Free His Betrayal Her Lies by Angel de'Amor Page B

out.
Preoccupied with feeling around inside the side pocket of her tote
bag, she looked up when her hand grazed the key ring.
    “Whew.”
    But her relief was short-lived. She dropped
everything on the ground when she caught sight of her Beamer.
    “Oh my God! Who did this to my car?” She ran
up to the car, then circled it, scrutinizing the key marks engraved
in her paint. All four of the tires had been slashed. The word
bitch was carved on the hood and the word hoe was carved on the
trunk.
    Taylor snapped. She picked her keys and bag
up off the ground and jumped inside the car. Racing down Madison
Avenue, she broke every speed limit posted.
    She whipped her car into a spot in the
visitor’s parking lot at city hall. Inside the building, she went
to the elevators and pressed twelve. The only door located on the
east wing of that floor was the office of Mayor John Briggs.
    Her father’s bodyguard greeted her as she
entered. “Good morning, Mrs. Gallagher. It’s been awhile.” Frank, a
refined man who Taylor guessed to be in his fifties, had been her
father’s bodyguard sense he was an Illinois State Senator four
years ago.
    Taylor rarely visited her father at work. She
knew he was a busy man and she didn’t want to burden him with her
problems. However, today was different. She needed guidance and he
was the only one who could help.
    “Good morning, Frank. Is my father
available?”
    “Yes, he just wrapped up a meeting. Go on
in.”
    “Thanks, Frank.”
    Taylor opened the door to her father’s
office. He was seated behind a humongous L-shaped, oak executive
desk. He looked up from a stack of papers and smiled.
    “Taylor, I’m so happy you came to visit your
old pop.”
    Taylor walked around the desk and gave her
father a hug. She always found comfort in his embrace.
    “To what do I owe this visit,
sweetheart?”
    She sat down on his black leather couch. “I
just needed to talk.”
    Mayor John Briggs got up from his chair and
sat on the edge of his desk. “Okay, let’s talk.”
    Taylor took a deep breath. “Before I start, I
need you to promise me that after I’m done, you won’t ask me any
questions and you will only give me advice.”
    Her father creased his brow and looked
worried. “Are you in any trouble?”
    Taylor shook her head. She knew his concern
came from the fact that she was always the strong one out of all
his kids. If she was here, it had to be serious.
    “Okay, I promise only to listen and give you
advice.”
    Licking her dry lips, she laid her head back
on the couch and stared at the ceiling. “I have a friend who is
keeping a secret from her companion.” She hesitated, then went on.
“Although she wants to tell him, she is holding back because she
has good reason to believe that he is holding on to a secret that
he should come clean with first. Of course all this is compromising
their relationship.”
    She observed her father’s face to see how he
seemed to be taking her news so far. He steepled his fingers under
his chin and waited silently.
    Choosing her words carefully, she continued,
“The catch 22 is that if this secret comes out, it could not only
hurt the couple but also their families.” She fingered the strap of
her bag and avoided eye contact with her father, just in case a
tear happened to sneak down her cheek. “I want to know what you
would do to save your friend’s relationship and family.”
    “I have one question.”
    “I said no questions, Dad.”
    He shifted his weight on the desk. “Just one,
please, if you expect me to give an honest answer.”
    Taylor nodded for him to proceed.
    “Does your friend’s companion know about the
secret?”
    “Yes.”
    John ran his hand down the side of his face.
“It’s always better to keep no secrets from your companion. I say
tell this friend ,” his fingers drew quotation marks in the
air, “to tell her companion that she knows about the secret. If
your friend is lucky, her family will support them through
the