Page 40 of Seasons of Sin

With a moue of impatience, she pressed the button to the twentieth floor and pressed back against the wall.

Its ascent was swift; only seconds seemed to elapse before the doors swished open. “Morrison, McKenna & Male” was etched into a glass sign above the bank of receptionists in the center of the foyer. She pushed her nerves aside and walked with an air of assumed ease into the space.

“Mrs Arana,” the blonde receptionist murmured, her lips lifting with genuine pleasure. “I haven’t seen you since the wedding. Congratulations.”

Saphire’s smile was unintentionally dismissive. “Thank you, Marjorie.” The woman was in her forties, and Saphire had always liked her. She’d worked at the firm for a long time.

“Now, who would you like to see today, m’dear? Your father or your husband?”

Saphire’s stomach was in knots. Which of them should she disappoint first? The man she’d believed she loved? Or the man who’d counseled her off this marriage?

“Jordan, thanks,” she murmured, the smile still pinned to her lips.

Marjorie consulted her computer, but another receptionist poked her head up. “He’s free. His meeting just cancelled a moment ago. Must have been the fates telling him you were coming instead.”

“Great,” Saphire expelled a breath of relief. Having made it this far she wasn’t sure she could handle putting the conversation off any longer. It hadn’t even occurred to her that he might have had plans.

“Go on through,” Marjorie grinned, watching with envy the slim figure of Mrs Arana as she swayed elegantly towards the tiled hallway.

Jordan’s office was, perhaps, more prestigious than it should have been. After all, he was not a partner in the firm yet, but as the son-in-law of one of the founding partners, there was evidently some nepotism in play.

Saphire didn’t bother to knock. She pushed into his office and caught him standing, staring down over the city. Her heart didn’t skip a beat, but she still felt a swirl of anguish.

“Saffy!” Jordan stalked across the office and stopped just short of his wife. “What the hell? When did you get back?” Heput his arms around her waist and pulled her towards him. He smelled good; just as she remembered. But there was no answering crush of interest.

“Jordan.” She patted his back and then stepped out of the embrace as soon as she felt she could do so politely.

“Saffy, God. When did you get here?”

“A few days ago.” She cleared her throat.

“A few days ago? Jesus. Where have you been? Have you been home?”

Saphire lifted a finger to her temples and flashed him a distracted smile. She crossed to one of the elegant armchairs near the windows and took a seat. In the end, she hadn’t been able to face their home. She’d caught a cab towards it as soon as she’d arrived back in London. But as she’d stared at the place they’d lived together, her own heart had finally become clear to her. “I went to a hotel,” she spoke clearly and calmly.

“Why? Saff, I’ve missed you so much. I’ve been going out of my mind with worry.”

She bit down on her lip. “I’m sorry for that. I didn’t mean to worry you.”

“But you knew how I’ve been. My God, you disappeared into thin air.” He moved across to kneel before her, his eyes scanning her face hungrily. His hair flopped forward over his brow; he was handsome. Very handsome. She could see why Anita had fallen for him. And surely she must have, to have taken the step of sleeping with her best friend’s husband.

“I needed to think, Jordan.”

He nodded, his hand solicitously placed on her knee. “And?”

She swallowed. This was it. The words she’d rehearsed again and again. “I want a divorce.”

Jordan flinched as though she’d slapped him. The flesh around his thin lips went white. She stared at it, fascinated that she could see some fine veins pulsing purple. “What?”

“A divorce.” Saphire licked her lower lip.

“Darling, you’re being extreme,” he laughed, shaking his head in that patronizing way of his.

“No,” she intoned flatly. “I’m being entirely reasonable.”

“Your feelings were hurt. You felt hurt. Wronged.” As she opened her mouth to interject he laughed again. “You had every right to feel that way. I wish I could do something to take that away. I never could have imagined you’d find out in that way.”

Saphire pursed her lips. “I shouldn’t have found out at all.”