“What do you mean?” I was barely able to keep my voice level at this point. The woman. She couldn’t be–
“His wife, of course!”
“What?” I said, unable to keep the tone of horror from my voice. Fuck it. I didn’t even care if Mrs. Brian knew what was going on at this point. I just… I needed to find an empty room… and breathe… before I crumbled completely.
“Well, okay that’s not quite right. You could say ex-wife, I guess. But really, that’s just a technicality. They have been separated for a year now.”
That made me feel infinitesimally better. Ex-wife was much better than wife. But then what was she doing in his office kissing him? And the way Mrs. Brian had called her “the woman.” It didn’t add up at all.
“What is she doing here, then?” I looked her straight in the eye, my disappointment turning into anger.
Her face lit up as though Christmas had come early. She had figured it out. Well, it was none of her business. “My, my, Aria. I warned you not to get into this, didn’t I? You young girls just don’t listen. You see a good-looking, rich man and he just has to show an ounce of interest for you to run into his arms. You’re all the same. What were you expecting? He’s going to sweep you off your feet and marry you, then cover you in riches?”
“Keep the judgment to yourself, Mrs. Brian. It is none of your business what I do in my free time,” I snapped.
“Get angry with me all you like, dear. It doesn’t make a difference. All the girls before you, it’s the same exact story. They go after him against my best advice, and then fall for him. They all think it will be different with them, no matter his reputation, because they are all special little snowflakes. In the end, Gina always returns; she is always his first choice and always will be. Sure, they have been having some trouble over the years, but what couple doesn’t? And marriage is a very strong bond, as Zayden proves over and over again. They filed for divorce, but as far I as I know, the proceedings were never really finalized. My theory is that they don’t want it to be. Just look at them. They are a lovely couple. I would say they are made for each other,” she said beaming, surely enjoying tormenting me.
Unable to stop the tears any longer, I rushed out of the booth into the ladies’ room. I had never felt so completely betrayed. Somehow, this felt worse than when I had walked into Rick cheating on me; that had crushed me, no doubt, but this made me feel like my whole body had left me, and all that was left was a pool of misery and hurt. After all, Rick hadn’t signed a piece of paper assuring me that he wouldn’t be sleeping with anybody else. No matter what Zayden was – controlling, arrogant, promiscuous – I had never gotten the idea that he was dishonest. Somehow I had managed to let myself trust him, and now I was really paying for it. My face wa
s completely covered in tears, as I tried desperately to dab it with toilet paper. I had to go out there and do my job, but how could I when he was sitting right in front of me?
But if he had broken the contract, didn’t that mean I could…no, but there was no way for me to prove that he had been sleeping with his ex-wife. Whatever way I looked at this, I was trapped. Unable to be composed any longer, I ran into the bathroom stall and began sobbing more, holding my face in the palms of my hands. How had I let myself get into this? I had been so, so stupid.
I was such a strong woman until I met him. Now I felt powerless.
Even more idiotic was that I had trusted him with my body! It wasn’t in the contract, and against my own better judgment, I had decided to sleep with him. Because I trusted him. Despite all the reasons the world gave me not to, I trusted Zayden and believed that he wasn’t going to hurt me. I had done this to myself and no one else was to blame. He must have had a good laugh. His grand, master plan to sleep with me had worked – I had willingly ran into his arms and asked for it.
I pictured him snuggling with his ex-wife and laughing with her about how stupid girls were. They probably even made a whole game out of it. Both of them insanely attractive, both could easily have anybody they desired. That was probably how they even kept their marriage interesting; the divorce must have been some kind of charade that helped them in the games they played with vulnerable people.
I kept telling myself I could, and gathering all the courage I could muster I walked back to my desk.
Mrs. Brian was waiting there for me with a smirk. “Been crying, have we? Sleeping with the boss. Feeling rejected.”
God, she was a bitch.
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” I snapped. “So I would appreciate it if you could just let me get back to work. Thanks!”
“Work!” She laughed. “Do you do any work? Do you even have to? You’ve found other ways to please the boss man, after all.”
“Yes, I have,” I said, losing my temper with her. “And if you don’t stop with the taunting, I will use my influence to get you fired.”
That shut her up, but she looked ready to hit me. I didn’t care. She deserved it.
With even more reserve than before, I started typing out the documents in front of me, not looking at Zayden, not looking at Mrs. Brian, not letting myself think even for a second, just working as fast as I could. When the phone rang, it startled be back to reality and I jumped.
It was Zayden, and he was looking right at me.
Chapter Two
Zayden
It was obvious from the puffs underneath her eyes that Aria had been crying. She had definitely seen Gina in my office and jumped to the worst possible conclusion. It was Gina’s fault. I had told her not to show up at the office, and that’s precisely why she had come here snooping, hoping to get me to admit to seeing another woman. The way she had kissed my cheek was not for my benefit, but rather for the audience that was peeping through my glass door. She had guessed that the woman I was seeing was in this office – rightly so – and intentionally done that to create complications. What a fucking sly fox she was.
It had worked wonders. Aria looked like she had just been run down by a train – I had never quite seen her this way. She answered my call with what appeared to be extreme reluctance.
“Yes?” Her voice was wavering.
“I need you to come into my office,” I said softly, worried about causing any further damage.