Page 76 of The Marriage Agreement (Agreement)

“I knew you would say that, but I’ll decide when I wake up.”

“I don’t like you working this many hours.”

“It’s good for me. I get firsthand knowledge. I need to be in the hospital if I’m going to be a nurse practitioner someday.” She got up, kissed my cheek, and headed to the bedroom. I let out a frustrated sigh. More school and more work is what she’sfocusing on; I’m not sure how I’m going to handle her draining herself this much. I cleaned up the plate and followed her.

She was asleep when I looked in the bedroom. I turned off the light and got into bed with her. As soon as she stirred into me, my whole being relaxed.

Chapter 50

LUKE

Another early day for me. I leaned back as Martin weaved through traffic. Dele hasn’t said the words I want to hear. I didn’t think a day would come where I would crave hearing those three words, which mean so much to me. I can sense how she feels about me, yet I still need to hear the words from her lips. I’ll give her time; after all, I have forever.

The elevator ride to my office was quick, but I stopped dead when I saw Lily staring at Kevin like she wanted to kill him. I didn’t bother greeting her; I just walked right into my office. She followed me and dropped her purse onto the side chair. I went straight to my desk and sat down.

“No ‘good morning’?” she asked.

“Good morning, and let’s cut to the chase,” I retorted in a controlled tone.

“Fine,” she snapped, though shaken. I’m not sure what she expected. She took a seat.

“I wanted to talk about the Rock River.”

“What’s there to talk about? I already backed out of the deal.”

“You never back out of a deal after spending hours combing through it. You always make it work.” She sat back and crossed her legs, which looked forced in the tight pencil skirt. “So, I think that email was some kind of joke or a way for Blythe Enterprises to take more.” I sat back and smiled.

“That email was not a joke. Blythe Enterprises is backing out of the Rock River deal with McIntyre.” I reiterate. She scoffed.

“You can’t be serious; you’ll lose five million dollars, and my company will lose even more.” She still thought I was bluffing. Though her earlier composure was now gone, she stared at me, perplexed. She turned a stern look at me. “Is this what we do now, back out of deals after a signed agreement?” Her voice rises.

“Every agreement allows one week to back out with the upfront cost loss. I’m willing to lose the upfront cost,” I stated in a calm tone.

“You can’t be serious about this crap you’re pulling!” she shouts.

“My decision is final, and I can’t keep going on about this. I have other deals to work on.” She inhaled and exhaled as I rested my chin on my hand, watching her.

“Is this really what we’re doing now?” Her angry tone matched her scowling face.

“Yes. Next time you think it’s okay to blatantly lie to my wife and mess with me, just remember, I hit back harder!”

Her eyes widened. “I tell one little white lie to your little wife, and you blow up millions of dollar deal.”

I didn’t respond. I kept watching her as she tried to compose herself. “You know, the word around town is that you broke Chase Brock’s nose. I ran into Chase Brock last week, and he told me he saw you in Hawaii with your wife. Somehow, you ended up punching him.” I remained quiet, unmoved by theinconsistency of her Hawaii tale. “Is this who you’ve become because of her? Punching old friends and killing million-dollar deals because of your wife?”

“Yes, and tell Chase he’s lucky all I did was punch his face.” I leaned forward. “Lily, you’ve taken up enough of my time. I need to get back to other pressing matters.”

“Now you’re kicking me out?” she said, trying to stare me down.

“Yes, I’m kicking you out,” I retorted, not wavering from my stern face that said, I’m in control, not you. She got up, picked up her purse, and muttered, “You’ll regret this. I won’t forget, and CB won’t forget either.”

“Okay, I’ll keep that in mind,” I answered.

Finally, she got the message. I returned to work, unphased by her threats.

Chapter 51

DELE

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