Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
E den
Alone now that Ava has gone back home to her husband and babies, I wander around the penthouse wondering what to do with myself.
I don’t understand why Marius left like he did, but then again, Ava was still here and she did slap his face.
She didn’t mean anything by that, though.
She was just upset and worried about me.
If he heard her talking about him earlier, he’d know she’s still one of his biggest fans.
I want to believe he’ll be coming back here tonight, but something in the way he was acting makes me think this will be another night of me sleeping alone.
That might be for the best, though, since I never have the kind of strength to oppose him when it comes to sex, and he knows it.
The problem is, though, that great sex will only confuse the entire situation between us.
The phone connected to the lobby desk downstairs rings, so I pick it up. It’s not Marius wanting to come up. He wouldn’t need Conrad to ask permission.
“Mrs. King, there’s a young woman down here who’s asking to come up. She says her name is Samantha McCann. May I send her up?” he asks in his very stuffy yet kind way.
I could ask him what she looks like, but even though I don’t know Sam’s last name, I’m sure it’s her since I remember Marius mentioning her name in passing a few times. I don’t know what she wants, but she’s likely to be disappointed when she finds it’s just me here.
“Thank you, Conrad. Please send her up.”
Sam and I have never actually spoken. I’ve heard about her working with Marius, but we’ve spent exactly zero minutes together in the two years I’ve been married to him.
Nothing like two perfect strangers having a first meeting on what’s been the worst day of one of their lives.
The elevator doors open, and I watch her step out, her blond head swiveling back and forth as she takes in the impressive penthouse he bought me. Dressed in a cute pair of black Bermuda shorts, a pale green t-shirt, and adorable black sandals, she looks cute.
As much as I may not be in the mood to play hostess, I guess I have to. “Hello, Sam. I’m Eden.”
I could have tacked on the fact that I’m her boss’s wife, but that seems unnecessary. She must know who I am by now.
She turns to look at me, and I see instant recognition in her eyes. “Oh, hi. I’m Sam, Marius’s assistant. Well, I guess you know that since you called me by my name. Is he here?”
“No. Would you like something to drink?” I ask, unsure what she’s doing here but desperately needing a glass of something right about now.
I turn on my heel and head toward the bar in the living room. Sam follows me, neither one of us attempting to make small talk.
When I stop in front of the bar and begin to pour myself a glass of bourbon, I turn to look at Sam and ask, “What can I get you?”
Instead of answering me, she practically collapses onto the new oversized ottoman I bought, the only comfortable piece of furniture in the entire room since I haven’t gotten around to replacing all of this minimalist stuff.
I watch in confusion as she covers her face with her hands and begins to cry.
Terrific. Now the woman my husband brought to the party is sobbing in front of me. This day just keeps getting better and better.
I pour her a glass of bourbon and walk over to sit on the ottoman with her. As she continues to cry, I nudge her and say, “Here. Drink some of this. You’ll feel better.”
She sniffles and turns to look at me. Her mascara runs in streaks down her cheeks, and her nose is bright red from crying. I recognize that look all too well. How many times have I cried over some guy? I may be nearly a decade older than her, but I have a feeling I know what’s going on with Sam.
“I don’t really drink,” she says as she takes the glass from me. “Will I get drunk?”
Chuckling, I nod and lift my glass to take a drink of bourbon. “If you’re lucky. Cheers!”
Now that I’ve gotten her to stop crying, I wait until she takes a few sips of her drink before handing her a tissue. “Here, clean your face. Sam, what are you doing here, and why are you crying?”
She hesitates and then answers as she rubs the mascara off her skin, “Marius texted me that he’s letting me go because he can’t be around me anymore. I just don’t understand.”
That makes her start crying again, so while I wait for her to calm down, I take another drink. Why am I not surprised he sent her that text? Men can be such idiots sometimes.
“It’s okay. I’ll talk to him. Wives have a way of getting through where others can’t.”
As I say that, she stares at me with her mouth hanging open. When I finish, she stammers out, “Wi-wi-wife? What?”
“Yeah. I’m Mrs. King. Marius and I have been married for two years. Don’t feel bad that he never mentioned it to you. My best friend Ava, the woman whose house the party was at, just found out today.”
That causes another bout of crying that lasts a few minutes. That husband of mine is having a wonderful effect on people today. I served him with divorce papers. Ava slapped him across the face. And Sam is bawling her eyes out over him.
It’s been a hell of a day for Marius.
When Sam finally regains her composure, she turns her body to face me and frowns. “I’m so sorry. That’s why you left the party so early. I had no idea he was married. I would have never gone with him to that party if I knew. I’m so embarrassed.”
I set my glass down on the coffee table nearby and take hers to join it before opening my arms to hug her. “Please, don’t worry. I know Marius wasn’t looking to cheat on me. He was trying, in his stupid man way, to prove a point. That he involved you in that was wrong. I’m sorry. Come here.”
She isn’t sure at first, but I suspect her desire to feel better wins over everything else she’s feeling, and she practically collapses into my hold. As I thought would happen, she begins to cry again, so I gently pat her back.
“It’s okay. I’ll talk to him about your job. As for the two of us, we’re good. I don’t blame you, Sam. My husband is like most men. He means well, but sometimes he misses the mark.”
“He’s always been the best boss I’ve ever had,” she says in between sobs against my shoulder. “I didn’t know all those times I thought he was flirting with me that he was married. I’m so sorry.”
“Oh, it’s okay. I’m sure he was flirting. That’s Marius for you.”
