14. Marcus

Fucking slug. Go run back to your cage and celebrate. I want you to be very happy when I bring you down. Your happiest, in fact. I didn't bring Justine in here with me because why the fuck would I do that? It's bad enough she might have to see him at home for the time being because there was no law stopping him from going there.

I could move her out, but then she might lose the house in the divorce, and though she's not going to be living there two minutes after her divorce becomes final, she still needs to win it for the ten years she'd wasted on his ass.

She and her kids aren't going to need him ever, but they can do with the money what they will when they're of age. As for Melanie, her time isn't coming yet. But soon, very soon.

Shit, I have to find out what kind of ring my girl likes.

* * *

JUSTINE

* * *

"How wasyour first day at work?"

"It was…. I didn't do anything." She laughed and took a sip of her water.

"And you won't either; he doesn't need you to work. He has about four secretaries. He wants you there close to him, the freak."

"Really?"

"You don't understand him yet? He thinks he's very complex, but he's a big old baby. He's like a kid. When he finds something he likes, he'll hold onto that thing till death. But he's a loyal son of a bitch I'll give him that."

"He's one of the deadliest and yet sweetest men on the planet. Don't be scared; you have nothing to worry about. It's the rest of us who do."

"I don't understand; what does he want with me?"

"We've already been through that. Did he say anything to you about a feeling when you two met?"

I had to think back and sift through what I could remember of our conversations. "I think so, yes, when he followed me from the hotel that night. He said he knew as soon as he saw me."

"Bless your heart; you are so fucked."

‘She wish!'

* * *

The restof the week was a blur. I went to work while the babysitter watched the kids, but the only time I did any work was that Thursday when I was asked to go down to the daycare area and see the progress and tell them what I wanted changed, if anything.

I couldn't believe that he was going through with it. I mean, I believe it, especially after my talk with Monique on Monday, but it all still seems so farfetched to me. I kept waiting for the prank to be exposed or to wake up and find out I was in a coma or something and this was all just some freaky dream.

I don't play the lottery; Paul plays the lottery, even with as much money as he makes, because he wants to be a millionaire. But when you have a wife, three kids, a mortgage, car payments, and college funds, along with everything else that comes along with life, that's easier said than done.

The plan was for me to go back to work after the youngest started school; then, we would've been a real power couple because the salary I was guaranteed to make would've been more than his, and together, it would've been enough for our little family of five. I guess Paul got tired of the dream and decided that he and Melanie stood a better chance of him having the life he wanted.

I say all that to say that I'm not in the running for the big win. If you don't play, you can't expect to win. But this man, the man that just miraculously walked into my life, is like winning ten lotteries.

‘That's right, and I know just how we're going to keep him on lock as soon as we give him a taste. Did you start doing those Kegels like I taught you? Maybe you should try cracking walnuts with your cooch or something, just for the practice.'

Stifle yourself, Justice. I'm not taking advice from you.

‘See, that's why my ass disappeared right after college. You are no fun. You done wasted the best years of my life on that asshole, and his stank bitch gave you crotch rot.'

Oh my goodness, it wasn't that bad.

‘I know our Daddy clean. As much traveling as he does, he gotta get a lot of injections and stuff, so he ain't got nothing.'

‘Make sure your shit gets cleared up before you get into bed with him, you hear me? We don't do condoms; we allergic to that shit. We want at least one of his scruffy ass kids because then we'd be set for life.'

Justice is that one girlfriend that would sell you down the river. She's always talking you into shit but never around when it hits the fan.

* * *

I still hadn't heardfrom Paul and hadn't seen him since that Monday in the conference room. That Friday as I was leaving, he came out of nowhere all smiles as I was about to get into the car. When he saw the driver, his face fell.

"Whose car is this?"

"Why? What's it to do with you?"

"I'm still your husband; I can't ask you a simple question? I'll be by sometime this weekend to pick up some of my stuff, and I want to see my kids."

"I never stopped you from seeing your kids."

I got in the car because I was done with the conversation and then saw his woman slither out from her hiding place to stand next to him and watch as the car pulled away.

* * *

MELANIE

* * *

"So,I thought we were going away this weekend."

"We are. I just want to make sure she doesn't go anywhere. Let her sit at home and wait for me to show up." I wasn't sure how to take that. What difference did it make to him if his ex-wife was at home or not?

I didn't say anything, though, because we'd been fighting a lot lately. It was mostly due to my anxiety, but ever since Marcus came back to the States, my anxiety has been off the charts.

The last time he was here, I was only twelve, but I never forgot what he was like back then. I remember him yelling at his dad and the way he'd looked at Mom, and it had stuck with me all these years. I used to wake up in the night screaming for months after he left.

I can't remember all of what he'd said, but it was bad. After he'd been gone for a few years and it didn't look as if he was coming back, Mom got the bright idea that maybe I could become the heir to the company and family fortune.

