IT WAS WEIRD going to work on Monda

IT WAS WEIRD going to work on Monday morning and having no one realize my life was profoundly different. Who knew how much saying a few words and slipping on a ring of metal could change a person’s perception of themselves?
I wasn’t just Eva, the New York newbie trying to make it on her own in the big city with her best friend. I was a mogul’s wife. I had a whole new set of responsibilities and expectations. Just thinking about it intimidated me.
Megumi stood as she buzzed me through the security doors at Waters Field & Leaman. She was dressed with unusual sedateness in a black sleeveless dress with an asymmetrical hemline and bright fuchsia heels. “Wow. You’ve got an amazing tan! I’m so jealous.”
“Thanks. How’d your weekend go?”
“Same old, same old. Michael stopped calling.” Her nose wrinkled. “I miss the harassment. Made me feel wanted.”
I shook my head at her. “You’re nuts.”
“I know. So tell me where you went. And did you go with the rock star or Cross?”
“My lips are sealed.” Although I was tempted to reveal everything. The only thing that held me back was that I hadn’t told Cary yet and he needed to come first.
“No way!” Her dark eyes narrowed. “Are you seriously not going to tell me?”
“Of course I will.” I winked. “Just not right now.”
“I know where you work, you know,” she called after me as I headed down the hallway to my cubicle.
When I reached my desk, I got ready to type a quick text to Cary and discovered that he’d sent me a few over the weekend that hadn’t come through until later. They certainly hadn’t been there when I’d placed my usual Saturday call to my dad.
Wanna have lunch? I texted.
When I didn’t get a reply right away, I silenced my phone and set it in my top drawer.
“Where did you spend the weekend?” Mark asked me as he came in to work. “You’ve got a great tan.”
“Thanks. I lazed it up in the Caribbean.”
“Really? I’ve been scoping out the islands for possible honeymoon spots. Would you recommend it for that, wherever you stayed?”
I laughed, happier than I’d been in long time. Maybe in forever. “Absolutely.”
“Get me the deets. I’ll add the spot to the list of possibilities.”
“You have honeymoon scouting duty?” I stood so we could grab coffee together before we started the day.
“Yep.” Mark’s mouth quirked on one side. “I’ll leave the wedding stuff to Steven, since he’s been planning for so long. But the honeymoon is mine.”
He sounded so happy, and I knew just how he felt. His good mood made the start of my day even better.
THE smooth sailing ended when Cary called my desk phone shortly after ten o’clock.
“Mark Garrity’s office,” I answered. “Eva Tramell—”
“—needs an ass-kicking,” Cary finished. “I can’t remember the last time I was this mad at you.”
I frowned, my stomach tightening. “Cary, what’s wrong?”
“I’m not going to talk about important shit on the phone, Eva, unlike some people I know. I’ll meet you for lunch. And just so you’re aware, I turned down a go-see this afternoon to set you straight, because that’s what friends do,” he said angrily. “They make time in their schedule to talk about things that matter. They don’t leave cutesy voice-mail messages and think that handles it!”
The line went dead. I sat there, shocked and a bit scared.
Everything in my life ground to a screeching halt. Cary was my anchor. When things weren’t right with us, I scattered real quick. And I knew it was the same for him. When we were out of touch, he started fucking up.
I dug out my cell phone and called him back.
“What?” he snapped. But it was a good sign that he’d answered.
“If I screwed up,” I said quickly, “I’m sorry and I’ll fix it. Okay?”
He made a rough sound. “You fucking piss me off, Eva.”
“Yeah, well, I’m good at pissing people off, if you haven’t noticed, but I hate when I do it to you.” I sighed. “It’s going to drive me nuts, Cary, until we can work it out. I need us solid, you know that.”
“You haven’t acted like it matters lately,” he said gruffly. “I’m an afterthought and that fucking hurts.”
“I’m always thinking about you. If I haven’t shown it, that’s my bad.”
He didn’t say anything.
“I love you, Cary. Even when I’m messing up.”
He exhaled into the receiver. “Get back to work and don’t stress about this. We’ll deal with it at lunch.”
“I’m sorry. Really.”
“See you at noon.”
I hung up and tried to concentrate, but it was hard. It was one thing having Cary angry with me; it was totally another to know I’d hurt him. I was one of the very few people in his life he trusted not to let him down.
AT eleven thirty, I received a small pile of interoffice envelopes. I was thrilled when one of them revealed a note from Gideon.
MY GORGEOUS, SEXY WIFE,
I NEVER STOP THINKING ABOUT YOU.
YOURS,
X
My feet tapped out a little happy dance beneath my desk. My skewed day righted itself a little.
I wrote him back.
Dark and Dangerous,
I’m madly in love with you.
Your ball and chain,
Mrs. X
I tucked it in an envelope and dropped it in my out-box.
I was drafting a reply to the artist working on a gift card campaign when my desk phone rang. I answered with my usual greeting and heard a reply in a familiar French accent.
“Eva, it’s Jean-François Giroux.”
Sitting back in my chair, I said, “Bonjour, Monsieur Giroux.”
“What time is best for us to meet today?”
What the hell did he want from me? I supposed if I wanted to know, I’d have to follow through. “Five o’clock? There’s a wine bar not too far from the Crossfire.”
“That would be fine.”
I gave him directions and he hung up, leaving me feeling somewhat whiplashed by the call. I swiveled in my chair, thinking. Gideon and I were trying to move forward with our lives, but people and issues from our pasts were still trying to hold us back. Would the announcement of our marriage, or even an engagement, change that?
God, I hoped so. But was anything ever that easy?
Glancing at the clock, I refocused on work and returned to writing my e-mail.