Page 35 of Marcel

“I asked yourassistant so that we would not be interrupted.” She faced him,her chest heaving. He had left her in bed sleeping, and not onlythat, but he had also taken a call from her assistant about a meetingthat had been moved up, an important meeting that he had hijacked.

“Is this theway you are going to play it? Those men are my clients-” Shejabbed a finger into her chest. “Mine. I coached them, had toput up with their goddamned fickle ways, spent time wining and diningwith those assholes, and ignored their sexist jokes at my expense.And now what? You are taking them over?”

She felt likeexploding. After what they had shared last night and this morning,she could not believe he was doing this to her.

“It’snothing personal.” He told her coolly. “You wereoverwrought yesterday and tuckered out from the aftermath. I decidedto let you rest.”

Nikki thought shecould not get any angrier, but she was wrong. “You decided tolet me sleep?” She approached his desk and slapped her palms onthe surface. Leaning forward until her face was inches from his, shespat. “You let me sleep? Because I was too overwrought to do myjob?”

“Composeyourself,” he said coldly, his eyes glittering. “This isnot a competition. You work for the firm, and if one person managesto close the deal, it is a win-win for all of us.”

“You son of abitch-” His intercom sounded and cut her off. Before he couldanswer it, she jabbed the button. “What is it?”

“Mr. Hadley,Mrs. Wellington is insisting on-”

Nikki saw red. “Puther through.” Jerking the receiver up before he couldintercept, she did not wait for the woman to say anything.

“Listen, youpathetic bitch. Stay away from my husband. You are married, and he nolonger wants you. Stay the hell away from him, or you answer to me!”Slamming the phone down, she stalked out of the office, leaving himstaring at her furiously.

*****

She had to get out ofthere. After the scene in his office, she had gone back to hers. Shegrabbed her pocketbook and suit jacket and told Marge she would beout for an hour.

“Will you beback for your eleven A.M.?”

“I will let youknow.”

She had been drivingaround aimlessly before she decided to head on over to the nursinghome. The doctors called to inform her that her mother was awake andresponding to the treatment.

Sliding into theslot, she switched off the engine, leaned her head back, and closedher eyes. The memory of the last time she had been here assailed her.He had come to find her and took over.

He had driven homewith her and catered to her needs. They had ended up making magic, orso she thought. Last night and this morning had been so combustiblethat she had no words to explain it.

And this morning, shehad jumped up at almost nine to find him gone. If Maggie had notphoned her, she would have slept longer. He had hijacked her damnaccount and told her it was not personal. She was so mad that shecould not breathe. And on top of that, his mistress was calling him,insisting on talking to him as if that was her right.

Taking several deepbreaths, she decided she was calm enough to go and see her mother.

*****

“I apologize.”Marcel dragged his fingers through his hair restlessly.

He had calledSimone back after Nikki left, and she had begged him to meet her attheir spot.’

It was a quaintlittle eatery a few miles from the firm and was owned by a friend.They were guaranteed the utmost discretion and were seated beneath aburgeoning cedar tree with overhanging branches and wrought ironchairs.

Nearby, the pleasantsound of water bubbling over rocks could be heard, vying with thechirping of birds. Simone had ordered the cold soup and sandwich, butneither was eating.

“She should bethe one apologizing.” She retorted. “How could you lether speak to me like that?”

Marcel had wanderedover to stand by the water, his hands shoved into his pockets. He hadhurt Nikki. The expression on her exquisite face had been that ofbetrayal, and to compound the problem, he had told her that it wasnot personal. “I pissed her off.”

“And she tookit out on me.”

“She took itout on both of us.” Turning around, he stared at the woman hehad previously thought he wanted to marry. Somehow, the appeal was nolonger there. He had seen his wife marching into his office withblood in her eyes.

Her emerald greenknit skirt suit suited her flawless complexion and was one of the newoutfits sent over from Romano’s. She had not bothered to doanything with her hair and had left the dark brown curls streakedwith blonde tumbling around her face and down her back.

“I want thismarriage to be over.”

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