CHAPTER FOUR
CORA
My family owns property. It’s what we do.
One of my most vivid memories from childhood was when my father had acquired a resort in the Caymen Islands. We’d gone to visit it, sun hats and brand-new bathing suits at the ready. During our initial tour, I was fascinated by the gently waving palm trees and the stucco buildings. Everything seemed perfect. Like an impregnable paradise that nothing, not even God, could disrupt.
But nothing is safe in this world, including a palm tree paradise. Our native liaison taught us the warning signs of a hurricane. He said the way his family knew to prepare for bad weather was by whether the matriarchs of the family had issues with headaches or arthritis. My father had laughed in my mother’s direction:Be sure to warn us if you get a headache.
For years I’d associated headaches with an upcoming storm—whether meteorological or personal. And though I knew nowwhythe pain preceded a hurricane, the arrival of a headache could still stop me in my tracks.
Like today. The day after seeing Axel for the first time in years, I had the mother of all headaches.
Which meant the brewing storm would rip up all the palm trees.
I winced as my head pulsed. I’d been counting the seconds until my appointment to meet Axel for the building tour. Of course I was the designated representative to show it—I’d have it no other way. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t also completely disintegrating inside. I didn’t know what to expect. I just knew that I had to be there.
A soft knock at my office door stirred me from my thoughts.
“Who is it?”
“It’s me, beautiful.” Eli’s voice on the other side of my office door prompted a frown. I hated the way he still put up the front. But I wasn’t fully ready to stop it, either. The rest of the world still saw us as happily married. Behind the scenes, I’d opened my own secret bank account and started fumbling my way through setting myself up for life post-divorce, even though I couldn’t imagine it yet.
Fake it till you make it, Cora.
“Come in.”
The door swung open, and Eli sauntered in. He closed the door gently behind him before allowing his cool smile to fade.
“You’re going to show the building in an hour, right?” he asked, cocking his head.
“I am.”
“Ah.” He clucked his tongue, pausing just in front of my desk and raked his gaze over me. “Kind of seemed like maybe you were going on a date, given that ridiculous shade of lipstick.”
I blinked, schooling my reaction. It was always a tight rope with him, and I was the most skilled circus performer, just trying to stay aloft in the Eli Show.
“I’ve worn this shade plenty of times to work before,” I said, turning back to my computer. “And I’d prefer you not insult my fashion choices.”
“Fashion choices, huh.” The lack of amusement in his voice spoke louder than anything. “Well, I’ll be joining you today. You’ll have to at least act like you like me.”
But I don’t.I focused on my computer screen, feigning intense interest in my inbox even though I couldn’t read the words in front of me. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. We’re always in sync when we’re out.”
Our arrangement was hardly uncommon. Business marriages were still all the rage in elite circles. Preservation of fortunes and ongoing business alliances—that’s what drove most marital pairings these days. Liking your husband was not even in the top five things to consider. Nothing else had ever entered the equation on an interpersonal level.
Truth was, most couples in our circle were one missed Valium away from total anarchy.
But I couldn’t care less what he thought aboutusin public now. Really, I wanted to know why the fuck he planned to come along.
Maybe he could sense the question swelling inside me, because he said, “Well, someone needs to make sure you do what you said you’d do with the Fairchild sleazes.”
“You don’t think I’ll make good on my promise to get them to up their offer?”
“I don’t trust a damn thing when those brothers are involved.”
I didn’t have the energy to get into this. “Fine.”
“I’ve already called the car.” He swiped through his phone, looking bored. “So maybe you can work on getting ready.”