The Love Affair(Good Wife Better Mistress)

The Kiss

"I'm feeling a little crowded," Nicole says pointedly, as she scoots her chair away from Alex.

She knows that Alex is only touching her to make Conrad jealous, and she finds his behavior immature and cruel. Conrad takes a bite of spaghetti and immediately gags.

"Are you all right?" Nicole asks, concerned.

"I'm okay," Conrad replies, waving his hand dismissively.

Someone has put a lot of chili powder into the marinara sauce, and he suspects they've done it on Alex's orders. He knows that a powerful and jealous man like Alex is not above such childish tricks. He just wonders how Alex came to learn that he's unable to eat spicy foods without becoming ill.

"What—is the sauce not to your taste?" Alex raises his eyebrows mockingly.

"It's delicious," Conrad says politely.

Conrad takes another forkful of spaghetti and puts it into his mouth. His expression remains neutral. Alex's eyes flash with vicious ferocity. When he had John research Conrad, he learned that the doctor can't eat spicy food. He specifically asked for the chef to put chili powder in the sauce to see how Conrad would react.

"If he'd refused to eat the pasta, I would have thought him too weak to be a real threat," Alex thinks, "But he's eating it so calmly. I almost admire his forbearance."

Nicole has no idea that the men are locked in a secret battle of endurance, but she senses the tension between them. Trying to ignore her husband, she reaches out to fork part of a meatball. She has the fork half-raised to her mouth when Alex grabs her wrist and pulls the food to his mouth.

"Are you incapable of eating by yourself?" she asks coldly.

"I want my wife to feed me," he says serenely.

Nicole's handshakes with anger and she almost drops the fork. Alex is taunting Conrad, feigning an intimacy and an affection that doesn't exist in their marriage. She has no patience for his childish games. She doesn't want to eat off the same fork he's used, so she drops it a table.

"Excuse me, I have something to deal with," she says.

Conrad finishes the spaghetti and puts down his fork.

"I should return to my patients," Conrad says, "Enjoy yourself, Mr. Romano."

"I'll walk you to the door Conrad," Nicole says.

Alex frowns and impatiently drumming his fingers on the table. John steps forward, blocking Nicole.

"Since Mrs. Ramano has an urgent work matter, I'll walk you out," John says.

Nicole glares at Alex. Alex raises his eyebrows and gives her a rakish smile.

"I can walk to the door myself," Conrad says firmly, "Thank you, Nicole, for such a nice lunch. And goodbye Mr. Romano."

Conrad walks away with his shoulders squared.

Nicole tugs her wrinkled blazer and tries to slip the business card into her pocket. She thinks she's managed to do it without drawing attention to herself, but she finds that Alex is staring at her when she looks up. She pretends to be calm as if she has nothing to hide, picks up the phone on the table and turns to leave.

Alex wraps his arms around her from behind and Nicole dodges to the side. When she turns around she sees that he has a business card-sized object in his hands. Nicole is suddenly grateful that she put the card inside a black, metal holder. Alex can't see any of the information on the card.