I didn't need him. Then he started beating me. I thought he was going to kill me. I honestly did."

"You have to press charges," Carla said softly. "You can't let him get away with that kind of violence." Her eyes met Rina's over Heidi's head.

"Yes," Rina agreed. "You really must press charges against him, my dear. I always suspected he was violent with Nora, though she would never admit it, poor woman. And Heidi, Jeff is what in my day was referred to as a tomcat, or a hound dawg. He never met a skirt he didn't lift, or try to lift. He wouldn't have been any more faithful to you than he was to Nora. I think you're well out of this. I'll call the police for you."

Heidi thought a moment. That would really screw Jeff with his partners, wouldn't it? She felt a smile, and then winced because it hurt her face. She sighed dramatically. "I guess I will have to press charges so he doesn't do this to any woman again. Do you think if his wife ever wakes up, she'll want him back?"

"NO!" Both Carla and Rina said with a single voice.

"Would you please call the police for me, Carla?" Heidi said.

"Rina will do it," Carla said. "Tell me what happened last night."

"His name is Brad. He's big. All over. And I'm going back," Heidi said. "I can get it in the city, can't I?"

"Sure can," Carla responded with a smile. Nora was going to be so pleased.

And Nora was pleased. She had imagined someone like Caleb Snow because she had known Carla would mention his attributes to Heidi, and Heidi would want someone like Caleb. And the elevator had opened to reveal Brad. She had given him his instructions. And of course he had obeyed her, but only after he had struck a deal with her of payment for his favor. He was a bis.e.xual, and had seen Rolf in the stud pool of The Channel. He wanted the blond Austrian. Nora had agreed. She knew very well that it wouldn't be long before Heidi was enjoying a threesome with both young men.

The elevator doors to the penthouse opened and Brad stepped out.

"Have you entrapped her?" Nora asked him as he entered her domain. "Did you give her everything she wanted? I do want Heidi happy in The Channel. Will she be back soon?" Her questions came quickly.

Brad nodded. "Yes, ma'am, I gave her just what she wanted," he said with a wicked grin. "She'll be back. I left her begging for more. Now, give me what you promised me."

"Rolf," she called, and the young blond arose from the couch and came across the room. "I want you to go with Brad now. You're his."

"Why?" Rolf asked.

"Because you make Kyle jealous, and I don't want him unhappy. Because Brad has done me a favor, and I'm repaying him." She patted his cheek. "You've been such a good boy, but I don't need you anymore."

Rolf shrugged. His eyes were on the bulge in Brad's thong. "Good-bye, Nora," he said, and without another word he followed Brad into the elevator.

When they had gone Kyle came from the bedroom. "What have you done?" he asked her. "And why did you give Rolf away?"

"Carla introduced Heidi to The Channel. I suspect she won't be so interested in Jeff anymore now that she's seen the kind of s.e.x she can have here. And once she dumps him, the question of my getting my house back becomes a moot point. I considered the type of man Heidi would like, using Caleb as a model. A rough, good-looking guy with a great big d.i.c.k. Brad appeared, and in exchange for Rolf he became Heidi's fantasy. Heidi's a lot more s.e.xually adventurous than my soon-to-be ex. Brad saw to it she had the best time she's had in years. By tomorrow when she wakes up she's going to be rethinking her options. I'd put money on it," Nora gloated.

"Who's going to ma.s.sage you now, Red?" Kyle asked, smiling.

"You are," she said. "Get the oil out. I want you to spoil me, darling. I am feeling very happy tonight."

"No more other men?" he asked.

"For now. I won't make you any promises, however," she told him.

"You love me," he replied.

"Maybe," Nora responded. "I still don't trust your gender, darling Mr. Gorgeous."

"Then I'll have to spend eternity convincing you," he said softly.

"Eternity is a long time," Nora noted.

"Yes," he agreed, "it is." He took her hand, and led her into the bathroom. "I'm going to give you the best ma.s.sage of your life, darling," he promised her.

