CHAPTER FOUR
Sara
It might have been my imagination, but everyone was acting strange.
Lawrence, Cole's PA, stared at me with wide eyes and an open mouth as if bracing for impact. I glanced to my right—Maisie, Cole's secretary, was also staring. Both of them had risen from their seats to greet me, something they had never done before. Ever.
I didn't come to Cole's office often, but I had been here enough to know that something was definitely off with them.
"Uh... what?" I had to ask. This was getting weird.
Lawrence and Maisie exchanged a quick, uneasy glance before snapping their attention back to me.
They shook their heads.
I shrugged, then continued my walk.
"Cole's in a meeting," Lawrence said abruptly. "An overseas conference call. It might take a while."
"Oookay..." I trailed off, coming to a stop, my gaze drifting to the chair across from Lawrence's desk. "Then I'll just wait here."
Maisie shifted uncomfortably, glancing at Lawrence quickly before returning her gaze to me. "I think it's okay if you go in," she said, her voice slightly shaky. "It's an important meeting, but you're his wife, so..."
She trailed off as she and Lawrence exchanged another uneasy glance.
"But it could take hours," Lawrence added a little too quickly.
I narrowed my eyes. "And?"
Maisie forced a smile. "Lawrence probably just doesn't want you to waste your time."
I crossed my arms. "I don't mind." Pulling out the chair across from Lawrence's desk, I sat down, making it clear I wasn't going anywhere. "I can wait here."
Lawrence exhaled slowly, his fingers twitching against the desk. Maisie looked like she wanted to say something but pressed her lips together instead.
Something was definitely off.
I frowned, my gaze bouncing between the two of them. "Okay, what the hell is going on?"
Maisie hesitated, staring at me for a long moment before finally sighing. "Just go in, Sara. It'll be fine."
Lawrence shot her a sharp glare, but she didn't acknowledge it.
My eyes stayed on Maisie, trying to decipher the strange, almost resigned expression on her face. Seriously. What's going on?
Slowly, I rose from my seat and walked toward the door, hyper-aware of their eyes tracking my every move.
My fingers curled around the handle, and for a split second, I hesitated. Then I pushed the door open.
Cole stood by the floor-to-ceiling window behind his desk, one hand in his pocket, the other holding his phone. His suit jacket lay over the back of his chair. At the sound of the door, he turned. His face was calm and composed—but there was something in his eyes that made me pause.
But I wasn't sure what. Maybe it was just in my head.
I pushed the thought aside and shut the door behind me. "Hey," I said.
"Hi, babe." Cole offered me a soft smile.
I glanced around the room—empty. Just the two of us. "I thought you were on an important call."
"I was," he said, swallowing. "It's done already."
"Lawrence said it might take hours," I pressed.
"We solved the problem quicker than I expected."
"Oh, good." I walked closer, and he stepped around his desk, pulling me into his chest before pressing a kiss to my cheek.
"What brings you here?" he asked.
"I want to talk about Elsa."
His dark blue eyes flickered—confusion, maybe. "Elsa?"
"Yeah. I'm not comfortable with her coming to you behind my back. The Jamison project isn't that important to seek advice directly from you."
"It's not?" His eyes widened slightly.
"It's just a small renovation. Why did she bother you with it? And it's not that urgent.”
Cole let me go, stepping back toward his desk before sinking into his chair. "I don't know, Sara. She probably needed advice."
I walked over and took a seat across from him, my eyes locked on him. "What kind of advice?"
"I didn't have the time, so I asked her to just email me."
My eyes narrowed. "She didn't even tell you anything about the project?"
Cole shook his head.
That wasn't like Cole. He was meticulous, pushy, and a complete control freak. He never left things to chance. He would want to know every detail. Anyone on his team would spend hours preparing and gathering information before approaching him. Elsa would need to prepare a lot, and she would usually need to get my approval before going to Cole. So, for Elsa to suddenly go to him one morning and for him not to bother asking anything was unusual.
I remembered him saying on the phone, " She wanted to go over some numbers before submitting them. She said it was urgent."
It was even more unusual for him to review preliminary numbers before they were finalized. Cole only wanted to see the final figures. No one dared to submit a draft.
I decided to test him. "What do you think about the budget we proposed?"
"I told you, I didn't have time to go through it," he said, his voice tight.
Still not giving me an answer. Which I didn't understand. Why was he acting like this?
Did Elsa complain about me? To my husband? Had I made a mistake in my plan?
I kept pressing. "But surely, she showed you something if she came all the way here," I said, then added, "Without even telling me."
