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“Montgomery, good morning,” Bernard said, his business-like tone a familiar comfort. “The device monitoring is all set up on our end. Any written feedback your team adds would be great, but isn’t necessary.”
“Good. The less involvement for everyone here, the better,” Montgomery replied, grateful for the distraction of this normal conversation.
“Understood,” Bernard responded. “Also, your meeting in Beijing has been confirmed. The board is relieved. They’re fully behind you now that China is moving forward.”
“That’s no surprise, but I’m glad. You can also let the board know I’ve filed for divorce,” Montgomery said.
“You…have?” Bernard asked.
“You sound like you don’t believe me.” Montgomery chuckled.Healmost didn’t believe it. In fact, he hadn’t actually been the one to file. Hartley had.
“It’s not that I don’t believe you. It’s just…” Bernard began slowly. Then the austere man echoed Montgomery’s chuckle. “I won’t lie. I don’t believe you. But I want to.”
“My lawyer was notified last night, and since I’ve asked him to expedite things, he’s probably already delivered the paperwork,” Montgomery explained.
“Very good, then. I’ll advise the board,” Bernard said, his tone more cheerful than Montgomery had ever heard it.
“No need to sound so happy. This is a marriage that’s breaking down, you know,” Montgomery chided, and he realized he wasn’t joking.Thatwas the emotion that had threaded through his sleeplessness. It had shimmered to life the moment Hartley had rolled away from him, and flared into a heavy weight when she’d gotten off the bed and gone to the bathroom. Now, thinking about it, it hung on him like a coat.
“I’m not happy as much as I’m relieved,” Bernard noted. “It was a strained relationship from the moment you met. Those were your words, Montgomery, not mine.”
“True, but still—”
“You didn’t hire me to be a friend. You hired me to manage the financial side of Meyer Communications,” Bernard added in his even voice. “And soon, Meyer Global.”
Montgomery could almost hear the words echo in the tunnel.Meyer Global. He was weeks away from completing what his father didn’t have the balls to do. It just felt a little hollow that somehow his divorce was playing a role in his dream.
Father will be overjoyed to hear I’m single,he realized, the thought pissing him off. His father loved his failures more than anything else. Montgomery looked over at the space next to him, still empty, where Hartley wasn’t. Where Hartley wouldn’t be ever again after they found Lucas.
“Is there anything else, Bernard?” he asked, voice steady.
“No. I’ll make your flight and hotel arrangements. They’ll be in your the travel portal.”
They said goodbye and ended the call.
The silence of the tunnel enveloped him again. Alone in the dim light, Montgomery felt an unnerving sensation creep over him. The next few weeks of his life had been mapped out, yet he felt a restless unease.
Just as the silence became oppressive, the hum of the elevator filled the tunnel.
The elevator doors slid open to reveal Hartley. She walked out with her usual uptight confidence, but looked very different. Gone was her usual armor of power suit and heels. Instead, she wore sweatpants, a matching hoodie, a black leather jacket, and stark white running shoes.
“Are you wearing cotton?” he asked, arching an eyebrow.
She narrowed her eyes at him, and he felt himself relax. If they could settle into their old animosity, maybe this restless sensation would go away.
“Yes, but it’s Ralph Lauren, so designer cotton,” she replied.
Her eyes met his across the expanse of the tunnel, cold and taunting. The old Hartley, cuttingly funny. It was a relief after the night they’d shared.
That was the thing, though. It hadn’t just been hot sex. It was hot something else. Something deeper. And deeper was not where this relationship was going.
This isn’t even a relationship anymore.
She strode to the cart and slid into the seat beside him. He didn’t want to notice that she smelled like Shalimar, or why he remembered that scent.
“You and Ralph Lauren are late,” he said, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel as she set a boxy handbag on the floor.
“Not that late,” she countered, folding her arms and looking at him. “You’re angry. You’re never angry after a night of fucking.”
