I didn’t know she’d be Jack’s wife. But when he showed me a picture of her during our conversation, I had to see for myself. I had to know if she was the woman on the other side of the screen. The moment I realized she was, my stomach dropped. I wouldn’t have been as keen to set her up in the same building as me had I known. I wasn’t the type to mess around with my employee’s wives. Hell, married women, either. I was orderly. Business was business. Fucking was fucking. For me, neither worlds existed with the other.
But when I saw the pleading in her big brown gaze for me to acknowledge what had just happened, I couldn’t lie. How could I?
“Soon,” I’d said, desire stirring in my gut like warmed honey.
The blush that formed on her cheeks was rose red. Her smile was a kick to my gut. She was even more beautiful in person. The kind of beauty that didn’t scream to be noticed.
It was a quiet beauty. Shy.
But there was something different in her eyes. They were darker than her photo, almost hollow, like they’d forgotten how to sparkle. Like her spirit had been stuck in a closet, begging to be found.
The open marriage.
I cleared my throat when all the pieces came together. He wanted it. She didn’t. Discomfort scratched at the back of my neck. I was his boss, and I couldn’t continue things with Corinne. I wouldn’t expect her to want to either, given the circumstance.
A small voice slithered along the back of my mind. Why her? Why his wife? Was it a setup? Someone trying to bring me down from the inside? Though my cynical side said yes, I knew better. I’d been matched with her first. I swiped right first, on a late-night, drunken whim. There was no way for her to choose to be matched with me.
It was coincidental fate. A fate we’d have to ignore.
I’d been on Tinder for a while. It was easier, speaking to someone through a screen. Setting the conditions before we met up, knowing what each other expected. When I swiped right on Corinne, I didn’t know what had compelled me to choose her. Maybe because her profile was unique. I’d been searching for something more than just the usual girl with a sexy photo trying to be witty.
Corinne was witty, from her picture to her words. It made me laugh, and it was rare I ever laughed anymore.
Unfortunately, I wouldn’t be able to pursue her to find out if there was more of that laughter waiting for me. I was about to excuse myself when Jack said, “How about getting us a celebratory drink?”
His voice was like static crackling through the moment.
It sobered us both.
“Of course,” she said, smoothing her hair behind her ears. It was straight, shiny, like bronze in the sun. “Whiskey?” she asked in my direction.
I nodded, roping a small smile. “Please.”
She was adorable, her blushes and the way she couldn’t quite meet my eyes. I found my gaze drawn to her, longer than it should have been. Too intrigued to turn away.
She disappeared around the corner, tucked into herself.
“Come, sit,” Jack said, guiding me into their living room, one hand on my shoulder. They had a quaint home. One that reminded me of the house I lived in on the farm growing up. The decor felt lived in, yet modern. A homely touch to industrious fixtures.
It had been a long time since I found myself in a situation such as this. Knowing I just got his wife off while sitting across from him. Those days were left to my youth, when I was hungry for success and didn’t care about the aftermath of my decisions. I was older now. Wiser.
Fucking an employee’s wife was a huge no-no.
I cleared my throat, trying not to stare as she came back in. “I can’t stay long,” I said, taking the glass Corinne handed me. Keeping my gaze away from her as she took a seat across from us. The sooner I ended this conversation, the better.
“I’m just so grateful for the opportunity,” Jack said, running his hands up and down his legs. I remembered those days, the hope that came with a promotion. Feeling myself climbing one more inch up that never-ending ladder.
Success was… would always be… the forefront of every decision I made.
“You earned it.” I downed the whiskey, then set the glass on the coaster. “After I leave, I’ll get with Bianca and have her send the paperwork over to you.”
“Paperwork?” Corinne asked, her eyebrows drawn in.
Jack placed a hand on her thigh. “We’re moving to Manhattan. The Upper East Side.”
She flinched back just a little, the movement small. Her voice even smaller. “But… this is our home, Jack. We can’t… we can’t just leave.”
