She had barely settled into her chair when she heard the sound of his car downstairs.
Of course, it could have been anyone passing by, but somehow she just knew that was his Mustang.
It was what he had driven the day they went out with the kids.
Reyona berated herself for even noticing something like that.
Just as she stemmed the lancing pain that had nothing to do with the wounds on her body.
She adjusted the neckline of her shirt to be certain her neck bruises were well covered.
By the time he knocked at her door, her props were in place.
Just as her mask.
"Yes, come in," she called calmly and managed to look surprised as he came in.
"Hi, what are you doing here?" she said with a smile.
He went around to her seat and Reyona lifted her cheek as he leaned forward to kiss her.
He gave her a look as he changed the angle of his head and kissed her on the cheek instead of the lips he had been aiming for.
She smiled at him and gestured at one of the chairs in front of her as she looked back distractedly at the file she had opened in front of her.
It was a real document that she was working on that morning.
She had purposely opened it in case he wanted to look too closely at what she was doing.
Instead, he hesitated for a moment before moving to the chair she was gesturing at.
"Are you fine?" he asked with a furrowed brow.
"Yes, of course, I am fine. I am swamped with the details of this document that I have to deal with."
"I don't see any of your employees around though," he said as he sat.
"Yes, I told them to go home. We have been on this account since morning, and they have not been able to do anything else. So, I dismissed them a while ago. I can finish up here, and we will be able to turn it in tomorrow morning as requested by our client."
"Wow, what a considerate boss you are," he said as he crossed his legs, steepled his fingers and gave her a smile that reminded her of the nightmare she had minutes ago.
She clenched her teeth in a semblance of a smile as he said "I would like to have a boss like you. Can I come work for you?"
"I will ask HR if there is a vacancy for you. I am afraid we might not be able to pay a man like you though."
How can a man like me…
"Hey, come on. I don't charge much. I can even work for free if I get to stay close to the boss lady herself. I could be her personal assistant."
I am sure Charlotte will have something to say about that" Reyona said as she wondered if someone's face could split open from a fake smile.
She looked down at the file in front of her again as she leaned back and said "You have not told me why you are here though. I already told you I wouldn't be coming home tonight."
"Can't I come to check on my darling wife? What kind of husband would that make me?" he asked with widened eyes.
Just look at him sitting there like he was not hiding anything from her.
The audacity to walk into her office to tell her silly things like he was not keeping the biggest of secrets from her.
Imagine how comfortable he could sit in her office even while deceiving her.
"The regular kind of husband, I guess," Reyona said with a shrug. She looked down at the document again and said "I need to get back to this, so I can be done in time to be fully involved with Allysyn's birthday tomorrow. I can't afford the distraction."
"Even a distraction as handsome as this?" he asked as he cupped his face and wiggled his eyebrows at her suggestively.
"Especially a distraction as handsome as this" Reyona answered with her clenched teeth.
She supposed anger was a good thing after all.
She couldn't feel a bit of her pain under the lava of anger rolling within her.
He sighed as he leaned back in his seat and said "Okay then. Since my wife wants nothing to do with me, I would just go then."
When she said nothing, the smile on his face waned as he said "The kids asked about you tonight."
"I am sure you told them I would see them tomorrow" Reyona stated.
He nodded as his look turned serious, and he asked "Are you mad at me?"
Reyona raised her brows in question as she asked "Why would I be mad at you?"
"I don't know. Because of how we left things last night? Or my response to you this morning?" he asked rather than stated. Then he looked at her passive face again as he asked "So, are you?"
"Mad at you? No, not at all. We have already come to an understanding."
Once I wouldn't give a damn about breaking up, just like you didn't.
They were both silent for a while before he said "I was just hurt that you don't want to give us a chance, you know?"
"I am sorry about that. I have offered what I have to give though. I am sure a man like you would find someone else who can fill that position as soon as possible."
He looked at her for so long that the atmosphere grew pensive. Then he said "I am going to pretend that I didn't hear that. No, I…"
Like I care. Reyona thought as she furtively glanced at the clock and realised that fifty minutes had passed already.
"Have you eaten?" he asked to change the conversation.
What do you care?
"Yes, I had a…business dinner with someone earlier. I have eaten. Now, I need to get back to…"
"Yes, I will leave you to get back to…" he gestured at the document. "... your work." he stood up and hesitated.
Let him go. Let him go. Just let him go.
Reyona repeated the litany in her mind as she looked down at the document again.
She could hardly pick out the lettering on the document.
She had come here to confront him once and for all, hadn't she?
Why was she now hesitating?
Was she afraid of what his response would be?
"So, I will see you in the morning?"
Reyona jolted as she realised that he had come close to her again.
"Yes, you would." she saw his brow furrow at her reaction and she gestured at the document again as she said "I am sorry. I was just thinking of how to go about this."
"You need to rest," he said as he reached for her hand.
How she wanted to fling his hands as far away from her skin as possible.
Instead, she looked up at him and said "Yes, you are probably right. I will get some rest later."
Still holding her hands, he crouched in front of her and asked "Can I help? I know I am not as smart as you when it comes to numbers, but I can brainstorm with you and help you with whatever is causing you this much stress. You look drained."
"Do I? I must be tired," she said automatically. "Like I said…"
"Yes, you will rest later. I guess that answered my question too. You don't need my help."
He stood up and said, "I will see you in the morning."
He was almost at the door when she blurted out "Have you heard anything about her whereabouts recently?"