A Writer’s Papyrus

Jared was in his red Ferrari coasting down the freeway on his way back to Sarah’s condo.  He had been surprised to receive a call from her earlier in the day because it seemed rather out of character.  Sarah was a business woman to the bone - work was work and play was play.  It was not her habit to mix business with pleasure.  So when she called him in the middle of a work day from her office just before an extremely important meeting, Jared knew it was out of character.

Perhaps Sarah’s feelings for him were growing stronger?  They had been having an affair for the last twelve months but never once did Sarah indicate wanting to leave her husband for him.  Then again, Jared himself was in a relationship with Carli Carter who had business dealings with Sarah and was determined to bring down her company.  Yes, it was complicated.  It was Carli who asked him to seduce Sarah and get into her bed so that he might steal her secrets and report them back to his fiancee.

Jared had been reluctant to play the mole but it seemed so important to Carli that he do it so he finally agreed.  He had not expected to play the mole for so long either.  Truth be told, Carli had hit the nail on the head when she accused him of having deeper feelings for Sarah.  How do you share a bed with a woman for twelve months, share her most intimate secrets and not expect to develop some sort of feelings for her?  And with Carli being so distant and intent on finalising this business merger, they had not had sex for a few months now.  Prior to that, it had been very infrequent sex.

Jared sighed.  He felt guilty betraying Sarah’s confidence.  Underneath that tough business woman facade, she was actually a very warm and gentle woman.  Never in a million years would he have guessed what she was like in a non-business environment.  In the conference room, she seemed every bit as hard as Carli - they were two alpha females in a man’s world, fighting tooth and nail to command the respect of their male counterparts.  But in the condo, when they were alone together, she revealed all her secret fears, hopes and dreams, and suddenly he felt an overwhelming desire to protect her.

Jared’s loyalty had been wavering for some time now but he said nothing about it to Carli.  As time went on, he had told her less and less, but always just enough to ward off Carli’s suspicions.  He had decided that once the deal had gone through, he would tell Carli it was over between them.  He would not play the mole for her any more.  And today was the day it was all supposed to end.  He had planned to see Carli to tell her in person but Sarah had called and asked him to meet her at the condo. 

He arrived at the condo and parked his car.  He glanced at his limited edition Royal Oak that Sarah had bought for him.  It was still early.  Sarah would not be back from the office yet.  He brought out a bottle of wine from the car and headed towards the lift lobby.  He would set the mood and surprise her.  But as he let himself in with the spare key she had given him, he was surprised to hear soft music in the background. 

As he entered the living room, Sarah was sitting seductively on the leather couch with her own bottle of wine and two glasses.

“Darling!”  He exclaimed.  “You’re early.”  He gestured to the bottle of wine in his hand.  “I was going to surprise you.”

“The meeting went very well and I wanted to celebrate,” Sarah replied airily as she poured out two glasses of wine.  She gave him a glass.  “I want to toast to a successful merger,” she smiled.

Jared smiled back.  “I’m glad to hear it went well!  You do so well with these deals, darling, I always have full faith in your successes.”

As they toasted and drank their wine, Jared thought he saw an odd look in Sarah’s eyes.  Her deep green eyes were two dark pools in the dimly lit room.  He moved to kiss her but somehow she turned her back to him and sauntered back to the couch, apparently unaware of his actions.

“I ran a bath for you.  Why don’t you go on in and I’ll join you in a minute,” Sarah said over her shoulder.  “Then you and I can get down to our little business,” she added suggestively.

Jared headed for the bathroom feeling a little light-headed.  Wow!  Was the wine really going to his head so quickly?  It seemed unlikely.  He sank into the warm water gratefully and was asleep before he realised what was happening.

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Part 2

The morning sun was hidden behind the tall rocky face before her and the salty, sea breeze felt refreshingly cool as it whipped through her hair.  She checked the figure eight knot on her harness and brushed the sand off the soles of her shoes.  Chalking her hands, she turned to call out over her shoulder to her belayer, “Climbing.”