Jack’s smile grew tense. Tight. “I know, dear. We’ll discuss it all later.”
Corinne dropped her gaze to her fingernails as she leaned back into the couch, pulling her legs into herself, defeat seeming to push her down.
Conflict waged a war within me. One I had no business fighting. “What type of work do you do?” I asked her, feeling a bit of responsibility. A pang of guilt. After all, I was the one who promoted him. Who offered him the chance to move.
“Accounting.” She didn’t raise her head when she answered, just kept tucked into herself, like a wilting rose.
Jack started talking about Corinne and her job. About how well she did, but how much better she’d be as a stay-at-home wife. Painting this grand picture for her of what things could be like with this opportunity.
His voice grew distant as I leaned forward, waiting until she finally gave me those eyes. I didn’t like it when women were too afraid to speak for themselves. When they felt inferior. I’d be damned if she’d feel that way when speaking to me.
Her gaze slowly rose. Widened ever so slightly when they met mine.
I let a small smile out, private. Just for her. “There are plenty of jobs in the city,” I assured her, speaking over Jack.
His lips stilled to a stop.
“I can even have my people check for you, but only if you’d like. The choice is yours, of course.” I wanted Jack to hear what I’d said. Maybe even take a few notes.
“Thank you,” she said, light peeking back through her eyes.
“Corinne hates the job she has now,” Jack said, my words bypassing his ears. He reached for her hand. “Right, honey?”
She nodded. Cast her gaze down again, that brief, dim light fading.
“This could be good for you, Rinny. For us. You do see that, don’t you?”
There was a moment’s pause, and then an argument formed in her eyes. “Yes, but it’s hours away from here and from my family.” Another pause, her glare deepening. “And from Macy.” There was a spark there. I heard it in her voice. Saw it in her eyes. A fighter was dying to break out. She just needed a little conditioning from the right trainer.
If only I could be that trainer.
His smile was forced, strained. “They will understand.” He let out an uncomfortable laugh. “Marriage,” he said with a small shrug in my direction. As if I would understand.
I didn’t, but I was stuck in the middle of something I had no right to be. I stood. “I need to head out. I have a meeting to attend,” I lied.
Jack stood as well. “Of course. Of course. Thank you for coming by. And thank you again for the opportunity.”
I shook his hand but made sure it was Corinne my attention was on. “It was nice meeting you, Corinne.”
At the mention of her name, life sputtered behind her eyes, but then she dropped her gaze. “Nice to meet you, too.”
When I left, I made the call to my secretary, Bianca, to send Jack the paperwork to the apartment in my building we kept on reserve. With Jack’s increase in salary, he’d more than be able to afford it.
He had to not only look and act the part of a successful broker, but also live the part.
I tried not to think about what I’d just witnessed. The way he overlooked her. It wasn’t my business, but there was a side of me, the piece I’d buried when I left the farm, that wanted out. Wanted a chance to take her by the hand and pull her to safety
.
In my line of work, I’d seen plenty of men treat their women like they were nothing more than a novelty on their arm. I never paid much mind to it because it never concerned me. It was all a part of the scene. Part of the reason why I kept my affairs to one-night stands was because I refused to treat a woman like that. They knew before walking into something with me that it’d be nothing more than a good fuck and a fun time.
But Corinne…
She was a path I most certainly couldn’t walk.
A path that led to nothing more than destruction.
Chapter 4
Corinne
I never imagined I’d live in Manhattan.
Then again, I never imagined I’d have an open marriage.
The building Cole put us up in seemed to reach up to the clouds. I craned my neck back as far as it would go, hand pressed against my forehead, blocking the sun. It was solid lines of concrete and windows reflecting the remaining green of Central Park. Gleaming sharp like teeth, gobbling up what little nature was left in the city. How many souls lived in there?
How many were happy?
“You ready?” Jack asked, coming up beside me. Pulling me into the shadow of the building.
