Part 27 - Dinner

With a mood prouder and as devilish as ever I start getting ready for this dinner. I can't wait to see Downey's reaction when he sees me at his house. I apply my make up but not too much, I don't want to seem like I'm trying too much. I continue with a pair of shiny earrings. A dark red skirt with matching shoes and top will have to do for tonight. Normal height heels and a nice thin coat to complete the outfit.

Susan gave me the address, which she obviously didn't have to but little does she know. I started driving and the memories of the last time I was driving here came back. Oh, the guilt but the tingling feeling inside me were intense. I park the car close to the house and soon I find myself ringing the door bell.  A few seconds later a happy Susan Downey opens the door and greets me with a bright smile.

"Please, come inside" she says showing me the way.

I pretend to be shocked by the beauty of the house even though I was here a few weeks back and remember it like yesterday. Of course I don't fake the fact that I love the design and the way it's decorated. While she's giving me a quick tour she takes my coat and hangs it somewhere.

"These used to be two but Robert accidentally broke one recently, he can be clumsy sometimes" she says when she comes back.

She's referring to the decorations I was looking at but I know Downey didn't break it. It was actually the one I broke accidentally when I was here with him that night.

"Even on its own it's beautiful" I say smiling.

"I absolutely love it, Robert brought them from Paris. He was there for a few days a few years back for work"

Great, now I feel even worse for breaking that thing.

"Do you want a glass of wine while we wait for Robert to come home? It's so classic of him, always working late" she sounds apologetic.

"Of course, I understand. He's always doing so much work at the office" I smile.

Work is not the only thing he does at the office though, but Susan doesn't need to know that right now.

I sit on the same couch I was sitting with Downey that night and soon Susan joins me with two glasses of wine. She gives me the one and sits next to me. We spend a few minutes chatting and breaking the ice which makes me feel more comfortable around her and around this house.

Not long after we hear him returning to the house and after he shuts the door he lets his first words come out.

"Susan, honey, I'm ho.. me" he pauses when he approaches us and sees me with his wife on the couch.

His walking automatically stops and his eyes get wide open. Could I have given him a heart attack?

He looks like he's seen a ghost. I'm sure his blood is cold as ice and his heart is beating faster than it ever has before. He has a terrified look in his eyes while trying to realize what's happening here.

"Wha-Why-How-What are you two doing together?" he rambles and I feel such happiness inside me watching him suffer.

"Relax, honey, I invited Olivia over for dinner to apologize properly" Susan says calmly.

I see Downey observing her face very carefully to see if she's mad at him or not. I threatened him I'd tell his wife everything and now we're drinking wine together, it's normal for him to be afraid.

"Great idea" he gulps and fake smiles.

He leaves his own coat away and then takes a seat next to Susan, away from me. During the conversation we have Susan is looking at me while talking and that's when I catch Downey looking at me with eyes full of nervousness and fear. I laugh along with Susan's story and drink from my glass happily.

Oh, how much I'm enjoying this.

"Why don't you start with setting the table? I'll go change and I'll be right back to help you" Downey says sweetly to Susan and caresses her back with his hand.

"Alright, we'll continue these with dinner" she says and takes the glasses.

"I'm going to use the bathroom and I'll also be right back" I say smiling.

"Let me show you the way, Ms. Beck" Downey offers kindly before Susan can say anything so she just nods.

We all follow our ways and when we reach the bathroom Downey pulls me in and closes the door behind him. That's when he starts speaking, he was quiet before that.

"What do you think you're doing here?" he asks upset pinning me against a wall.

"You heard your wife, she invited me for dinner" I play innocent.

"You could've easily found a reason to say no" he doesn't buy my response.

"Well, maybe I wanted to catch up with Susan. We have so many things in common. Like taste in men for example" I say and seductively play with his tie.

"Did you tell her anything? Put any ideas in her head?" he asks with his classic bossy tone.

"Wouldn't you love to know?" I wishper in his ear and pull him by his tie.

He sighs and pushes me away. He's frustrated, he doesn't know how to react. The uncomfortable vibes coming from him are intense.

"Just answer me" he hisses.

"What's the matter, Downey? You're not in the mood?" I ask teasing him like he's used to doing to me instead.

"If you weren't so loud I would teach you a lesson right now" he says cockily.

