She smiles. “Don’t let him be an ass,” she tells me sternly. “Just because he’s married to that Godforsaken woman doesn't give him the right to treat you as she does.”
I reach for my luggage. “Yes, mom,” I reply sassily.
She sticks out her tongue. “Hey, I’ve got to start somewhere, right?”
I shake my head as I pull my luggage behind me as we exit my room. Becky is six weeks pregnant. I'm excited that I’m going to be an aunt, but Becky is scared and nervous as the baby’s father is a professor in our college. Thankfully, he’s all in and wants my best friend. He's determined to fight for her and will do anything to prove it to her.
Walking out to the sitting room, I see Hazel perched on the sofa. “Hey girl,” I call out and give her a smile. “The room’s all yours.”
Relief shines through her eyes. There’s something in the water with these Absyth women, both sisters are pregnant, and both with someone unexpected. Becky with a professor and Hazel with her boss, who also happens to be married and the head of the mob in Denver.
“Thanks, Cass, I owe you.”
I shake my head. “No, we’re family. Have a great Christmas.”
She smiles. “I may go home,” she murmurs. “Becky wants to, and I know that I have to speak to my parents at some stage about it. It’s not like I can hide it forever.”
“If you go home, let me know, I’m going to need some distraction,” I sigh as I make my way toward the front door.
“Will do,” she says loudly for me to hear. “You’ve got this, Cass, you’re going to knock their socks off. We love you.”
The encouragement and love from both Becky and Hazel is all that I need.
“Love you ladies, too, see you soon.”
I close the door behind me and move toward my car. I have a long journey ahead of me, but I know that no matter what, I’m going to get through this internship and Christmas. I just pray that it’s with my sanity intact.
ChapterThree
Chapter Two
Lucas
“Lucas, darling,” my wife says sweetly as she fixes my tie. “You know that Cassie is older now, she’ll be wanting to spend some time alone, she’ll be here for Christmas dinner, not to mention she’ll be working with you throughout the Christmas break.”
I grind my teeth as I reach for my suit jacket and shrug Beth off of me. The woman is a great deceiver. When I got married to her almost six months ago, I fully believed that we could build on the relationship. I enjoyed her company, she’s beautiful, and she knows how to work a room. She knew from the get go that there would never be love between us, that’s just something that I can’t and won’t offer. Beth was more than happy with the arrangement, and the more we spent time together, I become even more stupid. Beth deceived me well, and in the end, got what she wanted—me as a husband.
She’s a master manipulator, and she damn well played me for the fool I am. Not only me, but everyone around me. It wasn’t until recently that things started not adding up. Like, why she and her previous husband split. It was a different story every time she told it. I’ve heard that he was abusive, that he was cheating, and finally I heard that he died, leaving her a widow. Again, I could understand, that being in an abusive relationship, she’d want to not think about her ex, but it was the way she would hide her daughter from me that had those red flags fucking flying.
I ended up doing something I should have done from the get-go. I hired a private investigator to look into Beth, and low and behold, the woman is a liar. She and her husband were drug addicts, ones that had CPS called on them multiple times due to their neglect of their daughter. Her husband left her after getting sober and from what my investigator has told me, Beth has managed to function while using cocaine. The woman is still using, and is now spending my money to do so.
It’s one of the many reasons that I had my HR team reach out to Cassie about the internship. I want to ensure that she has a good life, if that means helping her gain the experience she needs in her chosen field of advertisement then so be it. But from what I have gathered, she’s going to be a success, and anyone who takes her on will benefit from doing so.
“Lucas, what is going on?” Beth whines. “You’ve not been yourself for weeks.”
What she means by that is that I haven’t fucked her in weeks, hell I haven’t fucked her in three months, but she’s so off her face that she doesn’t realize.
“I’m busy, Beth, I’ve got a lot to do before Christmas.” I move past her and reach for my briefcase. “I’ve got to go, I’m meeting Cassie in an hour.”
Her lips curl up at the corners with disdain when I mention her daughter’s name. God, this woman is a bitch. "If you think for one second I'm going to let her take my husband from me then you've got another thing coming.”
I stare at her barely concealed contempt. "Beth, I'm not sure what's going on with you, but you need to get yourself in check." I don't wait for a response, I turn on my heel and leave. This woman needs to know that I'm not one to mess with. All the shit she's done in her past is something that I won't tolerate. The fact she kept it hidden from me just goes to show what type of woman she truly is. Our marriage is over.
She can keep the house. I'll have my attorney draw up the papers today. I’ll get the Christmas season over and done with and will serve the divorce papers the day after Christmas. The sooner she's out of my life for good, the better.
* * *
By the time I have reached my office, I’m in a foul mood. My attorney is working overtime and having listened to the bullshit ‘I told you so’ from him. Something that I’d only ever allow him to do as he’s my best friend.