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“So, we can’t just avoid each other. What if word gets back to my parents?” She stumbles back. “Oh no. My parents. They’re totally finding out about this.”
A headache brews in the base of my skull.
I rub my temple. “Just calm down.”
“Calm down?” She hisses. “It wasn’t supposed to be this hard. It wasn’t—I didn’t sign up for all this. I just wanted a date to my cousin’s wedding.” Her chest heaves. She falls against the desk. “Now I’m… everyone at work. When we divorce—this is so embarrassing.”
“Stop.” I grab her shoulders. Lift her up. Tilt her chin to get her to look at me.
She does.
“Breathe.” I demonstrate.
In.
Out.
We breathe slowly. Until she’s simmered down.
I breathe too.
I need the exercise almost as much as she does.
This sucks.
I get it.
I didn’t sign up for this either, but it’s not the end of the world.
I’ve been through much worse.
“All we have to do is focus on the present.”
“Right.” She keeps breathing.
Her lips pucker.
Relax.
Pucker.
Relax.
I force my gaze back to her eyes. “First, you need to put your ring back on.”
“What about you?” She rummages through her purse. “Now that everyone knows we’re married, you need a ring too.”
“We’ll work on that,” I promise.
Elizabeth wiggles the ring on her finger.
“Now,” I gesture to the door, “we’re going to walk out there and we’re going to be normal.”
“Normal?”
“Yes. We’re going to explain that just because we’re married doesn’t mean that we’ll indulge in office PDA. This is a work environment. Here, we are not husband and wife. We are boss and employee.”
She winces. “That’s so… cold.”
