Chapter 5

Fiona watched Marlo’s image disappear and slid the phone onto her bedside table. She wished her feelings away. Marlo’s never going to stop playing the field. People don’t change… She didn’t even notice I was naked!

“Now it’s going to be complicated.” Fiona squeezed her eyes shut, “I hate it when things get complicated.”

That night, Fiona vowed – if RJ could keep it simple, she could as well.

Chapter Two: An Unexpected Piece of News (Present Day, San Francisco)

Fiona awoke to the gentle clinking of a breakfast tray being set on the table in the adjoining room. Not for the first time, Fiona congratulated herself in choosing to take up residence at the Brackenridge in San Francisco. Living in a hotel represented a multitude of conveniences, of which breakfast room service was one.

“Good morning, ma’am,” Paula said quietly. Paula has been the designated attendant for Fiona since she moved into the penthouse suite a year ago after Frederick Edevane died unexpectedly in his sleep. The family was still reeling from his loss, and the house on Eldridge Street has been standing empty since his passing. None of the family wanted to move in, his presence was still too strongly felt, but none of them could stomach selling it either. As the newly minted CEO, Fiona took the most drastic step of moving across the country to the West Coast; she justified it by citing the growing base of business the Edevane Group had with Silicon Valley.

“‘Morning,” Fiona replied sleepily. She padded off to the bathroom, and returned soon after, “How’s the morning unfolding?”

“Very well, ma’am,” Paula had efficiently laid out two settings of breakfast, “Dr. Wright is waiting outside.”

“She insists on the formality…” Fiona blew a raspberry at her bedroom door, “… and that is what I think of it!!”

Paula chuckled, “Shall I ask her to come in?”

Fiona’s eyes flashed wickedly as she said in a voice that carried, “No, I think we should make her wait.”

“I heard that!” came a muffled voice from beyond the door.

Paula’s eyes ping-ponged between Edevane Group’s CEO and the hotel room door. Apart from Fiona’s mother, Marlo Wright was the only other person with unfettered access to the CEO. It didn’t take long for Paula to understand why the rumor mill insisted on perpetuating the idea that Fiona and Marlo were having a closeted affair. The two of them had a connection, that’s for sure, but it was perplexing why neither seemed to want to take it beyond friendship.

Fiona had kept her vow from five years ago. Suitors made their advances, but she always rebuffed them. Fiona’s revelation about her feelings about Marlo stayed safely hidden from view: it was less complicated that way… not least because Marlo evidenced no intention of doing anything but bedding as many women as she could. Fiona settled on nurturing her friendship with Marlo; there were no ambiguities there: They were each other’s must trusted confidante, and were increasingly sharing the responsibilities of Edevane’s affairs. Again, no one found it necessary to comment, it seemed completely natural and inevitable.

There was, however, one thing that had changed since Fiona took over CEO duties a year ago: Marlo began insisting on formalizing their interactions at every turn, seeking appointments with Fiona when none was necessary, taking extraordinary lengths to show deference to Fiona in public. She did it mostly to annoy Fiona. It mostly worked.

This particular morning, Fiona chose not to respond to Marlo’s protestation. She sat down at the table and began to eat her breakfast, assiduously ignoring the other place-setting that Paula had laid out.

Fiona took her first sip of coffee, pretending to not notice as the door swung open and a tall woman with a shock of platinum blonde hair stepped into the room. Paula pulled out the chair and Marlo slid her tall frame into it.

“Will there be anything else?” Paula asked the two women.

“No, thank you Paula,” Fiona smiled at her.

“Very good, ma’am,” Paula placed a pile of newspapers on the table and headed out of the room. She smiled to herself as she closed the door, overhearing Marlo’s quiet, “You’re such an asshole!” to Fiona.

Fiona blew another raspberry at her friend, “Nothing more than you deserved, sweetie.”

Marlo rolled her eyes, “There’re protocols, you know?”

“Stop it. I’m not some spoiled rich princess that gets off on bowing and scraping.”

“No, no,” Marlo’s eyes twinkled wickedly, “You’re not Princess Fiona, that’s for sure… it’s Queen Fiona now… All hail the Queen!”

