Ryan stared at her speculatively, obviously making up his mind whether or not to trust her, then nodded and ducked his head. Chloe had to lean closer to hear what he was saying.
“Livvie… Olivia and… and me, we go back a long way, we were kids together, we grew up together… in the same house. That’s because Livvie… she’s my sister…”
Chloe stared in amazement, her mouth hanging open; that had come straight out of left field. She’d heard of this, but had never expected to ever encounter a real-life… situation like this, whatever it was; she didn’t know what to call it; but Ryan and his… sister were her friends, she’d promised to help them if they trusted her; well, he’d trusted her, now it was her turn. She squeezed his hand even harder.
“Poor you, poor, poor you, and poor Livvie, too, having to hide this constantly, always dodging around and backing away when people get too close. I’m so sorry, Ryan, I really am. I can only imagine how Livvie feels, then with the baby as well, it must be terrible for her to have no-one to confide in, no-one to share this with. Do you have any other family, anyone who knows, that you can turn to for help?”
Ryan looked up at her again, and she saw the tear tracks on his cheeks, her throat catching in sympathy for his loneliness and distress.
“No-one, just you; you’re the only one who knows…” he whispered.
Chloe stared at him for a long minute, digesting everything he’d said so far; at first, it had seemed to her that Livvie was pushing him away because she was feeling guilty and isolated: guilty because of what she and Ryan had done, and isolated because she was at the other end of the country from everything she knew, and now her loneliness was preying on her.
And then it came to her, as her subconscious mind finally put all the pieces together, and it was so simple she wondered that he hadn’t put it together himself, but of course he was so busy shouldering the cares and woes of the world, and wallowing in his own guilt and self-pity that it had never occurred to him to look at his problem in any other way than to find a cure. They didn’t need a cure; they needed a solution.
Her instinctive reaction was to shake him by the shoulders and tell him to go to his wife and fix this; Livvie was feeling rejected and alone, and with good cause; this was Ryan’s fault, he’d done this to them, to himself, and now he needed to undo it.
“Ryan, I know why Livvie feels the way she does, and what you need to do to fix it. Think about this: you brought her here, far from everyone and everything she knows; OK, so you had to, if you wanted to make it work, and I know she wanted to come and be with you, but now your career’s taking off in a big way, you’re the youngest engineering design manager this company’s ever had, and now, with the ‘Devastator’ project under your belt, you are officially the company golden boy; things are only going to get better for you. And to get there, you lived at your desk while you let Livvie sit alone day after day. Even when you went home you were still here. Is it any wonder she’s ready to check-out? Really Ryan, she’s only human, you left her out, no wonder she feels left out, not part of your life, discarded.”
She held up her hand to forestall his denial.
“I know that’s not the way it is for you, Ryan, and I know you didn’t pick up on this, but it’s still down to you; She feels like you’ve left her behind, and in many ways you did; the brighter your star shines, the less you’re going to need her, and one day you’re not going to need her at all, and you’ll be done. She needs to be reminded of why you set out to catch her in the first place, and she needs to feel that excitement again, that thrill of the chase. Believe me, I wish my Pete had been half as sneaky and devious, and one tenth as inventive, the first time he sweet-talked me into bed with him! You need to woo her, Ryan, you need to woo her, and win her back; she needs romance and excitement, maybe a little naughty but nice, even something so far off her radar she’d never think of it; you need to get inventive again, to make her feel like a naughty girl and your dirty little sex-bomb at the same time; you need to bring back everything she felt when you tied her up and teased her, and made her want you, and showed her how much you wanted her. Think outside the box, Ryan; if you’re going to win her back, it’s all you have left now.”
Chloe had been intrigued and then excited when Ryan unfolded what he’d done to seduce Livvie, how carefully and stealthily he’d moved on her, and how he’d kept her dancing with intrigue until the very last second; now he needed to do that again, but in a different way, and Chloe thought she knew just how that should be.
