Wrapped In Shadows by Lisa Eugene

night. That night. That night my friends had dragged me out of my apartment, promising a big surprise—and surprised I had been.
    I’d submerged myself in work and despair over the past few months, trying my best to drown out the past. I’d become a recluse, devoting all of my free time to Livy. My friends and family had been worried about me. I knew that, but hadn’t been able to reassure them. Probably because I hadn't been able to reassure myself that I was going to be okay.
    My cell phone rang, dragging me from my thoughts, and I excused myself from the group. I saw the number and a smile tilted my lips.
    “Dada?”
    “Hi, Livy…” My daughter’s voice instantly warmed me.
    “I wanna wear tutu, Dada.”
    I bit my lower lip, trying to contain my laugh. My five year old daughter only wanted to be dressed in tutus and ballet slippers. Any other outfit was met with dramatic defiance and a storm cloud of tears.
    “Sweetheart, it’s forty degrees out…” I tried to explain.
    “I’m a balenina!”
    My smile widened. “Yes, Livy. You’re a beautiful ballerina, but you’ll be a frozen one if you go out in a tutu.”
    The hiccups and sobs that followed wormed through my heart, as always, and I sighed. “Okay, sweetheart. You can wear the tutu, but you have to wear those leggie things underneath. And no slippers. Boots. Pretend they’re ballet boots.”
    A giggle burst through the phone. “Ballet boots? Silly, Dada!”
    I smiled, happy to have averted an impending tantrum. My secretary walked in and handed me a file, smiling because she’d heard the last part of the conversation.
    “Ballet boots ?” Maria asked, eyebrows raised. Her red hair was like a halo of fire around her head—something I’d had to get used to.
    I shrugged and grinned then threw kisses into the phone. After a brief word with my nanny, I signed off.
    “These reports were just dropped off for you.” She indicated the file. “The merger and acquisitions team will be meeting again this afternoon.”
    “Thank you, Maria.” I sat at my desk and opened it, perusing the information. My mind immediately started wandering and I looked up.
    “Maria?” My secretary turned from the door, eyebrows raised.
    I scratched the back of my neck, feeling slightly embarrassed. “The young lady with Michelle…her friend? Did you see her?”
    She nodded and I continued, my heart rate accelerating.
    “Do you know who she is?”
    Her face shaded with a blank expression. “Sorry, no. I’ve never seen her before.”
    I nodded and returned to my file, forcing my mind to vacate the dark room that had shone a brilliant light on all my shadowy places.
     
    *************************
     
    Katie
     
    A few days later, I rushed through the doors of the Slate Building in Midtown Manhattan and not wanting to wait for the elevator, I took the stairs one flight down. Balancing my overstuffed briefcase under one arm, coffee, a bag of donuts in my hand, and a large cardboard box clutched to my chest, I shouldered through the glass doors of the Vandercamp Foundation headquarters. I had overslept and was late. I was never late. Ever since that day at Michelle’s office, my dreams of that night had become more vivid. My mind and body were happy to snub my alarm clock and hover in the subconscious realm. I’d never climaxed in my sleep before, and this morning I’d awoken cloaked in darkness, sweating and moaning, and coming. I’d lain there for long moments, breathless with sweet memories.
    I dragged my bottom lip through my teeth. I was surely losing my mind. I had to forget that it ever happened. I’d been just a client, and he’d been performing a service. Period. It had been a rash decision, a moment of impulsive recklessness. The tendrils of guilt were already starting to wind their way inside. I’d tried to tell myself my decision to go to the club had nothing to do with Josh, but who’d I been kidding? I’d been angry and hurt. But what did it say about