“You have been crying?” It wasn’t really a question.
“Hah,” she snorted. “Wouldn’t you like that? I suppose it helps your already inflated ego quite a lot, the thought of a girl crying over you.”
“What?” I was perplexed. “Don’t be ridiculous. You think I want you to cry? The last thing I want is for you to be miserable. You should know that by now. I would think it was pretty obvious.”
“Right. Between trying to tell me who I can or cannot talk to and romancing another woman in your office in broad daylight, it is so very obvious that the last thing you wish to do is hurt me. Don’t mind me, I am clearly just blind and stupid.” She was looking at her fingernails instead of making eye-contact. Her voice sounded solid and confident, yet there was an underlying tone of despair.
I reached out to hold her hand but she pulled away. “You are neither blind, nor stupid, Aria,” I said. “What you saw in here? I was just talking to the woman that was here about a business deal that had recently gone wrong.”
“I know she’s your wife – or ex-wife or whatever. You should know that before you begin your elaborate web of lies. It will just be a waste of time.”
“How do you know?” There was no way she could. Gina had never been here since Aria began working, and not many people knew… and then I realized. “I am going to fire Mrs. Brian!”
That piece of shit. She did not have any right to tell Aria. She must have known what was going on between us. A strange and unpleasant feeling came over me at the thought of Mrs. Brian taunting Aria about Gina.
“You can fire every single person who works for you, but it won’t change the fact that you are a liar.” She was fighting back tears hard.
“I never lied to you!” I exclaimed. It was true. Gina was never mentioned because when Aria and I had started the contract she was a non-entity in my life. And even though we were technically still married, it was merely in the name. Since the topic had never really come up, I could have never really lied.
That made her burst into hysterical laughter. “Whatever. Your wife just walked out of here after passionately kissing your cheek and you sit there and tell me you never lied to me?” She shook her head as though she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“She is not my wife, she is my ex-wife. The divorce proceedings have been underway for a while now and we are married in name only.” I slammed my fist on the desk, feeling the fury begin to swell inside of me.
“Oh wow, that is a perfectly reasonable explanation for what she was doing in your office, acting exactly like a non-ex-wife would act.”
“She was trying to provoke a reaction. Out of you, funnily enough. And it seems to have worked.” I shook my head. “Listen, Aria, I never lied to you. Gina and I are working through certain things that pertain way more to my mother than either one of us. That is the only reason she is anywhere near me. I have no feelings for her and I am not sure I ever did, really. For all intents and purposes, she stopped being my wife a long time ago. That doesn’t stop her from showing her malicious ways; that is just in the woman’s nature. She somehow figured out that I was seeing somebody in the office and she walked in here this morning with the intention of scaring whoever it was away. You. And by reacting like this you are letting her fucking win.”
“Oh really? Because I care so much about the games you play with your wife and whether or not you’re winning? Are you really trying to convince me that none of this is what it looks like? If so, just save us both the time and yourself the energy, boss man.”
“It’s not a game and she’s not my wife. I would never, ever want to hurt you.” I looked deep into her eyes, hoping she would sense that somewhere in my words was an ounce of honesty. With a much gentler voice, I added, “I really care about you. More than you realize obviously.”
I regretted saying those words as soon as they left my mouth. Not because they weren’t true necessarily, but because she didn’t need to know that. Until this very moment, it was something I hadn’t even accepted myself, but now I knew it was true. Because the fact was, watching her look upset with puffy eyes and a little blush over her perfect little nose was making me feel way more uncomfortable than it should have.
Upon hearing those words, her face seemed to gain some color. Perhaps she hadn’t even entertained the idea that I actually cared about her…. I hadn’t entertained it myself, until now, so I shouldn’t be surprised.
The room was silent for a long time, as Aria seemed to be weighing my words in her mind.
“If you really mean that,” she eventually whispered. “I have a request: I would like to re-arrange the terms of the contract.”
“What do you mean?” What could she possibly want to change? Sex was not a part of the contract as it is…
“You don’t get to control who I talk to. Given that you somehow happen to have a wife up your sleeve, I should at least have sovereignty over who I communicate with.”
“Sure,” I said very carefully. “As long as it’s not your ex.”
“That’s amusing, coming from a married man who has been seducing me. If you remember correctly, as a part of the contract, you’re not allowed to have sex with any other woman. Yet your wife–”
“We’re not having sex!” I exclaimed. Hadn’t she been listening to a word I was saying? “I told you, Gina and I haven’t really been married in a while. Whatever shenanigans she was pulling here before were an act. Part of some evil master-plan she has to win me back. And by me, I mean my money.”
“So you’re telling me you’re married to that woman and you don’t even touch her? You don’t have any regards for my intelligence, do you?” She was starting to sound hurt again.
“On the contrary, Aria, you are one of the most intelligent women I have ever met. And I can say this with confidence because I have seen your work. Both as your boss and as someone who worked through your economics course work with you, I know what your mind is capable of. I would never underestimate that.”
“Then stop lying to me! You want to have a wife and keep the contract? Fine! Let me have my freedom back. That’s not too much to ask is it?”
“I don’t trust that guy around you,” I said broodily. “He has hurt you before and he will hurt you again.”
“And what do you think you are doing?” she snapped loudly. She had clearly been holding it back so far and now the anger was flashing red hot on her face.