But today it wouldn’t matter. I’d come to him.
Maybe there was a bright side to this power outage after all.
~~
I felt like Dorothy from theWizard of Ozas I practically skipped up the sidewalk leading to Troy’s office building with the picnic basket tucked under my arm. My heart raced as I waved to the receptionist and walked to the elevators.
Rarely did I get to see Troy in his element. Although he always looked handsome when he walked in the door at night with his tie loose around his neck, it wasn’t the same as seeing him behind his desk. I hoped he’d be surprised to see me.
And that he’d know how much I loved him. It felt like I hadn’t had a chance to show him in a long time.
It worked perfectly that his assistant Cora wasn’t at her desk that sat just outside his office. Her not announcing me only added to the element of surprise, and I’d get to see his genuine reaction.
I hesitated outside his closed door. Should I knock? What if he was meeting with clients?
Surely, they’d forgive an intrusion by his wife.
I opened the door with a big smile that quickly fell when I saw Cora bent over Troy’s desk, ass up, while he nailed her from behind.
The sound of the contents of the picnic basket rattling as it crashed to the floor echoed in my brain when my eyes methis shocked ones. I knew in that instant, my beautiful little life had ceased to exist.
Chapter One
Six months later
Gretchen
“Mrs. Wainright?” a young woman’s cheery voice asked when I answered my cell phone.
I replied, “Yes?” immediately.
Although I had ceased beingMrs.Wainwright three days ago in a Boston courtroom, I wasn’t going to change how people addressed me in the middle of the school year. I’d start over with Ms. Kelly next fall.
“Hi, it’s Shelly from Mitchell Cabinets and Woodworking. How are you today?”
I instantly closed my eyes tight.
Fuck.
I’d completely forgotten about the custom kitchen cabinets we’d ordered seven months ago. One month before my world turned upside down.
Finding Troy fucking his assistant over his desk had been so cliché, it was gross.
He’d even run after me, tucking his dick in his pants as he yelled, “It’s not what it looks like.”
And seriously, they hadn’t even bothered to lock the door? What the fuck? It was like they’d wanted to get caught.
Or maybe everyone in his office already knew, and I was the laughing stock of his company.
He hadn’t come home that night, and I knew then I’d be the only one trying to save our marriage and our family. That wasn’t something I could do alone.
The divorce had taken its toll, so the kitchen renovation had been the furthest thing from my mind. In fact, I’d forgotten all about it.
“Hi, Shelly. I hope you’re calling to tell me that you can’t get the materials, and you need to cancel.”
I remembered the salesman had pushed our date to cancel with a full refund to until they began work on the project because they were having trouble getting the walnut wood that Troy had insisted on.
“No! Great news! Your cabinets are finished, and I’m calling to schedule your installation.”
