From This Day Foward: Switched at Marriage Part 4 (9 page)

I was an intuitive person. I didn't discount my feelings of dread. Fear was a gift. That was what a book on self-defense I'd read said. Don't ever ignore it. And never, ever, underestimate your adversary. Especially when she wants your guy.

Ophie might seem meek and mild and geeky, matronly, definitely the underdog against glamour and fashion sense, but I wouldn't drop my guard. Her type run deep with unfulfilled passion. She struck me as exactly the kind who believed the end justified the means. For something she wanted.

Jus looked up as I finished paying for my scone and coffee. His face lit up when he saw me. He waved as the waitress handed me my white chocolate iced mocha.

I joined them at the table.

He stood and kissed me with pride of ownership and possession. And the absolute high of newfound sexuality. I would have said love, but that wasn't it. Maybe infatuation. Sex was still a shiny new toy for him and I was its vessel, his playground. A week ago, I would never have imagined he could be so confident. Did Ophie see the difference in him? Was she insanely jealous?

For the first time since Justin's sexual awakening, I felt like his mistress. A kept woman in every sense. Ophie and I were like two halves of what should have been one wife—a woman who adored and cared for him and a woman who gave him pleasure.

"Hey! You should have let me get that for you," he said as he held my chair out for me. He whispered in my ear, "You look beautiful." He sounded almost in awe.

He hadn't seen me since we'd tumbled around the bed together this morning. He left before I'd showered and dressed.

"Thank you." I stroked his bearded cheek and smiled at Ophie. "So good to see you again, Ophie. Thanks for making time to see me." It was hard to keep the sarcasm out of my voice.

"Jus tells me you're terribly busy. And now he's added more to your plate." I put just the right of amount of sympathy in my voice and on my face. "He says you're a wonder, a superhero of the office. I'm happy to be able to take the less pressing issues off your workload."

Yes, I was playing up to her. Praising her. Trying to put her off her guard. My words were sweet and soft. Feminine and totally guileless. In outward appearance only. In truth, they were totally calculated. And as barbed as the blooming blackberry bushes in every vacant lot in the city.

Jus had already told her he was moving the sample sales and charity events to me. If I had been anyone else, I imagined she would have been only too happy to off load that "fluffy" stuff. Though it wasn't fluffy at all. It was high profile, or would be in my hands. Good PR and advertising for Flash. Community goodwill was essential for any business to thrive. And Jus could use the goodwill, too. Always bank goodwill if you can.

Ophie nodded curtly. "Yes, good to see you, too. Jus has already explained the situation to me." She beamed at him.

Yes, beamed. Intentionally. To show me how close she was to him. Her chair was also indecently near his. Closer than mine. The way the table legs were positioned, it was impossible for me scoot any nearer to him. Without out-and-out sitting in his lap. And I hated the way she used the familiar of his name, Jus, like I did. It seemed unprofessional. Too friendly.

I had a vision of the future, of the two of them married, running Flash together. Of their children taking it over. I wondered if she
would
be successful at snagging him once our agreement ended and I let him go. She'd have to fight off and beat out a gaggle of hot girls. His newfound confidence would not be her ally.

The thought of them together made me irrationally sad and angry. A week ago, I had been semi-inclined to help her catch him. They seemed well suited in many areas. I would be walking away with my millions, so what would I care? As long as Jus was happy. But now? I wasn't so sure I would trust Jus to her.

"Ophie brought all the information you need. She knows everything. She's prepared to answer any and all questions." Jus beamed as he looked between us, his efficient admin and his trophy decoy wife.

Was he so completely unaware of the tension rippling between us, cold like the waters of Puget Sound sparkling outside our window? Or how much she disliked me and, as a consequence, I was growing to dislike her?

Jus got a text. He glanced at it. "Shit. There's a problem with the website. Tech needs me onsite immediately. I have to run. Sorry, Kay!" He squeezed my hand. "I'll see you later?"

I nodded. "Go!" The website was always top priority. "I'm meeting with some of the merch people after this. After work you and I can walk to the happy hour together."

