The Work Wife

by Allison B Hanson

  “I don’t care. I just remembered something I need to do.”

  “Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Yes. Tomorrow.” Ben rushed out without a second glance.

  “Weird.” When the waiter returned with his credit card, Wes walked to the sidewalk and pulled out his phone to call Jamie.

  She didn’t answer. No doubt she was doing something fun with her dad.

  “Hey. I was hoping to talk to you.” If anyone could make him feel better about upsetting his brother, it was Jamie. “I think I’ve made a terrible mistake,” he added. “I’ll catch you later.”

  * * * *

  Ben found a spot at the bar and frowned at the woman playing her heart out on stage. This place was not as classy as MacGregor’s, as evidenced by the way people were staring at him as if he were an intruder.

  Despite the conditions, he planned to wait for his chance to confront Annabelle.

  What an idiot he’d been. In his defense, he’d never been important enough for a woman to sleep with him to advance her career, or whatever advancement women got from sleeping with their bosses.

  He’d completely fallen into her trap. The fact that she’d also slept with his father made him want to gag. Everyone always said how much Ben looked like his father. Had that been the allure? Had she cared for his father and saw this as a way to relive what they’d had?

  When the set was over he stood and waved her over.

  “I didn’t know you were coming to see me.” She greeted him with a smile as he handed over a bottle of water. “I thought you were having dinner with your brother.”

  “I was, but we had an interesting discussion and I couldn’t wait to talk to you.” He looked around at the crowd and gestured to the door.

  When she followed him out to the sidewalk he looked over his shoulder to make sure they were alone.

  “My brother just told me my father had an affair with his assistant.”

  “Oh, hell,” she whispered.

  “Yeah. Oh, hell.”

  Chapter 23

  Annabelle winced, knowing she should have told him before now. If she had it wouldn’t have been as much of a shock. She hadn’t known how to tell him. She didn’t want him to freak out. Like he was now.

  “I’m so sorry,” she said, wishing she could take his hurt away.

  “What I don’t understand is if it was to get a different job, or because I looked like him. Were you hoping to get another wage increase? You said you were happy where you were. Was that part of the act?”

  His words didn’t make any more sense to her than the way he was looking at her. Like she was a piece of trash.

  “What are you talking about?” she finally asked.

  “Did you sleep with Uncle Rich too? Is that why he didn’t want you working for him anymore?”

  “Sleep with Uncle Rich?” It wasn’t until she repeated the question that she understood. “You’re accusing me of—”

  “Having sex with my father and then having sex with me.”

  Yep. That’s what she thought. “I can’t—”

  “If I were you, I wouldn’t bother with Weston. You won’t get anywhere with him. He’s happily married.”

  “I wouldn’t.” She could only stare at him as he turned to leave. “I didn’t . . .” How could he possibly think this of her?

  “That’s good. Then you can work for him starting tomorrow. I’d rather not have to work with you anymore. It’s a lateral realignment. Please move to your new workspace before I arrive in the morning. I’m done.”

  And with that he brushed his fingers together and walked off.

  She might have run after him to shake him silly, but her drummer came out and told her it was time to start the next set.

  She couldn’t talk to Ben now, even if she knew what to say.

  Which she didn’t.

  * * * *

  Wes’s morning couldn’t get any worse and it wasn’t even eight thirty. He hadn’t talked to Jamie yesterday because she was flying home after her visit with her father. Ben was still acting weird, and he didn’t know how to fix it.

  And the icing on the shit cake was finding a horrible error in a plan for a building that was not only finished, but occupied with humans.

  “I don’t understand how this even passed inspection,” he said into the phone to the firm’s top engineer. Wes hadn’t been impressed, which was why he’d pulled the prints.

  “I believe the inspector was a friend of your father’s,” the man explained, as if this was normal behavior.

  “God.” Wes rubbed his temple. His father was not only an adulterer, but had taken shortcuts with people’s safety? If Ben walked in that very moment and said he was a drug smuggler, Wes wouldn’t be that shocked.

  But it wasn’t Ben who walked in. It was much, much worse. Wes hung up the phone after a sound that served as a goodbye.

  “Mother. I’m kind of busy.” Wes did his best to cut her off, but no use. She was already sitting in front of his desk with a pile of papers.

  “Of course you are. Have I told you how good you look in this office?” She stood and helped herself to some coffee, as if he hadn’t just said he was busy.

  “Yes. A couple of times.” Even after the remodel, this office didn’t feel like his office in Boston with Jamie. He missed his wife. Had it only been a week since he’d seen her?

  “Damn it.” He frowned down at the quote in the file, seeing that the steel used to reinforce the TriPlex building was inadequate. “This is a disaster.” The whole building would need to be renovated. And they’d have to eat the cost. It was the right thing to do.

  “Look, I know you don’t have a lot of time, but I wanted to make sure you signed these.” She held up a tri-folded pile of papers. He could tell by all the seals and sticky tabs it was some kind of legal document.

  “What is it?” Wes was trying to keep the company from needing even more legal documents.

