Chapter 3

Since I couldn't find any messages between his known phone and hers, I went back to the first day I'd seen them together to try to figure it out. It was obvious that he had another phone somewhere or some other means of communication that I didn't know about.

There was only one message that stood out a little after the time I'd seen them, and even that, too, was a bit confusing, but I took screenshots and sent them to myself.

Jessica: Did you get that?

Mark?: I did; the hug in public was a bit surprising. I wasn't quite expecting it."

Jessica: Oh well, I told you, I'm a fast mover. When I see something I want, I go for it.

Mark?: Yes, I know, but we have to be careful. We don't want things to blow up in our faces.

That was the extent of the conversation, which I read over and over again, trying to read between the lines to make it make sense. I tried a little experiment and called the number, but there was no answer.

I was about to go for a swim when the cloned phone went off in my hand with a text. It was almost surreal seeing this play out in real-time. I wasn't reading something from weeks ago, but watching this conversation as it happened.

Mark?: Why did you try to call me? I thought we decided not to take any risks at work.

Jessica: What are you talking about? I didn't call you. I must've butt-dialed or something.

Mark?: Okay, be careful.

Jessica: I know, by the way, it's kinda hot talking to you like this here while no one knows what's going on. It's making me hot.

Mark?: Behave yourself.

Jessica: I'm trying, but thinking of you pounding into me later is making my knees shake. I can't believe we're this close.

Mark?: You naughty girl. Get back to work before you give us away.

I imagined the two of them laughing, sneaking away for little bouts of kissing and hugging while no one was the wiser. I went for that swim after all to calm down and was feeling much better when I left the water.

Since I hadn't found any strange charges on any of our accounts, I figured the apartment in our luxury building was what was being used as their love nest. As I stood there next to the pool drying my hair, an idea struck that put a smile on my face.

I took a quick shower and left the house without telling anyone where I was going. I called ahead to the building with a bogus story about maintenance again, only this time I used my name, which no one would question.

I didn't want to alert them to the fact that there was a second trip to her place in such short proximity because it might ring alarm bells. I showed up to the building and went to the penthouse, which is always reserved for family or out-of-town guests.

This is just one of the buildings we own in the state and around the country, and it's not even the best; there were others closer to the business that he could've set her up in, but I guess they were playing it safe.

I didn't stay in the penthouse for long after changing into my disguise and sneaking down the stairwell to her floor. I made sure to check other apartments on her floor before making my way to hers, just in case anyone was actually watching the security monitors, which I happened to know they weren't.

Those things are just there for emergencies, in case something goes wrong, which nothing ever really does, so I was just being overly cautious. Once inside I made my way to the bedroom where this pounding was supposed to take place.

This entire time, I had not let my anger or pain control me but used it to fuel my actions. I looked down at the little bag of shrimp I'd picked up before getting to work. It didn't take very long to do what I came to do, and I was in and out of the building in less than half an hour.

I called Mark from the car to let him know that I was out running errands and would be stopping by on my way home. He sounded pleased, which surprised me as well, but I didn't let on.

I saw her as I walked through the building past reception and headed for the private elevator that only the president, my husband, had use of. I didn't look in her direction as I made my way there, but when I stepped into the elevator and turned, I was sure she was looking directly at me from her office, which, like the others on this floor, was surrounded by glass.

She wouldn't have seen the venom in my eyes behind the dark Dior shades I wore or the tightening of my fingers around the straps of my Birkin. Once the door closed, I smelled my hands to make sure there was no stench of fish lingering there. I plastered a smile on my face as the doors slid open into his office.

"Hi, sweetheart, you should've told me you were coming. I would've set something up for lunch." He stood from behind his desk and walked around to meet me.

"It's okay; I was just in the area and missed you. Are you going to be late this evening?"

"No, I wasn't planning on it. I do need to be back here tomorrow, though, to help with this new project. We're taking on a new client, and it's proving to be a bit much for the junior staff. And since my best employee is out on maternity leave, and I don't want any screwups, I've decided to oversee it myself."

"Really? This weekend?" I pouted and rested my hand on his chest while playing with his buttons.

"Why? Did you have something planned?"

"It's nothing."

"No, tell me. Was there something you wanted to do?"

I got up on my toes and whispered in his ear as if worried we'd be overheard in an otherwise empty office. There was a whole room between him and his assistant, so that wasn't going to happen; it was just for added effect.

"I can change around my plans if you'd like. There's no reason why I can't handle things remotely."

"That might be best. Would you?"

"Of course, anything for my girl." I find it amazing that when I'm with him like this, I forget everything else. It's the oddest thing. Almost as if I had become two separate people.

As I was hoping, she came into the office while I was there under the pretense of dropping off papers; I was sure it was so she could get a closer look at me.

I sat behind his desk, scrolling through the home décor magazine I pulled from my purse while he spoke to her about the papers she'd brought. I listened for any signs of guilt in his tone but found none and watched their body language out of the corner of my eye, again, nothing.

Either my husband was a consummate actor, or he had been doing this for so long that he'd become a pro. It was hard to tell. I did get the sense that she wanted to linger, even after my cold dismissal when he introduced us.

My simple, Hi Jessica, welcome to the company was much drier than my usual effusiveness when I meet someone I like, but if Mark noticed, he didn't say anything about it.

Once she slithered her way out of the room he didn't mention it then either but went back to our weekend plans. He called one of his subordinates while I was there to give them the news that he wasn't going to be here after all this weekend and would handle his end of things remotely.

As I stood to leave, he looked at his watch and grabbed his suit jacket from the back of his chair. "I think I'll take the rest of the day off and start the weekend early." I just smiled and held my hand out for him to take as we left, saying goodbye to his assistant, who was always pleasant and busy.

I clocked Jessica on our way out of the building and knew she watched our every step until we were out of sight. Since I had driven there, he followed me home in his car. The cloned phone dinged with a message, and I sat in my car after pulling into the garage to read.

Jessica: What was she doing here?"

Mark?: I have no idea; she never really comes here.

Jessica: And what's this about the weekend? I thought we had it all planned.

I put the phone away hastily when Mark pulled in beside me and frowned. How the hell was he doing that? It didn't look as if he had been on the phone, but then again, he could've used voice to text. At least now I knew the phone was on the premises and there was another chance for me to find it.

My sudden plan to go to our beach house this weekend had put an end to whatever she had brewing. By the time we return, her little love nest should be just how I want it.

That night, I made his favorite shrimp scampi with linguini, and with each bite, gloated at the fact that at this very minute, there was shrimp rotting in the lining of the curtains in her bedroom. With the heat rising at the end of spring and early summer, it wouldn't take long for the stench to wreak havoc on her senses.