Smokescreen

“Babe, we aren’t going into your office today. We’re working from here. Laci and Dana both know where we are if they need us.”

“Okay, let me shower, and we’ll get started.”

He nods as his phone starts ringing in the kitchen. I laugh at myself, closing the bathroom door, maybe I should replace my morning coffee with an orgasm. It seems a whole lot better for my disposition.

“Can you arrange a car for me in the morning?” I ask Dana, packing up the last of my things and cleaning off the table.

“Sure, it’ll be there at seven. Anything else?”

“No, just that one last detail I emailed you about earlier.”

“Already taken care of.”

“Have you heard anything from the realtor?”

“Yes, Erica has tried to fire her three times. She’s refusing to look at anything less than a high-rise with full door service and concierge.”

“Tough shit.”

“Yeah, well, Erica and Edward are looking for you today. Both of them demanding I tell them where you are and give them your new number. I refused but when Edward tried to throw his power around and degrade me, it got ugly.”

“This should be good, what happened?”

“I had a dozen or more people around, helping me get ready for the meeting. Employees from IT, Accounting, and HR, along with two other assistants were in the room. He was livid about everything, you being gone, Erica blowing up his phone, the meeting tomorrow. Everyone was uncomfortable. So I plainly told him that you would be in early tomorrow and wouldn’t have to replace your phone if it didn’t have drug-laced vomit in it. It was classic. He left.”

“I’m upgrading your cruise. Start looking tonight.”

“What cruise?”

“The cruise I’m sending you on. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

“Okay, see you in the morning.” She hangs up.

There’s an undeniable nagging feeling in the back of my mind Edward has a trick up his sleeve. It never crossed my mind to give him my new number because we usually don’t talk on the phone. I’ve only seen him one time since we returned from New York and he was unhappy with my decision to move Erica out. However, faced with the choice of her moving back in with him and Rita, he agreed her own place was necessary.

He questioned me repeatedly about the direction Sullivan PR was going, and I gave him just enough bits of information to please him. Mostly because it was financial information. He had no interest in the philanthropic events we had planned for the local communities.

The opportunity in New York revolved around investing medical facilities. In one of our closed door meetings, their CEO wanted to discuss the JOS re-birth as soon as the plan was public. It was the opportunity both our companies wanted to be a part of.

Working with Stella brought back memories of the old me. I used to love project work and imagining the success that small changes could bring about. When I worked in international law full time, my company specifically gave me the troubled clients that needed significant changes to their organizations. It was extensive work, but the end result gave me a sense of satisfaction. Today re-confirmed how much I missed it.

Stella comes back into the room hanging up her own phone and smiling at me. “We ready for tomorrow?”

“Everything’s set.”

“Should we go out to dinner?”

“No, I want to eat here. Then I want to lie back on that sofa I’ve become fond of.”

“Sounds good, I’ll cook.”

Before she can open the refrigerator, I grab her wrist and tug her to me, trapping her against my body. “Take out is on the way. No one’s cooking or cleaning tonight.”

“So what are we going to do?”

“We’re going to eat, relax, and then go to bed. I seem to remember you saying you didn’t want to miss me naked, so tonight you get the full experience.”

She shudders against me smiling. “I can’t wait.”