Page 48 of Checkmate
“Don’t patronise me!”
She took a step towards him, wagging her finger in his face. “You do not get to decide things like this without discussing it with me.”
“I’m sorry. Remind me when my business was your concern?”
“When you start hanging out with my boss’s wife! You could really fuck things up for me.”
“Except the two aren’t mutually exclusive. What happens at your workplace does not affect mine, so what’s the issue?”
“I just really do not want you doing this.”
Where the hell had they come up with this stupid idea?
“Well, that’s a real shame. Because it’s happening. I’ll see you later, yeah?”
Grabbing his keys and wallet, Marcus left the house without so much as a backward glance.
“I thought you were meeting for lunch,” she muttered to herself. What kind of lunch required him to leave the house before nine in the morning? God, this was going to make things more complicated. She had to watch her behaviour and handle Marcus as well.
It wouldn’t have been a problem a couple of weeks ago. He would have done anything she asked of him. But there had been a shift and Marcus was no longer the man she married.
Did he know?
He’d mentioned the crush, but did he know there was more to it?
There were moments she thought he was fucking with her. Punishing her for an affair. But Marcus was not the type of person to sit on something like that. He couldn’t stand cheating and he certainly wouldn’t tolerate it from her.
Alex was so strict about keeping their affair a secret that there was no way she could have let it slip. She was positive that she had been as careful as she could and there was no chance in hell that Alex would have made a mistake.
Marcus’ ego was probably just bruised because she found another man attractive.
Only, it went so much deeper than that for her. Marcus finding out about the affair would be nothing more than an inconvenience to her. She had already checked out of this marriage.
Marcus just wasn’t who she wanted anymore.
Gathering her work clothes from the laundry pile, she dressed in the living room, not having anyone she needed to hide from. She kicked her pyjamas across the room and left them as a treat for Marcus to find.
It wasn’t much, but it’d annoy him enough to make her happy.
Imagining him coming home from his stupid lunch to find her clothes on the floor, knowing it was one of their most common arguments, gave her the boost to rush out of the door and get to work.
Forced to take public transport, Sophie cursed herself for forgetting her headphones. Music would be a welcome distraction right now when every mile closer to the office left her with a feeling of dread.
Normally, she was excited to see Alex and partake in a little flirting. But already she knew that was not on the agenda for this morning.
She was sure Alex would have something to say about their spouse’s sudden friendship. True to form, he was waiting at her desk as she walked into the office a short while later, his face like thunder.
“I assume you’ve heard?” He asked as she approached him.
She nodded once. “Shall we head into your office?”
Leaving her belongings, Sophie followed Alex as he walked to his office in four long strides. The door closed behind her with a noticeable bang that made her jump, setting the tone for what she was sure was going to be one hell of a meeting.
“What the fuck, Sophie?”
“I know,” she breathed. “I know. He told me this morning.”
“What exactly did he tell you? Because out of nowhere, my wife is talking about helping another man out with his business. A man she barely fucking knows.”
