Diplomacy

if you care.” He heard the front door slam shut and let himself drop to the bed.
    He ran his hands through his hair and recalled each word she had said. He knew she wasn’t coming back. She looked timid, but he knew she was one determined woman, something she had proven at the beginning of their relationship by accompanying him here.
    So much bad could come from this, but he was really only afraid of one thing. That Lucy would call her new friend Maria.
    He had to get in touch with Jack, at least give him some advance warning.

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Chapter Thirteen
    “SHE knows, Jack.”
    Shit.
    Jack heard Lucas sigh on the other end of the telephone line.
    “Are you okay?” Jack didn’t know how to react. “Is she still there?”
    “She just left, doors slamming and everything. You can imagine, she was pretty pissed off.”
    “How…?” Jack was testing the water, to see how Lucas was really feeling about this.
    “She found the condoms. I didn’t tell her anything, Jack… but she came up with your name pretty quickly and I’m afraid she’ll tell Maria.” Lucas sounded calm but also uneasy, a little scared and worried, nothing like the confident young man Jack had always seen.
    Now it was Jack’s turn to sigh. “How exactly did my name come up? I mean, she was guessing, right?” He remembered Lucas’s remark that people couldn’t tell they were together just from looking at them. Maybe Lucy was smarter than he gave her credit for.
    “She knows me, Jack. She knew I’d had male lovers before she came along. I didn’t get the chance to ask for details, because I denied it.”
    “Good,” Jack was quick to answer. Too quick. He frowned, mentally kicking himself. “I didn’t mean that. I mean…maybe she believed you and she won’t say anything to Maria.” Lucas stayed surprisingly calm, clearly recovering his usual form.
    “Yeah, that’s what I thought. I just wanted you to be prepared in case she 98 | Z a h r a O w e n s

    does go crying on your wife’s shoulder.” And then after a bit of silence,
    “I’m sorry, Jack.”
    This was a complication Jack didn’t care for, but he couldn’t say that. He spoke again. “Don’t be. Who knows? Lucy might be back tomorrow, once she’s calmed down and realizes just how irresistible you are.”
    “That’s not funny, Jack.”
    “Well, she might. You said you thought she believed you, so there’s hope.”
    “Hope for what, Jack? You sound like you actually want me to continue this charade with Lucy. Besides, I know her, she doesn’t back out of a decision. In fact, that’s what I liked about her. She’s gone, Jack, I just… I just wanted you to know. Be prepared.” If Lucy was really determined to leave Lucas, the chance that she would tell Maria was considerable and that worried Jack. That stupid little girl could ruin not only his marriage, but also his career. As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he knew it was unfair to blame Lucy for his decisions; but he had to do something. He wasn’t the type of man to sit and wait.
    “Listen, I think I can get away, why don’t I drop by your apartment tonight? We need to talk and that’s easier done face to face.”
    “No,” Lucas answered decidedly. “I don’t know where Lucy went.
    Just in case she does call Maria for some reason, it will look suspicious if you suddenly have something urgent to attend to after my girlfriend leaves me. I’m fine, really. We’ll talk tomorrow, okay?” Jack heard the click on the other side of the line and put the phone down. He was sitting in his home office, where he had retreated after hearing Lucas’s voice. Lucy leaving complicated things considerably.
    Rumors spread quickly through the diplomatic community. They would have to be even more careful than before.
    He rested his face in his hands.
    As he saw it, there were a couple of things Lucy could do and he didn’t like either of them. The most likely course of action was for her to call Maria and ask her for advice. The women had become close friends, so that would be a logical step. He knew women, there would be tears and D i p l o m a c y | 99

    eventually Lucy would let spill that she suspected Lucas was having an affair and that the other woman was actually a man. Maria’s man.
    The other thing Lucy could do was expose them.
    Starting a rumor was easy. It would just take one well-placed comment to certain people that she had left Lucas because he was more than chummy with the