A Matter of Trust, Part 3

Amanda raced down the stairs in the Georgetown foyer of the agency., tears streaming down her face. Mrs. Marston looked up from her desk to see what was going on.

"Amanda, what is wrong?" She asked in concern. Amanda flew past her and out the door. When she got outside, she leaned against the brick exterior of the building and took a deep breath, trying to calm down enough to drive. She slowly made her way to her car and drove off, not knowing where she was going until she found herself driving towards Joe's office. 'What am I doing?' She thought. 'If I go see Joe now, it'll just make it worse. Lee already thinks I'm having an affair with him. Well, So what?' She argued with herself. 'He's playing around on you. Let him think what he wants to think.' She continued on toward the law firm where she knew she'd find a confidant.

Back, at the agency, Lee beat his fists agianst the wall repeatedly, while Francine tried to calm him down.

"Lee, stop it!" She said bluntly. "You'll only make it worse. You've got to cool off and think about things rationally."

"Like Amanda was so rational when she accused me of having an affair with you." He sanapped.

"Amanda was still reeling from the fact that you accused her of sleeping with her ex." He turned on her.

"I don't believe you, of all people, are defending her!"

"I'm not defending anybody. I think you're both being childish and stupid."

"Why would she accuse me of cheating so easily, if she wasn't guilty of something herself?"

"Lee..."

"Forget it, Francine. I need a drink!" He stomps out and slams the door. He goes thundering down the stairs in a rage. Mrs. Marston looked up from her desk again, still wondering what was going on.

"Lee, what is going on aruond here?" She asked, burning with curiosity. He ignored her as Amanda had and ran out the door. She heard the tires of his corvette squealing as he tore out of there at top speed..

At Joe King's office, Joe sat at his desk, looking at some files, when his secretary buzzed him.

"Yes, Mary?" He said.

"Mr. King, your ex-wife is here to see you, should I send her in?"

"Yes, Please." 'Uh-oh' he thought. 'Something really has to be wrong. Amanda never comes to see me here.' The door opened and Amanda walked in. He stood up, took a good look at her and realised she'd been crying. "Amanda, are you ok?" He asked in concern.

"No. I'm far from ok." She sat down in the chair opposite Joe's desk. He sat back down in his own chair.

"Let me guess, you decided not to wait to tell Lee the news about the baby and he didn't take it well?'

"No, that's not it. I didn't even tell him about the baby yet."

"Then what is it?"

"He was there at Dooley's and he saw us together."

"So?" Joe said, not really understanding. "There's no law against us having lunch together."

"But I lied to him about it." she admitted softly, looking down at the floor."I told him I was having lunch with Mother."

"Ah. I see."

"It was awful! When I got back to work, he just charged in and started yelling at me in front of everybody and he didn't even give me a chance to explain. Now, everyone in the agency knows about our marriage."

"Wow." He said, trying to digest everything. "All because you and I had lunch together?"

"He accused me of having an affair with you."

"What? Amanda, that's crazy. you and I have been divorced for five years now."

"Not only that, when I walked back into our office, I saw him theere in the arms of his ex-lover." She burst into tears again at the thought of Lee and Francine together. He stood and up and went over to comfort her. He took her in his arms and just let her cry. Carrie King came in and suryed the situation.

"What's going on?" She asked, not sure she wanted to know. Joe got up and crossedove to her.

"Hi, Sweetheart." he said as he greeted her with a lingering kiss.

"Hi. What's going on?" she repeated. Amanda stood up.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I shouldn't have come here. I was just having a personal problem and I needed a friend to talk to. Joe was nice enough to listen."

"What's the problem? Maybe I can help."

"I don't want to burden you with my problems."

"Nonsense. You and I are friends, aren't we?"

"Yes, we are. Ok, here goes." Carrie just sat and listened while Amanda told her the whole story from the beginning.

"Lee actually believes the two of you are having an affair?" asked incredulously when Amanda was finished.

"Yes. It's funny. When I saw you walk in here, I thought you were going to think the same thing."

"Oh, please. I have bigger things to worry about than that. I wouldn't worry if Joe had a lunch date with you every day of the week. I know who he comes home to at night." she said as she smiled at Joe. He smiled back.

"I wish I could say that about Lee. He's been jealous of Joe ever since he came back from Africa. I don't know why he feels so insecure."

"Maybe that's because he doesn't have the security I have. You don't go home to him every night. You two have to sneak around to find ways to be together. That's got to be eating him up inside."

"Well, he's got Francine to comfort him," she said hotly.

"Now, I don't believe that for a minute. And I can't believe that you do either."

"I know what I saw."

"And I'll bet Lee's thinking the same thing about when he saw you with Joe."

"That's different."

"Yes, it is. He didn't lie to you."

Early that evening, Lee is sitting at the bar of Emilio's, spilling his troubles to Nroman, the bartender. He's obviously ahd a few drinks already.

"Women are just so unpredictable. I don't know how to deal with this. Give me another one, will you?" He indicates his empty glass.

"Cheer up, Lee." Norman siad as he set Lee's drink on the bar. "You know Amanda loves you. I can see that every time you come in here together."

"Yeah, if she loves me so much, why is she lying to me? And what is she doing, sneaking around with her ex-husband?" He finished his drink in one swallow and slammed the empty glass down on the bar.

"You're asking the wrong person here. I don't have the answers, and I don't think you're gonna find it at the bottom of a glass either."

"Maybe not, but it sure does help ease the pain. Give me another." Norman fixed him another drink and set on the bar in front of him.

"But , you're gonna' have even more pain tomorrow when that stuff wears off."

"Just let me worry about that, ok?"

"Just trying to help, but I think the only way you're going to feel any better is to find out the truth."

"I already know the truth."

"Do you?"

"I know what I saw today."

"But looks can be deceiving, Lee. Did Amanda actually explain why she was there with her ex or why she lied about it?"

"No. I didn't really give her much of a chance." He realized how hard he'd been on Amanda. He recalled the horrified expression he'd seen on her face when she walked in on him and Francine. "I guess I should go talk to her."

"Good idea." Lee downed his drink, threw some money on the counter and left the bar.