Another deep wave of depression washed over me. My gorgeous, sexy, insatiable Adonis who had made me feel like no other man had. I busied myself with Catherine’s assignments, but had a hard time staying focused. I guess he went by the saying: “Three strikes and you’re out.” I was at once relieved and terribly sad.
Even Ike’s Tikes had recently initiated a series of cutbacks I was lucky I still had mine and knew that heads were still rolling.Īfter the third attempt to reach me, Ari gave up. With my mother about to lose her medical insurance, there was no way I could afford to lose my job. In my heart, I knew I was making the right decision. Desire fought the despair that tore through me. It was even harder this time not to answer it. I didn’t answer it.Īnd then it rang again. Instead of responding to his unnerving question, I blurted out, “I can’t see you tonight.” I stared at the flowers and then at the cheerful photo I kept on my desk of my mother and me taken the year before she fell ill. My heart was heavy, my stomach one big knot. “Yes, they’re lovely but I’m very busy and have to go.” I spit out the words and hung up the phone. “Saarah, tu aimes les fleurs?”Įven though I didn’t speak French, I knew what he was asking. The rich, sexy voice on the other end made me shiver. What was I going to do? No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get my Trainman out of my head. The intoxicating scent of the flowers dizzied me. While she was out for lunch, I’d brainstorm with Fernando and come up with some ideas. She also wanted to see the preliminary boys’ toys ideas I had come up with right after lunch. When I got back to my desk, there was already an email waiting for me with a list of all the things she wanted me to do, most of them her personal crap, like setting up facial and hair coloring appointments along with breakfast, dinner, and lunch reservations and a top-priority meeting with someone named Frederick Allyn of Allen & Allyn. “And I want to see all those flowers gone by the time I come back from lunch.” “Now, get back to work.” She shooed me away with a dismissive wave of her manicured hand. I could barely look at this woman who had once shared Ari’s bed and then marred him. If you want to keep your job, you stop seeing my husband immediately.”Ī sharp pain shot through my heart. I sunk into one of the two large armchairs that faced her. “Take a seat,” she snapped, standing tall behind her gilded Louis the Who-ey desk. A mixture of fear and loathing raced through me. My heart was thudding so loud I could hear it. I followed her into her sprawling, antique-filled corner office. She puckered her blood-red lips and narrowed her sinister smoky eyes. Catherine had gotten here abnormally early, primed for a confrontation. “More flowers?” The familiar shrill voice sent a chill down my spine. I’ll collect you in front of your office building at 6:30 p.m. I turned on my computer and typed the words into Google Translator. It was written in French I recognized the bold handwriting immediately. Taking a deep breath, I opened the note that was inserted in the arrangement. Yesterday, when I saw my roses and found out whom they were from, my heart leaped with excitement. I could smell their intoxicating fragrance all the way down the hall. When I got to my cubicle, a huge vase of exotic multi-color flowers was waiting for me on my desk.
Perhaps some answers would come to me on my way downtown. Having left my skateboard yesterday in my cubicle, I was going to have to walk to work. I skipped my usual neighborhood jog I was just too distraught and doubted it would give me the clarity I needed. I made myself some coffee, fed the cat, and got dressed, eschewing one of Ari’s sundresses for something of my own. The thought of calling in sick crossed my mind, but I feared if I did that, she would retaliate and not let me take off Friday to visit my mother. When my alarm went off at 6:30 a.m., I did not want to get out of bed and pulled the covers over my head. How was I going to face Catherine? Was she going to fire me? Should I tell Ari? And the one that weighed on my heart the most and made me sick to my stomach: Should I stop seeing him? Dizzying questions spun around in my head. I finally forced myself to imagine that she was as frigid with him as she was with me.
What was she like? And what was he like with her? Did he hold her in his arms and make her explode like me? Don’t go there, I told myself. The thought of her fucking my beloved Trainman -in his bed-sent an endless stream of bile to my chest. My mind wandered into even darker territory. The mother of his child! I couldn’t stop thinking about the awful things she did to the two of them.
I just couldn’t believe Catherine was Ari’s ex.