"Excellent! Ophie can walk you back to Flash and get you checked in at reception." He slapped the table, took a last drink of his coffee, and gathered his things. "I'll leave you two to it!" He kissed me goodbye and was off.

Both Ophie and I watched him go. But I was watching her out of the corner of my eye. I hadn't been wrong. She was absolutely fixated on him.

When he was out of sight, she finally turned back to me and we got to work. She'd efficiently set me up with Flash's digital cloud and stored everything I needed there. I didn't know what made me think it, but I made a mental note to talk to Dex before I used my cloud account. And have him check for spyware. Dex was a computing genius, like Jus.

"The sample sales are a nightmare to stage," Ophie said. "The merch people are uncooperative, never committing to what will be in the sale until the last minute. Have you been to one of our sample sales?"

I shook my head. "Never had the pleasure. I haven't been either a friend or family long." No, I couldn't resist getting in that subtle show of my superior position. She may have been an employee. But I was family, first family, of Flash now.

"I've heard they're wild. People scrambling for treasures. Pawing through boxes. Like a huge garage sale on steroids." I couldn't keep my excitement at the thought of a sample sale out of my voice. Who didn't love a hotly contested race for the best bargains at a sample sale?

Ophie gently lifted one eyebrow, clearly not pleased with my description of the delightful mayhem. Like I'd offended her.

"Yes, well. Keeping the sales organized and under control is like trying to herd cats. We group items by category and size. But within minutes, everything's a mess." She went on to elaborate the trials of running a sample sale.

It was clear the merch people, with their interest in fashion and style, with their foreign creative thought processes and right-brained activity, weren't her kind of people. She didn't relate to them. Nor they to her. I didn't anticipate having that kind of problem.

We were winding down when my phone rang. Ophie waved at me impatiently, in that dismissive way. "Go ahead and take your call." She began clearing our plates and cups.

I glanced at my phone and my heart flipped. "Lazer!"

"Hey, princess."

"Princess, indeed! Like you would know. You've been suspiciously absent online lately."

"I've been online. Just not when you are, apparently. And sadly." He laughed. "I'll be on tonight. Around ten. If you're available, ask Jus to join us. We'll make it a threesome."

I laughed. A threesome, indeed.

Ophie pretended disinterest, but was eavesdropping, clearly.

I turned my back to her as I scooped up my things. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?"

"I'm calling with an offer of help. Jus tells me you're taking over his philanthropic arm, particularly that monster of a sample sale and the annual gala. I have a wonderful, efficient admin intern whose services I'd like to offer. Free of charge. Think of it as a charitable donation. She has a heart for charitable work and is looking to enter the non-profit sector when she finishes her MBA. Taking her on would be a favor to both of us.

"She's so efficient, I'm having a hard time keeping her busy enough. She has experience with charities and fundraising. Can you use her for a few months until she heads back to school?"

"You must have read my mind. I was just thinking I need an assistant."

"Good. Let's arrange for you to meet her. If you like her, she's yours. For a while, at least."

"Excellent." I hesitated. "Lazer, I wanted to tell you how much I love my character." And wished she wasn't such a damsel in distress. "Will she be part of the public release of the game?"

"Absolutely!"

Ha!
I thought.
Jus and his silly theories.

When I glanced over my shoulder, I didn't like the way Ophie was looking at me. Like I was a specimen in a jar, one whose wings were about to be pinned.

I
walked
the three blocks back to the office with Ophie. She was amazingly chipper. Which put me on edge. Just what did she suddenly think she had up on me? At the office, she introduced me to the receptionist, got me a visitor's badge, and grudgingly dropped me off at Justin's door. Earlier, he'd insisted he be the one to show me around.

"Website's up and running like it should be again. But I only have a few minutes." He looked harried, but beaming. "I'll have to give you the quick version of the tour on the way to Marla's office. Sorry, babe. I'll give you a more thorough tour another time."

Look at the way he called me babe. Wasn't he adorable?

I stared out at the view from his office in awe. "No wonder you don't want to come home. This view is better than the penthouse's!"

