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I was exhaustedby the time I headed home, well past the time most people in the office left. The stack of paperwork on my desk that had to be filed was astronomical, but I wanted to get through it all on my first day. I didn’t want anyone thinking that I was slacking on the job. My eyes were practically crossed from staring at filing numbers and names on projects.
I slipped off my heels as I entered the elevator and pressed the button for the penthouse after slipping my key inside. I groaned as I rubbed the sole of my foot until the elevator jolted to a stop on the penthouse floor. When the doors opened, James was pacing in the foyer. He stopped and glared at me, the anger on his face nearly comical.
“Where have you been?” he snapped.
“At work,” I responded tiredly. I walked over to the closet and hung up my coat, then grabbed my purse and walked past him toward the bedroom.
“Where are you going?” he said angrily.
“To bed.”
“You haven’t eaten dinner yet.”
“I ate a late lunch,” I said over my shoulder. “Besides, I’m exhausted.”
He grabbed my arm and spun me around, pushing me against the bedroom wall. “Is this payback or something?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You’re pissed at me for working late all the time. Is that why you’re doing this?”
I jerked out of his grasp, glaring at him. “I’m doing this because I want to. You may not like your job, but I happen to love mine.”
“As a fucking intern?”
I shoved him back, anger pulsing through me. “Who are you?”
“What are you talking about?”
“This,” I motioned to his whole body. “What happened to the man I love?”
His nostrils flared in anger. “I came home early to spend time with you. I wanted to take you out to dinner, so imagine my surprise when you were nowhere to be found, but there was a fucking design team wandering around my apartment like they owned the place. And this guy…Charlie, had the nerve to speak to me like he was your best fucking friend!”
“He is my friend,” I snapped. “He’s the one who got me the job.”
“Then he’s fired,” James yelled.
“You’re such an asshole. Someone did something nice for me, and you have the nerve to fire him because he’s nice to me?”
I could tell he was frustrated. He was spiraling out of control, all because I got a job. Or maybe it was more than that, but I would never know as long as he acted like this.
“James, whatever’s going on with you, it has to stop. I’m not going to give up my job, and you’re not going to fire a coworker of mine because you’re jealous.”
“I’m not jealous, I just…Damnit, I want you here with me.”
“To sit at home all day and wait for you?” I asked. “James, we’ve hardly gotten started in this marriage and you’re already making demands on me. It’s not going to work. I won’t sit at home and be the good housewife.”
“That’s not what I want,” he sighed, running his hand through his hair. “This wasn’t supposed to happen. We were never supposed to end up together, and now you’re here, but everything’s different. I feel like you’re slipping away from me.”
“Because you changed,” I said gently. “James, you’re not the man from the island, and in truth, I’m not the same woman. We’re in this world now, one far away from what we had there. I wish we could just go back there, but that’s clearly not something you want.”
“It’s not about what I want.”
“Really? Because neither of us want this marriage, not under these terms. If you really wanted to find a way for us to get out of this, you could.”
“We signed contracts,” he reminded me.
“I’m well aware of what we did. I can’t do anything about it. I don’t have access to anything to do with the business. Everyone made sure of that. It’s clear from the board’s reaction to me that I’m not welcome. It’s the boys club, so if you want to change something, you’re going to have to do it yourself. But in the meantime, I refuse to sit around and play a part I don’t want.”
