Delivery

21. Secrecy

He didn't trip the floodlights. Knowing the layout of the property, where to step, which areas to avoid, allowed him to approach undetected, in the shadows of the night. He had come to watch, observe. In the corridor of the restaurant, he said he hadn't seen Maddie in a while. That was a lie. He saw her any time he pleased.

When she was home and had the lights on, he could keep his eye on her. Owning an umbrella corporation paid off in many ways. There were multiple facets. While his original endeavors had been corporate, the expansion to residential properties had been an obvious stretch. As real estate changed hands, the new owners would inevitably require improvements.

Financially, it made sense to create a division to do the work. He had been able to buy off the guy that treated Maddie's security windows for her sub-contractor. It had also been an easy task to call in a favor and get the man transferred to another improvement division when Maddie's job was done. The whole thing had been brilliant, he had front row seats to the show any time he cared to watch.

It was late; he had expected her to be home and he wondered where she might be. Most nights she was tucked in at a reasonable time, and he counted on her routine. She rarely deviated, and that meant that when the urge struck, he could count on the pleasure of seeing her. Knowing that Maddie was unaware of his presence, made the watching all the more erotic. He contemplated her reaction, should she ever come to realize all the times he had stood outside her bedroom windows, stroking himself as she stripped for him. The thought of her potential rage and loss of control sent heat to his groin. 

Jack's jaw was still tender, the blooming bruise a humiliating reminder that he had been bested. He had been seething and stewing for two days about the sucker punch that her new boy-toy had gotten off. When the police car had pulled into the long drive approaching his expansive home, his initial thought was that there had been a break-in at the office. Instead, they had come to question him about a possible assault. Yes, he had been assaulted; yes, he wanted to press charges against the little prick that had done it.

'Let's talk about this at the station,' the taller cop had suggested. His partner explained that there was video from security cameras. The manager of the restaurant had already sent the footage over and the cops had seen it earlier in the afternoon. Jack hadn't wanted to go with them. It was late in the day and with the bruising across his jaw, he was not wanting to parade around in public.

If he truly wanted to press charges, they told him they would need a police photographer to take pictures of the damage. The sooner that it was documented, the better able they would be to prosecute. Finally, Jack relented. He thought it was odd that they insisted on following him, rather than the other way around. Perhaps they were concerned that he would lose his nerve. They were certainly wrong on that account. Jackson Beck always followed through. If he had to go downtown to make sure the charges against that interloper stuck, then he would do it.

Jack knew he had blown it the other night with Maddie. He had come on too strong. Thinking he might have had a chance to woo her back, he lost his temper when her date had shown up and turned their private moment into a federal case. Jack had to get that guy out of his way.

Certain things in his life were not playing out the way he had planned. Furious when she had walked out on him, the betrayal had festered in his gut. At first, he was waiting for the moment she would fail, realizing that she was not able to make it without him. He longed for the day that she recognized how good they had been together; what a beautiful family they could make. Jack envisioned himself swooping in to save the day. He wanted to be in charge, they didn't need her little teaching job. He would take care of her, keep her at home as a proper wife and mother. All he asked was that she let him do it.

It didn't happen. She had hidden her assets from him, money that should have belonged to him. It was a bitch-move and if he had been more vigilant, she wouldn't have gotten away with it. But Maddie was clever. Then she changed her mind about starting a family. He didn't need to see a therapist about anger management. He needed his fucking wife to fall in line. It could all be so easy if she would just follow his lead.

Now he needed to get her back.

The girl he had been seeing couldn't seem to get pregnant, neither could the one before her. He knew Maddie could though, he had seen the doctor's work-up and she had reported that Maddie was in perfect health. He needed a son. Every man should have a son. An heir to mold and perfect; someone to take over his business, when the time came.

Standing in the snow outside her dark and empty house, Jack contemplated what had transpired at the police station and how it might affect his plans to persuade Maddie to put aside her ridiculous 'career' and return to him.

The cops had shown him the footage from the security cameras. The video had captured the interaction at the restaurant at an angle that made it appear as if Jack had been more menacing than was actually the case. He knew he was sunk when he watched himself lunging toward her in the hallway. The kid's name was Harry Styles, he was a grad student, the police informed him. Just a second before Jack was able to grab her away from Styles and shake some sense into her, he had embarrassingly shoved his fist up into Jack's jaw. They said the other man had clearly been acting in her defense.

The question that begged answering, was why had they brought him down to the station if they weren't going to press charges against Styles? Jack was livid when they implied that they might consider charges against HIM. He knew it was a ruse. There was no audio on the tape, no way to prove what was said. The other guy had hit him. So it was a wash. They couldn't touch him. The police simply wanted to drive home the point that they were aware of him and he should steer clear of his wife. Assholes.

Smoke curled up from the lit cigarette held between his fingers and dissipated into the night. He brought it to his lips and inhaled, considering that he shouldn't be smoking at all. The stress she incited was pushing his limits, causing him to revert to former bad habits. Well, he would have it all settled soon enough. In the meantime, he planned to continue his periodic nocturnal vigils. Tossing the spent butt aside, Jack began the trudge through the snow to get back to the vehicle that he'd pulled off the road into the brush. He had a plan to set in motion and the first step was to eliminate the distractions in Maddie's life.

Jack wondered if her department head knew she was sleeping with a student. Enlightening the administration could eliminate two problems in one fell swoop.