“So, continue,” Violet invites.
I lift a finger. “Wait. She’s still getting the dry cleaning from the walk-in.”
When we hear the door shut, I continue.
“Baby, I don’t want you burdened with this. You don’t need all the details of this shit. But take Stan wherever you go the next few days at least, while I figure some stuff out.”
Stan can handle himself and proved to be excellent in a crisis when I got jumped after Dario’s wedding. If not for Stan with his gun, who knows how that would’ve ended.
“Is this marriage a partnership or what?” she demands, hands propped on her hips.
She’s not just facing me; she’s facing off with me.
“Of course it is. But there’s no need for you to feel burdened with shit I have to take care of.”
“Well, in the case of this scenario, I need to know what’s happening. Keep me posted. I mean it.”
I raise my hands defensively. This goes against everything I want. But my wife is like a lit firecracker the last few days.
She’s full of fire. And demands. And as much as I want to shield and protect her, I’m a little in awe of how strong she seems.
“Come here,” I order.
She walks the two paces toward me. I grab her by the ass with both hands and move in for a kiss.
She gasps in surprise and then her hands are in my hair.
“I want to know if it’s safe to fuck you,” I say, “because you bein’ sassy with me like this, I’m findin’ I’d like to help you work this aggression and sass out while you’re naked.”
She shivers in my arms and it makes me smile wide.
“There she is. My sassy and sweet salted caramel girl.”
“I have a doctor’s appointment Wednesday,” she says, shyly, smiling wider.
“What time? I’m coming with.”
“Ten.”
“Good. Need to ask that doctor if it’s all right to not only fuck my pregnant wife, but also spank her ass when she’s sassy.”
She shivers, dimples on display, eyes shining.
And now my cock is hard. “Right. Now, I’m heading to Seattle; with a hard-on, thanks to you. I’ll be back tonight. Keep alert while you’re at the mall. So much happening, I’m still feeling tweaked. I’d feel better if you keep your eyes open. Yeah?”
“Okay. But I want that hard-on gone before you’re anywhere near Jagger’s sister.”
I can’t help but grin, and she looks ready to face-off again over it.
“Don’t even worry about that. I’m not remotely interested in anyone but you. Swear it.”
“You’d better mean that,” she warns.
“This is for you. All for you,” I squeeze her ass and press her into me.
“Good,” she says. “Better be.”
“Where are you going today?” I ask.
“Washington Square.”
“Let me see if Stan’s available. One sec.” I dial his number.
***
“Keep in touch.” I kiss her again. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
I’m about to head out, but stop and look at her. “We gonna talk about you joining the team when I get back tonight?” I ask. “And the lawsuit?”
“I’m gonna take this week for me. We’ll talk about that after my doctor’s appointment. I might table that for now.”
“Okay…”
“And I have an appointment with a lawyer tomorrow. I’m going to be launching a little investigation of my own. Prove Shara firing me was targeted and illegal.”
“Yeah? Gonna talk to me about that?”
Her eyes narrow.
“You don’t want secrets, remember?” I try.
She sighs. “Okay, but I’m handling this. I can deal with this on my own.”
I raise my hands defensively. “I’m sure you can. But if you need help, say the word.”
“I’ve got this.”
“Okay,” I say.
“I have a lunch meeting with a vendor friend that says she has proof Shara lied about a big order that was a mistake, part of her argument about me not having my head in the game when they fired me. They called it a restructuring, but I happen to know they were planning to keep and promote me. Until you picked a fight with Shara. Maybe a little before that but that probably fanned the flames.”
I say nothing. She narrows her eyes and then continues.
“Anyway, I’m gonna talk to another coworker that might give me more info for the lawsuit. They say they’re not firing me because I’m pregnant, but that being pregnant means I get a more generous severance package and then tried to throw facts at me that make it seem like I’m shit at my job anyway. Shara played a game with that, and I think she’s been working to build a pile of evidence to try to fire me. When I broke up with Ray she said, in writing, that I was making everyone else look bad because I never take time off. Ha! And she’s always saying we should all get to work remotely more often, yet Friday made it sound like I’m taking advantage by working from home. Come to think of it, I still have that text. More evidence against her. But you’ve got to catch your flight, so get going. I’ve got this.”