Chapter 42: Coming Home to Ellle
Jordyn’s POV
Opened the door to my house.
ID BONUS
“Cassandra, I’m home,” I instinctively called out. There was no response. I realized with a frown she wasn’t there.
This wasn’t the first time I’d done this. Truth be told, I called out her name every time I opened that damned door. It was a habit. The first few times had been the roughest. I’d waited for her to greet me at the door, a smile on her face. I’d become used to her taking my coat and dropping me keys into the bowl by the door. Then she’d gently kiss me on the cheek and welcome me home. I’d stood in the doorway like an idiot, waiting for her to come and greet me. Of course, she hadn’t.
Because Cassandra was gone.
It felt like a sucker punch to the stomach. We were officially divorced now. She’d never greet me at the door again. She’d never take my coat and ask me how my day was. I would never see my Chapter 41: To Tell or Not To Tell
Cassandra’s POV
“What is it, Cass?” Stella asked, concerned. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“No,” I said. “It’s just that, well, I just remembered something.”
Was I sure? Was it really the same man? I hadn’t got a good look at him from the street. And he wasn’t outside for very long. What if I were mistaken?
But I shook my head. No. It was him. I was positive. I’d met him several times and I knew that face, even from a distance.
“You know that man I was telling you about?” I said to Stella. “The one who was kissing Ellie on her front step when I delivered her dress?”
Stella nodded. “Sure. Ellie’s little side lover,” Stella teased.
“Yeah,” I chuckled. “Well, you’re not going to believe this, but he’s an executive over at Sterling Silver Limited.”
“What?” Stella’s eyes went wide. “Ellie’s sleeping with Jordyn’s competition? Jesus. That woman really has no morals.”
My mind flashed back to a recent business event we’d all attended. It was a luncheon with’a charitable slant. Businesses could buy a table and all the proceeds went to the local hospital for cancer research. Both Stella and I had bought a table but most of our staff cancelled at the last minute. That left us sitting pretty much alone at a big table, looking like idiots. We got over it though since the lunch was really, really good. And since most of the seats at our table were empty, we were offered second helpings of everything, which we gladly accepted.
The reason I was remembering this specific luncheon was because Jordyn had also bought a table, which had surprised both Stella and I. As such, I’d had to pretend the entire time that I was Stella’s assistant.
Half–way through lunch, a man went and sat down at Jordyn’s table. It was the executive from Sterling Silver Limited. We’d talked to him the day before on the phone and he mentioned he was going to the luncheon. We said we looked forward to seeing him, but when we saw him with Jordyn, we avoided him like the plague.
I didn’t want to talk to Jordyn, but we slyly watched them for the rest of the luncheon. It was quite comical because they were pretending to be friendly with each other even though they were competitors. It was like watching two male lions circle each other, knowing neither one could actually attack.
So yes, the man’s face was burned into my memory.
I relayed all of this to Stella.
“Right,” she said. “I remember him. He had a really awful Hawaiian shirt on under his suit coat. I remember wondering what would ever possess him to wear such a thing. That’s the same man you saw with Ellie?” Stella asked.
“Yup. One and the same.”
“Huh. Well I guess he’s her type,” Stella sighed.
“And what’s that?”
“Rich.”
I chuckled. It was true. Ellie clearly had expensive taste. Still, it didn’t sit right with me. I’d been pretty convinced that Filie was madly in love with Jordyn. So why was she hooking up with someone else? And a competitor’s of Jordyn’s, too?
“Should I tell him?” I asked.
I really didn’t care what Ellie or Jordyn did. But there was this little voice inside of me telling me that I should let Jordyn know. Maybe I still had some lingering protective feelings? Or maybe I knew too well how it felt to find out someone you loved was cheating on you and I wanted to soften the blow for Jordyn. How long had this been going on, I wondered. And how serious was
1/2
Chapter 41: To Tell or Not Todell
it?
+15 BONUS
Why the hell would you tell him?” Stella scoffed. “He doesn’t deserve to know. He did the exact same thing to you. This is karma, plain and simple.”
“Ellie’s his assistant,” I reminded Stella. “She might be sharing company information with his competitor.”
“So?” Stella put her hands on her hips. “Sounds like a ‘them‘ problem.”
“I don’t know. Maybe you’re right. Jordyn and I are divorced. Maybe it’s not my place to interfere.”
We both sat in silence for a moment stewing it over. Stella eventually broke the silence.
“Unless…” she said, her voice trailing off.
“Unless what?”
“Unless that little bitch does something that hurts Jordyn’s company. If she gives Sterling Silver information that causes Jordyn’s company to suffer, or cripples it somehow, then it could impact our collaboration with Jordyn.”
“Oh.”
I hadn’t thought of that. Stella and I had a great idea with our female power theme and fashion show. But we needed the financial support of Jordyn’s company to make it happen. If the collaboration fell through, we’d have to go back to the drawing board. We’d need to find a new company to collaborate with, and that could take some serious time and effort.
