Page 36 of Marcel

Shaking his head, hegave Simone his attention. “Which one? Yours or mine?” heasked sardonically.

“Both.Darling-”

“We consummatedthe marriage,” he told her bluntly, watching the color drainfrom her face.

“You arelying.”

“She is mywife, Simone, for better or worse.”

“You wereforced to marry her!”

“And that shiphas sailed.”

“What does thatmean?”

“It means thatwe are well and truly married. Look-” Lifting a hand, he rubbedthe back of his neck. “Your husband loves you-”

“I loveyou!”

“I don’tthink so. What we had would not have gone anywhere, and right now, Isuggest you stop calling me.”

“Because ofher?” Simone demanded, the tears stark in her eyes.

“Yes, andbecause of all of us involved. You have a husband, and I have a wife;we must respect that.”

“You never didbefore. It never mattered to you that I was married.”

“You told meyou were separated.” He closed his eyes briefly, sick of theconversation and the scene in his office. He was going to deal withNikki on that one. She was his wife, but she was also a goddamnedlawyer representing the firm.

She had no right tobarge into his office and create a scene. His phone beeped just then.Tugging it out, he looked at the message. “I have to go.”

“Is thather?”

“No. I have ameeting that I am running late for. The tab is on me.” He toldher briefly before walking away.

“Oh, Marcel,”Simone whispered, tearing the napkin into threads. “If youthink I am going to make it this easy for you to walk away, then youare wrong.”

*****

“My dear.”James held his hands to take hers, pulling her in for a hug. “Howis your mother?”

“She is holdingher own. No better and no worse.” She kissed him on the jawfondly and squeezed his hands. “You wanted to see me?”

“I understandyou had an altercation with your husband?”

Nikki rolled her eyesas she took the seat he gestured to. “I guess nothing is keptsecret in the firm.”

“You arenewlyweds, so everyone is watching.” Leaning back in the chair,he eyed her for a minute. “Also, nothing is kept secret wheremy sons are concerned, especially Marcel and that woman.”

Nikki stared at himwith a frown. “Why? What happened?”

“He went to seeher, I guess, to apologize for your blow-up on her.”

“Where?”She asked huskily, feeling the pain burning inside her chest.

“It was atearoom, their little spot when they were involved. Nothing happened.I think he went to say goodbye.”

“Oh, is thatso?” Nikki wanted to tell him she could care less but would notbe telling the truth. She snapped at the woman, and he ran to sootheher fragile senses. She hated the bitch. And she hated him for makingher feel like a jealous fool.

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