CHAPTER 2: CRAIG
980 Words
CHAPTER 2: CRAIG
Craig sat at his desk, staring out his office window. This couldn’t be happening, but it was. The papers on his desk didn’t lie. Liz wanted a divorce. He’d thought they were happy—that she was happy. Sure, their s*x life wasn’t as good as he would’ve liked, but he’d hoped now that the kids were gone they could work on that. She wouldn’t be so tired all the time and they could be more spontaneous. None of that was going to happen because she wanted out. After twenty-three good years of marriage—or at least he’d thought they were good—she was done with their family, with him.
There was a knock on his door and Ben, one of his employees, peeked his head in.
“What do you want?” Craig quickly wiped his eyes.
“Were you crying?”
“No. Allergies.” He wasn’t ready to tell anyone about the divorce.
“I thought you went to the doctor for that?”
“I did.” And it’d caused the worst few months of his life—his eyes dropped to the papers on his desk—until now.
“Maybe, you should go back. You don’t look too good.”
“I’m fine. What do you want?”
“Oh, I need to borrow your car.”
“Again?” This was the third time in less than two months.”
“Yeah. Sorry.”
His phone rang. He pulled his keys from his pocket and tossed them to Ben. “Get a new car and close the door behind you.” He grabbed his phone. “Hello.”
“Craig White?” asked a man.
“You called my office.” He should be polite. This could be a potential customer but right now, he didn’t care.
The man laughed. “Yes, I know but I wanted to make sure it was you.”
“Who is this?”
“Sorry. This is Ethan St. Johns.”
“Who?”
“From La Petite Mort Club.”
“Oh, Ethan. Right.” He glanced at the door to ensure it was closed. “How are things? Everything okay with the ad team I have working for you?”
“Yes. Ben and Gabby are fantastic and I love the new materials.”
“Great. Glad to hear it.” Ethan had been one of his first big-money clients.
Initially, he’d found the idea of producing ad copy for a s*x club distasteful, but then he’d met Ethan. The younger man had insisted on giving him a tour. The place was clean, respectable and everyone was there because they wanted to be, not because they had to.
He took a shaky breath, trying to air out the sadness in his voice. “Then, how can I help you.”
“Actually, I think I may be able to help you...or this may not help at all.”
“What are you talking about?” There was an edge to Ethan’s voice that made him nervous.
“I’m not sure how to tell you this, so I’ll just say it. Your wife came to visit me today.”
“She did what?” His hand clutched the phone so tightly he was surprised it didn’t break. Liz had gone to a s*x club? Impossible. No. No way.
“She’d filled out an application online to join and I asked her—”
“She did what?” He was repeating himself but his brain wasn’t functioning correctly. Neither were his ears. “She wanted to join your club? Your s*x club?”
“Yes.” There was a hint of amusement in Ethan’s tone.
“This isn’t funny.” Not only did the woman he loved—the mother of his children—not want him to touch her anymore, but she wanted to f**k and god know what else with strange men.
“Of course not.” Ethan’s tone was somber but Craig knew the other man was humoring him.
“You’re mistaken about this. It’s not possible. My Liz...” But she wasn’t his Liz any more.
“I thought it was a mistake too. White isn’t an uncommon last name. So, I called and asked her to come to my office. That way, I could see if perhaps this was a different woman with the same name, but it wasn’t.”
“How do you know my wife?” Ethan was young and good looking. He didn’t want Liz anywhere near the man.
“I researched you before I offered you my account.”
“You ran a background check on me and my family?” He wanted to hang up, go over there and beat the guy senseless.
“Yes. I couldn’t have just anyone representing me and my business. You understand.” Ethan’s tone was calm and soothing. Professional.
Craig’s temper eased. It made sense. Ethan’s business was sensitive.
“It was your wife...soon to be ex-wife who came to my office.”
“She told you about the divorce.” His gaze dropped to the papers on his desk.
“Yes, and I’m sorry.”
“Me too.” He hadn’t meant to say it. It’d just slipped out.
“I refused her membership.”
“Good. Thank you.” There was no way Liz was going to a place like that.
“I’m not sure it is good.”
“Excuse me.” He actually took the phone away from his face and stared at it.
“She mentioned something about finding a different club.”
“What?” He shot to his feet, pressing the phone to his ear.
“That’s why I called. Some of the other places are...less than reputable. I tried giving her a list—”
“You did what?” He was back to wanting to punch the other man.
“There are some other clubs that are good. Not as good as mine, of course, but they are safe.”
“She is not joining a s*x club.”
“Okay, but...How are you going to stop her?”
“I...” That was a good question. She wasn’t going to listen to him. She didn’t even want to be around him.
“I have a suggestion.”
“You do?” He dropped back onto his chair.
“Yes, but first, I have to ask you some personal questions.”
“Like what?” Personal questions from a man like Ethan could get a lot more personal than he was willing to go.
“About your marriage.”
“That’s none of your business.”
“You’re right. It isn’t but I may be able to help.”
“How can you help my marriage?”
“Why don’t you come by after work and we can talk?”
“We can talk now.”
“It might be better with a drink.”
“Then pour me a rum and coke. Easy on the coke.” He grabbed the divorce papers and stood. “I’m on my way.”
- Writer
