The Tie That Binds

by Maura, Catharina

  My heart twists uncomfortably and I take a step back from them subconsciously. Recently divorced and they did their MBA together? It doesn’t take a genius to figure it out. I take a good look at Kate and laugh to myself. Tall, skinny and blonde. What a surprise. My stomach clenches with jealousy and my heart aches. My marriage to Daniel isn’t real and I shouldn’t be feeling the way I do, but that doesn’t mean I’ll stand here and watch my husband flirt with someone else.

  “Guess I’ll be buying you that Aston Martin, after all,” I bite out, failing to hide the anger I’m feeling. Daniel’s eyes widen slightly, like he’s surprised I figured it out. I glance at their joint arms bitterly and turn around, in need of a drink.

  12

  “What is going on?” Linda whispers to Luke as she eyes me. Luke shakes his head with wide eyes, indicating for her to shut up. I’ve been in a bad mood today and I’d like to say that I’m better than taking it out on my colleagues but I’m not. I feel terrible for snapping at them but I can’t help it. Every time Kate giggles or Daniel smiles at her my mood worsens. They’re a lot more chatty today than they previously were so it looks like they had a great time at the bonfire. They must have, since Daniel didn’t come home until well into the night and then disappeared for the rest of the weekend, coming home only to go straight to bed.

  Daniel walks out of his office with a stormy expression on his face. “Alyssa, I asked you for the info on Takuya’s. Why is not on my desk yet?”

  I lift my head and twist my desk chair towards him. “You asked for it fifteen minutes ago, Daniel. Do I look like a robot to you?”

  He glares at me. “I didn’t ask for sass. I asked you to do your damn job. I should’ve had it on my desk five minutes ago.”

  He storms back into his office and I try my best not to throw my apple at his head. Such an asshole.

  The entire office is silent and I sit up, staring them down. “What the hell are you all looking at? Help me to get this shit done, damn it.”

  They all turn back to their screens and start typing as furiously as I am. I’m enraged. Every little thing that comes out of his mouth makes me even more angry.

  Twenty-five minutes later I have the report in my hands. It required four people to get it done, so how he expected me to do it by myself in ten minutes is beyond me.

  Jake hesitates and then looks at me. “I can go give him the report if you want.”

  I nod gratefully. “Yeah, that would be great.” I smile at him, relieved I won’t have to face Daniel again. I’m not sure I’ll be able to get through a meeting with him without resorting to violence at this point.

  I focus on the rest of my work as Jake walks into Daniel’s office. Within three minutes I hear Daniel shouting and Jake walks back out of his office, his face scarlet. He looks like he might burst into tears any second. I inhale deeply and massage my temples. I should’ve expected that Jake wouldn’t know how to answer Daniel’s questions.

  “Alyssa!” he shouts.

  I pull a hand through my hair to try and compose myself before I walk into Daniel’s office, shutting the door behind me.

  “You called for me?” I say. He’s standing by the window and turns to face me. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look this angry. He never used to show any emotions at all, making it impossible to guess what he’s thinking. He’s got no problem showing his emotions today though. He’s snapping at me one second and smiling at Kate the next.

  “Explain to me why Takuya’s is threatening not to sign with us after all the effort we went through.”

  So he asked for a five page report and didn’t even bother to read the first couple of sentences? Fucking fantastic.

  “Their R&D is through the roof and they have nothing to show for it. Their profitability has been decreasing every quarter since Mr. Takuya’s son took over. Looks like they’ll run into liquidity issues soon. They need us to save their company. They definitely won’t be able to do it themselves. We just need to convince them they need us. I suggest going in person. The issue will be more that Mr. Takuya’s son won’t want to admit to his failings, and he probably knows hiring us will result in that.”

  I walk up to his desk and grab the report to show him my calculations and forecasts. I turn around just as Daniel walks up to me. He takes a step closer to me and I take a step back until my hips hit his desk. Daniel leans in and cages me in with his arms.

  My heart starts racing at his proximity and I try my best not to show it. “What are you doing?” I whisper.

