Page 26 of The Work Wife

“The green dress you wore to the Christmas party,” Wes said without thinking. She’d looked amazing in that dress.

“It’s green.”

“You looked great.”

Her cheeks flushed and she looked away.

Cindy backed him up. “He’s right. I remember that dress. The emerald looked so nice with your dark hair and eyes.”

“I’m not looking forward to having my legs out.” They all chuckled.

“You can wear your furry boots with the dress,” Wes suggested with a smile.

“I’ll go look at your flower options. And you’ll need a cake.” Cindy was an awesome assistant because she saw what needed done and did it. Apparently wedding planning was no exception.

Jamie’s face lit up. Of course she was better now that cake was involved.

* * * *

The rest of the week rushed by with plans for the wedding. Everyone got involved.

Wednesday evening the guys took Wes out for a drink. It was the closest thing to a bachelor party they could have, considering they all needed to be at work the next day and their bosses were in attendance. Both Rob Blain and Mike Douglas were nothing but happy for him. The party was a lot of fun until he found himself at the bar with Duane Larkson by his side.

“I asked you if you were in to her and you told me no,” the man accused.

“It was complicated.”

“That’s such bullshit. You made me look like an idiot. I thought she wasn’t in to me. I didn’t know what was wrong. But it wasn’t me. It was that she was with you.”

Wes fought off the laughter. He wanted so badly to tell this asshole that it was him. That he didn’t have a shot with her because he was a punk. But that would reveal their secret and mess up their plans. “Sorry it didn’t work out the way you’d hoped,” was all Wes could offer.

“More power to you. I’m never getting married. I work my ass off, and I’m not going to give half my money to someone else.”

Money. Wes hated money. Well, not the money, but the power it had over things. The way it took over and became the most important thing. The only thing.

Jamie wasn’t about money. She didn’t come from money. She was smart with the money she had, she didn’t live above her means. She paid her bills and didn’t overspend. She’d already told him they would keep their finances separate, and if they did get divorced they would each leave with what they had. He knew it wasn’t about that for her.

Still . . . he finally had someone he could see himself with for the long run. Someone he could trust. A friend.

When he got back to his apartment, he pulled out his financial reports and looked them over. For the last five years, Jamie had worked next to him, not knowing what he had hidden away in his bank accounts.

Was it time for her to find out?

* * * *

Benjamin Archer barely had time to look out his window at the Central Park view from his office. One hundred forty-two emails sat unread in his inbox and it was only ten a.m. But when his phone rang on Thursday, and his brother’s name popped up on the display, he answered immediately.

“Hey, Wes.”

“Hey, Benji.”

He hated that nickname, but being the younger brother meant enduring whatever awful endearment his older brother used. “How’s things going?”

“Great.” Ben surveyed his desk full of papers and frowned. He wasn’t great. Not at all. But he was doing his best. He liked the work, it was the fact that he was doing the work and not getting the credit for it. He wasn’t the CEO of Archer Worldwide, though he completed all the duties of the job.

When his father died six years ago, everyone assumed Wes would take over, but something had happened before that. Ben didn’t know why Wes had suddenly packed up and moved to Boston to work for another firm, turning his back on the family company. Their father never mentioned it and neither had Wes.

And then their father had died and Wes refused to come home. He said he liked where he was and didn’t want to move.