Only One Night (Only One 3)

I don’t know why I stand here, but I don’t move. “Evelyn,” she says my name and stops in front of me.

“Murielle,” I say her name, and my stomach feels like I’m going to vomit. “Is there something that I can help you with?”

She laughs loudly, and I see my father stick his head out of his office. “Actually, there is something you can help me with,” she says. “You can stay the fuck away from my husband.” I open my mouth to say something, anything, but she just continues her tirade. “What’s the matter? You have nothing to say to me. You can stop pretending,” she hisses. “He told me everything.” When she tells me those four words, I know she’s lying. I know in my heart she is lying.

“First off, I will have you lower your voice in my workspace,” I tell her. “If you want to have a conversation about what you think you know, then I will have that with you. But I’m not causing a spectacle in the middle of my office.”

She throws her head back and laughs. “You have some nerve coming into my house and having an affair with my husband.” Tim comes out of his office now, and he stands there listening. “You are nothing but a fucking home-wrecker.” The moment she says that, I feel like she slapped me across the face as the blood rushes out of my body.

“Um.” Tim starts to say. “Murielle, I have no idea what is going on right now.”

“Fuck off, Tim,” she hisses at him.

“I’m going to give you thirty seconds before I have someone call security.”

“Call your security!” she shouts. “Call whoever you have to call. Look around, people,” she says, spinning in a circle with her hands outstretched. “Little Miss Perfect coming back home to take over the family business. She decided she wanted to take over my family, but I’m not going to fucking let you.”

“That’s enough!” I shout. “I don’t know what you heard or think is going on,” I say, stepping up to her, “but know this, there are only two people who can ruin your marriage. That’s you and your husband.” I fold my arms over my chest. “So the big question is who ruined it first?” She swallows now. “Now you came here to cause a scene. Consider it done.” I step closer one more time, showing her I’m not going to back down. “Now get the fuck out of my office.” I motion with my chin. “Take you and your bullshit stories somewhere else.”

“Stay the fuck away from my husband!” she shouts.

“Stay the fuck away from me,” I counter. “Next time you think of ambushing, remember who has the most to lose.” She turns around and storms out.

I look around, and everyone quickly averts their eyes. My father stands there with questions on his face. I know I’m going to have to tell him something, but I’m not ready.

I turn and see Chantal looking at me. “I’ll get you some water,” she says, and I just look at her and nod. “And I’ll cancel your day.”

“Thank you,” I say, my voice low now as the lump forms in my throat. I walk with my hands shaking and my head held high. Well, as high as I can when the world is weighing down on me.

My chest is heaving as if I just ran a fucking marathon, my heart beating so fast in my chest. My legs are weak at the knees, and I use my hand to hold on to the desk beside me. The tears sting my eyes as I hear her voice over and over in my head. Home-wrecker.

“She doesn’t come in here.” I hear Manning’s voice in my head. “This is between you and me, and no one else.”

I swallow down the lump in my throat, and I turn and walk back into my office, feeling every single eye on me. Every person sitting there is judging me, wondering how much of what she said was the truth.

Walking to my chair, I almost collapse in it as the thing I feared the most just happened to me. In front of my co-workers, in front of my brother, in front of my father, the biggest secret that I had was laid bare. My hands shake in front of me as I look up and see my brother standing there. “Evelyn,” he says my name. “What the fuck is going on?”

Chapter 27

Manning

“Three hours and we’ll be home,” I say, walking up the stairs to the plane. I sit down and take off my jacket for the three-hour flight home. “My body feels like I got into a fight with five fucking guys,” I say, stretching my arms.

“You did,” Miller says, sitting down next to me. “You took four of them. Ralph tried to take one.”