Her partner loved her.
She loved her partner.
They had everything they could ever want, including each other.
Lots of people may not care much for them, for whatever reason, but those same people were jealous of how strong they were as a couple.
Lara could not let anything come between her and Kennedy, including her irrational insecurities conjured by her pesky subconscious. Her therapist was right. She was manufacturing these ideas for the sake of drama. No wonder some people found her insufferable.
She detoured to the downtown office where Kennedy was working that day. In true real estate mogul fashion, the Anderssens owned their own renovated building that they used for their business and to sublet to others. Yet the top few floors were all theirs, and within those currently empty halls was her spouse’s downtown abode, where she spent way too many hours a week dealing with grumpy investors, running numbers, and responding to concerns posted by current tenants and those looking to buy and sell other properties. All in a day’s work for those two.
“Yes, thank you.” Kennedy’s voice echoed through the inner chambers of the private office the moment Lara entered. She quietly closed the door and tiptoed toward the sound of her partner’s voice, intending to surprise her. “I love how willing you are, Chloe.”
Lara stopped. So did her heart.
Color? What color? She didn’t need any color in her face.
Kennedy wasn’t talking to the maid back home like an employer. She leaned back in her large leather chair, knee resting against the desk as she spun herself to and fro with the dumbest smile on her even dumber face. Fuck me. Fuck her!That voice… that was the voice she used when talking sweetly to Lara. To herwife.
“When I think of you, Bunny, I can’t help but sound like this.”That’s what she told her years ago, when Lara first asked why she spoke so softly like that.
Lara was going to kill her.
“That’s fine. Go ahead and put it on my desk. I’ll put it all away later.” Laughter. “I’ve gotta go. I’ll talk to you about it later.” Kennedy leaned forward, bending her elbows on her desk. That stupid smirk would not leave her face. “And I’ll see you soon.”
She hung up.
Lara remained in the archway, undetected. She stared at her spouse – the woman who supposedly loved her above all others. The woman she took a vow to always be open and trusting with. The woman who was definitely cheating on her.
The therapist was wrong. So. Fucking. Wrong.
It wasn’t all in Lara’s head.
It was right here in front of her, and its name was a tale as old as time. My wife is screwing the help.
Maybe not just screwing.
Romancing.
That was one boundary they never crossed: romancing other partners. They would seduce, but they would never make it emotional. That route led to nothing but tears and terror. Like now, as Lara faced her crumbling marriage before her very eyes.
“Kennedy.”
She was doing it. She was confronting her.
Kennedy turned in her chair, surprised, but not shocked. The woman had no shame! Here she was, getting off the phone with the real mistress while the wife walked in and caught her practically red-handed. If Lara didn’t kill her, her lack of shame would.
“Bunny,” she said, using that same voice she used with Chloe over the phone. “I wasn’t expecting you.”
No shit.“Thought I’d drop by,” she replied. “Was in the neighborhood.” Asshole.
Even though Lara stood in front of her like she was about to rip off her head, Kennedy remained completely unfazed. How dare she be so composed? Didn’t she realize what her wife had witnessed? “It’s always a pleasure to see you, Wife. Did you drive down? We could go get dinner later. I hear there’s a nice new Italian place a few blocks from here…”
Lara cut straight to the point. “I heard you on the phone with the maid.” She paused for emphasis. “Anything wrong back home?” Like your hands in the wrong woman’s sheets?
“Oh? That?” Here it came. The lies. “Nothing of any concern. Chloe called to say that a package I’ve been anxiously expecting arrived. I told her to leave it in my office to look at later.”
“Hey, baby, let’s check out my package together… in my office.”Gag.
