I leaned back slowly in my chair. “Good afternoon to you too.”
“This isn’t funny, Callahan.”
“No,” I agreed calmly. “It isn’t.”
Her eyes narrowed until I questioned if she was able to see me. “You declined my call. You don't decline my calls.”
I folded my hands together on the desk. “I do when I don’t feel like being spoken to disrespectfully.”
Her lips thinned. “So this is about that girl.”
That girl.
My jaw tightened, but I kept my voice controlled. The walls in this building were soundproof, but gossip traveled faster than Wi-Fi. “She's my wife, and she has a name.”
“Evania,” she said dismissively, as if it tasted unpleasant. “Yes, I’m aware.”
“Then use it.”
Her gaze sharpened. “Don’t take that tone with me.”
“I’m not taking a tone,” I replied evenly. “I’m setting a boundary.”
Her lips twitched as she fought to hide her shock. I've never talked back to her as much as I am now. I would always give in, letting her win this one-sided battle, but I'd had enough. Toying with me was one thing; I could handle it, but my wife shouldn’t have to. I had to set firm boundaries now or risk having another lunch from hell.
“I came here,” she continued, completely ignoring what I said, “because you’re behaving irrationally. You’re married to a woman who is not worthy of you.”
I inhaled slowly. “And what exactly makes her unworthy?”
She gave me a look that implied the answer was obvious. “She isn’t from our circle. She doesn’t understand our expectations. She isn’t—”
“Victoria?” I supplied dryly.
Her expression flickered. “I admit I was wrong about pushing you to reconcile with Victoria. I see now she's lacking a few key qualities of a good wife."
“Like fidelity?” I suggested.
She ignored that. “But Evania is not the solution.”
I leaned forward now, resting my elbows on the desk. “You don’t get to decide that.”
“Yes, I do.”
“No,” I said quietly, steel threading through my voice. “You don’t.”
Her hands flattened against my desk. “We made a deal, Callahan.”
I was suddenly glad I'd made my parents sign over their shares, so she couldn't go back on her word, as she was trying to do now. I knew marrying Vani would stir up trouble, but the contract would keep her in line. It was time I reminded her of that.
“I fulfilled my end of the bargain,” I said, voice low and steady. “You wanted me to get married, and I did. It's your fault for assuming I would choose someone like Victoria. It's too late to try and control me.”
She straightened. “You think I want to control you?”
“I think you don’t know how not to.”
Her breath hitched, just slightly. “Evania will not survive this world,” she insisted. “She will embarrass you.”
I laughed once, humorless. “She handled you with more grace than most CEOs handle hostile acquisitions.”
