The Creepshow: A Novel Read online

  “Just a little taste.” Galina coaxed her, breaking off a tiny corner and setting it in her hand. “You don’t want to leave your stomach empty of food with red wine sloshing around in there.”

  Wanda took a bite, an effort to appease her friend more than herself, and then swallowed a mouthful of Earl Grey.

  “Have you heard from him?” Galina’s voice was gentle.

  Wanda nodded. “A couple of text messages.”

  “What did he say?”

  Wanda, who had memorized the words, told her.

  “You should give him the benefit of the doubt, Wanda. Maybe it isn’t as extreme as you imagine.”

  Wanda smirked. “That’s wishful thinking.”

  “Why?”

  “It seems more likely that it’s bad. I’m sure that woman—Justine—wouldn’t cause a scene over some guy she hardly knows.”

  “So you know her then? And you understand her motivations?”

  “No.” Wanda wanted to believe Galina. She wanted to believe Max. But she was too afraid of taking the risk. This taste of heartbreak was bad enough.

  “You don’t have to make a decision now but think about it. Before you cut Max out of your life without even letting him explain himself, think about it.”

  Wanda nodded, her energy spent. Galina left with the tea tray a few minutes later, and as soon as Wanda curled up against the pillows, she was asleep.

  Chapter 21

  Wanda spent the rest of her weekend dodging Max’s calls and messages. She hid out at Galina’s place, knowing that if she dared go home, Max would show up at her door.

  “Doesn’t that in and of itself prove he cares about you?” Galina had said.

  She had a point, but Wanda refused to follow logic. She was too busy listening to her sentimental side.

  Wanda could borrow a dress from Galina, meaning she wouldn’t have to stop home before Monday. She left Nelly with Galina before heading to work, promising she would return home that night.

  “You know you’re welcome here,” Galina had told her. “I just don’t think you should be in flight mode too long. You have to return to reality.”

  Wanda walked to work, for the first time in months almost eager to get there. Anything to take her mind off Max and Justine.

  Her enthusiasm about a day at Whilt was short-lived as she settled down behind her computer. Louis and Thomas approached her as she listened for voicemail. She finished jotting down two calls to return and then turned to them.

  “Wanda, Thomas was supposed to listen to an analyst call today but won’t be able to do it,” Louis said. “He’s managed to line up a very important lunch with a CEO. So we need you to listen to the call and take notes for him.”

  “Isn’t that what one of the assistants should be doing?” Wanda could feel her blood boil. Never in all of the years she’d been at Whilt had she ever asked a senior manager to listen to a routine analyst call for her. She knew the call Louis was referring to—and it wasn’t anything important.

  “Wanda, don’t be a prima donna. Listening to an analyst call isn’t beneath you.”

  “Fine,” she said, then turned to Thomas. “Message me with the time and access codes, please.”

