Page 54 of Temporary Wife Temptation

Becoming the head of Hansol had been Garrett’s lifelong goal, but it had paled and wilted when Natalie left. He couldn’t muster up much concern for his professional future. He had to win back his wife.

Imprisoned in his beautiful and terrifying hope, Garrett arrived close to half an hour late to the board meeting. He was out of his mind with desperation to see his wife, but he wiped his face clean of all emotions as he entered the boardroom.

“Gentlemen. Ladies.” Garrett bowed from his waist to the board members and sat opposite his grandmother. “Hal-muh-nee.”

She acknowledged him with a nod and studied his face. Her expression betrayed nothing but her eyes clouded with concern. Garrett wanted to place his head on her knees and weep—something he’d never allowed himself to do, even as a child.

The board members continued to go down a list of items on the special agenda. As Garrett waited, the board reached the main agenda, and his grandmother straightened her spine imperceptibly.

“Dear ladies and gentlemen of the board...”

Garrett’s cell vibrated in his pocket and his heart picked up speed. Without taking his eyes off the speaker, he took out his phone and unlocked it with his thumb. When it was ready, he lowered his gaze to his lap with the barest shift of his head.

I’ve located her current residence and workplace.

His private investigator had come through. He stood up so abruptly his chair tipped over and all eyes snapped to him. Garrett had no doubt leaving the meeting at a crucial moment like this could cause a scandal or convince his grandmother to block his CEO appointment. But every minute apart from Natalie was time lost. He made the only choice he could.

“Hal-muh-nee, I found Natalie.”

His grandmother’s lips trembled for just a second before she nodded with authority. “Go.”

Garrett sprinted out of the conference room and the meeting erupted into chaos. He didn’t care. All that mattered was finding his wife and fighting for forever.

Eighteen

“Sophie Harper Sobol!”

The eleven-month-old laughed and waddled around the living room buck naked. The rascal had, of course, skipped crawling and gone straight into walking. Natalie just prayed she’d outgrow the streaking phase.

“Look, missy,” Natalie said after body tackling her. “Mommy has to go to work and you need to finish getting dressed.” If she didn’t drop Sophie off with her grandparents soon, she’d be late.

All Natalie got was another evil giggle in response. Raising a natural-born troublemaker was exhausting work, but she was grateful for the all-consuming distraction. Sophie had saved her. Had kept her alive. She shook away the bleak memory of her first days apart from Garrett.

Blowing out a calming breath, she ran to the closet and pulled on her work clothes. She was working as the office manager of a booming chain of diners around Queens and Brooklyn while she looked for a permanent job in New York. She’d just about given up hope of getting a position in her field after leaving Hansol. If her latest interview didn’t pan out, she would start applying for managerial or even entry-level positions and prove herself all over again.

For the time being, she enjoyed her job. There were two employees at the “corporate office.” Herself and Debbie, the one-woman accounting department. Debbie was easygoing and kind, but more importantly, she never read tabloids or watched gossip shows, so she didn’t know Natalie was Mrs. Garrett Song. Or rather, the soon-to-be ex-wife of Garrett Song.

They’d gotten into a little habit where Natalie brought in pastries and coffee in the morning, and Debbie shared her homemade lunch. Today was supposed to be blueberry-scone day, but after getting Sophie ready and dropping her off at Lily and Steve’s, Natalie decided to stop by the nearby doughnut shop so she could make it to work on time.

She started pleading her case as soon as she reached the office. “I know this isn’t your favorite, but Sophie was being extra rascally this morning and I was running late.” Debbie was standing at the small reception desk with a strange expression on her face. “I’m so sorry. I got us the buttermilk ones that aren’t drenched in sugar glaze...”

Natalie trailed off when a tall, dark figure stepped out from her office. His face was impassive, but his eyes were molten onyx, churning with unfathomable emotions.

Garrett.

Debbie took the bag of doughnuts and coffee from her slack hands. “Whoever he is, I’d keep him.” With a sly wink, her coworker trotted off to unload their breakfast in the kitchen.

Natalie debated whether to run for it but she wasn’t sure which way she would go. She’d missed him so much, and ached to wrap herself around his body. He had to leave before she gave in to her heart.

“How did you find me?” She turned her back because it hurt to look at him.

“You’d disappeared without a trace so I hired a PI to find you for me.”

“You did what?” She hugged her arms around her midriff as a shudder ran through her. Her eyes darted around the office, imagining someone watching her.

“I’m so sorry, but I needed to find you.” Garrett held out his hand as though to touch her but quickly withdrew it. “I promise you the investigator is discreet and thoroughly professional.”

“It doesn’t matter,” she sighed, waving aside his apology. “I was going to contact you once we were settled in. We need to file our divorce papers. It’s uncontested and we have no shared property, so it should be relatively simple.”

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