“Hi,” she said, as bright as could be.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, looking from her to Nora to Soraya.
“Oh.” She did her best to look innocent. “I’m looking at my office.”
“Your office?”
“Well, notonlymine. But majority mine. Fifty-one percent of it, I think.”
“What the hell are you talking about, Daisy?” he asked.
“Oh, that’s right, Zach probably didn’t tell you. He’s unhappy with the trajectory of the company, Jonathan. He doesn’t want to be involved anymore, and so he sold it to me.”
“He what?”
“He sold it to me.”
She waited. Waited for the accusation that she was screwing Zach, or whatever, but it didn’t come.
Because he didn’t see her that way. He didn’t see her at all. He saw her as a housewife. As an attachment to him. And not as a whole human being. He couldn’t fathom her having goals, ambitions, skills, a life outside of him. It was almost hilarious.
“You can’t do this,” he said.
“Yes, I can, and I did. Things are going to change around here. Immediately. Starting with the fact that you’re going to be paid a salary. You can no longer spend indiscriminately out of business funds.”
“I don’t—”
“You do. I saw all the jewelry you bought for your girlfriend from the company account.”
The employees shifted all around. They didn’t like that. And why would they? They were probably being denied raises to help support the lifestyle Jonathan wanted to cultivate.
“Any excess will go back into the company or will be evaluated for disbursement at the end of the year. To be split among business partners, and staff, of course. Also, you need to do something about your subcontractors. Effective immediately, you will be using Sam Reynolds for your electrical. I’ll get referrals for your other subcontractors, but there have been complaints.”
“You’re not in construction. You don’t get to make these decisions.”
“I get to make these decisions because we are now business partners. You can divorce me, but you can’t get rid of me entirely.” She looked around the room. “I’m thinking pink accent pillows.”
“This is insane,” he said.
As she turned to face him, with Nora and Soraya on either side of her, she’d never felt more powerful. More like a coven.
“No. Insane is cheating on your high school sweetheart, not even trying to work out any problems you were having, just cheating like a coward. Insane is lying to your new girlfriend about the state of your marriage and bringing her into a mess she wouldn’t have brought herself into if she’d known.” That was a Hail Mary, based on her recent chats with Amberly, but she could tell by the look on his face she was right. “Insane is being a father who acts like he doesn’t know his kids’ meal schedule or what their teachers’ names are.Thisis just a little light revenge.”
“I’ll buy you out.” His tone was desperate, and the feeling of being in charge right now? She’d been the one who felt so powerless. She’d belying if she said she didn’t enjoy this. Watching him sweat. Watching him wonder what his life was going to look like in the next month, the next year.
He’d taken all her certainty away. Now she was taking his.
“I’d make you pay,” she said.
“This is petty.” He took a step toward her.
Nora, Soraya, and Daisy exchanged glances. And they laughed.
“Petty? Hell yeah, it’s petty. It turns out I’m very, very petty, Jonathan.” She smiled. “To think, you could’ve lived your entire life without ever experiencing just how petty I am. What a treat.”
Chapter Thirty
Soraya