He laughed. "If you like mountains." He was staring at me. "The view from in here is pretty damn good." He took my arm. "Come on. Let me introduce you to Riggins first. His office is next door."

Unfortunately, Riggins was out.

"You'll meet him at the happy hour tonight." Jus took me by the elbow and gave me the five-minute tour, showing me off with obvious husbandly pride to everyone we met. And equally, showing Flashionista off with the proud manner of a founding father.

The Flash offices were a dream come true to someone like me. The photography department was full of backdrops, props, and cutting-edge fashion and clothes, clothes, clothes! Plus accessories galore. Complete and utter heaven.

He introduced me to Barry, the head of facilities, Wylie, head of operations, and finally dropped me off at the office of the head buyer, Marla.

We hit it off immediately. She was older than I was, but we quickly discovered common ground. We'd both graduated from the same university. We immediately broke into stories of the professors we'd had and the stunts we'd pulled.

"We have quite a few alum here. I'll introduce you," she said.

It turned out there were more than a few. I had nearly a dozen fellow former classmates working at Flash. I met at least a half-dozen more senior merch buyers who were in charge of categories. After the initial awkwardness over me being the boss' wife, the formality and standoffishness quickly wore off. We were soon laughing and joking. I was high on the feeling of being surrounded by so many like-minded people. It felt like being back in the sisterhood. These were my peeps.

Ideas about the sample sale and event flew at the speed of sound. I had no idea why Ophie had so much trouble with the buyers. If she'd only not looked down her nose at them as her intellectual inferiors…

The merch buyers explained the decision process used to determine what went into the sale, how they contacted the suppliers, and the reasons why some samples were in doubt until the last minute.

Just before five, I got a text from Jus saying he was running late. What a shock. Ha! I was impressed that he was actually going to try to leave by five.

The girls invited me to come along with them to the bar. I texted Jus that I'd meet him there.

At the bar, I settled into a large booth with three of my former classmates and two new girls. I ordered a lemon drop, because what was better on a hot summer day than a cool lemon drink rimmed with sugar?

Now that we were out of the office, the conversation turned personal.

"I can't believe you married Justin Green!" my former classmate Sarah said.

Yes, I'd expected this line of conversation. I opened my mouth to respond with the usual
But he's changed so much
—

"He's absolutely the most completely adorable billionaire anywhere! I dare you to find another one like him in the whole wide world. You're so
incredibly
lucky." Sarah leaned forward on her elbows toward me. "Any of us would have loved to bed that boy! And marry him? Wow! That was the ultimate fantasy. How did you do it?"

I shrugged, dumbfounded. Had Sarah not known Jus in college? Had his growth spurt and bearded transformation happened before he started Flash? Had he banished that awkward, nerdy behavior and nervousness around girls so quickly after college?

The rest of the girls leaned forward with her, cooing their agreement.

"He was sweetly scruffy before," one of the girls said. "Now that you've obviously fixed him up, he's absolutely delectable. Totally hot in that hip Seattle way. He has the vibe."

"Tell us your secret!" the girl on my right said.

The conversation flew, bouncing around the table so rapidly it was hard to keep track of the speakers.

"One of us can still land a billionaire. Riggins is single. The dream remains alive until the last billionaire is wed."

"Or dead."

The girls laughed.

"I don't know," another said. "He's so much less approachable than Justin."

"Way more
GQ
, you mean."

"And sophisticated."

"Justin was the catch, I admit it. There's something sweet and attainable about him."

"And yet killer," the blond new girl said. "He can definitely take out the competition. In fact, he has. Remember how he shut down that competing startup? His algorithms blew them out of the water."

"There's also something sexy about a brainy guy." The other new girl sighed. "Especially when he's hot and he doesn't know it."

"Justin is always so nice to us. Remember when he invented buyer's day and took us all out to lunch and gave us each a bouquet of flowers he picked up at the market?"

Another girl nodded. "Yes, but that was back when Flash was so much smaller. A fourth its current size. Still, what boss does that? And that was
before
the IPO, which is really what made him rich."