Cole was studying me. "Why does it bother you so much, Sara?"
"Because," I sighed, feeling a twinge of doubt. Maybe I was being ridiculous. "It feels like she doesn't trust me. She went straight to you without consulting me. I can't work with someone like that, and I don't have the time to focus solely on developing her."
I glanced at Cole and found his gaze had softened—almost sad.
It felt like he was feeling sorry for me. Like he thought I lacked the leadership ability to develop my team.
"She was part of your team before," I continued. "She's used to the fast, structured, and efficient workflow at the parent company—I get that. But my team operates differently. We're smaller, we move at a different pace, and while we may not be as rigidly efficient, we complete our projects with precision and care."
"You're her boss, Sara. You tell her how you want it to work," he advised.
"Oh, I will tell her," I scoffed. "But I just can't find her. She's missing the entire morning."
Cole didn't respond. His gaze was still tight and locked onto me.
"Cole." I leaned forward across his desk, lowering my voice. "I'm not happy working with her. She's stubborn and uncooperative. My team has complained about her, too. I've given it three months, and nothing has changed."
Still, he said nothing.
I exhaled, leaning back. "She's going on maternity leave soon, and I can't run things without a finance manager. This is the perfect time to find a replacement. When she returns, she can work for you again."
"Okay," Cole responded.
"Okay?" I repeated, unable to believe that he had agreed so easily. He was practically forcing her on us.
"Yes," he nodded.
"Thank you," I smiled. He smiled, too.
"Are you going to have lunch with Bobby?" he asked.
"Yes," I answered.
Bobby and I had our usual lunch at least twice a week at the park across from our office building. We'd grab burgers or tacos from street vendors, sit on a bench, and watch people pass by while Bobby made snide comments about their outfits. She was unapologetically blunt.
"Okay, have fun with her." He smiled tenderly. "Come here and give me a kiss."
I got up and walked around his desk, and when I was in front of him, he pulled me into his lap. "I love you," he whispered before he pressed his lips against mine, lingering there for a while.
"I love you too," I said, my heart softening.
We said goodbye, and I headed for the door. But just before walking out, I glanced back at him and gave a small wave.
That's when I noticed it.
A small pouch sat on the coffee table in the sitting area.
Pink.
The same one Elsa always carried with her everywhere.
That meant Cole had a meeting with Elsa, not at his work desk, but on the sofa.
And that bothered me. A lot.
I glanced back at my husband, but he was already on the phone, discussing something about a takeover.
Frowning, I looked at the pouch again, deciding I would ask him about it later when we were home.
And then I heard something. A sound. Like something had fallen to the floor.
I brushed it off and kept walking, only to find Lawrence and Maisie watching me intently again. My eyes narrowed at them, but they didn't say anything. I could still feel their stares on me as I made my way to the elevator.
As the car descended, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
The sound had come from my right.
The right side of the room had the sitting area—and the door that led to Cole's private bathroom.
But Cole had been sitting at his desk on the left side of the room.
There couldn't have been someone in that bathroom the entire time I was there... could there?
*** *** ***
Bobby was saying something about a girl in a red dress—something about it making her look like she had a third tit—but I couldn't focus on her words.
My mind was still on that damn pink pouch and that sound.
I was losing my mind, trying to make sense of it all.
And Elsa's pouch was right there.
Elsa... the pregnant, unmarried, gorgeous woman.
Bobby's eyes trailed over a woman wearing a massive bow on her back. "I sincerely respect the commitment to bad fashion," she mused, still watching her. "That took guts."
I didn't respond.
She poked my waist, pulling me from my thoughts. I glanced at her—my best friend, with her striking red and purple hair—raising an eyebrow.
"What's wrong with you?" she asked. "You've been zoning out for over an hour now."
I shook my head. "Nothing."
"Your face says otherwise." She frowned. "Spill it."
I wasn't sure if I should tell her. I didn't even know if this hunch, this suspicion, was real or just in my head.
Bobby was one of Cole's best friends from college. There were four of them—Steve and Archie were the other two—and they were inseparable.
Bobby and Cole had built their careers side by side, backed each other through every success and failure, and knew each other better than anyone else. Loyalty ran deep between them. If I told Bobby what was on my mind, it would probably get back to Cole.
She was also Cole's second-in-command, the only person he fully trusted in his company. She had helped him start both businesses, running the real estate agency while he managed the development side. They worked so seamlessly together that it sometimes felt like they could read each other's minds.