Nora smiled. Variety was nice, but having Kyle so totally devoted to her was even better. And here in The Channel they would always remain the same. And he would always be exactly what she wanted him to be. It was a perfect world. And then the phone rang. "Get it," she ordered him.

Kyle picked up the handset. "Yes?" He listened, and then he said, "She'll be there, Margaret. Give me half an hour. Okay." He set the phone down. "Mr. Nicholas wants to see you, Nora. And I'm to come with you. We'll have to put the ma.s.sage off until later, Red. I'm sorry."

"Pick something out for me to wear," Nora told him, and he nodded.

When they were both dressed Nora found herself in a pair of b.u.t.terscotch-colored silk slacks, beneath which she wore a cream-colored silk thong, which emphasized her b.u.t.t beneath the trousers. Her cream silk s.h.i.+rt had a deep V neck and long sleeves. She had slipped a pair of leather sandals on her feet. Kyle was wearing beige linen pants and a white s.h.i.+rt with the sleeves rolled up. He had oxblood leather penny loafers on his big feet. He styled her hair in a tailored chignon. His dark hair was wet and brushed back. They entered the elevator, and pushed the red b.u.t.ton as the doors closed.

When they opened again the pair stepped out into the elegant office. It was quiet but for the two women at their workstations. Margaret was there to greet them. "Come along, you two," she said, moving briskly down the room to the double doors. "They're here, Mr. Nicholas," she said, ushering them into the elegant office.

He came forward, a smile on his face. "Come in! Come in!"

Nora saw there was a bottle of champagne in a bucket on the butler's tray, as well as three slender flutes. She looked at Kyle, but he shrugged and shook his head.

"My dear Nora," Mr. Nicholas said, taking up both her hands in his and kissing them. "I am astounded! And very impressed, my dear. It was a brilliant plan. Flawlessly executed, and I never had the slightest hint of what you were doing. Of what you were capable." He poured the champagne into the flutes, gave Nora one and Kyle one, and took the third for himself. "I salute you, my dear Nora!"

"Mr. Nicholas, I have no idea of what you are talking about," Nora said, confused. "What have I done?" She set the crystal flute of champagne down on the butler's tray.

"My dear girl, please don't be modest. There is no place for modesty in a devious mind such as yours," Mr. Nicholas said, smiling. "Or perhaps there is."

Nora sighed. "I honestly don't know to what you refer," she repeated.

For a moment he looked surprised. Then he set his champagne down. "Did you not arrange to lure Heidi Millar into The Channel, my dear?" he said.

"Well, yes," Nora answered slowly. "I thought if she saw she could have her fantasies without my husband, she would decide she didn't need him. Oh, I want the divorce, but if Jeff didn't have to buy her a co-op, he wouldn't want my house. I even had Carla tell her about Caleb Snow's attributes. Most women are curious to try a p.e.n.i.s that size at least once. I thought Heidi is young, and the young women today are so much more liberated s.e.xually, at least in public, than my generation was."

"But it was you who created Brad, my dear, and had him go to her, wasn't it?" Mr. Nicholas said.

Nora nodded. "I thought she would want a fantasy man of her own and then I considered the kind of man Heidi might want based on what I know of her," Nora explained.

Mr. Nicholas smiled, obviously pleased. "And she found her fantasy, thanks to you, my dear. Heidi is a young woman who enjoys erotic-asphyxiation s.e.xual activity."

Nora looked confused.

"Explain it to her, Kyle," the administrator said, and Kyle did.

"Oh!" Nora exclaimed. "That certainly wouldn't be my idea of fun."

