Standing behind him, draping my arms over his shoulders, I took off his red Armani tie and folded it; setting it aside to wash after dinner.
Brown staining contrasted the rich red silk of his tie, small red spots dotted the side of the still crisp collar of his starched, white shirt.
My stomach sank as thoughts raced through my mind. Pushing it down, I continued to humour the conversation regarding his work.
"Why do you still have him working there if you know he is incapable of doing his job? He is going to fuck everything up and it's going to be your head on the chopping block when clients withdraw their business..."
Taking my place at the opposite head of the table, I placed my cutlery on the plate and sighed as I crossed my legs.
He couldn't afford to lose any more valuable clients at the rate he was due to the extreme incompetence of others.
We couldn't afford to be hemorrhaging money - our assets weren't acquired in a day.
"He was formally dismissed today so he is no longer my concern..."
Withdrawing the silver fork from his mouth, he looked up at me with a smirk that morphed into a reassuring smile.
Any time he fell into shit, he came out smelling of roses. Things just fell into place for him at the most convenient times.
"That's a relief..."
My face couldn't hide what I was truely feeling. I love him but this feeling of rejection and coldness in conjunction with his frequent and unexplained absences was too much.
Standing, I lifted my dishes and went into the kitchen to clean them in the sink. We had a dishwasher but I wanted an excuse to not have to look at him right now.
I watched absent-mindedly as the lights of passing cars floated past the gates of the lane leading to our house through the low lying fog as the rain pattered lightly on the window.
Lost in thought and washing the dishes on autopilot, it wasn't long before a spicy/sweet floral scent filled the room.
His ability to silently approach people without their knowledge was nothing short of concerning.
"What's bothering you?..."
His hands rested on my hips as my gaze remained fixed on the raindrops trickling down the window.
Leaning my head to the side, back on his chest I softened beneath his touch and shrugged.
"It's nothing, I promise"
Turning me to face him, he held my face in his hand once again as i peered up at him. His facial expression changing to that of the caring husband I married.
"You can tell me anything, I'm here to support you darling..."
Smiling like a fool, I placed my hand on his and let out a small chuckle before nodding.
"I know...I guess I just miss you; you're not around anymore and this house is too big for just me..."
His right hand held my other cheek and my face reddened like an embarrassed teen as he held me close.
"I'll make you a deal...I'll leave for work earlier in the mornings which means I'll be home sooner at night and I'll make the effort to spend more time with you..."
My heart was elated at his proactive attempt at finding a solution that would make me happier.
My brain was telling me that this was another lie he was feeding me to keep me content and out of his way.
My gut was telling me to run...but I didn't.
"Do you want to watch TV in bed tonight?"
I let out a small laugh as a smirk played on the edges of his mouth. Shaking my head I patted his chest and grinned.
"You think sex is going to make me forgive you for being late?"
I backed off from him and put his plate in the sink before making my way back into the dining room to lift his stained tie. Running it through my fingers resulted in my gut screaming at me. That was until Spencer had swept me off my feet.
"It won't make you forgive me but it will help"
I looked up at him and laughed once again as I shook my head disapprovingly as he began to carry me up the stairs.
"No! Not right now, I just have to put a clothes wash on then maybe I'll consider it!"
My feet landed on the floor again at the bottom of our bed. I kneeled down as I started to gather the remaining clothes that were in the basket to look up and see him getting undressed.
"You are going to be the death of me..."
He let out a laugh as I started to take his clothes from him to add to the bundle.
His shirt falling in front of me as he hastily pulled on his housecoat in a suspicious manner.
Lifting the bundle, I stood up and smiled at him, rolling my eyes with a chuckle as I made my way to the laundry room.
"Maybe later!"
I exclaimed through the halls.
It was unusually cold tonight and as much as I enjoyed stealing his warmth, there was a pit in my stomach as every fibre of my being was trying to warn me.
I dropped the clothes on the floor infront of the washing machine as I crouched and began to sort through out clothes. Starting with the whites.
I lifted his white Boglioli cutaway shirt; as I went to put it into the machine I inspected the stains from dinner.
Red staining darkening to brown.
Blood.
Blood spatter?
The intrusive thought in my head had taken over as I smelled it.
Metallic. Definitely Blood.
Shaking it off, I finished the laundry, set aside the yet to be washed clothes and went back into our bedroom.
Spencer was standing in front of the mirror, combing the gel out of his hair.
Leaning in the doorway, I stood admiring him in his housecoat as though it was the first time I had ever seen him.
Turning to face me as he continued to comb his hair, a sweet smile grew on his face as he extended his arms to me.
There was no hesitation in me approaching him and melting into his embrace - my head on his chest as he stroked my hair.
"Are you sure you're alright? You seem troubled today..."
I looked up at him with a weak smile and shrugged.
"I'm alright, I just think I'm a little stressed with work is all..."
I wasn't fully sure why I was stressed.
Was he cheating on me? Surely not, although that doesn't explain the blood stains on his shirt and tie...he looked...dirty and grubby. This is beyond him.
"Well, I'm going to take a shower, you can tell me all about it after"
He placed a kiss on my head and left the room, leaving me standing there confused and conflicted.
He doesn't wear his housecoat often, hell, he is far too proud of his appearance to not stand shirtless.
As soon as I heard the shower running from the ensuite I turned on the TV.
The first channel to appear was the news.
Breaking news: business magnate Philip Arnoult has been found deceased and dismembered in abandoned warehouse.
Philip Arnoult...that name was familiar but I just couldn't place it.
Spencer might know - business was his forté.
I sat upright at the end of the bed and watched as swat, forensics, police, fbi, every possible branch of authority was swarming the scene like flies.
He was discovered due to a lingering smell.
There was no blood found at the scene, implying he was killed elsewhere and moved.
Philip's limbs were placed in a square on the floor with his torso placed within the space between the limbs; his head ontop.
Crowning his head was a ring of barbed wire with two blank pieces of card that resembled blank business cards, cutting his mouth from ear to ear.
Bright white cards.
No blood.
The scene was spotless.