  “Tell me why you’ve been so mean to me all morning,” he murmurs.

  I place my hands against his chest to push him away but end up just sliding my palms up to his shoulders.

  “I’m not being mean.”

  I didn’t realise that it wasn’t just my colleagues I’ve been snapping at. I’ve been trying my best to keep things professional between Daniel and I but I’ve been irrationally angry and jealous. Pretending to hide it has just resulted in me being irritable.

  “You are. What’s got you so worked up?”

  I shake my head and grab his tie, straightening it out. He’s so close. What would he do if I leaned in and kissed him? My eyes drop to his lips and I subconsciously lick mine.

  I drag my eyes away and shake my head. “It’s nothing. I’m sorry. I didn’t realise I wasn’t behaving professionally, but then neither are you.”

  He raises his brows and looks at me.

  “You keep smiling at Kate and she keeps giggling at you. Do you think flirting at the office is appropriate?”

  His eyes widen and I worry that I just gave myself away. “I’ve been treating her the same way I always have,” he says. He takes a step closer to me, closing the remaining distance between us. My body is pressed up against his and I love the way he feels against me so much that I struggle to hold onto my anger.

  “So you’ve always been flirting with her and I only just noticed? No wonder you said you didn’t need to amend our rules to win the bet.”

  Daniel buries a hand in my hair and shakes his head. “I’m not flirting with her, Alyssa. It’s just friendly banter.”

  I laugh humorously and try to pull my hair out of his grip, but he won’t let me.

  “Speaking of our rules. Sounds like you had a great time with Liam Evans.”

  I glare at him. “It was for work. It wasn’t even just the two of us. Jake was there too.”

  Daniel smiles. “Yeah, but you agreed to go out with him again, didn’t you? How exactly are you going to accomplish that while still abiding by our rules?”

  I push him away and walk to the window. “The same way you seem to be getting away with it. Asking Kate to the bonfire. Letting her put her arm around yours and sharing cotton candy? All the while making it obvious that your own wife is the third wheel. If you can do that, then why can’t I? Seems like your definition of not cheating is just not having sex with someone else. I’m pretty I can manage that.”

  Daniel joins me by the window, an amused twinkle in his eyes that just pisses me off more.

  “Come to think of it. Where the hell have you been all weekend?” I snap.

  He bites down on his lip and it looks an awful lot like he’s trying to hide a smile. He slips his hand in his pocket and takes out his wallet.

  “I’ve been at home, sweetheart. In my own home. My apartment. Being at my mum’s is a bit overwhelming at times. I needed a bit of rest and some time to clear my mind. I came back to sleep at my mum’s so we don’t breach the terms of the will. We can only stay away from each other a total of fifteen night a year, so it’s best if we keep those for emergencies.”

  He hands me a keycard with his apartment building’s logo on it. “You can keep this. It’s the access card for the building. The entrance to the apartment itself is through biometrics. Security is the same firm as your house and the Devereaux mansion, so I asked them to transfer your existing biometrics to my apartment as well.”

  I waver, suddenly second gues
sing myself. He’s just been at home all weekend?

  “Were you alone?”

  Daniel nods and brushes a strand of my hair behind my ear before cupping my face. “Yep. You can check the guest log if you don’t believe me. There are cameras by the entrance as well. I registered your name to my residence so you’re formally a co-habitant of my apartment. You have access to all the same security feeds that I have access to.”

  I shake my head. Like I’d ever go as far as checking camera recordings. I exhale in relief. At least he didn’t spend all weekend with Kate.

  I lean into his hand and Daniel moves closer to me, his hand sliding over my skin until he’s holding the back of my neck.

  “I didn’t realise living at your mother’s house would be tough on you. I guess it makes sense. You haven’t called it home in so long. Maybe we should start staying at your apartment during weekdays at least? It’s closer to the office anyway. We could stay at your mum’s on the weekends.”

  Daniel look at me gratefully and nods. “I’d really appreciate that, Alyssa. Let’s give that a try and if you’re not comfortable there we’ll move back.”