Mr. Nicholas laughed in spite of himself. Then he grew a bit more sober. "Do you understand what you have set in motion, Nora? Perhaps you don't, but I see much promise in you, my dear. Let me tell you what has happened in your reality. Heidi returned from a most satisfactory visit to The Channel. She went upstairs to bed, where your husband was now awake, and demanding s.e.x of his paramour. She acquiesced, for if the truth be known, Brad deliberately left her hungry for more of what he had given her earlier. But your husband was swift, and selfish in his needs. He gave no thought to Heidi, and she suddenly rebelled, berating him. There was a physical confrontation. She fled screaming into the cul-de-sac that is Ansley Court, awakening your neighbors, who took her in and advised her to call the police."

Nora's gray green eyes widened.

A small smile touched Mr. Nicholas's lips. "Your friends are encouraging her to press charges, and she will. Now, my dear Nora, you have a most unique opportunity set before you, and how you react will decide your fate."

"I don't understand," she said.

"Let us sit down," Mr. Nicholas replied, and picking up his champagne, he sipped at it thoughtfully. "a.s.sault and battery are not particularly serious charges in general, but you know your husband, Nora. His public persona is most important to him, and even more important to the advertising firm in which he is a partner. There will be some rather negative publicity with regard to the violence done to Heidi Millar by Jeff Buckley. Messrs. Wickham and Coutts will be more than displeased. You, the long-faithful wife, and Heidi, the naive young woman he romanced and took advantage of, will be the victims of an ambitious, greedy, and s.e.xually rapacious man. Your husband's reputation will be ruined. He is scarcely at an age where he can start all over again, is he?" Mr. Nicholas concluded softly.

Nora nodded slowly.

"You and your children are the sole beneficiaries of your husband's will, my dear." Mr. Nicholas continued. "If he dies, the house is yours. However, he could sell the house to mount the rather expensive defense he might have to mount in an effort to stay out of jail. His resources are stretched right now. "Mr. Nicholas murmured. "Of course the shock of Heidi's betrayal, coupled with the shock of learning that Sleeping Beauty has awakened from her slumber, could kill him, couldn't it?" The administrator smiled at her. "Jeff has always been p.r.o.ne to hypertension."

His dark eyes were cold and fathomless, Nora noted. "I can't take advantage of Jeff," she said.

"Yes, you can," Mr. Nicholas told her. "This is the man who was casting you aside after twenty-six years of faithful devotion, my dear. This is the man who was attempting to put you out of your house, who wanted to impoverish you, and your children, just so he could marry a younger woman. Someone not much older than the daughter you bore him. Doesn't he deserve to die?"

Nora was silent. She had wanted revenge, and now she had her chance. Wouldn't her life, the children's lives be better without Jeff? J. J. could go to college without having to worry. Jill could have her three years at Duke Law paid for, and not have to take time from her studies by working. And I would have my house, Nora thought.

"Listen to him, Red," Kyle said softly. "You don't have to sacrifice yourself any more, baby. We can be together. He doesn't deserve to live."

"If I agreed," Nora said slowly, "how would it happen? He's a b.a.s.t.a.r.d, I know, but I don't want him to suffer."

"And we don't want him to run up too large a legal bill," Mr. Nicholas said with a sly smile. "I think on his second night in jail your husband will suffer an acute coronary. He'll die in his sleep, my dear, dreaming of you as you and Kyle make pa.s.sionate love."

"He'll know it's me?" Nora asked. She liked that idea very much.

"Yes, he will, because you want him to know," Mr. Nicholas responded.

"Yes, I do!" Nora exclaimed. "I do!"

"Then it shall be as you wish, my dear, and you will not feel guilty at all, I promise you. Your husband is only getting his just deserts," Mr. Nicholas a.s.sured her.

It was so simple, Nora considered. And no one would ever know. Then she said, "But I'm in Sh.o.r.ecrest. They won't let me out when I wake up. They'll want to keep me a few days, I'm sure."

Mr. Nicholas thought a long moment. "When you awaken you will be fine. It will be as if you had just been asleep. There will be no weakness or atrophy in your limbs. Everything will be normal. Your pulse. Respiration. Everything. You will insist upon going home. They will insist on keeping you. You will compromise by remaining one night. Then your lawyer will see you are checked out, and you will go home. It is quite simple, my dear."