Since Mom had her husband wrapped around her finger, we knew that I stood a better chance than the son who had disowned him. I'd spent the last fifteen years learning everything I could about the business and had started interning here at the age of sixteen.

I knew my grandparents hadn't been very accepting of Mom in the beginning, but they seemed to have mellowed with time, so it was a shock when the company was passed to Marcus instead of our Dad.

Now Dad had been fired, and Grandpa was out to sea and out of reach, so there was nothing we could do about it until he came back. At least my Grandmother might say something; he's her son, after all, even though the company has always belonged to Grandpa's family, and she really had nothing to do with the business.

Still, she'd been kind to Mom and me these last few years, so there was a chance that things might go back to normal before long. All of that was making my anxiety even worse because I had no idea what Marcus' next move was going to be.

I thought for sure that once he found out that Paul and I were having an affair, he'd fire us both, but instead, Paul got a promotion, and I hadn't heard a peep about my job being in jeopardy.

Still, I can't forget the angry twenty-two-year-old who had promised retribution for his mother's death. I'd so wanted him to notice me, to acknowledge me as his sister now that his dad was married to my mom. But that never came, and so I'm left with this image in my mind of a vengeful person who was out to harm Mom and me.

I knew, even at that age, that having an affair with a married man was not the right thing to do, but Dad had died, leaving us penniless, and as Mom had explained, Marcus' Mom wasn't one of us; she didn't belong.

She proved herself to be weak anyway, didn't she? By taking her own life because her husband left her. She'd waited until after Marcus graduated to do it, even though she had known for about a year at that point.

Now I understand how easy it is to fall in love with someone, whether they're married or not. How can you be held accountable for falling in love? If Paul and I had met at the time he got married, we wouldn't have been able to be together because I would've been a minor in the eyes of the law. So isn't it better that we met when we did?

Besides, Paul is an up-and-coming corporate executive. He needs someone like me on his arm, not some frumpy housewife.

I dragged him away from watching the car leave and headed for my car, which we'd driven in together this morning since we both had to be here at the same time. I'm not sure that I like her being here or being that close to my brother.

Why hadn't she told him about Paul and me? And more importantly, how did she get the job working so close to him? There was nothing going on between the two of them because they were never seen together, and she always seemed very professional whenever I spied on her moving around the building.

But I can't shake the feeling that something is very off. I'll have to remember to ask Mom what she thinks when I see her next weekend. She's away on one of her spa weeks to rejuvenate herself and will not be reachable until then.

Dad had asked to be left alone for the time being since he didn't want to talk about losing his job. I'm pretty sure he's worried about telling Mom. At fifty, she's still much younger than him, and I think sometimes he fears that she will leave him.

But I know Mom, and she's not going anywhere as long as the Devereaux business is still running. There's no way she'd let Marcus have it all. I'm sure she'll know what to do.

* * *

KAREN

* * *

"What doyou mean the card is declined? Try it again. That's a corporate account; there's no way it can run out of money." I hate dealing with these low-level humans who are so poor at their jobs.

"Sorry, Ma'am, but it's still saying declined. No wait. One moment, please." That's more like it. He walked away to use the phone, and I waited none too patiently. I had a plane to catch to my next destination before returning home to my husband, and I was running out of time dealing with this.

"Ma'am!"

"Excuse me?" I glared at the officer who tried taking my arm. "What do you think you're doing?"

"You're going to have to come with us, Ma'am."

"What? Why? Get your filthy hands off me.

"For using a stolen card."

"What?" What a joke. "Are you insane? Let go of me." What the hell is going on? I was cuffed, kicking and screaming, and taken to the car that was waiting outside and thrown carelessly into the backseat like a common criminal.

I screamed at them to let me call my husband, but they both ignored me until we reached the station. "I'll have your jobs for this. I want my phone call."

"Knock yourself out." He pointed to the grimy-looking phone, and I wiped it down carefully before dialing my husband's number, which I barely remembered.

I didn't have my cell phone on me because I stupidly left it in the room when I went down to check out, so I didn't have to rush at the last minute. This place still does things the old-fashioned way, which could be a real pain like now.

My husband wasn't answering his personal phone, so I looked up the number for the company and called that instead. "Marcus Devereaux please."

"Which one, Ma'am?"

‘Excuse me? There's only one." My father-in-law hasn't been to the office in years. What is this bitch playing at?

"Did you want Devereaux the third or the fourth?"

"The…. What?" The fourth? What is she talking about?

"The third."

"I'm sorry, but he no longer works here."

"What the hell are you talking about? He owns the company."

"Oh, you're looking for the owner. May I ask who's calling, please?" I took a deep breath to keep my composure, but I was going to have this idiot's job at all costs.

"This is Mrs. Karen Dev…. Hello?" Did she just hang up in my ear?