  “You made Jamie the beneficiary of your life insurance, but you never signed over the rest of the money you got from your inheritance.”

  “But you said I was being foolish.” His attention was strained between his mother and the pile of crap that was the TriPlex Building.

  “I’m afraid I was jealous, Wes. I tried and tried to get my marriage to work, and you just stumble into something with your co-worker.” She waved her hand. “It was a little hard to believe, but I’ve seen how happy you are when you’re talking about her. I decided to trust your judgment. If it feels like the real thing to you, then I will take your word for it.”

  She plopped the papers down and turned to go. “Have your assistant contact Albert to stop in and explain everything when you have a minute.”

  “I don’t have an assistant yet and I don’t think I’ll ever have a minute.” If he did get a minute, he didn’t want to spend it with the musty old lawyer. “Did you already look over everything?”

  “Yes. I’m the one who told him to write it up. Do you want me to go over it with you?”

  “Wes, you coming? We’re up.” Benji leaned into his office, reminding him about a meeting he wasn’t prepared for.

  “Shit. Who is it again?” Wes fumbled through the piles on his desk.

  “Dexter. You can look off my screen. I’ll meet you in conference room three.”

  “Okay. I’ll be right there.” Where the hell was conference room three? Wes bumped his coffee and it fell on the stack of papers, barely missing the new documents his mother had given him.

  “Do you want me to hold on to them so you don’t misplace them?” she offered, stepping closer.

  “Actually . . .” He whipped through the pages and saw his name and Jamie’s name throughout the document. At the bottom there was a place for him to sign.

  He found a pen and made his mark with a flourish, then
folded them back up and handed them to his mother with a big smile. “Here. Go ahead and take them.”

  Her lips were pulled together in that lemon pucker expression. He’d never figured out if she was angry all the time or she just looked that way.

  He couldn’t deal with reading anything else into it at the moment. Nor did he have the time. He was happy to have one thing done today. And hopefully she would leave him alone.

  “How long do you think you’ll be? Maybe I could wait and we could get lunch,” she suggested.

  He needed a break. He couldn’t deal with her and her blatant lack of emotion. He decided he owed his brother one.

  “Did Benji tell you he’s dating a rock star?” Wes said with a big grin.

  His mother gasped in shock.

  Before she had the chance to ask any questions, Wes rushed out of his office to head to the meeting, already forgetting the name of the client.

  * * * *

  “Jamie, you have a visitor,” Cindy announced at the doorway with a smile. Jamie was also smiling. It was impossible to stop after the news she’d gotten regarding Holly’s pick on the Atlantic Global building. She’d loved Jamie’s design and signed off on the final contract.

  She’d left Wes a message but hadn’t heard back. She was contemplating going to New York to tell him in person. She missed him so much she was looking for every opportunity to go see him. But this was a very good reason.

  “Thank you, I’ll be right out.” Jamie should have asked who it was. Maybe then she wouldn’t have been so visibly shocked when she walked into the lobby to find Mrs. Archer waiting for her. The original Mrs. Archer.

  “Hello, dear. I stopped by at lunchtime in the hope I might be able to steal you away for an hour.”

  “Uh, sure.” She paused. “Weston’s not here.”

  The woman smiled, but it wasn’t a pleasant smile. It was the smile Jamie had seen on snakes in cartoons, when they were tricking the mouse to come closer.

  “I know. I was in his office this morning to take care of some business before coming here.”

  Jamie must have looked like she was struggling with the math. It was a four-hour drive. She’d been in Wes’s office this morning and it was almost noon?

  “I took the company jet,” she explained.

  “Of course,” Jamie said with a laugh as if she’d known there was a company jet. Did Wes not understand the first rule in impressing a woman with his wealth? Maybe if she was the type to be impressed by such things it would have given him incentive. “Okay. Let me get my bag.”

  Moving like a robot, she went back to her office and got her bag. For a second she thought about calling Wes and asking for help. But she knew he was busy and was too far away to help her anyway.

  It was a warm day so they parked by the waterfront and walked to the bistro on the next block. Mrs. Archer ordered a glass of wine. Jamie wished she could have alcohol to help get her through the meeting.

  “I want to apologize for the way I acted the first time we met. I was shocked and hurt that I wasn’t included. But I’ve spoken to Weston and he told me the reason why you got married in the first place.”

  “He did?” Jamie’s brows went up in surprise. She wondered what story Weston had told her. There was no way he would have told her the truth.

  “Yes. I have to admit it was a pretty crafty plan. I’m not sure why Weston went along with it. He could have easily gone on a vacation anytime he wanted. And he didn’t really need his name on the Atlantic Global building when he’s begun work renovating the TriPlex property.”

  Jamie bit her lip. He had told her the truth. Hell.

  “The important thing is that we remedy the problem before it becomes an issue.” Mrs. Archer reached into her large designer bag and pulled out a file. “Feel free to have your own attorney look these over before you sign and send them back. I think he’s been very generous with the agreement.”