  I nod and clear my throat, hesitating before I speak. “I think we should add some more details to the rules. Cheating from now on includes anything ranging from flirting to sleeping with someone else.”

  Daniel grins and looks away. He looks shy and cute and I hate how much I love his expression.

  “Very well. If you say so, wifey. Those rules apply to you too, though.”

  My heart skips a beat at the endearment he uses and I blush. “I evaded Liam’s request by saying he couldn’t ask me out while he’s got a contract over my head, but it’s been signed now and he asked me to go celebrate with him. I thought of saying I’m seeing someone.. but if in a few months I’m clearly not dating, then he’ll just think I was lying all along.”

  Daniel takes a step closer and presses his body flush against mine. He looks down at me with an intense gaze that has my heart beating wildly. “So just date me, wife.”

  I bite down on my lip and look away. ‘I— I guess we can think about our options when the time comes,” I stammer.

  “Hmm, yeah. Think about that, Alyssa,” Daniel says.

  13

  I follow Daniel into his building wordlessly. The security is definitely over the top. Daniel swipes his access card and the doors swing open automatically. There are two security guards standing by the doors who both smile at Daniel.

  “Welcome home, Mr. Devereaux.”

  He nods at them and pauses, placing a hand on my lower back as they take our luggage from us. “This is my wife, Alyssa. She’ll be moving in with me. Please treat her the same way you treat me.”

  My heart skips a beat at the way he introduces me. This is the first time he’s ever introduced me to anyone as his wife and I’m surprised by how much I like it. It gives me an odd sense of security and makes me all giddy.

  The security guards nod at me politely. If they’re curious about me they don’t show it. Daniel walks into the lift and grabs my hand, startling me. “Thumbprint scanner,” he murmurs. He pushes my finger against the scanner briefly and the lift starts to move up automatically. I look around but can’t find any buttons except for an emergency call button. He answers my question before I even voice it.

  “Guests need to sign in at the reception desk downstairs and will then be escorted up. My mother is the only other person besides us that has access to the apartment.”

  The doors open right into the apartment, revealing a large entrance hall. I follow after him, barely able to contain my curiosity. I’ve never been here before and for some reason I always thought of Daniel’s apartment as some small cute apartment. It’s nothing like that at all. It’s far bigger than I could’ve imagined and decorated tastefully. It’s nothing like the bachelor pad I was expecting to find. It does indeed look like a home.

  “I love it. No wonder you missed this place so much.”

  He shows me to the living room and I sigh in delight. His sofa is large and comfy looking without looking even remotely shabby. There’s so much natural light coming in that the space looks even bigger than it is. One entire corner of the room is made of glass, overlooking a magnificent skyline, and the kitchen is open plan. His kitchen is a dream come true, with every single appliance I could dream of. He’s even got a waffle maker. I can’t wait to rummage through the cupboards and find out what else he might have. Each room Daniel shows me is more stunning than the last.

  “There is one guest room that my mother usually uses, but you can have that one now. Unless you prefer the master bedroom?”

  I peek into the room he points out and can clearly see Mary’s touch all over it. The wooden bed frame and the daisies on the bedsheets don’t suit the modern apartment at all, but it’s so her. Daniel has already moved past the guest room and walks into another room. I follow him in curiously.

  “This is my bedroom. I think you might be more comfortable in here, so you’re welcome to have it.”

  He walks into the room and sits down on his bed as I take in his bedroom. The master bedroom is huge and it’s stunning. He’s done it up in dark colours while keeping it looking modern and state of the art. Even the lamps on his bedside table look as though they were carefully selected. Similar to the living room, one of the walls is made entirely of glass.

