He walked away, leaving the two of us alone in the quiet corridor of the 14th floor. Lauren looked at me, her chest rising and falling rapidly. “Gerald, please, let’s go inside my office. Let’s talk.”
“Is it true?” I asked, refusing to move an inch. My voice was dangerously calm, the calm that comes right before a storm breaks. “Does everyone in this building think you’re married to him?”
Lauren reached out to touch my arm, but I stepped back, avoiding her contact as if her touch were poison. “Gerald, it’s not what you think. It’s… it’s complicated.”
“Complicated?” I whispered, the weight of the betrayal finally crashing down on me, threatening to pull me under. “You’ve been living a double life, Lauren. I’ve been sitting at home waiting for you, making dinner for one, while you’ve been building a completely different reality here. Who am I to you, Lauren? Just the guy who manages your personal taxes?”
She looked around the empty hallway, terrified that someone would overhear. “Please, Gerald. Come inside. I will explain everything, I promise. Just come inside.”
I looked at the woman I loved, the woman I thought I knew, and realized that the person standing in front of me was a complete stranger. I dropped the cold latte and the brown paper bag onto the receptionist’s desk, turned around, and walked toward the elevator, leaving the CEO of Meridian Technologies standing alone in her empty hallway.