Marlo bowed lavishly, only to be met with a scornful snap of Fiona’s napkin across her shoulder.

“Cut that out, Marlo,” Fiona said in a firmer voice, “I can tell you without reservation that you can shove your made-up protocols right up your butt.” Fiona threw a bit of toast at Marlo for emphasis.

Marlo flinched as it hit her in the face, “People will think I’m taking liberties… that I’m assuming too much.”

Fiona sat up straighter and arched an eyebrow, “And what liberties would that be, Marlo? That we’re having some sordid affair?” Fiona waved her hand scornfully, “People think that already! Why give them the satisfaction of us changing our behavior?”

Marlo’s brain scrambled for a second. Getting hot and heavy with Fiona was exactly the thing that she didn’t need freshly seared into her brain that morning.

This was an odd consequence of two people being life-long friends: Fiona and Marlo were so familiar with each other that they’d stopped trying to figure each other out. In any other circumstance, Marlo would have picked up on the hint of sadness behind Fiona’s eyes… but she was too busy trying to cover up her own feelings for her friend. Jesus. Get a hold of yourself Marlo. She took a sip of coffee and delivered a well-practiced lie, “I was talking about conflicts of interest and protocols. And I know what the tabloid gossip says. They’re off-base and I’m not feeding that insipid pool of garbage.”

“Yes, yes, Marlo. I’m not your type and you’re not into me that way. That line doesn’t seem to resonate with the rumor mill though!” Fiona teased.

“They can’t even make up their minds over whether I’m doing something inappropriate with you or that I’m cheating on you…!”

Fiona laughed, “Seriously? I guess they have a point – maybe you should try dating one person for more than two weeks! That’ll give them something to write about!”

“I’m not giving them that much power over my love life. There’s plenty of fish in the sea, Fiona, why not keep it interesting?” Marlo wiggled her eyebrows lasciviously.

This was another line that Fiona had heard often, and given the string of beautiful women Marlo dated, there was never any indication why Fiona would believe otherwise. And thus another day passed in which two women were in love with each other, but neither could see past their own obfuscation of the truth. The gossip columnists persisted though, theorizing that Fiona had no interest in finding a partner because Marlo was the one keeping her bed warm at night.

“This is why people keep making up stories about us!” Fiona said good-naturedly, “To keep things interesting!”

Marlo shrugged, “Yes, but now they’re making shit up about the CEO of the Edevane Group, that’s not cool.”

Fiona rolled her eyes, “Look, if you’re worried about people’s over-active imaginations when it comes to you and me… I’ll invite Lawrence Halliday for the birthday party insanity next week- he’s been more than pleasant. That’ll do the trick.”

Marlo put down her silverware and looked at Fiona, “Halliday?! He’s interested in you?!!”

Fiona threw her head back and laughed, tickled by Marlo’s reaction, “Most people find me quite acceptable, Marlo! Don’t act like you’re shocked! Halliday’s has been paying very close attention – he even invited me to his son’s wedding. I declined. I don’t think his ex-wife would have appreciated it.”

Marlo let out a scornful exhale, “He’s using you.”

“Simmer down! Don’t you know I know that? It’d be naïve to think otherwise. But we’ve talked about this, Marlo. Halliday can wine and dine me all he wants. I’m not interested. But no harm in using him to stir the pot of people’s almost obsessive interest in who I have sex with.”

Marlo looked down, trying to find a way to talk about something other than Fiona’s sex life. Marlo’s libido had other ideas though: Marlo was trying to force her eyes to stay locked on her plate as Fiona leaned forward to reach for the salt. Fiona’s robe – as Marlo knew it would – fell open slightly. Fiona’s impressive breasts – beautiful orbs of smooth caramel flesh – begged to be admired, even though Marlo tried her best to look away. Ultimately, as always, she allowed herself a swift glance, and what she saw quickened her core and stoked her desire for Fiona, scrambling her brains again. Luckily, the arcing sweep of her lustful glance ended on the pile of newspapers on the table.

Marlo smiled, thankful to have found a legitimate way to change the topic, “I almost forgot – this came out today!” She pulled out the Business News Ledger, whose headline of the day announced that Fiona had been named BNL’s Person of the Year.

