OUR BROKEN BEGINNINGS

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

"You have a meeting with Howard Jenkins at eleven."

Victoria's voice came from the open doorway of my office, causing me to look away from the piles of paperwork that have been taunting me for an entire week. Everytime I would sit down to begin making some headway, something came up. If it wasn't for Victoria and Kayla, my entire business would be in shambles.

"Okay, thank you. Can you make sure no one bothers me up until then? This pile of paperwork, unfortunately, is not going to do itself."

"Yes, of course." She smiled and nodded, closing the door behind her as she walked away.

Right as I was going to pick up the first piece of paper, my phone rang. I groaned and looked down to see Emerson's name. That was unusual because he knew I was working. I didn't let myself worry. He probably wanted to see what I wanted to do for dinner. The images of us in the kitchen almost three weeks ago lit up in my mind. The image of his face between my legs and his mouth around my—.

Stop. Answer the phone.

I shook my head and pressed the green answer button on my screen, bringing the phone up to my ear.

"Hello."

Hey, sorry, I know you're at work. I'm just calling to let you know that I won't be at the house till late tonight. I have some business to take care of. I scheduled some sushi to be dropped off a little after when you should get home.

I tried to not laugh. Slightly from amusement and slightly from confusion.

"You know, I am capable of ordering food myself, Emerson."

Yes, I know that, but I didn't want you to have to worry about it.

"What business do you have tonight?"

Don't worry about it. It's nothing big. Listen, I've got to go, but I'll see you later if you're still awake.

"I—."

I didn't even get close to finishing my sentence before he hung up. I pulled the phone away from me and looked at it for a second before putting it down. That was extremely strange. If it was nothing big, couldn't he just have told me? I tried to tell myself that he was just in a rush. Considering I was always rushing around, I should understand. Still, my curiosity ate at me. There was a feeling deep in my gut that he was omitting information for an entirely different reason. A reason I wouldn't particularly be fond of.

I wasn't sure why I was thinking so deeply about it. He didn't owe me anything. Our marriage was full of secrets—built on lies. I had my secrets, and he was allowed to have his. But, I also couldn't get past the small voice in my mind that whispered about how things could be different. That our intimate moment in the kitchen changed things. That small voice made me a fool, so I squashed it before it could grow louder.

I let out an exasperated sigh and looked again at the stack of paperwork. It was not the time to let my thoughts swarm me. I really needed to focus. I picked up the first sheet and went to work.

I got halfway through the pile by the time Victoria came and told me that Mr. Jenkins was waiting in the lobby.

"Perfect. Bring him back."

She left and then returned quickly with Mr. Jenkins following behind her. I stood up and walked around my desk to greet him with a hug.

"Hello!"

He hugged me back tightly before pulling away to look at my face. His dark skin was smooth, not exemplifying his age in the slightest, and the hair cropped close to his scalp was greyer than the last time I saw him. He was wearing a black suit, with a white button-up shirt underneath. Mr. Jenkins rarely wore anything other than suits. Every time I teased him about it, his only reply was that it was the lawyer in him.