King and Yara

Chapter 7 (Yara): I'll Be More Discreet

Copyright © 2024 by GroveltoHEA

If King thought I left my bedroom door open to hear if he was coming back to his room alone, he would have been very wrong. I had it open, hoping I would hear...ah, yes. Finally. There it was.

Screaming.

Carmen was screaming loud enough to wake the entire house.

Here's my theory on women who knowingly run around with married men: don't. Yes, I know that as the other woman she owes me no loyalty, and she didn't break any vows or agreements she had with me as King had done, but she broke the law of basic human decency. She knew King was married. She chose to participate in his cowardly game. If she was interested, she could have had some dignity and said talk to me once you're no longer married. She also knew coming into King's house after their in-your-face exhibition would be the wrong move, but she'd chosen to come anyway. King was the criminal, but she was an accessory to his crimes and there were going to be penalties for both participants. Both she and King were each going to feel a slight sting of discomfort this weekend for what they had done.

King hadn't liked me bailing last night in the middle of the meal. I was sure he'd have preferred that I not show up at all. And I'd considered that, but it would have been much easier to explain my complete absence. She came down with a terrible migraine. One of the children wasn't feeling well and needed her. But to show up for dinner and then get up and leave mid-meal? That was a bit more in your face and a lot more awkward to explain.

Get ready for more awkward, King.

I was tying the belt on my robe as I walked out of my bedroom and headed for the guest wing, and King came out of his bedroom, pulling a black T-shirt over his head to go with his grey sweats.

"Where are you going?" he demanded, taking in my silky short robe.

"To see what the screaming's all about."

"I'll handle it," he said. "I don't know what's going on and I don't want you --"

"It's a little too late to pretend to be protective of me."

Then I darted past him and down the stairs. 

"Yara!" he called my name, urgent and concerned, and came running after me when he saw I wasn't stopping.

When we arrived in the other wing, Carmen was outside her door and the other executives and their significant others were milling around in the hallway trying to get her to calm down. King stepped in front of me because although I knew what was going on, he didn't. From the way he was acting, you'd think there was an intruder in her room.

There was. Just...not the kind he was thinking of.

"What's going on?"

"Oh, Henry," Carmen said, and she took two steps toward him and he stepped back, smoothly sliding his arm around my waist. She didn't like that. "I heard rustling in my room and looked around and there was a rat! A rat in the corner of my room!"

Some of the others gasped, and I bit my bottom lip. Look how upset I am.

"Oh, no!" I exclaimed, the picture of distress. "I think I know what's going on. I bet it's not a rat but Benedict Arnold, Louise's pet ferret. He escaped yesterday and we couldn't find him anywhere. I cannot believe the little sneak made it all the way over to this side of the house. Let me see if I can grab him."

OK, in all that I had just blurted out, there wasn't one bit of truth in it. The ferret's name was Bandit and he belonged to a friend of mine who'd agreed to let me borrow him for the weekend.