Sam leans back away from me and wipes under her eyes. “I swear we never did anything. He never made any moves. He didn’t even want to kiss me when I was leaving that day after the party. I swear.”
“I believe you. Marius isn’t a bad man. I’m sure he never meant to make you cry. As I said, he thinks he’s doing good things, and most of the time he does. Like this penthouse he bought me.”
Looking around at the beautiful home he gave me, I smile. “I mentioned once that I wanted somewhere better than where we were, and a week later, he brought me here and said it was mine.”
Sam practically gawks as she looks at my home.
“You’re very lucky then. I’d love to have someone buy me a place like this.
You should see my apartment. It’s a two bedroom with one bathroom I share with two other girls just so I can afford my junky car, although Marius said he was going to give me a year’s salary as severance pay. ”
That sounds like him. The man knows how to spend money. That’s for sure.
“I think he’s going to want to keep you as his assistant, Sam. Whether you want to stay working for a man who lied to you is entirely your choice.”
She’s quiet, and I think I know why, so I continue. “You care about him, don’t you?”
Nodding, she looks down at her lap. “Yes,” she answers barely above a whisper.
“You love him, don’t you?” I ask, seeing in her what I’ve seen in my own reflection many times before.
Still avoiding my gaze, she says in a tiny voice, “I thought so, but now I feel terrible. Is that how love is supposed to feel?”
Oh, to be twenty years old again.
“Pretty much. Love is basically the highest highs and the lowest lows. Somewhere in between those, you hope you find some happiness. You don’t have to be uncomfortable about being in love with Marius. It’s something we have in common.”
That finally gets her to look up, and she gives me a tentative smile. “You don’t hate me?”
“How could I? You care about someone who means the world to me. In truth, I completely understand that you’d fall in love with him.
He’s funny and sexy and sweet in a way most men can’t even hope to be.
I fell for him, and I’m supposed to be older and wiser, so how could I think you wouldn’t do the same? ”
She gives me a big smile and lets out a heavy sigh. “Thank you for not hating me. I bet most wives wouldn’t have even let me come up. I can see why Marius married you. You’re gorgeous and smart, but most of all, you’re really nice.”
“I have my moments. The truth is I had a choice when I heard you were downstairs. I could have chosen the path that included me turning you away, but I needed to make sure you knew I didn’t blame you for that night at the party.
Here’s a little more truth too. I can be a huge bitch, but I’m proud to say I’m never a woman who attacks another woman over a man.
That’s high school bullshit, and as you can clearly see, I’m a long time away from high school. ”
Sam leans over and grabs her glass of bourbon, downing the rest of it in one gulp. “This may be the drink talking, but I think you’re beautiful and sweet. I’m pretty sure most women wouldn’t have wanted to talk to me at all after what happened.”
“I know. Far too often, women go after other women instead of the men who are doing the wrong. We’re good, Sam. I’ll talk to Marius and remind him of how much he likes your help. It won’t take much for him to realize he should keep you as his assistant, but it’s entirely up to you if you stay.”
She doesn’t say anything for a long moment before she asks, “Did you two have a fight or something? I thought he’d be here.”
I debate with myself how much of the truth I should tell my new friend and choose very little. Sam doesn’t need to know much of what happened today.
“Let’s just say I’m forcing Marius to take a good look at what he’s been doing lately and leave it at that.”
“I hope I can be as strong as you someday. I always end up brokenhearted with guys. I do exactly what they want, make sure to like the things they like, and I never give them a hard time, and it always turns out bad.”
Ah, Sam’s a pick-me girl. They always think the guys are crazy about them when they abandon their entire personality to be just like their boyfriends, but it never works out. Men, especially those like Marius, want a challenge, not a lapdog with no opinions of her own.
Standing from the ottoman, I grab my glass of bourbon.
“My strength is the kind that comes from years of hating even the idea of being weak. Do you know the day Marius and I first got together it was after my then boyfriend pulled me by my hair and punched me in the eye because he thought my dress was too slutty? Don’t beat yourself up too much.
That was only two years ago. You’ll get stronger.
You either get stronger, or you get hurt all the time.
Just remember that even when you become someone’s girlfriend, you’re still you. ”
I’ve never had a younger sister to say things like that to. Spending this time with Sam, I wish I had.
As we walk out to the kitchen, she says, “Thank you for being so great about everything, Eden.”
I shrug, secretly pleased as punch that she thinks I’m cool. I would have been a great big sister.
“I’ll tell you what. Give me your number, and I’ll give you mine. We can do coffee sometime, okay?”
Her face lights up with happiness, and she quickly tells me her number. I put it into my phone, and then she does the same with mine. I didn’t plan on making a new friend tonight, but it seems like I have.
Sam smiles and steps forward to give me a hug. “Marius is lucky to have you. I hope he knows that.”
“Well, if he doesn’t, I’ll be sure to remind him,” I say with a chuckle.
She looks at me and nods. “Me too. Thanks, Eden. I guess I better go.”
“Don’t worry, Sam. I’ll talk to Marius. If you decide you don’t want to keep working for him, that’s his loss. Remember that.”
She smiles before walking to the elevator and pressing the button to go downstairs. The doors immediately open, and after she steps inside, she turns around to look at me.
“I hope we can have coffee soon,” I say and mean it.
“Oh, I’d like that. Have a great night!” she says as the doors close and she disappears.
I stand in my kitchen wondering how many times a wife in this city has had to console another woman because of her husband. I’d bet a lot. The difference is this man is my husband.
Sam meant no harm. I don’t blame her for falling in love with Marius. How could I?