8 Knowing the Other

It had been a hectic September for both Fred and Stella. They both had been out of their home and country more than either of them wanted to be. However, the nature of their work kept them apart. When Stella was in Chicago, Fred was in Paris. When Stella was in Birmingham, Fred was in Hawaii. At the end of September however, Stella looked forward to spending Fred's birthday quietly with their friends. That did not happen.

Three days before Fred's birthday, Stella went shopping for her husband/roommate. She knew that he was not a fan of fashion labels and only wore designs that Rupert provided. So instead of telling people where she was going, she went shopping at Gucci. That way no one could tell Fred that she was getting him a gift and she would actually be allowed to pay for something. It had been years since Stella spent any money of her own other than for transportation. Ever since she had moved in with Fred, he had been the provider. In the beginning, she had argued that they were flatmates and should share expenses. Needless to say, she lost the argument. Fred was apparently prepared for her protest with spreadsheets regarding her career growth and financial stability. The thought that Fred could prepare everything beforehand only awed Stella more who was just warming up to her infatuation of the older guy.

Over the years she had gotten used to a different level of organization and neatness. Fred inside the home was as much a control freak as he was casual outside. Probably that was because most of his friends were keen on neatness and organization and he never needed to tell them how he liked things. Stella, however, used to be a slob back then. Fred never complained. He silently cleaned up. Stella learnt a lot by watching him.

When you live with someone for five years you learn a lot about them. Stella knew his favourite food was a Thai soup as opposed to the Italian food she liked. She also knew that Fred cooked Italian only because she liked Italian, even though he had to work in the gym for hours to get the calories off him. Fred was already a big man. But his body was mostly muscles. He could give any bodybuilder a run for their money, even at the ripe age of forty-four. Stella, on the other hand, was always thin. Stella knew Fred's favourite colour was blue and favourite flower were lilies. She also knew that Fred knew more about her than she knew about him. He knew her better than herself sometimes and in those moments he scared her with his compassion and consideration. What Stella also knew about Fred was that he never celebrated his birthday unless he was forced to and she was ready and eager to force him.

When her phone rang and she saw Fred's number flash on her phone she smiled to herself before picking it up on the third ring.

"I would think you would be much more eager to pick up the call," the voice that greeted her was not the one that she expected or desired to hear.

"What are you doing with Mr Bartoli's phone?" she asked the arrogant voice that greeted her.

"Just letting you know that he already broke his rule of never getting involved with his employees. We are enjoying an extended honeymoon in Hawaii. He told me to inform you that he won't be going back as scheduled".

The grip Stella had on the steering wheel was fierce. Her knuckles were white but Stella tried to maintain her composure as she spoke the next words. "I am really sorry for you, Reagan. Being a notch in my room mate's belt was not how I envisioned you. I thought you were much more than one of the sluts trying to jump into his bed." Stella gritted out.

"Tell that to yourself when I have his ring on my finger and you are told to vacate the spare room for the sake of our children," Reagan quipped.

"You see Reagan, there is one thing you have got wrong. I don't stay in the spare room. I sleep on my husband's bed," Stella said cutting the line as a sob choked her voice. Stella blinked her eyes to clear the tears but when she opened her eyes the sight that greeted her scared her out of her wits. An AV van had lost control on the street ahead and was headed right towards her car. But it was so close she had no idea if she could avoid the collision. Before she could react the van hit the side of her car which skidded away in another direction, got topples and hit against the trunk of a nearby tree. The last thing Stella registered before everything blacked out was the sound of the glass shattering and the car making a loud thumping noise. The airbag had not deployed and she had hit her head against the dashboard, making blood flow freely down her face.

***

"That bitch", spewed Reagan on the phone which only beeped back towards her. It was that moment that Fred decided to step into the hotel lobby.

"Who were you talking to? I asked you to enter Ramirez's number on my phone," Fred reminded her.

"Oh, I have. I was just talking to his secretary. She is quite high and mighty. I wouldn't call her a bitch on her face though," Reagan purred batting her eyelashes for effect.

"The last time I checked Ramirez's secretary was named Matthew Staines and he is a well spoken and polite man who had accompanied us to dinner. It was before you joined and I do not have any report of his leaving the company because I had personally given him a good offer that he turned down. Now, will you hand me the phone so that I can check who you were calling from my number?"

Reagan did not get the time to delete the call logs before the phone was snatched from her hand.

"Why were you calling Ms Wilson?" Fred asked trying to call her back, his call going repeatedly to her voicemail. "What the hell did you tell her, Ms Adams?" Fred asked after reaching her voicemail for the fifteenth time. They had already reached the airport and were on their way back.

ALL PERSONS ARE REQUESTED TO TURN OF THEIR PHONES AND ELECTRONIC DEVICES FOR taking OFF, the loudspeaker blared.

Fred reluctantly put down his phone, choosing to concentrate on the woman before her. "Is there a reason why Ms Wilson is not taking my calls?" he asked her again.

"Maybe she is ashamed of what she told me," Reagan suggested.

"And what would that be?" Fred asked in a deathly calm. If he knew Stella as he did, he knew that she never regretted or felt ashamed of anything. She had a level head and oozing confidence.

"She tried to insinuate that she was more than your tenant. She tried to claim to be your wife," Reagan spat out the last word, disgust evident in her tone.

"She wasn't insinuating anything. She was merely stating facts. We are in fact married," Fred said as matter-of-factly as he could. He had a pretty good idea why Ms Adams would be interested in his arrangements with Stella. She wouldn't be the first of his employees to try their wiles on him. Having Jenny always protected him from dealing with these himself. He garnered that as soon as the flight landed in New York he would be signing Ms Adam's termination notice. What stumped him however was that, why would Stella reveal to her the true nature of their relationship when their closest friends were not privy to that knowledge.