“Ryan, I need you to trust me here; the way you originally seduced and showed Livvie what she meant to you? I think that will work again, but you’ll have to change it up a level, get just a little more down and dirty, if you follow me. I know someone who… helped my younger sister and her partner through something very much like this, and in pretty much the same way. Don’t worry!” she held up her hand as Ryan started to object. “It’s not another man, but she is very, very good, and she’s very discreet; you’ll never even see her properly, but I can almost guarantee she’ll help you and Livvie find each other again. And don’t worry, you won’t have to do anything; she’s not interested in men, so you’re safe!”
Ryan looked at her in open-mouthed astonishment, then his eyes narrowed dangerously.
“Are you seriously suggesting I drag Livvie into some kind of… of threesome? What the fu.., no, absolutely not, I’ve never heard anything so…!”
Chloe held up her hand to cut him off.
“No Ryan, for once, just shut up and listen to what the people around you are saying! You made this happen. This is your mess, and it’s a big one; you need to clean it up now, before it’s all gone to shit and you and Livvie really are done! Now, are you going to shut up and pay attention, or do I just leave you like this and you can kiss Livvie, your life, your family goodbye? I’m offering you a way back, it’s a strange way, but it’s what you need, so make up your mind, Ryan, clock’s ticking!”
Ryan stared at her, his mouth hanging open in shock at the harsh truths she’d just battered him with; his eyes searched hers, looking for any sign of relenting, but there was none; Chloe really meant what she was saying, and now it was crunch-time; go along with her preposterous plan, or watch his life shatter. His eyes dropped, and he hung his head, defeated.
“Ok, let’s do this; how much worse can it get…?” he murmured.
Chloe gazed at him sympathetically; she had an inkling how he must be feeling; she and Richard, her sister’s partner, had been here once, at this same juncture, going through the same dance, having the same conversation, for pretty much the same reasons. It had worked for them; there was no reason to suppose it wouldn’t work for Ryan and Livvie.
“Ryan, what I’m suggesting is a way for you to win your wife back; from what you say, from what you’ve told me, you need this, you both need all the help you can get, so listen to me; I’m offering you a way to do it discreetly, privately, and with no strings attached; the other party will never know who you are, she’ll never be anything except a way for Livvie to find her way back to you, and for you to win back that girl you took so much time and effort to win in the first place! Isn’t that what you want; couples therapy at the sharp end? This girl can help you, she’s good at what she does, trust me, Ryan, she’ll make a difference, I promise!”
Ryan dropped his head into his hands.
“I don’t know, it just seems so… so… sordid, I dunno… Livvie’s never going to agree to this…”
Chloe grinned as she patted his hand.
“That’s why you’re not going to tell her! Just go ahead with how you did it last time, be as sneaky as you can, and don’t worry about Jack-Jack, I’ll look after him; just you make sure you keep Livvie in that bedroom until the two of you are straight again, understand?”
Ryan still looked bewildered.
“But how will I know…?”
Chloe smiled again.
“Just leave that to me; believe me, you’ll know! And don’t worry. Just make sure the door is unlocked. The young lady and I will take care of the rest, and I guarantee, by first light you and Livvie will be breaking beds again!”
Ryan looked doubtful.
“How much will it cost…?” and Chloe grinned.
“Not a bean; apparently it’s so much fun for her she does it for free! Stop your worrying now, just go home, get yourself ready, and take it the way you did last time. You have to work on Livvie, Ryan, you have to make her see how much she means to you, and if you’re going to trick, deceive, seduce, and dazzle her, then you’re going to need a master of all of the above right there with you! This is the best way I can think of making it happen. Eleven o’clock okay?”
Ryan looked at her closely.
“Who is she, who is this person I’m letting into my house, into my wife’s bed?”
Chloe shrugged her shoulders.
“A friend of a friend of a friend; that’s all you really need to know; she’s good at what she does, she’s discreet, she’s clean, and you’ll never see or hear from her again; I’ll bring her to you around Eleven, it’ll be dark, and she’ll never even know where or who you are; completely anonymous, Ryan, that’s how she does things, that’s how she likes it. Now, shall I make the call or not?”
Ryan gazed at her for long, apprehensive seconds, then reluctantly nodded agreement, and it was all set.