Come Undone (The Cityscape 1)

PROLOGUE

OLIVIA COULDN’T QUITE REMEMBER the first time she saw Bill, just that one day he was there. They worked in the same office building, thirty floors apart, and often met in the courtyard by the fountain; him for a cigarette break (a habit she would soon break him of) and her for a stolen moment of sunshine.

During their brief encounters, she would test the waters with a glance here, a touch there, and found her herself both relieved and disappointed at the lack of art involved. Over time, her feelings for him grew fonder and she came to look forward to their frequent meetings. She liked that he didn’t ask too many questions, and he, well, he was smitten.

One day, about six months into a developing friendship, Bill asked her out. She peered at him from behind dark sunglasses and declined. He was undaunted by her refusal, which she admired, though it also made her uneasy.

That night she dreamed of him. He kissed her with gentle reverence and made love to her in the dark, where his touch was as real as if he’d been there in bed next to her.

When Olivia awoke the next morning, she started as the dream, which felt more like a memory, flooded over her. She thought of it all morning until, when they met the next day, she asked him to dinner.

CHAPTER 1

EVER SO SLOWLY, I touched the tube to my parted lips and glided on the Ruby Red. I had always lacked the patience for lipstick and only used it for special occasions. Next came a translucent lip gloss that left threads of goop as I smoothed my lips together. I drew back slightly from the mirror to admire my work.

Perfectly coiffed hair, teased and styled into a long bob, floated just at my shoulders, every shiny brown lock suspiciously cooperating. In the trash laid the scattered teeth of yet another broken comb. I’d wrestled especially long with my tangles tonight, but looked particularly posed as a result; so much so, that if one thing were to tremble, everything else would come tumbling down. Or so it seemed. In that moment, I caught Bill’s gaze in the reflection, his normally mild eyes watching me intently. I quickly forgot that feeling of unease.

“You look good,” he said, admiring my emerald green dress.

“Your favorite color,” I mused.

“Because it matches your eyes.” A mascara smear on the mirror caught my attention, and I picked at it with my fingernail. “Do we have to go tonight?” he asked.

“What?” I’d successfully chipped off the mark, but now I was faced with the messy smudge of a fingerprint.

“Tonight. Let’s stay in.”

“Everyone’s going to be there.” I tossed the lip products back into the drawer and wiped the counter with my palm. “People pay good money for these tickets, babe.”

“Whose idea was this again?”

“Andrew’s firm got tickets for their clients. Not everyone could make it, so he invited us.”

“But,” he began; a quick glare in his direction silenced him. He held up his palms in defeat, and I turned back to my reflection.

I checked my eyeliner one last time to make sure it was even. “I talked to my father today. He’s going to be in Chicago for a night next month and wants to have dinner.”

Bill groaned in response and slumped in the doorway.

“What? You don’t want to go to the ballet, you don’t want to have dinner with my father . . . . It’s only one night.”

“And you’re so thrilled when my parents drive in.”

“Touché.” I flipped my hair over my shoulder and pushed a gold stud through my ear. “Well, you don’t have to come, but I know he’d like to see you.”

“Sure he would, where else does he get free legal advice?”

“Oh please, he has plenty of corporate lawyer friends.”

“Not for work, Olivia. For his divorce from Gina. Lawyer friends don’t put up with that shit, they charge you for it.”

“Well, get used to it, ‘cause he’s not going anywhere. I’m sure if you ever need advice on how to win over girls half your age, he’d be happy to help.”

“Half my age?” he repeated as he sauntered up and encircled my waist. A lank piece of brown hair fell over his eye, and I noted that he was overdue for a haircut. “Are you trying to get me locked up? I’d say I’ve got my hands full married to a twenty seven-year-old.”

“Bill,” I whined, swatting his hands away. “You’re going to wrinkle my dress, and I’m finally ready.”

“Yes, darling,” he said with a sly smile, backing away. “I’ll pull the car around.” I followed him out of the bathroom and then pivoted back quickly, grabbed a hand towel and wiped the smudge away.

~

We arrived at the performance minutes before curtain. Teetering in my heels, I clung to Bill’s arm as we scoured the crowd for familiar faces. Sophistication perfumed the lobby, as if it had been bottled and sold to Chicago’s elite. Smartly dressed women carefully stepped down scarlet-carpeted steps, passing beneath elaborate chandeliers that cast shadowy corners.

“There they are,” Bill said. From behind, my two best friends, registering at just a few inches over 5 feet, could almost be sisters. Gretchen, in a revealing pink dress and boosted by spiky heels, gestured wildly to the group around her. Her long platinum hair bounced in signature curls with each exaggerated movement.

Next to her, Lucy dodged Gretchen’s flailing limbs, anticipating her every movement. She wore a boat-neck black dress, and her short brown hair was fashioned into a perfect chignon.

Her boyfriend, Andrew, stood off to the side, wringing a program. Upon spotting us, he grinned toothily and beckoned us over. “Sorry, Gretch,” he interrupted. “Everyone, this is Lucy’s other best friend, Liv Germaine, and her husband Bill Wilson.”

“What, now I’m the other best friend?” I joked, shaking hands with someone whose name I never caught. “I only introduced them, you know.”

“Liv and I grew up together,” Gretchen explained.

“Sorry,” he said again. “And Lucy and Liv met in college.”

Lucy looked up at me with big brown eyes before hugging

me. “Look, we’re the same height now,” she said, showing off uncharacteristically high shoes.

“I don’t know, shrimp,” Bill said. “Liv’s still got at least a couple inches on you.”

“Anyway,” Gretchen interjected impatiently. “The plane lands, and I rush to the station, just barely making the train. Since it’s now one in the morning and I’ve been traveling for fourteen hours, I immediately pass out. When I wake up, the – what are they called – stewardess? – she says, ‘Welcome to Chile!’”

“Chile!” one of the women cried.

“I’d gotten on the wrong train, slept through the entire ride and ended up in Santiago.”

Everyone laughed, and I politely joined in, though I’d heard the story twice before.

“To make matters worse, it was fifty-something degrees outside, and I was wearing shorts and a tank top.” The man next to me guffawed loudly, and I cast a wary glance in his direction. I noticed he was the only one who had been introduced without a partner; Gretchen’s lure was cast.

“Oh, I think it’s time,” Lucy squeaked, just as the lights began to pulse. The group dispersed as we made our way to our designated seats.

The single man sidled up to Gretchen, looking thoroughly regaled. “So, what do you do that you can take off to Chile whenever you like?”

“Entertainment PR,” she said, batting her eyelashes at him.

“Hook, line and sinker,” Bill whispered, reading my mind. Gretchen turned and shot us a dirty look when I giggled. “Uh oh, Windex is mad,” he said with a playful smile. At that her face softened, and I knew it was because she liked Bill’s nickname for her. When I’d introduced them, he’d said hers were the bluest eyes he’d ever seen.