Page 30 of Checkmate
Erica finally stubbed out the cigarette. Damn Alex for pushing her back to smoking. She had been doing so well. “Well, then I asked him to meet me for coffee.”
“Hello.”
Silence.
“Am I speaking to Marcus Copeland?”
Nothing.
“Um, hello?”
“Mrs Carr?” The sudden voice in her ear nearly made Erica drop the receiver.
“Yes, hi,” she breathed.
God, this was painful. More silence stretched between them as she figured out what to say next. She had never felt more uncomfortable and unsure of herself, and she was a woman who prided herself on her social graces.
“I’m sorry Mrs Carr—”
“Erica, please.”
“Erica. Okay. Well, Erica, I’m sorry you’re having to make this phone call and that circumstances have forced us into this awkward conversation.”
“There’s nothing for you to apologise for.” She chewed her lip. Did she mean that? “Although I feel the need to say sorry, so I guess we’re even.”
“What are you sorry for?” His tone gave away his surprise. Neither of them had reason to apologise, and the stilted and formal way of speaking to one another was in the way of any actual conversation.
It was enough.
“I shouldn’t apologise, Alex should. But since he won’t, I am sorry my cheating scum of a husband stuck his dick in your wife.”
Silence.
“Well. What an eloquent choice of words. I wouldn’t have put it quite like that, but it’s effective.”
Was she crazy, or did she hear a hint of amusement in his tone?
“I accept your apology, Erica, and in turn, I’m sorry my cheating bitch of a wife let him stick his dick in her.”
Erica felt herself relax as he matched her tone and dropped the formalities.
“Did she let him?” She asked, clearing her throat. “I mean, is that what the messages imply?”
“Are you asking who came on to whom?” Marcus asked, sighing. God, he sounded broken. Not that she could blame him. Somehow, she knew his answer before he even spoke. “I think from what I read; Sophie did the chasing.”
So, she had been right. Sophie did have a crush on Alex. Well, more than a crush by the looks of things. It was surprising how unsurprised she was.
“And Alex allowed himself to be caught,” she said with her own sigh. After all these years, all the people who had tried their luck, Sophie was the one who made him buckle.
Why her?
Why now?
Silence fell between them once more, only different this time. More relaxed. Contemplative.
“How much did you actually read?” She asked finally, curiosity getting the better of her. Now that the truth was out there, she wanted all the details so she could plan her next move.
“Not as much as I’d like,” Marcus admitted. “But enough. Once I realised what I was reading, I shut down my laptop as though that made it all go away. It’s still on there, though. I don’t know why I did it, I just remember my heart sinking and the thought ‘I shouldn’t be reading this’ going through my head.”