  Jamie looked down at the papers in front of her. Three words popped out among the rest. Annulment of Marriage. She flipped the pages over and found the familiar swoopy W that started Weston’s signature on the bottom of the last page.

  “Wes wants an annulment?”

  His mother let out a sigh and folded her hands on the table. “He’s never been one for handling confrontation.”

  This was true. Jamie knew he didn’t like rocking the boat. But this? An annulment without talking to her first? “He sent his mother to break up with me?” She couldn’t believe this.

  “I’m sure he will follow up later after you’ve sent the documents back. He’s been so busy getting his feet under him as CEO.” She pulled an envelope from the bottom of the stack. “When you’ve signed it, just mail it back in this envelope.”

  “But he didn’t mention this.” Granted she hadn’t spoken to him in a few days. Her flight had been delayed and she didn’t get home until after ten. She’d just wanted to shower and fall into bed before her first day back to work.

  Her mind flitted back to the odd message he’d left two nights ago. He’d told her he’d made a terrible mistake. She’d texted him a funny message and he’d sent back a smiley.

  What kind of person sends someone a smiley when they want to end their marriage? Jamie thought for a second before the answer came flying back at her.

  A person who didn’t want to get married in the first place.

  “He told me it was better for you,” his mother offered with her face pinched up in some semblance of sympathy.

  Jamie was too proud to start crying or begging his mother for another chance at a marriage that was a sham from the beginning.

  Instead, she pulled her phone out to call him. She wasn’t going to let him get away with this. Mrs. Archer frowned and rolled her eyes as Wes picked up.

  “Yes?”

  “Wes? Your mom is here with these papers.”

  “Already?” he seemed surprised by the timing. “That was fast.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “I know. I’m sorry I didn’t get to talk to you about this. Please just sign them so we can get it over with. We’ll take care of the rest later, okay? I have a huge problem here.”

  He had a huge problem there? What about the huge problem that was her living in his place and no home of her own anymore? What about that?

  “This is what you want?” she asked, the anger coming out in her voice.

  “Yes. It’s for the best. I’m sorry for the inconvenience. Trust me, if you just sign them, she’ll leave.”

  Inconvenience? She’d fallen in love with him and now it was an inconvenience?

  “We’ll talk later, okay? I have to get going. I’m heading into another meeting. You wouldn’t even believe what I’m dealing with.”

  “Sure. Later.” She disconnected the call with trembling fingers.

  “It’s for the best.” His mother repeated Wes’s words.

  Jamie had nearly forgotten where she was or who she was with.

  “We both thought it would be better this way than if your employer found out what you’d actually done.” She winced. “I’m sure they wouldn’t be pleased to hear you lied.”

  This made sense, except she hadn’t lied. Maybe it started out as a lie, but now she thought it had been real.

  The waitress brought their food, and just the sight of it made Jamie want to throw up.

  Mrs. Archer didn’t miss a beat. She speared a forkful of salad and pointed at the papers. “He’s left you the apartment here in Boston. You won’t have to worry about rent or moving.”

  He owned the building. What was one apartment if it kept his ex-wife quiet?

  Somehow Jamie made it through lunch and drove them back to the office, where Mrs. Archer got into her rental. Jamie was surprised she’d driven herself. She half expected the woman to be assisted into a stretch limo by a man in
a floppy hat with a brim.

  Jamie was losing it.

  Rather than make a big, ugly scene at work she drove home and texted Cindy to tell her she wasn’t feeling well.

  The apartment had always felt like her home, despite the fact she’d only lived there for a short time. Her things were mixed with Weston’s things. It was theirs.

  Except after she signed the papers, it would only be hers.

  She took her time, reading through each word, scouring the document for some clue that it was a joke or a misunderstanding. It was pretty straightforward and it was more than generous, considering their marriage had been nothing more than a bad idea.

  At a little after seven, she lined up a glass and the whiskey. With a deep breath she signed her name and drank down the shot.

  Three shots later the tears started, and she curled into a ball, wishing she’d never walked into Weston Archer’s life.

  At some point Jamie must have fallen asleep. It was full dark when she woke. She was still on the sofa, and the light was on in the kitchen, shining in her face. Or would have been in her face if there hadn’t been a huge monster standing over her.

  Chapter 24

  With Shadow in the carrier strapped over her shoulder, Jamie gave her perfunctory two knocks before opening the front door at her father’s house. After the cat attempted to suffocate her last night, he’d been rather cozy. She didn’t want to leave him behind. She knew firsthand how much that sucked.

  With her story ready, she was focused on keeping her face unreadable. It was always her face that messed things up.

  She could craft the most elaborate fabrications, but if her face gave her away, she was screwed.

  Unfortunately, two knocks was not enough of a warning. She found her father on the sofa with Mrs. Knox, engaging in some heavy kissing—with tongue.

  “Oh! Sorry!” She spun around, wiping her eyes as if she could brush the image away.

  “Damn it. I thought you just left,” her father said, sounding not too welcoming. Not that she could blame him. She’d just been there two days ago. Rob had been fine when she’d asked to work from home. She hadn’t been specific on which home.