Steve was Cole's go-to lawyer, handling all legal matters exclusively. Cole insisted on having him despite Steve being a junior associate at the time. The firm resisted, but Cole's business was too valuable to lose. Since then, they have worked together flawlessly.
Archibald, a journalist, was the most elusive of the group. His work kept him away for long stretches and he rarely spoke about it. We only learned about his stories once they hit the news. His discretion was unshakable, and we eventually stopped asking.
I had grown close to them, especially Bobby, but they had been Cole's friends first. And sometimes, when doubt crept in, I couldn't help but wonder where their loyalties truly lay.
Bobby was still watching me, waiting for an answer.
"You know Cole very well, don't you, Bobby?" I asked quietly.
She nodded, confusion flickering across her face.
"He would never betray me... would he?"
Bobby looked taken aback. "Why would you even ask that?"
I looked away, giving a small shrug. "Just asking."
She held my gaze. "He loves you, Sara. You know that."
"I know."
But still... that nagging feeling wouldn't go away.
I was about to say something, but a voice behind me cut in.
"I see you two still have lunch in the park."
I perked up immediately, recognizing the voice. Bobby, however, tensed beside me.
Turning around, I came face to face with a tall guy with light blond hair, mesmerizing green eyes, and tattoos creeping over his collar, grinning at me.
"Archie!" I squealed, jumping up from the bench. I spun around and threw my arms around him. He let out a chuckle, wrapping me in a tight hug before lifting me off the ground for a second.
"Miss me, Peaches?" he teased, setting me back down. He'd been calling me Peaches for as long as I could remember, and he never once told me why. I had stopped asking long ago because he always dodged the question.
I rolled my eyes but couldn't stop smiling. "It's been forever! Where the hell have you been?"
"Somewhere in the Middle East," he said simply. He glanced at Bobby, who remained seated, arms crossed, watching us with a blank expression.
Knowing him, that was probably the best answer I was going to get. So, I just nodded, choosing not to press further.
"Hi, asshole," Bobby said to him.
"Bobby," he drawled, tilting his head. "Still as charming as ever, I see."
Bobby huffed, shooting him a look. "Still as annoying as ever, I see."
There was history between these two—messy, complicated history. They had slept together a year ago, which they both knew was a mistake. It had the potential to ruin their friendship, and Bobby had gone ahead and shattered it completely by dumping Archie and then sleeping with Julian, his younger brother, instead.
Her excuse was simple. Archie never loved her anyway. His heart had always belonged to another woman.
I never probed further. It wasn't my business.
I spotted my husband striding toward us, scowling at his best friend. "That's enough," Cole growled, flicking a hand in warning. "Get your filthy hands off my wife."
Archie's hands flew up as he let go of me.
"Hey, baby," Cole greeted, leaning down to press a kiss to my lips.
"Don't I get a kiss too?" Archie quipped.
"Not in front of my wife," Cole shot back, smirking.
Archie chuckled.
"How's lunch?" Cole turned to me, looking at me affectionately.
My mind went to that pouch and that sound again. I couldn't get it out of my head.
"It's fine," I said tensely.
His brow furrowed in concern, noticing something was off with me. "Something's wrong?"
Before I could answer, his phone buzzed. He took it out of his coat pocket and glanced at the screen.
"Hold that thought," he said, picking up the phone. "Yeah?" His expression shifted, his voice tightening. "I'll be there soon... Just wait for me."
Cole glanced at me, remorse flickering in his eyes. "I'm sorry, babe, I have to go."
He had already turned away, about to walk off, when I called after him. "Where?"
"Some crisis," he said briskly as he jogged. "I'll explain when I get home."
He sprinted across the park toward the reserved parking lot in front of the lobby, leaving me standing there, completely stunned. I barely had time to process what had just happened before I turned to Archie, who was already watching me with confusion.
"What?" he asked. "What are you thinking?"
I froze for a moment, my eyes locking onto Cole's speeding car as it tore through the driveway. Then, suddenly, I bolted.
"Sara!" Archie and Bobby called out in unison, trailing behind me. "Where are you going?"
I didn't answer. I had a bad feeling about this. Call it intuition, but I needed to see this through. Reaching the curb, I frantically searched for a taxi.
"Sara, where the fuck are you going?" Archie shouted, but I ignored him, waving down an approaching cab.
Miraculously, an empty taxi pulled up in front of me. I yanked the door open and jumped in. "Follow that car!"
And that was when I realized Archie had jumped in right after me.
He glared at me. "What the fuck, Peaches?!"