Seeds of Tomorrow

Ten

Atira had to attend a two-day long conference in Seattle that week. even though it was driving distance, she opted to fly there. No, dealing with the lovely stop-and-go traffic she could enjoy an interrupted Mimosa on the plane.

Her old friend Jillian would be picking her up from the airport, she was attending the conference as well. They planned on visiting after the conference, followed by a spa session at the hotel and a nice seafood dinner by the water.

Did she feel guilty about enjoying the time away from her family? Not in the least. She loved them, of course, but she was a businesswoman first and the space was not only welcomed but needed. Krist didn't mind either, he'd grown into quite the homebody who declined her invitations when she invited him. And unlike Atira, he didn't get overwhelmed by the day-to-day home life.

When she had first accepted her role as Vice President and explained to her husband that it would require her to travel occasionally he'd balked. his insecurities about her being around men he viewed as "superior" to him had taken over and they'd fought about it. It had been hard to reinforce to him that she did not care about things like a high position or wealth, she loved him because she loved him, even when he acted like a jackass.

They'd been married for over eleven years and were going strong. There had been some ups and downs, of course, insecurity from both of them. Krist had cheated with his ex, Nina, once in the beginning of the marriage and she'd forgiven him but that had taken a significant amount of time to move past, especially since she was Fernando's sister.

Atira's insecurity faded eventually after Nina popped out a few kids, began looking like her sister Marisol, and was clearly head over heels for her husband, Dominik. She didn't necessarily like Nina but she was cordial at family events, it was also apparent that Nina had some level of shame for what she had done with Krist-as she should. She'd known he was married, that Atira was expecting her second child by him and had eagerly spread her legs for him.

Ok, so maybe Atira wasn't fully over the incident but she was no longer threatened by Nina.

Krist on the other hand viewed several men as threats to their marriage, especially her assistant Zach. Yes, Zach was handsome, younger than Krist, and in excellent shape but Atira was ferociously attracted to her husband. On top of that being a good fifteen years old than Zach made him seem like a baby to her, not that she had any interest in ruining her marriage.

She had stressed this to Krist repeatedly and his insecurity had been a huge issue. He was constantly checking up on her while they were working, if she had to attend any events with Zach, Krist would pick fights almost as though he were attempting to dissuade her from going to the required work function.

The final straw was when she emerged from the shower to catch Krist flinging her work phone across the bed like a child who had been caught with the cookie jar. The kicker was that she had never given him the PIN code, he had to have watched over her shoulder to figure it out.

"Were you going through my phone?" She demanded, shocked that he would stoop to that level and have so little trust in her.

"No," he lied, "I just muted it when it rang."

There was no call and he was a bad liar.

"What the fuck, Krist?" Atira wanted to know, "I don't go through your private things."

Krist sulked on the bed, arms folded, "We shouldn't have private things, we are married."

Atira was livid, "Your work emails and documents are private, I would never even think to look at them.

She picked her work phone up flinging it at him, "You're so worried, have at it. I hope you feel stupid afterward," she snapped before storming out of the room.

She had been so pissed off at him that night that she slept in the spare bedroom with her elderly cat, Jacques, with the door locked. Krist tried to come in, jiggling the handle and knocking before he began pleading with her to let him in. Atira wasn't trying to punish him, she just needed to collect her thoughts and compose herself before they spoke.

"We will talk in the morning," she told him firmly.

It had been hard to sleep, she felt guilty for how she had responded but she was over him in the moment. The next morning, he met her in the kitchen before the kids were up, eyes swollen and red.

Atira made herself a cup of coffee silently, not wanting to say the wrong thing.

"Do you still hate me?" He asked.

She rolled her eyes to herself, inhaling through her nose, "I never hated you, Krist. I am tired of you acting like I am trying to sneak around behind your back. Do you think so little of me that you genuinely believe I am trying to sleep with everyone or what?"

"No," he replied gloomily.

"I've forgiven you for cheating and have never once done anything to make you think I would do the same thing to you. You either trust me or you don't," she snapped, "Other than being completely faithful to you, I'm not sure what else you expect, Krist! Quit my job and work only with women? Never leave the house?"

He shook his head, "No."

"The problem isn't with me, it's with you. I'm sorry you had shitty girlfriends but we have been together how long now?"

Krist nodded solemnly, he knew he was out of line. She'd gotten herself ready for work and had left without kissing him goodbye.

He was all apologies and regret that evening, cooking an elaborate dinner, buying her flowers, giving her head without expecting reciprocation (even though she did) and things were better after that. Though Zach was still the occasional issue.

For instance, he had bitterly asked "Is he going to be at this conference?" As she packed her suitcase. "Why do you need those heels?"

As if her red bottoms were an invitation to men. And then when she mentioned she and Jillian would be sharing a room for the conference, he mentioned the fact that at the beginning of her marriage, she had briefly stopped being friends with her as Jillian was sleeping with Fernando while he was married to Angelina.

Atira paused what she was doing to stare at him, "Do you want me to remind you of the fact that you were friends with him when he was also cheating on his wife?"

He opened his mouth to protest but stopped as he knew there was nothing to argue. So the topic was dropped, she made sure to fuck him really good that night, three times, promising a repeat when she returned, like they always did.

Krist took her to the airport before he worked, kissing her like they were newlyweds and stressing how much he would miss her. She'd miss him too but the space apart was nice.

She boarded her plane, requested her mimosa once they were in the air, and put her headphones on to listen to daily affirmations, eager for her break from monotony.