The Love Affair(Good Wife Better Mistress)

"We will soon,"

Calvin Meyer stands in his office near the window. He opens the curtain and watches the long line of cars drive away from the hospital. His temple still hurts from having the muzzle of the gun pressed into his forehead.

His father and Alex's grandfather agreed that the two families should always exist in harmony, but if Alex catches Conrad, the rules will no longer apply. Calvin knows that Alex will do whatever he wants to Conrad,  and he'll be powerless to protect his son.

Calvin throws a stack of files across the desk. His son stands on the other side of the desk. Conrad is wearing a white coat and leaning languorously against the desk. He doesn't make a move to avoid the files. Instead, he straightens up and casually puts his hands in his pockets. The papers hit him squarely in the chest.

"What were you thinking?" Calvin fumes, "If Mrs. Romano hadn't eaten eggs for breakfast, the results would have revealed your lie. Our entire family and our business would have gone down because of you!"

"She ate eggs for breakfast?" Conrad says, "What a clever woman!"

"Is that the point?" he asks.

He can't believe his son has let him down this way. He grabs another stack of files and hits Conrad over the head.

"Are you interested in her?" he demands.

Conrad tries to duck but the files slam into his head anyway, "No."

"No?" He asks incredulously.

He doesn't believe his son. If Conrad wasn't interested in Nicole, he'd never do something as stupid as lying to Alexandro Romano. If word gets out that Conrad tried to seduce one of his patients' wives, the entire hospital will be ruined. The rich and powerful families will never set foot in St. Meyer again.

"Tell me, Conrad,  why was Nicolette wearing your grandmother's ring?" he asks.

"So what if she was?" Conrad says.

"What the hell are you thinking?" He says, enraged, "That's a family heirloom and its meant for your future wife. Get it back! I won't have our family jewel worn by some other man's wife."

Conrad recalls the joy and satisfaction he felt when he saw the ring on Nicole's finger.

"She's the only woman in the world who deserves that ring," he thinks.

Calvin reaches for another stack of files but sees he's already thrown them all at his son. In a fit of rage, he tries to pick up the heavy wooden chair to fling at Conrad,  but it is too heavy for him to pick up and he strains his back.

"Ouch, my back," he m.o.a.ns.

"Father, are you alright?"

Conrad hurries to help his father, but he pushes him away.

"Go away, I don't want your help. I won't recognize you as my son if continue to do this," he warns, "There's no room in our family for a man who has anything to do with another man's wife."

"It's not like that," Conrad objects, "Nicole will eventually divorce Alex.All I have to do is wait."

"How are you so sure she'll divorce him? There's something between them that you're too foolish to see," calvin says, "No, I can't have that. I'll arrange to have you set up with some other women tomorrow."

"I won't go to any of the dates. I only want Nicole," Conrad says firmly, "If you can't accept her, I'll take her away from here. I've decided to run the company I inherited from grandfather to support us."

Conrad has thought things through in his typical methodical way. He knows that it will be difficult to contend with Alex. He can't ever hope to rival the Romano' wealth, but he knows he can't expect to support a woman like Nicole with his income from the family hospital. He has decided to start running the company as his grandfather wishes.

"What? You think you're so smart that you don't have to listen to me?" Calvin says, "If you keep behaving like this, I won't be there to fix things for you when they go wrong. And believe me, they will go wrong."

Calvin is a practical man. He followed the traditional family path and became a doctor and married a nice woman his parents approved of. Every step in his life was carefully chosen to avoid any surprises. Unlike Calvin, Conrad is tired of a carefully regulated life. He wants to fight for the woman he loves.

The black Ferrari stops in front of the glowing manor. The bright house makes a shining contrast against the pitch-black grounds. The maids and servants were warned that Alex was heading home, and they have formed a neat line in front of the door to greet him.

John opens the car door for Alex, "Sir, the quiche is heated and ready."

Nicole is getting out of the car, but she hears John's words.

"Last night he wanted to eat my pasta and now he's about to eat the quiche I made," she thinks, "They say that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, but is he falling for me because of something I've cooked?"

The thought horrifies Nicole. She knows she has a natural talent for cooking, but she's nothing compared to the Michelin-starred chefs who work in the kitchen. She hopes that Alex is simply bored of the chefs' cooking and enjoying the novelty of new food.

John closes the car door behind Alex, "The staff says that Lucky isn't feeling well. He's not eating his food."

Alex freezes, "Have they called the vet yet?"

"Yes. But he won't let the vet examine him, anytime he gets close Lucky bites him."

Alez thinks about the problem. Unsure about how to proceed with John gulps.

"How about I ask the staff to delay dinner so you can check on Lucky?" John suggests nervously.

Though Lucky is a dog, he's treated better than most of the staff at the Romano mansion. Everyone knows that Alex cares for the dog, and John assumes that Alex will want to take care of him first. He's surprised by Alex's answer:

"It's fine. Leave him for now," Alex says curtly.

A few maids stand on either side of the dining room table. The table has been set with two pieces of steaming quiche filled with fresh seafood and vegetables. The triangle wedges are beautifully colored, and they smell good. Though Nicole cooked them in the morning, they still look fresh and tasty.

The maids pull out the chairs for Alex and Nicole and move to serve the food. Alex gives them an icy look that stops them in their tracks. Instead, they push the plates in front of Nicole.

"Please, Mrs. Romano,  can you cut the quiche for Mr. Ramano?"

Nicole halts with her fork raised in mid-air.

"Don't you have hands to do that?" she asks him sarcastically.

He smirks and stares at her as if she's an interesting puzzle. Nicole tries to hide her irritation, picks up a knife, and smiles at her husband.

"My Husband would you like me to add some green salad to your plate?" she asks.

Alex continues to stare at her. His eyes look hungry, but he's gazing at her as if she's the delicacy.

"Yes, please," he says politely.

Nicome remains calm. She cuts a large piece of quiche and raises the fork to Alex's mouth. The quiche is freshly heated from the pan, and steam comes off it.

Alex frowns abruptly, "Are you poisoning your husband?"

"I didn't think I was such a bad cook as that," she said lightly, "But rest assured, they say a good man lives too short and a bad one too long—so you have plenty of time to enjoy life."

"What a sweet talker are you," he says ironically.

"Thanks, I'll take that as a compliment," she responds.

"But I like the quiche," he adds.

"Then have some more."

She stabs pieces of quiche and feeds them to Alex.

"I think our child might have digestion problems if you keep feeding me like this," he jokes.

"We don't have any children, and we won't have any."

"We will soon," he says.