The roughened limestone surface of the rock face felt like sandpaper against the smoothness of her hands.  Although in reality it had only been a couple of months since she last climbed but her body felt foreign and unbalanced on the rock, while her brain struggled to comprehend the unfamiliarity.  Even the smoothness of her hands betrayed her, for the callouses had healed and the rocks felt unusually rough against her fingers.  She felt heavy and clumsy and it was almost as if she could feel the weight of the pineapple pancakes she had eaten for breakfast.  Or could it be the added weight from the pregnancy that weighed her down?

As she climbed, she panted and grunted - all the while, her brain kept telling her the mistakes of her moves.  It was as if she had forgotten how to think, how to analyse the surface of the rock to make the moves that required the least effort.  Or was it because her mind was clouded, filled with guilt that today was supposedly her wedding day and she was thousands of miles away with no explanation of where she was to the groom or anyone else?

Sarah squashed the nagging thought in her mind and kept climbing.  She tried to empty her mind by concentrating on the sound of the waves lapping the shore behind her and the soft jingling of the runners hanging from her harness like little bells as they swung from side to side with her movements.  As she continued to climb, she began to feel lighter as her worries fell away replaced with only the awareness of the rock beneath her. 

That was what she loved about climbing - no matter how troubled she was, it was hard to think about anything else but the rock.  So what if she was not climbing as smoothly as she once did?  So what if she was panting and her arms were burning from the build up of lactic acid?  She felt alive like she had not been for months.  As her body eased into the motions and she began to relax, the movements began to feel smoother.  Instead of jerky, uncertain moves, she began to flow across the rock - like water on the rocks. It was just like riding a bike - one never really forgets how it is done even if it felt a little wobbly the first time getting back on after a long time.

Climbing was her element.  There was nowhere else that she truly belonged the way she did on the face of the rock.  Agreeing to marry Daniel had been a moment of temporary insanity, and she realised that now that she was at home again.  She had been away from the rock for too long and time had made her forget, but now the memories were surging back like water released from a dam.  She was never intended for a normal life - what was normal anyway?

Sarah reached the anchor, hooked in her safety slings and yelled down to her belayer, “Safe!”  She threaded her rope through the anchor and called to be lowered.  Although she had started off poorly, she had ended the climb on a high note and she could not hide the smile of delight that twitched at the corners of her lips as her feet touched the ground.

Jon’s grin mirrored hers as he released the rest of the rope to give her some slack.  “I was wondering for a moment what had happened but you did great the rest of the way.  It’s just like old times.”  His fingers had brushed her back and she looked up into his eyes.  It was like they had travelled back in time, but Sarah quickly turned her eyes back to her feet and began to remove her shoes and untie figure eight knot.

Jon had been her best friend since they first attended primary school together and were paired up as rock climbing partners.  They both loved to climb and from that passion grew a deep friendship that continued on through to adulthood.  Even after the classes had ended, they continued the climbing as religiously as Sunday school. Although nothing had ever happened between them, there had been a few close calls.  Usually after a few too many drinks when either Jon or she had broken up with their latest “shirt”.  It was their private joke to refer to their exes as old “shirts” and that it was time to change and go shopping for a new one. 

It was no surprise that she had called Jon immediately after she decided to skip town and get away for a few days.  Even though she had not seen him for a couple of months, owing to all the time she had been spending between work and Daniel, she still knew he would be there for her when she called.  It was just as she had always been there for him whenever he called her.  It was unspoken.  It was understood.  They had a bond that ran deep, like the blood that connected two siblings.

Although Sarah had just plan to disappear for a few days until the wedding had passed, it was Jon who had suggested climbing at Krabi.  Sarah did not know how he had managed to get the leave off work but he was packed and ready to leave by the following morning.  It had taken them nearly an entire day to get to Krabi and the journey had been exhausting given her current condition, but the friendly smiles of the locals and the relaxed atmosphere of the place made it all worth the while.

They continued climbing until the sun began to set over the horizon, then packed up for the day and headed back towards their chalet.

“I’m starved!”  Exclaimed Sarah.  “Let’s eat first before we wash up.”  Almost as soon as she said it, she remembered that Daniel would have objected to going to dinner “dirty”.  Then she relaxed.  This was Jon.  Jon had no problems eating in their grubby climbing attire.