  He nodded and scurried off. He’d avoided speaking with Wanda lately. Perhaps he could read the ire on her face.

  ~~~~

  Wanda dodged yet another happy hour with the laughing group who headed out the door as she was shutting down her computer. The “excuse” of having a baby to take care of was often ridiculed, so she simply said she had a headache. That did the trick.

  Wanda let them leave first, several steps ahead on their way to the bar, and then hurried down the stairs and out the door. The cool evening air filled her lungs, and she shuddered as she clutched her black silk scarf against her throat.

  “Wanda, finally.” Max emerged from the shadows. “Give me a chance to explain.” She took a step back, heart pounding. His eyes were imploring and wouldn’t release hers. She stood speechless for an instant, then with every ounce of strength in her body and mind, she looked away and kept walking.

  Max followed and quickly fell into step with her.

  “Look, I don’t need to hear it, OK?”

  “Justine and I were on the mission together,” he began.

  Wanda blinked her eyes to hold back the tears. She should stop right now and hail a cab, but the taxis were all full at this hour. Or she should escape into that bar ahead. No, that was where her colleagues had gone for drinks. She should speed up her pace, but that was impossible in her high-heeled boots. So she sighed and stopped, turning to him.

  “Fine,” she said between clenched teeth. “Continue. Tell me everything. Tell me about how you played me for a fool from start to finish. Make me feel just great. I could use it right now.”

  He placed his hands gently on her shoulders, but she shrugged them off. He sighed.

  “After you and I lost touch, Justine and I started seeing each other. Not immediately after, but little by little. We spent most of our days together so… I wanted to forget you. I tried hard to forget about you and figured a relationship with Justine was a good way to start. But it wasn’t. It didn’t feel right. At least not to me. I wanted to break up with her when I left Africa, but she insisted on leaving things open, in case she decided to return to Paris.”

  Wanda listened, unmoving. A small spark of hope, of joy, ignited within her heart, but she squelched it. Words were words. Max could say anything he wanted to appease her at this point.

  “I told her I couldn’t commit to her and left it at that,” he continued. “The next time I saw her was with you at the party.”

  Wanda thought back to herself, pregnant with his baby as he was off fooling around with Justine. But he didn’t know! And you stopped calling him! It was reasonable for him to continue living, wasn’t it? But she couldn’t let Max off the hook so easily. Trying to forget about me by finding a new girlfriend? Yeah, right!

  “What do you expect me to do now?” Wanda snapped. She saw the pain in his eyes and wanted to believe it was sincere. But if she decided to trust him, she would be putting her heart in jeopardy.

  “Wanda, I care about you—not Justine. Things are so good between us. I don’t want to throw that away.”

  Wanda dropped her gaze to her toes. If she continued looking into his eyes, she would break down. She had to be firm.

  “I’ve heard what you had to say. Now, I need some time. You clearly were able to jump from our relationship into another one quickly enough—”

  “Wanda, it wasn’t like that.”

  She turned and continued to walk in the direction of her apartment. He walked by her side.

  “Max, I can’t make a quick decision. My life is complicated right now.”

  “OK, I’m not asking for immediate forgiveness.”

  “I’m not sure you’ve done anything requiring forgiveness,” she said. “You didn’t cheat on me if you thought our relationship was over. You just disappointed me, looking for refuge in another relationship when ours was left in limbo. And I guess that’s sometimes just as bad. But maybe all of this was my fault too. I didn’t seek out a definite breakup either.”

  “It’s not your fault.” He took her hand, and she let him hold it for an instant, savoring the feel of his hand around hers, protecting it from the cold.

  At the foot of her building, they turned to face each other.

  “Can I come by to see you and Nelly this weekend?”

  She nodded and then hurried through the door.

  Chapter 22

  The letter did not bring good news. Whilt Investment Services was cutting Wanda Julienne’s salary by twenty percent because she had failed to meet goals in due time. Wanda’s hands shook as she read the letter over and over, as if the words would magically change into something less catastrophic if she read them one more time.

  That bastard! She thought of Louis but then remembered her earlier realization: He was a powerless fo
ol, a messenger delivering information to and from management. He’d told Raymond Grant and the other New York bosses about her fund performance and her decision to reject the Asian funds, but he wasn’t the one deciding how to punish her.

  Still, Louis was her only point of contact, so, as usual, he was the one who met with her ire the next morning as she stood before him, letter in hand.

  “I don’t understand, Louis,” she said between clenched teeth. “You saw the improvement in my funds—and in an extremely short period of time. One week beyond the impossible deadline you gave me.”

  “I’m not in control of those decisions, Wanda.” He shrugged and slouched back into his chair. “Technically, you didn’t meet the goal. You were a week late.” He grinned.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she said.

  “The decision could always be reversed if I realize you are indeed amazing. And I bet you could be…” His voice trailed off, and his eyes seemed to unravel her sweater.

  But Wanda was over being shocked by his comments. Ignoring them was the best weapon.

  “Would management be satisfied if I obtained information illegally like some of my colleagues?” she asked.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He wrinkled his brow in feigned confusion.

  “Of course you won’t admit it. How silly of me to think you would.”

  “This letter is about you, Wanda—not about your colleagues.”

  “Right. The confidentiality thing.”

  “If you want more information about your situation, you can send a message to HR.”

  “So you’re washing your hands of everything? You couldn’t be the one to tell me about this even though I see you every day? I had to wait to receive this letter.”

  “That’s the way things work around here, Wanda. You’ve been with Whilt long enough to know.”

  And that’s where he was right.

  ~~~~

  The pay cut would begin in exactly one month. Wanda didn’t have to take out a calculator to know she was being priced out of her apartment. It might not have been a very big place, but it was in an excellent location. Breaking the lease wasn’t a concern. An apartment like this one would find a new occupant in a day.

  What broke her heart was the idea of leaving, not only the apartment she had lived in for so many years, but also the neighborhood. She wouldn’t find anything around here for less, which would mean a longer commute and more time away from Nelly. Then she thought of the nanny. She couldn’t give up Colette, who was so good with Nelly. On her way to work, she would have to bring Nelly back to the building for the nanny share. Add another fifteen minutes to the morning clock. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she huddled into the corner of the couch and scrolled through apartment listings.

  She hadn’t told Galina, who would offer her money. She didn’t want to depend on her friend. She didn’t want to feel helpless. She would tell her after she had moved out of this apartment and into a new one, after she had managed on her own.

  Through her tears, she calculated her other expenses. It was tight, but she and Nelly would scrape by.

  Chapter 23

  Attorney Daniel Lambert recommended writing Whilt a letter. It would be an attempt to address the problems, discuss them and find a solution. Wanda sat at the edge of her seat, eager and naïve, as Lambert questioned her across his cluttered desk. It was the only cluttered thing in the room, that heavy mahogany structure sitting between them. Otherwise, the place was light and airy, with white sculpted walls, a cathedral ceiling and an absence of furnishings. Wanda almost felt her voice echoing as she asked a question or replied to one.

  “The discrimination is flagrant,” Lambert finally said, gazing at her over the rim of his glasses. “And from what you said, it’s clear there was sexual harassment. But that doesn’t mean it will be an easy battle in the courtroom.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We need solid proof.”

  “And what I have isn’t proof?”