  He’s silent as I explore his bedroom, unable to suppress my curiosity. His walk-in wardrobe is much bigger than mine at home was. He’s even got a little dresser in there with perfumes and other cosmetics, every single thing in its own place. Much to my surprise he’s got two photos on the dresser, right behind his little collection of perfume bottles. One is of Daniel, Dominic, Mary and me last Christmas. I remember my dad taking this photo, but I didn’t realise he even sent them to Daniel. The other photo is of my dad, me and Daniel on the last birthday we got to celebrate with my dad. It was his 58th birthday. I barely even remember taking the photo. I think we went out for dinner to celebrate and afterwards we got some dessert. All I remember is that my dad and Daniel spoke about buying Daniel’s new car soon almost all night.

  I touch the photo with my fingertips and walk out through the other door in his bedroom. His bathroom consists almost entirely of marble. It looks luxurious and inviting. There’s a large jacuzzi in one corner that I’m dying to try out. Just Daniel’s bedroom, wardrobe and bathroom must take up at least a quarter of the total size of this apartment, if not more.

  “God, I can see why you’d miss this place. It’s wonderful. I wouldn’t dare take your room though. I’m happy with the guest room, but I may just have to sneak into your jacuzzi one night.”

  Daniel’s eyes darken and I belatedly realise what I just said. “I— I mean.. when you’re not there, I mean.”

  Daniel smiles and shakes his head, thankfully disregarding my awkwardness. “You’re welcome to use anything here, my bathroom included. We’re married, Alyssa. This place is yours as much as it is mine.”

  I bite down on my lip and nod. It’s been easy to forget that we got married, especially because we’ve been living with Mary. While there we didn’t spend that much time together, so it never felt like we were married. I guess easy is what we both wanted, though. It’s a marriage of convenience after all.

  I jump when I hear the sound of footsteps nearby and Daniel stands up. “Suitcases,” he tells me.

  “How many of the staff have access?”

  Daniel shakes his head. “Not many. Two designated security officers, one housekeeper and a cook. The housekeeper comes once a day, and the cook comes whenever I ask her to. It’s up to you when you want them to come. Would you prefer for us to do our own cooking?”

  I nod. My dad and I always cooked for each other a few times a week. It was kind of our thing. Our way to show appreciation for each other. We’d sit down and have dinner together. My dad never missed it, even if it meant he had to work overtime in his home office. Our little tradition meant t
hat Daniel often ended up eating with us and spending the evening in my dad’s office. My heart aches at the memory. Knowing I’ll never taste my dad’s food again breaks my heart.

  “Maybe we can just cook ourselves a few times a week? If you don’t want to, then I can do the cooking?”

  Daniel’s expression softens, as though he knows what I’m thinking. He walks up to me and cups my cheek gently. “Of course. I’d be happy to do that. Though you’ll have to promise you’ll make it home for dinner every day like you did with your dad. I’ll do the same. If we have to work overtime then I have a big enough home office to facilitate us both. I’ll get you a desk chair so we can share my office.”

  My heart melts. How does Daniel always know the right thing to say? “Yes, of course. I promise.”

  He smiles at me and my heartbeat accelerates. His entire face transforms when he smiles like that. It’s oddly intimate, especially because he rarely smiles.

  I drag my eyes away from him and take a step back, hoping he doesn’t notice that I’m blushing. “I— I’ll go unpack,” I tell him, rushing away to my new bedroom. I hear him chuckle as I close his bedroom door behind me and rub my chest to try and calm my raging heart.

  I sit down to try and calm myself. Since when has Daniel impacted me so much? I guess it’s been easy to ignore just how hot he is since he always used to keep a certain boundary between us. My dad was always with us too. I don’t think I’ve really spent any alone time with Daniel in the last couple of years.

  The room I’m in doesn’t feel like my own at all. It’s clearly Mary’s room. There are even some spare clothes of hers in the cupboards. It almost feels like an intrusion to be in here. Even after unpacking I still feel uncomfortable in here.

  When I’m sure I’ll be able to keep my erratic heart in check I head to the living room. Daniel is sitting on the sofa, legs outstretched. He’s changed into pyjama bottoms and a tight t-shirt. He’s got black framed glasses resting on the tip of his nose as he goes through a stack of documents and my heart does it again. It freaking skips a beat.