"You wouldn't do sh*t, you're terrified of your wife finding out what an as*hole you really are" my insults make him clentch his jaw since it's not the ideal moment for him to cause a scene.

"We agreed you wouldn't talk to her as long as I left you alone. I didn't do anything, don't play dirty" he says calming down.

"I never meant to say anything tonight, I just want you to know that I'm not joking" I say and step away from him.

"You made your point" he says ironically.

"Why don't you go be a good husband and help out your wife?" I say looking at the mirror.

He exhales and looks like he desperately wants to say something but he doesn't. He's smart enough to know that tonight's battle is lost for him. He won't dare to upset me or say anything wrong. He's trapped. That's why he swallows his thoughts and leaves me behind in the bathroom alone. I look in the mirror again smiling and take a few moments to wipe the victory expression from my face. When I go back to the dinning table Downey is indeed wearing a different outfit. He only changed his top actually. He put on a polo shirt instead of his dress shirt and tie.

Downey and Susan brought the last of the things to the table and he filled himself a glass of wine as well. The food was very tasty and I meant every compliment I gave to Susan. Downey's look was so deep on me that I felt like he was going to kill me with it. He acted, or at least he tried acting, normally everytime Susan looked at him or when he had to say something.  He finished his glass of wine faster than us even though we were drinking before he started and Susan noticed it when he started filling his glass again.

"Easy with that" she warns him gently.

"Sorry, difficult day at the office" he justifies himself and proceeds with filling his glass again.

"You're working too hard, maybe you should take a break, like a few days off work" she continues with the same tone and caresses his shoulders.

"I'm the CEO, I can't just take a few days off because I have much work to do" he replies as calm as he can.

"I don't think that every CEO works like this, and besides, you were always working so hard from the beginning" I can see Downey trying to stay relaxed and not snap in front of me.

"Everyone's working hard and you know that my hard work really paid off, let's not complain about this especially right now" he covers Susan's hand with his.

"You always get so defensive when we talk about your work, I don't get it" Susan says disappointed.

"I'm not getting defensive, I simply don't want to fight over this again. We have a guest and I'm sure last thing that Ms. Beck wants is to see us fighting" he says and looks at me like he's trying to convince me about that.

This must be the reason they fought that night. Him working all the time.

"Alright. What about you, Olivia? Is work giving a hard time to your personal life?" Susan asks me since Downey made it clear he doesn't want to talk about it.

"It's happened some times in the past but I'm handling both of them now" I smile and Downey just takes a deep sip.

"I hope your hard work also pays off" Susan smiles.

"Of course it will, Ms. Beck is amazing at what she does. I'm telling you, she blows me away at work sometimes" Downey says and makes me cough by his particular choice of words.

Susan compliments me and Downey just looks at me proudly knowing that what he said made me uncomfortable. I don't know if he's trying to make his wife understand something but that could definitely betray us.

When we were done with dinner we waited until our current glasses of wine were empty and then Susan suggested we have a drink before I go. I didn't get the chance to reply since Downey got in the way and used the excuse that he's tired so I didn't stay much longer. On my way out I thanked them and Downey offered to take me to my car because it was late.

When we reached it I casually unlocked it and opened the door to get in but he stopped it with his hand. I turned to look at him and he had the most upset look I've ever seen him have.

"I hope today's act was enough for you. I hope you won't be joining us for dinner again" he says unamused.

"Unlike you, I had a great time tonight. I think Susan did, too. Maybe she wants to repeat it sometime" I say happily.

"Don't hang out with my wife, okay?" he breathes deeply and rests his hand against my car with force.

"Relax, tough guy. You're not the only one feeling uncomfortable. I really think Susan is a great person and I hate fooling her"

"Yes, she is. Now, if she suggests anything like that again you say no" he orders.

"Watch your tone, please" I say and he chuckles.

"You're funny, but you're not getting away without an answer. No more hanging out with my wife, especially when I'm not around, okay?" he's so damn stubborn.

"Oh Christ, fine" I say desperately.

"Glad we finally agreed on something, Ms. Beck. Have a good night" he says taking his hand off my car, allowing me to open the door.

"Yeah, you too" I say with a bit of sarcasm but he doesn't seem to mind.

He smirks slightly and when I start driving away he walks back to the house again.