  “I’ve been in this business for thirty years, Ms. Julienne, and I’ve had cases that seemed infallible. And those were often the cases I lost.”

  Wanda felt a shiver run up and down her spine. Was he trying to discourage her? Why had Galina sent her here? Wanda should have listened to her own instinct. She should have cut her losses and quit. It would have been over by now and maybe she would have even found another job.

  “You’re probably wondering why I’m telling you that,” Lambert said, interrupting her thoughts.

  “Yes, as a matter of fact.”

  “Just because something seems obvious to you or to me doesn’t mean it is legally sound.”

  “You mean I don’t have a case?” Wanda almost wished he would confirm her fears. At least that way, she would know where she stood.

  “I didn’t say that. Never assume anything.”

  “What are you saying then?”

  “That discrimination, that harassment, require a number of supporting elements, including affidavits and preferably witnesses.”

  Wanda bit her lip as images of her colleagues suddenly blinded her. She saw them laughing, gossiping, burrowed behind computers or chatting in the kitchen. She saw Flora criticizing her for no longer playing the singles game even though she still was single. She heard Sam laughing at her for refusing a glass of wine because she was too damned tired. Would any of these people actually make a statement on her behalf? Not a judgment of whether there had been misconduct, but simply a statement of fact. If one did, he or she would be next on Whilt’s list.

  “You see where I’m going with this,” Lambert said as if reading her mind. “Gathering evidence is up to you—and you will find it to be a challenging endeavor.”

  Wanda walked out of the office with a notebook full of recommendations and a plan of action. Lambert would address a letter to Whilt, an attempt at reconciliation. Whilt’s response would determine whether the next step would be a friendly agreement or litigation.

  The evening chill had set in as she walked down the street, passing cafés serving cocktails to the early crowd. Strangely, in spite of the dreadful evidence-gathering task awaiting her, she felt rather serene. At least she had made a decision, taken a step. And at least Lambert had confirmed that she did indeed have a case. Now, she just had to prove it to the judge.

  Her phone rang, and she fumbled in her bag until she saw Colette’s name flashing on the screen. Not a call to ignore. She answered breathlessly.

  “Don’t worry, everything’s OK,” Colette said. “I’m just calling to say the doctor is late so Nelly and I are still stuck in the office. I’m thinking we’ll be here for another hour.”

  “I can try to meet you there.”

  “No, don’t worry about it. By the time you get here, we’ll probably be inside with the doctor.”

  “So I guess this means I don’t have to rush to get her,” Wanda said with a sigh of relief. She had expected to be a half hour late, but now it was looking as if she would make it back to the apartment well before they did. “Thanks for letting me know, Colette.”

  “No prob! Enjoy your free time.” Wanda could almost see Colette’s smile on the other end of the line. Colette was a jewel of a nanny. Wanda would eat potatoes every day if she had to, just to afford keeping Nelly in Colette’s care.

  So Wanda’s rapid footsteps slowed to a calmer pace, a strolling pace that she rarely had time to savor. Another café, this one with heat lamps warming the bravest of patrons who chose to sit outside. As Wanda gazed at the picturesque scene, her heart skipped a beat. She froze to the spot even though all she wanted to do was run. There, right before her, sat Max and Justine. Each bundled in a warm coat, each with a hand wrapped around a cup of coffee, each wearing a serious expression. So involved were they in conversation that it seemed odd that Max, right then, looked up, straight into Wanda’s eyes. It was as if he had sensed her presence.

  Wanda took a step back and then another.

&n
bsp; “Wanda!” He rose from his seat, but she was already a few steps ahead.

  “Wait,” he called out.

  “Max, what’s going on?” Justine’s voice echoed in the distance.

  Wanda wished she hadn’t worn her high-heeled boots. They were a liability, slowing her just enough so that Max could catch up, grab her by the arms and turn her around to face him. He was in a panic, his eyes flashing with concern.

  “Wanda, please, I can explain!”

  Wanda wrenched herself out of his grip and turned away, but he easily kept up with her rapid steps.

  “It looks as if Justine isn’t as out of the picture as you made it seem.” Wanda was annoyed with herself for letting the hurt and anger seep through. Why couldn’t she be cool and indifferent instead of excitable and emotional?

  “Wanda, we have to talk.”

  Those simple words sliced through her heart like a knife. She could either keep walking and push him away or face him and whatever he had to say. She continued a few steps, slowing a bit, as she considered her options. And then she stopped. No use in running. Better off knowing right away that he didn’t love her.

  “OK, what is it?” She faced him, arms crossed against her chest, heavy bag falling to her elbow. They stood in the middle of the busy sidewalk, illuminated by street lamps and a light drizzle that had begun to fall. His eyes were somber and intense, more black than brown.

  “Let’s sit down somewhere—”

  “The middle of the street is fine for this conversation, Max.” Her voice was decisive.

  He looked down and sighed. Wanda held her breath, bracing herself for the hurtful words.

  “I asked Justine to meet me for a drink because I wanted to end things officially,” he said. “I want to be with you and Nelly.”

  “She wants to get back together, right?”