"Do it!" Nora told him. What was the point in her suffering any longer? She owed herself and her children this opportunity, and she was going to take it.

"You do remember that you owe me a favor, my dear, don't you?"

Nora nodded. "And now I will owe you a bigger one," she said. What could he ask of her? That she be one of The Channel's s.e.x slaves for a time? So be it! She'd do it gladly if Mr. Nicholas could solve her problems. She was so tired of struggling against Jeff Buckley. She just wanted to be free of him.

Mr. Nicholas smiled at her. "I don't want you to worry, my dear, because everything will be taken care of for you. I am happy to see you have not forgotten your obligation to me. Now run along and prepare yourself for your return to your own reality, Nora. The next few days will be busy for you. Be patient. It has been a pleasure having you as a longtime guest here in The Channel."

She and Kyle returned to the penthouse. Nora looked about. Was the sky beginning to lighten beyond her windows, or was it her imagination? "You promised me a ma.s.sage," she said to Kyle, smiling up at him seductively.

"We haven't got time," he told her, taking her into his arms. "I'll miss you."

"I'll only be gone a little while," she promised him. "And after that, we will be together every night."

"For eternity," he said.

"Yes, for eternity," Nora agreed. "Hold me tight, Kyle!" She was beginning to feel herself slipping away from him. Her head was spinning faster, and faster, and faster. She was suddenly unconscious, and then her eyes flew open. She was lying in a hospital bed in a room with pink walls and a floral border. She didn't move for several minutes, and then she turned her head to her right. She could see the dawn staining the eastern sky, and a winter garden beyond the window. There was red-twigged dogwood, bright among small patches of melting snow.

Nora sat up gingerly. Slowly she swung her feet over the edge of the bed. She wasn't dizzy. In fact she felt d.a.m.ned good. As if she had had a wonderful long rest. She was past questioning what had happened, or if The Channel was real. She had a part to play now, and she had to remember that she was supposed to have absolutely no idea of what had happened to her. A call bell. There must be a call bell. She looked about. There it was. Reaching for it, she pressed it and waited. And while she waited she put her feet on the ground and began to walk around. She wasn't in the least fuzzy in her head, or unsure on her feet. She drew the IV on wheels along with her.

The door to the room opened, and a woman in a uniform stepped through. "Mrs. Buckley!" she exclaimed. She hurried over to Nora and attempted to put an arm about her waist. "You shouldn't be up like this!"

Nora pulled away from the woman. "I am fine," she said, "but you will understand I am somewhat confused. Where am I?"

"Please sit down, Mrs. Buckley," the woman in the uniform said. "You're at Sh.o.r.ecrest."

"The nursing home? What in heaven's name am I doing here?" Nora demanded.

"What do you last remember, Mrs. Buckley?" her companion asked.

Being in the arms of the s.e.xiest man you could ever imagine, Nora silently thought, but then she said, "Ordering a cable movie, and sitting down to watch it," she told the woman.

"You obviously had some sort of seizure, or brain incident," the uniform began.

"How long have I been here?" Nora said.

"You were at the hospital for ten days, and then moved here six weeks ago. What is the last date you remember?"

"It was New Year's Day," Nora said. "What is today's date, please?"

"It's March first, Mrs. Buckley." She took up Nora's wrist in her hand to check her pulse. "I'm Elda James, the night nurse on this wing. Well, your pulse is quite normal. Would you mind sitting back on the bed. I want to check your blood pressure, and the cuff is over there. I'll also unhook you from your IV."

Nora got up and walked across to the bed to sit down. The nurse fastened the blood pressure device about her right arm and quickly pumped it up. When she had her answer, she unfastened it and put it back in the holder. Then she undid the IV.

"What is it?" Nora asked her quietly.