“So what do I do?”
Stella shrugged and stifled a yawn. “Maybe sleep on it? Think about it some more. I mean, you don’t have to tell him right away. Let’s think about it. Honestly, I’m wiped. I think it’s time to call it quits for the night.”
Stella’s yawn made me yawn, too. I was tired as well. I agreed.
“Yeah. Let’s pack it in. I need to think about this some more. Besides, it’s only speculation at this point. I saw them kiss, but perhaps I misinterpreted the situation. I should probably wait until I have more proof.”
Stella and I packed up our things and left the office for the night.
I tried to relax but the question turned over and over in my head.
“To tell or not to tell? It was a really tough question…
2/2
wife, no- my EX–wife- in this house again.
All traces of her were gone. Her dresser drawers were empty. Her favorite coffee mug wasn’t in the cupboard anymore. The soft, plush blanket that she used to curl up on the couch in the evenings to binge watch her N*****x shows with, no longer hung on the back of the couch. The bathroom no longer sinelled like her shampoo and body wash. Her perfume no longer lingered in the bedroom. None of her coats hung in the closet. None of her shoes sat by the front door.
Nothing. There was nothing left of her.
“Jordyn?” Ellie emerged from the bedroom, a hurt look on her face. She’d heard me call out for Cassandra and obviously she wasn’t happy about it.
I felt this emptiness inside of me that I couldn’t explain. Ellie walked over to me and wrapped her arms around my neck. She nestled her head into my shoulder. I stroked her head.
“I’m sorry,” I said, trying to soothe her. “I didn’t mean to…” my voice trailed off. She sighed.
“It’s okay,” she said in a small voice.
I felt bad. I’d chosen to be with Ellie. It was her name I should be calling out when I got home from work.
“I’ll make it up to you,” I said, pulling her back from me and looking into her eyes. I could see the flicker of hurt on her face.” How about I order in dinner for us? I’ll even watch that silly show you like while we eat? Oh, and I RSVP’d for both of us to an upcoming cruise gala next month. You’ll love it. I promise.”
She didn’t respond but she nodded slightly.
I pulled her back in for a hug, confident that I’d sated her, at least for the time being. Honestly, Ellie’s behavior had been a bit erratic since she’d woken up from the coma. It troubled me. Sometimes, she was herself, the old Ellie that I knew and loved. But other times? She was temperamental. She had a quick fuse and she’d snapped over nothing. She was unreasonable, making ridiculous demands like a little child. I didn’t know why she was acting like this.
I did my best to make her happy but she was becoming increasingly harder and harder to please. She insisted that I go to work late in the morning so we could have breakfast together, but then she’d complain all through breakfast. When I had to work late, she threw a fit, yelling at me that I didn’t care about her.
“I don’t like being away from you all day,” she pouted one night when I told her I had to go to the office early the next morning to get ready for an important meeting.
“It’s my job, Ellie. I don’t know what you want me to do.”
Her face was petulant. “I WANT you to WANT to be with me.”
“I do,” I sighed, running my hands through my hair. “But I have to work, Ellie.”
“I know,” she said. “So I was thinking, why don’t I work with you?‘
1/2
Chapter 42 Coming Home to Ellio
+15 BONUS
The comment had caught me off–guard. What was she saying? She couldn’t work at my company,
“Doing what?” I asked, trying not to sound like a jerk.
“I could be your personal assistant,” she said. “Then we could be together all day.”
“I don’t think that’s a very good idea,” I told her. I had a personal assistant. She was really good.
“Why would you want to do that? It’s not a very glamorous job, EIL.”
“You don’t think I can?” she snapped, narrowing her eyes. “You don’t think I’m good enough to be your assistant? Is that it?”
I didn’t know how to respond. She was manipulating me and I knew it.
“Of course you can DO the job, Ellie. I just don’t know why you’d want to.”
“Because I want to be with you. All the time. Don’t you want to be with me?”
She came to me then and brushed her lips across my cheek. She reached down and cupped me between the legs.
“Just think,” she whispered in my ear. “You can have me whenever you want me. We could make love in your office.”
I didn’t see any way out of it. If I told her no, she’d get really upset, she’d accuse me of thinking she wasn’t good enough to work at my company. She’d say I didn’t want her around.
Reluctantly, I’d agreed. I moved my personal assistant to a different desk and hired Ellie. It had been a huge mistake. She was terrible at the job. She was constantly on her phone. She kept messing up my appointments. Even the coffee she made was
terrible.
But I was stuck.
I walked into the kitchen and poured myself a glass of wine. She followed me and poured herself a glass too. Then she leaned against the counter.
“We should set a date,” she said, demurely sipping her wine.
“For what?” I asked absent–mindely.
She chuckled. “For our wedding, silly.”
Wedding?
I nearly spat out my wine.
Did she think…
She thought we were getting married?
