Page 15 of Bona Fide

“Just here to see my husband.” I adjust my jaw while Heidi and John begin to stand from the table, but I extend my hand.

“No, please, this will only take a moment.” I get to my feet and button up my suit jacket. “Emmy, could you please go over the schedule with John and Heidi for next week, I’ll be right back.”

Em shoots me a worried look but nods and sits back down. Gesturing for Demi to get the hell out of my conference room, she does, and we make the inconvenient walk to my office. But not until I get to hear about how I need to re-decorate the place and how deathly quiet it is in here.

Inside my suite, she makes herself at home while gawking at the limited decorations and how clean I keep the place.

“What can I do for you, Demi?” I ask off a heavy sigh. “I’m in the middle of a meeting, as you can see.”

“I wanted to know when you decided to announce our reconciliation publicly,” she conveys. “So that I can go out and buy a new dress for—”

“I’m not.”

Her perfectly shaped eyebrows narrow at me. “What?”

“Last time I checked, you didn’t have a hearing problem, just a mental one.” I stand behind my chair, waiting to answer all her dumbass questions so I can get back to what’s important, what I can rely on—my team and my fucking job.

“You thought I was going to sit back in Paris and not come home when you got the presidency?”

I lift my shoulders. “Haven’t gotten it yet.”

“But you more than likely will.”

“Thank you for the faith,” I drone. “Was that all?” Demi pushes herself to stand and leans over my desk with her palms.

“We need to come up with a plan on how to properly do this. We’ve been separated for almost five years.”

I cock my head to the side. “And why’s that?” Her nostrils flare, ready to spit fire at me because she’s not in denial. She just won’t admit her sins out loud.

“Don’t bring up the past, darling, you’ll give yourself a nose bleed.”

“But I do live in the past, Demi. Because I can’t seem to pry my fucking name away from yours without a divorce.”

“We’re not getting a divorce,” she grits through her teeth. “We’ve had this conversation before and the answer is still ‘no’.”

I squeeze the leather of my chair instead of her neck, but it doesn’t stop me from imagining it. I never thought of myself as a violent person until Demi was in my presence, and all I see is a sea of red and a cloud of blackness when she speaks.

“If you came all this way to get me to publicly announce us, you’re not getting a reconciliation. Hell, you’re not even going to get the decency to be fucking near me at a social event. If you want to make a fool of yourself, Dem, go for it, but you’re going to be kicked out and land on your ass.”

Demi rolls her blue eyes and shakes her head. “It’s not so much you, Wade, that I want. It’s the First Lady title I’ve been waiting to obtain for years. I’ve waited patiently for you to—”

“Then go fuck one of the Republican candidates because it’s not happening.”

“You honestly think I’d let you take the presidency without something in return?” Her eyes turn into slits. “Oh, babe, you’ve been away from me for too long.”

“Not long enough,” I deadpan.

She straightens her spine with a shrug. “I’ll admit I was impulsive, but I was young.”

“You were twenty-two when this shit started happening.”

“Still a young woman trying to—”

“Ruin people’s lives? Save your bullshit for someone else, we’re done here. Get the fuck out.” A mirthless laugh rings from her lips as she folds her slim arms over her dress.

“We’re never done. Especially since I know your dirty little secret of how you got to become governor, Governor.”

My jaw tightens as I steadily take in my next inhale. “Don’t think I’m not capable of as much power. I’ll shit on your whole life.”

---