Page 87 of The Work Wife

Jamie and Wes were late to dinner. Their punishment was a round of applause and innuendo. Everyone assumed they were late because they were fooling around. Jamie felt her face heat up.

The truth was they had been busy destroying a marriage. Between the adultery and the fake marriage, this was quickly becoming an anti-couples’ retreat.

Jamie exchanged a look with Wes when Lance and Holly showed up at the same time and sat down across from them.

Wes pulled out Jamie’s chair and she sat while locking gazes with Lance.

That’s right, asshole. My husband told me what you did, she thought toward him, hoping he could hear, or that lasers would shoot from her eyes and catch him on fire. Whichever.

Lance and Holly were quiet during the meal.

Before Misty could ask her first question, Holly tossed her napkin on the table and stood up.

“I’m sorry. I’m not up for learning how to resolve a conflict with my husband at the moment.” Lance turned pale. “Is there a workshop on how to keep your husband’s dick in his pants?” She looked around the table with a tight smile. “No? Well, darn. I guess I’ll just go back to our cottage and read.” She stood and glared at the man whose face had turned as red as Curt’s sunburned head. “You can sleep somewhere else. I’d suggest the bottom of the ocean.”

With that, Holly rushed off. Lance stood and turned to look at Wes. “You told her.”

“Someone had to.”

Lance turned a nasty smile on the group. “Consider Blain and Douglas out of the running for the Atlantic Global job.” And with that he went to chase after his angry wife.

There was a long, uncomfortable pause while all their co-workers turned to look at them. Then finally Wes let out a breath and said, “I’m really sorry about this.”

“We’re sorry,” Jamie added, not wanting Wes to solely take the blame. They’d decided this was the right thing to do together. It made sense that they would be fired together too.

“You saw Lance with someone else?” Beth asked.

“I did. Lance threatened to pull our bid if I didn’t keep it quiet, but I—”

“I told Wes we needed to tell her. It was the right thing to do,” Jamie provided.

Wes took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

“Of course you did the right thing,” Beth said, tapping Rob on the arm. “That’s what they should have done, right?”

Rob let out a breath and shook his head. “I sure can’t think of any other way you could have handled it and not compromised your integrity. You did the right thing.” He glanced over at Beth and then back to them. “But I sure as hell would have liked to have that job.”

Wes nodded and pulled Jamie against him. “We were looking forward to it.”

They’d made the decision not knowing if they would have Rob’s support. When Rob smiled and patted Wes on the shoulder, she let out the breath she’d been holding.

With the tension dissipated, Misty picked up where they’d left off. “Okay, then. Let’s get started.”

Everyone seemed to snap out of it.

Jamie had to admit, she was happy Holly stood up for herself even if it cost Jamie and Wes their shot at Team One. Holly deserved better than a cheating loser of a husband. Lance reminded her of the guys she’d met on the online dating site.

It was no wonder Wes gave her such a hard time. Jamie was setting herself up for disaster with the losers she met on Go Fish.

“Let’s start by discussing what we do to resolve conflict. Wes and Jamie? You’re in the first seat, so why don’t you start?”

As Jamie struggled to come up with something, Wes squeezed her hand and cleared his throat to speak.

“I was trying to think of a time when we were forced to resolve conflict, and I have to say it was difficult coming up with something.” He looked at Jamie and tilted his head. “Maybe it’s because we’re newly married, but we haven’t had many disagreements. I joked earlier that she bosses me around and I just do what she wants, but the truth is we just really understand one another, so when she tells me how she wants to handle something, I’m generally in agreement.”

“I think I’m going to be sick,” Curt joked.

“I did come up with something, though,” Wes added.