“Kidnapped?” I gasp.
I honestly, wasn’t expecting this. I thought maybe he lost a big deal, which at the same time meant that he lost a lot of money. I never thought that something as frightening as kidnapping could be the reason behind his concerned look.
“Yes,” he acknowledges, with another heavy sigh. He puts the glass down this time. The sound echoes in the room.
I don’t know whether I’m the right person to be here. We’re not friends. To be honest, I don’t know what we are right now, what we want to be, what we can’t be, but I know that we’re still human beings. Decent ones at that. And decent human beings make sure that other humans are OK, regardless of how they themselves feel.
“Is the police on the case?” I ask.
“The police is on me,” he corrects.
I frown. “On you?”
“Yes,” he confirms. “He’s back home, Morris… my business rival. Beaten up so badly that he had to go to the hospital first.”
“Oh…” I gasp again, not sure what to say to that. I wanted to say that he’s still lucky. So many people never go home after such an ordeal, but I keep my mouth shut. I’m sure Dominic knows this already.
“The police came to my office today,” he continues, and slowly, I realize what’s going on. “They didn’t say it in those exact words, but I think they believe I have something to do with Morris’ disappearance.”
He says it in a way that I can’t possibly imagine something like that being true. I understand that the business world is cut-throat and only the strongest survive. He must have done some things which he’s not proud of to be where he is now. But kidnapping? I doubt it. He knows what he has to lose. I doubt he’d risk losing Marley for anything in the world.
“But that’s preposterous,” I say before I can think.
He smiles at me, but it is a smile unlike any I’ve ever seen. A sad, but grateful realization that someone trusts you, but their opinion doesn’t have the strength to make any difference. Still, you’re grateful that they’re on your side.
“Thank you for that,” he says gently. “Unfortunately, the police don’t share your conviction.”
He gets up and walks over to the window. He proceeds to open it and the fresh night air fills the room. He stands there, thinking. I don’t interrupt him. Once again, that same need to embrace him and tell him that it’s gonna be OK fills me, but I manage to fight it off.
“Which reminds me that they’ll probably want to talk to you,” he continues.
“About what?” I wonder. I can’t possibly imagine what they’ll have to ask me about the disappearance of a man I’ve never seen in my life.
“About my whereabouts on the night he disappeared,” he explains. “On the twentieth.”
“You were here, home.” My eyebrows knit on their own in displeasure. “Where else would you be?”
He shrugs. “Kidnapping Morris.”
“No,” I shake my head. “I’ll tell them you were here. Marley can vouch for you being here as well.”
“No,” he corrects me. “I don’t want her involved in this in any way.”
“I understand,” I immediately reply. “I’ll tell them you were home.”
“Tell them the truth,” he says. “I don’t want to influence you in any way. I can’t remember when I was home, I’d say around nine, but I don’t remember if it was nine or even later. If it’s later… then, I’m screwed.”
“Why?” I wonder.
“Because apparently it all happened around nine pm, and I was either here or had a late business dinner,” he explains. “I don’t remember.”
“Can’t you check it with your secretary?” I ask, as it seems like something he would have written down somewhere, as a reminder, and then, it would be easy to check with the people who joined him.
“I could, but sometimes, these dinners are a spur of the moment thing,” he explains. “I’ve had a few of those in the past month. But some of my days are in such a haze, that I barely remember anything. My mind is filled with things I need to remember, so I try to forget everything that isn’t essential. It’s some stupid meditation technique I learned ages ago, and stupidly enough, it works. It lessens your stress, but it makes it very hard to remember things you worked actively on forgetting.”
He sounds annoyed but I know it’s not me. He turns away from the window, but he remains there, leaning against it. It creates a distance between us, but strangely, having sex with him is the last thing on my mind. I believe it’s the same for him as well. We’re both here, in this even more intimate setting, and if he shows me even the slightest sign that I should go, I will oblige. Only, there is nowhere else I’d rather be. Even if nothing happens, which it won’t, I feel like we’re somehow closer now, sharing something that isn’t related to our business relationship or something sexual. This is something far beyond that.
“At least I know that Marley is in great hands with you, if something happens…” he suddenly says, taking me completely off guard.