The city air was frantic with a babel of voices and footsteps and sizzling sounds. The summer heat was almost stifling, choking as bodies wiped at their foreheads and pulled at their collars.
I could get lost in the mix. Drowned out by the humming of the animated streets. Washed away by the buzzing energy.
Everything happened so fast after Jack was given the promotion. Within a few days, our home was put on the market, and we were shipping our things from our quiet town to the lively city of Manhattan.
Macy begged me not to go when I told her I was quitting. Not to leave her with Joseph Mc. Fuckface—as she’d put it.
I’d hugged her to me, feeling the drain of salt spilling over my cheeks. “Promise me you’ll visit?”
She swiped at her eyes. “You bet your ass. I better have a room in that palace of yours.”
I laughed, wishing I could take her with me. She was the only thing real in my life.
She inhaled, straightening her shoulders, pulling herself back together as we stood inside the small filing room. “Now… to plan how you’re going to quit.”
“I’m just going to tell him. Nothing crazy.”
She screwed her face up. “Fuck that! You have to go out with a bang!”
My stomach squirmed. “Macy…”
She grabbed my shoulders. Leveled her gaze on me. “You’re leaving. You owe me this.”
I sighed. She had me at that. “Fine.”
An hour later, an email had been sent to everyone—one listing all the grimy things he had ever done and said to us. I waited for him to respond. Already had my things packed neatly into a box.
He was yelling before he even made it to my desk.
“What the hell were you thinking?” he asked as he slapped the paper down on my desk. “This is my reputation, Corinne. Now, HR will have to look into this.”
“I quit,” I said sweetly with a bright smile despite the rapid-fire pattering of my heart.
He flinched back, stumbling over his words. “What? You can’t quit. You’re… you’re fired, so…”
I felt something shift in me. A feral awakening I didn’t want to ignore. Maybe it was how he was glaring at me, as if I was nothing more than a pest he needed to squash. Or maybe it was because I was sick and tired of men thinking they could just override a woman’s feelings.
Either way, I was done.
I pressed my lips together as I stood, meeting his height. “Hmm…” I said as I stood, feeding off the newfound confidence. “I’m pretty sure I said I quit first. You can go fuck yourself, so…” I mocked, dragging the word out with all the malice that had eaten away at my core for the past four years.
His jaw dropped to the floor. Mine did, too. I couldn’t believe that had come out of me. Couldn’t believe I’d actually said the first thing that came to my mind. I was sure it was the first time the office had gone silent.
Nice, sweet Corinne using profanity. Nice, sweet Corinne putting herself first.
I picked up my box, booped him on the nose, then headed out, my cheeks on fire as laughter and chatter filled every cubicle.
By the time I was sitting behind my steering wheel, I was laughing hysterically. Nearly crying, feeling like I’d lost my mind. Maybe I had. Macy sent me a quick text with a GIF of a woman falling out of her chair laughing.
I did that. I really did that.
But the momentum was short lived once I realized why I had to do that. And where I would be heading to.
Life moved around me for the next few days, until I found myself standing next to the wall-length window in our new bedroom, staring out into the city lights. I was surrounded by black-and-white checkered tile. Spiraling staircases. Crown molding. Vaulted ceilings. The condo was a little over a thousand square feet of breathtaking geometric architecture.
My tiny voice filled every gilded crevice. Climbed over every smooth surface. Not fitting. Searching for a stopping point inside the apartment that seemed to touch the stars.
Boxes were the only form of decoration, standing starkly out of place against the grandness of the space. Jack had decided on ordering new furniture, which wouldn’t be delivered until tomorrow.
Of course, he’d done it without asking my opinion.
“I was thinking… Maybe you can take those decorating classes you’ve wanted to take,” he said as we climbed onto the mattress we’d brought with us. It’d be gone once the new one came in.
“Yeah?” he continued.
Interior decorating. A dream I’d had since I was little. A dream I never pursued because it wasn’t practical, and I was the definition of practical.
