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“Great. Do you need directions? I mean, you have my address, right?” she questioned me.
“I’m going home, Jackie. I’m not going to your place. And I think this is the point at which you should start looking for other employment,” I told her.
She hadn’t been expecting that. “What?”
“I’ve got to let you go,” I told her.
“But… but you just said I was a great employee,” she argued. “I was simply trying to be nice.”
Nodding my understanding, I assured her, “And I’ll be sure to offer you an excellent recommendation should you need one for another job, but this isn’t going to work out here.”
“Are you serious?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“I just thought you and Kiera were having problems and that you might need to relieve some stress,” she explained. “I didn’t have any expectations, Johnny. It would have just been a physical thing.”
I hated that this woman had been able to read what was happening between Kiera and me without Kiera even walking into my office. What I hated even more was that her observations were accurate.
But even if we were technically separated, I was still married to Kiera. And as long as that was the case, no matter how angry I was at her or how long it had been, I couldn’t bring myself to sleep with another woman.
“I’m a married man, and I’m not interested in what you’re offering,” I stated. “Now, I would appreciate it if you’d gather up your things and go.”
Disappointment washed over her; her face flushed with embarrassment. She offered a nod, and surprisingly, didn’t put up a fight. “I’m so sorry.”
I didn’t respond.
Jackie made quick work of rounding my desk again, picking up the bottle of champagne, and walking out. I stood there and waited, wanting to make sure she had enough time to leave before I walked out.
Not only that, but I figured it was wise to give myself a few minutes to cool down before I walked out of here and got behind the wheel of a car.
Eventually, I left; though, I hadn’t exactly calmed myself down. In fact, the closer and closer I got to the house, the angrier I became with Kiera.
So, it was no surprise that the minute I walked in the front door, I did something to make a bad situation far more fucked up than it already was.
Kiera’s car was outside, so I knew she was home. That didn’t give me reason for pause, and it should have. She wasn’t ever home this early without a good reason for it.
Hellbent on making sure she knew precisely how I felt, I sought her out. Sure enough, I found her in the kitchen.
Kiera was standing with the refrigerator door open and her back to me. I hadn’t spoken to her in weeks, but nothing was going to stop me from letting out some of this anger now.
I didn’t even wait for her to turn around, and I certainly didn’t take notice of the fact that the minute I spoke, her entire body tensed.
“It’s clear to me that you don’t give a shit about what I might need or want in all of this, but I need you to listen to me for minute,” I started. “If you’re so damn concerned about not ruining Zac and Talia’s wedding by letting everyone know now that we’re officially separated and headed for a divorce, then you might want to do your part to keep up this whole fucking charade. If we’re supposed to be the happily married couple, then there isn’t a single soul on this earth who should think otherwise. And I hate to break it to you, but you’re failing miserably at pretending to be in love with me.”
Kiera didn’t move, and for a few moments, I was convinced she wasn’t going to respond. But then she slowly closed the refrigerator door and turned around. One look at her face, and I instantly felt sick.
Tears had been rolling down her cheeks. Her eyes were red and puffy. It was obvious she’d been crying for a while.
All I felt was regret for speaking to her the way I just had.
My brows pulled together, something inside me twisting painfully at the sight of her in such turmoil. “What happened?” I asked, my voice suddenly soft and gentle.
Her eyes roamed over my face for a long time, tears welling in them as she did. Then, she answered, “Nothing.”
Before I had the chance to respond, she looked down at the ground and squeezed past me. Then I heard her running up the stairs. A moment later, I listened as the door to the spare room opened and closed.
I contemplated going to her, but I decided against it.