Sarah ordered Phad Thai noodles and a coconut shake - her favourite meal whenever they came to Krabi to climb.  As she sat back and waited for the food to arrive, they talked about the day’s climbs and laughed over the old memories that resurfaced in between their discussions. 

Jon chuckled, “To see his face when he discovered he was still anchored to the last bolt!  It was hilarious!”  Then he sobered up and took her hand.  He shot her a piercing look and cocked his head to one side as he asked, “What happened to us?”

Sarah who had been smiling fondly over the memory pulled her hand back in surprise.  She returned his gaze, then shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.  “I don’t know, Jon.  I really don’t know.”

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Sarah thought frantically.  The meeting was in minutes and she needed to buy more time.  After what Lina had revealed to her about Jared the mole, she knew something was amiss and she had to find out what it was as quickly as possible.  Almost instinctively, she had raised one of her manicured nails to her mouth - nail biting was an old childhood habit that she had not indulged in a very long time. 

Sarah uttered a curse under her breath and got up to pace the room.  She had thought through this deal over and over - it was the right move for Glo-Mac so how did Jared’s relationship with Carli’s play in all of this?  Not once did Jared try to influence any of her business decisions which must mean he was purely a spy for Carli sent to discover her thoughts and nothing more.  She thought back quickly through all the conversations she had had with Jared, the secrets she had shared with him, compromising information - how could that leak affect her company?

Her intercom button buzzed again.  It was Lina bringing the meeting to her attention.  It was time to go.  Sarah picked up her tailored jacket and was about to put it on when a thought crossed her mind.  She hit the button again and spoke, “Send Morgan to see me.  Send an apology to Ms Carter and her team that we’re running late.  Serve the refreshments while they’re waiting.  Stall Harold from entering the meeting room.  I don’t care what you do, just make sure he doesn’t get there before I do.”

Sarah sat down again, grabbed a pen and made a few ammendments to the contracts.  She was not a Worthington for no reason, she thought fiercely.  If Carli wanted to play this game with her, then she had better be prepared for some hardball. 

Sarah hit the speed dial on her mobile phone and soon heard Jared’s husky voice on the other end of the line.  “Hello darling,” she purred into the receiver.  “I was missing you so I decided to give you a call.”

“What about your meeting?” Jared asked in surprise.  “Doesn’t it start now?”

“Harold’s late,” Sarah said nonchalantly. “And you know we can’t start without him - but enough about him.  I was just thinking about last night and I don’t think I can wait until tomorrow to see you.  How about you meet me after work?”

“I was planning to head to the gym,” Jared replied.

“Don’t worry, with what I have planned for us, you’ll be getting a workout you won’t forget,” Sarah interjected suggestively.  “Just meet me at the condo after work - you won’t regret it.”  She clicked off and thought to herself, Or maybe you will…

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Lara was walking down the school hallway looking for her best friend, Jared, when she saw a bunch of tittering girls congregating around something - or someone.  A quick scan of the faces and she realised they were the popular girls - garbed in their branded clothes with painted faces and coiffed hairstyles, they were the epitome of everything she despised.  She was about to walk past them when she saw something that made her halt in shock.

There, in the midst of the girls, was Jared.  He might have been a pop-star signing autographs for his gaggle of fans.  Jared caught her eye just before Lara turned away and started walking in the opposite direction.

“Lara!”  Jared called out, desperately trying to disengage himself from the girls.

Lara walked faster and pretended not to hear.  She heard footsteps running down the corridor followed by the high-pitched chorus of girls blowing kisses and screaming, “See you later, Jared!”

Lara felt a hand on her arm.  “Hey, wait up!”  It had only been a short jog but Jared was already out of breath.  “What’s up with you?”

Lara turned and looked at Jared with an incredulous look on her face.  “What’s up with me? What’s up with you, Mr-I-won-the-cyber-games-championship-and-now-I’m-the-talk-of-the-school?”

Jared laughed.  “Oh them!  Oh please!  You know I find them just as annoying as you do.  They came out of nowhere.  I don’t even know how they knew about the cyber games championship.  Besides, we both know that they would never have given me the time of day if I hadn’t won the cyber games.  Now you and me - we’re the same breed - we’re the geeks of schoolville and we stick together.”

