I log on, and in the Documents area of File Explorer, I find the folder titled ‘Private.’ I roll my eyes—how creative—but as I search, I’m not prepared for the folders to be categorized, so I send him a text.
Me: I never figured you to be so anal about anal.
I laugh at myself. Where is Eric when I need him? He’d have totally enjoyed that comment.
Lex: Having fun, I see. I’m very anal over your anal.
Oh damn. Your own fault, Charlie. I decide to shut down and head out. There will always be porn. I’m dressed in jeans, knee-high boots, and my fancy jacket I bought back home. My hair is let out loose, and the weather has cooled overnight. New York is cold, but London enters the freezing-my- tits-off zone.
I make my way over to Lex’s office and arrive at the top floor. All at once, his staff runs in circles. They are mostly blonde, a few redheads, and ebony hair, but not one brunette—what a control freak. I walk up to the desk, and a young twenty-something-year-old greets me. Quite possibly, everything about her is fake from tits to nails. I smile, asking to see Lex.
“I’m sorry, ma’am, do you have an appointment?”
“Firstly, I’m probably only a few years older than you, sweetheart, so how about we skip the ‘ma’am’ crap? And second, Lex is my husband.”
“Excuse me?”
“I think you heard me, now will you call him or…”
I hear my name being called. It’s Kate. As soon as I see her, my face lights up. She runs over and hugs me tight.
“Sod off, Christine, you’ve been warned about being rude to clients before.”
“She isn’t a client, she claims to be Mr. Edwards’ wife.” She laughs.
“You’re damn right she is. Come with me, Charlie. The stupid, stuck up little…” she mutters to herself. “I’m so happy you’re here. Eric is running around like a headless chicken without you. He texted me like five minutes ago reminding me to remind you to buy some fancy hand towels to go with his tea towel?”
“Gross. He said he wanted to have a royal hand towel by his bed in case of emergency.”
“Oh, my days, so he can squirt on the queen’s face?”
We laugh together as Kate holds the door open for me. Lex sits at his desk. Looking up to see me, he smiles. Someone is on speakerphone, but he motions for me to come in. Kate leaves me, and I stand by his desk unsure of what to do. He pulls me into his lap, and I sit there, uncomfortable, listening to some guy trying to convince Lex it’s a breach of contract if he were to pull out of a deal.
Lex merely states he isn’t pulling out, but is only able to complete the work from New York. I grab his Post-it note and scribble some legal advice and his rights. I pass it to him, and he reads it out loud. The jerk on the other end let’s out a loud sigh before agreeing with Lex. In a polite way, Lex tells him to go fuck himself before hanging up on him.
“Are you sure you don’t want to head up my legal division?”
“We’ve had this conversation, and besides, I don’t want to report to you. I don’t want to report to anyone, hence, why we own the practice. But, if necessary, I can call you boss in the bedroom?”
He kisses me deeply. The few hours we were apart sucked balls big time. Speaking of which, I can suck his balls right now. Charlie, you horny bitch, seriously just chill.
“I can’t do lunch. If I work through, I can be home around six? I need to get some proposals drawn up.”
“Fine, fine, but if I max out my credit card at Harrods, it’s all your fault.”
Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out his wallet and hands me his Amex.
“I’ve been meaning to give you this.”
“What the hell for?”
“To use. What do you mean what for?” he asks, annoyed.
“Well, for starters… I can take care of myself. I don’t need your Amex.”
“Why do you have to be so stubborn all the time? Take the fucking card. I feel like a broken record. My money is our money now.”
“Yeah, and I sound like a CD with a scratch. I’m not ready to accept that. Give me time.”