Chapter 39

39

June

"And that was the end of my honeymoon." I fix my lipstick in the mirror of the restroom.

"You're in the middle of a romantic lunch when he decides he has an emergency meeting. Next thing, you're both on the flight back to London?" Zoey frowns at me from the phone screen. I'm in the ladies' room on the executive floor, at the other end of the corridor from my boss, aka my husband's office.

In a way, it's a relief to be back and feel useful again as his assistant. Thankfully, he hasn't brought up his view that I shouldn't continue in this role, and I've accepted it as a sign to reprise my position. Though perhaps, if he'd mention it to me, it would've indicated he's thinking of me. I sigh. I'm trying to second guess him, and not succeeding.

I also took the initiative to move the person who'd been brought in to replace me to another position within the administrative team. She was only too happy to transition over. Not surprising, since I heard stories about how he treated her—and that assuaged my conscience about depriving someone of a job.

"He told me I could stay on in Paris." I cap my lipstick tube and drop it back in my handbag. "As if I'd have said yes. Staying on in the hotel room where we'd"—I was going to say, 'made love for the first time,' but it feels too personal to reveal that, so I settle for—"spent our wedding night without him?" I shake my head. "Seriously I don't know why he suddenly withdrew into himself and began acting like a dick, because"—I swallow—"because he's not one."

She stays silent. I glance down at the screen to find her features laced with worry.

"I know it sounds like I'm making excuses for him but really, I'm not. I saw another side of him once we got married."

"You mean, in the nearly forty-eight hours since you've been married?"

I hunch my shoulder. "I've worked closely with him more than a month now, and when you're someone's assistant and spend so much time with him on a daily basis, shadowing him to meetings and even to the gym, you do end up learning an awful lot about him."

She nods slowly. "I take your point. But I thought all you'd learned during that time was that he's a jerk."

"And he still is," I laugh. "But there's more to him. He broke things off with Priscilla. He went against his grandfather's wishes and put his inheritance at risk, but that didn't stop him from walking away from that arrangement. And he's been open-minded enough to admit to me when he was wrong. How many people do that?"

I shuffle my feet, wondering how to explain it to her without giving away any confidences.

"This might be oversimplifying things, but as soon as he put that ring on my finger, he seemed to change. And it was his grandmother's ring, too."

"He gave you his grandmother's ring?" she asks, surprised.

"Each of the Davenport brothers received a ring from their grandmother. She apparently loved wearing rings and had enough of them to will one to each of her sons and grandchildren."

"That, I did not expect." Zoey chews on her lower lip. "This wedding means something to him."

She notices me staring at her and holds up her hand. "Didn't mean it that way, but you have to admit, the sudden wedding seemed to hint he was in a rush to get things done. I wanted to think it was because he was so in love with you that he didn't want to go another day without making you, his wife. But hand on heart, I couldn't swear by it, especially when he used his money and his contacts as a reason to convince you. But the fact that he gave you his grandmother's ring? Yeah, that means something."

"He's surprised me a lot these last few days." I shift my weight from foot to foot. "I was sure we were reaching some kind of understanding. Then all of a sudden, he withdraws into himself and once more becomes the sullen, barely-grunting-in-response boss, who prefers to chew out everyone in meetings."

"Why are you at work? Now that you're his wife?—"

"I should be staying home and spending time doing yoga and getting pedicures?" I scoff.

She sighs, "M-a-a-a-n, that sounds nice."

I make a gagging sound. "Can you imagine me doing that?"

She shakes her head. "You're the hardest-working person I know, so I didn't expect you to give it up right away. But perhaps?—"

"Perhaps what?"

"Perhaps, once you've gotten used to your new position?" She raises her shoulder. "You are Mrs. Knox Davenport, and that does come with a lot of benefits."

I grip the edge of the sink. Hearing her refer to me as Mrs. Knox Davenport sends my stomach into a tailspin. I am his wife. But it all feels very new. And I haven't even thought about changing my surname. I'm sure he expects it, but I feel a certain loyalty toward Irene. She gave me an identity when I had none. Am I going to cast it away like it didn't mean anything?

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to confuse you," Zoey says softly.

"You didn't and?—"

The door to the restroom is pushed open. "There you are." Mary walks in. "That husband of yours has been driving his team up the wall. You'd best come rescue them."

"Gotta go, Zoey. I'll catch you again soon." I disconnect the call, then turn to Mary. "What's he been up to now?"

"He's acting like a bear with a sore head. It just so happened, I was filling in for the assistant of one of the other Vice Presidents, so I was in the sales meeting. And—" She shakes her head. "The boy certainly is all uptight. You can't tell he's just back from his honeymoon. Which is where I think he should still be, but what do I know?" She sniffs.

"Uh, you know how important work is for Knox."

"More than his marriage?" She shoots me a skeptical glance. "He had no business dragging you back so soon."

"Oh, no, I don't mind. Really. I like feeling useful."

She scoffs. "You need to accept your new position, young lady and make use of the benefits which come with it."

Her words are remarkably similar to what Zoey mentioned. A part of me recognizes I'm putting off the inevitable, but that workaholic part of me can't fathom what I'd do if I didn't come in to work. "You said he's in the meeting?"

"In the conference room. And you'd better get there before he fires the lot of them."