Lara looked at him skeptically, but tried to smile back.  He was still the same Jared - baggy jeans, baseball cap, and horn-rimmed glasses, but yet there was something different about him - the way he cocked his head, the swagger in his walk…  or was she imagining it?

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Tara was moving about the room in a frenzy, throwing clothes and personal items into a suitcase.  Her daugther Sarah was at her mother’s.  Even as she packed, her mind was cold and calm, devoid of all emotion.  It was hard to imagine that two days ago she had been an emotional wreck, crying to her mother after finding out that her husband had sleept with his secretary.  It seemed so cliche to think that these were the sort of things that happened only to other people or in movies.  It was unreal.

The front door slammed shut and the sound of footsteps could be heard running up the stairs.  Tara redoubled her efforts to finish packing as quickly as she could.

Greg appeared in the doorway.  His dark brown hair was dishevelled, dark rings lined his eyes, and his clothes were in disarray.  He moved quickly towards her and made to grab her arms to stop her packing.  “Tara, please!”  He begged.  “It was a mistake!  It will never happen again.  I’ve sacked her!”

Tara looked at him, her eyes hard as agates.  She simply said, “You have always known my stance on cheating - no second chances.”  With that, she removed his hands and continued to pack. 

There genuine tears in eyes when he pleaded, “Please Tara.  I know I deserve everything that’s coming, but I promise I’ll make it up to you.  Tell me what you want me to do, I’ll do it!  Just don’t leave me!”

Tara zipped up the suitcase, picked it up and another case that sat by the door.  “I don’t trust you any more Greg and I can’t be married to someone I don’t trust.”

“I’ll do whatever it takes to regain your trust - anything!”  Greg was now sobbing and on his knees. 

“My trust cannot be regained.  I will not live the rest of my life with you wondering where you are and what you’re up to.”

“What about Sarah?  You can’t do this to her!”

Tara’s eyes flashed angrily.  “I can’t do this to her?  It was you who did this to her.  I’ve already spoken to my lawyer.  There will be fair arrangements - you can still see her.  Don’t worry, I won’t deny her the right to see her father, no matter what a deceiving and cheating man that he is.”  With that, Tara turned and left, leaving Greg crumbled in a heap on the floor of their bedroom.

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Cassandra closed the room door quietly, not wanting to wake her sleeping child.  Downstairs, the TV was blaring and all the lights were on.  As she descended the stairs, she saw a girl in the doorframe with an arm around her.  The image pass through her mind innocently and she thought nothing odd or unusual of it.  As she progressed down further on the stairs, she saw the other person who then pushed the girl away, realising that she was coming.

She charted a different course.  Somehow she got the sense that she wasn’t supposed to have seen what she saw - or was she reading too much into what she saw?  She wasn’t sure.  Her mind was reeling from the implications.  She walked mindlessly, checking for things without seeing.  She opened the fridge and looked desperately for something to take out so she could keep her hands occupied and pretend that she hadn’t seen what she saw.

They scattered before her and she forgot to greet them.  Did they realise?  It would have looked better if she had said something.  Damn!  Why didn’t she say something?

Cassandra quickly retreated back upstairs.  She picked up a book and started reading.  After reading the same line ten times without registering a single word, she picked up her phone.  It sat in her hands, dead and silent.  Who could she call?  Who could she speak to?  Several names floated into her head but she dismissed them quickly.

The image of her sister appeared in her head.  Yes, her sister would know what to do.  She began to dial.

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Sarah sat back in the leather upholstered swivel chair behind a large mahogany desk in her office.  She was speed-reading through the contracts for the upcoming meeting.  Although she had read them before, she had to give it another once over to make sure they were detailed exactly as they had agreed verbally.  There were just too many mistakes happening lately for her to assume that everything was going according to plan.  If she didn’t know better, she would have guessed there was a mole in her company working against them.

There was a buzz on her intercom.  Sarah clucked her tongue in annoyance.  Didn’t they know she was busy and did not want to be disturbed before such a critical merger?  She thought of ignoring it, but thought the better for it and hit the receive button.

“What is it?” She asked with a trace of annoyance in her voice.

“I don’t mean to bother -” began her PA.

“Well, that’s too late, you already have so get on with it,” Sarah snapped.

