"Do I know you?" Paige's head jerked back in surprise. She tried to place the woman as a parent of one of her students, but she didn't look familiar.
"No, but I know you." The redhead shook her head. "Well, I knowofyou." She grabbed the water glass in front of her with a shaky hand and took two large gulps.
Paige gasped. Her shoulders bunched as she scrambled for the words to tell the rude stranger to take a hike without making a huge scene.
Water dribbled down the woman's chin and onto her blue silk blouse. She replaced the water glass, grabbed the napkin off the plate, and dabbed at her shirt. "How embarrassing. Look at me. I'm such a mess. I've been a wreck all day." A sheen of tears filled the woman's eyes before she quickly blinked them away. "I never thought I'd find myself in this position."
A twinge of sympathy pricked Paige's chest. The woman was obviously upset, but she couldn't fathom what it had to do with her.
"What position?" Paige asked slowly. Cautiously.
"I never thought I'd find myself sitting across the table from my fiancé's…girlfriend."
"Yourwhat?" A chill swept over Paige as a lead weight settled in her stomach. Her mouth turned dry, but she resisted the urge to grab herown water glass. She'd probably be just as clumsy as the woman across from her if she attempted to take a drink.
Phillip's engaged?
"There must be a m-mistake." The words rushed out of Paige's mouth before she could even think about stopping them.
"Oh, there's been a mistake alright." The other woman's voice turned hard. "Lots of them. All made by Phillip."
Surely, she’s not talking aboutmyPhillip.
The clank of silverware on ceramic plates and muted voices faded away as Paige's mind raced. She recalled the times Phillip had canceled their plans because something came up at work. How he always stepped out of the room to take work calls. He even had to travel out of town over the weekend occasionally.
But that was just the nature of his job. Wasn’t it?
She’d wondered at times if he had commitment issues, because he had yet to take her home to meet his family in Colorado. But maybe he was already committed to someone else.
A squeezing sensation hit her chest, stealing her breath. She gripped the edges of her chair as she focused on drawing air into her lungs.
"I'm sorry. I'm probably doing this very poorly." The redhead twisted the napkin in her hands. A large princess-cut diamond ring flashed on her left hand. "I promised myself I wouldn't make a scene, but I had to say something. And I must admit I'm crazy jealous. You're very pretty. I can see why he likes you." She smoothed her hair back with a still trembling hand. "Listen to me. I'm so nervous, I'm rambling." She drew in a deep breath. "I need to know how serious your relationship with Phillip is."
"Wait a minute. What makes you think I'm your fiancé's girlfr—" Paige shook her head, unable to put those two words together in reference to herself. "That I even know your fiancé?"
"Phillip kept getting messages on his phone last night after falling asleep on my couch." The woman laid the napkin on the table and attempted to smooth the creases she'd created. "I checked to see if it was something worth waking him up for, since he often gets workcalls and texts all hours of the day and night." Her hands stilled. "I used to think they were work calls, anyway, until I looked at his phone last night and realized he's been communicating with you for months." Tears filled her eyes again.
"How do you—" Paige shook her head in confusion. "Why would—" Her mind jumped tracks. "What do you mean?” A flood of questions swirled around inside Paige's head, but she couldn't seem to articulate them.
"I don't know what Phillip has told you about his job, but he's led me to believe that ever since he was made a supervisor at Emerson, he's had a lot more responsibilities that require his attention around the clock."
"Wait?" Paige held up a hand. "I think you may have me, or rather my Phillip confused with someone else. My boyfriend is an international business consultant with McKinsey."
"Is that what he told you?" The redhead's eyebrows shot up, then she shook her head vigorously. "Phillip Ellis is not an international business consultant. He works in sales and distribution for Emerson Office Supply."
Ellis. That's my Phillip.
Paige's stomach twisted as tight as the napkin the other woman had been mangling moments ago. If she had any food in her stomach, she would have lost it at the realization of what was happening.
"And it turns out, he wasn't made a supervisor at Whitlock eight months ago. I verified that with his boss today."
Eight months?
That's how long Paige had been dating Phillip after repeatedly running into him at the gym. He'd spent as much time flirting with her as he did exercise most days, yet he had a great physique.
"I think he lied about being made a supervisor, so I wouldn't be suspicious when he suddenly had late meetings and took calls from you at all hours of the day and night."
Still reeling and not wanting to believe this was happening, Paige scrambled for a way to prove the woman wrong. She recalled Phillip mentioning a crazy ex-girlfriend who had been stalking him foryears and sabotaging his relationships. That’s why he avoided social media.
