Weeks ago, just the memory of her on her knees would have been enough to make me lose control, enough to risk far more than I was willing to admit at the time. Now all I feel is disgust rising in my throat.
“If you’re done, grab your coat and leave.”
Instead of listening, she steps closer and presses a hand against my pants. Not a damn thing.
“Colin, what’s going on? Why are you pretending?”
I push her hand away and put more distance between us. I pick her coat up from the floor and toss it to her.
“By the way, I’ve already lined up a position for you at a friend’s company. You won’t be out of a job, but you won’t be working at Montgomery Clifford anymore.”
That finally gets a reaction. She stumbles back, eyes wide.
“You can’t do that.”
“Which part didn’t you get, Maya? It’s my company. I don’t ask for permission.”
She shakes her head and steps toward me again, her coat half on and hanging open. I don’t let her touch me, and the confusion on her face only deepens.
“I don’t understand. I read your ex-wife’s blog. She clearly knows about us. And you’ve been staying at this hotel since San Jose.”
“Mywife, Maya.” My voice is flat. “And you don’t talk about her. You never did, and you never will.”
Then it hits me.
“How do you even know where I’m staying? Since when?”
She looks away, guilty. “I overheard you talking to Jonathan when I dropped off a file for his assistant. You mentioned staying at The Ritz-Carlton. I wanted to give you space. I figured two weeks was enough.”
“And you just proved my point about firing you.”
Maya throws her hands up. “You can’t just break up with me like this and toss me aside, Colin.”
I might have laughed at her indignation once. Now there’s nothing left in me that can. Not when every day is spent trying to find a way back to Ceci, trying to get my son to look at me without that mix of disgust and disappointment.
“There’s nothing to end, Maya. Thereneverwas. You knew exactly what this was.Sex. Nothing else. I told you, over and over, that I have a wife and children. I love my family.”
“And all those times you were with me instead of them? That weekend in September. You skipped a trip with them to stay withme.”
Her voice keeps rising, each word sharper, louder. I can’t let her make a scene. Not here. I hope Mark isn’t still tailing me. One photo of her walking into my room would finish what little I have left.
“Maya, whatever fantasy you’ve built in your head, there is no version of reality where I ever choose you over my family.”I let it sink in. “What you’re going to do now is walk out of this room. On Monday, Theodora will start your termination paperwork. It’s over.”
She shakes her head, eyes wet now. Tears that don’t move me in the slightest.
“You can’t. You can’t end this.”
I say nothing. I wait for her to pull herself together enough to leave.
“You can’t end us, Colin,” she says, a slow smile curving her lips. “Because—”
It takes a moment for her words to reach me. They sound muffled, distant, like I’m hearing them underwater.
“What… what did you just say?” The words grind out of me, rough and disbelieving.
That infuriating smile firmly in place, she brings both hands to her stomach.
“I said you gave me something special.” She pauses, just long enough to twist the knife.
