Billionaire's Unlucky Wife

Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

My phone buzzed for the third time and when I glanced at it, it was another message from Dane. Just like the other two times, I ignored it without even checking the contents. I’d promised myself that today, even just for a few hours, I was going to keep my thoughts off him. It was already causing me too much pain to know he loved someone else and probably all the things he’d ever made me feel were real only to me. Everything I’d known about my marriage and my husband crushed right before my eyes and there was nothing, I could do about it except keep hoping for some twisted reality where it all turns out to be just a bad dream. I was trying deny it but no excuse, no matter how had I tried, could cover up for his lies.

“Are you coming?” I looked up, finding Raymond peeking at me through my lowered car window.

“Yeah, sure,” I quickly pushed my phone into my purse, walking out and handing my keys to the Valet.

“You seem distracted. Is everything okay?” Raymond questioned as we walked up the short steps leading to the front of Grand La Alma revolving doors.

“I’m just tired. I didn’t have much sleep last night,” I forced a smile.

Tired? Right.

“How many times have I told you to take a vaca-“

“Say vacation one more time and I’ll have you wishing you didn’t have nuts,” I threatened. I was getting frustrated over that one word. The more people mentioned it, the more I was beginning to consider it given my current situation but that would only mean I was running away from my problems instead of solving them.

“Jeez! Chill. Anyway, did you sort out your little lover’s spurt with Dane?” I froze. He remembered about that? What was I supposed to answer that? If I said yes, I would be lying to myself and to him. If I said no, then he’d know it was something bigger than just a lover’s spurt. He’d then demand the details and I was not sure if I’d be able to twist my way out of this one. Besides, this was my marriage and he didn’t need to know every tit bit about it.

“I forgot it even happened. Oh, there is Dotty and Racheal,” I said gesturing at the two elegantly dressed women a few tables away from where we were currently standing. They hadn’t noticed us yet but I was glad I saw them. Otherwise, I would be thinking of a lie to tell to Raymond before he kept on pestering me.

We walked over and I did nod off to a few of my clients I spotted on the way. Racheal and Dotty were glued on Dotty’s phone, their expressions constantly switching from grossed out, meh to swooning.

“If you could get off your phones for just one minute, you’d be doing the world a great favor,” Raymond said, in a bit to get their attention.

“Look, we are just trying to find a good vacation spot with hot single guys and- Chanel,” Racheal stopped midway looking almost shocked to see me. Who could blame her? I’d been too bundled up with work to even contact them and now that I thought of it, I was feeling guilty.

“Hey, it’s been a while,” I smiled softly, sitting down across them.

“What do you think you are doing?” Dotty questioned; her face drawn into seriousness.

“What?”

“We don’t see you for a year and you only talk to us when we call or text first then you walk in here and just sit down?” Her face then broke onto her face,” Get up and give us a hug. Unless you are too classy for that,”

“You had me for a moment there. I thought you guys would be mad at me for not staying so much in contact,” I said, hugging them each in turn.

“Oh, we are mad about it. You don’t get to cut off your friends like that and show up with no explanation whatsoever,” Racheal snapped but then quickly reached for the menu,” I think I’m just going to have the r****h salad. I need to my keep my waist snatched,”

“I’ll have steak-wait, no, this is going to probably be my last vacation. I need to be on fire and have as much fun as I want. So, I’ll have the chopped vegetable confetti. Gotta watch my weight. How about you two?” Dotty questioned, looking at us over the menu.

“How much thinner do you want to get? You are both so damn fine the way you are. You are just punishing yourself for nothing, honestly,” Ray shook his head in pity as he glanced at the menu,” Anyway, since the boss is obviously paying, I’ll have steak. You can never go wrong with a good, crunchy French baguette and some fragrant garlic butter on the side,”

“Mr. Laurent got to you, didn’t he?” I raised an eyebrow.

“Absolutely. He makes everything French sound so heavenly. He could sell me literally on anything and my broke ass would take out a loan to buy it. How does he even do that?” He frowned.

“He is a business man. Um…I’ll just have the spicy chicken salad,” I said without even glancing at the menu.

After we placed out orders, I turned my attention back to the two women in front of me. Dotty had dyed her black hair blonde and cut it into a bob. It did suit her. Racheal had let hers curl and well, as usual she did look fire.

“What do mean by your last vacation?” I questioned; eyes pinned on Dotty.

“Damn! You really should keep touch with your friends. Would it take you one of us to die for you to finally wake up and realize getting married doesn’t mean you stay out of touch with friends?” Okay, Racheal was a bit too mad and I actually got her point. Yet, just for today, I wanted to be selfish and only have a great time that would distract me from my life.

“Look, she is here and that is what is important,” All the happiness I’d seen in Dotty’s eyes seemed to have vanished,” Anyway, I’m getting married soon.”

“What? You are seeing someone?” I was pretty surprised. If I remembered correctly, both Dotty and Racheal had sworn to each other never to get married until they were thirty. They still had like four years to go. The reason they’d become friends in college was actually when they found out they shared the same birthday and instantly became the self-proclaimed twins.

“Seeing someone? I wish. Her parents are setting her up with some rich guy in Seoul. They claim its finally time she reattached with her roots,” Racheal almost spitefully as she filled a glass with water, draining it before setting the glass down with a slight force.

“Arranged marriage? I thought those didn’t happen anymore,” I was surprised.

“Well, she is not the only one. This could possibly be my last vacation too. You know how my father’s homeland is Kenya? Well, he apparently decided, without my consent, to name me branch manager of his Air Cargo branch there. I start in three months. Oh, and he hopes I get to find a good Kenyan boy. Can you believe that?”

“At least they have given you the freedom to choose. Mine don’t want to hear anything from me. All they can chat on and on about is how, apparently, he is some rich, young and good-looking man. He is some sort of golden child. Like, um… excuse me, but good boys are not my thing. Who has the time to baby a man? I don’t have to see him to know he is a lifetime of boredom and misery. Now I need a drink,” Dotty was exasperated.

Damn! I’d really missed quiet a lot. Maybe tonight I won’t have to think about my husband and his lying, cheating ass. Wait, was he really cheating on me with this woman? What if he actually invited her over to my house right after I left? They could be on my bed right now and-

“No!” I snapped, standing up suddenly when the image started getting too real.

“Jeez! I won’t drink. You don’t have to overreact,” Dotty rolled her eyes just as orders arrived.

I sat back down. Why was I getting consumed by the very thoughts I told myself i would stay away from?