Fiona frowned self-consciously, “I guess it’s official! Did they take our edits?”

Marlo nodded, “They took out the ‘savior of the world’ bit, yes. Come on Fi, the leading financial newspaper in the world thinks you’re awesome. Enjoy it a little!”

Fiona laid out the paper in front of her, “There’s something too convenient about it praising the ‘do-gooder billionaire’. There’re plenty of people… men and women, who are more deserving of the accolade.”

“You’re too modest,” Marlo pointed at the article, remembering the interview when it had occurred, “You pushed for some hard choices when your got the offers to buy-out your solar energy start-up. It’s been bleeding millions a year. You said no to those who gave you an easy out to save your bottom line. That takes strength.”

Fiona scanned the article, “Marlo, you know I couldn’t do any of this without you, right?” She leaned over and gave Marlo a chaste kiss on her cheek.

This was something Fiona had done a million times, if not more, but the kiss lingered on Marlo’s skin and the blonde’s heart rate accelerated. Fiona had always been an affectionate person; it never occurred to her to be otherwise with Marlo, who was so familiar to her, so steadfast and irreplaceable. Marlo deeply craved these moments, but also feared what they would reveal. She had trained herself to exude a detachment she didn’t feel inside.

Marlo waved her hand dismissively, “I’m the lab rat. You’re the real deal.”

Marlo and her team had been integral to Edevane’s off-grid energy strategy, which sought to redefine the way electricity could be harvested. The most promising solution – a new way to construct solar panels – was close to reality. But the sharks had been circling long before that. Fiona held them all at bay, preferring to take the losses as the mechanics were soberly studied, tested, and re-tested. Now, ten years after the first session with the solar team, Fiona was ready to identify potential strategic partners to discuss the ways forward. The BNL hailed Fiona’s patient approach as the epitome of prioritizing knowledge over profit, benefit over gain.

“Dad bought in too! And I will go to my grave defending the decision to wait,” finished Fiona. She looked at the clock, “Speaking of which, you’ve got your call with Gilchrist Labs coming up. They owe us a progress report – tell them I’ll personally go to New York and breathe down their necks if I have to!”

Marlo wiped her mouth with a napkin and pushed back from the table, “What do you mean ‘if you have to’? You love New York! And reunion’s coming up – kill two birds with one trip!”

Fiona shrugged, “Meh.”

“I thought you had a good time five years ago?” Marlo tilted her head inquiringly.

“You had a good time at your reunion. I went to one dinner. And it was at my friend Mona’s house. I guess it’d be more accurate to say I had a good time hanging out with my friends at Mona’s house.” Fiona never elaborated on what transpired at that dinner, nor did she ever hint of the tryst that followed.

“… so what’s not to like? You’re five years older now. Big whoop! Doesn’t mean a good time can’t be had, your majesty…” Marlo smirked.

Fiona ignored the dig, “Yes, yes, because you managed to seduce some closeted Hollywood starlet at your last reunion doesn’t mean age won’t catch up with you either. Now go do some real work and figure out if the Gilchrist people can produce what they promised! And stop looking so smug!”

Marlo stuck her tongue out at Fiona as she left the room. She poked her head back in momentarily, “Oh, and your mother wants you to approve the wine list for next week’s dinner, birthday girl.”

Fiona sighed and grimaced at the ceiling, “It’s your birthday too, Marlo. You pick the wine list.”

“Oh no she won’t!” Jacinta’s voice grew louder as she approached.

“Marlo Wright, you set me up!” Fiona huffed. Marlo grinned.

“Good morning, Marlo, dear,” Fiona’s mother proffered her cheek for a kiss.

“Good morning, Jacinta,” Marlo obliged, and, after throwing a ‘gotcha’ look at Fiona, strode off down the hallway.

“She saw you coming and she set me up,” Fiona complained.

“Yes, she did,” Jacinta shifted the folders she was carrying and gave her daughter a disapproving look, “You’re still in your bathrobe!”

“Whatever,” Fiona poured her mother a cup of coffee, “Marlo’s seen me in less.” I could show up in her room naked and she wouldn’t care…