My smile was cardboard. “Maybe,” I said, tucking myself under the covers. Trying not to think of the reason why we were in this new, foreign place.
I haven’t spoken to Cole since that day. Was scared to. Scared to know if it was coincidence that he gave Jack the job, or something more…
When I realized who he was, it felt like the world has blurred around the edges. He was in a pair of dark slacks that hid nothing. A button-down shirt with the cuffs rolled up, and a cocky grin to match. Trouble. That’s what he was. But it wasn’t the clothes that made my mouth run dry. It was those velvet blues that hit me square in the chest. Sucking me in, refusing to let go.
The next morning, after the last box was brought into our new home, I trudged over to the bed and sat down, my mind still whirling in a foggy cloud. The couch he ordered wasn’t my taste. It was a deep brown with no room for comfort. All the tables, chairs, and cabinets were in the same dark hues. There was no personality. No color. Just smooth, boring lines. There wasn’t a single piece of me in the things he ordered.
I was drowning. Suffocating. Sinking into the quicksand of our marriage.
It was then that something triggered in me. A defense mechanism pulled out by my brush with Joseph. If I could stand up for myself once, I could surely do it again.
Jack walked into the room and asked, “What’s wrong, Rinny?”
I blinked out of the fog. Stared up at him as my thoughts began to form.
“Sit.” The lone word was clipped. Precise. Firm.
He stilled, puzzled, his forehead curving as sat beside me. It was the first time I’d ever told him what to do. It felt good.
“I don’t want lies between us,” I said, stiffening my tone and my heart.
His eyebrows came together. “What are you—”
“I know about her.” I paused, squeezing my eyes shut as her acrid name found its way on my tongue. “Jessica.”
I felt him squirm. His face was scarlet when my eyes opened, shock buried beneath shame. The truth was, Jessica wasn’t the first time Jack had strayed. It happened once before, while we were in college after nearly two years of dating. He’d blamed it on alcohol. Typic
al. I left him when I stumbled into his room, finding his ass in the air, his body plunging into someone other than me.
Words couldn’t describe how that felt. The paralyzing shock. His deceit like a dagger twisted through my heart. I felt like I watched my innocence crumbling before me. Jagged shards falling into an empty well.
I’d never been so broken.
I’d felt my mother in me in that moment. The many years she’d spent crying over my father when he came home late. The way she tucked away her feelings, hiding behind the need to keep a brave face and appearance. The whole town knew my dad cheated, but she still stood by his side. Devoted until the end.
I couldn’t be her. I couldn’t…
It took Jack almost a year to win me back. He’d been overly persistent. Walking me to my classes every day. Calling me nearly every night. He didn’t party. He didn’t date. He’d just… waited.
I can’t explain why I gave him another chance. Maybe it was his persistence. Maybe it was my loneliness. Or maybe it was because no one I dated after him could compare to how he made me feel.
I believed him when he said it would never happen again. I believed in us. I missed us. And I loved him. Stupid, yes, but there it was. I loved him more than I’d ever loved anyone. The way his smile curved more to the left. How his hand felt when his fingers intertwined with mine. The easy way I could tuck myself against his side, fitting perfectly. Feeling safe.
I was a goner the moment we met. Smitten by every word that came from his mouth. His charm was a trap. His kiss was the key, and I happily let myself get locked away in him. I meant every vow I said on our wedding day. And deep down, he meant them, too… He just… he made mistakes.
“Corinne, I—
I shook my head, holding my hand up to quiet him. “We never agreed or disagreed about the open marriage. I needed time to think. To… to take it all in,” I explained, pulling in a small breath. I was surprised by how calm I felt. How easily the words were forming. “Before moving forward, we should set terms.”
The lines on his forehead deepened. He reached for my hand, and my skin warmed. I savored every one of his touches. Held onto them like a hoarder, because I knew the wait in between. Why couldn’t things be as simple as his touch?
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