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Wespecializedin beautiful hands. What had started as me mixing nail polishes together to create custom colors for my friends had turned into a real business. Hundreds of polish colors and formulations, hand creams, manicure tools. One of my favorite things to do was to walk into Target and seemybrand, built from the ground up, on their shelves.
This shit felt like an attack on my dreams.
Vivid Vixenwas a relatively small cosmetic company – big enough for our own production facility, investors, etc., but not enough that a few – supposedly – dissatisfied customers should be able to make this huge splash on social media. But people were acting like it was supposedly the beginning of the end. My PR team was already on the job, trying to turn this back into the non-issue it should have been for the public, but that didn’t make it less of a headache on my end.
“Monica?”
I flinched at the sound of my name coming from the intercom on my desk phone. Opening my eyes, I sat forward, pressing down on the button to reply. “Yes Kim?”
“Your husband is here.”
Those words sucked the air out of my lungs, and immediately my nostrils flared. The tension from the headache I was already battling multiplied and spread out, weighing me down with pressure.
As if I weren’t already tired enough.
“You can send him in,” I said dryly, and then pulled my body from the comfort of my office chair. I smoothed a hand over my hips, easing any wrinkles in the deep orange dress I wore as I stood. I tugged at the hem and sleeves of my tribal print blazer, making sure everything was perfectly in place before I walked to the front of my desk and crossed my arms, waiting for the snake I’d married to step into my office.
Years ago, I’d loved the hell out of Kellen Stuart. We met in college, and he pursued me hard, bending over backward for a chance with me. He was charming, fine, smart… it was easy to give him that chance, but I still made him work for it. And he did. By the time we were graduating, and Kellen put a ring on my finger, I knew unequivocally that he loved me.
AndnowI knew, unequivocally, that he did not.
Kellen walked into my office smelling like his whore, and I wondered how long ago he’d left her bed. He approached me with a smirk etched onto his handsome face, arms outstretched like he was about to pull me into a hug.
I took a step backward, not bothering to keep the disdain off of my face. “If you touch me, I swear to God I will dig your eyes out. What do you want?”
“A man can’t come and check on his wife? I just wanted to see how you were doing. I saw you get slaughtered on social media… yet no tweetstorm from theVivid Vixenherself. I know it has to be bothering you.”
“Mmm.” I made that little sound in my throat, nodding as my gaze skipped over Kellen’s face. To the casual observer, it probably looked as if he were being a good husband, concerned for my wellbeing. But I knew him a little better than that. I was fully aware of the amused glint in his eyes.
Once upon a time, my husband could make me melt with a single glance. He was tall, broad-shouldered, handsome… oozed the kind of sex appeal that you could feel just standing in the same room with him. Today though? I just wanted to smack that stupid smirk off his face.
“How’d you sleep last night?”
My eyebrow twitched. I forced my features to remain in the cold expression I’d worn when he entered. “Not as well as you and Crystal in the condo I pay for, I’m sure.”
His mouth spread into a grin, and so did mine, but neither of us had anything for the other except clear contempt. And I don’t even know what the fuckhewas so mad for. It’s not like I was the one living off of him.
“Crystal is myassistant, Monica.”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh please cut the bullshit. Since when did personal assistant duties include emptying your boss’s balls with your mouth? And, pray tell, what the hell do you do that requires you to have an assistant? It’s not like you do meaningful work, that, I don’t know… pays a bill?”
Kellen’s jaw went tight, eyes flashing, nostrils flared. “I amsodamned sick of you disrespecting me.”
Lifting an eyebrow, I drew my head back in disbelief. “Me, disrespecting you? Kellen… you have a lot of fucking nerve to say that to me when you know what you’ve done.”
Shaking my head, I started to walk back to my seat, but Kellen caught me by the arm, pulling me against him. “What happened to you? You used to be sexy, and fun. Now you just walk around looking sour.”
I snatched away from his grasp. “What happened? I went toworkis what happened. At least one of us had to have a job to live, and it obviously wasn’t going to be you. It’s been four years, Kellen. Has your muse come up with anything?”
His eyes narrowed, and he advanced on me in a way that sent a tiny prickle of fear up my spine. Still, I crossed my arms and didn’t back down from his glare, because after everythingelseI’d given this motherfucker, the knowledge that he had the power to scare me was something he would never, ever get.
“You are such a miserable bitch,” he spat, with a derisive rake of his eyes. “It really bothers you that I actually have a passion for something that isn’t you, doesn’t it? To answer your question, yeah. My museisback. Been back ever since I “hired” Crystal. She’s a wonderful motivator.”
I sneered. “How wonderful. Let's have our lawyers talk, so you can make her an honest woman.”
“Oh we’re just fine with life as it is,” he smiled. “So very, veryhappy. And that bothers you doesn’t it? To think of me, so happy, while you’re miserable.”
“It bothers me to think of your lazy, selfish ass at all. Crystal can have you. I have no use for a “man” who won’t work to earn his keep.”