“It’s i-i-important that I speak to you b-b-before the meeting,” Lina stammered.

Sarah threw her head back and rolled her eyes upward.  Inwardly sighing, she bid Lina to enter her domain.  The door opened and Lina entered clumsily.  Lina was a petite girl with dark brown hair that was always falling into her eyes.  Although she was dressed smartly in a pin-striped suit, something about her always appeared awkward.

“Well?  What is it?  The meeting starts in ten minutes so I haven’t got all day.” Sarah drummed her manicured fingers impatiently against the desk.

Lina opened her mouth to speak and blushed scarlet to the root tips of her hair as she blurted out in one breath, “You can’t trust Jared!”

Of all the things Sarah expected to hear, this one did not even make the list.  Stunned by Lina’s outburst, it was all Sarah could do to hold her poker face and calmly ask, “Whatever are you talking about?”

“I-I-I know about J-jared,” Lina whispered, turning pale as quickly as she had blushed earlier.

Sarah gave her head a little toss and said, “Well, I don’t know what you think you know but I assure you, I know what I’m doing.”

“Oh,” Lina said, taken aback. “Well, I thought you might not have known that he was Carli’s fiance. I’ll go then.”

As the door shut behind Lina, Sarah remained immobile at her desk, staring unseeing at the contract in her hand.  This was certainly news to Sarah - that the man who had been sharing her bed for the last twelve months had been whispering sweet nothings and poisonous lies into her ear.  With all the knowledge she had shared with him after countless nights of passion, he could single-handedly take down her company.  How could she, Sarah Worthington, the iron woman of Glo-Mac Industries, been duped?

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Sarah gazed out into the roaring ocean, watching the waves crash to shore as she inhaled deeply on a cigarette.  She stood on the balcony of her luxurious beachfront condominium wearing an organza negligee that left little to the imagination.  Although she did not know how long she had been there, she knew it must have been at least an hour because the sun appeared higher in the sky and the ashtray beside her was littered with cigarette butts she had discarded.

The sliding door behind her opened and she heard a deep, husky voice murmured appreciatively, “Mmmm, what a sight to behold.”

Sarah turned and exhaled a cloud of smoke in Jared’s direction.  She lounged lazily over the banister and peered at him through thick, dark lashes.  The ocean breeze ran through her long auburn tresses and created ripples through her neglige.  Jared advanced towards her and slipped an arm around her waist, resting his hand on the small of her back as he drew her into his embrace.  He kissed her passionately, then whispered into her ear, “How about a quickie for the road?”

Pushing him back, Sarah stepped away from his embrace.  “Later darling, I’ve got to get going to the office and stop that fool of a husband of mine from losing any more of the company’s money.”

“I always did wonder why you married him,” Jared said wistfully.  “We wouldn’t have had to sneak around like this if you’d married me instead.  Although I never thought Harold to be quite the fool you make him out to be.  He has made some astute business decisions on his own, you know.”

Sarah laughed scornfully.  “They were my business decisions.  I just let him take the credit for them.  As much as I would like my uncle to know what a fool he picked for me to marry, I’m not about to let my idiot husband run us down the drain.  No, I’ve worked too hard to lose the company now.”

“You must teach me, one of these days, how you managed to play the puppeteer for Harold, then,” Jared insisted.

“Oh Jared, Harold’s a weak-minded simpleton.  Manipulating him is child’s play.  Anyway, I’m going to get dressed.  I’ll see you back here tomorrow.”

Jared sighed. “Our trysts are too short, my love.”  He kissed her and made for one grope before releasing her.  Jared waited at the balcony until he heard the shower running before walking back into the apartment.  He dialled a number on his mobile phone and waited three rings before a voice came on at the other end.

“She’s going to override Harold’s decision.  You’d better get Darren to work on him to make sure she doesn’t succeed.  We may have to shift to plan B.  Sarah’s turning out to be far too capable a business woman.”

The woman’s voice on the other line replied, “Alright.  Mind that you don’t fall for her.  I’m hearing a little too much admiration in your tone of voice for my liking.”

“Ah my darling, you know I only have eyes for you,” Jared answered smoothly.

“Whatever,” came the curt response and the line went dead.

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