ROBYN
I stood there next to my “husband” with my mind reeling. There were a thousand thoughts running through my head and none of them were happy ones. Igor was here, in Manhattan, standing right next to me. Aaron was twelve feet away inside the hotel. How did he know I was here? How did he find me? Why would he even be looking for me? I looked back inside. Aaron was still busy with the press and didn’t seem to have seen us, thank God. Grabbing hold of Igor’s beefy, heavily tattooed arm, I led him around the side of the hotel.
“What are you doing here?”
He smiled. It wasn’t a pleasant smile. In his thick, Russian accent he said, “Is that any way to greet your husband?”
“You’re not my husband.”
“Oh babe, I beg to differ. I have marriage license and everything…”
“Don’t call me babe! Why are you here, Igor? What do you want? This is against our agreement. We had a contract. You weren’t supposed to look me up or track me down. We were never supposed to see each other again.”
He shrugged and said, “Things change, situations change. Contracts are sometimes made to be broken. Isn’t that how we got together in the first place? Your situation was dire and so was mine. You needed something from me; I needed something from you…”
“Stop! Just stop,” I told him, glancing over my shoulder and towards the door again. “I fulfilled my end of that bargain. You’re breaking yours just by being here.”
“I need help, babe. I have no one else to turn to. My family is all very far away. I know you don’t want me to get hurt, do you?” He looked me up and down then, taking in the expensive gown and jewelry I was wearing. “I need money. I owe a lot of money to some very bad men.”
“Are you kidding? I don’t see how your problems are suddenly my problems. Besides, I don’t have any money.”
“That necklace you wear so proudly would fetch a tidy sum…” The pig actually licked his lips as he looked at it.
I automatically reached up and touched the necklace I wore around my neck. Aaron had given it to me this morning for Valentine’s Day and I hadn’t taken it off since. Igor was right; it was worth a lot of money. It was silver with a very large solitary diamond pendant. I think Aaron said it was five carats… so yes; it’s worth a lot of money. But it was worth a lot more to me than that. It was my first Valentine’s gift from Aaron and when I’m old and gray I want to pass it on to one of my grandchildren. I would never part with it. “I’m not selling my necklace, and any money that you see me wearing came from my boyfriend. I can’t very well ask him for money for my ex-husband.”
“Current husband,” he corrected me. “We’ve never had a divorce. Maybe we should get a room together and celebrate our marriage…”
“Stop it! Current, Ex, it’s all the same to me. You’re a terrible man! I’m not asking Aaron for money for you.”
He shrugged again and said, “That is fine. I will just go to have a talk with your rich boyfriend and tell him that next I go to the media. I’m sure he will give me the money. I’d rather not do that to you though. You found a nice, fat wallet. I’d hate for you to lose it so soon. I could take it straight to the media. I’m sure that one of the journalists would want to pay for this very interesting story, but I think boyfriend will kick you to the curb either way.”
My head was suddenly spinning and I had to reach out and grab the wall. I felt like I was going to pass out, or be sick… I felt like something very heavy was sitting on my chest.
“I’ll need some time,” I told him.
He held out a disposable cell phone, still in the package and said, “I’ll call you in three days. Make sure you’re ready at that time or I call your boyfriend next.”
“I can’t believe you would do this after what I did for you…”
He laughed and said, “You did for me what you did for the money. Money is why everyone does everything. I need seventy-five thousand dollars.”
“Seventy-five thousand… are you insane? I didn’t even make that much last year… there is no way…”
“To your boyfriend that is change in his pocket. Get my money babe, I’ll see you soon.”
I stood there and watched him go. I wanted to throw up. I tucked the cellphone in my purse and realized I couldn’t hold it any longer. I ran over to the curb alongside the parking bay and began to heave. My whole body was shaking and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my back and it startled me so badly that I screamed.
“Robyn, sweetheart, what’s wrong?” It was Aaron. I turned around and threw my arms around him. I could feel the tears welling up in the corners of my eyes. I was going to lose him. I couldn’t lose him. I loved him too much. Oh God! I suddenly had to throw up again. I pulled loose from his arms and turned back around and heaved into the gutter one more time. “Oh baby, you’re sick,” he said.
I stood upright and he handed me his handkerchief. He looked worried and I suddenly felt guilty about that. I wiped my mouth on the handkerchief, embarrassed for throwing up in front of him and then said, “Yes, I don’t feel very well. I’m sorry. I don’t think I should stay for the rest of the party. I can have Jeffrey take me home and you can go back inside.”
“Nonsense, I’m going with you.”
“No please!” I was still trying to hold back the tears but it wasn’t working. I could feel them spilling down my cheeks as I struggled to breathe. The anxiety was crushing my chest. I finally worked up enough breath to say, “I think it’s just a touch of the flu. I don’t want you there watching me throw up. I’m embarrassed…”